When I was in highschool, my family and I hosted exchange students, an amazing experience that changed my life. It always struck me how brave these kids were leaving their homes, their families, their native language, the food, and everything else they know behind and embracing the unknown.
Our very first time as a host family we had no idea where to start.. The association sends you all kinds of profiles and you just have to read through these autobiographies that the kids prepare for themselves to try and sum up their personality and interests to try and find the best fit with a family. Going on such little information you can imagine the sheer luck it takes to end up with the PERFECT student for the family, but, as luck and fate would have it, that’s somehow exactly what happened when Ina came to live with us!
Ina is from Germany and we both turned 17 the year that she lived with us. The beginning was tough because she didn’t have a super strong grasp of the English language, but she picked it up quickly and it was a match made in heaven!
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During the 10 months that she lived with us, we grew close like sisters sharing all kinds of mischief, we would sneak out to parties on the weekends and smoke weed in our living room when my parents were out. We even had our first mushroom trip together! 10 months flew by and in the blink of an eye we were 10 hysterical teenage girls at the airport blubbering and crying our way through goodbyes with our new best friend, Ina!!
Luckily we made just as strong an impression on her and she came back to visit us for long stretches of time for the next couple of summers. We were determined that we could nurture our bond even from a distance.
Soon enough though, real life started leading all of us in different directions. Ina went to study at university doing semesters in different parts of Europe and Asia. I went off to work and travel my way across Canada and eventually across the world. And the rest of our tight-knit little group of girlfriends have all scattered doing their own versions of adulting.
Finally though I was living in Jersey and Ina was only a couple hours away in Germany so the hunt was on for somewhere affordable and sunny, warm in the early spring. We played with different destinations in Northern Africa, but we settled on Croatia because we could do holiday rentals and travel more of the country for cheaper rather than spending the majority of our time at an all-inclusive resort. We wanted to explore and find some adventure during the short time that we had together.
So after 5 full years apart, Ina and I finally had our reunion in Split, Croatia, it has to be one of the prettiest little coastal cities I’ve ever seen. And as if no time had passed at all, Ina and I fell back into an easy rhythm of enjoying each other's company and taking each day as it came.
Split is situated on the Dalmatian coast, here the crystal-clear, cobalt blue of the Adriatic completely sets off the dazzling white stones of the city. The old part of the town is stunningly well preserved and maintained, you could just wander the narrow streets for hours taking in the local drinks and traditional eateries. Everywhere you look there are cafes full of Croatians enjoying a cup of joe and a smoke.. only the tourists eat it seems!
We spent a couple days exploring around the old town and since it was the weekend, we went out looking for the night life after dark. The great thing about traveling is you’re never alone, as soon as you step out your door, there are people to meet and experiences to be had.. which is exactly what happened that night. We stepped out of our vacation rental and straight away met some locals and other travelers on their way to a night club. We tagged along and ended up having a wild night meeting all kinds of new people and dancing until the sun came up! We had some plans the next day to head out on a tour to see some waterfalls but, understandably, we needed a little extra recovery time. We decided to skip our tour and instead headed for the hilltop viewpoint above the old town of Split. What an incredible view in the April sunshine!
Next we boarded a bus for the famously beautiful old town of Dubrovnik and, true to form, Dubrovnik did not disappoint. What an incredibly picturesque old city to wander through. Clean, bright, and very authentic, you can wander endlessly through the old city eating, drinking and shopping your day away.
We wandered down a random side street and we came across the most amazing authentic Bosnian restaurant. (A lot of people don’t know this, but when you bus through Croatia from Split to Dubrovnik, you actually cross into Bosnia for a short while) We enjoyed strong, Turkish-style coffee with the grinds in. We ate delicious roast meats and vegetables in filo pastry and some other delectable traditional treats. The service was wonderful and the décor was so old-fashioned and traditional that it felt like stepping back in time to another era.
While we were there and the sun was high, striking off the sparkling blue of the ocean, we decided to climb the city walls to the top and walk the perimeter of the old town. It’s so beautiful to see it from that vantage-point with the white stone of the city and the terracotta tiles on every roof, the blue sky on even bluer water, and the newer part of the city stretching out along the hillside behind. Dubrovnik really is a sight to behold!!
For the hell of it we decided to shell out for the cable car ride up the mountain. Definitely a tourist trap, but when you’re short on time, you make do with what you have! In all honesty it was a pleasant ride to the top with the ever-stunning views of the city and the ocean before us. At the top there is a beautiful café with Mediterranean-style umbrellas all over the patio because, even in April, the sun there it HOT!!
