Bilo je to kobne 2014 godine. S obzirom da je Andrei živio u Italiji punih 16 godina, znao je raditi kod svojih susjeda u berbi grožđa. Satnica je bila nesto malo manje od 10 eura, a radio si od 8 do 12, zatim dva sata odmora za rucak i onda od 2 do 6 navecer. Zvuci podnošljivo, zar ne? Kad je on meni rekao za to, to mi se činilo kao dobra i poprilično laka zarada novaca. Rekla sam da mozemo probat. No, s obzirom da ga susjed nije bas previse volio i, po njegovim pricama, zezao za svaku sitnicu, rekao je da će nam naći isti posao samo kod drugih ljudi. Ja sam to prepustila njemu, a moj zadatak je bio nagovoriti moje roditelje. Na moje veliko iznenađenje, pustili su me! Tako smo mi krenuli za Italiju. Prije toga imali smo tehnički pregled auta i tamo smo se zadržali jer nešto nije bilo dobro i morali smo to srediti ukoliko želimo krenuti za Italiju. Uspjeli smo riješiti problem, auto je prošao tehnički, a mi smo tek popodne oko 6 krenuli na put koje će trajati 6-7 sati. Nije baš dobra ideja obavljati važne stvari na dan puta, vjerujte mi. Uz put smo naravno opalili par fotki, a kad se spustio mrak umor je uzeo maha i šopali smo se red-bullima. Do Italije smo došli u polusnu.
[ENG] It was a fatal 2014. Given that Andrei lived in Italy for 16 years, he used to work with his neighbors in the grape harvest. The pay-check was something a little less than 10 euros, and you've worked 8-12, then you had two hours of lunch break and then 2-6 in the evening. Sounds tolerable, doesn't it? When he told me about it, it seemed like a good and fairly easy earning of money. I said we can try. But given that the neighbor and Andrei don't really like each other a lot, he said that we will find the same deal only with other people. I left that to him, and my task was to persuade my parents. To my great surprise, they let me go! So we set off for Italy. Before that we had a technical inspection of the car and we got hold up there because something was not right and we had to take care of if we want to go to Italy. We were able to solve the problem, the car had passed the technical, and we finally set off at 6 in the afternoon on 6-7 hour journey. It's not really a good idea to be solving important things at a day of the trip, believe me. Along the way we naturally took a few pictures, and when darkness fell exhaustion took hold and we had to drink a few strong coffees and RedBulls. To Italy we got half asleep.

Tamo smo odsjedali kod njegovog tate koji je ostao živjeti tamo s Andreovom mlađom sestrom, no s obzirom da on često ide i u Hrvatsku, u to vrijeme je bio tamo, a mi smo imali kuću za sebe. Kada smo stigli u gradić zvan Pedersano gdje je Andrei prije živio, iznijeli smo kofere i bacili se ravno u krevet. Po noći nisam uspjela ništa vidjeti tako da mi je jutro sa sobom donijelo neke stvarno predivne slike. Pogledajte čemu sam se probudila.
[ENG] In Italy we stayed with his father who lives there with Andrei's younger sister, but considering that he often goes to Croatia, at the time he wasn't there, and we had the house to ourselves. When we arrived to a small town called Pedersano where Andrei lived before, we threw our bags and jumped straight to bed. At night I couldn't see anything so in the morning I saw some really beautiful pictures. See to what I woke up to.



U Italiji smo namjeravali ostati tri tjedna te cijelo to vrijeme raditi. Trebali smo s radom početi par dana nakon našeg dolaska, no, cijelo vrijeme je padala kiša te nije bilo povoljno za berbu. Tako smo proveli tjedan dana doma, malo istražujući Pedersano i Rovereto, ali većinom brinući se hoćemo li uopće početi sa radom ili će nastaviti lijevati kiša. O, nismo ni znali koliko nam je bilo lijepo.
[ENG] In Italy we intended to stay for three weeks to work. We were supposed to start work a few days after our arrival, but all the time it was raining and it was not good weather for harvesting. So we spent a week at home, exploring Pedersano and Rovereto a little, but worrying whether we'll even start working or will it continue to rain. Oh, we did not know how much it was nice to sit home.



