Monday, 31st

Eleventh week.
The last weekend of March has been really amazing! The weather was really good, warm and sunny, so that I had the chance to enjoy a lot a nice walk along Drava on Saturday and a typical Croatian party in the countryside yesterday.

I have been near Valpovo, at one of my friends' house, for his birthday. We had a great time drinking lots of "bijelo vino" and "crno vino" and eating top round pig like people usually do in this kind of reunions in the Balkans!
The weather was great as I said, so that we played volleyball in Danijel's garden and I got a good tan at the end of the day! ;-)

Unluckily I had some troubles during the day in order to fix and finish to arrange the travel to Macedonia..I had to call Jelena, then Damjan and finally Magdalena, then again Damjan and Magdalena..finally at 4pm I decided to take a break and wait for "Charlie" to give me the solution of all this mess!
I didn't expect such a problem with this travel even though I would bet something was going wrong..actually I prefer to arrange and finish everything at least a week before I have to travel cuz I am very anxious and this kind of situations are very uncomfortable for me!!! But it was not possible for some reasons so here it came: search for the right timetables in order to satisfy everybody's needs..
But now everything's ok, I have already thanked and said sorry to my "Saint"..

I am very looking forward to going to Macedonia now..to see if we are really able to reach it!!!!

Tenth week.
This week has been shorter than the previous ones cuz of Easter Monday and then cuz I spent time with my parents, so Friday came as quickly as to shut and open your eyes!

Next week Magadalena and I are leaving for Stip, Macedonia, for a training course about "Migration, Integration, Inclusion promoting minority youth empowerment in Europe". We are very enthusiastic but in these last few days we had some problems in arranging our travel. We were supposed to go by plane from Belgrade but it seems English National Agency doesn't want to allow us to travel that way..Magdalena doesn't give up cuz she has problems with her back and it's not comfortable for her to travel more than 4 hours by bus and I support her as it's also an issue of principle..they have a certain amount of money from Brussels for us..why do they not want us to use all of them? But mainly, why do they avoid to explain what the matter is?
So we are keeping on working on that..;-)

Yesterday we experienced something totally new for all of us..something quite scary..
It happened at first late in the morning..I had already gone to the Cnc while Magdalena was still at home, finishing the photo album for her nephew, whose baptism will be this Sunday, and Madara was at the swimming pool with her boyfriend. I was talking with Damjan and we heard a strong noise, like plonk. The very first time I didn't pay attention to that..then the second one came and I thought somebody had shut vigorously a gate or the door of a garage..
Then another one..what the hell was happening?? Finally Magdalena arrived and she said she heard the same noise but it was not only noise, there were also vibrations..like when there is an heartquake somewhere not too far from were you are and you feel something is moving..
and so Damjan told us that maybe operators were detonating mines not too far from Osijek.
He explained to us that they clean up areas where mines had been left during the war, they collect those mines they find and finally they get rid of them by making them detonating in a huge hole on the ground..what an impressive sound has been!

We were also walking to the supermarket when we heard that..I jumped on Magdalena's shoulders as I didn't expect that so loud! and then again at home..windows were shaking so much and then I went to the bathroom and also the towels were moving whenever the detonation occured.
I thought about how horrible it was during the war when people heard that every day, more than those of yesterday and louder.
It's something that really impresses me as I was used to listen to some speeches about wars from my grandad and granma and I cannot immagine that people of my same age had experienced that too. And of course I didn't have any idea of the sound of a bomb or granate and yesterday we heard something similar to that (as we cannot compare it to what our friends heard 15 years ago here).

After Easter..

Here I am!!! back from Italy for Easter..
I went to Padova to visit my family and my friends last week and I came back on Tuesday. I stayed at home only five days but I felt like I have never been there as soon as I was here in Osijek again..strange feelings..
I think it's due to the fact that I was in Padova during holidays..so many people around, lots of things to do, so the time has gone really quickly and I didn't realize that! But on the other side I had the chance to spend some time with my parents and my brother, whom I really miss now..and some of my dearest friends! Of course I had a great time...but I was happy to come back here too, as I feel my home now is here as I have something to do here and not in Padova! it's quite strange but I felt like going on holiday to my real home! :-)

I left on Wednesday afternoon from Osijek to be in Zagreb in the evening and take the night train for Venice. I was a little bit worried cuz I was going to travel on my own the whole night, form 23.30 to 7 in the morning of the next day..I don't know why I felt worried..I am usually not chicken for these kind of adventures, I usually walk around in my city in the evening on my own even though it's quite well known it's not the best thing a girl could do, as we have a lot of problems with criminals and lawbreakers, and I also travelled a lot by myself to other countries even in the night, sleeping at the airports and so on..anyway I guess it was cuz I talked with wrong people..actually my parents!!! of course parents are always more worried than "normal" people!!!

