Koprivnica

Last Wednesday I arrived by rain to the charming town of Koprivnica.  Close to the Hungarian border, this Croatian village has only about 34,000 people and you gather they would like to keep it that way.  I was picked up by my host, Helena Hecimovic, who could not have been a better tour guide.  Not only does she run a private language school that teaches English to local children, she is advisor to the mayor and is quite involved in local government.  She has spent her entire life there and is quite the champion of Koprivnica.

After a quick tour of the city center, we had coffee in an outdoor café, where else?  The weather was just beautiful.  We talked some of Croatian politics and the future of Koprivnica.  This country joins the European Union in 2 months and there is a bit of apprehension among the locals, she explained.

We made our way back to Helena's home where she has lived since she was a child.  I had a room to myself upstairs where the door to the balcony is kept open to let fresh air in.  The décor appears to be original from when it was her mother's house with lots of old family photos and beautiful antique furniture.  Her basement is finished out into a very professional and functional classroom and office.  A very large additional classroom was added outside on the main floor.  I was told her surgeon husband did much of the construction.  As I discovered in the next couple of days Helena and her husband are incredibly industrious.  I truly do not know how they do it all.

We spent the afternoon talking about and preparing for classes.  Most of her students have been studying with her for more than 10 years.  They come to her in kindergarten and stay all the way through high school.  Except for the youngest ones their English is very proficient and I will have little trouble communicating with them.

I set up my video camera and my audio equipment and braced myself to face my first round of Croatian students.  They were only 5 years old so it wasn't too scary.  Helena sang children's songs with them in English, most of which I had never heard of.  They were cute as buttons and smiled at me a lot but didn't speak much.

 

With each class, the proficiency level increased.  I asked my list of interview questions I had prepared and depending on the age I got a wide variety of answers.  What did not vary, though, was the common sense of pride.  Each group talked about how much they love Croatia, especially Koprivnica, and the high quality of life they enjoy.  Even those who want to go abroad to study or find jobs said they would be sad to leave.  When I asked what they would miss most they all said the Croatian lifestyle (besides their families of course).

 

The students were very interested in life in America and had lots of questions for me.  I think it is very difficult for some of them to wrap their heads around just how big the United States is.  When I told them there are as many people in Croatia as are in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex their jaws dropped.  Of course, they had many misconceptions.  Some believe we all carry guns and ride horses. Some believe we are all fat and lazy and others think we work 2-3 jobs and exercise too much.  Croatians have access to most American TV shows so most misrepresentation of American lifestyle is our own doing.  I was very surprised to hear that a few of the kids taught themselves to speak English from watching The Wizards of Waverly Place, Victorious, ICarly and Jessie.  For you old timers, those are shows on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.

 

We had classes non stop until 9:30 and every camera, recorder and device I had was dead (and so was I!)  Unfortunately, I left my European adapter in Zagreb so I decided we could run to the store in the morning and pick one up.  Ha!  Koprivnica doesn't get many American tourists, hence no adapters.  But I was able to pull a McGyver and I figured out how to connect Helena's printer cables to my devices.  Voila.

The next day Helena and I went to do some shopping Croatian style.  For each item needed we went to a specific market or vendor.  The butcher for the meat, the vegetable stand for fresh local veggies, the outdoor market for fresh cream and cheese from a village dairy farmer, etc.  Can you imagine how wonderful it was?  Everything tasted the way food is supposed to taste. 

We spent that evening with another full series of classes but this time I am not assisting Helena but I have the students all to myself.  I am the honorary teacher for the day.  The kids are all so sweet and I am constantly impressed at their English language abilities.

On Friday we went to "Sunny Village" in the nearby beautiful town of Jagnkedovec.  This camp was created by Helena and her husband to bring together school age children from Croatia and many foreign countries for an English language experience.  Campers and counselors participate in typical camp activities all the while working on their language skills.  Some of the buildings on the property house tools and household items from Croatia's' past, a museum of sorts.

 

We prepared lunch for the dozens and dozens of 6-7 year olds that came from another town for a field trip.  We cooked soup, breaded chicken cutlets, rice with peas, red cabbage and Kolaches for dessert, all from scratch.  The kids got a tour of the property but spent a lot of time playing out in the field the way kids do.

 

I was completely exhausted but no rest for the weary because I had adult classes in the afternoon.  These were the most interesting lessons for me because they asked the most profound questions.  Each one worked at the local factory, Podrovka, which is a major employer for Koprivnica.  They were very interested in America's health care system, insurance, availability of jobs, etc.  When asked if they would ever want to leave their country the answer was a resounding "no".  They would miss their small town quality of life and they loved it too much.

 

 

When classes were over I had to hurry up and get to the train station to head back to Zagreb.  It was pouring down rain and of course my rain coat and umbrella were keeping my adapter company at Mark's house in Zagreb.  As it turns out, there was no need to hurry because the train was about an hour late.  (I hear this is normal) It was coming from Budapest so we decided to blame the Hungarians. LOL.

I can't believe I was only there for 3 days.  We were so busy it felt like at least a week!  But I finally had to say goodbye to this beautiful town.

~Chris