Great philosophy et al, but what the f*#$% am I doing in Bosnia? Do I wear a helmet? Or a funny hat? Do I ride an Ass or a Schwinn?

Being the savvy media junkies that we are, Nick and I fancied the idea of working and collaborating in this region. So by a means of teaching English, we took our three-trick ponies and saddled into the Balkan sunset. We were headed for the splendor that is Sarajevo, but by default, we wound up in the second largest city of BiH, Banja Luka. In fact, it is a small town here, one that is stripped of any fragrance of culture, for reasons of the Orthodox Church and a grid locked economy—the latter is a penalty from the war.


So, why did we salvage our souls here?

Firstly because we were presented with an irrefutable offer to teach at a well endowed school, and are supported in leading media workshops with teenagers. Nick is teaching kids how to shoot and make videos; I am attempting to supplant kids with the seeds of self-publishing in the craft of Zine-making.

The second reason why we stayed on, and most importantly, is that our contributions are of use here. Whereas Sarajevo has always been a city of artistic merit and self-sufficiency, Banja Luka is entirely cut off from the success of the Capital. There is no direct highway between the two…
Finally, apart from their “burgeoning” white water rafting tours, few visitors make it out here, unless they are working in governmental bodies. From this small town, there is a lot to tell—both histrionically of what results from war and some foreshadowing of the uncertain future...