Anyhow, the travel was great! I had the chance first to relax for a couple of hours in Zagreb with Matija, a boy we met at CMS, as he took me to a nice pub where we had a very interesting talk about my very near future..namely what I would like to do after EVS is over..
then I took the train and luckily there were only a few people, I found a nice sit and I tried to sleep..of course I couldn't for plenty of reasons! first of all sometimes I cannot sleep even in my bed..let's say sleep has never been one of my best friend; second at first it was quite cold, but I had a blanket with me so it was no problem! but at 3 am the temperature went up to, I guess, 30 degrees, and everybody on the train was going to melt! but that was I good chance to get to know some people!! you know, when people are in the same bad conditions, or they find each other in the same difficult situation, they try to help each other..in Italian we say: "union makes strenght"..ok it's literally translated but I think you can understand what I mean!!!
So all in all, even though I didn't sleep a lot (only one hour and a half out of seven by travelling!) I enjoyed that!

On the way back the travel was defenitely more relaxing.. as my parents went with me by car and they also spend two days here! I really appreciated it, I was so happy they were able to see what I am doing, where I am living, who my new friends are and so on! and I saw they were happy too, although they looked quite sad this morning when we said goodbye..don't woory my dear "old boys", I will be back!

We had a great time in Osijek! I took them to Tvrđa and Drava..my dad really loved Drava like I do! he took a lot and a lot of pictures!! he behaved like a child who is enthusiastic to see something for the first time! but nothing new for me! I knew he has a child-heart!
and they ha also the chance to go to Valpovo and meet again my friends Ivan and Nenad and this time even Nenad's family!!!
it was really amazing! we youngsters were speaking in English and translating for our parents! I cannot explain how funny it was!! Nenad's parents couldn't speak English while my parents could a little bit..I was trying to speak Croatian too with Nenad's mum and dad so a very funny atmosphere came up! But the most interesting thing was when our two dads wetn watvhing football match together.. even though we were not there translating for them they were able to communicate while talking their mother tongue..ahahah!! really great!

I really want to thank my parents cuz I know they had fun but I also understand this crazy mix of cultures is demanding somehow when you are not used to that! so..thank you for taking me to Osijek and sharing with me something of this beautiful experience I am having at this time of my life!

Eight week.
Today I am in a very good mood as I had a very nice weekend so I feel very positive and active!
Last week has ended in a great way! We got a surprising Karaoke party here at the Youth Center!!!
Before we left for Sarajevo we expressed the wish for having a party when we were back and..on Friday we got it!
It's been a real fun, we have sang for hours both in Croatian and in English!
I apologize by now for how we sang..oh my God, I really had the impression we were so out-of-tune!!! Actually I bet we are..:-P

But it's been nice cuz we all created I good atmosphere, on one side very relaxed, as everybody felt comfortable (although at the beginning some of us were embarrassed of singing through the microphone!) but also very festive on the other, as we were so loud and laughing all the time at our voice's sound!

Then saturday came and we got up very very early in the morning cuz Madara had to leave for Copenhagen. We wanted to go with her to the bus station to say goodbye as this month we won't see each other for some days..in fact she is coming back to Osijek on 20th this week and I am leaving for Italy the day before so I will see her again next week. Then Magadalena will leave first for Novi Sad and then for Austria..

Saturday afternoon was so sunny and warm that we went out for a walk along Drava and around the center, we also had a rest on the benches just in front of the river..what a peacefulness!

Finally sunday..and we have started missing our dear housemate Madara!
I had a big headache so I have been almost the all day long lying in bed or hanging around the flat, trying to forget about it..

