Serena's experience in Croatia

Now, pack your bags—but don’t put in them melancholy or thoughts of home. Put in your tears instead, and save them for when this year comes to an end.

In Croatia, I learned that I am not a black hole. I’m aware that I’m not the “saintly soul” my father imagines, but thanks to a year of volunteering, I discovered that I’m not to be thrown away either. After this long journey, I had several epiphanies, the most important being that working in a group can be stimulating and creative, but it’s very different from creating a “pack.” The latter is just a poor copy of a dictatorship. This doesn’t take away from the importance of having a well-defined hierarchical structure within organizations that are part of the broader ESC family.

Still, I would advise anyone wanting to embark on this adventure to start prepared—but preferably without prejudices. You will likely encounter, paradoxically, various preconceptions about your nationality. This won’t happen out of malice, but because these ideas have been rooted in Europe for years. Your task is to challenge every small prejudice about you, your background, and what you do to live—not out of pride, but to build a solid foundation for a good relationship with the local community. The community is made of people, people with a language and culture different from yours, who over the course of a year will enrich you tremendously. So, don’t close yourself off.

Start with the simple things…
Start with the simple things: do you smoke? Learn to ask for cigarettes in the local language, and you’ll end up like me—now I can talk about how I feel, what I’m thinking, or what I’ll cook for dinner with the tobacconist or the supermarket cashiers. Of course, this isn’t necessary, but it will make you feel at home. Personally, I was born in a small village, studied in a small town, and did my volunteering in a small Istrian municipality, and I realize that this is not the case—or will not be the case—for everyone. But adapting to the environment around you is exciting; you can feel the connection between human beings.

Another wonderful discovery was learning to express how I felt and what I experienced without fear of prejudice. I literally relearned to walk on my own legs—not like walking on shards of glass, like Andersen’s Little Mermaid. I hope you take my words as advice born from my personal experience, not as absolutes.

Now, pack your bags—and don’t put in them melancholy or thoughts of home. Put in your tears, and save them for when this year is over.