Most of my friends are single and most

of them are having such a hard time

finding like a good man.

>> Meet Isabelle. She's from Canada and has

been living in Serbia for almost 5

years. Here she runs her copyrightiting

business and creates content about her

life in the country. She shared why

dating in Serbia is hard for women, how

Serbian families raise boys and girls

[music] with very different

expectations, and why she felt safe in

Serbia from the very first day. Enjoy.

So, you came to Serbia. Mhm.

>> What was your first impressions?

>> My first impression was I got in a cab

to go to my Airbnb and the cab driver

didn't know where I was going. Like,

just kind of got in the cab and just

started driving around. The language was

absolutely insane. I didn't understand

him. He didn't understand me. And I just

remember that we were like driving down

a one-way street in Doril and he

realized that he had gone the wrong way.

So instead of like taking a little

roundabout way, he literally just put

the car in reverse and like started

backing up like two blocks down a

one-way street. And I was like, "This is

a little crazy." And then beyond that,

my first impression was just like so

safe. So safe and so lively. Like the

first night that I went out here, I just

remember feeling very inspired and like

open. And there was just a very like

captivating energy in the city. I don't

know how else to describe it, but I just

felt very safe walking around.

>> It was uh first night you felt it.

>> Yeah. I think a big part of it, so I was

actually in Canada like a couple months

ago, and one of the big differences

between Canada and Serbia is that in

Canada there's like nobody out. You can

be out for a walk at 7:00 p.m. and the

streets are just like empty. So there's

very much so this feeling of like you're

just kind of moving through the world

alone and whatever happens in the

environment around you, you're just kind

of like a victim to. But in Serbia, it

doesn't matter like what time you're

walking around. In my neighborhood, I'll

go out at 10:00 p.m. and there's like

kids out in the street playing

basketball. Like there's just so many

people out and about all the time. So I

think there's this general feeling of

people being around and people looking

out for you. It's very lively. you know,

if somebody came up to attack you, you

can see 10, 15 people around you right

now. It's not like you're going to be

alone, trapped on the street or

something. And the other thing is just

like there's not like homeless drug

addicts just everywhere on the street.

Like I was living in Vancouver before

this and it's absolutely like such a

stunning city, but they just have such

an issue with like drug addiction and

homelessness. You never know the kind of

person that you're going to come across

and what mental state that they're going

to be in. And you just don't really have

that here. There's not people that are

wandering the street mentally ill.

People just feel like safer and more

normal, which I I could sense like

literally as soon as I got here.

>> You are living in Novi Belgrade. Do you

like this architecture?

>> It's not my favorite. I would say the

thing that makes New Belgrade nice is

definitely the parks and the open

spaces.

>> Um the buildings aren't necessarily the

most beautiful part of this part of the

city. Yeah.

>> What is your favorite part of the city?

>> Honestly, this area. I love it. Like I

love being so close to the river.

>> Um, it's just very like cute. Lots of

families around, not too much traffic,

not people like honking at each other. I

like going into the center of the city

and doing what I'm doing. Go to a cafe,

meet up with friends, whatever. And then

I love crossing the bridge at the end of

the day to leave the city and come back

to New Belgrade because I'm also so

close to Adameita and Adisagalia. So

it's really easy for me to like take my

scooter, take a little boat across the

river and go to the lakes and stuff like

that.

>> So you are dating Serban guy?

>> I am. Yeah.

>> How it's for you as a Canadian woman to

date a Serban guy? Obviously, me and my

boyfriend have some differences because

like he's Serbian, I'm Canadian, but

it's so strange finding somebody that

lives on the other side of the world,

but is basically like the same person.

Like I feel like he's the male version

of me. We have so many similarities and

like in how we think, in our values, in

how we see the world.

>> Do you have some differences?

>> I would say the biggest differences is

like related to like food is like a big

one. Um I don't know like for example

like panita to me French toast is

supposed to be sweet. I'm going to have

French toast with maple syrup. He's

going to have panita with like cold cuts

and feta cheese and stuff like that. So

I feel like constantly when we're eating

or like for him like a really delicious

breakfast is like tomatoes from his

garden and like peppers and cold cuts

and like cheese and stuff like that.

It's just so weird. I'm like I'm getting

used to having like a more saltier

breakfast now. But for me, breakfast was

always more of like a sweet thing. So, I

feel like there's those little

differences there. And beyond that,

honestly, I think when we first started

dating, the biggest issue that we had

was like going back to the family thing.

