August brought a two week daily care event, which is where the actual test of my Slovenian began and where it also (kinda) ended. It was mostly kids running around while we tried to get them to play actual games. Most of them only speak Slovenian, so they did not appreciate my attempts to speak with them in Serbian with a slight Slovenian accent. That was a funny way to fail at two languages at once and somehow invent a third. We had plenty of activities, from pool visits to water games, both of which mostly meant a different location for running around.

One of those water games was a twist on the classic spoon race: instead of an egg, kids carried a water balloon on a spoon, trying to fill a container at the finish line without dropping it. I kind of expected the destruction of balloons when gravity got involved but in the end only one actually popped. If a balloon fell it was an easy stop, pick it up, put it back on the spoon, and go to the back of the line. My favorite detail from that day was one of the group names “Čokolino mafija”.

By the end of those two weeks, my Slovenian hadn’t improved, but my nonverbal communication skills clearly had. It turns out hand gestures and bribes translate perfectly well across any language barrier. It was a solid reminder that kids will always find something to correct you on, usually my pronunciation. It is a good first taste of what working with children here actually looks like. It includes some motion, noise and fun in a way.

Vukašin Vukobrat, Esc Volunteer