Nakon tjedan dana probudili smo se i vani je sijalo sunce. Bilo smo uzbuđeni jer ćemo napokon početi raditi. Nazvali smo naše poslodavce i saznali da sljedeći dan počinjemo sa radom. No, tada su nas zatekli kada su nam rekli da moramo doći ujutro u 6 na posao. Isprva smo mislili da je to zato jer se još moramo dogovoriti detalje, ali nismo ni znali koliko smo bili u krivu. Sljedeći dan pojavili smo se na poslu i upoznali se sa ostalim radnicima, među kojima su većina bili stranci. Tada smo saznali da do vinograda u kojem radimo moramo prijeći 30-ak kilometara. Sa sobom smo povezli još dvoje radnika jer nisu svi imali aute. Malo nam je zasmetalo što nemaju organiziran prijevoz radnika te moramo trošiti svoj benzin no, smatrali smo da će nam to na kraju biti plačeno. Kada smo sitgli, pred sobom smo vidjeli vinograd bez imalo hlada, na nizbrdici, ispod kojeg je bilo gradilište. Ni to nam se bas nije svidjelo no, šta sad, tu smo došli da bi radili. Krenuli smo sa poslom i sve je bilo u redu do ručka, za koji smo smatrali da će biti organiziran. No, dobro da smo si ponijeli nešto kruha i paštete jer bi ostali gladni. Jedino što su ovi ljudi imali za svoje radnike je bila voda, no i nje nam je ponestalo za samo par sati. Naime, ručali smo u sjeni bagera, na pijesku. Bilo je 12 sat, radili smo od 7, a imali smo samo pola sata pauze. Izmučeni suncem i umorni nastavili smo s radom koji je navodno trebao trajati do 6 sati. Naravno, trajao je i duže, bez obzira na to što se računalo do 6. Završili smo posao oko 7 sati, vratili njihove radnike gdje smo se prvotno okupili te otišli doma. Nakon što su nam se mišići opustili, cijelo tijelo počelo nas je nevjerojatno boljeti. Popili smo tablete protiv bolova i otišli spavati znajući kako sutra opet moramo opet proći kroz sve što smo proživjeli taj dan.
[ENG] After a week we woke up and the sun was shining outside. We were excited because we could finally start working. We called our employers and find out that we'restarting the next day. But then they caught us a little unprepared and told us we start at 6 in the morning. At first we thought it was because we still have to work out the details, but we did not know how wrong we were. The next day we appeared at work and met up with other workers, and the majority were foreigners. Then we learned that to vineyards we have to go to were 30 kilometers (one way!). We took two other workers in the car with us bacuse not everyone had cars. It bothered us that they do not have organized transport for their workers and we have to spend our gas but we felt that this will eventually be paid. When we arrived, we saw a vineyard without a shade, on a downhill slope, beneath which was a construction site. We didn't like that a lot but we couldn't do much about it – we came here to work. We started working and everything was fine until lunch, which we thought would be organized. Well, good that we brought some bread and pate because they didn't have any food for us. The only thing these people had for their workers was water, but we ran out of it in a few hours. In fact, we had lunch in the shadow of the excavator. It was exactly afternoon and we've been working from 7, with only half an hour break. The sun and the tireness was killing us, we continued with the work that was supposed to last until 6 in the afternoon. Of course, it lasted longer. We finished work at about 7, drove their workers to where we originally came together and went home. After our muscles relaxed, the whole body began to hurt. We took some painkillers and went to bed knowing that tomorrow we must relive this day again.

