Welshpool resident John Bills delivers his latest column on his adventures...
So, it is insanely hot here in Mostar right now. Not just hot, but HOT. I'm not sure what the temperature is today, but I'm pretty sure that two days ago it was a gazillion degrees. Centigrade. Or maybe it was 41. Either way, it was hot, and the sun was blazing its way through my pasty Welsh skin.
Of course, to the locals this is nothing new, but to me, good Lord! After a day of walking 30 minutes in the sun to go to a barber that had been recommended to me, I slumbered back home feeling baked and a little bit lethargic. It very well could have ruined my day, were it not for one thing... Bosnian hospitality.
Now, people are nice all over the world. It is a universal human thing. Just because someone is born in a certain place does not make them more pre-disposed to niceness than anywhere else. There are a lot of nice people in Wales, in Belgium, in China, in Tanzania, in Iran, in Poland, in Yemen, in Bolivia etc, etc.
However, among the thousands of young people that traverse the globe annually armed with only a backpack, Bosnian hospitality has taken on an almost mythical status. Upon entering the home of a Bosnian, the first thing you must do is remove your shoes. This is just common courtesy of course, but the moment your clogs have left your feet you are given a choice of all manner of slippers to wear. The shoe removal isn't just an attempt to keep the floors tidy, there is something deeper. By offering slippers, the Bosnian host is essentially telling you to feel as though you are in your home. Of course, this is your home if it came with a constant stream of food, drink, stories and drink. Did I mention the drink?
In Britain, when you have had enough and wish to leave a social situation, it is the done thing to finish your drink before leaving. In Bosnia, this doesn't quite work. I'm not sure how far this goes back, but it is most definitely something that the Bosnians picked up during the wars of the 1990's, but it is of optimum importance that you make sure your glass is never empty.
Whilst it originally had metaphorical connotations, it has taken on a very literal meaning in social settings. As I sat in the garden of my landlords, sipping some thick Bosnian coffee and taking in the mountains that surround this town, I slurped the last drop from my cup and leant back. No sooner had my back touched the cushion however, Ramiza (the wife of my landlord) had the pot in hand and was pouring me a fresh cup. This also came after offers of wine, soup, rakija, beer, chips, fish, salad and seemingly everything the family have in their cupboards. The Bosnians give 'what's mine is yours' an entirely new meaning.
This isn't just limited to the social setting either. Nowhere have I met so many people on the street who are willing to help confused tourists, who are willing to go as far as they can to ensure everyone is having a good time. Take Lela in my favourite café by the Stari Most, a girl who goes out and buys ingredients for sandwiches out of her own pocket and makes them on sight, even though the café does not advertise food or sell it in any way. She just goes out and makes people sandwiches. For free.
Then there are the countless stories of people asking locals for directions to a place, only for the Bosnian to drive them there himself, two hours away at times. There is a completely different mentality when it comes to hitch hiking here too. Back home it is viewed as something only scoundrels do, whereas out here there is complete knowledge that not everyone can afford a car, so people need to be helped. People hitchhike to work on a daily basis.
At the end of the day, the Bosnians are just ordinary people, like all the other people of the entire world. Seemingly however, a majority of them just have it ingrained in them to enrich the lives of others, and it shines through on a daily basis. Anyone who has stayed at Majda's can also attest to this. We are all kind and we are all willing to help, what sets these people apart is how they do it without any thought, without any care for how it affects themselves. A Bosnian doesn't offer you all the food in their cupboard so they can sit back and feel good about it, they do it because the best way to be happy is to make others so.