Day 16

I'm sitting here at the office and making a presentation for our tomorrows' Latvian evening. And
it's quite hard to understand which information put in the presentation and which to leave out. All information seems very important, but I don't want to make the presentation too long and too boring. Right now I have 6 slides, 3 of them about history and it' s only till 18th century. I still have to put in both World wars, regaining independence, etc., etc. But I think that history is a very important part, I hope they will be interested in that, especially because there are possibilities to draw parallels between Latvian and Croatian history.


Yesterday we went to the swimming pool. It takes a really long time to get there - almost an hour if you are walking. We almost capitulate when met McDonald's in our way and thought about staying there. Fortunately we had enough motivation to continue our search for the swimming pool. And it was really great when we finally got there! We did 30 minutes of swimming and then we went to smaller cool with bubbles and it felt so great and relaxing! I almost got asleep there. Finally we were so tired that we took a tram from half way, although it costs a fortune here. 8 kunas, that' s a lot for the public transport in comparison with Latvia. We pay around 2.5 kunas for a public bus in my town Valmiera and for tram in Riga I think it's around 4 kunas.
Also we did a really great work yesterday, working on project for a training, which could take place here in September, if approved. So maybe I'll return in Croatia in September. Great! :)

Day 14

2 weeks have passed.

This Friday we are having Latvian evening with some traditional food, songs and dances. Today I was searching for some photos for the presentation slide show and was listening some songs from Latvian Song Festival concerts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86T5EJyMc4I&feature=related).
And it made me really emotional and made me realize that I start to miss Latvia.


Anyway - this is going to be a very, very interesting and fulfilled week. Lots of work to do. But that's good, because I start to miss adrenaline and nights without sleeping. :)

Day 13

This was kind of crazy weekend. I got to enjoy the Croatian health care system already. My pierced ear swelled very, very big and hurt a lot. I tried some vodka compress, but it didn't help a lot, so Damjan took me to hospital. Actually it was really great! Doctor and nurses was very, very nice to me, talked to me in English, and the nurse who didn't played with me like with a five-year-old girl. I really enjoyed that.


On Saturday evening Federica, Italian girl arrived. We will need some time to get used to that we are three, but I think it won't take a long time. She' s really nice. And she does know how to cook pasta, unlike us. If we talk about cooking, I'm sure of nothing.

On Saturday we went out a little for some Croatian food again. I must say, that I really like Croatian cuisine. I ordered something, what in English was called Shepard's Hot Pot (Damjan was really amused about this translation). It turned to be a meat soup. And not a meat soup like we eat it in Latvia - with potatoes, cabbages, carrots, etc. No, it was a meat soup only with meat in it! Fabulous! My brother would definitely love this!

Day 9

This was a pretty strange morning. We had to start working only at 12 o'clock. So we were still sleeping around 9.30. And then, suddenly, the bell at the door. And it' s not a very quiet bell. It' s one of those which could wake dead people. So, I jump out of my bed, and run to the door, still in my pyjamas, because the bell does not stop ringing. And there she is - an old Croatian lady, saying: Ja mama! and starting to me in very quick Croatian. Probably from my expression she understands, that something is not like it should be, so she' s asking if I understand (in Croatian, of course). Ne razumiju, I'm saying. Then she' s asking me if I'm working at the evening or at the mornings (as if I worked it mornings I would stand there in my pyjamas). I say- mornings, and then she says, ok, then go back to bed. What I did.


Today we went to the old city to 'hunt' some more people for our research. And we were really doing well! It' s interesting, that here the old city is not in the center of the town. We had to walk some 15 minutes to reach it. And it' s really nice place - you can feel the spirit of history there. And as there are many schools and lots of youth hangs around, it' s a good place for our researches.

We had an interesting discussion with Damjan about sexual education in Croatia. As I'm a member and peer educator in Latvian Association of Family planning and sexual health 'Papardes zieds' it was really interesting for me. Situation in Latvia is following: there used to be lectures in elementary schools in Latvia about sexual education, but now it' s kind of integrated in social education block. So that means there are no such lectures. There are NGO' s like 'Papardes zieds', which can provide lectures in schools about themes like sexuality, relations, puberty, contraception, safe sex and STS, which are leaded by youngsters - peer educators. But it' s far to ideal situation. In Croatia situation is more difficult because many things are influenced by church. That means that politicians are not interested in establishing lectures in schools about sexual health. And there are not many persons who could lead that kind of lectures. Although the abortion is legal, the number of underaged pregnancies and abortions is not available. Or - is not adequate to situation. Sad.

Day 8

Yesterday I wrote a really long post, but then internet connection broke down suddenly. And I lost everything that I wrote. F...!

We had a really nice meeting with our mentor yesterday, we discussed things we like and things we don't like. We discussed also our daily schedule, which I' m going to write down here.
We are getting up around 9 or 10 o'clock, having a nice hot shower and nice slow breakfast. Then we are going to work, spending some time there, or going out in the streets, as for example today - for doing our research. We have our lunch around 3 or 4, then - back to the Youth Center were we spend time socializing with people who come here - talking about life, playing some cards or some billiards. And then we go home around 23 and go to sleep around the midnight. Almost perfect, especially because I'm not really a morning person. But there still some kind of guilty feeling about not using morning properly. Maybe I'll start doing some running or yoga in mornings.