It was so difficult for me to

try and integrate myself into a family

that I felt was already so close-knit.

Cuz I'm not from a family that's very

close. Like when I moved to Serbia, my

dad like it took him a year and a half

to download Telegram so that we could

like stay in touch with each other. He

is very much so like you're off doing

your thing, I'm off doing my thing. But

with his family, like they call each

other every single day. He's constantly

going home for family lunches. Him and

his sister like own property together.

Like it's very very in mesh. When me and

him first started dating, I think to a

certain degree I felt threatened and I

felt like there wasn't enough space for

me as the partner to come into his life

because it was already so full with his

family. So I think that navigating those

familial relationships and also like

he's had to create stronger boundaries

with his family as well because he's not

the little brother or like the son that

can just be called upon 24/7. he's not

going to be at home. Like he was living

at home before we started dating and

moved in together. A lot of different

expectations and boundaries kind of had

to be put in place as we started to

navigate our relationship and as we

started to me and him are now like we

have our family. So he has his family

and his relationships, but now we have

our relationship as well. So just

learning how to create space for

everything.

>> How did you meet if it's not a secret?

Have you ever been to the cafeteria on

Kayapetra?

>> Yeah.

>> It's the cafeteria that has like four or

five floors. Yeah. Like super tall. And

so at the second last floor, there's

that really big table. He was sitting at

that table and I was sitting at that

table because we both work remote and he

had to go to the bathroom. And so he's

like, "Oh, can you watch my things while

I go to the bathroom?" And I was like,

"Yeah, of course." So, we went to the

bathroom, came back, and I thought that

he was trying to like chat me up. So, I

thought that he would come up to me

afterwards and like have a conversation

with me, but he literally just like sat

down, sat down. He's like,

and just kept [laughter] on working. But

I thought he was cute. So, when I was

done working, I went up to him and I'm

like, "So, like, have you been here

before? Do you come here to work very

often?" And then we just started

chatting and things just kind of went

from there. Yes.

Hi, baby. So, this is Blackie cuz she's

black obviously. And then the orange and

white one is mascara cuz she kind of has

like it looks like black around her

eyes. In the evening, there's another

lady named Snea that feeds the cats

every night at 7:30. And in the evening,

there will be like 10 cats here.

>> 10 cats?

>> Yeah. cuz they all know. They know what

time to come here to get food. They're

so funny. They act like they're

starving, but they get a literal feast

every day. Two times a day.

>> Okay.

>> What do you think about dating scene in

Serbia overall?

>> This is something that might get some

negative comments on this video, but I

think in general right now it's hard for

women to date. Serbian sons and their

mothers have a very like strange

relationship. Um, I've heard before the

saying that in Serbia, the daughters are

raised and the sons are loved. And you

can really feel that. So, there's really

high expectations on the women of how

they're going to show up and being

strong, being independent, working,

cleaning the house, making sure that

there's a five course meal, making sure

that the kids are taken care of. And the

sons, it's like, you're such a good boy.

Like, you can do no wrong. So many

Serbian women that are dating say that.

They say that it's really difficult to

find a man who's like in his masculine

because the moms just really baby their

sons. So the women know how to do a lot.

They know how to run the household and

work hard and blah blah blah blah blah.

But the sons were more like, "Oh, you

don't have to cook. Oh, when they're

done eating, it's like don't stand up

from the table. Like I'll get the dishes

for you. Do you want me to bring you

dessert? Oh, you can go and relax. We're

going to clean up and stuff like that."

>> Why do you think so? Do you have

explanation for this? If I had to guess,

I would maybe say that it's because uh

Serbia has such a history of war. So, I

think that there's been so much loss.

So, there's this deeper appreciation and

like this kind of like holding on to

where it's like if you have your son

like take care of him while you can cuz

you don't know what's going to happen.

Whereas, I think that there was a lot of

pressure put on the women to be able to

take care of the house and to be able to

do all the things. I have a lot of like

empathy and compassion for Serbians and

how they relate to each other and how

they move through the world because I do

think that there's a lot of trauma. You

know, if you think about it, the

Serbians that are like in my generation,

like every Serbian that is living here

right now has either a parent or a

grandparent that was in some sort of

war. So, it's like it doesn't matter.

It's that kind of stuff doesn't

disappear in a generation or two. Of

course, you're still going to feel the

repercussions of that in how people move

through the world. My boyfriend, for

example, he was born in Croatia. His

family is Serbian, but he was born in

Croatia, and in the '9s, they were

refugees. They had to leave Croatia.

