Start with asking around

In my journeys, I don't only like to take risks, but also creating them. A lot of my friends will not agree to this, and I respect their opinion and sometimes heed their advices. However, inside me, I have failed to extinguish this burning desire to grab whatever chances that pass by. In several circumstances, if none does, I will drag them to my feet. I believe in encounters and challenges. I believe in the amount of experience that comes with it. I believe in circumstantial learning and practical self-development. Because "we only get what we put in".

My life is a witness to this, although it is also the main fuel contributing to such attitude. At the age of 14, I taught myself to break the chains that have kept me from giving public speeches. A few years later I learnt to stand up for what I believe is right, paying the least attention to popular support. I was once labelled 'strange', when in fact I only did things other people are not yet brave enough to do. At times I was seen as 'unexpected', because I share my opinions with honesty what others still feel reserved to disclose.

It should therefore not be a great surprise for anyone in my company, that I like to ask around whenever there is opportunity- even if we're not exactly lost. It is also not uncommon for me to use every opportunity to create an opening, initiating a conversation between two strangers. So there I was, looking for Katedrala in an unfamiliar Sarajevo, stopping pedestrians and officials alike, asking for directions.

There was so much to learn, even in doing something as basic as asking for directions. An obvious gain would be that we could randomly- although not quite accurately- assess the availability of English as a language of communication. In a city like Sarajevo, which hosted Commonwealth games before I was even born, very well heard of to the world (although little do we know about it), some degree of prevalence of English would be useful. From another angle, quite oppositely, it is also rather easy to grasp and appreciate a community's pride for its own language, which is also a veritable reflection of their culture. Their attitude towards foreigners would also be transparent, and we could see how much or little effort would they put to ensuring our safe arrival- not to mention the different instructions we got! Such a simple thing to do, yet so many things revealed and disclosed, allowing some degree of familiarity in a relatively short span of time.

So if we are not ready to do anything else, let's start with asking around for directions. So little we give, yet so much we get!