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Sit Study Abroad
Trg bana Josipa Jelačić 15/IV
10 000 Zagreb Croatia
Sunday, February 8, 2009
a look around...
Here are some views of my new city:
In Zagreb there is a beautiful old cathedral. I have tons of pictures, but this just happened to be one of my favorites. It is the cathedral you see the spires of in the picture above.
Dora and I drew some pictures together, this one is about the summer...
There are lots of parks in zagreb, however the one below is full of giant white trees that i think are birch trees...
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Thoughts!
I think I fixed the comments page, so anyone can leave comments now.
So far the only time I feel anxious here is at night before I am about to go to bed. It’s funny because that is the only time I am searching for something familiar. Oddly enough my Croatian family is rather American. They watch American tv and movies and tonight we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It made it all seem a bit more familiar. I think being here, however, will make my English horrible! My friend Fiona made a good observation; it is like you are constantly playing catch phrase, searching for common ground weather that is language or a hand gesture. I realize how much French I know in comparison. In searching for the phrases, I want to spit out French bits and pieces, but for the most part it isn’t any help. My host mom, Irena, is learning English right now and we are helping each other. As we were taking things out of the dishwasher she will say the item in Croatian and me and English. At the grocery store we taught each other pickle.
There is a lot of funny language stories. For one, all cereal is just called cornflakes. Cereal is all imported. Most people eat bread and jellies and pastries for breakfast. I don’t understand how Croatians are not fat! All the food that is made here they will tell you is domestic and it is DELCIOUS. Tonight after dinner Petra, my host sister, cut up a tomato with salt and basil and put homemade olive oil from her grandfather who lives in Dalmatia. It was the best olive oil I have ever tasted. (Paul, you would love it).
Class is a bit slow but that is only because everyone has to get on the same page. There is only one class comprised of people who study anthropology, peace and conflict studies, sociology, economics, history, American cultural studies etc. Croatian class, however, is moving at the pace of lightening, unfortunately for me. I need to study more, but it is difficult to shut yourself away from the world when everything is so new and interesting.
Today I had to register with the police, which every foreigner in croatia has to do. Luckily I was accepted. Afterwards Mriko (my “moms” father) took me and his student out for kava. He is a sweet man who speaks little English but who has hosted 10 American students through the program I am on. He talks about all of them and nods his head approvingly. Every time I have seen him thus far is draped in a gray trench coat and an inspector-gadget hat. I wish he could tell me stories about his life. All I know is he and his wife worked for an oil company for many years when Yugoslavia was a communist country.
As for now I am mostly going to class and spending time with my family here. We went to the mall and the grocery store today in new Zagreb. This is the new part of the city that looks like the suburb of any American city. The mall even plays American music and has stores like timberland, nike, etc. I don’t know how I feel about American malls sitting on the outskirts of such an old and beautiful city and only a tram ride away from stands of fresh fruit and delicious finds.
So far the only time I feel anxious here is at night before I am about to go to bed. It’s funny because that is the only time I am searching for something familiar. Oddly enough my Croatian family is rather American. They watch American tv and movies and tonight we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It made it all seem a bit more familiar. I think being here, however, will make my English horrible! My friend Fiona made a good observation; it is like you are constantly playing catch phrase, searching for common ground weather that is language or a hand gesture. I realize how much French I know in comparison. In searching for the phrases, I want to spit out French bits and pieces, but for the most part it isn’t any help. My host mom, Irena, is learning English right now and we are helping each other. As we were taking things out of the dishwasher she will say the item in Croatian and me and English. At the grocery store we taught each other pickle.
There is a lot of funny language stories. For one, all cereal is just called cornflakes. Cereal is all imported. Most people eat bread and jellies and pastries for breakfast. I don’t understand how Croatians are not fat! All the food that is made here they will tell you is domestic and it is DELCIOUS. Tonight after dinner Petra, my host sister, cut up a tomato with salt and basil and put homemade olive oil from her grandfather who lives in Dalmatia. It was the best olive oil I have ever tasted. (Paul, you would love it).
Class is a bit slow but that is only because everyone has to get on the same page. There is only one class comprised of people who study anthropology, peace and conflict studies, sociology, economics, history, American cultural studies etc. Croatian class, however, is moving at the pace of lightening, unfortunately for me. I need to study more, but it is difficult to shut yourself away from the world when everything is so new and interesting.
Today I had to register with the police, which every foreigner in croatia has to do. Luckily I was accepted. Afterwards Mriko (my “moms” father) took me and his student out for kava. He is a sweet man who speaks little English but who has hosted 10 American students through the program I am on. He talks about all of them and nods his head approvingly. Every time I have seen him thus far is draped in a gray trench coat and an inspector-gadget hat. I wish he could tell me stories about his life. All I know is he and his wife worked for an oil company for many years when Yugoslavia was a communist country.
