Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and why did you move to Zagreb?

My name is Jasmin and I come from Vienna. I am 27 years old and for the last 7 years I have been working as a kindergarten teacher and studying at the University of Vienna. After I finished studying I decided to follow my dream to learn Croatian. So, I quit my job and came here. When I was a child my family had a motorboat on the Croatian coast, so we came to Croatia every year and I fell in love with this beautiful country. 

Was it hard to move and get used to living in a different country?

The hardest thing for me about coming here was leaving my boyfriend behind. I never had a long-distance relationship before, and even if there are just 400 km between us, we couldn’t see each other very often. It got a lot easier as time passed and after I found some friends to spend my time with I finally started to enjoy the experience a lot. 

Is there something that surprised you here or was hard to get used to?

In my opinion, Vienna and Zagreb are pretty similar, and in many parts of the city, I feel like home. Sometimes it still surprises me how relaxed and friendly people are here, and I can’t remember anything that was hard for me to get used to.

What is your favorite thing about living in Zagreb? Do you have maybe some favorite places in the city?

I love sitting in bars and just talking to my friends for hours on end and the tradition of going for a coffee every time. There isn't anything I don’t like about Zagreb, except the point that living here would be hard because earning enough money for a normal life is not that easy. The best place for me is definitely the woods in Maksimir Park. I came here with my dog and I really love to go there for a walk and sit next to the different ponds. Whether it's winter or summer, I just think about everything, breath the fresh air and relax in the silence. 

Image credit: Jasmin Wasatko

Have you achieved your goal - learn to speak and understand Croatian?

Learning to speak and understand Croatian was the main part of my life here. I went to the language lessons every day at Croaticum and sometimes we had a lot of homework and even more to study. I think that I made really good progress and although I had to put in a lot of effort, I am so happy about my decision to learn a new language. 

What are the things that you miss the most about your home? 

As I mentioned before, of course, I missed my boyfriend the most. But also, not seeing my friends for a long time sometimes bothered me a lot. I was glad when some of them decided to visit me. Beside my friends and of course my family there is nothing I missed. 

Did you make any new friendships in Zagreb? What would you say about locals - can you maybe name some main characteristics about Croatians?

I made a lot of new friends, most of them from the lessons at the Croaticum, but also some locals. Croatians seem to be really friendly, but sometimes I am not sure if they really mean it. I loved spending time with them, but it wasn’t enough to get to know them really closely. 

Image credit: Jasmin Wasatko

In the end, are you sad to be leaving Zagreb? What will you miss the most about life in Zagreb?

I am very sad that now, after seven months, I will have to leave Zagreb and I will miss that I can’t just focus on learning Croatian anymore when I am back home. On the other hand, many of my friends from Croaticum are leaving too so even if I stayed I couldn’t spend more time with them. I am sad that this awesome experience will be over soon, but I will keep all the great memories with me forever. 

Header image credit: M. Gašparović, TZGZ

Author: Darija Ilić