They left their home. They left all of

their belongings, and they had to flee

to Serbia in like a day. So, like, of

course, his parents are going to be

traumatized. Of course, my boyfriend is

going to have some level of trauma from

that experience as well. Most of my

friends are single and most of them are

having such a hard time finding like a

good man. And I don't think that that's

only in Serbia. I think that that's like

a worldwide issue right now.

>> Really?

>> Yeah. Absolutely. So, I think that women

have worked really hard to have good

careers, to be in good shape, to go to

therapy, to have healthy communication,

to have strong relationships with their

family and friends. And I think that men

just haven't put in the same level of

work and they aren't showing up in their

masculine. Like I think that a lot of

men are showing up very in their

feminine but then also expecting women

to show up in their feminine. And it's

like that's not possible. You can't have

a girl that's working a 9 to5, coming

home, cooking you dinner every day,

that's cleaning the house, that's taking

care of the kids, that's doing all of

these things and then expect her to be

like, "Hi honey, how are you? How was

your day?" It's like she's working. This

girl is she's working. She's hustling.

She's not in her feminine. She's in her

masculine. And I think that a lot of

women because they're able to exist on

their own so well and take care of their

own things that it's like unless there's

a man that's really adding to their

life, they're just going to be single

and hang out with their girlfriends and

like work their good job. And like

unless a man is really bringing a lot to

the table, I think women would rather

stay single. I'm really lucky. Like I

met my partner maybe 6 months after I

moved here and he's like such a good

man. Like very like just takes care of

things. Very in his masculine. Allows me

to feel very taken care of and in my

feminine. Um and a lot of my girlfriends

are just like I'm jealous. It's hard to

find a guy like that. So I can't really

say firsthand if that's what's going on

because I've been with my partner for 4

years now and that's not the

relationship that I have with him at

all. But speaking from the experience of

my girlfriends that are talking about

their dating experiences,

that's what I think. That's what I hear.

>> Do you have some difficulties

communication wise? You are speaking in

English with each other. Yeah,

>> always English. His English is like

perfect. Like he speaks literally

perfect English. I wouldn't even

consider him to have like a very thick

Serbian accent. And our communication I

would say is like that was the thing

that immediately like solidified us is

we just like we think the same way, we

speak the same way, we have a very deep

understanding of each other and give

each other like a lot of grace and

compassion. If there's ever been one

thing that is very easy for us, it's

like communicating and making sure that

we understand each other, which I'm

grateful for. I don't know if I could

date somebody that doesn't speak good

English. If it was constantly like lost

in translation, I think I would find

that so difficult.

>> Okay, let's speak about Serban language.

Do you learn?

>> I'm trying to learn Serbianski.

I've been here so long and my Serbian is

still so bad that I feel very

embarrassed to speak Serbian.

>> Yeah. Um, and I think, yeah, it's always

intimidating like making mistakes, doing

something, but I need to get more okay

with like doing something imperfectly

>> and just being like whatever, at least

I'm trying. But it's interesting like

when I spend time with my boyfriend's

family,

>> usually by the end of hanging out with

them, my Serbian is a lot better because

I'm speaking with them the whole time in

Serbian, but it takes me a little while

to like switch my brain into like

speaking Serbian. Yeah.

>> At first it's really tough and then by

the end it's a lot better.

>> So how it was the first meeting with his

family. Was it difficult for you?

