Hello and welcome to this edition of our Blog, from Čardačani, in the north of Bosnia and Herzegovina, written by an immigrant (me), as I am neither a tourist or a citizen here.
Slowing Down
Well this weeks post is a few days late.
I could make up all manner of excuses, but to quote a local phrase it’s “Šta je tu je”
To be honest though, the weather has had an impact. We have bounced from +26 to down to around 10 (and lower at night).
As I am writing this, and stare out of the window in front of me, the mist has only just lifted, its damp, the grass is soaking and its decidedly chilly outside.
Autumn is here. The smell of burning wood gets more and more as our neighbours (and us as well) start to heat their houses.
I don’t know about you, but the weather does affect my mood. I find it interferes with my creativity and I fall into long periods of procrastination. Even scheduling tasks and giving myself deadlines to complete doesn’t work. So what to do?
Any tips would be appreciated.
Residency
This past week though has seen me apply for my fourth annual temporary residency visa.
The gathering of documentation gets easier year on year.
To apply for permanent residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it requires 5 annual applications for temporary residency first.
My good friend, Denise, who is from Argentina and is married to Jovan (from Banja Luka), has made an excellent video about the residency process ⬇️
I am still unsure at this point whether I’ll go for permanent residency or citizenship. I am deffo staying. That’s for sure.
With such a chaotic world, and my entering my seventh decade in a few months, I think more and more that my decision to take a chance on this country was a good move. I am kind of like “acclimatised” to dysfunctionality now 😀.
All I do need to be aware of, is that for permanent residency I need to ensure I don’t leave the country for more than so many months during this first 5 years.
Not a huge issue, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, is crammed packed with things to see and do.
I have received quite a lot of mails and messages from Brits thinking of moving here. Could this be the next “Portugal” for those dissatisfied with their country of birth?
If you have such ideas and have questions, please drop me a line. Whilst I am no immigration expert, I can at least give you the benefit of my experience for what its worth.
Rakija
We spent sometime this week at Tamara’s uncle and aunts place, near a village about 8 km away from us, called Slatina.
Slatina is a spar location famous for its healthy water and has medical facilities that are quite well renowned in the region.
We dropped by to see them Baking Rakija together with their neighbours.
In the following video, we take a look at how rakija is made here in Bosnia. Rakija is a deeply rooted tradition, and there are many different types of rakija depending on where you are in the country.
For them, it was apple, pear and plum, all from their own orchards.
This video is a great way to learn about the culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina.⬇️
In a few weeks, we will be baking our rakija together with our neighbours.
I have this idea to Live Stream as much as I can, given the mobile data connection.
And Finally
Don’t forget that you can read back editions of the newsletter, listen to previous podcasts (we have quite an archive now), or catch other content, all this is available on the web interface, just like a regular blog.
Oh, and please share the newsletter with friends, relatives and colleagues using the button below.
Tamara and I appreciate your faithful readership, your comments, and your generosity!
Until our next post.
THANKS SO MUCH ❤️