Snow expected on Friday

A wave of unusually warm weather across BiH is set to come to a finish this week, with the onset of cold winter days expected to take over, according to Bosnian news portal Ekskluziva.

Despite today's top temperature of 17°C in Zenica, local weather forecasts predict that the maximum will drop to 7°C and then 6°C on Friday and Saturday respectively.

Ekskluziva reports that Friday's expected rain will eventually turn into sleet and snow during the afternoon (woo!).

Therefore, it seems like the real Bosnian winter is just about to begin. Need I remind you of the extremes that last season's snow season brought?

Check out this photo of me a day after arriving in Sarajevo in February earlier this year!

Bring it on again, I say!

Petition to stop air pollution in Zenica

The current air-pollution situation in Zenica has led to
parodies by some.
(Source: Facebook.com/HocemoCistuZenicu)

Now here's something interesting I stumbled across on the Internet the other day: a petition doing the rounds at the moment which is aimed at garnering support towards stopping the current air pollution in Zenica - most of which come from the city's industrial plants.

In particular scope of the petitioners is ArcelorMittal, a steel company which is owned and run by the richest man in Europe, Lakshmi Mittal.

Many locals say that ArcelorMittal is the biggest culprit when it comes to pollution, and a Euronews piece from December 2011 supports the notion that the company has been environmentally-irresponsible since taking over Zenica's plants.

You know you're Bosnian when ... (Part Two)

(Source: Eurovision.tv)

Okay, so you enjoyed the first part? Here is the second instalment for you.

Doesn't matter if you are Bosnian or not, I hope you can raise at least a laugh or two!

You know you're Bosnian when:

• Your parents tell you that they had you, AND your sister/brother when they were your age.
• A "couple of days" really means a week or so.
• Your parents have "goblene" (needlepoint) on their walls, and "heklanje" (fine handmade lace) on every piece of their furniture, including the TV.
• Your parents make "zimnica" (canned vegetables) every September.

You know you're Bosnian when ... (Part One)

Here's something amusing I found on the 'net the other evening.

How do you know when you're Bosnian?

I will split them across two posts - so expect the second part in the coming days.

Enjoy!

You know you're Bosnian when:

• Your family owns a manual coffee grinder
• You take your shoes off when you enter the house, and every family member has his/her own slippers (plus some extra for the guests)
• Your neighbour comes over every day uninvited, for coffee
• Your father wears striped pyjamas
• You start your day with a cup of coffee and a cigarette
• You have 17 consonants and 2 vowels in your last name
• Your mother/nena (grandmother) won’t accept the fact that you’re not hungry

25 November: Statehood Day of BiH

Communist Party activist and later People's
Hero of Yugoslavia Rada Vranjesevic
speaking at ZAVNOBiH.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Today, November 25, is celebrated as Statehood Day in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

It is on this day in 1943 that the Anti-Fascist Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ZAVNOBiH) adopted a resolution declaring Bosnia and Herzegovina an equal community of Serbs, Muslims and Croats.

Serbians reject the historical importance of this event, arguing that the date of November 21 is more apt as a national celebration, as this is when the Dayton Peace agreement was signed (in 1995), thus allowing for the establishment of the Republika Srpska entity. Because of this, today's date is not celebrated by Serbians in BiH.

So, it is perhaps for this reason that an amusing gag is currently doing the rounds on the Internet at the moment. (Well, it raised a laugh or two from me.)

Song of the Day: Dino Merlin

Edin Dervishalidovic, stage name Dino Merlin, is a prominent Bosnian singer-songwriter, musician and producer. Merlin has been active in the music industry since 1983, with some of the feats throughout his career including representing Bosnia-Herzegovina at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest (finishing 6th), as well as writing the song used as the first national anthem of BiH titled Jedna si jedina!

Here he is with one of his most popular songs - and my personal favourite - Da Sutis:

English translation:

tell everyone I'm here
let them see, let them hear
what my body feels
like a new power/current
blind for my yearning
only tonight don't be like that
I know you can do much better
of course I know that

Another McDonalds opens in BiH

Locals flock to the opening of a new McDonalds store in
Tuzla.
(Source: Klix.ba)

The ribbon was cut on a new McDonalds store in Tuzla on Friday, making it the fourth city in Bosnia-Herzegovina where the fast food giant has opened its business since last year.

Dozens of Tuzla locals - particularly youths - turned up for the opening of the store, which adds to the McDonalds outlets already operating in Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka.

Tuzla's McDonalds is just the fifth of its kind to be unveiled in BiH, after the first was opened in August 2011 in Sarajevo - which now has a second store that has since been built.

The construction of this latest franchise to hit the country is said to have taken more than 18 months to build and cost more than 2 million Bosnian convertible marks ($1.27 million AUD).