As for now I am mostly going to class and spending time with my family here. We went to the mall and the grocery store today in new Zagreb. This is the new part of the city that looks like the suburb of any American city. The mall even plays American music and has stores like timberland, nike, etc. I don’t know how I feel about American malls sitting on the outskirts of such an old and beautiful city and only a tram ride away from stands of fresh fruit and delicious finds.
Today I wandered around after class with my friend Fiona and we looked at shoes (there are a million shoe stores) ate DELICIOUS ice cream and went to the library. :)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Pictors!
Watching the handball match on the main square:
They came in second, but celebrated anyway...
My Room, used to be Dora's ^
The Trams!
Dolce market place... emma, rachel and jacob
Sunday, February 1, 2009
home!
there is so much to say!
I moved in with my family, who are very nice. It is a single mom and two girls, petra(13) and dora(8). Their apartment is nice and the girls speak perfect english. The partment is close to the cneter of town and is easy to get to. Last night i watched movies with the girls and showed them some pictures from home. They have hosted a few student from before who i have heard some about. Today is the world final in handball here which is huge. It should be exiciting.
Unforently my camera isnt working right now and i dont know how to fix it! if anyone has tips let me know!
ILast night we went out and made some croatian friends. they took us to a club were they play only croatian music which is rare since there is american music everywhere. i tis amaying how mice everyone you meet is. They are very proud of their city and want to show you around. I have also made some good friends on my program and am exicited to tell you all al about them .
Yesterday people were all over celebrating croatia getting to the final game in handball. Tehy all wear red and white checkers. The tram was so packed we literally could not fit anymore poeple on. Anyway i will write more later!
Love
emily
I moved in with my family, who are very nice. It is a single mom and two girls, petra(13) and dora(8). Their apartment is nice and the girls speak perfect english. The partment is close to the cneter of town and is easy to get to. Last night i watched movies with the girls and showed them some pictures from home. They have hosted a few student from before who i have heard some about. Today is the world final in handball here which is huge. It should be exiciting.
Unforently my camera isnt working right now and i dont know how to fix it! if anyone has tips let me know!
ILast night we went out and made some croatian friends. they took us to a club were they play only croatian music which is rare since there is american music everywhere. i tis amaying how mice everyone you meet is. They are very proud of their city and want to show you around. I have also made some good friends on my program and am exicited to tell you all al about them .
Yesterday people were all over celebrating croatia getting to the final game in handball. Tehy all wear red and white checkers. The tram was so packed we literally could not fit anymore poeple on. Anyway i will write more later!
Love
emily
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
phew!
I am in zagreb! and it is pretty amazing. Sorry if i mix up the z and ys they are switched on their keyboards. Anyhow, right now i am staying in a hostel with my group and everyone is really really nice. the hostel is great. The people here are nice and its super clean and friendly. The adventure here has been pretty smooth. We flew austrian airlines on which the hostesses wear all red, including red tights and red shoes all the same hue. The food comes on triangle plate and they serve endless drinks, including austrian ginger ale. There were movies but mostely i read and talked with the girls on my trip. I didnžt sleep a wink. (i ended being up for something like 36 hours in order to overcome jet leg) somehow i lost a day in the mess of all this. From austria we took a propeller plane to zagreb were we met one of our proffesors. She is awesome and goes by gogo. She has a 7 year old daughter we will meet on saturdaz (we are meeting our host families then at a luncheon) After the bus into the city we checked in and visited the classroom, which is small and cosy, but nice and has a kitchen and a library and is right on th emain square. The proffesors took us out to a nice lunch (beef, chicken, pork, gnocci! and rice) finished with coffee turkish style, ie. esspresso. we took the tram back which runs all the time and is super fast and easy. We were all jet lag so we just walked to a grocery store for dinner and stayed in and played cards. I went to bed early, around 9.
the grocery store was amazing and i cant wait to go back when i can understand more croatian.
anyway, my phone wont charge yet and i havent had a chance to find wireless internet (although our classroom has it) So for a few days communication might be limited. at hostel we have to pay 8 kunas for a half hour (about 1.50 which isnt bad) Everything is pretty cheap here and we get a stipend for lunch and free passes for the tram so it looks like it wonćt require a lot of spending money. I love you all please send emails!
(ps everyone here is really awesome, good people!)
Dobra Dan! (goodday!)
the grocery store was amazing and i cant wait to go back when i can understand more croatian.
anyway, my phone wont charge yet and i havent had a chance to find wireless internet (although our classroom has it) So for a few days communication might be limited. at hostel we have to pay 8 kunas for a half hour (about 1.50 which isnt bad) Everything is pretty cheap here and we get a stipend for lunch and free passes for the tram so it looks like it wonćt require a lot of spending money. I love you all please send emails!
(ps everyone here is really awesome, good people!)
Dobra Dan! (goodday!)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
dun dun dun
I leave tomorrow, 7:30 and arrive in Zagreb somewhere around 11:00 am their time on tuesday.
I think that means that means I'll arrive sometime around 4:00 am KC time tuesday morning.
So, See you then!
Emily
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