How a Spaniard became a Zagorec?

My name is Hugo Stokic Trkulja, I am 23 years old, I am from Spain, and I am an ESC volunteer in Zabok, Croatia. This whole adventure started with one clear idea: I wanted to live a different experience, improve my English, and discover more of the world. What better way to do it than by moving to a country I had already visited several times before? At first, I felt a bit scared because it was my first time living away from home, without my family, and having to become independent with the basics of everyday life. I only had one small advantage: the Croatian language, which I actually speak better than English. Why? Because my mother was born in Tuzla, and I have family both in Bosnia and Croatia. I spent part of my childhood here, and I have always remembered these places as the places where I felt happiest. That is why I wanted to come here, live a different experience, and learn new things. My volunteering project started in February 2026 and will finish in November of the same year. I share this experience with my Italian teammate, Daniele, whom I had never met before, but with whom I quickly built a great friendship. Honestly, I could not be happier with the team we have all created together. In our organization, Mreža udruga Zagor, they take great care of us, and from the very first moment we never lacked anything. I truly believe we have built a very strong relationship. In our daily routine, we work during the mornings from Monday to Friday, which means we have afternoons and weekends free to do whatever we want. And honestly, we make great use of that time. We have travelled around Croatia, and our team has really made an effort to show us many beautiful places. In my free time, for example, I also go to the gym near my house. Even in such a short time, I already feel like I have built a home here. Of course, I miss my family a lot, my pets, and especially my mother, who is very happy that I am living this experience here — especially after all the things that have happened to us, things that had never happened before with volunteers. Honestly, I never imagined that speaking Croatian would take me to television. I still remember my arrival feeling very nervous. At the airport, late at night, Marija and Ivana were waiting for me holding a small sign on a phone that said “Hugo.” The moment I saw it, together with the huge smiles on both of their faces, all my nerves disappeared.

During this time, many things have happened. I have learned a lot, both personally and professionally. We have taken part in activities, I have given talks, and I have shared part of my culture from Spain. But nobody told us that one day we would suddenly appear on the front page of the “Zagorski list” newspaper and across two full pages inside it. It had such a huge impact because the last thing people expected was for a Spanish guy and an Italian guy to speak Croatian. Yes — we both speak Croatian! And honestly, I never expected my teammate to speak it too, which makes things much easier for me because one of the reasons I came here was to improve my English. Just when we thought everything ended there, during our second month we were contacted to appear on television on “RTL Direkt”. More recently, we were contacted again by another very well-known Croatian TV show called “Kod nas doma” on HRT television. I am extremely happy with the way we have been welcomed here, and I would absolutely recommend everyone to live an experience like this. If you are reading this and thinking about doing a volunteering project related to something you enjoy, there are so many opportunities available, both short-term and long-term. Do it without fear, because life only happens once. It is better to live with a “remember when” than with a “what if.” I came here feeling scared, and without a doubt, now I could see myself living in Croatia permanently.
 

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