My Winter School Adventure in Zagreb: I had the time of my life!
Written by: Somdutta Sarkar, Link to Leeds Ambassador 2017-18
Not too long ago, if someone had tried to tell me that I would soon be spending three weeks in Croatia studying digital marketing, I would have laughed.
And yet there I was, a few days into the new year, taking the tram twice a day in snowy Zagreb, grabbing breakfast in the morning from the numerous ‘pekaras’ on the way to class, and stopping at the main square on the way back to stroll around town and soak in its bustling evening vibe.
In December last year, I wrote about choosing winter school as the next adventure after graduating from University of Leeds; a spur-of-the-moment attempt at holding on to the student experience a while longer. The International Winter School programme of Algebra University College was recommended by a friend from Croatia and fit all the checkboxes… certified courses, reputed university, ideal duration, destination location (old world charm meets European modernity), affordable stay, a welcoming environment, and so on.
Nonetheless, I took time making up my mind. On one hand, I would need to reschedule my return to India, tap into the savings from the three jobs I had worked over the past couple of months, and brave the Balkan winters… on the other, I would be studying digital marketing, a perfect complement to my marketing degree. I could earn some ECTS credits, meet new people, make new friends, stay another month in Europe before I returned home, and spend the time exploring one of Europe’s attractive winter destinations (think Christmas trees in Ledeni Park). It was not a difficult decision, but it helped to imagine myself as a young Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia 2 – freshly graduate and embarking upon new adventures, saying (singing) to herself that this was a “one chance in a lifetime”, so “yes I will take it, it can't go wrong”.
As it turns out, it was a better decision than I could have hoped for. While not a typical study-abroad destination, Croatia proved to be charming on all fronts. I had expected to be swamped under hail and ice, but ended up happily gallivanting in the soft snowfall we received over several days in January. I had expected to find a language difficult to grasp, but found myself interacting with people in stores and cafes with ease. I had expected either a semi-vacation or rigorous combat training - one of the two extremes - but the programme managed to strike a balance between both, and three weeks of classes, assignments and workshops were cleverly interspersed with field trips, pub quizzes, karaoke nights, and social events.
A typical day would begin by eight in the morning. We would be in school by quarter to nine to catch up with each other over coffee and breakfast. The next three hours would be spent in our small classes, grappling (in the case of my digital marketing cohort) with things like display and search networks, adword auctions, and keyword matching, until we broke for lunch. The winter school staff was keen and enthusiastic, and they kept us well-fed and caffeinated all day, but we still looked forward to the grand affair that was lunch every day – particularly for the local dish du jour, and dessert.
The hours after lunch would be filled with either more classes or workshops. One of the workshops we participated in orientated us with Croatian language and culture (the idea of fjaka, for instance, the relaxed way of life typical to Dalmatia and characterized by an aspiration for nothing and to do nothing), while another took us through the steps of an early-stage start-up, brainstorming, pitching, and financing. By the end of the programme, we had come up with pitches for our own start-up ventures. From student mentorship networks to fresh farm produce delivery services, the workshop proved to be breeding ground for an entrepreneurially-gifted bunch of hustlers.
A day or two every week was set aside for company visits and field trips. We were taken on visits to companies across sectors like technology, telecom, banking, and advertising, like Greyp Bikes, Zagrebačka Banka, Njuskalo, and our favourite - Hrvatski Telekom, where we met and interacted with Pepper, a humanoid robot with an emotional radar. We had been given a city tour on the first day, and during the next two weeks, we travelled to places like Fuzine, Rijeka, Opatija, and Plitvice. With each new place we visited, we discovered a new aspect to Croatia. From the miniature Venetian carnival at Rijeka to a slice of the Balkan Riviera at Opatija to the stunning landscape of the frozen Plitvice Lakes, we sang and danced and trudged and sailed through our time in Croatia.
The time we spent outside school hours, though little, was also precious. I spent one such memorable evening at the Museum of Broken Relationships, having taken the world’s shortest funicular to the upper part of town. Of Zagreb’s many museums, this one perhaps receives the most attention, simply due to the humanistic and relatable nature of its contents. Irrespective of their personal relationships, the museum has a strangely cathartic experience on most visitors, and I was no exception. However, the exhibit that I enjoyed most was not a poignant letter from a distressed damsel to a soldier who never returned from war, nor an ode from a cancer survivor to her broken body, but simply this – a toaster with the inscription “I took the toaster. That’ll show you. How are you going to toast anything now?”
Other evenings were spent exploring cafes and souvenir shops, or going out for dinner and drinks with winter school classmates. Čevapi, a Bosnian delicacy, became a quick favourite with us all, and rakija – the popular local liqueur – had us lining up to try all its flavours… honey, fig, cherry, blueberry. And then there were the vanilin kiflice, sugar almond biscuits in the shape of horseshoes, which I would devour in dozens. The local bakery’s vanilin kiflice kept me going through some late-night study sessions and left me with higher expectations from biscuits in general.
And thus I spent three weeks studying in Zagreb, a pleasant old city with rambling trams, bookshops in every street, the best vanilla biscuits, and an architectural style that reminded me of my hometown in India. I can imagine being back, spending sunny summer days in the city... from early mornings under the red umbrellas at Dolac, shopping for cottage cheese and sour cream, to leisurely breakfasts at any of the trendy cafes on Tkalčićeva, lingering over a cup of kava as I write postcards to friends and family.
But perhaps it wouldn’t be the same, not without the people who made my winter school experience as enjoyable and memorable as it was. Perhaps the sub-zero temperatures never felt as cold because of the warmth I found in the heart of a Balkan paradise.