Keljavost, kukci i umor dočekali su nas i sutradan. Isti vinograd, isti ljudi, no ovaj put čak bez vode, koju su poslodavci zaboravili ponesti. Bez svoje vode od 2L ostali smo već nakon 2 sata rada i jedva smo čekali onu ako-to-možemo-zvati-pauzom pauzu. Kasnije su donijeli vodu no na nas 20tak radnika svatko je jedva dobio litru. Jučerašnji dan ponovio se; radili smo bez prestanka uz pola sata pauze. I opet – doma se vratili u ogromnim bolovima. Tada sam se ja raspala. Ležala sam na kauču i počela razmišljati kako mi nedostaje moja obitelj i kako ću ih razočarati ukoliko odustanem od ovog posla. Nakon što sam se dobrano isplakala, bilo je vrijeme da popričam s mamom, koja je to iznenađujuće dobro podnijela te me poduprijela i rekla da me čeka doma u Hrvatskoj ma što bilo. Tada smo počeli razmišljati o odustajanju, no ja sam odustajanje i dalje smatrala krivim odabirom. Tako smo i sutradan otišli na posao slomljena duha, a do kraja dana bili smo sigurni da to više ne vodi nikamo i da nećemo izdržati više ni dana. Po povratku sa posla, javili smo poslodavcima da više nećemo raditi i napokon u miru usnuli znajući da se od sutra nećemo više buditi u bolovima. Iako možda Andrei i ja nismo bili naviknuti na veliki rad, ipak je to bio preveliki zalogaj. No, kao iz svih ostalih iskustava, izvukli smo lekciju – prije rada u inozemstvu, dobro provjeri za koga ćeš zapravo raditi.
[ENG] Stickieness, insects and fatigue waited for us the next day. The same vineyard, the same people, but this time even without water, they forgot to bring it. We run out of our 2l water after 2 hours of work and we couldn't wait for that one if-you-can-call-a-break break . Later they brought us water, but on 20 workers, each barely got a liter. Yesterday was repeated; we have been working non-stop with a half hour break. And again - back home in huge pain. Then I broke down. I layed on the couch and started thinking about how I miss my family and that I will disappoint them if I give up this job. After I cried a good deal, it was time to talk to my mom, which she took surprisingly well and supported me and told me she was waiting for me at home in Croatia no matter what happens. Then we started thinking about giving up, but I still tought it would be wrong to give up. So we went to work the next day, broken spirits, and by the end of the day we were sure that it wasn't leading to anywhere and that we weren't going to endure one more day. After returning from work, we told the employers that we will no longer work and finally fell asleep in peace knowing that tomorrow we weren't going to wake up in pain. Although Andrei and I were not used to do hard work, we took a too big of a bite on this one. But, as from all other experiences, we got out with a lesson - before working abroad, be sure to check for whom you will actually work.

Iako smo se nam(učili), ovo nam je bila prilika da malo razgledamo po Pedersanu i okolici te smo odlučili ostati još barem tjedan dana da malo uživamo u Italiji kada smo već do nje i došli. Prvi izlazak bio nam je u centar Rovereta gdje me Andrei odveo na jedno od najboljih jela koje sam jela u zivotu – pravi indijski chicken curry. Restoran se nalazi odmah u centru. Posluga im je odlična, a hrana još bolja. Ukoliko idete jesti tamo, a toplo vam savjetujem da odete ukoliko se nađete u blizini Revereta, nemojte zaboraviti uz curry naručiti i indijski kruh ''pane nan''. Kombinacija za prste polizat! Još ako uz to naručite i ''tartuffo alla vanilia'' što je nešto u tipu sladoleda sa jezgrom okusa kave. Ajme, sve bih dala da sada mogu biti tamo i jesto to umjesto da ovdje pišem o tome!
[ENG] Although we had some infernal days, this was our chance to look around Pedersano and we decided to stay another week to enjoy Italy a little bit . The first trip was to the center of Rovereto where Andrei took me to one of the best meals I've ever had in my life - a real Indian chicken curry. The restaurant is located right in the center. The staff there is really polite and the food is even better. If you are going to eat there,and we strongly advise you do if you are someweher nea Rovereto, do not forget to order the Indian bread 'pane nan' with the curry. The combination is excellent ! For dessert we ordered '' tartuffo alla vanilia '' something like an ice cream with a core flavor of coffee. Oh, I'd give everything to be there and eat it instead here writing about it!



Nakon toga prošetali smo se centrom, upoznali vrlo zanimljive patke i vratili se u svoje dječje dane!
[ENG] After that we walked to the center, met very interesting ducks and returned to our children's days!



