GOOD BYE Croatia

Mysteries of Croatia that will remain unsolved:

Why Croatians are all slim but they sit around cafes all day and night eating and drinking, in addition they do not exercise?

Why only 1 building in Dubrovnik is orange and yellow, while all the others have to confirm to strict laws; white buildings, green shutters, no signs, and orange tile roofs?

Why there is a bin of fresh ginger at the supermarket, yet no dishes seem to be made with ginger?

Why the peanut butter is always in the cooler at the grocery store, but the milk is always on the shelf?

Why the Croatian bank does not print lots of smaller bills, so that the clerks do not scowl, every time you hand them a 200 kuna note?

Why all the politicians on the billboards are bald, but I never see a Croatian man that is bald?

Croatia taught me I can live without the following:

Twist ties, rubber bands, and paper clips.

My own car.

Walmart, Target, and K-mart.

Big cups of coffee, fast food, Styrofoam containers, plastic ware, paper ware.

Fruits and vegetables not in season.

Divided highways, 4 lane highways, any road you can drive more thatn 40mph.

What I learned in Croatia:

How to gut a fish, and cook it Croatian style.

That grilled squid is really good.

How to sit in a cafe and make a tiny cup of coffee last 2 hours.

How to drink Grappa (home-made brandy), even when it is offered at 11am.

Venice - We Are ALL Tourists Here!

To see photo stream, go to March entries, Honor's Dinner.

We decided to go to Venice, since it was right across the Adriatic Sea.  But it is not easy to get from here to there.  If you look at the map, it shows a ferry going from Dubrovnik to right below Venice, but not at this time of year.  So we flew to Zagreb, and rented a car at the airport, and drove across Slovenia into Italy.  Slovenia has divided highways most of the way and is part of the European Union. But it is still a 5 hour drive. We left the car in a car park and got on a Vaporetto to go to our hotel. Our hotel was near the famous Saint Mark's Square, and was a converted palace with a very fancy lobby and modest rooms. We only had one and a half days to explore Venice.  The next day we went to Saint Mark's Square which was jammed with tourists (it was May 1st, a holiday in Europe), after walking around we decided to escape to Murano Island which was less crowded.  We loved seeing the glass artworks in the showrooms and Maya liked watching them make the glassware.

The next day we got up early to be at the front of the line to go into the Campanile Tower to see the views all around Venice.  We took a gondola ride and Maya bought a carnival mask, which she wore in the gondola ride. Every time we went under a bridge, tourist snapped photos of the little girl in the Carnival Mask on the Gondola. I am glad we visited Venice, there is no place like it in the world, but after a day and a half, the crowds of tourists and the cost of just being there got to me. It is a hard place to drag a kid around in, especially when it is so noisy and crowded. Back in Dubrovnik the tourists are also making life a bit harder. The bus is jammed, the traffic is slow, the old town is busy.  I think back to those days in March when we had everything to ourselves.  

War and More War

Photo Stream at end of Posting 2:

We traveled to Bosnia last weekend for a 3 day field trip with the students.  The first city we headed to was Mostar, Bosnia. On the way we stopped at our first Turkish town Pociteli, which is also a 9th century walled village but it was very different from the coastal town of the Dalmatian coast. It was our first view of Turkish architecture, with a mosque and slate roofs.

We climbed up to the fort on top and had a beautiful view of the Neum River. In Mostar we saw the 9th century bridge that connected the Islamic side of town to the Christian side of town. It was blown up in 1992, but rebuilt in 2004, using the same technique they used in the 9th century.  We also had a first hand look at the war damage, as many buildings were skeleton ruins, or covered with pock marks from shell hits. We went inside a mosque and climbed to the top of the minaret.  We spent the night in a hotel, and set out for Sarajevo the next morning.

Bosnia is almost all mountains, and there are no highways. We had 2 vans, with 3 seats across, so the middle seat person bounced around on every hairpin curve. Sarajevo is set in a mountain valley and hosted the winter Olympics in 1984. It has since seen a lot of war, with 10,000 deaths in Sarajevo, 1500 of them children.  It has very interesting architecture, a mix of Turkish Ottoman, Austria-Hungarian, and new modern Islamic buildings, with a mosque every few blocks. We started out in the old city Turkish Souk, which was crowded with Saturday shoppers. I took a group photo of my students in front of a Islamic water fountain, and Bill noticed a young man in a t-shirt sitting in front of the students with his girlfriend.  His T-shirt was from The House of Guitars, Rochester, NY.  He was from Slovenia. Small world.  

