When I received 10 € from  and learned I was invited to be part of a global social experiment called #OneLessStranger, where I needed to pay-it-forward to a total stranger, I knew I wouldn't fail that mission. I bought a box of Belgian chocolates with the money and knowing that at the New Year's Eve party there would be plenty of people I didn't know and would probably never see again, I decided to take my gift there. As my husband and I were greeting unknown people at the party, I was trying to figure out who I would pick for my good deed. Then this person came up to us. With a big smile and a good handshake he introduced himself to us. I didn't understand his name and I thought: let him be a one less stranger for me tonight! He knew the name Airbnb, which facilitated my explanations.  And it turned out, Zlatko had an incredible and unique story: He was born in former Yugoslavia from a Serbian mom and Bosnian dad. So after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the beginning of the Bosnian war in 1992, his parents had no place to go. They fled to Prague in Czechoslovakia with many other refugees where they were not welcomed very well. But luckily at that time, the Clinton administration had an immigration program to help mixed couples refugees from the Bosnian war. Zlatko's parents applied and moved to Florida. Zlatko moved to the US when he was 14 y-old. He is now a mechanical engineer and he just moved 3 months ago to our area to find work. In what part of the world are we? January 1st, 2015 |
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