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A Rijeka heart in a Zadar classroom
Laura has spent her university years in Zadar, studying German and pedagogy, but the coastal city never quite captured her heart the way her hometown of Rijeka has. “I always knew I’d come back home,” she says simply. Now in her final year, writing her thesis whilst teaching Croatian online, she’s already planning her return. Rijeka isn’t just where she grew up – it’s the industrial, diverse student city where she feels most herself, where the mentality and the people make sense to her in a way nowhere else does.
“I always knew I’d come back home. Rijeka has a place in my heart that Zadar never could.”
The pull of home is strong, though Laura’s future remains wonderfully uncertain. She’s considering an internship in Germany, exploring various paths, weighing different possibilities. When she needs to think, she drives – music playing, finding peace in the combination of movement and melody. “It’s a kind of therapy for me,” she explains. Regardless of where her career takes her, she’s certain of one thing: “I’ll come back to Rijeka in any case.” It’s this rootedness, this clear sense of belonging, that seems to ground everything else she does.
The unexpected path to teaching Croatian
From childhood, Laura knew she wanted to work with people, though the exact shape of that work remained unclear for years. The answer came at the end of her gymnasium education, crystallising fully once she began university. “I knew at the beginning of my studies that I would become a teacher,” she explains. What drew her wasn’t just working with people, but the dynamic exchange of ideas – she thrived at university conferences, open days, and discussions bridging pedagogy and German studies. Her dedication paid off spectacularly: she received the Rector’s Award, the crowning achievement of five years of effort, work, and commitment.
Teaching Croatian to international students, however, was never part of the original plan. Laura had always assumed she’d teach German to Croatians, making the reversal both surprising and deeply satisfying. When she finally felt ready to apply to Let’s Learn Croatian in her final year, after admiring the school from afar, everything clicked into place. “When I teach, I feel very much at home,” she says. The moments that matter most come when students tell her how much they enjoy working with her, how much they love learning Croatian with her as their guide.
Capturing light and learning everything
Photography is Laura’s quiet passion, though it’s anything but hidden. She’s already exhibited her work, specialising in nature photography – sunsets, coastal landscapes, the fleeting moments when light transforms the ordinary into something worth preserving. “I’m very pleased that my work appeals to people,” she says, with the understated pride of someone who creates art not for validation but because they must. The same curiosity that draws her to a camera draws her to general knowledge quizzes, which she’s competed in several times during her years in Zadar.
“You’re never too old to learn – after all, you can do that your whole life.”
This philosophy of lifelong learning extends beyond classrooms and competitions. Laura saves money for travel, always finding time to explore new places, believing that journeys develop a person as much as books do, perhaps even more. She’s recently discovered a passion for mountain hiking, hoping to dedicate more time to it soon. For someone who describes herself as “a sea person,” this expanding interest in higher altitudes represents a beautiful willingness to grow beyond comfortable boundaries whilst never forgetting where home truly is.
An open classroom where everyone speaks
Laura describes her teaching style as anything but strict. Whilst she values working through materials and reaching lesson goals, she’s equally comfortable adapting when students need more time with difficult concepts. “It’s important to me that students understand the materials and that they work with me,” she explains. Her classroom – virtual though it may be – thrives on conversation, on everyone participating rather than just listening to her speak.
When concepts prove challenging, Laura gets creative. Teaching temporal accusative and genitive cases recently stumped her students, so she created her own translation exercise from Croatian to German, and suddenly the grammar made sense. For students who grasp material quickly, she prepares extra exercises; for those who need more time, she adjusts her pace accordingly. Her homework assignments emphasise free writing, giving students space to experiment with the language on their own terms. It’s a responsive, evolving approach that she expects will continue developing as she gains more experience.
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The reward in unexpected connections
Though Laura only began teaching in June, she’s already experienced the moments that make the work feel like a calling rather than just a job. She thinks particularly of her group of older learners, who started the course quite closed off but have gradually opened up. “Now they’re so engaged that we can’t get to the end of the lesson,” she laughs. “They have so many comments and stories, they speak so much.”
“The most beautiful thing is when we build a connection and I see their progress from beginning to end.”
These moments of personal sharing, when students bring their lives into the Croatian language, represent everything Laura loves about teaching. Even when the work feels overwhelming – correcting assignments at the weekend, balancing teaching with thesis writing – she genuinely enjoys it and can’t imagine doing anything else. What moves her most is watching people from different backgrounds, united by their desire to learn a language she loves deeply, make visible progress week by week. For someone who always knew she’d work with people, who knew teaching felt like home, this particular form of connection – building bridges into Croatian – turns out to be exactly right.
Teacher and student stories
Discover inspiring language journeys and see how others are learning and teaching Croatian.
Melanie | Student
From struggling to order bread in a Croatian bakery to having fluent conversations with locals – Melanie’s inspiring language journey.
Nikolina | Teacher
Nikolina’s joyful lessons mix melody and tradition, bringing Croatian to life with the spirit of her vibrant home village.
Billie | Student
Billie ties Wyoming mornings to Adriatic evenings, showing that Croatian can truly become a beloved second language home.