Our Bahamian Adventure

Our Bahamian adventure is a tale of two opposites.  The first, Atlantis Resort in Nassau, a crowded and over the top tourist attraction appealing to the masses.  The second, Eleuthera,  a remote and extremely secluded island separating the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.

 

My kids were beside themselves when they found out I had booked a stay at the Atlantis Resort.  What kid wouldn’t be? Commercials are always running on TV enticing you to their water park and turquoise blue water beaches.  Does anyone remember an earlier blog where I said “Americans have a passion for travel.  But typically, we travel to areas that have been Americanized for us. The locals speak English and serve us overpriced American food with lots of ice in our drinks.”  I had no idea just how accurate that would turn out to be.

The flight to get there is easy enough and depending on when you go fairly affordable.  Many airlines offer direct flights and from DFW it only takes 3 hours or so.  Immediately when you get off of the airplane in Nassau you notice the change in atmosphere.  Employees accept you in to their country by saying “Welcome home” with broad smiles on their faces.  An airport employee spends quite a bit of time giving us advice on what to do during our stay.  Smiling the whole time, I think he says “Welcome Home” three times.  I’ve never been greeted like that in any airport in my life. 

If your final destination is Nassau you will find taxis waiting for you to whisk you off to your resort.  Make sure you negotiate the fare before you leave but should be about $35 if going to Atlantis.  Our driver was excited to tell us about this capital city.  In typical taxi driver style he jockeys between cars, dodging oncoming traffic by mere centimeters as he plays tour guide. (Also, do you remember in one of my earlier blogs how I said people are the same everywhere? I guess this applies to cab drivers as well!) We actually arrived on the Bahamian Emancipation Day marking the anniversary of the abolishment of slavery. When we pass a statue of Queen Victoria in front of the parliament building he tells us that it was she that abolished slavery during her reign.  Also, the entire year marks the anniversary of 40 years of independence from Great Britain.  So the streets are crowded with locals celebrating their holiday. We get a quick look at the city center with its colorful Bahamian wood frame buildings.  

 As we get closer to our destination on Paradise Island the iconic silhouette of the Atlantis towers comes into view. The kids literally are bouncing in their seats.  We pull into the front drive and smiling hotel employees are quick to open our doors and collect our luggage.  Customer service appears to be important in the Bahamas.  We enter the massive lobby through gargantuan doors that make me feel Lilliputian-ish.  We approach the check-in counter where everyone is dressed in coral colored uniforms.  The extremely polite woman behind the counter informs us are room is not ready (it’s 4:00 in the afternoon) so she is going to upgrade us to a room with a better view. But, that room is not available either.  She asks us to step aside and wait 20 minutes and by then it should be ready.  However, it is still not ready at that time and we are upgraded again.  By the time all is said and done and 3 hours later, we are upgraded to the top floor with a beach view and a $100 credit.  We do not realize at this point how that credit would come in handy. 

The grounds are lush but neatly manicured.

When we finally get to our room we change into our suits as fast as we can and race downstairs to ride the rides.  The moment our feet hit the concrete the entire park closes.  The park is only open until 7pm and because our 4 o’clock arrival took 3 hours to sort out we miss one whole day of water park adventure.  Sigh.  But the beach is open!  So we make our way to the beach.  But just so you know, the towel hut closes at 7 also so don’t expect any towels. 

I’ve been to a lot of different beaches but this sand is different from any I’ve seen.   It’s light and fluffy almost like it’s infused with air.  It just sifts through your fingers like tiny pieces of Styrofoam.  The water is so clear you can see as far out as your eyes will let you.  I love Texas beaches but it has always bothered me that I could never tell what I was stepping on (sea weed, shell, shark??)  To your left locals are offering Jet Ski rides out into the ocean and to your right… ladies braiding cornrows.

After an hour or so of swimming we realize how hungry we are so we decide to get cleaned up and find something to eat.  The restaurants in the resort are feeding 90% of the guests all at the same time.  Without a reservation you can forget about getting fed.  With a reservation you are waiting in very long lines anyway.  The only option we are left with is to go the counter at one of the delis and get sandwiches to go.  Four sandwiches and four bottles of water later…$65. 

On the way back to our room we have to walk through the casino.  Mike and I get a little sparkle in our eyes but decide to get our kids back to the room.  It’s been a long day so we decide to hit the hay so we can get up early and have a full day of water park fun.

