First month in Bosnia

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It’s been almost a month since I have been in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I covered quite a bit of the country; I have been mostly located in the north eastern area. Currently I am located in a village called Cifluk, the closest town near me is called Tesanj. Its about 4 miles from Cifluk and the closest city is called Doboj (that’s the city where I was born in) it is about 20 miles from Cifluk. I have not been to Doboj yet, but I plan to go visit it next week sometime, I here they have one of the largest pools in the Balkan area, so that should be blast. After I visit it I will talk about it. Before I go on what I am planning to do, I’ll talk about some stuff that I already have done. Lets see, first wee was very intense. I traveled from one family’s house to another. I loved seeing my family; it’s been three years since I have seen them. Another reason I traveled a lot within the first week was because my dad is from a village called Alibegovci and my mom is from a village called Cifluk, they are about 25 miles from one another. It felt like I was one day in Alibegovic and the next day in Cifluk. The two villages are both interesting and I have noticed many similarities between the two and some differences. The similarities that I have noticed include both are secluded from the towns and cities. They both have a large family base. What I mean by that is in Alibegovci almost everyone last name is the same as mine, Tokmic and in Cifluk almost everyone’s last name has the same as my mom’s maiden name. Some differences that I have noticed include how well the people are organized. In Alibegovci they seem have a stronger community involvement, because they have a paved streets, an elementary school, a health clinic, a store, and the bus comes right thru the village. In Cifluk they a half paved and nothing else. The people in Cifluk need to walk at least two miles to the closest store, four miles to a town that has a school, hospital, and rest of the societal structures. I have gone many times this town for various reason, it’s a nice walk, but it get old after the tenth time.
Enough about the two villages lets move on to my favorite city in Bosnia so far. It’s called Zenica, it has a population about 200,000 and has a huge social gathering place where no motor vehicles are allowed. Its an awesome place to go out at night, there are plenty of bars, clubs, and the local bands sometimes play there. Last time I was there they had a cultural event, it was called Turkish Day. There is a large group of Turkish people living in Zenica and they were celebrating their day. I wish I had my camera with me, but did not. They wore traditional dress; there was a band playing, all sorts of different foods, and a basketball game out on the street. My cousin Elvis lives there and he told me that these kinds of things happen all the time, so next time when they are having another event, I will definitely take some pictures and post them. Another interesting fact about Zenica, they have one of the largest metal factories in the Balkans. I saw it and it was huge, I am talking about 4 o5 mile long factory. After the war the factory was not operating at all, but now some Investors from India bought the factory and it’s operating at 25 percent. It’s supposed to reach up to 100 percent by the end of summer, that’s good news for the people looking for jobs. I think I will stop writing for today and add some more things like pictures tomorrow.

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