Hi Argonautas!

Welcome to the new blog!

I can safely say that June was the perfect continuation of May. Summer has finally arrived on the island, which means nice weather, salads, ice cream, and above all… friends!

My friends were finally able to come visit after they finished their exams. So I spent the beginning of the month in the best way possible – my best friend was with me for the entire first week.

I was so happy to be able to show her the island where I've been living and growing for the past ten months. I took her to beautiful beaches and viewpoints, but also to all those little hidden spots that she and I had been discovering together for almost a year. It was wonderful to share this part of my life with one of my best friends, and I also realized how much I had missed moments like these – just hanging out, chilling, and gossiping with her.

After that, we went together to Split and, for the first time since I arrived in Croatia, I experienced the country as a tourist rather than as a volunteer. I didn't think about the office at all—I simply enjoyed the city with my friend, with no rush and no obligations.

Literally the day after she left, she and I were already on the bus to our next little adventure – the Mid-Term Evaluation in Zadar!

We spent a week there and met a lot of wonderful people. We had a great time, exchanged experiences, and even managed to create a joint WhatsApp group for ESC volunteers in Croatia so that we could all stay connected and more easily share opportunities and experiences. If any of the new volunteers are reading this, I sincerely hope this group helps you feel less isolated on the island. :)))

By the way, the National Agency interviewed us for a promotional video about ESC volunteering! It was a really interesting experience. Honestly, I was a bit nervous and insecure in front of the camera this time, but it all went great. Now we can't wait to see the final result! 😄

After we said goodbye to our new friends, we returned to Murter and our little routine. She hosted one of her best friends, and I was busy with college enrollment and housing applications for next year (and, of course, going to the office 😄).

But let's be honest… after a while it got a bit too quiet. So we decided to spend the weekend in Zagreb, finally enjoy a bit of nightlife 😂 and hang out with people our age. And once again it proved to be an excellent decision. I think Ona and I have finally found a way to travel that works for both of us!

To wrap up this month, and this blog, it's time to say something about work.

During the last week of June, I finally carried out the first part of my personal project. For four days, we ran 90-minute art workshops for 11 children. At first, I was a bit worried because I mostly had to rely on the children themselves for translation, rather than on my colleagues. I thought it might be a little awkward because of that, but everything went much better than I expected. The kids had a great time, and their enthusiasm made me really happy.

I'm so glad I chose a project that's closely tied to one of my greatest passions. Being surrounded by kids who share the same love of art created a special bond between us. Even when we couldn't always understand each other with words, we managed to communicate through creativity, and I think that's truly something special. Wow… now that I'm writing this, I realize how cliché it sounds 😂, but oh well… I really enjoyed it!!

And that's all from me! Although, let's be honest, this blog post ended up a little longer than I planned. I guess summarizing isn't really my strong suit! 😅

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you again next month.

Vidimo se uskoro