Belgium in Wonderland

When you are staying in Croatia for half a year, it seems to be a pity not to travel and to explore this beautiful region. So that is exactly what I did. I spent dozens of hours on buses and in cars to be rewarded by the wonderful views of Istria, Dalmatia, Zagreb, Slavonia, Boedapest, Bosnia and Montenegro. I came to the Balkans before, but it is safe to say that I fell in love these last couple of months. In the first place with the nature here, but also the people contributed to this. It is common to say that traveling is an enriching experience and indeed it can be if you want that. You can marvel at foreign architecture, a turquoise sea kissing steep cliffs, admire seemingly endless olive groves, bicycle from one beach to another, watch the sun set on dozens of islands at once or dream about buying a wooden house in an idyllic mountain village after steering your car over what seems to be a mountain bike path.  It is definitely worth it to travel the world and meet the p...

Living abroad for 6 months means that now I am the one that needs to integrate into a new society. This time I am the foreigner. The first things I noticed were the little differences and together they give you the feeling like you are in a whole new world, or at least for the first few weeks. For example, I was pleasantly surprised that a working day here starts with everyone having a cup of coffee together. Since drinking a coffee takes half an hour, up to an hour (yes, I learned to drink very slowly) I think this is a very relaxing way to start the day. And not only that: people already start talking about what they will be doing that day so colleagues make suggestions, help and support each other, so it is actually very motivational and efficient. In this way it's quite different from being an employee in Belgium, where you often work more in your own bubble and drinking coffee or water constitutes a welcome moment of relief between seas of stress or boredom. Another thing I n...

As you could read in my introductory post, a considerate part of my EVS involves volunteering with refugees. There are 2 parts to this: once a month we go to the refugee centre in Kutina (run by the state with support of Red Cross and IOM) and twice a week we go to a children’s home where unaccompanied minors (refugees under the age of 18 who are on the run on their own) are staying as well. As a supplementary activity I also visited the NGO Are You Syrious in Zagreb, who is doing wonderful work, there and online. For me this part of EVS was actually the main reason to come to Osijek. For several years I had been feeling increasingly disappointed, powerless and at times angry after reading news about war, climate change and (often Western-backed) corrupt governments disrupting countries and societies, killing thousands of human beings and chasing many more away. I finally wanted to do something more than sharing articles on Facebook, donating to NGO’s and trying to vote for ‘t...

When I arrived in Osijek it was still winter, which means very cold with snow in this part of Croatia. It was quiet, grey and the streets were empty. People did not come out if they did not need to, as if the city was hibernating. So let’s say it was not love at first sight. But then I saw the transformation to summer and it was amazing. Where were all these bicycles, nice terraces and vibrant colours before? Osijek in winter Osijek is a city hidden in the outmost Northeast of Croatia, often forgotten even by Croatians themselves. ‘Really?’, the receptionist of a hostel in Zagreb answered in disbelief when I told her I liked Osijek. She probably hoped to hear a decisive ‘no’ followed by praise for her own city, the capital. I was not so sorry to disappoint her. Several months earlier, this time in a hostel in Rijeka, the receptionist wondered why people in Slavonia do not use their lands to farm and thus climb up the economic latter (‘they are more primitive there, you know’). H...

For 6,5 months I can call myself an EVS-volunteer at Volunteer Centre Osijek , Croatia. EVS stands for European Volunteer Service and is a program funded by the European Commission to promote solidarity and exchange within the EU. You can find all kinds of projects you can apply for, ranging from ecological over cultural to social activities but it is always for volunteers between 18 and 30 years old who go abroad. In this way there is always a social and cultural side to the project, because you drop yourself in a completely new environment. There are a sending organisation (from the volunteer’s country of residence) and a receiving organisation (where the EVS takes place) involved who organise the project and support the volunteer before, during and after this period. The volunteer (that’s me!) is supported financially as well as with travel costs, a place to stay, money for food, some pocket money and language training. There is also an on-arrival training organised by Red Cross...