Traveloteacher

It's been almost a decade since my last visit to Rome. I threw a coin into the beautiful Fontana di Trevi, so I'm sure I'll go there again. Rome is one of those cities that can never become boring, where there's always something new to see or to do. As a matter of fact, I can't name a city or a country that I wouldn't want to see again. Once bitten by a travel bug, the sheer thought of going places fills me with the feeling of anticipation and excitement. It's the same fluttery feeling I get in the moment the plane leaves the ground. What to say about Rome that hasn't been said yet? It's unbelievably amazing with a great many of awe-inspiring sights. Every building, every street tells its own story of ages past. And the fountains! Absolutely awesome! It's said that there are about 280 fountains in Rome. My favorite: the three magnificent fountains on Piazza Navona in spring.

My childhood memory of Vienna is rather traumatic: in a park near a castle (Schoenbrunn?) I was accidentally hit by a little Viennese girl because I came too close to her swing. She was all dressed up in a dirndl. Luckily, my successive visits to Vienna have been less aggressive and more pleasant, but other people's clothes are more often than not the focus of my attention. My country used to be part of the Hapsburg Monarchy, traces of which can be found in the architectural style of Downtown Zagreb and the lingo the Zagreb citizens have been using for more than a century. Since it takes only five hours to get to Vienna, I often take my students on day trips to see the sights and visit an exhibition or two. Because being as rich a city as Vienna is, it'd be a shame to miss such perfect opportunities to see the world famous masterpieces in numerous Viennese museums. We've seen the paintings by Cezanne, Picasso, Van Gogh, the Impressionists from the Paris Musée d'Orsay, D...

I've just uploaded the photos from Minimundus on Picassa and I still can't believe how my sons have changed over those 4 years. They're no kids anymore, well, at least when I compare the past and present photos of theirs. Fortunately, I don't see so many changes (i.e. wrinkles, kilos, gray hair etc.) on me!!!.... uh, just kidding. However, I'm still young at heart. This is another good thing of being a teacher - the students simply don't let you grow old... or am I kidding myself again???? Minimundus Anyway, it was back in 2003 when we had a lot of fun in this terrific park called Minimundus, near Klagenfurt in the west of Austria. Around 150 models of the most beautiful buildings, bridges, castles, towers, churches... from all the continents can be admired there. Close attention is paid to each and every detail of the models, set in the masterfully designed landscaping. The Zagreb St Mark's Church with its unique tiled roof is the only representative of my ...

Zagreb is unbearably hot these days. School isn't over yet. We've just started a makeover of our condo. What a summer! Somehow I don't feel like writing about my trips, especially because I'm not going anywhere this summer. Okay, okay, I'm going to the seaside, to the island of Krk later next month, but I'm not traveling abroad. People travel so much in the summer that we wouldn't stand a chance to board a plane as stand-by passengers. On the one hand it's good, because all popular destinations are overcrowded at that time, but on the other, I feel sorry for not being able to explore other countries. But I know we'll make up for it in the fall and winter, our travel seasons.

After visiting Dubrovnik, the pearl of the Adriatic, we all arrived in Zagreb, our hometown. Perhaps the fact that our American guests had the opportunity to live and work/go to school in the Croatian way and because this is where our home is, i.e. our family and friends, was the reason they liked Zagreb more than Dubrovnik. As they said, Dubrovnik is more traditional, Zagreb is more modern - and besides, they went clubbing, which is actually impossible in the States, being less than 21. Anyway, they gave presentations to their peers in our school, about their families, school, L.A. and even Mexico, since both kids are Latin American. It was great to learn about how differently we live and yet, how similar we actually are. We learned about the prom and house parties, tostada and cheesecake, electives and detention. They were taken aback to hear that our kids have 17 mandatory classes per year and that they have to read two books a month as their compulsory literature. They liked custar...

Dubrovnik Our American guests, one teacher and two students, arrived in Europe on May 29. They flew to Paris where they spent the first three days, then took an overnight train to Florence, stayed there for another two days, then on to Rome from where they flew to Dubrovnik, via Vienna. Four Croatian teachers and two students who were to host their American peers, met them at Dubrovnik Airport. Together we all went to the Youth Hostel, which was excellent, with delicious food, clean rooms and bathrooms (although not en suite) and very helpful and kind staff, especially the cooks. We walked all over the Old Town of Dubrovnik, both through its incredibly narrow streets (where neighbours can't but know everything about each other, from what you eat for lunch to why you have a row with your husband) and on the ancient walls, whose length is almost 2 km. We went on a boat ride to Lokrum, one of the most beautiful islands in Croatia, where the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic are of ...

We started making plans for this exchange almost two years ago, when our two students and two teachers returned from the States. The Americans were supposed to come to Croatia last June, but it couldn't be done for different reasons, so we postponed the exchange for this school year. To be honest, this time last year I thought it'd never happen. But we were too stubborn to give up. It took a lot of energy, a lot of planning and fundraising, but they're here right now, and we're all really proud of making it happen. Because, we've seen that it's up to us, the teachers. If we believe in it, if we really want something then we can make it happen. We put a lot of effort into it, but it's worth it. Seeing the students having a great time in learning about the differences and similarities between us, is what inspires us to go on. The world becomes a better place if we instill in each student the importance of understanding and being understood, of respecting and...