Bosnia is a valuable experience for Bourbonnais (11-03-05)
A desire for an extraordinary life led Adams State College alumna, Sherry Bourbonnais '05 to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"I have never been the traditional type of person, who just wishes for a decent life and a couple of kids, living in the suburbs," she said. "I want an extraordinary life, full of new experiences and adventure, including living in other countries. But until I was offered the UNHCR internship, I didn't know I could achieve such a life."
Bourbonnais held an internship in Bosnia and Herzegovina last spring. She interned under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for three months. The UNHCR is an organization that aids refugees. It was established in 1950 to protect and promote refugees' rights.
While in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bourbonnais's duties included surveying the youth organizations in the area to determine their strengths and weaknesses, identifying youth returnee projects that could provide economic development opportunities and making recommendations on intervention methods with the local youth groups.
After Bourbonnais arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina, she lived with the friends of her family who helped her to get the internship. A few weeks later she rented a room for herself.
"I moved to an apartment near the office, renting a room from a very nice old lady," she said. "She didn't speak any English and I didn't speak any Bosnian, so it was funny sometimes how we would communicate. There were lots of gestures and laughing."
Bourbonnais said she took the internship in Bosnia and Herzegovina because she would like to get into the international job market and enjoy new experiences.
"I saw the internship as an opportunity to learn more about where I could go and what I could do in the future," Bourbonnais said. "This experience is something unique and unusual. I risked it all and it has been fun to see people's reactions when they learn about it."
Overall, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomed Bourbonnais.
"For the most part people were very warm and quite friendly," she said. "Even the poorest people we visited would offer us some coffee, tea, or some type of refreshment, usually with some horded cookies they would keep just for company."
Bourbonnais said she enjoyed the admiration she received from the youth who ran the local organizations.
"I got along with them really well," she said. "They thought I was cool, and since I have never been cool in my life, it was a fun, new experience for me. It is always easy to like people when they like you."
This opportunity helped Bourbonnais to acknowledge her dreams and to grow as an individual. Bourbonnais said she always wanted to work in the international community, helping people.
"I realized my emotional well-being is greatly influenced by access to my family and access to basic comforts (like running water and phone connections) and although I would like to do international work, I couldn't spend my whole life in a hardship country," she said.
In addition to providing self-insight, the internship gave Bourbonnais a chance to expand her own ideologies. During her internship, Bourbonnais visited the memorial site of the Srebrenican massacre, which is considered the worst genocide since the Holocaust.
"It is important to be tolerant of others: other religions, other nationalities and other lifestyles," she said. "If we are not tolerant of such things, horrible actions can result."
Bourbonnais said she considers the internship valuable. She made new friends, gained experience in the international field and now has a letter of recommendation from the United Nations to supplement her resume.
"I love having new and different experiences in my life," Bourbonnais said. "No matter what happens to me, I will always have this experience and it belongs to me."
By Linda Relyea