I bought some examples of "trench art", which are hammered decorated vases made out of bomb shell casings.  You can buy anything in the Souk, much like a Moroccan souk, with narrow alleys and wares piled high.  Eating was tough in Bosnia for vegetarians, they are big meat eaters. Not much English is spoken here, so it was hard to figure out what to order. Maya did well as she survived on kabobs and civapis (lamb sausage in flat breads). We saw the Assassination Bridge where the Archduke was assassinated and WWI started, and went inside a Serbian Orthodox cathedral. 

The next day, we took the rode less traveled, 5 hours of hairpin turns to get to a National Park and the last remaining virgin forest in Europe. There a huge monument stands to honor the WWII battle (Sutjeska) where 3000 troops died fighting the Germans in a battle that was the turning point of the war. Back in the van for another 3 hours of bouncing around, going through Serbian part of Bosnia, where Zoran said we couldn't even stop for food. Why? Because if they see the Croatian licence plate, they will spit in our food. There was a concentration camp at Bileca, where many Serbians died at the hands of the Croatian.  We are all getting a little weary of war, imagine a history where there is no war. When we finally arrived back in Dubrovnik, it felt like home.

Traveling With Maya Doolittle Miles

See photo stream at end of BLOG 2.
We had a scheduled trip to the tiny country of Montenegro on Saturday, but ran into problems crossing the border.  We had a van with 8 students and a rental car with Maya, Bill and myself. But one of my students is from India, and despite trying to have all the proper papers, they would not let her cross for the day. So Bill, Maya, and myself drove her back to Dubrovnik, and sent the students ahead to Montenegro.  We will have to go there for a day trip later. It was kind of cloudy anyway, so we stopped on the way back and drove up to the fort on Mount Srg. Maya was happy to find a herd of horses to tame. Everywhere we go, that child finds animals. Mount Srg is the big mountain behind Dubrovnik, there is a fort on the top that was used in both WWII and the recent 1991 war. From Mount Srg you can see Bosnia (only 4 miles away) and Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik was very hard hit during the war, and most people left for Canada, Germany, and the US. Some have returned. My landlord, Dado and Katja, spent 5 years in London. Most people I meet have been in the US or Canada and returned here.  The people who stayed all had a rough time. They lived in the hotels without running water. The soldiers who stayed and fought from the fort on Mount Srg are called the Defenders of Dubrovnik. If you saw a map of this area with the number of bomb hits you would cry, over 300 bombs hit the Olde Town directly.

Today Bill had a bad cold so Maya and I went to the island of Lokrum, which is just off shore from olde town.  The island has a botanical garden, a fort, monastery ruins, and wild peacocks (which Maya fed her lunch to). Croatia is a kid's playground. There are no rules, lots of rocks, ruins, and walls to climb on, and Croatians are fairly tolerant of children. Zoran, the culture teacher at the college, warned my students; "Croatia does not have litigation, people expect you to use common sense."  Unfortunately Maya has not made any Croatian friends yet, I will have to help her connect with some, perhaps she will need to go to the local school for a visit. She has found a kitten she is quite attached to and feeds every morning. It lives in some bushes near our apartment, she has named him, he is very tiny. She tried to sneak him into our apartment in my purse.  Trouble.

Church of Sprouts and Brotherhood of Korcula

See photo stream at end of second BLOG. See Maya's BLOG at http://mayaincroatia.blogspot.com/

Easter is really a BIG event in Croatia. It lasts from Palm Sunday to the Monday after Easter. There are decorated eggs in the market, dyed in onion skins to a deep red, with fine wax designs. Maya and my students tried dying eggs Croatian style, in our kitchen. We lost something in the translation (like when to hard boil them, before we dyed, or after?).  If I was in the U.S. I could go into a Target, and get a little kit with everything I need.  But in Croatia, everyone told me, get a stick from a tree, stick a needle in it, melt wax with a candle, and draw the designs on the egg. Throw the eggs in with the onion skins to dye. Much thanks to Bill for cleaning up the wax mess we all made. 

We went on a day field trip, up the winding coastal road, to a town called Korcula, that has a Stations of the Cross procession on Good Friday, that dates from the 9th century.  Another thing about Dubrovnik, there are NO highways. The only way out is winding coastal roads. To fit all the students we had a van (with driver) and a rental car.  I drove the rental car, and I am getting quite good on coastal roads with no guard rails and no passing lanes.