At the top we enjoyed a nice cup of coffee, something the Croatians really do so well!! We took our books and just enjoyed the nice, warm weather with a breeze under the umbrellas.. A little afternoon break before we took more pictures and explored more of the city. At the top of the hill overlooking the city, they have a museum, a reminder really, of the fairly recent atrocities of war. The Museum of War is a dark and very realistic depiction of European weaponry and other remnants of wars gone by. Not wanting to darken the mood and spoil our happy emotions of reunion, we didn’t linger too long at the museum and opted for the sunny views of the city from above and the barren, rocky landscape that stretches out inland of the city.
That night we went out for the most amazing pizza, possibly of life, at Mamamia’s Pizzeria in Dubrovnik.. The service there was lackluster to say the least, but the cheesy, saucy pie of deliciousness was definitely worth the abuse LOL. With a nice balanced meal in our bellies, we struck out on the town once again and found ourselves at a sports bar in the old town for a soccer game (Germans and their football LOL). We ended up meeting some other tourists and a guy from the US who was doing a teaching term at the local university. We had a great night drinking shots and wanderings through the old town climbing trees for oranges (the hazards of midnight snacking) and getting into trouble. Ina and I were catching a bus super early in the morning so we should have been back in bed or at the very least, packing at that time, but what’s a girls trip without a few missed Zzz’s and gambling with hangovers!?
So on a few minutes’ sleep from the night before, Ina and I hastily threw our clothes into our backpacks and made our way to the bus just to sleep the whole way back to Split.. We were pretty excited though because once in Split we were boarding a boat to head to Hvar, one of the little islands just off the coast.
Just a hop, skip and a jump from the mainland, Hvar is a little world all of its own. Super tiny, still quite traditional, and almost entirely dependent on tourism, it was pretty quiet in the middle of April. A lot of the shops and tour operators were still closed for the season which meant that we really had not much else to do but explore by foot and just enjoy the intense beauty of the place. The white stone still used widely in the architecture, as always, set off by the blue of the ocean and the sky made for stunning views in every direction. Hvar is also full of hills so, just about everywhere you look there’s a post-card-perfect viewpoint. We found that the hospitality there was incredible!! We don’t know if it was because there were so few tourists around or if they’re always like that (we hope it’s the latter), but we found the people to be incredibly warm and generous there. Everywhere we went we got great advice on sites to see on the island, we were often given extra courses or free drinks with our meals too, and we were invited to participate and join in anywhere we went.
Our second day on the island we decided to rent a scooter and took it to the far reaches of the island, outside the old town where there is much more open space and smaller, very pretty and traditional villages. There’s also lots of wind on the side of the island closest to the mainland so lots of people flock there to go kite surfing and wind surfing. It was still a little bit chilly for water sports so that part of the island was still very sleepy and it was really enjoyable to have it all to ourselves to explore.
While we were walking around one day looking for somewhere to have a coffee and a snack, we were drawn to a little bar-café because there was so much noise coming from it. When we got over there were a bunch of local guys absolutely wasted, at lunchtime.. We figured it was a birthday party or something.. As it turned out, one of the men there had just become a father that day.. Talk about differences in culture.. His wife was over on the mainland giving birth alone, and he was on the island drinking with his buddies.. what they told us was that they were consoling him in a way because ‘it was only a girl’ LOL little offensive, no? Good thing we have a good sense of humor, hahahaha!! Super funny to watch a drunk man try to dig himself out of that hole though, explaining to two women why boy babies are better than girls LOL.
While we were there, we just happened to meet another woman traveling on her own. She turned out to be a doctor with Doctors Without Borders and she was just there for a little rest and relaxation before her next placement in Haiti. We made plans with her to do a little exploring of some of the surrounding islets with a fisherman she had met in town the day before.
So next morning, out we went to the dock to meet Jerry the fisherman and Ricky, his little seafaring puppy dog. Jerry said that if ever you can’t find him, just look for the dog and he’ll lead you to the man, the boat, or both! Jerry took us to a tiny island across the bay from Hvar, it’s like a place of fairy tales.. crystal-clear waters, only a few homes, and a dirt track across the island that’s hemmed in by beautiful little flowering cacti. It’s like a little paradise that people must try to keep for themselves because there was no one else there. We felt like we only got to see it because we “knew” someone.. Thanks Jerry!!!
Now this lovely boating man, Jerry, was a wonderful host. He mentioned while we were out on the water that he and his friend had caught a huge fish and that they were doing a big dinner at one of the restaurants that evening and we were invited to join. He also invited us to a poetry reading that was taking place afterwards.
We decided to opt out of the dinner because it was our last night on the island so we thought we’d do something special just the two of us. We found a traditional Croatian restaurant, Dalmatino, and had the most incredible meal. We didn't know it at the time, but they're actually ranked as the #1 restaurant in Hvar (thanks Tripadvisor!!) The whole place was underground but with the lighting, the colors of the décor and the white stucco walls, it didn’t feel dark or dingy, just intimate, elegant and traditional. We told the waiter to surprise us with the food, we just wanted something authentic. Our appetizer was super finely sliced zucchini carpaccio, just lightly blanched with sprinkled parmesan and pinenuts on top and a drizzled a touch of balsamic.. so simple yet so delicious!!! The next course was slow cooked beef and vegetables with gnocchi and a sweet red sauce made with prunes. Hella YUM!!!!
