My first Christmas away from my family. A strange concept in theory, but in actuality, a very Merry Christmas.
On Christmas Eve day, my host family spent most of the day in the kitchen. My host sister Sara and I spent the morning making gingerbread cookies. Croatians do not mess around with their Christmas cookies. By the end of the whole cookie making process, we had about five different types of professional looking "cakes" as the Croatian word for cookies is keksi.
Christmas Eve day was also Aja's 80th Birthday. I asked him what he wanted for his Birthday, and he said, "just a kiss."
The traditional Christmas Eve dinner is meant to be rather bland and tasteless, since it is the night before the giant Christmas feast. Most people have fish and bean salad. The fish we had had been alive about three hours before we ate it, straight from Croatia's coast. Janet told me some years they have gotten it fresh and let the fish swim around in the bathtub for a few hours before dinner...
It snowed all day on Christmas Eve, and my neighborhood looked like something out of a winter wonderland scene, all quiet and still. Tomislav Janet and I went to Sloboština, the closest neighborhood with a church, and attended the 8 o'clock mass.
On Christmas morning, I was awoken at 8 (much to my chagrin) by Beka and Sara standing over my bed jumping up and down, shouting at me to "GET UP KELSEY, IT'S CHRISTMAS!" My Mom sent me my stocking from home, and there is was on the end of my bed. Since Janet is English, and Tomislav Croatian, the Tuškans do a combination of English and Croatian traditions, the stockings obviously being English. Regardless, having a stocking made me feel even more at home. We went downstairs and ripped open the presents in a blur of chaos and tearing paper. It was all over in about ten minutes. It was lovely to celebrate Christmas with someone who still believes in Santa. (Beka, age 9)
Later we ate breakfast, and Tomislav read the story of the birth of Jesus from the Bible. Around 2 we had a giant lunch. Croatians traditionally eat Turkey on Christmas Day-because a Turkey kicks his feet up backwards, signifying the end of the current year, and on New Year's the food is pig, because pig's snuffle forwards, signifying the New Year. I have to say I am not much looking forward to the entire suckling pig to be displayed on the table...
We played Croatian pictionary in the afternoon, the only word I knew being belly-button...with some luck, I will know more by next year!
Sretan Božić i Nova Godina.
subota, 29. prosinca 2007.
utorak, 18. prosinca 2007.
Styr, Linz, Sierning, Vienna, i Salzburg
The Holiday season is upon us, and Zagreb is decorated to excess. There seems to be a Christmas Tree is every available space, and lights are strung up all around the city. There is even a Christmas Tree in the lobby of my school. No rules here about mixing religion and school...!
So. Austria. I took the bus from the main bus station in Zagreb on Sunday the 9th. The bus ride took about six hours, but passed pleasantly, minus my neighbor who kept yelling at me to take my feet off the seats.
My good friend Paige from high school is staying in Sierning, Austria, also hosted by the Rotary. Paige and her host parents picked me up in Linz. Austria was wonderful, but seeing Paige was by far the highlight. The town of Sierning reminds me of Peterborough, it is tiny, and requires driving on long winding roads. Of course there are some differences, such as the giant mountain and open fields complete with traditional Austrian manors.
Paiges lifestyle differs dramatically from mine for various reasons. The first major difference being her fluency in German. I must admit I was fairly green with envy by the end of the week. At the same time, it was amazing to hear her chattering away in German. Since she lives about 30 minutes from school, she gets up at 6 every day, and is driven to school by one of her host parents. It was so funny to be in a car again, as I barely spend any time in them here in Zagreb. I was at least cheered to see Paige does mostly the same things I do in school which is a lot of nothing. Styr is where her school is located, and strangely enough the school she attends was also attended by none other then Hitler himself. Everyone in her school wears slippers...I do wish we did that more often in America. On Tuesday we took the train to Linz and went to a great Modern Art Museum, and mostly just puttered around the city. Since Hitler wanted Linz to be the capital of his Empire, you can still see the two buildings he built as archways into the city. They actually aren't very grand, just ugly.
I was struck by the organization in Austria, everything seems to have a place and a function, nothing like the chaos of Croatia. Every bus and tram comes exactly when it should, not a second late. I discovered train is my favorite way to travel, stress free and relaxing. When Paige and I took the train to Vienna, we found a free compartment and both had an enjoyable sleep. From what I can tell, Austrian culture is no so different then American culture. People are much more reserved then Croatians, and not half as Nationalistic. Being in Austria made me appreciate the difference in cultures that I am getting to experience in Croatia.
Vienna was wonderful, much more international then Zagreb. We stayed with Paige's host sister, who has a nice apartment. We visited Belvedere Gardens, which is the home of Gustav Klimt's, The Kiss. We also went to Starbucks, and I had a bagel and almost passed out because I was so thrilled. Vienna is a truly beautiful city, and I look forward to returning sometime this year.
On Friday we took the train to Salzburg, and met up with all the Exchange students from Austria and Croatia. It was strange to be around so many Americans again. We took a walking tour of the city, and went to a church service as well. Salzburg at Christmas time look similar to a postcard, with all the Christmas Markets and snow. I was lucky that in a week I got to see all of the major cities in Salzburg.
All in all it was wonderful trip, though the best part was seeing a familiar face, and being able to gossip the days away.
Happy Holidays to all!
So. Austria. I took the bus from the main bus station in Zagreb on Sunday the 9th. The bus ride took about six hours, but passed pleasantly, minus my neighbor who kept yelling at me to take my feet off the seats.