The grounds at the resort have beautiful landscaping.
If you look closely you can see a shark dorsal fin in the lower left corner.

I loved these oversized flying fish!

 At the crack of dawn we make our way downstairs for breakfast…along with hundreds of other hungry people.  We wait in the long line at the breakfast bar where we each choose something simple like cereal, a Danish, etc.  We each get a drink and pay the lady $70.  We have to stand to eat but feel we have “scored” because we have a marble room divider to set our food. Another family close by is eating on the carpeted floor.

With breakfast behind us we head to the water park.  We reach the doors to the outside and what do we see? Rain.  And lots of it.  It’s pouring outside, complete with thunder, lightning and swaying palm trees.  I know in the islands it rains a lot, usually a flash storm and then it’s over.  Nope.  This lasted most of the day.  We go back to the room and it stops raining.  We go back downstairs and it



Can you see the heavy rain?

starts raining again.  We do this song and dance a few times before we decide it’s time for lunch.  We can’t stomach another expensive meal so we grab a cab and head into town.  We get a recommendation from the taxi driver of a restaurant where the locals eat.  Supposedly, it has the freshest food with the largest portions so that’s where we go. The cab driver calls ahead to the restaurant so when we get out of the car there is a restaurant employee waiting for us.  We are welcomed by “Big Mama” and she invites us in.  The restaurant is not much more than a wooden shack with picnic tables in two rows.  But we know immediately we are in for a treat.  Most of the patrons are locals but a few other tourists have discovered this little gem as well.

Big Mama recommends Conch Fritters for an appetizer.  Conch is the meat from a conch shell, sort of like calamari and then it is deep fried with batter into what looks like a hush puppy.  Very tasty and not dry at all like hush puppies can be.  She brings a creamy sauce to dip them in but they are good by themselves, too.

Mike orders a homemade fruit punch for his drink.  He offers me some and I am immediately regretting my choice of mineral water.    (We’ve been trying to figure out how to make that punch ever since.)  For our entrees we order grilled grouper, fried snapper and fried shrimp.  We are told that grouper and snapper are traditional Bahamian dishes, especially the snapper.  So when in Rome… All are served with a rice and peas dish.   We look around at all of the locals and everyone is eating either the snapper or the grouper.  My snapper arrives and I have already been prepared for the fact that it will still have the head and tail attached.  This is not a big deal because I was raised with a family that fished in southern Louisiana.  But I can imagine some tourists might be caught off guard.  The food is wonderful and we are so glad we escaped Atlantis to enjoy some local flavor.   We don’t save any money, however.  Our bill is close to $100.  Not sure how the locals afford this.

Oh Andros...where we had our amazing lunch!

By the time lunch is over the rain has stopped and the sun is shining full strength.  We say our good byes to Big Mama and  ask a waiting cab driver to get us back to Atlantis and step on it!  We throw our suits back on and make our way back to the water park.  The moment we get to the doors it starts to rain again but no thunder.   We figure we will get wet anyway so we shrug our shoulders and tear through the doors like fifth graders on the last day of school.  Our kids are off and running and we will not see them again until the park closes.  Mike and I set out to find the ride we keep hearing about.  It looks like an Aztec pyramid and you shoot out of it into the shark tank below.  Of course you are separated by a glass partition but you are up close with about a dozen nurse sharks.  We get in line with a couple hundred veteran 8-12 year olds who are looking at us with smirks on their faces.  We are the oldest ones in line by 30 years.  We make the mistake of asking them which of the rides are scary.  We get an earful of “awesome” this and “lame” that.  When it is our turn we get on the tube built for two and slide into the pitch black curvy tunnel that eventually lands in the middle of the shark tank.   I have to admit it was pretty cool.  Oddly I’m not nearly as concerned with the sharks as I am of the people who are watching us on the other side of the tank wall. We spend the rest of the day riding (admittedly) really ”awesome” rides. With an added benefit, though.  At the top of each ride, right before you get on, you get to look out at  the  most beautiful view of the Caribbean you can imagine.  It does seem bizarre that anyone would choose to be enclosed in a man made themed attraction instead of enjoying the natural beauty of this island.  We will get our chance. 

Our kids riding into the shark tank.

One of many sharks in the "tank".

The view from our room.

