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Kristina loves her new home, Zagreb, and her independent life here. She aspires to have as many different experiences in her life as possible.
As a visually impaired person, it is also easier for her to live and move around in a bigger city.
“Zagreb is quite adapted for the life of blind people”, Kristina says.
Kristina is living in the university student dorm. She describes living there as a bridge from childhood into adulthood. The dorm is also very well connected to many parts of the city by trams and buses.
She sees it as an opportunity to learn to live independently while still being able to receive some support.
“There are a lot of people with disabilities in that dorm, so everyone is already used to us. People help us in the dormitory.”
According to Kristina, the professors at the university are very welcoming, but there are some challenges, especially with the adaptation of the literature itself. Much of the material has been scanned, but sometimes Kristina has to adapt it herself.
“There is always someone to ask for help at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, though, since there are quite many visually impaired students studying there.”
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Reading as a big passion
Besides studying, Kristina has a lot of activities. She has written a play about the lives of blind people; she acts with her friends in a theater group and works with Erasmus projects with the Croatian Blind Union. She finds it important to do different things and work on herself.
Her parents supported her very much to try out different things. Kristina says she’s very grateful and without their support she would have turned out a completely different person.
Reading books is Kristina’s big passion. Although she studies literature, she also enjoys reading in her free time.
She thinks books are especially valuable for blind people.
“They shift emphasis away from visual consumption, not only in the metaphorical sense of broadening perspectives, but also in a more literal sense. I have learned about many descriptions and many things around us through books.”
One of Kristina’s favorite books is The Little Prince (1943) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. She first listened to it as a child as an audio story and later kept returning to it in elementary school and as an adult.
“There are so many layers to it, and I would interpret it differently in different stages of my life. And now I act in a play called The Little Prince, which I’m also happy about.”
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A look into the past and the future
The very historic heart of Zagreb, Gornji Grad, fascinates Kristina, and she likes to read about its history. One of her favorite places in the city is the bench where the sculpture of the famous Croatian poet and writer Antun Gustav Matoš is located.
She also enjoys going to performances, sometimes alone, sometimes with her friends, and spending some time in the greener parts and the parks of the city.
Even though Kristina already has many skills, she believes in lifelong learning and self-improvement. Her focus is on the theater stage and acting, which she is hoping to do more of.
“In the future I really want to work more on stage movement, stage speech, and public speaking skills. I try to listen to inspiring speeches whenever I can.”
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