Yesterday we had a meeting about Contact making seminar, which will take place here in Osijek. Our organization, CnC hosts the seminar, so there are lot of work to do. 40 participants from 14 countries are going to be here, including my sending organization from Latvia. I'm really looking forward to this! Seminars like this is always a great experience, possibility to meet many interesting people and to learn new things.


Damjan, our project coordinator said today that we are going to have our on-arrival training on February in Slovenia. This also sounds really good! So - life is great! :)

Day 6

Ok, the first weekend in Croatia has passed. Quite ok, actually. On Friday evening we were out for some pivnica - a place with traditional Croatian music and beer. It was nice, lot of socializing with local people, which are really nice. I wanted to make some pictures of the band who was playing, but I didn't wanted to look like a stupid tourist so I didn' t do that. Hopefully there will be some more pivnica in 6 months.

We spent most of the Saturday cleaning the house and going shopping. Some of the guys of the Center asked us to join them for some club at the evening, but we were so tired, that just stayed home and watched some stupid movie. We also did some laundry, the funniest thing about this was that we didn' t know how to turn on the washing machine and we had to call our boss to come and help us with it.
On Sunday we went out to taste some Croatian food.

It was very good actually. Heavy but good. As I'm a meet eater, I think that I' ll like the Balkan cuisine. And at the evening we went to see some puppet show - it was the open exam for one of the guys from the Center, who is studying to become an actor. That was really great! As I have always admired actors and all the things that are related to theater, I really loved that! It so great that you can do so many things from nothing. Some cloth or newspaper, fingers and some imagination - and the play is ready! Great!

Today we are going to start to do some work - some research about how people think in Croatia about things and how do they think in our countries.

Third day

I start getting used to waking up in somewhere else than my bed in Latvia. And the morning procedure starts to look very nice. We watched some Croatian TV this morning, there was those British TV series about Nanny. I have seen the Russian version, and it really felt good to see this familiar story. Although I think the Russian version is better.

Yesterday night we did some sightseeing. We went to the bridge of river Drava, walked around the city a bit. I took photos as a crazy tourist, but it felt very good. A really happy feeling was inside me, knowing that I can see all these beautiful places and to have this experience.
(Ok, this was the lyrical paragraph.)




Yesterday I was thinking also about all the things why I'm exactly here, In Croatia, in Osijek, not somewhere else, doing my EVS. When I started look for the project, I knew that I wouldn't like to go to some 'old' European country. I think it' s not interesting to go to the place, where everything is ready and done. And know I feel very good, that this is Croatia who I chose and who chose me.

Right now I am happy to see lot of things in common for Latvia and Croatia. For example, the things that happens with the post-socialistic country in transition period - dirty politics, corruption, etc., although they are not good things at all, it helps me feel safer and almost like home, to know that Latvia is not the only country in the world where things like that happen.
Also I like Croatian language. Maybe it' s a little easier for me, because I know Russian. It' s interesting to find common things and different things in those languages. And I really like the thing that they have all the č, and š and ž - like in Latvian.

I haven' t tried any Croatian food yet, that is the thing I am really worried about :) Although I hope that we'll do this weekend. Almost a week in Croatia and eating the same things than at home - this is not interesting at all.

I'm trying to squeeze something clever out of me, but it seems it doesn' t work any more. It seems that I have to go home and eat something.

Second day in Croatia

Ok, this is already my second day in Croatia, Osijek, where I am for my EVS.
Why I am here? That' s a long story.
Once upon a time there was a Latvian girl, called Madara, who was involved in some NGO' s. And then to here organization came a girl from Austria to do here EVS (which stands for European Voluntary Service). And so Madara became her mentor, because there was almost no other people in organization who talked in English. She didn't know lot about EVS and things, but it became more and more fun. Madara met other volunteers who visited Anna, her Austrian volunteer and they had lots of fun together. About that time Madara graduated university and started to work. But she had a feeling that work from 8.00 to 17.00 is not the thing she really wants to do for whole the rest of her life.
The thought about EVS, the possibility to do new things, meet new people, etc., etc. came in her mind more frequently. At her free time she used to go to the web page of EVS projects http://ec.europa.eu/youth/program/sos/hei/hei_en.cfm and dream about taking part in one of them.
Then one day one of her friends told that his organization has been approved as the one, who can take part in EVS and that his organization can be the sending organization in case she is ready to take the challenge and do EVS.
So Madara decided, that it is enough to dream, she has to do something.

12.04.2007 – I send out e-mails to three organizations, which projects seemed interesting to me
15.05.2007 - Youth Centre for Non-formal Education CREATORS not CONSUMERS in Croatia, Osijek, approves, that I could be one of the volunteers in their project (yesterday I got to know that I was chosen from 150 people. WoW!!!)
01.06.2007 – the project was submitted in European Commission (because there is no National Agency in Croatia)
28.10.2007 – our project is being approved
01.11.2007 – scheduled project start
15.01.2008 – real project start

So you see - lots of waiting :) Although I think it' s not always like this.
Now I'm here in Croatia, together with Magdalena, my Austrian colleague (again Austria!), and there is another girl from Italy coming next week. First days has been full of technical and bureaucratic details - as registering in police that we have came to the country (that was something new for me), going to the bank to open our accounts (and discovering that there is no Latvia in the list for Croatian banks), having the first language lesson, getting used to new apartment and things like that.

So, what do I want from my EVS?
To gain new experience in non-formal education field and to understand, if this is the thing I want to do in my life. And of course - to learn Croatian, to meet new people, to learn things about Croatian life and culture and myself.

That' s it for today :)