Continuing our look at the island of Korčula through the eyes of its schoolchildren on June 11, 2018, a wonderful piece from 7th grader Lora L, who introduces her piece of Paradise, otherwise known as the Pearl of the Sea.
My name is Lora. I wasn’t born in Korčula, actually I wasn’t born in Croatia. My mom is from Zagreb, my dad is from Banja Luka. They moved to Austria. That is where I was born. We moved to Korčula when I was one year old. My grandparents lived here so we moved in with them. We built a house here, it’s the same house that we still live in. I remember that since I was very young I’ve loved running through the old streets of our little town.
Korčula is a very small town for someone who has never been here but for a child like me it is the biggest and the most beautiful town that exists. Korčula is the name of a big island and a small town. People who live here have everything they need. We, kids, have school, we have high schools, shops, a cinema, restaurants. We have everything that one big town has, but we have that in a smaller dose. We don’t have to leave our island to go to school. Of course we can do that if we don’t want to go to high school here. I don’t want to leave. Korčula is my home. My safe home. I have everything here, things that I have here do not exist anywhere else.
Here I can walk through streets made of stone, I can listen to music that is performed only here, I can play the saxophone in ˝Moreška.˝ I can sit by the sea for hours and hours. Here are my friends. I spend most of my time with them. We sit on the old bridge, down on the beach, we listen to some music, we laugh, we sing and we are happy. We don’t need much for happiness, we just need to be here. The sky above is always bright and we can always see the stars and the Moon watching us.
Our island gives us what we need. It gives us home, safety, it gives us life. I know everyone and everyone knows me, so wherever I go I can always find a friend. There are countless things that make Korčula perfect. Long summer nights, sunny days, gentle wind, millions of stars, old stone houses. But, one thing that I love the most is the sea. I love listening to its sounds, I love how it plays with boats that sail. I love talking to the sea. Some people think that that is crazy, but they just do not understand that it will always listen to you, it will sail your troubles far away.
I’ve lived here my entire life, I know every stone, every street, every beach and every view that is here. I know every place here. You probably think that I got fed up with this place, that this life is boring. It isn’t. Even if I try to get bored with it, I can’t. Korčula is my lifestyle. Have you ever asked yourself: ˝How am I going to know if I am truly happy?˝ I’ll tell you how. If you can’t get enough of people that live with you, if you can watch something happening again and again and it is not boring, if you feel safe and sound there, if you think that you’re at home, if you smile without reason, that my friend is happiness! When you find a place like that you’ll be happy. I’ ve found it, its name is the Pearl of the Sea, its name is Korčula!