We stopped on the way up at the wine area of Peljesac.  They grow grapes along the Adriatic coast that makes 3 kinds of wine, depending on which side of the mountain the grapes grow.  We even went through the tunnel that was dug to the coastal side, so you don't have to carry the grapes over the mountain.  My students had lots of fun at the wine cellar tasting wine, while Maya discovered the most beautiful dog in Croatia, and she had PUPPIES!

Korcula (alleged home of Marco Polo) is a mini-walled city on an island. We took a short car ferry to the island.  All the churchs were open and decorated for Good Friday.  My favorite was a small chapel that had big bowls of bright green sprouts everywhere (along with Jesus on the cross).  After waiting hours, the procession finally started, all the Brotherhoods of Korcula marched around with big candles and crosses, many men carried their baby sons.  All wore white capes with red crosses on the back, and sang holy songs.  After rounding up the students, we made it to the last ferry off the island, and drove home the long and winding road.

Weekend of Wall Walking

See photo slide show at end of BLOG 2, the photos follow the BLOG.

Finally, Bill and Maya arrived on April Fool's Day.  Bill's suitcase did not arrive, it was the usual "Welcome to Croatia".  The next morning Croatian Air brought Bill's suitcase to our apartment. Bill and Maya are adapting well.  Maya spent many hours exploring the apartment, the 2 balconies, and the real working shutters.  Croatian's use their shutters, they close them for warmth and light control, they have little cranks to open the louvers and mounts outside to keep them from flapping in the wind. When they are closed, the room is pitch dark.

Spring also arrived this weekend, and all the flowers burst open and the big cruise ships arrived.

On Saturday I took my class by bus back to the city of STON, where we all got sunburned, walked on walls, and drank beer and ate oysters.  Today, the Art History teacher took my class on a private tour of the great wall of Dubrovnik.  It was Palm Sunday, and every time she started talking, one of the church's bell towers would ring. It was a great privilege to go on this tour with her, because she was one of the people in charge of the restoration of Dubrovnik after the war.  After the tour we went home to do laundry, Croatian's do nor use dryers, so I have to plan the laundry with the weather.  Princess Maya complains "the towels are hard, stiff." I am getting better at hanging, I no longer have pointy tips coming out of my t-shirt shoulders.

Tonight we went for a stroll down the promanade that goes right in front of our apartment.  Toward the beach there was a small inflatable gym (big bouncy blow up slides for kids).  Maya went in and started jumping with the girls to Croatian Rock and Roll, before long she had 3 girl friends, who seemed to know some English. More adventures to come. Maya is going to start her own BLOG next week, be warned, it might be all street cat photos.

Bosnia Does Not Have Hamburgers

Please note the slide show installed on 2nd blog.

Diana and Mike's visit was fun, it was a little cold but never rained.  I went on 3 adventures with them, on Tuesday we took a public bus up the coast to the village of Ston, where there is a giant wall (second longest after China) and they grow mussels and oysters, and farm salt. Farming salt and growing oysters gives them lots of time to built walls.  We walked on the lower wall and that is when I discovered that Diana does NOT like edges. When I return with the students, they will love walking the 3 mile wall, which is rustic at best, not only was it bombed during the war, but also an earthquake did some damage in the 1980s.  The more dangerous, the more attractive to 20 year olds.

We also took a water bus out to the Island of Lopud, one of the Elefanti islands, which was peaceful, sunny, and deserted. Very off season.  A messy old fat lab escorted Diana and I on our wanderings, and was a good guide to all the places the cat food bowls were hidden.

Finally, I got the nerve to rent a car and drive them to Medjugorje in Bosnia, the dubious holy sight where teenagers who snuck off to smoke in 1981, were visited by the Virgin Mary.  What a bleak area, driving in it did not look too promising, lots of garbage sacks along the road, and the town around the church full of newly constructed hotels for the pilgrims that flock there.  The street around the church were full of Jesus Junk.  We did not have time to walk up the mountain where Mary appeared, but we got to see the weeping knee which impressed even me.  There is a big bronze statue of Jesus on the cross, and his knee weeps tears.  Pilgrims bring handkerchiefs and gather a few tears to take home.  Every time I looked at the knee, a ray of light broke through the dark clouds and lit it up!  Diana and I kept looking for a spotlight in the trees!

