What it is like to live in Mostar: A Chinese Perspective Vol. 1

It all hit me when I stepped out of the plane at Sarajevo International airport. So this is real. I inhaled, didn't know what to feel. I was officially going to study here for the next two years of my life, 7000 kilometers away from home.

With my dad, in Sarajevo, we manoeuvred our way around the Latinski bridge, the war tunnel; climbed the Yellow Fortress and gazed at the entire city, the graveyards, the neighborhoods that consisted of an Orthodox church, a mosque, and a Catholic church on the same street; witnessed how many children's names were carved on the stones, the ones that passed away, silently. All basking in sunshine, the stark contrast of how much history this country endured and how peaceful it is now amazed me. Mostar was no different

“Why Bosnia?” This question has probably been the most asked question for a long time. “Why Bosnia? Why not Bosnia?” I thought. Living in China for the past 15 years of my life, I find my horizon to be limited, my lenses confined. Here, studying with peers from more than 80 countries around the globe, there are sparks of heated discussions every day, fragments of stories I hear. Whether it was someone's childhood, someone's family's life at a remote place near Belgrade, or someone's view on the Republic party... We found common ground in the differences we share.

Sure, there is no Chinese food here, sure, I barely found anyone that resembled my appearance, but I guess that was the point of being here. To be completely honest, I expected cultural shocks: I expected people to look at me differently. But soon I realized how kind this city can be. The bakery lady laughing with me, a waiter at a random restaurant trying to converse with me in Chinese, a truck driver in the middle of nowhere volunteering to guide us when our GPS wasn't working (later we found out his son was a UWC alumnus).

Walking across the Neretva, climbing up 200 stairs to the top of the cemetery on reflection day December 2018, I inhaled again, this time knowing what to feel. I felt different, not so much changed or matured, but different in how I wanted to see the world - I want to see more.

And so I have. Going to the Croatian consulate 3 times, visiting Split, marveling at Diocletian’s palace and its glory. Flying to Istanbul with a friend, listening to her cousin recounting her life as a math teacher under all the political turmoil that is going on.

Wrapping myself in my Chinese flag, wearing my Shanghainese cheongsam, having toast with my Hong Kongese second year, I've never felt more connected to a place than to Mostar.

©️ Written by Michelle YuXin Wang 王裕昕

Edited by Suyin Chan 陈素茵

Picture taken by Jed Peterson