Joshua's Exchange to University of Zagreb | Croatia
Going on exchange will change you. No matter which country and which university you choose you’re bound for one hell of a ride. There will be points in time where you won’t even notice the time flying by as you are taken on a whirlwind of an experience. Zagreb was my destination for my university exchange for a semester. Being the capital of Croatia I was really intrigued and could not wait to embark on the journey.
I got to Croatia full of anticipation and excitement. I landed in Split and took the train up to Zagreb and was greeted by an amazing scene coming out of the train station. The King Tomislav statue sits in “Tomislav Trg” just outside the main train station known as “Glavni Kolodvor” and stood out in my view of the square as I wandered over to the tram stop to make my way to my student dorms. The whole of Zagreb is connected by trams, making transportation really easy, with most trips on train not taking very long because Zagreb is not a huge city.
Once I settled down I made my way over to the police station to register and apply for a visa. The only thing about the police station is that it’s disorganised and chaotic, but if you have everything sorted out and ready it’s much easier. The language barrier is another issue which makes things really interesting. All young people speak English but some of the older folk don’t, which makes it difficult to communicate, but like being in any foreign country, I managed to get by in the police station with the application somehow. I noticed that young people are really friendly and helpful there and won’t hesitate to ask if you need a helping hand. Croatians in general are really friendly, especially with foreigners. Because they don’t earn as much as Australians, they don’t have that many opportunities to travel, therefore they gain their knowledge and experience from interaction with people who visit their country, which is why they love chatting with foreigners, or as they call it, “strangers”. On that note too, Zagreb is really pretty safe in general, even for walking around alone in the night. I once lost my wallet while riding my bike through the city, and it was returned to me with nothing missing after someone handed it to the police.
Going to university there was completely different too. They have no online system so everything is done by paper, with lectures and classes attended in person and no other way. You meet so many new people in classes, whether on exchange as well from another country or if they are a local. Interacting with so many people of different backgrounds and life experiences help you not only to shape your stay there but also aid in your personal growth and development.
A funny thing about Croatia though is that they’re a bit behind in some aspects. For example, for my course on Television and Multimedia, we were brought out and shown how to use their equipment. The only thing was, they still used cassette tapes for recording! When I asked about the use of memory cards, the reply was “Sorry, this is Croatia” with a chuckle. Actually I found it intriguing and it was like winding back the clock and heading back many years.
With Zagreb being so close to many countries and being pretty central in the sense that it connects both Western and Eastern Europe, travelling is easy. A few hours on a bus will get you to Italy or Bosnia, and Hungary or Slovenia is an hour or two away by train. Perfect for a weekend trip if that tickles your fancy. In Zagreb they have a massive exchange student network organisation that plans many trips both around Croatia and other countries for overseas students, with trips to Serbia and Austria organised while I was there.
Going on exchange will help you to see the world and experience life in a different way. It forces you to leave your comfort zone and the familiarities associated with everyday life at home here. You get the opportunity to travel and see more of the world. That’s what will change your life.
- Joshua studied abroad at the University of Zagreb in Croatia
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