In a sea of news about people leaving Croatia, we love to share stories about people who came to Croatia and started a new life in our country on our blog. One of them is Yolanda. Born in Barcelona, she moved to Croatia in 1988, and this year it’s her 20^th anniversary of living here. We decided to talk to this energetic mother of five to hear her story of moving to Croatia during the intense war years.

Adapting and learning the new language

The reason for my move to Croatia was like for many others, love! Because of love, I decided to leave my life in Spain, my family, friends, and university and move here as a 21-year-old. The process of moving and adapting to my new life wasn’t hard or dramatic. I am a very open and communicative person, but I can’t also say everything was easy. My biggest handicap was not knowing the Croatian language and also a different mentality in my surroundings. At that time, I felt like everyone around me was quite guarded and closed towards strangers which was something different for me.

What helped me the most when I first came to Croatia was that I was surrounded by kids a lot of time. They lived in the same building as I did and I hang around them every day, play or just tried to talk to them, so I learned a few Croatian words. Step by step, in less than half a year I learned enough Croatian to communicate with people on my own.

Image credit: Yolanda Gregorio Vrnoga 

From tough times to a modern European city

I lived through the war years in Karlovac, from first to last day, and just like everyone else felt all the horrors of war: fear, sadness and much more. Before coming to ex-Yugoslavia, now Croatia, I didn’t know much about the country. Just a short history which we learned in our history classes in high school. In the years since I came here, Zagreb has really developed and become a real metropolitan city with a soul. I love its narrow streets in the Old town, beautiful architecture in the city center, stunning fountains all over the city and its many restaurants and café bars. Also, I really enjoy the Advent time in Zagreb which has changed the city in the last few years and was awarded as the best Advent in Europe a few times. You can really see the changes in the number of tourists who come to Zagreb. Every year there’s more and more of them, and I love that.

The main differences

Spain is a pretty big country compared to Croatia. It has a lot of regions with many differences in mentality and language, so it's hard to talk about Spain in general. I am from Catalonia, and I can say that Catalonians are hard working people who just like Croatians manage always to find a way and adjust to different situations wherever they are.

There are some differences in mentality. I’d say that Spanish people are more extroverted and a bit more opened and warmer. Here, in Croatia people tend to take some time to open up to you and accept you as your own.

Image credit: Yolanda Gregorio Vrnoga 

Is Croatia now home?

Yes! I love Croatia very much. It is now my home, a place where I raised my family and where people who I love live. But also, my heart still gets warm when I think of my Spain. You can never forget where you come from.

Header image credit: J. Duval, TZGZ

Author: Darija Ilić