First Few Days

I am now here in Varaždin, Croatia.

On Saturday the 30th I arrived at the Zagreb airport after a long and tiresome night of flying. My Host mother Snježa, my next door neighbor, Morena, and a girl from my class, Ena came to pick me up. The drive to Varaždin took just under an hour. I spent most of the trip admiring the scenery and looking at all the new sights. Very different from Canada.

I am staying with Damir and Snježa Piskac. They have a daughter, Andreja, but she is away in America on an exchange. They are very friendly and although they don't speak much English and I don't speak much Croatian we have managed to communicate. The house is small and very different to Canadian homes but it is very nice and homely.

Varaždin has a larger population then Campbell River but everything is more condensed. The town center is only a ten minute walk from my house and my school is a fifteen minute walk away.

The night I arrived I went with my host parents to the town center. Špancirfest, a ten day festival in the town center was going on so it was very crowded. There were vendors, entertainers, clubs, concerts, food booths and tons of people. Lots to see!!

Monday was my first day of school, but only for an hour to get class lists and such. My school, Prva Gimnazija Varaždin, was established in 1636. (370 years old this year) Right now there are renovations going on to connect the building next door to the school. There are over 1,000 students attending the school and not enough classrooms (cabinets) so there are two shifts, morning and afternoon classes. For me school starts at 7:30. I have 19 classes and the schedule is random. Most of the teachers only speak Croatian so i don't understand whats going on in class. Mostly I just sit in class, listening, trying to pick up words I know. Unlike in Campbell River I have the same classmates for every subject. The teachers move from class to class and are often late. Classes are only 45 minutes, but sometimes there are double blocks of the same class.

I have met lots of new people, all of which are very nice. My classmates help me out when needed and show me around or invite me out after school. They have made things easier.

At the moment I am unable to transfer pictures from my camera to my computer but as soon as I fix that I will add some photos.