My last ride of the day is the “lazy river”, however, there is nothing lazy about this river.  It generates large waves throughout so the feeling is closer to white water rapids (ish).  This winds through the park until I am completely turned around and have no idea where to get off.  I have lost Mike and the kids and it’s not until an employee makes us get out because it’s closing time do I ever get off.  When I finally find the rest of my crew we decide we are having too much fun to go up so we head to the beach.  As soon as our feet hit the sand Mike and Tony are approached by the Jet Ski guys.  Because it’s late in the day they make an offer we can’t refuse.  We don’t see those two again for quite some time.  Ella and I spend the rest of the daylight playing in the ocean.  We have a ball playing in the water, floating, digging in the airy sand and relaxing.  When the sun starts to set we head up to the room.

We get cleaned up and by the time we are ready for some dinner the boys show up and tell us all about their Jet Ski ride. They had a blast, of course, but the Jet Ski broke down out in the ocean and they had to be rescued.  Luckily they could still be seen from the shore when the bike died.  It did make me wonder if any of the water sports are regulated for maintenance.

We are still full from our lunch so we decide to forgo dinner and just get dessert.  We have to get up pretty early to head out to Eleuthera anyway.  So we go back to the same deli and order 3 milkshakes and a woopie pie for Ella (of course).  $41.  On the way back to our room we have to go through the casino again, and again Mike and I get that same twinkle in our eyes.  We deliver the kids back to our hotel room and we decide to indulge in some adult entertainment, so to speak.   Having been to way too many apparel conventions in Las Vegas, I am not a stranger to the slot machine.  But these are high stake machines that will suck down your $20 before you know what has happened.  I am feeling very discouraged that not much had paid off and then boom…a large pay out.  Animated coins dance around the screen as I am pounding on the cash out button.  I know when to walk away.  I cash that voucher out quick before any other machine could be heard calling my name. 

Next time…The adventure continues in Eleuthera.

Calvert, Texas

Driving through central Texas on Highway 6, we visited the historic town of Calvert to take a look around. Having driven through it many times, but always in a hurry to get to my destination, I never considered stopping.  We are so glad we took the time to explore this neat town.

Along with its Victorian charm, we discovered it was, at one time, the 4^thlargest town in the state.  In the 19^th century, it was a bustling community filled with theaters, hotels, plantations and thriving businesses.  Their biggest industry was cotton, boasting one of the (if not THE) largest gins in the world. With the arrival of the Texas Central Railway, Calvert became a major cotton shipping point. 

The town suffered a decline after the end of the Civil War with a yellow fever epidemic and later with the completion and competition of Interstate 35.  However, there has been a strong and successful revitalization effort breathing new life into Calvert.  The historic buildings on Main Street are being renovated and new businesses are moving in.

Today, the town is filled with art galleries, cafes, and antique shops and Victorian houses have been converted to bed and breakfasts.  The historical value hasn't diminished though.  Just about any building you can enter, you would be passing through the same doors that Texans have previously since the 1800's.

There was a time I didn't give much thought to these small rural towns, other than they were notorious for speed traps. But to see so much Texas history preserved in Calvert reminded me how important these communities are to our state.  Maybe those from outside of Texas will think so as well.  

On your next road trip,  make an excursion to an old town as part of your journey. Take a look around. Eat some lunch. Buy a gift. I bet you find much more than just a Dairy Queen.

Lady Liberty standing in front of the historic Eloia Theater.

Boutiques abound!

Build in 1879 by the Oscar Family.

Built in 1874,  the popular chocolate shop and French Bistro, Cocoamoda now calls this home. 

Renovation in progress.

My Life in Kenya

Ok, so I have to explain the title.  There is a British comedy, As Time Goes By, with Judi Dench that I have watched on PBS for 2 decades.  Dench's husband on the show, Lionel Hardcastle, wrote a book called My Life in Kenya about some time he spent there.  Much of the show is based around the writing, publishing and promotion of this not so successful book. The show is hilarious, especially when people ask Lionel, "What's your book about?" Duh.

Today at my eye doctor appointment, I met a man from Kenya.  He is the assistant to my doctor (who is also Kenyan) and has lived here for several years.  We struck up a conversation about travelling and I told him about my project of studying other cultures.  I didn't even have to ask him about his life in Kenya.  He offered it completely unsolicited. 

