Twenty-nine years old Mr. Daniel Shachory, born and raised in Los Angeles, have always had an interest in culture and learning about people and their way of life.
“I have been traveling by hitchhike once a month for the last 7 years. Last year, I decided to change life and start a youtube travel about hitchhiking and documenting my experiences hitchhiking, things I learned about the culture, and the places that I visited,” Mr.Daniel explains at the beginning of the interview.
While traveling in Europe two years ago, specifically in Germany, he met a lot of people from Bosnia and Herzegovina that picked him up while hitchhiking. Each time he met someone from Bosnia and Herzegovina, they were always very friendly, funny, and had a good personality.
“I specifically remember they told me they had a beautiful country and were always making jokes in the car and I remember spending much of the time I spent in the car with them laughing They left a very positive impression on me. Therefore, I got a strong desire to go visit Bosnia one day even though I had never been there. Hitchhiking is a way of traveling by going in the car with people that stop for me instead of busses or trains. It is the best way to meet locals, learn about a culture, and be immersed into the daily life.”
In the last month he spent traveling, he has learned that people in Bosnia have good hearts, care for one another.
“I also learned that their way of life is different than Americans in some ways. For example, Bosnian people can feel uncomfortable when a guest comes to their house and asks for different things. Instead, they prefer that the guest feels at home. I also learned that coffee is an important part of the culture as Bosnians love sitting outside for hours drinking coffee and talking with their friends. They make a lot of jokes and I always see them laughing and smiling. Also, there is a fear in the society about proper which to me is very funny as we don’t have this in America. Besides propuh, there are many crazy superstitions in Bosnia such as if the left hand is itching you will have money and if the right hand is itching you won’t have money.”
“The food in Bosnia is delicious. I loved the ayvar, burek, cevapi, among other things. The best cevapi I had in Bosnia was in Sarajevo and after that Travnik. Bosnians also love drinking rakija especially in the winter,” Mr.Daniel explained.
The country is also very beautiful as there are many lakes, rivers, mountains, and waterfalls and he had no idea Bosnia was so beautiful before he arrived but now he saw that it is an incredibly beautiful country. Many of the Bosnians he has met hitchhiking have done a lot to help him out. They have taken him to their houses for food and coffee, driven him to hitchhiking spots past where they were going in order for it to be easier for him to continue, and given me recommendations about other things or places he should see.
“I’ve had such a great experience in Bosnia which is why I’ve stayed for so long. I absolutely plan to come back and want to thank the Bosnian people for their hospitality, generosity, and kindness.”
“Due to the past, the image of Bosnia in American people is from wartime but I know that my videos will change the mindset of how Americans view Bosnia as they will see it in a positive light and see how many great things there are here. am working hard to promote my Youtube channel.”
