Early this morning the Croatia Study Abroad group left Motovun for Makarska. We had a wonderful time staying in the Hotel Kastel and traveling around Istria. Although we were sad to only spend a few days in Motovun among the beautiful rolling countryside (pictured above), the group was very thrilled to leave for Makarska.
The trip typically takes about six hours from Motovun, however due to a few stops and lunch it took us about eight. Along the way, many students took the time to stretch out and catch up on some much needed sleep, as you can see pictured above.
During our trip Dr. Cotton gave us a lecture in the back of the bus about “exclusions.” Exclusions are groups of people who are not treated as equals with the main population. Some of these groups consist of Romas, who are gypsy people, people with physical and mental disabilities, single mothers, homeless people and others.
The main population that we have seen these exclusions impact include those with physical disabilities. While we were in Zagreb we realized that there were hardly any accommodations for those with a physical disability. The only time I can recall anything that would help someone with a physical handicap was in the public health building we visited. As a group we discussed how it would be extremely difficult to experience our study abroad with a sprained ankle let alone having to be in a wheel chair. Most places we have visited did not have the accommodations that are seen in and around the States. For example, Plitvice Park does not have the means to transport anyone that would have trouble accessing the stairs to get to the lakes. That means that anyone with any form of physical handicap could not get to these lakes or the waterfalls. None of the castles or ruins that we have visited are handicap accessible. We did notice more handicap accessible ramps while we were in Istria that catered to the tourists. However, these were the bare minimum. I cannot imagine attending this study abroad with the fear of not being able to keep up and not being able experience it to its full extent due to some sort of physical limitation.
Eight hours later we arrive in Makarska! Similar to all of our reactions so far, it is beautiful! Dr. Reap put it well when he said that the views are very dramatic. All of us are getting settled in our apartments looking forward to exploring this part of Croatia. We had to say good-bye to our bus driver, Franjo. It is extremely sad to see him go! Hopefully our new bus drivers will keep us as safe as he has this past week. Eight days studying on the coast… I do not think I could have picked a more perfect place!
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