MAY & COMPANY.
Hello Argonautas!
How are you? Everything here is reaaaaally good. I’m already super tanned, swimming every day, and all the restaurants and bars are open. Murter feels like a completely different place. Even though I sometimes miss the quietness – and not having to shout “sorry!” all the time in the streets while riding my bike – the island looks amazing. Everyone seems happy, as if they were overdosing on vitamin D. There are concerts, you can rent a kayak in Slanica, and overall… you can see a lot of youngsters!
This month has been a bit crazy. As I mentioned in the last blog, we had to move out of our old apartment and stay with the volunteers. It was so nice spending those weeks with them; we had barbecues, went to the beach, to concerts… At Argonauta, we also did a cleanup action, planted a tree and took part in a workshop in Colentum that they organized, and it was fantastic.
In the middle of all that, Theresa’s friend Eva came to visit. Even though we had to share a room and I had to sleep in a baby bed, I loved having Eva here and meeting another one of Theresa’s friends – she’s really cool. We said goodbye to the volunteers on the last weekend of May (Theresa a bit earlier, because she was going on a grand tour through Germany). Now that they’re gone, we once again find ourselves with very few people to make plans with… but at least we have a new barbecue jajaja (and of course, you can find some interviews with them on Argonauta’s Instagram profile).
One of the highlights this month was attending Lucija and Suzana’s performance in Šibenik. They delighted us with their voices – they were brilliant (and they also gave us the perfect excuse to visit Azimut). Over the past few weeks, we’ve also started our personal project. It was Theresa’s idea, but I loved it so much that I wanted to join in and help her. If everything goes well, it’s going to be great, but I’d rather keep it a surprise and not jinx it.
Another new thing: this summer we’re turning into Barbie-pilates-teacher and Barbie-zumba-teacher. Of course, Zumba is going to be on this Latin chic. Am I scared? Yes. Is it going to be hilarious? Yes (I hope). While Theresa was in Germany, I’ve been preparing all the choreographies – from Waka Waka to Baby Lasagna – because we can’t forget where we are.
These past days brought another bit of news: Argonauta is already looking for the next “Theresa and me.”
There have been lots of applications, and we’re really looking forward to finding out who’s coming next year. If that person happens to be you – yes, you, the one reading this – feel free to contact us if you have any questions or just want to hear a bit more about our experience. We’d love to meet you! You can reach us on Instagram: @niiirs and @thrs.rsi.
Also, this past week, Romina (last year’s Spanish volunteer – we really need to draw up a genealogical tree of Argonauta volunteers) came back to visit the island. It was lovely meeting her and being able to speak in our own language about the experience. I already know that, once I’m back home, it’ll be hard to talk about some of the things I’ve lived here. So getting the chance to talk about it with someone who’s lived the same and in your own language is something special. You feel understood even without words.
And last but not least, I finally moved into the new apartment last week. It’s a bit farther from the center and a bit smaller, but it’s really nice and cozy. I’m writing this blog post alone on the island, Theresa is coming back in a couple of days. When Theresa left for the preparatory visit in Sweden back in March, being alone on the island felt difficult, but this time, it’s been amazing. I really needed some time to myself (although I do miss Theresa a lot, and I know she’s going to love how the island looks now).
The next adventure will be in Zadar. We’ll be attending the Mid-Term training, where we’ll reunite with one of the girls from the first training.
But that’s a story for the next blog. Wishing you all a happy June!
Vidimo se, Argonautas!
Ana, volunteer from Spain
About the ESC: The European Solidarity Corps is a program of the European Union to strengthen solidarity in various areas: from helping the disadvantaged and providing humanitarian aid to engagement for health and the environment in the EU and beyond.
The program offers young people the opportunity to respond to the needs of the community, make a concrete contribution to society, and in the process gain invaluable experience and develop new skills. The program is also intended for organizations active in the field of solidarity that want to involve young people in their activities.
