High-tech Pedicure in Sarajevo

Since arriving in Sarajevo, I've been doing a lot of walking! I thought it was time to give my feet a treat and get a pedicure. After having lunch on the 5th floor of the BBI (a shopping mall inthe center of town) at the only non-smoking restaurant in Sarajevo (if not in all of Bosnia & Herzegovina!), I happened upon a salon!

I greeted the attendant with the usual, "Dober dan. Govoriti Engleski?" Ah, what luck! She did speak English. So, I arranged for a pedicure, and if time permitted, a manicure as well.

Unlike the typical nail salon in the U.S. with lots of massage chairs and foot baths lined up against the wall and petite Vietnamese ladies waiting to pamper you, I was guided by the one Bosnian therapist into a private room. I put my feet in the do-it-yourself model foot bath and looked at "People" and "Cosmopolitan" equivalents of Bosnian magazines as I waited for the next step.

Soon, my fabulous English-speaking therapist, Leana, came in to conduct the pedicure. I took one foot out and put it on the tiny stool. She dried off my foot and proceeded to get out a tool to roll off all that unsightly dead skin from the bottom of my feet! "What's this?" I asked, "I've never had a pedicure with this tool. We don't have this in the U.S." She explained that it was from Germany. The owner of the salon is German and bought the expensive machines. Apparently, it's much better for the skin that the usual scraping I've experienced with every other pedicure I've ever had. I asked Leana if I could take a photo of it as this was the first time I'd experienced it and I wanted to share it with my friends. She laughingly agreed, saying that no one had ever requested to take a photo of the pedicure before! So, it was a first for both of us!

Of course, I asked Leana about her profession, being the career counselor I am. She explained that she just graduated from the 4-year program six months ago (where she was trained in everything from manicures and pedicures to facials and tatooing on makup -- and possibly even massage as that was also offered in the salon). She was glad to have this job and hoped eventually to open her own salon.

I asked if she liked the work and she replied something like, "Yes, I like it but it's hard working with people. They come in and expect me to make them happy. I can't make them happy." I was sure to tell her how happy I was with her work! It really was the best pedicure and manicure I've ever had!