But today is another story!
"the sun is shining and the weather is sweet.." (Bob Marley)
And another reason why I feel so good today is also because in 3 days I will be back in Padova!!! It's so exciting as I am looking forward to meet my family and my friends again! :-D

Like a real "Osiječka"!

Finally I sit down! Today I can say I kept fit :-)
Starting in the morning with cleaning the Youth Center, before I wrote an article about CMS for Templar Networks Magazine and following with a "round trip" here in Osijek! Luckily I ate a lot at lunch!! :-P
My long walk trough the city wasn't meaningless actually..my parents are coming to Osijek to visit me after Easter for a couple of days so I am seeking a nice place for them where to sleep!
I asked for some suggestions to Damjan and Danijela and then my search has started..first I went to the farest hotel they told me, which is not really far, something like 20 minutes walking. It has been an interesting experience for me cuz I visited another part of the city, I think it was the east side..but I am not sure..

I went through the periphery of Osijek, I saw lots of houses, like single houses and also apartment buildings, small shops like newsstand and minimarket, but not really minimarket..actually they looked like old fashion shops were you could buy only some kind of foodstuff (milk, bread, eggs, flour..let's say basic foodstuff!)..it's been like being in a book!
Then I spoke some Croatian!! I really like to try even though I don't know a lot..actually I know some basic grammar rules but..just a very few words so..it's definitely ridiculous to have a conversation but..I keep on trying!
So, I was searching for the street where my first target was and I asked some information to a man, he would be around 60 so he couldn't speak English my dears!!! That's the proof we communicated in another language!!!

Then on the way back I decided to test myself again and I went to a couple of hairdresser's shops..crazy choice you might think but..not at all!! I am planning to go to the hairdresser so I am checking the average price..and it's really unbelievable..for a haircut here they charge you around 40-50 Kn!!!!! Which is something like 5-7 euros!! So I really want to try!!!
Everybody laughs when I say I want to go to the hairdresser cuz they guess there's a reason why it's so cheap..how will I look like after the haircut?! But come on people! let's try! Hair can be longer again so..I book my haircut! Next week on Tuesday at 3 pm!!! I am very excited..it's gonna be a lot of fun as soon as I will have to explain to the girl how I would like her to cut my hair..:-D

Finally I went back to the center to check other hotels and I found out the one which makes my case! It's very close to my apartment and to the center too..actually it's in between these two places. I went in, I asked for information and the owner seemed very helpful and nice..he also tried to speak some Italian!

Finally here I am now..ready for my parents to call me..I hope..and for the weekend to begin! ;-)

Thoughts...

Another week has almost come to the end and of course I have other interesting news to add!
On Tuesday we had our meeting with Danijela, we spoke about the On-arrival training and our future activities. And it's just about those that I really have to say something!

Some friends of mine usually tell me: "Federica, you are always around, we cannot bet where you are cuz you cannot stay in the same place for more than a month..almost!!!"..it seems to be like something I cannot avoid..travels follow me..that's not me who seek for them..:-P
Why? well, if some people said we had a busy February or a very hasty March..I would like to know how they are going to define our next April...

We got to know that... we can go to Macedonia and Albania for sure!
We will have at first a training in Macedonia from 2-8 April, than we will probably move to Serbia, Fruška Gora, and finally to Albania.
I guess we will be fed up with travelling after this EVS, even though it's something I would never say! But never mind, the stake is too high to think about stress!
This is defenitely a great opportunity for us to broaden our knowledge (for our future job..finger crossed!) on interesting topics such as multiculturalism, intercultural environments, integration, migration and moreover European awareness, democratic citizenship and so on! But also a great chance to experience different methods of teaching and learning.

Although my experience in such trainings is still very little, now I can say something more than last month, when I wrote while I was waiting for the CMS to start and for me to participate to my first training.
What is amazing for me is the philosophy of non-formal education. The methods used by the trainers to let participants learn lots of things in a few days. Everybody has the chance to speak, express himself, put on the table his own ideas and on the other side listen to other peers or people with more experience.
At the CMS I felt completely bombed by thousands of information and what I did was to put them on one side..I couldn't think about them during those days..too many new things at the same time!! My concern was to miss this chance, not to be able to take advantage of all those precious information cuz I was not sure to be able to keep up with the training programme.
But I was wrong! Soon after the end of the training I revised everything and I realized that I had added new pieces to my "puzzle".
And this is the incredible power of non-formal education: you act bodily, by speaking, drawing, listening to, sharing opinions and experience and at the end you have really absorbed all of that! But not only in your brain! Something you have truly and deeply lived is something you will hold for your whole life as your "personal cultural knowledge"..and that's the huge difference with standard methods!

