Friday the 13th of August in the afternoon, we finally arrived after a long, tiring trip, in Gvozd. But we all forgot about the travelling when we saw our Croatian friends again. They only left Belgium three days earlier, but the return was so good.
For the first time we went up the hill to the volunteer house where we were going to spend the next eight days. In the evening we started a nice tradition that we were going to repeat every evening, a campfire, the perfect moment to relax and think about what we had done that day.
 

The next morning we finally could start with the real work, playing the games we've prepared the last half year. And this was so much fun; the kids were always so enthusiastic and funny. Once they started a game they won't stop until it's over and they were always doing everything they could to win! And our first impression of Suncokret is that it surely is a really special place, we noticed immediately when we entered here for the first time that it's kind of a second home for the kids and we felt really the same.

On Sunday a big group of Croats was waiting for us in the centre of Gvozd to guide us proudly to their Petrova Gora (Petar's hill). The trip was exhausting especially with a wheelchair, but we, Croats and Belgians, showed that with some teamwork you can handle everything, even the highest mountains! And when we arrived on top of the hill we knew why we did it, the former hotel/hospital was impressive and the panorama view really incredible! Also the downhill was fun (especially with the wheelchair :D), this day was fantastic!

On Monday we continued playing games. Every morning and afternoon the kids could choose between two different games, so everyone could do something he likes to do.  Today the theme in the morning was superheroes and in the afternoon Olympic Games. Sometimes the games didn't really go like we prepared them, but actually that's not the most important thing, if the kids are having fun, everything is alright (and we think they had!).

On Tuesday we went to the swimming pools in Topusko which was so great. The sun was shining and the sky was blue (like almost always in Croatia), so the perfect conditions for a day full of water-fun! We have to admit it was a bit a lazy day but we had lots of fun in the water and on the slides, as well the fast as the slow one :D another day to forget never again!

Wednesday we had our third play day in Suncokret. Before noon we played two games in the ‘fairy tale-theme’, which we started with a small theatre. A frog wanted to become a prince again. Only the good witch could make the right potion, but she forgot the ingredients. So the kids had to help them and they succeeded in their mission! In the afternoon we played during one hour two “Hollywood-games”, where the kids had to act like real stars, they did great!  Afterwards the Croats, leaded by Luka and Anja, had a big surprise for us. They prepared a fantastic city game for the kids and for us. We had a lot of fun and explored Gvozd in a really nice way. We were really honoured that they showed us the way they make games in Croatia. Keep going like this, it was great!
In the evening a group of almost ten Croats came to the volunteer house to teach us how to dance the country-swing. It was really cool to see how well they could dance, we tried to imitate them and at the end of the evening we could do the first steps and swings as well. But first of all we had a lot of fun!

Thursday was unfortunately already our last day in Suncokret, so we did an extra effort to make it a nice one. In the morning we played two “Olympic Games-games”. One group went to the football field and has sported there intensively during more than two hours. The other group, played a game in which they had to try to convince the judges that their city (Buenos Aires, Banja Luka or Hiroshima) was the most capable for organizing the Olympic Games. They built LEGO sports stadia, made commercials and songs. Fantastic to see how creative the Croats (and Belgians) were! In the afternoon, all the kids prepared together a big show with dances, music and art works to end our period in Suncokret. It was a great last play day! In the evening there was a farewell party at the volunteer house and all the kids and some other people who are involved in Suncokret, came and prepared a great, typical Croatian meal. Afterwards we sang all together some karaoke songs, really fun! Later on came an emotional moment, the Croats showed us a magnificent compilation movie with a lot of pictures from the whole project! It was really nice to see everything again and we all realized what a great time we’ve had together, thanks! After the movie the most kids went home again and only the Croats who visited Belgium stayed a little bit longer. Everyone got a sheet of paper with his/her name on it and all the rest could write some messages on it, a fantastic idea! We really had a great last evening in Gvozd, one to forget never again..

The next morning was really a hard one, we had to say goodbye to all our Croatian friends. We were all convinced that it was an unforgettable time that we had together and this made the farewell a lot harder. But we, from our side, are really proud that we could join this project and that we could meet so many great persons! We all really hope to see you once again!
And if I can speak for our whole group, I can also say that we’ve learned some really important things like: have respect for a new culture, nobody’s better than someone else! And what we’ve also seen very well in Gvozd is that you can achieve anything if you’re really want to do it! Suncokret is a great initiative, keep going!
Time seemed to be flying during this project, but it was a really nice flight with you guys!

Gert-Jan Vanaken