Ako se pitate gdje u Italiji jeftino kupovati EuroSpin je mjesto koje tražite. Za samo 8 eura kupili smo hranu koja nam je trajala sljedećih par dana stoga znate što vam je činiti. Ukoliko nismo jeli hranu iz dučana, radili smo odlične domaće pizze koje smo jeli uz još bolji pogled!
[ENG] The most of the time we spent in Italy, we bought food in Eurospin which for me was a revelation. If you're asking where to buy cheap in Italy Eurospin is the place you're looking for. For only 8 euros, we bought food that we took on for the next couple of days. When we didnt eat food from the store, we did great homemade pizza which we ate with an even better view!



Pedersano je gradić koji se nalazi u blizini većeg grada Rovereta (a Rovereto se nalazi blizu Verone). To je predivan gradić koji me malo podsjetio na naše dalmatinske gradove. Popločane ulice i kamene kuće dašak su tradicije, što čini Pedersano pravim malim romantičnim gradićem. Naravno i u Pedersanu našli smo odličnu pizzeriju ''La miniera'' u kojoj se cijene pizza vrte oko 5-7€. Jednom kad probate talijansku pizzu, zaboravit ćete na sve hrvatske pizze!
[ENG] Pedersano is a town located near the major city of Rovereto (Rovereto is located near Verona). It is a beautiful town that reminded me a little of our Dalmatian cities. Paved streets and stone houses are a breath of tradition, which makes Pedersano a real little romantic town. Of course, in Pedersano we found an excellent pizzeria 'La miniera' 'in which the price of pizza was spinning around € 5-7. Once you try the Italian pizza, you will forget all about Croatian pizza!

Nakon kiše koja nam je upropastila prvih tjedan dana našeg boravka i mučenja na iscrpljujućem poslu, došlo je vrijeme da uživamo u sunčanim danima koji su nam dolazili. Te dane iskoristili smo obilazeći ljepote okolice Pedersana. Jedna od tih ljepota je Lago di Cei koji se nalazi svega 15 minuta vožnje od Pedersana.
[ENG] After the rain that ruined the first week of our stay and the torture at the exhausting work, it was time to enjoy the sunny days that came to us. These days we took visiting beauty of the surroundings fo Pedersano. One of the beauties was the Lago di Cei, which is located only 15 minutes drive from Pedersano.



Nismo propustili ni priliku prošetati se kroz predivne vinograde koji su posvuda. Pritom smo ukrali i par jabuka, da procijenimo koja je vrsta bolja. ;) Pssst, nemojte nikome reći!
[ENG] We did not miss any opportunity to walk through the beautiful vineyards that are everywhere. In doing so we stole a couple of apples, to see what kind was better. ;) Shhh, don't tell anyone!



Sunčani dani nas nisu izdali, a mi smo ih i dalje provodili uživajući u prirodi. Posjetili smo ogroman kanjon zvan Lagghetti del Leno. Njime protječe istoimena rječica Leno, no po njezinoj veličini u tome dijelu kanjona rekla bih da je više potok. Ali potok koji je u nama probudio prave istraživače kako bismo ga prešli.
[ENG] Sunny days kept on going, and we still spent then enjoying nature.We visited a huge canyon called Laghetti del Leno. In that canion runs the river leno which by its size in that part of the canyon, I would say that is more a stream. But a stream that wakes up the explorers in us.



Jedan od dana proveli smo istražujući neimeni slap koji se nalazi u jednoj šumi u blizini, a do kojega je vrlo lako doći no potrebno je poznavati okolicu ukoliko biste došli do njega.
[ENG] One of the days we spent exploring an unamed waterfall located in a forest near us and to whom is very easy to get but it is necessary to know the surroundings to find it.



Ostatak našeg boravka u Italiji provodili smo u uživanju u ovoj predivnoj prirodi i druženju sa Andreovim prijateljima. Zadnji dan prije našeg odlaska odlučili smo se počastiti te zajedno s njima posjetiti Gardaland. Bilo je zaista zabavno te smo obišli mnoge vožnje, no većinom one koje nisu sadržavale puno okretanja i penjanja na velike visine s obzirom da nismo baš ljubitelji visina.
[ENG] The rest of our stay in Italy we spent in the enjoyment in this beautiful nature and having fun with Andrei's friends. The last day before we left we decided to visit Gardaland with them. It was really fun and we visited many rides, but the majority of those that did not contain a lot of turning and climbing to great heights since we are not fans of height.



