23 Things Americans Find Wonderfully Strange About Bosnia

One of the joys of traveling is discovering oddly different ways that other people live their lives. If everyone acts the same, why travel to "fabulous and far away places?" I have listed some of the differences that make Bosnia so enjoyable for ex-pats like Dionne and I. Some are things that I wish America had, some are down right awesome, some are just plain weird, and some just make me "go hmmm."

1. Stray Dogs and Puppies Everywhere

We have seen stray dogs in other countries but none as cute and lovable as Bosnia's stray dogs. The first week we arrived I thought Dionne was going to adopt of litter of 5 puppies we found up on the mountain (they could just as easily live on the mountain near our backyard as Jahorina, right?). There are dogs everywhere in Bosnia. Smart dogs who are very adept at obeying traffic laws. Some people feed them, some people ignore them, and some people are mean to them. Most that we have found are friendly and enjoy human attention. 

2. Sidewalks are Just Parking Lots in Disguise

American sidewalks are sanctuaries for the pedestrian. Not so here in Bosnia. Cars park on sidewalks with impunity; walker or biker beware! Which means the streets are shared by walkers, bikers, and cars alike. Because nobody can walk on the actual sidewalk safely. 

If they are serious about cars not parking on a sidewalk, they build impenetrable barriers such as a this one to keep the cars out. 

3. Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette

The first time you sit down at a restaurant your nose will tell you that you are in Bosnia. People smoke everywhere. Restaurants, the office, in the car, nearly anywhere you can imagine. This is so strange to modern-day Americans. I can remember smoking like this when I was a kid but that was 40-years ago. There are precious few "no smoking" sections in restaurants. We went to dinner the other night with the Reese family who had just arrived from Maryland. The kids had never been around smoking and soon were covering their entire faces with their hoodies to try and escape the fumes. 

4. Waste Not, Want Not

Due to their war experience, most Bosnians are obsessive about not wasting anything. (Much like the generation that lived through the American Depression). A friend here told us that there are two types of people he hates: a) those who lie and b) those who waste food. As an unrepentant food waster who has never liked leftovers, I have tried to hide my true nature while here!

This wonderful set of furniture was constructed by the staff as Los Rosales out of wood pallets. Regularly residents go through the garbage cans to salvage anything that they can...and people here do not think anything about it.

5. Old-Fashioned Haystacks

For no other reason than this is how they have always done it, Bosnians collect their hay in old-fashioned haystacks. They dot the landscape and make you feel like it is 1817 instead of 2017. 

6. It's Not Fun Unless It's Burnin'

Bosnians believe that American sport fans lack true passion. There motto: "it's not fun unless it's burning." When you enter a sport stadium you are searched for contraband. Water bottles are a "no-no." But fireworks, flares, and bazookas must be fair game because there always seems to be plenty artillery in the rabid fan section. Who cares who is playing whichever sport...the firework show is a must-see for any American.

7. Disney Reigns Supreme

Precious few American brands have found their way to Bosnia. There are only two McDonald's in the entire country, no Starbucks, maybe 5% iPhone penetration, and few American food brands. Coca-cola, the NBA, and American music are well known. But the Disney brand reigns supreme. Every girl loves Frozen and every boy wants to be Spider-Man and plays with his Lightning McQueen car. Half of the toys are Disney brand or knock-offs. 

Lightning McQueen as painted by our young friend Faris.

8. Landmines

More a novelty than an actual threat anymore, there are a number of unexploded landmines that remain in Bosnia. The locals have a pretty good idea of where they are so everyone just goes about their normal life. It is kind of cool when you come across an actual landmine warning sign. But it doesn't happen that often and you kind of have to drive out of your way to find them. 

9. Burnt-Out Houses and Unfinished Dreams

The first thing that we noticed after we crossed the border into Bosnia was the burnt out buildings. These "war souvenirs" litter the landscape. 

We had originally assumed that these buildings had been bombed. But later learned that most were burnt by either fleeing residents or retreating conquerors. Graffiti artists visit some of the more prominent sites. 

Alongside the destruction are construction projects being built the "Bosnia way." Best I can figure it, this means that you start a project as soon as you get 10% of the funding and then continue to build it slowly (even if it takes a decade or so) until you find the money to finish it. This is the covered barn at Riders of Hope which is still not actually "covered." In true Bosnian fashion, however, I am sure it will happen someday.

10. Baka Wisdom

The Bosnian word "baka" means grandmother. Revered and feared, they have a special place in Bosnian culture. And they are very happy to share their wisdom with anyone who will listen. Examples include:

(Talking to young girls) "If you sit on the grass, you will not be able to have children." "If you don't wear tights, you will be sterile."

"Klima (air conditioning) makes you sick."

Bosnians share memes about their BAKA security forces. Other countries have cameras, Bosnia has a force of watchful bakas to keep everyone in line.

11. Brown Sugar

Dionne discovered that Bosnian brown sugar is different than American brown sugar the first time she tried to bake cookies. Her "go to" cookie recipe produced these unrecognizable lumps. So now whenever we travel to Croatia we return with enough American brown sugar to last for months. 

