My name is Erduana Metz, and I was born on May, 25th, 1971 in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I was the oldest child, followed by my sister Zlata and brother Mirza, by father Semsudin, the small business owner and mother Sabina, accountant. Jajce is small Bosnian town with nice Central European climate and beautiful waterfalls; it was a beautiful place for growing up. My preschool, elementary, middle (“Berta Kucera”) and High school education (“Dzemal Bijedic” Elektrotehnicka Skola) happened right there in Jajce, with diploma in Electro technical engineering, when I finished the High school. From there, I moved to Mostar to pursue a college degree in Mathematics and Physics. My interests soon changed and I realized, I wanted to pursue a degree in Elementary Education in 1991.
The political situation in former Yugoslavia was changing quickly. Fighting started in neighboring states, Slovenia and Croatia, and it was clear that same is going to happen in Bosnia also. Unfortunately it did, while I was on winter break traveling to Berlin to visit my relatives. Tragedy struck when the last bridge connecting Bosnia and the rest of Europe was destroyed. Travel restrictions were put in place and communication lines were down. My family and I decided it was best for me to stay in Germany. At 21, I found the refuge there, while my family was literally stuck in Bosnia in the midst of the war. I stayed in Germany for seven years, working, going back to school, helping my family and trying to understand the world. It was the time of growing up. After the war was over, I had the choice to go back to my destroyed country or to come here to USA. As you can see, I choose the new beginning. When I came to USA in June of 1999, I started to work almost immediately, thanks to Lutheran church services with “Ikon Office Solutions” in Jacksonville, and there I met my husband Brian Jason Metz. We got married in 2002, moved to Orlando and the following year on April 24th 2003, our son Tanner was born.
The happiest part of my life was just starting; our son started his first class at Montessori World School in August 2005 as a toddler in Sunflower Room. I must admit as a first time mother I was very anxious. The thought of leaving him in a new environment was intimidating. We quickly discovered the beauty and the wisdom of Montessori Method and people at MWS. Tanner's first years at MWS are also my formative years regarding Montessori. I would read anything I could find about the Method, and more I read and learn about it, more clearly it became to us that this is the way we want our children to be guided. Someone said once, Montessori is addictive, and they were right. I am learning every day and I am hungry for more.