We did decide to link up with our new doctor friend and head over to the poetry reading. It turned out to be an incredibly touching and authentic evening. It was a memorial service for a famous local poet who wrote for many years about love and life, and probably many other topics but sometimes communication was tough with the locals. Many of the attendees had been close personal friends or were family members of the poet so they were reading their favorite pieces and paying tribute in their own ways. It was very clear that he had meant a lot to the people of the island. We felt so touched to have been invited to attend. The sweetest part was our dear friend Jerry was the big man who’d brought the foreign ladies to the party so everyone wanted to share a drink with us and shake our hands before we were allowed to leave. We ended up feeling like honored guests for the evening when we thought we could have just blended into the background.. They were even trying to convince us to come to their after party at a bar down the road.
Instead we decided to let them carry on with their memorial without us and we went to meet some other new friends we had met while we were site seeing. They were a few guys from the British air force there for a little vacation from service and we’d been having drinks with them in the evenings after the day’s activities were through. They were all there for different reasons like climbing, hiking, sightseeing, or just plain relaxing, but one of the best things about traveling is having a good group of people to sit in the evenings and tell stories with. Can never complain about a Brit for a drinking buddy either!!
Sadly time does fly by when you're having fun and soon enough it was time to say goodbye to the island and head back to Split for our last couple nights together.
In the morning we rented a car for the day and we took off to see more of the natural beauty of southern Croatia. We saw lots of pretty little rural towns on our way to explore the Krka National Park a couple hours away from Split. There you can enjoy a little walk through the forest and along the river to take in the view of the 7 different waterfalls situated along the Krka River. There was a cute little village nearby to grab a bite of lunch and catch the boat down the river to see the falls. It was a beautiful finale to a very special reunion trip!
And as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.. Our whirlwind trip has come and gone in what seems like the blink of an eye!!
Next, Ange will be sharing the story of his ‘Dudes Trip’ through South America with his best buddy, Jay!!! Bolivia with the Boys is coming SOON!!
Excellent story telling! Wow! Thanks for the fun read. And your photos are spectacular! Holy smokes!
The student exchange programs sound awesome. We had a student from Japan when I was real young, but that was it. I don't think my parents had a bad experience, just that my brother and I were more than enough for them.
In Jr. college, I used to buy shrooms off a Japanese exchange student. He got placed in a home where his exchange-brother (what's the term?) was a big time rave promoter in Southern California, at the time. They let him use a badass old-school muscle car that had a nitrous tank in the trunk. We'd hit nitrous in the parking lot during break time. He was on the guest list of just about every rave in the area. I wonder what happened to that kid, it seemed like he hit the jackpot with the foreign exchange student situation.
That was my photography class. Loved that class :)
Oh that's so cool!! It's so fun to have such a close look into a different culture!!! But as the exchange student, what awesome luck to get in with such a cool host brother and host family in general!!!
Thanks for reading, follow along for more as we're not even HALFWAY though the stories of our travels!!! South America, India, Sri Lanka and all of Central America to come!!!!
Wow! Awesome trip to Croatia. I didn't have much knowledge about exchange student programs. I hope this type of fun trip will happen again and again on your life. It's a real good luck to have great friends in life.
Thank you so much for reading!! I couldn't agree more, having great friends around is one of life's blessings :)
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Epic post!, some great pictures :) Going to drop a follow and look forward to hearing how south america goes ;) (Just come back from there myself and loved it!!)
Aw thanks so much for following along, we really appreciate the support!! We actually did separate holidays that year so when he's finished with South America I'll be talking all about Sri Lanka and India... We've got lots of material in store :) What was your favorite part of South America?! Did you get to spend much time?
Followed you to see what you'll be sharing too by the way :)
Just 3 months - but it was a nice amout of time. Honestly the Galapagos Islands were insane!! if you havent been you have to check em out. Im going to write up a post how to do them on a shoestring while still seeing all the cool stuff!!
Looking forward to hearing about India, I have never been - its on the list ;)
Haha I love it, "Just 3 months"!!! Nothing like taking the time to explore properly :D I wish we'd made it to the Galapagos but we were too tight on money when we went together. We're actually saving up slowly to buy a piece of land in Latin America somewhere though so we'll be taking notes on your shoestring budget for the next time we go to scout land!!
India is incredible, truly!! Not always easy or hassle-free, but it is vibrant and alive and full of contrast and beauty! I'm finally taking him there for the firs time later this year, the countdown is on!
Nice pics:> i followed and upvoted:p
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Thanks so much for supporting our blog!! We'll check yours out :)
nice pic upvoted