Feelings

Još osjećanja: More Feelings

Goal: I can name the finer feelings, excited, surprised, disappointed, lonely, in love, and match them to who's speaking.

Bosnian feelings come in pairs: he is uzbuđen, she is uzbuđena. You already know this dance from gladan/gladna in U2, the ending agrees with the speaker. One new sound, ten new feelings.

Kako mi je: How It Is for Me

Goal: I can use the little 'mi je' states, I'm cold, I'm bored, I'm sorry, I miss you, the way Bosnians actually talk about feelings.

Bosnian often skips 'I am' and says 'it is to me': hladno mi je, it's cold to me. Once your ear catches this little mi, half of everyday Bosnian opens up. The crown jewel is nedostaješ mi, you are missing to me, the sentence that ends every diaspora call.

Suze i osmijeh: Tears and Smiles

Goal: I can say what feelings do, laugh, cry, hug, kiss, yell, go quiet, the verbs of a loud Bosnian house.

A Bosnian welcome is a full-contact sport: zagrljaj, three kisses, someone crying with joy in the doorway. Nobody is sad, that's just how love looks at the airport arrivals gate in Sarajevo.

Reci mi sve: Tell Me Everything

Goal: I can hold a heart-to-heart: ask what's wrong, listen, comfort, and use nana's terms of endearment.

Bosnian endearments are anatomical and precious: my heart, my soul, my gold. Nobody in a Bosnian family is addressed by their actual name unless they're in trouble.

Next unit: At the Doctor's.