INTERVET WB MOBILITIES – FROM BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA TO WROCŁAW, POLAND

13th September 2022

Amina, Ajla and Kenan are from Bosnia & Herzegovina, where they are studying at the International University of Sarajevo. They are currently staying in Wrocław for a three-month Intervet WB internship. After the first weeks of mobility, they decided to share with us their impressions about this experience.

Wrocław is one of the most beautiful cities in Poland. It has a rich history and numerous monuments, and was chosen as the European Capital of Culture in 2016. Wrocław is often called “the city of meetings”, “the city that never sleeps” or “the city of bridges”. It is full of unique attractions, unique places and interesting cultural events. It is the perfect place to spend a colorful and interesting vacation.

Due to its uniqueness and beauty, Wroclaw also received the name “city of friendship” from its visitors, because here, as they say, “you can’t be lonely”. Reading such beautiful words before arriving leaves us even more excited than we were. Of course, the internet and pictures cannot convey how special this city is for many, it is something that must be seen and experienced. We were enchanted upon arrival and all we wanted was for our stay here to be something we will remember for the rest of our lives.

“Being a participant in such a project for the second time is a great honor, but being in the same city for the second time is something very special. Wroclaw is a city that stunned me with its beauty, sights, history and knowledge, which is something unforgettable for someone who has chosen to build his career in tourism. Enjoying the conversation with many tourists, I realized that it is impossible to describe the stay here in words, but their smile and the sparkle in their eyes was enough proof of the uniqueness of this city. It is a big responsibility to deal with all the problems that come with the application itself because not everything is perfect and I had to be ready to face every problem that came up on my own.

This project gave me the opportunity to find myself, to learn how to be self-confident and independent, to fulfill my wishes that I could only dream of as a child.

Working with the people here and feeling the collegiality is something that made it easy for me to get up in the morning and go to work. The way they help you, transfer their knowledge and create opportunities is something I will always remember and share with all my friends and future colleagues in tourism. I am very glad that I had the desire and will to change something in my life and that I had enough courage and self-confidence to start changing my life for the better with this project because that is what gave me great pleasure and great honor. In addition to all these incredible opportunities, I managed to meet people who will forever have a special place in my heart and with whom I am still strengthening our friendship. Because of them, I know why it is impossible to be lonely in this city.”

-Amina Karić – Gračanica – Tourist technician

“After I had a great time last year at a one-month internship in Wroclaw, I applied for this project again because it’s great and I really like the city. I don’t think I will ever forget this place and of course the friends I made. Also, as a veterinary technician, I gained a lot of experience and I think it will help me during my further education. I learned a lot, such as how to give an injection, various vaccines, implanting microchips… I watched various operations and helped the doctors. I also improved my English and learned a little Polish.”

-Ajla Katana – Sarajevo – Veterinary technician

“A big problem of young people nowadays is the lack of self-confidence, I had that problem too. However, I had a tendency to change it, and to do something about it. The project in which I am a participant for the second time, unequivocally provided me with all the necessary guidelines for socioeconomic and other types of independence. We are aware that the education system in our country is not the best, and because of this, students often have problems communicating in English.

This type of mobility plays a big role in that segment as well, since knowledge of the English language is extremely important in today’s time, in which we live. Confidence is not something we are born with. It is not hereditary, and does not carry any genetic code, it is built, and one of the ways to build confidence in adolescents and young people is to meet new people, cultures, ways and customs of life.

One of my primary goals of participating in this project, in addition to practicing, improving self-confidence, is socialization, which is an important factor in the stability of society and the normal functioning of the social system. Since I am a student in the fourth grade of an architectural technical high school, going to a new city, country brings with me an introduction to their architecture.

This city deservedly received the name as one of the most beautiful cities in Poland, which is known for its rich history and architectural diversity, which I confirm. During my practice and performing tasks in the domain of my profession, I got acquainted with the architecture of Wroclaw, which is unequivocally unique, unique and something that cannot be seen anywhere else.”

-Kenan Junuzović – Gračanica – Architectural technician

We have tried to convey what makes this city so special, but it is simply not enough. It is special because of many things, but what makes it unique and different from all other cities are the dwarves. They first appeared in 2005 and since then their number has been growing incredibly fast, now there are about 800 dwarfs in the city, and every 14 days another dwarf appears somewhere in the city. Each gnome has a certain role and every tourist tries to find his own, that’s why, in addition to the usual sightseeing of the city, tourists also choose to hunt for gnomes in order to get a certain reward. For this reason, special maps and a mobile phone application were created so that tourists can find all the dwarfs as soon as possible.
Walking through the main square of Wroclaw and looking for our gnomes, we smelled some special smells and found out that they are actually ‘pierogi’, the national dish of this city, and of course we had to try them. Polish cuisine can be excellent if you know how to choose a good restaurant. Unfortunately for us, when we tried the pierogi for the first time, we were not very enthusiastic, so we gave up on trying something we were not familiar with. After some time and meeting the right people, we tried them again and they were perfect, one of the main things that every tourist must taste.

When we arrived here, we thought it would be easy for us to establish communication with everyone, but we were wrong. The elderly population of this city can be unapproachable and we had to get used to rude answers when asking for help, but not everyone is like that. Fortunately for us, students and younger population accepted us very well and through talking with them we learned how we should treat the elderly in order for them to accept us, after that there were no problems in communication.

There are a huge number of sights and beauties that we saw, but one that we single out is ‘Ostrow Tumski’, sitting by the riverside and enjoying the greenery around us, we noticed that this part of the city has a special charm, maybe because it reminds us of those beautiful Bosnian landscapes. We visit this beautiful place every day, enjoy the view and calm our thoughts after a hard day.

We learned to live here and got used to the daily responsibilities and this way of life. It will be hard to leave and start all over again because the pace we live in here is ideal for people like us, young, ambitious and full of life. We will not be able to find this kind of luxury in business in Bosnia but for all people life always creates opportunities and only we can decide whether we will use them and live the way we want and deserve.