Nakon Gardalanda čekao nas je velik put – bilo je vrijeme da se vratimo u Hrvatsku. Znali smo da neće biti lako s obzirom da je to put od 7-8 sati te da ćemo morati naći načina da ostanemo budni. No, nismo ni očekivali ono što će nam se uskoro dogoditi. Vozili smo se i zapričali se te smo primijetili da smo krivo skrenuli – umjesto pokraj Trsta, mi smo zaglibili u sami njegov centar. Andrei se koliko toliko znao snaći po Trstu, ali po noći je i njemu sve izgledalo strano. Počeli smo paničariti jer smo znali da se vozimo na malo goriva, koje smo planirali natočiti kada prijeđemo granicu. Tada smo napokon našli pravi put koji nas je trebao odvesti na onaj prema granici. Taj put je bio velika uzbrdica kojom smo se počeli penjati, ali uskoro nam se dogodilo ono najgore – auto je stao nasred ceste. Pokušali smo ga upaliti par puta, ali nije davao nikakve znakove života. Tada je počela prava panika. Bili smo na uzbrdici i bojala sam se da će auto krenuti nizbrdo i da ga nećemo moći zaustaviti. Andrei ga je nekako uspio uparkirati u dvorište manevrirajući ga unazad i tamo smo stali, izašli iz auta, pogledali se koji vrag da sada radimo pogledom i počeli pregledavati auto da možda shvatimo u čemu je problem. Nismo vidjeli ništa što bi nam dalo ikakvu ideju kako da se izvučemo odavde. Sjeli smo na rubnik ceste, očajni i zaglavljeni. Kroz glavu nam je prolazilo više stvari; u drugoj smo državi, daleko od doma, gdje je sve skupo, a mi imamo par desetaka eura u džepu, ne možemo zvati vučnu službu preko HAK-a jer nismo u Hrvatskoj, a vučna služba ovdje koštala bi nas stotinjak eura. Nismo znali što napraviti niti imali ikoga koga bismo pitali što da napravimo. Na glas sam razmišljala i tješila nas oboje: ''Jednog dana ćemo se smijati ovome.''
[ENG] After Gardaland a long trip was waiting for us - it was time to go back to Croatia. We knew it wouldn't be easy considering that the trip lasts 7-8 hours, and we'll have to find a way to stay awake. But we did not expect what was going to happen soon. We drove and chatted when we noticed that we took a wrong turn - instead of near Trieste, we ended up in it's center. Andrei knew a little about streets in Trieste, but at night it all seemed foreign to him too. We started to panic because we knew we were low on fuel, which we had planned to buy when we cross the border. Then we finally made our way on the road to the border. This road was a great climb, which we began to climb, but soon the worst thing that could happen, happened - the car stopped in the middle of the road. We tried to start it up a couple times, but it did not give any signs of life. Then we started to really panic. We were on the hill, and I was afraid that the car will go downhill and not stop. Andrei has somehow managed to park in a yard maneuvering it back and there we stopped, got out of the car and looked at what the hell do we do now. We have not seen anything that would give us any idea how to get out of here. We sat on the curb of the road, desperate and stuck. There were a few things on our minds; we are in another country far from home, where everything is expensive, and we have a few euros in our pockets, we can not call a tow truck over from HAK because we are not in Croatia, and a towing service would cost us hundreds of euros here. We did not know what to do, nor had anyone whom we could ask for help. I was thinking and comforting us out loud: ''Some day we will laugh at this.''

