Hello! As of right now I have been in Croatia for two weeks, and honestly it has been a complete dream. I arrived to Dubrovnik a day earlier than my program started so I had the humbling experience of managing the new country on my own. It was quite crazy to go from the mountains of Colorado (my hometown) to the Adriatic Sea of Croatia. The beauty in unbeatable here and the weather has been a dream. Coming to a new country where I know zero of the language does make me feel bad. Being American I think often we have the privilege of not having to know other languages and being able to get by but I am enrolled in a Croatian language class so hopefully it will change soon. I have been to Europe a few times to it wasn’t too much of a cultural shock. What was different however was how much you get stared at for being American, especially when it isn’t tourist season. The stares and annoyance of being American is just something you have to get used to. The other kids on this same program are so amazing and we get along so well. It is so nice to have those “built in friends” that the abroad program brings. It is also so amazing to meet kids from literally all around the world as well. The student dorm we live in houses everyone from the University and 1/2 of the students are not from Croatia. Learning so much about the world through these students is such a huge part of why I wanted to go abroad in the first place. These past weeks have been so amazing from the mouth watering food, intriguing people, and stunning landscapes, I can’t wait to see where the rest of the semester takes me!
