By Rabiya Chaudhry
On the 21st of
June 2018, I along with 20 others said our final goodbyes to the beautiful country
of Kosovo. Throughout our stay, I visited
three beautiful cities, Pristina, Mitrovica, and Prizren. Each of these cities
was beautiful in their own way and rich
in culture and history. It amazed me how multiethnic the Kosovar society is,
with Serbs in the north and
Albanians in the south and a mix of both in the capital of Kosovo.
Even though our trip only
consisted of 9 days it taught me a lot of beautiful lessons which I will
cherish throughout my life. During my stay in Kosovo,
I learned to appreciate the hospitality and generosity
of people in Kosovo, which I sometimes miss in the Netherlands. Furthermore, I learned to appreciate how this country’s people treat youth who visit them; they welcomed me with open arms and took me in
as part of their families. This is something I learned
during my stay at my host family, where Kaltrina (host mother) cooked us
breakfast every day before going to work, asking me about my day, the places I
visited and what I learned and invited
us to be a part of her family. During my stay in her home, I learned Albanian words with
her daughter and had long deep conversations about the present situation in
Kosovo with her husband. Everything was truly magical. Before going to Kosovo I
was scared regarding security, and the mentality of people but afterwards I realized that we all are the same,
and there are no barriers amongst us. We listen to the same music; have similar
interests and share the same outlook towards life.
From the moment I sat on the bus that would drive us to the airport
till my arrival at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam I felt emotional. I was sad
because I knew that I wouldn’t have my regular chocolate cappuccino in the
morning, or have breakfast with my friends who lived with us. Furthermore, I
missed the time we spent together as a group, going to meetings together,
having lunch every day and especially our group dinners where I got to hear
amazing stories from Anne and Erik. Furthermore, I would miss the people I became
close to, and asking Bardha (our
organizer in Kosovo) about little phrases in the Albanian language such as tung-tung,
locka, shume
mir and so on.
This trip has been truly
heartwarming, and it is a sentiment that is shared by all of us. Kosovo has
touched all of our hearts and has contributed to everyone individually. For some, it has been a source of motivation, for
others a form of realization of what we have by being born in certain countries
and holding a certain nationality. It has made me realize of the blessings I
have in life and how much I take things for granted in my life just because
I have the means to. Lastly, I realized the power of being a youth, and how I
can contribute to my own society in Pakistan.
Lastly, I would like to
encourage everyone to never judge a book by its cover; this country is more
than what is portrayed in the media. It is beautiful, loving, and on the road to
change. I am praying for Kosovo and
hoping to meet very soon again the amazing people that I had a chance to become close to on
this trip.
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