OR HOW A SINGLE CALL FROM THE INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA CHANGED MY LIFE...
I remember it as if it happened yesterday or recently. As a teaching assistant, I taught Slovenian for thirteen years in bilingual primary schools in Porabje, Hungary, and it was a normal April school day at the primary school in Števanovci. My phone rang and the name Eva appeared. Eva, in the abbreviated form of her title at the Institute for Education of the Republic of Slovenia, is an advisor and coordinator for teachers teaching Slovenian abroad. We had known each other since before, when I was part of a team of teachers who taught at the Institute's Slovenian language summer schools in Tolmin, Bohinj and Planica for eight years in a row. I had already mentioned to her here and there that I was interested in teaching Slovenian to Slovenian emigrants and that she could count on me if an opportunity arose. After a short, friendly introduction, she moved on to the question: “Metoda, are you interested in Slovenian language classes in Banja Luka?” With the speed of light and a high-frequency charge in my voice, I fired off like a cannon: “YES!” Everything else then unfolded like in a tense movie, but my goal was clearly outlined, and the desire for change was strong enough that I suddenly found myself in a completely new environment, among new people, facing new challenges in a new apartment in the center of Banja Luka.
In the first days of September 2024, together with the president of the Association of Slovenians “Triglav” and some members, I began to form groups for language lessons, plan activities for the school year of 2024/25 and officially became the new teacher of Slovenian language and culture classes in the Slovenian associations "Triglav" Banja Luka and Slatina and "Lipa" Prijedor. Despite the initially modest number of participants in the classes - in the previous school year, classes in both associations were attended by about 45 students - we implemented numerous activities that we had planned, such as: traditional Slovenian breakfast, St. Nicholas Day, Slovenian cultural holiday, World Bee Day, a visit by the writer Ambrož Kvartič, a meeting of Slovenian language students from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tuzla, Slovenian Day in Slatina, and even during Slovenian language classes, the celebration of numerous important Slovenian holidays and traditional events. I must also highlight the excellent cooperation, both in the last and this school year, with Barbara Hanuš, a lecturer of Slovenian language at the Faculty of Philology in Banja Luka, with whom we plan joint projects in which both her and my students participate.
A big thing for both the Triglav Association and our hosts, Števanovci Primary School, was the three-day trip of students and members of the Triglav Association to Porabje in Hungary. For most of the excursionists, it was certainly an unusual experience, a culture shock, maybe even a feeling of relief or simply the realization that Slovenians in some places around the world live even more modestly than usual. The school year ended with the awarding of certificates and good wishes for the summer vacation, and a promise that we will meet again at Slovenian language classes in the fall.
So my second year as the teacher began in September. The enrollment of class participants is significantly higher this school year - a total of 72 students at three locations, Banja Luka, Slatina and Prijedor - and two more students in Turkey remotely, which is again a completely new experience for me. Almost half of the school year of 2025/26 is behind us, and one of the unforgettable experiences was the participation in the Rainbow festival in Subotica, where our students presented themselves with a short play Mirror, which I dramatized based on the fairy tale of the same name by Grigor Vitez, and received great applause. We also implemented all other planned activities. The Christmas and New Year's holidays are approaching, intended for separation from the daily routine, which is often stressful and inhospitable, so let the days, at the transition from the old to the new, be calm, pleasant, relaxed and surrounded by the people who mean the most to us. We are also temporarily suspending classes and will meet again in mid-January, after the winter break, when we will resume all activities planned for the rest of the calendar year.
After a year and a half of living in the Slovenian community in the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I can honestly admit that that fateful phone call in April 2024 enriched my life with new people, some of whom have already become good friends, new dear students, new places and new experiences and a way of working that is not an ordinary teaching job, but a mission, so I am grateful for all the challenges that I have already successfully overcome and all those that still await me together with you. From the bottom of my heart I wish myself, and especially you, who feel a sense of belonging to Slovenian identity and Slovenian culture: a happy and successful future in the new year 2026!
Metoda Perger