So many many thanks to those people who are giving us these valuable chances and allowing us to make these unique experiences! :-)

SARAJEVO and EVS on-arrival training

Seventh week.
And now we are back again, but this time we are back from Bosnia.
We had our On-Arrival Training last week in Sarajevo. My cold is still with me (as I bet before we left!) but now I got used to it..and the most important thing is that it didn't jeopardize my training!

Well, it's been a very full week: left on Monday afternoon, after almost 7 hours travelling by train, we reached Sarajevo. We thought we would take tram n.4 as we were told but..no tram for Illidža after 6 pm so..we had to take the taxi, but luckily it was very cheap and the driver has been very nice with us! Once we arrived at the hotel we really had an incredible and wonderful surprise..the hotel had unbelievable rooms!! huge beds, marvellous bathroom and very good meals!!!!
I have never been in such a hotel in my life!!! I was really happy..I felt like a business woman..:-)

Then on Tuesday the training really started. We have done lots of activities, but everything was focused on our feelings, motivation and expectations on EVS.
The group of people was quite big, we were 43 people with the trainers.. We got to know people from lots of countries such as France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium and so on..and with my pleasure there were other 3 Italians so I had the chance to speak in Italian this time!!! Sometimes I missed speaking my mother tongue as here I only hear from my family twice a week!

Those people were nice and friendly but I soon noticed a huge difference with the people I met at the CMS, making friendships and getting to know each other has been much demanding. At first I was very upset but after a couple of days the things changed and I explained by myself the main reason: I think people from CMS are really used to this kind of events and they have really much experience and self-confidence in introducing themselves so it's very easy to get to know each other. On the contrary the boys and the girls we met were like us, people who like to travel, get to know other people and other cultures but who have still a lot to learn.. But the trainers were really great! They suggested lots of activities which compelled all of us to come into contact with each other!
I really appreciated it and actually I am very happy with myself cuz I saw that this time it's been easier "to break the ice" at the beginning!
We had to do lots of activities in which we had to open ourselves to the others, talking about our first days in our host-organizations, how we are feeling, how leaving with other people (from other countries) is, and then to assess, evaluate every single sensation.
Sometimes it's been ripetitive but surely very useful to understand ourselves and how to deal with future challanges or difficulties.

We have worked from Tuesday to Friday and even if it's really impossible to write everything we did I cannot avoid to refer some tasks. My favourite activities were when we drew an "alien" were we had to put our feelings at work, our fears, how we feel at home (in our hosting countries of course!), our future expectations. I liked writing these things and then compare them with other people.
Then another interesting situation was when we had to choose three people whom we hadn't have the chance to talk with yet. One of those three people was a Portuguese girl from Madeira, Mafalda. I had a nice talk with her and we found out we are very similar!
I would write for hours about what we did but I aknowledge it's impossible and when I am very satisfied my good feelings and emotions don't really help me..I feel like a flood: too many things to say and all of them coming out at the same time, so I get confused!!! But it's a positive thing on another point of view..it means the things went really well!

Finally I need to talk about the city! What a wonderful city is Sarajevo!! I really want to come back as soon as possible! The snow, which started pouring on Tuesday (and never stopped!), didn't let us enjoy too much the city but never mind, we were really stuck in the hotel and we had only Thursday afternoon and evening for visit it. Luckily it didn't snow that time and we had the chance to have a glimpse of its beautiful historic center. But everything went perfectly cuz Jelena was with us, she has been a perfect touristc guide!

And then Saturday morning came..we had to get up at 5.30 am to take the train at 07.14. We called our reliable taxi, the same driver we had when we arrived on Monday, really nice guy (I guess I have a crush with him..ehm..ehm..!!!) and we waited about half an hour at the train station. Then we left..but I hope not for a long time!!