‘Croatian Odyssey’ – My first day at college and I spot this gigantic poster on the food court wall. Flaunting every pixel in every corner of its canvas and with every letter of “IAESTE” getting imprinted into my mind, I slowly and gradually soaked in the meaning of this unheard of organization. It was quite self-explanatory as the picture of almost every flag that accompanied the IAESTE logo complemented the purpose of this organization – Merit based internships abroad with a hefty stipend. However, IAESTE membership comes with a risk – it has a high membership fee and that too it doesn't guarantee an internship. I had a very crucial decision to make, either spend that cash on an organization that offers a dream internship or go the hackneyed way of spending money on booze and girls. I really thank my stars that I went with the former.
Second year dawned and with it the pressure of finding an internship. But wait, I already had the membership of IAESTE that could get me an internship, right? Yes… maybe! I underwent the cumbersome process of filling the IAESTE application and tried my luck in February, 2012. The results came out. Unfortunately it didn’t really work out for me in the first round. However I didn't give up hope. I was pretty determined. I wanted to score here. I worked on another application for the second round. You know how people tell you that when you work for something, when you give it your all, you do get it?? They are RIGHT.
This part of my life is called, Scoring an Internship.
I got my first preference country. I had secured an internship in City Hall, Osijek with (this was the best part) with an amazing stipend. Eccentricity overflowing in my veins, ecstatic as I stood there mesmerized in my joy-town, all I could think was about what this experience would turn out to be. Dreams filled with cheer, talks narrowing down to Croatia every time I spoke, the feeling is still irreplaceable and shall always remain the same.
The time had come; it was the beginning of what I never wanted to end. I touched down in the Croatian soil on 30th May 2012. A 7 hour bus journey was followed by a 10 hour flight to Istanbul, a 22 hour transit stop and from then on another 2 hour flight, followed by 4 hours on the bus… Phew!! It had been an energy sapping journey. Croatian hospitality and Cuisine (Borek) was on the cards for me on the first day with a brief about the locale. The night provided me with my first taste of the Croatian Rakija-the drink they fervently claim “connects people”.
The next day was Job Day 1 – something which I had really looked forward to, something which had taken its seeds 2 years ago. My day started with the official paper work. Since I was the first intern to have started that summer, I was subject to all the basic experimental stages. In a nutshell, my job was to learn and fix damaged Computers, getting to know their hardware configurations, network installations and video surveillance. Initially, I had a lot of free time but then I got bored of it and started asking for work.
The technical aspect of the internship was certainly demanding but achieving the task at hand gave me a stupendous sense of satisfaction. Weekends were off-work (luckily) and that gave me time to check out the country and explore what this Balkan territory had to offer. The aura and panache that surrounded the place was immensely satisfying. This was turning out to be much more than a mere Internship. Language was a barrier but there is a certain innocent childlike pleasure in communicating with the locals in the sign language, especially in the bakeries when I was trying to buy eatables for myself. Osijek is a small village town that has recently been urbanized and still echoes the bucolic ways of life. The food culture was traditional Balkan with meat, bread and cheese as their favorite food.
Even with this entire hullabaloo around, Skyping with my parents did tend to increase the frequent pangs of homesickness. I vaguely recollect the famous all night parties, which usually gained fervor from the dorms or from someone’s apartments, gathered pace as 20-30 people entered the fray and ended at sunrise with barely a handful of us on our feet. I never regretted these late night escapades as they always gave me the chance to socialize and meet more people in this relatively unknown country. It went to the extent that people who I couldn't recognize used to greet me on the streets and on seeing my stumped expression used to remind me about “that” party where I had met them. Frankly speaking, just a river of human beings on a narrow lane in suburban Osijek is sufficient to arouse the night life bug in any human. The activity, the night life, the passion they live with… You just can’t stay inside, get bored or sulk alone when you are in Croatia… there is just too much life to live in the outdoors! Accompanying me were interns from 12 other countries so that just increase the diversity of the groups I had regular interactions with. I made lots of great friends and they will always be an integral part of this magical memory that I wish to relive again and again.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Croatian experience and yearned for more. But India called me back! On the last day, I experienced mixed emotions. I did not want to leave this amazing country but I couldn't stay away from my homeland too! While leaving, I had a huge smile on my face that reflected the satisfaction enjoyment that this trip had bestowed on me. Visiting Croatia was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I got and I certainly had lived my life there to the fullest. The people, the food, the culture and the rich heritage- everything contributed to the magic I lived.
After landing at the Bombay airport, I was filled with a feeling of immense satisfaction and pride. I went to Croatia as an ambitious learner aspiring to be the best. However, the internship gave me much more than just academic satisfaction and I came back being better than the best. It gave me 2 unforgettable months where the days gave me the satisfaction of working hard and the nights gave me the feeling of living my life to the fullest. Live life KING size they say, I think I had my share of the crown in Croatia. As St Augustine has said, ”The world is a book and those who don’t travel read only one page”, I feel I have turned a page ahead in the book of my life and wish to turn many more in the years to come.