>> No. It was so sweet. It's a little bit

tough. Like his parents don't speak

English very well. His sister does. They

can speak a little English but his mom

is like very shy to speak English. You

can tell she gets very nervous. So, the

first time we met, I was so excited to

meet them that I literally as soon as I

met his mom, I just gave her like the

biggest hug and I'm like, "Oh, it's so

nice to meet you." They're so sweet. His

mom is like so nice to me. I wish that I

spoke better Serbian because his mom is

such a yapper and I'm such a yapper. I

know that if my Serbian was better, me

and her would just be talking [ __ ] with

each other 24/7. Like, we would just be

dishing non-stop. I think a lot of

people have a hard time dealing with

their in-laws, particularly their

mother. I think that there's kind of

this stereotype of like mother-in-laws

being kind of like Godzilla's, like

really poking their fingers into a

relationship and you know, but I'm

really blessed. Like his mom is very

supportive. I've never felt like there's

that weird caddyy energy or his mom is

competing for his attention or something

like that. She's so sweet. She's so

welcoming. Do you feel that Serbs from

the family side impose on you some kind

of demands

>> in general? I think that his family is

not very demanding like they're not

traditional Serbians. There was never

pressure for us to like move in with his

parents or something like that. And

there's not pressure for us to act in a

certain way. And I feel as though all of

our friends have more of like a western

mindset as well. Like if his friends

come over, it's not like you have to

make like a five course meal and have

everything spotless. It's like they come

over and we order burgers together and

play board games and it's kind of like

[ __ ] it. Like there's not that

intensity. And I think that because I'm

a foreigner as well, his parents have

kind of had to accept the fact that like

I'm not going to be a traditional

Serbian wife. Like I'm not I'm not a

Serbian. I'm going to interact with you

in a way that is nice. And obviously my

partner is Serbian, so we find ways to

like meet in the middle. that I'm I'm

not going to be like a Serbian

housewife. And I think that they're okay

with that.

>> In your videos, you often speak about

mental health. What do you think? Do

Serbs speak openly about mental health.

Can you imagine a Serb guy who goes into

therapy and who discuss it with his

friends?

>> No. Men don't speak to each other about

stuff like that. I think that they have

a very hard time for whatever reason. I

don't know if that's just a Balkan thing

or if that's just like a men thing in

general. Like they just have a hard time

opening up or I think that in the

context of men in their romantic

relationships, they have a really hard

time opening up to their partner because

they don't want their partner to see

them as being overly emotional or that

they're worried that in some way them

talking about their feelings would

emasculate them, which I think is really

sad. I'm like a big feelings girl. So

constantly like I ask my boyfriend

probably five times a day. I'm like how

are you feeling? Something happens at

work. I'm like how do you feel about it?

Like is there anything you want to talk

[laughter] about? He'll talk to me about

things that stress him out but he's like

his name is Peter and Peter in Serbian

is like rock and he's like very much so

he's like a rock. He's not a very

emotional person. I think that he

appreciates that he has the space to

talk to me about things if he wants to,

but he doesn't really like have very

many things to talk to me about usually,

which for me is crazy. I'm like I'm a

very big feelings person. Like me and my

girl relationships, like we're

constantly just dishing and talking

about things, but I think men have a

hard time with that, which honestly

makes me sad. I wish that men were more

invested in their relationships and felt

as though they had more emotional

support. I think that's important for

everyone.

>> Tell me please how to make friends with

Serbs.

>> I feel like a bottle of Rakia is always

good to have. [laughter]

>> I feel like once you offer a Serb a shot

of Rakia, it's like game over. I find

Serbians to be like very friendly and

very easy to make friends with. I think

as long as you're open with them and

you're willing to chat and like have

open and honest conversations with them,

you're like good to go. Yeah. I wouldn't

consider Serbs to be very difficult to

be friends with. A Wednesday at 2 p.m.

they'll just like or 10 p.m. they'll

call you up and they'll be like, "Hey,

we're going out. Come out with us." And

I'm like, "Bro, I have to work tomorrow

and it's 10:00 p.m. Like, I'm literally

in bed already." So, I would say that

that's one difficult thing. I would say

if you're like me and you like to work a

lot, but you want to have a Serbian

friend, just find a 9 to5 cuz they're

doing their 9 to5 during the day. I'm

doing my 9 to5 during the day. we can

meet up at like 600 p.m. for some dinner

and board games and stuff like that and

like be home by midnight. I haven't

gotten used to the fact that a lot of

Serbians, like the Slavs, for example,

people aren't going out on a SPL until

like midnight, 1:00 in the morning. But

if I'm going out, I want to be home by

like 1:00 in the morning. I'm not

starting my night at 1:00. I'm ending my

night at 1:00.

>> So, I would say that that's one thing

that's difficult. You have to have a lot

of energy to be able to like party and

keep up with them.

>> Yeah.

>> Which I don't really have. So most of my

Serbian friends are like also in their

late 20s, early 30s. They're like career

girlies. We like do our 9 to5. We do our

work and then we just meet up

afterwards. I think that works better.

>> In one of your videos, you told that you

like raka. What type of raka do you

like?

>> I would say my favorite is probably

like the classic

um like I love like duna kaisia. Kaisia

is my favorite actually.

>> How do you buy raka? Whenever I go

traveling, if I find like one of those

little like bubbas that has a stand on

the side of the road, I think that

that's the best place to buy rakia. Buy

rachia, buy like jams, buy honey, buy

anything that you want. That's my

absolute favorite. But when in doubt,

you can just head to the store and just

grab some. Grab a bottle of like vou or

something like that. It's always good.

