March 2024
And here we are… My last month in Slovenia. It’s now the moment where, with the pressure of the time, you realise all the things you still wanna do here. So yes, as you can maybe expect, March was quite busy.
But I first started March with a trip to Croatia with my family who came to visit me. With the comfort of a car, we visited some cities in Istria and also a natural reserve called Kamenjak where the color of the water was insane! Because it was not spring yet, there was no tourists and even though it seemed a bit sad sometimes because everything was closed, it was nice to feel like we were the only ones visiting those places! But I assumed that in the summer, all those pretty cities and beaches are very crowded (which I don’t really like to be honest).
After those few nice days, I went almost immediately to Slovenj Gradec, in the really north of Slovenia, not really far from the Austrian border. As I maybe already say, I joined the artistic swimming team in Koper and after having the opportunity to judge a championship, I had the opportunity to join a training camp. We spent 3 days there, mostly at swimming pool obviously. I was there to give a hand at the trainings but also after (because some of the girls were quite small). I’m quite proud of myself because I did the warm-up alone and only in Slovenian (so those Slovenian lessons are really useful!). Oh yes, and on the way back, we stopped in Trojane to try the famous Krofs. Apparently, the tradition in Slovenia is to bring some of them for your family if you pass by this city. And they are supposed to be the best Krofs, because they are big, fresh, generous. And well, yeah, I can confirmed: good they are.
After this kind of exhausting weekend, we prepared the theatre show. It was quite fun for me, maybe a bit stressful for others. We trained a lot of times to move the background and we almost did it perfectly at the end! Again, we took advantage of working later in the day to enjoy the sunlight and sunsets in Piran, and I absolutely love the small moments like this.
No time to rest after the show (the girls did really good by the way!), I immediately headed to Litija to start the volunteering exchange I planned. The plan was to go to work with those 2 volunteers and then, they’ll come work one day in Epicenter. So that’s what I did. I first worked in a community garden: we prepared the ground and planted some seeds. The second day, I followed the volunteer in the school she’s working: we took the kids to a contemporary dance class and participed a bit. The week after, they came in Epi and we did a cultural exchange through music: we did some games, sang Italian/English/Lithuanian songs, learned a “Belgian” traditional dance and created Istrian instruments. It was really nice to have this opportunity to exchange about our work experiences as volunteers and see other projects, other ideas, other ways to work.
In between all those activities, my friend from Belgium came to visit me (so happy I got to show her a bit of Slovenia!). It was short but we actually did a lot of stuffs (I even wonder how we did).
For my last day in Epi, we also had a ice-cream party and did “printing on t-shirt”, and I really liked this activity and was impressed by the creativity of the kids!
This month, I also went to Zagreb, which was nice but one day is enough to visit the whole city (unless if you are a big fan of museums). I also did a small hike in Medvode on my own and it was sooo nice: sunny, view over the mountains, warm. The weekend after, we did a hike in Italy, to see a waterfall, which was also pretty nice! Well, now I remember I said I was not a big fan of waterfalls but it seems like this is the only thing I did this month! Because for my last weekend, after we spent a whole day in Ljubljana, we went to Gozd Martuljek waterfall. It was something to see too for sure but it didn’t stop raining and we ended up completely wet. So that’s why we decided to come back at the coast and chill there.
For my last days, we went one last time to Cacao and stayed a long time there, had breakfast in Piran, ate in TamKot, we also did a “raclette” (finally !!) and, of course, we went one last time to see the sunset. It was incredible, as always, but for the first time in my life, I saw dolphins! I knew there was a few in this sea but I wasn’t expecting to see them at this time of the year! That made me really happy and I really felt like a child, trying to spot them and getting really excited every time one was jumping over the sea.
I left Lucija early, with my 3 suitcases, some tears in my eyes. If you think everything went as planned, well you’re wrong. We got stuck in traffic on the way to the airport, 4 hours not moving at all! So I missed my flight and had to wait 8 hours at the airport for the next one. Yup, again, it’ll be a journey to tell.
But anyway, now I’m back home and I ain’t gonna lie, the feeling is weird. I feel like I’m living a double life, one in Belgium and one in Slovenia. I thought the first week would be the hardest but actually, as time goes by, I’m missing more and more Slovenia and its nature, all the people there, my living place and all the sunsets, even sharing my room (I never thought I’d say this, 6 months before). I miss being a volunteer.
I’m so grateful I got to live this experience. For sure, there was so ups and downs, but all I remember now are the good times, the laughs, the amazing people, the travels, the interesting talks,…
I’m grateful I got this opportunity and this place to grow as a person and learn about myself. I’m grateful I got to meet so many people and share a lot of things with them. I’m grateful I got the chance to experience all those things at work, at the swimming pool or in my free time.
So what I’d like to say is thank you : to Varja and Epicenter team for welcoming me in this project. I had a really nice time with you all. Thank you for making sure everything was ok and for supporting me through this experience.
Also, thank you Anne for being with me along the way. I’m really happy we shared this experience together even if yours is not over yet. Thank you for listening to me every day after work, for accepting me as I am and not getting mad when I had too much energy. Thank you for coming with me watch the sunset sometimes, for running one time with me or going out at 10pm just to get ice-cream on a cold February night. You truly made my experience in Slovenia better than if I was alone ! I wish you all the best for the rest of experience and look forward seeing you back in Belgium!
I guess it is now time to close this chapter…
Se vidimo Slovenija!