Students at Economics Faculty U of Sarajevo

Daily Chess - Oslobjenia Square Sarajevo

Sarajevo is a city that encourages you to walk, with frequent stops at the cafes. It is a city with an incredibly rich cafe culture. While there are other means of travel, tram, bus and inexpensive taxis, walking gives you an opportunity to learn about the city and about the people who live there. It also provides you with a view of daily life that you might not recognize if walking was not part of your daily routine. Students introduced me to shortcuts that led me through local neighborhoods, out of the way cafes and open markets where everyone knows each other, and of course the local frizerski where you can sip Bosnian coffee, catch up on all the local news and have your hair done for about $8 including tip. For me the local news was minimal but the frizerski is where I practiced my Bosnian language skills and improved my vocabulary and confidence.

I come from a teaching university. National-Louis University in Chicago, IL is a university where teaching comes first; we like to think of ourselves as “best in class”. We engage our students in active learning, encouraging them to use their own experiences as a basis for their education. We assist them in taking responsibility for their learning and believe that they have much to offer within the classroom as well as within the broader community. While our classes have traditional course goals and objectives, our methodologies encourage students to become reflective learners moving toward becoming reflective practitioners in whatever discipline they choose. This proved to be a very different way of approaching university teaching from that of the University of Sarajevo. While the students in Sarajevo originally struggled with this approach, they rose to the challenge inside and outside of the classroom.

American Council Alum at American Corner, Sarajevo

I did not have a class of my own while I was at the University of Sarajevo’s faculty of economics. I was able to team teach a managerial leadership course with a local professor for the full semester. During that time I did several mini-lectures and discussions. I participated in the discussion portion of each session and often shared another perspective on the case or topic assigned. I had the opportunity to offer several workshops for the Graduate School of Business at the University of Sarajevo both in Sarajevo and in Banja Luka. The United States Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina organized a lecture tour (the role of higher education in developing leaders) in Bihac, Banja Luka and Tuzla. I also did a “What’s Next?” workshop on career planning for the alumni of U.S. exchanges for the American Council. From all of this work, I met many students as participants in workshops or classes, as organizers of events, or as my interpreter when I traveled outside of Sarajevo.

Franciscan Monastery Krajleva Sutjeska

As my teaching style was different from the local professors, it took students some time to feel comfortable with a more interactive classroom atmosphere. The students I met took a tremendous leap of faith to engage in discussion with me, to ask questions, to disagree with me, to share stories and ask for my interpretation of particular local situations. Most weeks I met students during their lunch hour. We used this time for them to practice speaking English with a native speaker, to ask me about my business and management experiences in the United States, and to get my general impressions of Bosnia. While the group changed depending on the day and other activities and assignments, I was quite privileged to have a few regulars. These young men, Dzenan and Slavin, taught me much about Bosnian life and hospitality.

Dzenan, left, and Family in Kakanj

During my five months in Bosnia, I hosted many visitors from the United States. My mother came for two weeks, my daughters came for 10 days (coincided with fall fashion week), my husband came for two weeks and a friend visited for several days. When my visitors came I brought them to my class so students would have the opportunity to meet them, again asking questions and practicing their English. I mentioned that my husband enjoyed visiting churches and houses of worship. One of my students said that his town, Kakanj, was home to a very old and famous Franciscan monastery and he would be happy to arrange a tour for us.

Mosaic at Monastery

When my husband arrived, we scheduled to take the local bus to Kakanj and visit the monastery in Kajleva Sutjeska, and my student. After our tour of the library, church and chapel, we asked my student to recommend a restaurant for lunch and to join us as our guest. He said his mother was hoping we would join his family for lunch, and we said we would be honored. The afternoon that followed continues to be one of my fondest memories and my husband says the same thing. The food was outstanding and never ending, but the conversation, even with the limitations of my language skills and relying on my student and his sister and friend as interpreters, was energetic, fun and educational. We joined the family as visitors from a foreign country and we left as family friends.

Before I left Bosnia, several groups of students hosted farewell coffees for me. We would meet after class, or at some prearranged time, at the local cafe and share what we learned about each other during my five months in Bosnia. We asked each other about early expectations and how that changed once we had time together. I received beautiful handmade linens, Bosnian coffee sets and wonderful photos.

Final coffe with American Council Alum

Once again I am amazed at how I received far more than I gave. I keep in touch with many of the students; in fact through the American Council my family is hosting a young man from Mostar who is doing an internship in Chicago. I look forward to returning to Bosnia and Herzegovina. I look forward to walking down the Ferhadije toward the cobble stoned streets of Baščarsijska stopping for coffee at Rami’s, to having my hair done at my local frizerski, to visiting the local jazz club, but most of all, to reconnecting with the wonderful students I met.

For additional photos and reflections of my time in Bosnia and Herzegovina go to my Web site at http://faculty.nl.edu/emcmahon.

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