March

Phew! February just flew by. January felt like it was 5 months long but February went by faster than I could blink! I can't believe we're already into the third month of 2018. I still feel like it's January 1st, not 3 months in. Anyway, March is upon us and I can say that it truly is the month of green. The color green has always been a celebration color for me so I can say that I do like this month. Bosnia's independence day is March 1st and what a great way to kick off the month! Happy Independence Day to the motherland! I love this country so much that I wanted to share a little blog post on it. This will be just a snippet and maybe later on, I can do a full post on just Bosnia.

If you are not familiar, Bosnia is actually Bosnia and Herzegovina and is located in Europe underneath Croatia, across from Italy, and by the Adriatic Sea. (We are Bosnia, NOT Croatia, and absolutely NOT Serbia) The capital is Sarajevo. Although I've never been, I hear it's absolutely beautiful. I've had a few cousins go and live there. All of the land in Bosnia is very green and humid. I only remember going over summer and the humidity was very strong compared to Colorado, where we get 0. As we were driving in, all I could see was green trees and green hills with houses either bunched up or further apart. The views were absolutely breathtaking. The people are very friendly and joke around with you every chance they get. They are the kind of people that love to laugh and just enjoy life. That is such a strong envy of mine, as I strive to be that happy as much as I can.

This is Sanski Most.

This is a big city in Bosnia called Mostar

This is the capital of Bosnia - Sarajevo.

The language we speak is Bosnian, but more specifically, I speak Bosglish. (Bosnian and English jammed into one lol). I was always spoken to in Bosnian and it was the first language I learned. I absolutely love the language because some things that we say are a lot more comforting and easier said than in English. I came to the United States when I was 5 years old so although I was always taught Bosnian, I spoke mostly English through school and picked it up right away. I still learn new words every single day. My wish is to spend a few months in Bosnia so my language skills can sharpen even more. The best way to learn is to be surrounded by it and honestly, that could not be more true!

We have many traditional dishes that we make, that includes main courses as well as desserts. One very well known food is called Pita. (No, it's not pita chips) Pita is a phyllo dough made with various different types of foods. For example, you can have Burek, which is Pita with ground beef inside. You can also have Sirnica, which is Pita with cottage cheese, eggs, and sour cream. My favorite is Zeljanica, which is Pita with Spinach!

Burek (AKA Pita with ground beef)

Pita with cottage cheese, sour cream, and eggs

Pita with Spinach!! YUMM!

One of our other famous dishes is called Cevapi, which is like beef sausages but it's eaten for either lunch or dinner, never breakfast, and it comes with a Lepinja, which is a flatbread, and the sides of onions, sour cream, and a sauce called Ajvar (made from roasted red peppers). If you ever are able to go to Bosnia, I strongly recommend to try those two!

Cevapi!

For desserts, our popular ones are Baklava and crepes with Nutella! :)

Baklava! :)

Palacinke (AKA crepes with Nutella!)

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed my little post on my motherland country! I haven't been since 2015 but I miss it dearly and hope to go again soon. If you are ever able to go, please send me pictures so I can post them on my blog! If you are able to go, trust me, you won't regret it!!