Izgleda da je Trst po noći grad duhova, jer je tada to sigurno bio. Nismo bili u centru grada već smo zapeli na uzbrdici iznad centra, što je još više otežavalo pronalaženje pomoći. Odlučili smo se prošetati do centra grada i možda naći pomoć ili barem pronaći mehaničara kojemu možemo otići sljedeći dan. Našli smo mehaničara koji je otvarao u 8 ujutro te nam je malo laknulo. No, postojao je još jedan problem – morali smo na WC, a sve je bilo zatvoreno u ovo gluho doba noći. Tada smo na trgu ugledali policajce te ih odlučili pitat za pomoć. Dobra stvar je bila što Andrei zna talijanski. Policajci su nam izašli u susret te nam savjetovali da bi bilo najbolje da prespavamo noć i ujutro odemo kod mehaničara te nam pokazali put do obližnjeg kafića koji bi sada trebao raditi. Našli smo ga, ali kafić se zatvarao. Nastavili smo istraživati centar te našli kafić koji radi 0-24h. Sjeli smo se i malo sagledali svoju situaciju. Kafić je imao i wifi te smo opalili jedan selfie koji sam poslala svojoj mami uz obrazloženje situacije. Nije bila toliko zabrinuta koliko sam mislila i čak je i rekla,ukoliko ne uspijemo srediti situaciju, da će ona doći po nas. Odlučili smo se vratiti do auta i odspavati ovih par sati koji su nam preostali. Na putu smo sreli i čovjeka na biciklu koji nam je prvo nudio ruže a potom ''svježe, hladno pivo''. Da baš, svježe i hladno sa bicikla u ovo doba noći. Vratili smo se do auta i ''odspavali'' do 7 ujutro kada smo se ustali i zaputili se do mehaničara kako bismo bili prvi koje će primiti toga jutra. Objasnili smo našu situaciju mehaničaru te je bio toliko dobar da nas je sa svojim autom dopeljao natrag na brdo gdje se nalazio naš kako bi ga pregledao. Uspio je izvući auto iz dvorišta i spustiti ga do radionice. Dogodilo se to da se auto na putu dolje normalno upalio. Stvar je bila u tome što smo imali premalo goriva i kad je auto bio na uzbrdici gorivo nije dolazilo do motora. Mehaničar nam je ulio gorivo, zamijenio filter za gorivo i mi smo bili spašeni, ali par desetaka eura kratki. S olakšanjem da nije bilo nešto ozbiljnije uputili smo se doma. Umorni, ali sretni što je ta cijela stvar iza nas. Sad kada se toga sijećamo, smijemo se cijelom iskustvu. Baš kao što sam rekla kada se to događalo. Pa, ako se i vi nađete u sličnoj situaciju, nemojte ju oplakivati, jer ćete se jednog dana sigurno smijati tome! Mi se već smijemo! :D
[ENG] It seems that Trieste is a ghost town at night, because at that time it really was. We were not in the city center but we got stuck on a hill above the town, from where it's even more difficult to find help. We decided to walk to the city center and maybe find help, or at least find a mechanic to which we can go to the next day. We found a mechanic shop that was opening at 8 o'clock and we were relieved a little. But, there was one more problem – we had to go to the bathroom and there was none open at this time fo night. The we spotted a couple of police offers in the middle of the square and decided to ask them for help. They were friendly and advised us it would be best if we slept through the night in out car and find a mechanic in the morning. They also gave us direction to the coffee shop that was supposed to be working at these late hours. We found the shop, but right at the time it was closing. We explored the center of Trieste a little bit more and run into a coffee shop that was working 24/7. We sat down and looked at our situation. The coffee shop had wifi so we shot a selfie that I sent to my mum explaining our situation and sending her our (lost) regards from Triest! She wasn't worried as I thought she would be and she even said she would come to pick us up if we don't find a solution. We decided to go back to the car and sleep through the hours we had left. On our way back we even ran into a man on bycicle that was trying to sell us roses and a ''fresh, cold beer''. Yeah right, fresh and cold right off of your bycicle in the middle of the night. We came back to the car and slept till 7 in the morning so we can be first at the mechanic's. We explained our situation to the mechanic and he was kind enough to drive us back to where our car was and look at it. He somehow got our car on the road and started rolling it downhill. What happened was that the car started normally when going downhill. The thing was – we ran on low fuel and that's why car wouldn't start when being uphill because the fuel couldn't come to the engine. The mechanic poured fuel into our car, exchanged the fuel filter and we were saved, but a few euros short. We started our journey back home with relief it wasn't something more serious. Tired, but happy this whole thing was behind us. Now, as we remeber it, we laugh at the whole experience. Just like I said right when it was happening. So, when something like this happens to you, don't cry over it, because some day you will be laughing at it! Cuz we sure are laughing at it now! :D


(selfie iz Trsta ; a selfie from being stuck in Trieste)

Oznake: italija, Italy, Pedersano, Rovereto, Lago di Cei, Gardaland