12. Where are All of the Wild Animals?

Driving around Bosnia Dionne and I have seen many wild animals...but they have all been what we consider domestic animals. Wild dogs, wild cats, and even wild horses. But we have seen very few wild animals. Back home deer wander through our backyard and we hear the howl of coyotes. At the six-month mark Dionne and I both celebrated when we saw our first wild animal; a squirrel. Since we have seen a couple of foxes and a dead hedgehog on the side of the road. That's about it.

13. Green Light, Green Light, Green Light, Green Light

This is one thing that I would really like the U.S. to adopt. Before a traffic light turns yellow, it will blink green four times. This gives the driver a head's up when the light is going to turn red. Brilliant. I am going to miss this.

14. Milk and Yogurt

Bosnians love to drink their yogurt. When an American looks for milk in the grocery store, all they can find is yogurt. Cold drinkable yogurt everywhere. In restaurants they drink it mixed with carbonated water. And sometimes with a little salt added in. I have never been a milk drinker but I have developed a habit of drinking a plain yogurt every morning for breakfast. 

You can find milk but not in the refrigerated section of the grocery story. Most milk is boxed. There is fresh milk but it is more expensive and harder to find. 

15. Crazy Shopping Carts

The shopping carts are chained up and require a coin to unlock them. It took us a while to figure this system out. It is a little bit of a pain when you don't have a mark in your pocket. Somebody showed us a cheat you can do with your house key, however.

I have inserted a mark into this cart so we are free to go. When you return it and lock it back up, the mark pops out. But the coolest thing about these carts is how they roll. All of the wheels roll freely (unlike in the U.S. where the back two wheels only roll forward). As the video demonstrates, the carts seem to have a mind of their own when pushed.

16. Papuče

Bosnians obsess over wearing papuče (slippers) when indoors. Obsess over it! We were looking to rent an apartment for the Elders and I had just put my shoes back on to leave. But then I had a thought to get something out of the adjoining room WITH MY SHOES ON! The landlord literally freaked out that I would walk across the room with my shoes on. I almost thought that she would not rent us the room due to my indiscretion. She made us promise that this would never happen again, had us write up a list of house rules (the most prominent of which was TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF), and post it on the door. Bosnians takes this very seriously indeed.

But it is bearable because of the cool papuče. We will bring several things home from Bosnia including 3-4 pairs of papuče; we have become converts.

17. Queen Sized Bed with Two Blankets

This drives us crazy. Hotels with queen or king sized beds do not have a single comforter. Instead they have two individual sized blankets on the bed. 

18. Janjetina (Lamb)

I was excited when I was looking in the kitchen at Los Rosales this past week...we absolutely love the ice cream here in Bosnia.

But as I opened up the freezer, this is what I found. Bosnians love their lamb...sort of. We originally thought that lamb meat was found in many of the dishes like ćevapi which we enjoy here. Bosnians love lamb but generally only cooked in certain ways. They like to spit roast their lamb...and rarely serve it any other way. In the mountains there many restaurants that specialize in this type of lamb preparation (see video). But we hardly ever find lamb on the menu in city restaurants. 

19. Fresh Water On Tap

This may be more of a Muslim thing than a Bosnian thing...not sure. But they love to drink water from fresh water taps. These are found in the mountains, in the city, near mosques, in Bašćaršija, and along the side of the road. Bosnians fill up their water bottles from these spouts. Or they just take a drink. One of the skills that we are assessing children on is "ability to drink from a water fountain." We were not sure what this meant since we have not seen a single water fountain here. The educator told us that is means being able to drink from one of these water spouts. The skill is so important here that they teach is alongside potty training and shoelace tying.

20. Unbelievably Narrow Roads

Seeing is believing.

Driving in Bosnia

21. Two Christmases

A strange as it seems, Bosnians celebrate Christmas on two different days. Catholics celebrate Dec 25th and Pravoslav (Orthodox) celebrate Jan 7th. Mormons are agnostic on this question. In Sarajevo we celebrate Dec 25th. In Banja Luka we celebrate on Jan 7th. And Muslims obviously do not celebrate Christmas but make a big deal about New Year. So the holiday season here lasts for a whole month!

Sitting with our friends Zoran and Ranka who have Serbian backgrounds...I love talking with Zoran but will never bring up the "when is Christmas" question ever again!

22. "Congratulations San Francisco, You've Ruined Pizza!" (line from Inside Out)

Full disclosure. I absolutely adore Bosnian food. Some of the best anywhere in the world. But not their pizza. And to make matters worse, they have this crazy habit of dousing it with ketchup. Be still my heart. 

One of the first pizzas I tried here. Was not a fan of the boiled eggs on my pizza. And I have not gotten the courage up to try the "tuna" pizza which I find on every single menu. (Thank goodness that Pizza Company is only 5 minutes from our house...the best that we have found here)

23. Squat Toilets

Typically found in public restrooms like schools, gas stations, or rural restaurants, there are too many squat toilets in Bosnia for my comfort. We replaced many of these as part of our humanitarian school work. (The video is of me flushing one of them to see what happens) Avoidance seems to be the best strategy. The one time I had no choice, however, did not turn out well. 

And Then There is the Oddly Familiar

Imagine our surprise when we found fry sauce in the grocery store. Now that is weird!