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By Emma Morgan, YES Abroad 2013-2014, Bosnia and Herzegovina

On Saturday, September 14, I and the rest of the YES Abroad students in Bosnia and Herzegovina took our first group trip outside of Sarajevo. It was crazy to realize that I had been in this country for almost a month, but I had only ever seen 54.6 square miles of it. We started our trip early by meeting up in front of the National Museum at 8 in the morning.  It was really chilly and super foggy, and I worried that my long sleeved shirt and scarf would be too thin.  Luckily, though it warmed up.

We all piled into a van that our coordinator had arranged to drive us around for the day. It was only a two hour drive from Sarajevo to Mostar, but it felt like being in a different country. Sarajevo has a continental climate, so our foggy, chilly morning was pretty average.  However, on our drive through the countryside, we went through a mountain pass, and suddenly the weather changed to a gorgeous, bright, and sunny day.  It was crazy! We were now in a Mediterranean climate, but still in the same tiny country—I was in a state of disbelief. It was awesome.

Upon first glance Mostar looked like the outskirts of Sarajevo—it was surrounded by a beautiful landscape, had some visible damage from the Bosnian War, and there were plenty of people walking around.  However, once we got out of the car, we noticed the atmosphere was a little different here. None of us could quite place what it was until our coordinator explained the incredible amount of ethnic tension that the city of Mostar has.  The Croat and Bosniak populations that live there go to different schools, have different soccer teams, and learn different languages in school.  It was a big adjustment from Sarajevo. In Sarajevo there are occasionally ethnically-charged incidents, but for the most part, all of the ethnic groups there co-exist without any problems.

We headed into the old town portion of Mostar. It was a really gorgeous part of town and reminded me of Baščaršija in Sarajevo. The first sight we saw was this really beautiful mosque with a minaret that we were allowed to climb up. After the minaret, we headed to an old Ottoman house-turned museum and hotel, then to the Stari Most bridge, then to an overlook down by the river, and then we were off.

Our next stop was the town of Blagaj. Blagaj is the location of a Dervish Tekija (Tekki), which sits on top of the Buna River.  It’s gorgeous. The founding Dervish community consisted of a group of Muslim men who dedicated their lives to poverty in order to learn humility, and the Tekii is where they once lived.  The whole area was absolutely stunning—it was impossible to capture how amazing it was in photos, but I tried my best.

The final stop on our journey was a tiny, artistic town called Počitelj. It was basically built into the side of a hill, and, like everything else in Bosnia, it was beautiful. Our stop here was fairly quick.  We had some coffee and tea, hiked up to a beautiful fortress, and took some photos. Počitelj is home to an international artist community, and it is on the list to possibly become a UNESCO World Heritage site. I think this idyllic little town was my favorite stop of the day—it was so peaceful.  

The ride back wasn’t too long, but once I saw signs pointing us to Sarajevo, I caught myself thinking, “I can't wait to get home and sleep in my bed.” I’ve only been in Sarajevo for a little less than a month, but I feel like I’ve been here awhile. I learned a ton about Bosnia’s history, climate, and culture on our short little day trip, but what I took most to heart was the fact that Connecticut was no longer the only place in the world I called home.