One of the most interesting things he told me was when he first came to the US he was very surprised that when meeting people they would ask "What do you do?"  He didn't understand why they wanted to know this.  In Kenya no one asks you what you do.  Instead, they ask how you and your family are doing.  So he would keep asking his friends, "Why do people keep asking me what I do?"

Does this mean that Americans are more interested in what you do as opposed to who you are?  I don't believe so. There are so many different ways to make a living here, I think most of us are just interested in learning about them.  Like when you hear that someone manufactures and sells ring binders to large corporate accounts.  You think, huh, ring binders?  Well, why not?

Another story he told me was when you want to visit a friend in Keyna, you just show up to their house.  It's not uncommon for the visit to last 2-4 hours.  If you show up to a friend's house in the US they ask, "What do you want?"  An unexpected visit implies an emergency of some kind.

I would like to think that the idea of unexpected friendly visits sounds great to me.  But you know that feeling you get that makes your skin itch...when someone comes to the door and you have no makeup on and your hair is a disaster and your kitchen looks like it exploded?  Not exactly a set up for a relaxing visit.  The Kenyans must know something we do not.

He's lived in the United States long enough now that when he goes back to Kenya for a visit he suffers from reverse culture shock.  He thinks everything runs too slow paced and he gets frustrated. I think it just proves we can adapt to any living condition. 

And we are all the same...just the details are different.

I never considered Kenya on my list of possibilities.  But I think I might like to write  my own version of "My Life in Kenya".

Croatia Joins the EU

Croatia joined the European Union as its 28th member today.  An historic and exciting day, for sure.  One of the great objectives of the EU is to provide peace and stability to a continent that has had, shall we say, some difficulty in that department.  Economic development and better opportunity in world trade are also some of the other important goals of the EU.  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, so to speak. 

I'm not enough of an economist, world historian, or fortune teller to say if joining the EU will solve the problems of Europe. But I do believe that moving forward and always looking for ways to improve are important objectives for anyone. 

I know many of the Croats I spoke with during my trip were apprehensive about the accession.   But I am very hopeful that this is a positive move and Croatia will continue to grow stronger.  I look forward to following this great country's new journey.

My Croatian friend from Bjelovar posted on her blog about it.  I'm attaching the link because I think it is important to get some local perspective.

http://ireality2.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-next-day.html

My Croatian Trip Comes to an End

By the time I began preparing for my last scheduled visit in Croatia I had already spoken with a couple hundred students and adults.  Like everything in this remarkable country, what these people shared with me left me amazed.  Every answer to my questions carried the same component: profound love for their country and their way of life.  This was heard in the way they told me about all of the beautiful places to see, in the way they celebrate their favorite holidays eating typical Croatian food with their families, in the way their chests puff up when they talk about their national soccer team, how delicately they speak of their war of independence, how they have always considered themselves Croats first no matter who was controlling the country, and how they will never take for granted their coveted relaxed lifestyle.   

So I showed up to my last day of classes at The Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Zagreb expecting to hear these same responses.   These particular students are studying to be teachers of English and are all proficient speakers.  Of course they speak with Croatian accents, but with a detectable American slant.  Certainly access to American TV has a lot to do with this.   The older Croatians speak with a British accent, having learned "proper British English".  (I am giggling to myself about that!) 

I set up my video camera at the front of the class and no student would take a seat within 15 feet of it. They clumped together in the back of the class as if suspicious of gamma ray emissions. It's interesting how the adults have been very aware of that camera and the kids hardly noticed it. 

I began by sharing with them the misconceptions that I learned that most Croatians have about America and vice versa.  I think we all agreed that 300 million Americans cannot all be fat and lazy. And certainly the official language of Croatia is not Russian.  Then I spoke about my impressions-first and foremost how unexpectedly beautiful their country is and secondly their wonderful lifestyle that we as Americans do not have.  I then asked them how many wanted to leave after they graduated for a job abroad and it was practically unanimous.   The general consensus in Croatia is there will not be enough good jobs for these kids after graduation.  Therefore, everyone must leave or settle for what their country has to offer. 

