The Puzzle

Learning English in Bosnia

December 17th, 2007 by aida

Want to learn English from native speakers and have fun? an advertisement just like this one caught my eye few days ago while running down the corridors of Sarajevo university . There was something familiar with it, and it took me few seconds to place name of the organization in my memory. Bingo! So, the story goes like this (it will be short I promise and it will make sense in the end):

Few years ago while I was still young and naive student, who just arrived to capital, my older sister brought home interesting leaflet. Students from USA were giving free English language lessons to their Bosnian colleagues, all while having fun and making new and interesting friends from abroad. (That’s what the paper said) Nothing indicated that anything else (beside language learning) could take place on these lessons. Even the name of the organization was composed of only two words – one of which was «students» (the other one is irrelevant).

So we went. And it all looked well - there were students from USA, young, nice and funny - until they showed us a movie. Matrix with Keanu Reeves – I remember. Good movie, and I don’t mind watching good movies, but the discussion that came latter… Well, let’s just say I minded that. Because their trying to let us now that The One who will save this world and us (like Keanu did in the movie) is Jesus Christ, was just bad and … well… pure hypocritical missionary work. And they caught us all unprepared and surprised by the sudden change of topic. I was quite unable to say or do anything else but sit and listen to them. (I always thought missionaries only go to Africa, so it was a big shock for me to suddenly discover that I was their victim as well.)

I never went to their «classes» again. My sister did. Not because she wanted to change religion, but because, just as they wanted to sell Christianity to her, she wanted to sell Islam to them. And their «friendship» lasted few months. She went to their «classes», argued with the Bible, even went to coffees with them and got to know them better. They were all young Americans taking a year off to go around the world and spread word of Christ, and they were all really nice and polite. But it doesn’t change the truth – they were hypocritical. Advertising one thing, then giving something completely different, as well as targeting unsuspecting youth who already suffered more than their colleagues in other parts of the world – is hypocritical.

So that’s what I remembered, when after all these years I saw that paper with the same advertisement - hypocrisy and missionary. When does “wanna learn English?» change into «wanna change religion?»?

And while I do appreciate missionaries concern for my salvation, I would appreciate even more if they respected my choice of religion…. as well as my intelligence. (Did they really think Keanu would make me embrace Christianity? Maybe if they tried with Brad Pitt…)

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