Your guide & teacher

Let’s start from the very beginning. I was born in Split. I graduated from the Zagreb-based Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, holding a degree in Croatian Language and Ukranian Language. In the period between 2009 and 2011 I worked as an adjunct lector in Croaticum – Centre for Learning Croatian as a Second and Foreign Language. There I taught regular semestral classes, combined one-month courses, individual classes; taught Erasmus Intensive Language Course (EILC) for foreign exchange students in Zagreb, and I worked at the Small Summer School of Croatian Language and Culture organized by Croaticum.

The exciting adventure of teaching Croatian as a foreign language had begun. I realized that the job was ideally overlapping with my passion for travel. For me, the essence of travelling is in discovering new, yet again same worlds – on some other continents, in differet countries, different minds… To me, the essence of travel is about discovery, but it is also about connecting. Connecting and building bridges between all these wonderful new people, cultures, languages…

It was at that time that I realized that we were, without ever moving foot,  building bridges between us inside our very classroom. To me it was like a kind of a mission,  because I was teaching them how to forge a ‘key’ –  cause language is the key that will open the door to understanding a whole new culture.

South America was calling… The call was strong, and I decided to answer that call.

I spent the period between 2011 and 2014 as lector for Croatian Language and Culture at the Buenos Aires-based Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad de Buenos Aires ). I worked with groups on levels from A1 (beginners) to C2 (advanced) as described in the CEFRL (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), I helped students meet the conditions for obtaining scolarships for learning Croatian language in Croatia, I maintained collaboration with the Embassy of Republic of Croatia in Argentina and the Croatian community over there.

You probably wonder how I felt there? Absolutely W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!!!

I became fluent in Spanish, learned how to dance tango, started to drink mate, learned what it is like to be a foreigner in a new culture, made a lot of friends and, most importantly, my students and I built numerous new bridges that connect Argentina and Croatia with inextricable bounds.

Upon returning to Croatia, thanks to my knowledge of Spanish language, another opportunity presented itself – the profession of a local guide. Today I possess a license as a guide for Zagreb and its area, and Split and Split-Dalmatia County in both English and Spanish language. I have opened my own trade in 2015 called DALE – trade for services in tourism and teaching.

I am extremely happy because I think these two professions complement one another perfectly. After all, as in the beginning, it is all about connecting and building bridges.