{"id":26827,"date":"2024-06-27T10:41:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T08:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/?p=26827"},"modified":"2025-01-20T08:55:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T07:55:07","slug":"milijana-in-split-how-the-macedonian-volunteer-embraced-the-dalmatian-lifestyle-pomalo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/news\/milijana-in-split-how-the-macedonian-volunteer-embraced-the-dalmatian-lifestyle-pomalo\/","title":{"rendered":"Milijana in Split: how the Macedonian volunteer embraced the Dalmatian lifestyle ‘pomalo’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My name is Milijana Bogdanoska<\/strong>, I am 24 years old<\/strong>, and I come from Skopje, Macedonia<\/strong>. I recently graduated with a master\u2019s degree in business law <\/strong>in Skopje, and I have been volunteering at the Sunce association since February. My main hobby is playing the piano (when I am home in Skopje), and in my free time, I also meditate and read books. I love to travel, and I try to go somewhere every three months \u2013 that’s how I recharge my batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you have any ESC experience before volunteering at Sunce?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not specifically ESC, but I traveled as part of an Erasmus project in high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you choose Split and Sunce for volunteering?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because I had already been to Split through Erasmus during college. What I liked about here is the lifestyle, the people, the mentality, the location\u2026 I chose Sunce because I didn’t gained enough knowledge about environmental law during my studies, and Croatia has similar waste management issues as Macedonia<\/strong>. I wanted to learn more about the directives related to environmental law so that I could apply what I learn in my own country. I connected the volunteering experience<\/a> with my career<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n

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How do you like the atmosphere and programs at Sunce? What do you like the most?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I like everything! The relationship with colleagues in particular \u2013 I am fascinated by how understanding everyone is, how everyone is always ready to help, and despite the number of people, we all have a good relationship and communication. My favorite<\/strong> activity at Sunce is the Swap Fair<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think of Split? What attracts you the most, and what do you like the least about the city?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Currently, I like everything \u2013 everything, everything! Admittedly, maybe that’s because I am here as an employee\/tourist and haven\u2019t spent enough time to see any negative aspects, but so far, even the large number of tourists doesn\u2019t bother me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there something you do in Split that you didn\u2019t do back home in Skopje?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hmm\u2026 Recycling! I never recycled at home in Macedonia<\/strong> because there is no obligation to do so. We only have one bin for all types of waste. Here in Split, separating waste has become a habit, and I hope to maintain this habit when I return to Macedonia. I am proud of myself and the change in my mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you do in your free time?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here, I have a boyfriend and a circle of Erasmus friends from Macedonia, so I go out with them. I am not particularly interested in any specific sport, but I love walking and running on Marjan. Marjan won my heart over!<\/strong> I also meditate there. These days, I\u2019ll try to gather the courage to swim in the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n

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What is the biggest culture clash you encountered here?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018pomalo\u2019 mentality. I always knew that life here is calm and slow, but I didn\u2019t know it was to this extent. It was a shock because life in Skopje is very fast. Here, \u2018pomalo\u2019 has infiltrated all aspects of life. Work and tasks are done slowly, without stress and pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you imagine yourself living in Split long-term?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes. I usually don\u2019t have strict life plans, I let things take their course, but for now, I want to stay here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any advice or tips for new volunteers at Sunce?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Expect everything. Sunce is very dynamic, which I like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have anything to add at the end?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have to admit that I really miss ‘grav\u010de na tav\u010de<\/strong>‘ from Macedonia! I know there is a “Macedonian House” here, but it\u2019s not the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project \u201cSolidarity for Green Dalmatia 2023\u201d is funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps<\/a> program. Learn more about the European Solidarity Corps program here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"logo-eu-sunce-esc-\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A twenty-four-year-old master of business law from Macedonia came to volunteer at Sunce in February. Find out how she has adapted to Split.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":26821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1256,975],"tags":[663,464,159,261],"class_list":["post-26827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-development-of-volunteering","category-volunteers","tag-esc-2","tag-european-solidarity-corps","tag-split","tag-volunteer"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26827"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29627,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26827\/revisions\/29627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}