Taylor Irby from Atlanta, Georgia, and her husband Joshua are living in Sarajevo for eight years now.
She said that she always had a desire to travel and change addresses, and when she met her husband, they decided to find a country where they could live and create a dream life for their family.
“My husband was in Sarajevo in 1999 and he never thought about living here, but his director offered us the opportunity to work here on the project within the organization “Every student”. We have been here several times and something made us return every year,” said Taylor.
Their children, 11-year-old Izzy, 9-year-old Elyah, 5-year-old Adeline and 3-year-old Zoe are learning Bosnian language and they consider BiH as their homeland.
“They are growing up here and they have a lot of friends. We are trying to visit our family in Atlanta every two years, and our parents are visiting us. My mom is now learning the Bosnian language,” said Taylor.
Taylor is volunteering at the Home for Children without Parents at Bjelave for two months now. She said that she always had special feelings for children without parents, and she always wanted to adopt a child.
“When I entered the room for the first time, I was quite surprised, there were a lot of kids and the first thing that crossed my mind was that these people, these women who are working here, have the most difficult job in the world and I feel such great respect for them. They are doing it every day, and I come only once a week. I can learn so much from them. I came up with the idea to help them, but I am the one who needs to learn a lot,” she said.
“People here are hanging out a lot, they have more time, everything is close, and you can go to the mountains or the sea in a short period of time. I am sad about corruption and I hope that it will get better soon. I am trying to dedicate all of my time to my children, I have a garden full of flowers, I have a dog, and I enjoy a morning walk with him and a cup of coffee with a good book. I am also painting, taking some time apart to spend it with my husband, to go out, have a coffee alone, and to just talk. I have the best neighbors ever. Bosnians thought me the meaning of the word slowly,” concluded this young American.
(Source: faktor.ba)