My Learning Experience – Mallory Pruitt

After working with the city of Neum, Bosnia Herzegovina, I felt like we really were able to get to know the culture of the Balkans. We worked very closely with representatives for the city and were able to talk to them about how they viewed their culture and their city. They have a lot of pride in their culture and where they come from which was really cool to see. I think a lot of their pride came from the recent war when they gained their independence. Since many people lived through that they really appreciate the lives they are able to live now. A lot of the tours and other stories we heard from locals throughout the trip opened my eyes to how differently they live. People there are more laid back and not so worried about work and money. I really liked that about the Croatian people. The most shocking thing about the people in Croatia to me is how much they drink. At the dorm cafe there would be people drinking wine and beer throughout the day, even at breakfast time. I think that goes along with the more laid-back lifestyle, but it was still very surprising to me. I feel like after spending the month in Croatia I was able to gain a pretty good insight into how their culture is and I think that it was good for me to be able to experience something different and expand my thinking.