It was at this point in the conversation that I started to feel a certain amount of frustration that these students did not see what I saw and just how fortunate they are to live where they live.   Where they see embarrassing dilapidated buildings I see history and charm.  Where they see lack of progress, I see delightful contentment.  Many people around the world aspire to come to America, the land of opportunity.  Just cross the border and a great paying job is waiting for you.  And the truth is we do have many, many great jobs.  But they come at a price.  We are a land of millions of people competing for those best paying jobs, with more and more immigrating here everyday.  To be competitive we work tirelessly and sacrifice much.  Then when and if we get a desirable job we have to continue the self sacrifice to maintain our competitive edge or risk losing it.  The sacrifices we make unfortunately come directly from our quality of life.  Most of us fall victim to keeping up with the Jones', especially in the area I live. Because of this, people are killing themselves to get more and have more. He who dies with the most toys wins.  So we keep working harder, sacrificing more. The only social interaction that comes with an American at coffee time are the 20 seconds of pleasantries shared with the Starbucks barista.  Conversation and enjoyment are replaced with a piece of stale lemon cake that we shove in our mouths while we carefully try not to dribble crumbs in our laps that we are sure will be stuck to the back of our pants when we get out of our car. By the way, the idea of eating in your car is virtually an unheard of practice in Croatia. And "to go" coffee is a brand new product offered in Bjelovar just last year. I am not making this up. 

I guess what I am trying to say is, how wonderful is the place where quality of life is paramount and  character is not defined by your zip code.  

It sometimes takes a stranger, an outsider, to help someone see what has always been right in front of them. I hope my visit encouraged those who I spoke with to see their country and culture through a fresh set of eyes and appreciate once more all of the wonderful qualities it has to offer.  It is difficult, to say the least, of how moved I was from every second of my trip.  I have never experienced such genuine hospitality.  I made friendships that I will take with me always (thank goodness for Facebook!) and I am now a loyal Nescafe drinker.  I already miss Croatia and my new friends and all I can think of is when can I go back?!

I have attached 3 letters from some of these university students I spoke with.  Their assignment was to summarize my talk with their own opinions of my impressions.  As you will read, the students seem to have genuinely been affected by not only my visit but my impressions. 

Since I have been home, I have received messages from some of the teachers that their students want more visits like mine. “The students were thrilled to have Chris visit” was what one wrote. Hopefully my blog will inspire more people to visit, study, and learn about the wonderful country of Croatia.  I thank my lucky stars I did.

 

A summary of our interview with Chris Ziober

May 23^rd, 2013

By Filip Šarić

It was an interesting interview, definitely. As she walked into the room, the first thing she did was set up a sophisticated looking camera on a black tripod. This caused a stir with the female part of the group, and a lot of hair fixing ensued. Then, she asked her first question.

            Then the second and the third and so on. These were banal questions at first, which soon developed into a full scale discussion. Discussion sounds very strict and official, however, it was more of a conversation. We talked about her past experiences in Hungary and, more recently, in Koprivnica and Bjelovar. I believe this was the first time I had the chance to see a foreigner’s view of our country. You have your opinion of other countries, naturally, but you rarely think of your own in such a way. At least I don’t.

            We talked about stereotypes. With a particular focus on how the world (and Croats) see Americans. Most of us knew that these stereotypes are pure nonsense, but it’s different when coming from an American. A Texan. no less. This was another thing. Apparently, Texas is only 15% or so desert. This is the complete opposite of what I used to believe. The media; I blame the media.

            We talked briefly about various holidays and came to the conclusion that we, as Croats, have significantly more free time on our hands. The country might be worse off for it, and we might be struggling with this great economic crisis and everything, but the lifestyle could very well be worth it. No one in America has the habit of going out for a cup of coffee and a two-hour conversation. They’re too busy for that. This makes me wonder.

            Connected with this was the topic concerning our future. Chris asked us what we wanted of life, where do we see ourselves and this opened the door to another conversation about the differences between Croatia and the US. This also opened up the topic of our political situation, and the fact that things don’t really seem to be improving. However, she mentioned that, from what we said, things do seem to be improving after all, which is another thing that made me wonder.

            As I’ve mentioned before, this is the first time I saw our country through the eyes of a foreigner. Moreover, a foreigner here to observe the country and the people. It was an eye-opening experience and I can’t help but feel more optimistic for the future. My burning desire to leave as soon as possible has been somewhat sedated and I’m thinking, maybe things just aren’t so bad here after all. I owe Chris a big thank you for that.