>> Wow. Do

>> from Belgrade. This is Rakia bought from

like a little uh like farm in Croatia.

>> Yeah, they make olive oil in Rakia. It's

really nice. It's kind of like lemony.

It's a little bit more tart. And then

this is like not even Rakia. If you've

ever had honey raia before, it literally

just tastes like honey. It's so sweet.

>> Being from Canada in this part of the

world, surely you have some kind of

cultural shocks here.

>> Kenya, I would say is like the number

one cultural shock. I remember the first

time I saw them roasting a pig on a

stick. I was like, "Where am I? What is

going on?"

>> So, when you saw this roasted pig, you

you were afraid?

>> I don't know if I was afraid, but it's

just the sensation of like, okay, I'm

definitely not in Canada anymore, you

[laughter] know?

>> Yeah. Like, this is not something that

I've ever experienced before.

>> I think one of the cultural shocks that

I actually really appreciate is how

family oriented people are here. So in

Canada, it's very individualistic. Like

from the time you're 18 years old, like

you're just kind of you move out, you're

on your own, you're doing your thing.

But here, people will live at home until

they're like in their 30s. And that's

just completely normal. And families are

a lot more tied to each other. They own

real estate together. They own cars

together. They are just very inshed. And

that was actually something that since

I'm dating a Serbian was like kind of

difficult for me to wrap my head around

and get used to when I first moved here.

>> Do you like it personally or it's for

you too much?

>> I do like it. I think that it can be too

much. I think that definitely families

have more of a codependent tendency here

that maybe like I think that in the west

it's too far to one side and in Serbia

sometimes it can be too far to the other

side. And I think that there has to be a

happy middle. But in general, I think if

you're going to go to one extreme or the

other, the extreme of Serbia is better

than the extreme of Canada cuz family

should be sticking together. Why are

parents not checking in on their kids?

Why is it like every man for themselves?

This is literally your family. But uh on

the other side this could lead to

absence of privacy you know because

Serbs live in this in this kind of

houses you know they called it porakucha

family house

>> for me it's a little bit too far I don't

think that I would be open to doing like

the whole multi-generational thing maybe

in like separate houses on the same

property or something but I need one

degree of separation but if it works for

them like ya like live your best life

who am I to judge

>> you speaking Yig girl, just like Serbin.

>> Yeah, that's my favorite. Even when I

was back in Canada, there's certain

words that like I'll still speak even

though I know that nobody understands

them. And yaba is the one thing cuz it

just sounds better. Like [ __ ] it has

kind of like a different like

connotation for some reason.

>> I don't use this word, but uh as a

person who uses, can you explain me what

does it mean?

>> Just [ __ ] it. Yeah, [ __ ] it. You know,

it's just like ah whatever. It doesn't

matter. Yea, do what you want. That's

how I interpret it. Anyway,

>> what is the best things for you in

living in Serbia?

>> Definitely the safety aspect of it. I

love how safe I feel here. I love that I

feel like I'm able to go out later at

night, go for walks in the evening. I

never have to feel afraid. Um, I also

love just how normal people are. I love

the fact that you can go by a basketball

court at 1000 p.m. and see kids like

running around and playing. I feel like

Serbia now is like Canada was in the '9s

where it's just like kids out playing

and just like more of just a normal like

family neighborhood vibe cuz I feel like

Canada's lost that a little bit.

>> Why do you think Canada lost it and why

did you think why do you think uh Serb

has it? Honestly, I think that a lot of

it has to do with like mass immigration

in Canada. Serbia is very strong in its

values and people really feel connected

to each other because they speak the

same language. They all are like

orthodox. They they have the same

religion. They look the same. They move

through the world in the same way. But I

think that Canada doesn't really have

that to the same degree anymore. It's

very multicultural. And I don't think

that there's anything wrong with that.

But I do think that there's less of a

connection to the people around them.

>> What are the worst things for you in

Serbia?

>> Indoor smoking. I would say that that's

like the number one thing, especially

during the winter. During the summer,

you don't feel it so much. People are

out on the patio, whatever. But the

smoking indoors, I absolutely hate it. I

feel like for the winter months, I

basically have to just stay inside cuz

it's so difficult. Like I love to go and

work from cafes. And there's nothing

worse than sitting in a cafe working and

somebody comes and sits down right

beside you and just chain smokes for

like three hours

>> while they're hanging out with their

friends. Like I can't work like that. I

literally have to just pack up my stuff

and leave.

