Geoff, Liam, and I have loved almost every minute of our time in Sarajevo. There are so many great things about living here. 1: The cost of living is outstanding. (Farm fresh food is cheap and plentiful, two tickets to the 8 p.m. movie cost us the equivalent of $8.16 US, and a month of Liam's tuition at a Montessori school costs just little over what we were paying per week at a daycare back in the States.) 2: Bosnia's proximity to very cool places cannot be beaten. (So far, we've visited Croatia twice and Slovenia once; next month we visit Istanbul, Turkey; and in April, we vacation in Tuscany, Italy.) 3) Geoff hardly ever has to travel for work and his commute is a 15 minute walk. (Enough said...we have breakfast and dinner together almost every single day, when back the in States, that just didn't happen.)
I know this blog is full of praise for Sarajevo and Bosnia i Herzegovina. However, there is a dark side, and I don't want to ignore it. Despite all the wonderful things about this place, Sarajevo is considered a hardship post due to the horrible air quality in the wintertime. Just watch this to see it:
Asthmatics and people with other breathing difficulties are not even allowed to bid on Sarajevo. It is the most polluted city in Europe, and at times the smog is so bad, that the local doctors advise for NO ONE to go outside, not just the young, pregnant, and old...NO ONE is to go outside. That, of course, is impossible. Geoff has to go to work, Liam has to go to school, and if I am to have a life outside this house, I have to leave it.
It can be hard. The smell alone is headache inducing--it is a combination of old, uninspected diesel car fumes; a cheap grade of coal that people who cannot afford natural gas heating use; AND the whoknowswhat GARBAGE that people who can't afford the cheap coal burn in order to stay warm. All of this just hovers in the air like some sort of evil magic. It's just science though. Sarajevo is in a deep, narrow valley, and the cold air traps the yucky stuff in the lowest parts of the area. We escape to the mountains on the weekends, not only for some fun and exercise, but to get some fresh air. And that's just what most people here do. Escape to the mountains. But you can't escape every day. So people here suffer through as best they can.
It's sad, and I know in my heart this problem is a long way from being fixed. I think back to cities in the States with similar problems--Los Angeles and Birmingham, AL in the summers (although I am proud to say that after 30 years of trying, B'ham finally passed the EPA standards for air quality last year!!), and even Salt Lake City in the winters still have air quality issues...and those cities are in states and a country with a stable governments who actively work toward public health. With BiH's crazy government and pitiful economy (something like 40% unemployment), I know nothing can or will happen to eradicate the smog for many, many years. (Here's another video Brice Maryman, my brother-in-law, shared with me a while back--it's under 2 minutes and talks about just how bad the air has been THIS year.)
So until then, to the mountains we go (and the air purifiers, we must use). Pray for our health as we still have a ways to go this winter.
It can be hard. The smell alone is headache inducing--it is a combination of old, uninspected diesel car fumes; a cheap grade of coal that people who cannot afford natural gas heating use; AND the whoknowswhat GARBAGE that people who can't afford the cheap coal burn in order to stay warm. All of this just hovers in the air like some sort of evil magic. It's just science though. Sarajevo is in a deep, narrow valley, and the cold air traps the yucky stuff in the lowest parts of the area. We escape to the mountains on the weekends, not only for some fun and exercise, but to get some fresh air. And that's just what most people here do. Escape to the mountains. But you can't escape every day. So people here suffer through as best they can.
It's sad, and I know in my heart this problem is a long way from being fixed. I think back to cities in the States with similar problems--Los Angeles and Birmingham, AL in the summers (although I am proud to say that after 30 years of trying, B'ham finally passed the EPA standards for air quality last year!!), and even Salt Lake City in the winters still have air quality issues...and those cities are in states and a country with a stable governments who actively work toward public health. With BiH's crazy government and pitiful economy (something like 40% unemployment), I know nothing can or will happen to eradicate the smog for many, many years. (Here's another video Brice Maryman, my brother-in-law, shared with me a while back--it's under 2 minutes and talks about just how bad the air has been THIS year.)
So until then, to the mountains we go (and the air purifiers, we must use). Pray for our health as we still have a ways to go this winter.
Ahhh! Clean, mountain air with spectacular views!
Cold, but happy folks!
See that darker gray?
That was our view of the smog coming
down from the mountain on Saturday.
