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Although Sarajevo is small, it has its fair share of good bars, cafés and places to meet. The people are very friendly and open, and have a wicked sarcastic streak. The language was, for me, quite difficult, but you can reach a basic stage, where you can communicate with shop keepers, taxi drivers and bar staff quite quickly (what else do you need!). And if you go to the market, just point at things and say ‘kilo!’ they’ll understand. One thing that surprised me about Sarajevo and Bosnia was how beautiful it all is. Sarajevo is in a valley, surrounded by steep hills. Unlike any city I’ve ever been to, you can walk for half an hour and you’re in the mountains overlooking the city. As you look down, sometimes you can hear the mosques giving the call to prayer, one after the other. It’s wonderful. There’s no need to rush in Bosnia, which really appealed to me, and anyone who goes there should take the time to go to places like Blagaj and Mostar, which are quite stunning. My students were very welcoming and kind to me, which I found quite disarming, considering that my country’s role in the Bosnian war was, in my view, indefensible. If anyone should be wary of foreigners, it’s Bosnian people, but they proved to be some of the most hospitable people I’ve ever met. They were also very forgiving of my (many!) mistakes in what was only my second full-time year of teaching, and I have many happy memories of my time there. I always found the staff to be very helpful and everyone who works there really does care about the students, as it’s an intimate school. During my time there I read some great books, met some wonderful people, worked at a great school and had an unforgettable time. I still miss Sarajevo, (and ustipci,, krompirusa, vranac and pelinkovac – local delicacies!) and would heartily recommend Soros as a good school for a fledgeling teacher.

Although Sarajevo is quite small as far as cities go, it does have quite a lot of atmosphere and character. The city has numerous cafes and bars and during the summer there is nothing better to do than relax in one with a nice cold beer (or coffee) and watch the city go about its daily business. Thankfully winter in Sarajevo isn’t as grey as in other “Eastern” European cities, partly due to the beautiful scenery that surrounds the city. The city also has three festivals that shouldn’t be missed: the film festival in August, a theatre festival in autumn and a jazz festival around the same time. Those interested in outdoor pursuits won’t be disappointed as Bosnia has a lot to offer whether it be hiking or rafting in the summer or snowboarding in the winter. The city is also ideally located for exploring the Balkans. The Croatian coast is only a few hours away as are the mountains of Montenegro. Although Bosnians appear to be quite cold at first, they are in fact very open, friendly, and hospitable, it just takes a little time to be accepted. During my two years there I made some very good friends, who I still keep in touch with. The school itself is a very good place to work in. For newly qualified or inexperienced teachers it is a great place to find your feet and develop professionally as the timetable isn’t too daunting and 99% of the classes are actually in the school. There are plenty of additional resources to supplement lessons with and the DoS is always willing to help, as are the other teachers. The weekly teaching seminars are very useful and professionally run. The staff that work at reception will go out of their way to help, whether it is a bus time to the coast or translating a report to an Elementary student. The students themselves are for the most part very diligent and have a desire to learn. They also bring their unique local sense of humour to the lessons which make them a joy to teach. Thankfully if a problem arises with a student you won’t be left to deal with it on your own. The director or the DoS is always there to mediate.

Sarajevo is a city full of character. I've lived in both Budapest and Ljubljana, and Sarajevo is by far my favorite...these cities might have more restaurants or museums, but Sarajevo has soul, as more than one student put it. People do what they can to enjoy life, and this is a big part of what allows Sarajevo to maintain its own unique atmosphere.

Students at Soros come from a variety of walks of life and tend to enjoy their time in the classroom and work well together. Successful pair work between doctors and university students or administrative assistants and engineers is the norm. I think people have an appreciation for both learning and the lighter side of things. It is usually fairly easy to "recharge" a tired class with an activity that involves a friendly competition!

Soros School has a teachers' room well-stocked with relevant materials - enough to fill your lessons but not so much that it overwhelms you. Teachers meetings are a place to share or try both new and well-used ideas. The administrative staff is wonderful and will help teachers with pretty much any situation.

I didn't know much about Sarajevo when I moved there from Budapest. One has to go there to understand it. Travel guides and internet pages won't make up for the actual experience of walking through two historical periods (the Austro-Hungarian and the Ottoman) by simply taking a stroll on the main street, it won't make up for the amazing sound of church bells and muezins' call to prayer, it won't make up for the tasty variety of pies (Zeleanica- the spinach pie is my favourite), the lovely cakes prepared for Bajram, the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Jazz Fest, the interesting Balkan gypsy and sevdah music and the buzz of the crowded cafes and bars at the weekend.

And no, it isn't a dangerous zone at all and no, you don't have to travel by armoured vehicle to work as some might have thought. It's 2005 after all! I love and miss Sarajevo for all the above reasons but particularly for its people, my friends who reminded me to always look on the bright side of life, even if it is an extremely difficult life.

Soros Language School employed me shortly after finishing CELTA giving me a great opportunity to start and develop my TEFL career. The in-service training, the well-researched bank of constantly updated school resources and the invaluable support from my manager, my colleagues and the non-teaching staff, helped me develop excellent teaching and administrative skills.

I really enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and the team work in the school. There was always a helping hand there for me.

I loved working with Bosnian students who are really friendly, motivated and willing to share their culture and customs and to include you in their social lives. I couldn't have asked for a better start!

I have just moved to London, hoping to further my career in education and TEFL where I can make use of my transferable skills.

