Like A Stranger in Zagreb: Being Black in Croatia

When I was a child I loved my parent’s set of Encyclopedia Britannica encyclopedias. The atlas was my favorite. They would show how the map of the world changed over time: all the countries of old and new, the Greek and Roman Empires. The Hapsburgs, the Ottomans, The Holy Roman Empire. I was always strong in social studies, history, and in world geography growing up.

I would daydream about all these “exotic” and fascinating places based on what I saw in films and on TV. In college, I always wanted to study abroad, but I knew my parents would say no because of the cost…