Sretan Dan Zahvalnosti

Translation: Happy Thanksgiving!
I do hope everyone gained at least ten pounds.

We celebrated Thanksgiving here at the Tuškans yesterday afternoon, somehow managing to cram 25 people into the living room. Janet was worried we weren't going to have enough food, which is quite funny, because I get the feeling we are going to be eating Thankgiving food for the next couple of lifetimes. We had all of the Rotary Girls (I can say Rotary girls, because there is only one male exchange student in all of Croatia, and he doesn't live in Zagreb) and their host families, along with our Croatian teacher, and one of our counselors, Ljiljana.

I made hand turkeys for decorations, and decided to color them during school-the reaction from my classmates was hilarious. They could not figure out why I had traced my hand and was attempting to make it look like a turkey. (Purica is the word for Turkey) They didn't understand that every American kid makes a hand turkey at some point in their life. But my class was literally in an uproar; crowded around asking what was wrong with me. It is also sort of difficult to explain the meaning of Thanksgiving to people, because there no real point to it, and there is no activity beyond gorging.

I did mangage to make cornbread, along with Walnut Pie. It was suppose to be Pecan Pie (Mom, I missed your Pecan Pie) but you can't get pecans in Croatia. I also got to experience chopping up an entire pumpkin for Pumpkin Pie. It took me about 45 minutes to chop the whole thing up-and I almost took of my hand a few times...

Time for lunch...wonder what we are having?

Lots of Love, thinking of you all.

Excessive America

A little blurb on seismic differences...

Everything in Europe is smaller then in the United States. Everything is more compact, and usually more efficient. I live in a family with seven people total. Our fridge is the about the size of a standard American freezer. It isn't an issue, and we are all well fed. Why then, do American insist on having giant fridges for families of two and three? "But we need them," we say.

Croatians seem to utilize their entire home, or in most cases, apartment. You don't see rooms that are simply for show. The average Croatian living space is painfully small when compared to American standards. It is normal for Croatian parents to sleep in the living room every night, and give the available bedrooms to their children. If a family has a garden, it is usually well tended to, and lots of vegetables and fruits are taken from it. Many families have tables outside, which are used in nice weather. Being an American with a generously sized room of my own, one begins to realize how much we take space for granted in the United States. We value our space, almost demand and expect it. I think we often get entirely too carried away with constantly making products bigger and bigger bigger.

Of course, these differences in proportions transfer over into food servings. The amount of food one is given here is normal, not excessive like in the United States. People don't take food home from restaurants; they are able to finish everything they are given. This is reflected in the lean physique's of most Croatians.

Cars. Large cars do not exist in Croatia. You see mostly Pegeouts and Volkswagens, occasionally a Smart Car. I have yet to see a Suburban of any type. Why are Americans the only people who feel it necessary to drive hulking cars?

Most families here do not have dishwashers. Most families here do not have dryers. The climate is not so very different then New Hampshire's climate; we could just as easily hang our clothes outside to dry. (I still haven't gotten accustomed to seeing my underwear flying in the wind...)

Watching people live everyday life without the luxuries we Americans don't consider luxuries makes one remember that bigger is not necessarily better. I must say, I think we Americans have forgotten that lesson.

The Adriatic...Unveiled

After a much anticipated wait, I finally got a chance to see the Adriatic Sea-and was not disappointed.

In all reality, I think it a good thing I wasn't placed somewhere on the coast, or else I may not have ever wanted to come home.

We visited Poreč, (on the way back from Venice) a town in Istria, which is at the upper part of Croatia-you can find it easily on a map. Istria is also home to the town of Pula. Istria is well known for its unique red colored soil, due to the high levels of iron oxide in the ground. Poreč is known for a church called the Euphrasian Basilica, from the 6th century, a building dripping with antiquity. Some of the original tile work in still intact. My favorite part about the Basilica is that is smells like the sea inside-

The water of the Adriatic is a dark blue, but up close, it is green and clear, you can see all the way to the bottom, even in deeper water. We sat on a rocky beach (most of Croatia's beaches are rocky) and watched the sun set. I am looking foward to a swim in the Adriatic.

Slovenia and Venice

This weekend in Croatia was a national holiday; Thursday was All Saint's Day, known better as The Day of The Dead. We had school off on Friday, and the Tuškans decided we would take a family vacation to Venice.

The trip started off with me forgetting my passport, but luckily Janet reminded me it was essential to the trip before we had a chance to leave the driveway...

I'll admit I slept through most of Slovenia, although what I glimpsed through blurry eyes was beautiful. Slovenia is a small but prosperous country and historically, even during the days of Yugoslavia, it has done well. We stopped at Postlojna, which is one of the longest and largest caves in Slovenia. (Slovenia is famous for its caves.)

The cave is filled with stalactites and stalagmites, and also boasts a creature known as the Human Fish, a sort of newt looking fish, skin colored and slimy looking. You take a train through the first part of the cave, and then walk through the rest. The cave was cold and damp, and although I could appreciate the aesthetics of it, I wasn't too happy with being underground. At one point the lights were turned off unexpectedly-it was pitch black and eerie beyond belief.

You almost expect to see the Seven Dwarves or a band of goblins or elves around the next corner; it is a cave out of the science books I read as a kid. Postlojna has thousand and thousands of formations which have taken thousands and thousand of years to form. Spaghetti Hall is so named because of the hundreds of stalactites dripping from the ceiling in thin cylinders. The Curtains were my favorite formation-rocks which have warped because of continuously dripping water to form what literally looks like a curtain blowing in the wind.

Next was on to Venice. It felt sacred to be journeying to a city that is so loved and revered. We took a bus into the city center, and walked down the steps and into another world. My first impression of Venice was the lack of noise. There are no automobiles, and at first I couldn't put a finger on what it was that was different-but you quickly adjust to the quiet. We took a water taxi down The Grand Canal-which was an experience due to the massive amounts of people from all over the world pushing and shoving; not wanting to miss any of the city.

We went to St. Mark's Square and fed the pigeons. Actually, I didn't feed the pigeons, they freaked me out-they are so accustomed to people that they climb all over you and eat right out of your hand. When the pigeons all take flight it is a truly magical sight.
We wandered around the city, and saw the fish market, a market that is as old as the city itself. (It still smelled strongly of fish...surprise surprise.) I loved all of the depictions of the lion with wings all over the city (the symbol of Venice) there is a lion on practically every building.
I was impressed by the cleanliness of the city, especially the water-there are no plastic bags or empty bottles, which is amazing when you think about the constant flow of traffic.

The entire time I was in Venice I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in sort of alternate reality, another world so to speak. It feels archaic and looks archaic, a combination one cannot find anywhere in America. It is difficult to imagine being Venetian-one cannot imagine people actually live and work in such a city. Around every corner is another picturesque side street that you just want to explore-it is a labyrinth of endlessly intriguing streets. And as Tomislav so aptly put it-Venice is not a place for fat people, you wouldn't be able to fit down the streets.
We also visited the Rialto bridge, which provides a lovely view of the city. I enjoyed the feeling of standing on a bridge where thousands of people have stood before. All in all, I was completely captivated by Venice.

More about Poreč later...