GO GO EVS!

Taking the first step and challenging myself coming to Croatia it was an easy going thought. Until I bought the tickets. Then everything looked more real and I start to worry. Several questions were walking on my mind like pigeos in the Zagrab main square: “What if I cannot get use with Croatian language ? “ or  “What if I will not be able to stay for ONE year and I will feel like quitting after one month!“.

It’s 2^nd June and I’m still here, no Croatian language needed because we all speak English. Sometimes I use some Croatian words with local people just to demonstrate I speak Croatian until they asked me where am I from. :D 

Best organisation and team ever (like my family),  accommodation in the center of Zagreb, nice and amazing office, surprising local people and beautiful new friend from all over the word. 

I can say after all this time that I achieved some of the goals that I have established in the beginning of this volunteering period. I started to practice more English speaking (In 10 days I will have Advanced Exam) I am not ready but still working on it.

Sometimes, I am running 5 km in the morning and this makes me feel energized all day long and I started to pay attention to what I eat thanks Syncro’s team. I also joined in Toastmasters Club to develop my public speaking skills and learn how to organize a speech. 

I have the opportunity to participate in trainings as a participant and also as a team member (learning from different perspectives). My project management skills are like fish in the water and after all this period I will have a backpack full of abilities and skills ready to practice them in want I have planned for next years.

This is not a Good Bye blog post. Keep following our awesome thoughts. Vidimo se! 

What should be said

I clearly remember how much I hated when I was a children and my mum just told me things when I didn’t do them. For example, she always reminded me “You didn’t do your bed today”, “you didin’t clean your room enough” and then the day I did it (I use to do it ALMOST every single day, I am a good soon :D ) she didn’t say a word. So, it seems like we only remember people bad things that they did or good things that they didn’t do. I think is quite silly, shouldn’t we pay more attention just to good things and forget as much as possible the bad ones?

We usually don’t stop to thank for good things and people do a lot of good things for us, small and dayly details but also big things.

So, somebody ask me lately what did I learnt in my 10 months here. I learnt how much I like to tell people the good things they do for me, even if they sometimes don’t deserve to to listen to them or if they also did some mistakes. So this is my little tribute to some of these things (by the way, my mum is the best)

Thank you for showing me that fear is just in my mind, we can achieve whatever, Thank you for being able to see always the bright side. Thank you for put your effort in make me like my EVS and the life I have to live now :)

I realized that things I thought were death for me weren’t at all. Thanks for sharing your city, for cooking and thanks for show me your real side, the charming and magic one, thank you for all your smiles :)

Thank you for open yourself, thank you for show me your life, your fears and your hopes. Thank you for be genuine no matter what. Thank you for your honesty and for sharing with me thousands of hilarious and beautiful moments :)

Muchas gracias.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAxiPFE6pqM

Balkan chronicles: Chapter 1. Serbia

While being a tourist is great, being a traveler is even greater. What's a big difference, you may wonder. There is. While in the first case you manage to explore cultural and historical heritage, experience night life and taste local food, in the second case, being lucky enough, you'll get deeper to catch the spirit and find the soul of the country. Our trip is inside out: less museums and tourist traps (hopefully, but never sure) and more locals, contemplation and readiness to experiment.

Belgrade central avenue

Just two days before we left Zagreb to start our Balkan tour I met a Serb on salsa party in the club. The music was so loud that we could barely hear each other, thus, as it turned out later, he understood that Ukrainian girls: 1) drink vodka with lemon; 2) smoke joints; 3) go to church next morning after the club. 'Good start,' - I thought sarcastically. To tell the truth, this was the only Serb I held a conversation for the next few days: we got a ride with a Turk, hanged out with Bosnians and were hosted by a Canadian who invited his French friend to show us around. Answering the question what made them move to Belgrade, both answered in 1 voice: 'They have a soul here'.

2 Ukrainians, US Angel, Canadian and French in the center of Belgrade

It feels home in Serbia: the smell of meat everywhere, and though I heard that Serbs eat meat wrapped in meat and served with meat, I truly enjoyed tasting all these pljeskavice, kobasice and vešalice which added to a positive image I had.

Choosing between bela vešalica and pljescavica

Being absolutely reluctant to vodka, I still wonder how I let a guy on the market talk me into buying a liter of rakija which I had to carry everywhere and could hardly smell. My grandad would, however, strongly disagree with it.

A victim of rakija-seller persuasive skills

Deliberately avoiding tourist bars in Novi Sad we met midnight near a famous fountain behind the church where teenagers prefer to hang out, eavesdropping their gossips and everyday conversations while watching common people. We also managed to drop to a typical kafana to listen to some famous Yugoslavic songs performed live and mixed with Balkan turbofolk and almost suffocating by everyone smoking inside.

And yep, just to mention that surprisingly enough, our Serbian train departed bang on time but going backwards for two hours, it seemed we were riding a broken carousel in a theme park. Not everything at once, though, or as they say: 'polako, polako'.

Always moving 

Finally, lying in Kalemegdan park, we were listening to Balkan beats from the wedding orchestra and quietly singing 'Elaine from Ukraine made me insane', the song of our Canadian host which is telling his first love story with a half-Jewish, half-gypsy Ukrainian girl back to his 18. 

In process: chronicles will not write themselves

Anyway, while being skeptical about the country because of its Balkan spirit and recent history, it turned out to be different. Everyone will find something to meet their demands: culture freaks are recommended to visit Kalemegdan with its Roman well and awesome torture museum, sweettooth gastrolovers will find their way in Blaznavac i Crna Ovca, and eventually, party animals should start booking their tickets to Exit event with Tom Odell, Sigma and Manu Chao coming already in June.

Famous Kalemegdan  towers