Winter Work Tales: Croatia

Winter Work Tales

- Croatia -

Jackson Juska and Ian Cosic climbing in Paklenica National Park.

Jack Becker on the Kvarner coastline. by Ian Cosic '21

Jackson Juska in Paklenica National Park. Tired of the western hemisphere, three Webbies decided to strike out across the Atlantic for opportunities on the Adriatic. Croatia was a country that none of us had really thought about before finding ourselves in the port city of Rijeka, but we quickly acclimated to our positions in the Metal Shark office and our new European lives.

The office was reminiscent of a Webb classroom, with an inviting open floor plan and people regularly collaborating and laughing together. Lunch was always exciting, with local food being brought in every day. We would usually spend the time learning more about Croatia and about the lives of everybody in the office, and often were asked questions about the US.

We hung out with our colleagues from the office after work, on the weekends, and during local festivals. Everyone we worked with went out of their way to make us feel like we were family, and our coworkers constantly suggested ways we could see and experience the country they loved to call home. They also gave us some helpful pointers on the locations and on local traffic rules.

We climbed mountains, fell in love with frozen waterfalls, explored islands, wandered ancient ruins, stayed in a really creepy hostel, fed zebras, skied the Swiss Alps, fished for an eel, and had some of the best food of our lives. Croatia was everything that we could have imagined, and so much more. Thank you to Webb, thank you to Metal Shark, and thank you to the wonderful people in the Croatia office who supported us in our crazy adventures.