December 9, 2016
In September 2015, after I finished high school, I saw an announcement on Facebook about a scholarship in Bosnia, which was posted by SAMS.
I applied to this scholarship and after an interview I was accepted -with other ten students-, we were chosen from tens of students, and that was amazing. That day was a turning point in my life and I really started packing my luggage to go to Bosnia, saying goodbye to my family, but unfortunately we faced problems with our visas, so that we had to stay a period in Turkey (about ten months). In that period (until now) we have received a lot of support from SAMS. Going to Bosnia faced too much difficulties that we thought of a plan if it was canceled, so we -with SAMS- decided that it’s better to learn English and Turkish to have a better chance to complete our study in Turkey and after a huge effort we did so.
After 8 months of staying in Turkey we heard the news that The Sarajevo School of Science and Technology (SSST) will give us four exams (English, Biology, Physics and Chemistry) to enter the medical school and all what we have to prepare to these exams is 10 days! However I did everything I could and thanks God I passed them.
After that, and again because of some problems with visas we have been told that our trip was going to be on 20/11/2016, and here I want to mention that we were two months late in the university, we started preparing to travel. The days before traveling passed quickly. I didn’t know if I was glad to start my university studying or sad for leaving my second home and parting my friends who stayed in Turkey (six of us decided to complete their study in Turkey), but what I knew that I was very excited to start my new life in Bosnia.
Our journey was on the twentieth of November, but due to delay of the travel agency we didn’t reach Sarajevo till 21 November. That night we slept in the Istanbul airport (we were at a transit trip) with the fear that something might go wrong while we cannot access either Turkey and Bosnia. However, we reached there after all that and such these days are to stay in memory.
The first day in Bosnia was awesome! Many people from the university (and others) were waiting for us at the airport. That day was like entering a whole new life. Our routine, our responsibilities, and the language we were using (Turkish), are going to change. My family was so glad to hear that I finally entered my university, they had been waiting for this news for about a year. Finally I’m going to be a successful doctor and my father’s dream is going to be true.
At first, we were thinking that we are going to face a lot of difficulties after arriving because of the new language, the new country and the new culture. However, we didn’t face that real difficulties. We received material and moral support from both SAMS and the university, even in our private lives, they were, and still are, very helpful for us.
The first day at the university was one of the greatest days in my life. I was dreaming of this day for several years!
Well, I’m here now, and even though I find it a bit hard to follow, all what I’m supposed to do is to work hard and keep up with lectures, hoping to become a professional doctor to serve the people of my country as possible as I can.
And at the end, I would like to thank everyone who stood by me and helped me to be here, including SAMS and SSST for all what they have done for us.
By Ahmad Alsaeed