>> You drive here?

>> I do drive here.

>> What do you think about driving style of

Serbs?

>> My friend said it best. He said that

they're the best worst drivers in the

world cuz Serbians know how to drive

really well. They're very good drivers,

but they just like don't give a [ __ ] So

they're constantly doing like dangerous

stuff and like cutting each other off

and just like acting crazy on the road.

But they're very good drivers, you know,

like technically good drivers. You never

know. You could be driving down the

street and then all of a sudden somebody

like just stops in front of you, puts on

their blinkers, and then you're just

left to like drive around and people

cutting each other off all the time.

Just like madness.

>> Do you drive here automatic or manual?

>> I've been driving manual since I was

like 15 years old. Really? So, for me,

like I hate driving manual. I would

rather have an automatic, but I can

drive manual all day. It's like easy

peasy.

>> I got the impression that everybody

drives in Canada automatic.

>> They do for sure. Yeah. Canada, it's

like you get in your car and you're

going to drive your little automatic car

down like these pristine roads where

everybody's following the rules and at

the end you're going to have like a huge

parking lot where you can just like

easily go and like park. Here it's like

you're going to get in your car. It's

going to be absolute mayhem trying to

get wherever you're trying to go. And

then when you get there, you're gonna

have to park between a tree and like a

trash can and like reversing to the spot

while there's 10 people waiting for you

to park and honking at you.

>> It's like crazy. I get stressed every

time before I have to drive somewhere.

But it's one of those things like

>> I don't want to be limited in feeling

like I can't drive here. So I'm like

even though I feel scared doing it, I'm

going to do it. like Slavia. The first

time I did Slavia, I literally cried

when I got out of it. I was like, I

can't believe I just did that.

>> What do you think Canada can learn from

Serbia?

>> Like, I think that Serbians, like, they

have very strong morals and values and

they're willing to stand up for those

morals and values. And I think that

Canadians have kind of lost that.

They're a little too worried about

virtue signaling. I feel like Canadians

are more worried about appearing like a

good and politically correct person than

they are standing by their own like

morals and values. And that's something

that bothers me. And then the other

thing is just like I think that they

could invest a little bit more in their

relationships. I think that Canada and

America is so driven by the self and

people really forget about investing in

deep relationships with their friends

and with their family. And especially

when it comes to family,

I think that Canadians could learn a lot

from Serbians because I think that the

way that Serbians treat their family and

interact with their family is a lot

better compared to the West.

>> What is the most valuable thing that you

found in Serbia? I would say just like

my purpose because when I was living in

Canada, I was making very like easy fast

money. I was working in nightclubs and

so like a very different lifestyle like

up all night literally just like

basically like partying for work like

always around alcohol just like kind of

crazy. But the money was so good that I

think that if I was back in Canada and

able to make that money I don't know if

I ever would have like left that

industry it would have been a lot harder

to leave. But living in Serbia, not

being able to just be like, "Wow,

building a business is really hard. I'm

just going to go back to making like

fast, easy money." It's like, "No, I'm

in Serbia. Like, I have to build a

business. I have to be able to make a

money online." There's no like, "Wow,

this is hard. I don't want to do it

anymore." It's like, "I have to freaking

do it." So, I think that a lot of times

where if I was in Canada, I would have

quit doing something because it felt too

hard. I didn't have the opportunity to.

And because of that, I've built a

business that I like absolutely love and

feels very purposeful and very in

alignment.

>> So Serbia made you more focused, more

purposeful

>> for sure. And I think that this is maybe

not necessarily something that is

particular to Serbia because I could

have this experience anywhere else. But

meeting my boyfriend and having the

friends that I have, I feel has also

allowed me to transform into like the

most in alignment and truest version of

myself. When you're surrounded by people

who genuinely like love you for you and

like help to build you up and like make

you feel good and like support you and

take care of you, like I feel like I'm

now the best version of myself because

I've just had my cup like so poured into

by the relationships in my life. And

obviously I could meet a boyfriend like

my boyfriend if I was living in Canada,

if I was living in South America, like I

could meet my best friend also anywhere

in the world, but very particular to

Serbia has been meeting people that are

absolute loves of my life. And I feel

like they've helped me transform into

the best version of myself as well. And

that's a really beautiful thing. I'm

very grateful for that.