We left Medjugorje for the Bosnian city of Mostar, which is famous for the 14th century bridge and mosques.  We only had a few hours, but it was a really interesting town, and I am returning with students in April.  The bridge is built without mortar in the 14th century, but the Croatians bombed it in the war and just last year it was rebuilt.  We were very hungry, and Bosnian food is loved by many for the lamb kabobs, but Diana does not eat, I do not eat meat, and Mike eats only hamburgers and pizza.  So he ordered a hamburger, and was surprised to find it wraped in a flat pita bread (pretty sure it was a lamb-burger)! After lunch I could barely drag them out of the bazaar, Daina even bought a Yugoslavian army knife, that should be interesting at customs!

Bad Bora Wind

On Friday my sister Diana and her husband Mike flew to Dubrovnik for a visit. I went to the airport with Miro, a taxi driver to meet them at 7pm. As we approached the airport, Miro told me "No plane, boro wind, plane went to Split, they will come by bus."  I did not really understand, so I walked into the airport to see about 80 people with suitcases standing in line at the Croatian Air counter. Diana and Mike's arrival was displayed as cancelled.  Back at the taxi, Miro called someone and told me "Your sister's plane just landed in Split, and they will board them on a bus, they will arrive in about 5 hours at bus station".  Sooooo, I went home and showed up at the bus station at midnight.  The bus pulled in and Mike and Diana got off. Welcome to Croatia. I guess this occurs quite a bit.

The BORO wind, is a wind from the North, that blows off the Alps in gusts.  Airplanes will NOT land, because the runway here is East/West. 

That night I also got a call from Kevin, Donny's roommate.  Donny decided to climb the mountain (Mount Srg) but started out late in the afternoon.  It got dark, and he tried to take a shortcut.  He called Kevin at 10pm, saying he was lost, and using his cell phone as a flashlight. He said he saw lights, and was going to head to the lights. He ended up stuck in a thicket of woods, and decided to sleep until day break.

He did arrive home the next morning, but the ACMT staff got really upset.  There are still many mines in the mountains,  I warned them when we arrived, to stay on the paths. Never go off the trails and always take a buddy.  YIKES the Bora wind has caused all sorts of weirdness.  Plus it is cold here.

Honor's dinner

The big event this week was the Honors Dinner at the Argosy Hotel.  My students were invited as special guests. The Argosy Hotel is near my apartment, up the hill on Babin Kuk, which means Grandmother's Hip. It is a peninsula that is shaped like a hip, but Zoran told us that the Austrian map makers took great liberties with the translations, and named some towns after unmentionable body parts. All my students showed up and dressed appropriately, one of the girls even went out and bought a Croatian outfit (photo Ellen and Noelle in short sweater dress, and Croatian boots). The Croatian women like to dress up. Some might describe them as Barbie dolls, they are very tall, wear short skirts and lots of make-up.  The men are all very tall, and I have seem a few Chicago Bulls hats in town (remember Toni Kukoc). We Americans are like rainbow slobs, we walk around in all colors, whereas the Croatians love to wear black. 

At the event an ACMT band played. The band is called USB (United States of Balkans) a play on words.  The buffet and bar were all you can eat, and I had my fill of fried calamari. Afterwards there were 2 after dinner parties (which I didn't attend), but on Wed. all my students were once again HUNG OVER!

Week 1 in Croatia

I arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia, 1 week ago to teach a Study Abroad class from RIT.  Myself, 7 students, and a bunch of video equipment has all arrived safely.  Everyone is set up in their own apartments and we have all adjusted to life in a new country. We have managed to buy food (just look at the picture on the box), make it to class (although Thursday night is student night at the bars, something I did not realize when I scheduled my class on Friday 10am), and get money out of the ATM machine. 

I miss Bill and Maya more than I thought I would! I was so uptight the week before I left, I guess it is part of the separating process, but now, every experience I have, I wish I could share with them.  I can survive without them, but I still feel the missing part.  

Lesson 1 - Love is Stronger than you think.

Sometimes I hang out with the students, and I try to get in touch with my younger self, she is in there somewhere! But it is hard to escape the fact that I am the "Grown-up in charge". I am curious how the experience is going for them, since they have classes with Croatian students. I try to pry bits and pieces from them. Donny slept on the beach, Brian climbs every mountain, Kevin is the expert on olde town.  I give them lots of space to make their own discoveries.

Discovery #1 - Slow down your pace to Croatian time.  The girls apartment had no internet, the land lady said she would get it installed. At the end of week 1, the girls demanded to know where their internet was. Zoran (Study Abroad liason) inquired about it and found out it takes 20 days to get connected.  

Discovery #2 - Croatian students tell a lot of GAY jokes. How should we react? What is totally unacceptable in our culture, is the norm here.