I have deep roots in the Balkan region. I grew up in Montenegro, a tiny country by the Adriatic Sea. As a member of the Albanian ethnic community, I was raised bilingual and bi-cultural. I lived in Pristina, Kosovo, for almost a decade while I finished my undergraduate studies at the University of Pristina and worked as a journalist for local media. I have spent much time around the Balkans as a reporter, researcher and traveler.