Welcome to Crushing it in Croatia , a series where we feature expats who have moved to Croatia. She grew up entrenched in the Croatian community surrounded by culture and folklore, attended Croatian school in Canada, and then returned to Zagreb to attend Filozofski Fakultet.
CAM: Hi! I was born in Canada to Croatian parents. Being Croatian has been and always will be a huge part of my identity. It is something I have always been proud of β something my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents entrenched into me by sheer osmosis, I think! CAM: As a child, I came to Croatia many times to visit my family, and after the war, I even moved back for a time to attend Filozofski Fakultet Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb β it was at that time that my deda grandpa and I did all the leg-work to register my citizenship.
I remember the exact moment I held my domovnica in my hand for the first time and became a Croatian citizen β what. School here was VERY different, and while I enjoyed every minute of my time here, I had a difficult time envisioning my future in a country that was still very war-torn, so I headed back to Canada to complete my studies and pursue my degrees.
I was straddling two worlds constantly. In Canada, I felt the security of a system and bureaucracy I was familiar with, and with a future I could envision that felt familiar, while Croatia continued to tug at my heartstrings with the feeling that it was my true HOME, a sentiment that I know many people in the diaspora feel. Fast forward to getting married to a Croatian-born boy who emigrated to Canada , having 2 amazing children, and making it a point to bring them here as often as we could to have them feel just as connected to Croatia as we were.
Eventually, it became obvious that THIS was where we had to make our home. Marija: Where do you live in Croatia? How did you decide on that city, and what do you like about it? CAM: I live in a beautiful little village just outside of Jastrebarsko, which is situated smack dab in between Zagreb and Karlovac. This is the village where my mom, her parents, and the rest of my family on her side are from.