My good friend Paige from high school is staying in Sierning, Austria, also hosted by the Rotary. Paige and her host parents picked me up in Linz. Austria was wonderful, but seeing Paige was by far the highlight. The town of Sierning reminds me of Peterborough, it is tiny, and requires driving on long winding roads. Of course there are some differences, such as the giant mountain and open fields complete with traditional Austrian manors.
Paiges lifestyle differs dramatically from mine for various reasons. The first major difference being her fluency in German. I must admit I was fairly green with envy by the end of the week. At the same time, it was amazing to hear her chattering away in German. Since she lives about 30 minutes from school, she gets up at 6 every day, and is driven to school by one of her host parents. It was so funny to be in a car again, as I barely spend any time in them here in Zagreb. I was at least cheered to see Paige does mostly the same things I do in school which is a lot of nothing. Styr is where her school is located, and strangely enough the school she attends was also attended by none other then Hitler himself. Everyone in her school wears slippers...I do wish we did that more often in America. On Tuesday we took the train to Linz and went to a great Modern Art Museum, and mostly just puttered around the city. Since Hitler wanted Linz to be the capital of his Empire, you can still see the two buildings he built as archways into the city. They actually aren't very grand, just ugly.
I was struck by the organization in Austria, everything seems to have a place and a function, nothing like the chaos of Croatia. Every bus and tram comes exactly when it should, not a second late. I discovered train is my favorite way to travel, stress free and relaxing. When Paige and I took the train to Vienna, we found a free compartment and both had an enjoyable sleep. From what I can tell, Austrian culture is no so different then American culture. People are much more reserved then Croatians, and not half as Nationalistic. Being in Austria made me appreciate the difference in cultures that I am getting to experience in Croatia.
Vienna was wonderful, much more international then Zagreb. We stayed with Paige's host sister, who has a nice apartment. We visited Belvedere Gardens, which is the home of Gustav Klimt's, The Kiss. We also went to Starbucks, and I had a bagel and almost passed out because I was so thrilled. Vienna is a truly beautiful city, and I look forward to returning sometime this year.
On Friday we took the train to Salzburg, and met up with all the Exchange students from Austria and Croatia. It was strange to be around so many Americans again. We took a walking tour of the city, and went to a church service as well. Salzburg at Christmas time look similar to a postcard, with all the Christmas Markets and snow. I was lucky that in a week I got to see all of the major cities in Salzburg.
All in all it was wonderful trip, though the best part was seeing a familiar face, and being able to gossip the days away.
Happy Holidays to all!
nedjelja, 9. prosinca 2007.
Aestheics and Austria
The first obvious difference between Americans and Croatian is the good old weight issue. You do not see fat people, you just dont. Note>The computer I am typing this on does not have proper puncutation, so please excuse the mistakes. Sure, you see the occasional older woman who could afford to lose a few pounds, but never do you see people who are grossly overweight, as in America.
Most Croatians have dark hair and dark eyes. Allegedly, men from the coast are rumored to be the eptiome of tall, dark, and handsome. There are few natural blondes, and no redheads. I have seen about two in the past three odd months. Croatians are big people. At first I thought I was imagining that the men were absolutely enormous, but the average height for a Croatian man is 6 foot 1, and for a woman, 5 foot 7. Out of the seven boys in my class, only one is under 6 foot three.
People often assume I am Croatian, but more often then not, they assume I am English or German. Which I am I suppose. Mostly everyone speaks enough English to converse, though not enough to pick out accents. I got asked if I was Australian the other night. I have a great time picking Americans out of a crowd. Somehow, they always seem to make it obvious they are American...
Croatians are much better dressed then the average American, and extremely style conscious. People never go out of the house unless properly dressed. I am yet to see a woman walking around in lounge pants, which is normal in America. You see very few people who are not meticulously groomed.
On another note, I am off to Austria today, for the week, to visit my friend Paige Simpson from Dublin, New Hampshire. She lives in a small town called Sierning, which is close to Styr. We are going to Vienna at some point to visit her host sister, and then on Friday, we will go to Salzburg for the Chrstimas Rotary Meeting. I will be back in Zagreb next Sunday, and a week from Christamas break!
Hope everyone is having a pleasant Holiday Season.
Most Croatians have dark hair and dark eyes. Allegedly, men from the coast are rumored to be the eptiome of tall, dark, and handsome. There are few natural blondes, and no redheads. I have seen about two in the past three odd months. Croatians are big people. At first I thought I was imagining that the men were absolutely enormous, but the average height for a Croatian man is 6 foot 1, and for a woman, 5 foot 7. Out of the seven boys in my class, only one is under 6 foot three.
People often assume I am Croatian, but more often then not, they assume I am English or German. Which I am I suppose. Mostly everyone speaks enough English to converse, though not enough to pick out accents. I got asked if I was Australian the other night. I have a great time picking Americans out of a crowd. Somehow, they always seem to make it obvious they are American...
Croatians are much better dressed then the average American, and extremely style conscious. People never go out of the house unless properly dressed. I am yet to see a woman walking around in lounge pants, which is normal in America. You see very few people who are not meticulously groomed.
On another note, I am off to Austria today, for the week, to visit my friend Paige Simpson from Dublin, New Hampshire. She lives in a small town called Sierning, which is close to Styr. We are going to Vienna at some point to visit her host sister, and then on Friday, we will go to Salzburg for the Chrstimas Rotary Meeting. I will be back in Zagreb next Sunday, and a week from Christamas break!
Hope everyone is having a pleasant Holiday Season.
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