In March 2021 I applied for the internship at the department of biology in Osijek. My decision was spontaneous and in only 2 weeks after sending my application it was already time to pack my things and move to Osijek. Before my departure I didn’t know anything about the city, but the IAESTE team and the department itself did an amazing job in making me feel like home immediately.
I started working on gel electrophoresis and Western blot, which required a lot of patience during my 2 months stay. But at the end we finally managed to get some promising results.
I was lucky to get such a good mentor. I don’t think everyone has the opportunity to work with such a fun and friendly team as I had. I don’t know Croatian, so we communicated in a mix of Slovene, Croatian and English. That might sound confusing, but we managed to talk about everything and that way I also improved my Croatian.
Through my time there I met a lot of interesting people; both locals and foreigners like me. Together we were exploring not only Osijek but also other places in Croatia. Until my stay in Osijek I associated Croatia only with its beautiful seaside, but these 2 months were enough for me to realize that it has so much more to offer. The national parks and the cities are definitely worth visiting.
Altogether I ‘ve had an amazing experience. I recommend every undergraduate to use the opportunity and do an IAESTE internship abroad. You will meet many new interesting people, get to know their culture and visit amazing places. It was a wonderful experience I will never forget.
