She was born and lived in Wisconsin in the United States of America. It was there that Heather would meet Sadik – an Albanian from Kosovo, who had left his homeland because of the war.

Heather Sylaj says that she had never heard of Kosovo before, but her journey ahead would change everything. The couple got married in 2015, while a year ago they returned to Kosovo to live.

Heather says that there were many reasons that pushed the couple to live in Kosovo.

“Sadik hadn’t seen his family or his mother much in the past 22 years. So he wanted to be closer to them. I wanted to live… somewhere else. To experience what life is like outside of America. I had wanted that since I was a child. To see the world. So we came here. I was also having problems with my health in America and now I am so much better with the better food, more exercise, and less stress” she says.

But, upon reaching Kosovo, Heather would face a much different life than the one she had in America.

A simpler, less stressful life is what she had always wanted.

“The difference is lifestyles is vast. In America everyone is so busy. Always working. Always doing something. They never have time to visit each other. When they want to relax, they don’t want to have company. Here, of course , is opposite. People love to visit each other. They don’t necessarily call ahead” Heather Sylaj says.

Even vacation planning is one of the biggest differences between America and Kosovo, according to Heather Sylaj. She says that Kosovars necessarily plan vacations.

“How people spend there time and what they do for fun is different. Americans always have to be doing something or going somewhere. In Kosovo, people are content to just sit and talk with each other with some coffee or tea. I like that better I like a slower simpler life” she added.

Sylaj is amazed at how in Kosovo people are enthusiastic to do more for their country.

“The most amazing thing about Kosovo for me is how excited people are to grow and how much they want to create opportunity. Everyone seems 100% committed to making this country a success. In America, we have lost the drive to grow and create. So many are just overwhelmed”

But how is Heather spending her days in Kosovo? What is she dealing with?

“After we moved here, we decided to get a few chickens. When my husband was picking them up, he saw some ducklings and brought them home as a surprise for me. We fell in love. We now have 16 ducks and 15 chickens. We plan to add geese and quail to the mix soon. Plus we are breeding to increase our flock. Our goal is to grow into a small farm for poultry,” she says.

For her daily activities, Heather has opened a Facebook page called “This Albanian Life”.

“I started the “This Albanian Life” Facebook page very recently. I had been posting on my private account about life here since we came (and about Albanian culture for even longer). Everyone has loved the posts, especially my American friends and family Eventually it was clear I needed to make a public page since there was interest outside my friends list as well” she says for Atlantiku.

Heather Sylaj plans to expand her activities on social networks so that her friends from America will be more informed about Kosovar culture.