Enjoy the Sarajevo Soros ride!

When it was time to leave the place, I was actually surprised at how long I’d stayed. My family and I moved to a different country as we thought it was time to settle down. I am still in the teaching field, not English though. In Belfast, not surprisingly, they seem to have enough English teachers, so I opt for Russian instead.

Before I came to Sarajevo in 2001, I knew very little about the place. As most of us did at the time (some people still do), I thought Sarajevo was a synonym to war, a very ignorant misconception on my part. True, there are still some destroyed or badly damaged buildings in the city. Yet it doesn't prevent you from seeing the true beauty of the place and liking the people.

Being from a Slavic country myself I found the culture and people in Bosnia and Herzegovina very similar to my own, apart from the language of course (even though almost everyone was trying to convince me otherwise, and at first they did succeed). Those “little“ language mistakes I made in the first few months were a constant source of good-natured jokes for my friends and colleagues and embarrassment on my part. If I were to give one piece of advice, I'd probably say “learn the local language as soon as you get there and you'll quickly learn to enjoy your life in Bosnia and Herzegovina“.

Most westerners find people in BiH rude, yet they aren't. What they actually are, is direct, as they don't usually do a “diplomacy dance“. They say what they mean, so you don't really have to think whether something was said to be polite or not to hurt your feelings or the other way around. The better you get to know somebody, the more direct they are to you. That equally applies to the skilful ways of twisting the most obscene curse words to include in a sentence to make it more expressive, especially while telling you a story. You can't even get offended; all you can do is admire the linguistic abilities of the speaker, the wealth of the language and laugh.
The hospitality and friendliness of people is immense, starting from organising an impromptu tour of the place and finishing with inviting you to meet their family for dinner ... not just once, or bringing you delicious home-made food at Bajram or Christmas or for no reason at all.

There are many reasons why I wouldn't think twice about working for the school again if the opportunity presented itself. I found the school staff wonderful in all respects. The receptionists would really go out of their way to help you no matter how big or small your request was. The ladies working in the snack bar would adopt you straight away, giving you different herbal teas to get rid of your cold, to settle your stomach or making the best Bosnian/Turkish coffee in town to boost you before an evening class or early in the morning. The fellow teachers don't just recommend supplementary materials, they're actually ready to share the ones they've already prepared or used themselves! Good humour and positive attitude dominate the teachers' room most of the time. Of course, there's some teachers' talk going on in the “privacy“ of the teachers' room, sharing opinions on certain students, agreeing and disagreeing Yet not once did a colleague of mine try to influence my decision about anyone. Another good reason to work for the school is the Director, who would always give support to her teachers in conflict situations arising with students. These sorts of conflicts are inevitable, particularly at the end of the term.

As a rule the students in the school are very well motivated, they know what they want and why they want it (there are exceptions to every rule though). It is an exceptional pleasure to teach either complete beginners (where you can see the results within a couple of weeks), or advance levels (where you witness students gaining more and more confidence while expressing themselves in English). No matter what level you teach, you'll most certainly see eager faces in your classroom and feel appreciated.

In short, it is a great place to be.

The school itself is a pleasure to work in, from the director to the real boss, Mirsada, make you feel welcome from the outset. Any questions or problems you have will be solved; insha’allah. The students are friendly but it may take a while to earn their trust. But once you do, you will make friends for life. I still receive e- mails and text messages from several ex students. The school has a great supply of teaching materials if you need them and in my experience the teaching staff will offer you advice freely.

As for Sarajevo ...I loved it, a beautiful location, weather in the summer is great and in the winter: picture postcard. The food is an acquired taste but you won’t starve and you can afford to eat well. Nightlife is based around bars and coffee shops, some traditional and some not out of place in central London, however you will not believe that smoking is banned in public places, as I was once told. If you like cinema, take advantage here as it’s cheap to see first run movies, although it may be a few months since their release at home. Take the opportunity to explore the country, it is beautiful beyond belief.

So if you get the chance to work in Sarajevo, grasp it, leave your prejudices behind and enjoy all it has to offer.

I worked at Soros for just over a year and found the school to be an excellent place to consolidate a fledgling TEFL career. The teaching resources were excellent as was the support from colleagues and management.

Sarajevo is a small city, a mixture of both old and new, and surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful countryside. Despite its size there is actually a lot to see and do there if you are prepared to explore and be patient. If you don’t want the buzz of a big metropolitan city but the calming charm of a small one then Sarajevo should fit the bill.

If you are a teacher with serious intentions – you want to work hard and develop – then I can recommend Soros as a school worth considering.

At the end of 1998 I took up a six-month teaching position at Soros – I stayed for nearly three years. Soroš students are warm and have a great sense of humour that is so characteristic of the Balkans. Once I got my footing on the icy winter streets I easily settled in to the generosity of Sarajevo city life. Being always within walking distance to the centre and the school offers you the opportunity to take in the atmosphere and charm of a dynamic, cosmopolitan city before and after class. Promenading up the main pedestrian street through the old town sampling coffee, baklava, and ice cream or refreshing yourself with Sarajevo’s famous cool, spring water – then turning around and doing it all again, is a great Sarajevan custom. Outdoor cafes are hoot in the warmer months. A more rustic aspect is only a short walk and a steep hill away. And the fabulous Adriatic coast a few hours – try the train! If you like snow boarding or skiing it’s only an hour away, it’s great and it’s cheap. Enjoy…and Molim!