 

SUMMARY

CONVERSATION WITH CHRIS ZIOBER

HELD ON 23rd May 2013

by Anja Kelemen

On 23rd of May my class had a guest. Her name is Chris Ziober and she comes from Texas, United States. She used to work in a boutique but now she is travelling around the world and exploring different customs and cultures. One of the places to visit on her world map is Croatia. She visited Bjelovar, Koprivnica and Zagreb. 

When I first saw her, she seemed very happy, positive and cheerful. She was wearing a bright pink shirt which only showed her upbeat personality. She showed us some photos she took while visiting Bjelovar and Koprivnica and expressed her admiration to our beautiful landscape and nature.

Our conversation was based on Croatian customs as well as our lifestyle and the way they differ to the American. We talked about our education system, and how we thought it was different from the American one, but has more similarities than we thought. We talked about cheating in exams and came to conclusion that we do cheat and get away with it like for instance underage drinking in public, but in USA cheating on tests and breaking the law are severely punished, as it should be in Croatia. 

One of the topics were holidays and how we celebrate them and we came to conclusion that we Croatians have many day-offs and go to the seaside often whereas Americans rarely have a week off and have no time to go on a holiday. She was quite surprised with how majority of us have a house on the seaside where we take our vacations which made it clear for her the amount of time we spend on holidays.

Another topic was our future, what do we want to do and are we planning to leave our country. She was quite surprised to see our nodding heads when she mentioned the opportunity to work abroad. We explained our dissatisfaction with the government and the general way things work around here with which she agreed and understood the reasons why majority of us wants to leave.

I was very happy she opened our conversation by talking about our stereotypes we have about the Americans as well as our general misbeliefs. At the very beginning we talked about a somewhat delicate topic but just by talking about it we made them disappear and were able to talk about everything. The USA and Croatia are two different worlds but both countries belong to one world. By coming to our country and talking about her culture and comparing it to our, Chris connected those two different worlds and she will continue to do so with many other countries and cultures as she continues to travel to other places and meet new and different customs.

To conclude, I am so glad I met Chris and one day I want to continue her work in trying to overcome the differences and showing to everyone how beautiful and diverse the world is. I am thankful she showed me how with hard work a person can achieve everything and do what he or she truly wants and loves. I hope I will be able to be as successful as she is, but until then, I will follow her blog spot and dream about the big things that are ahead of me. 

Not running away 

by Tamara Maljcov

The frogs from the creek next to my building wake me up. Though I live fifteen minutes from the centre of Zagreb, the capital of my country, the nature that surrounds me somehow reflects the nature of the countryside, and I find this soothing. It's early in the morning, and as I walk my dog I observe the place I've been living in for the last 23 years.

Not much has changed over the years. There are some new buildings on my right, rugby field on my left. That rusty old wooden hut still proudly standing in the middle. A few gardens located on the no man's land, that some pensioners have usurped. That poor drunk who feeds cats every morning sits on the bench and waves me hello. I slowly walk back home, get dressed and go to my lectures at the faculty.    

I've always wanted to be a teacher, though it is a hard, underpaid and not appreciated enough a job. Still, I don't let the voices of the crowd bring me down. I know what it's like to make ends meet. My parents don't burden me with their financial issues; still, I can't help but see the struggle and the sacrifices they have to make every day. The life we live has prepared me for that same struggle I see taking place in my future.

Everybody talks about leaving. Everybody my age that is. They say it's no use living in a corrupted, broken country. A country that provides no opportunity for employment, doesn't export our goods, sells its parts bit by bit for a minimum fee. A government that makes us all sheep, steals from us, decreases our salary and increases the costs of living. Who would want to live in such a country? What did we fight for?

I ride the bus and observe the kids in it. Did I dress like this when I was in high school? Branded clothes, i-Phone in one hand, cigarette in another. They’re talking about cheating on an exam. Talking about the uselessness of studying. Talking about an influential relative who would hire them after graduation. "When everyone is cheating, deceiving one another, why can't we."  I see it as a survival issue. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.  We don't see that we are becoming like the people that repress us. This is the easy way out. This is running away.

We focus on material goods, so we go in debt.  We take our coffee break regularly, and curse about this country, our politicians, and our problems. We praise God and family, but talk about leaving them in pursuit of a better life. We hate that we were born here, but during soccer season, when the players run out on that green field representing Croatia, we all unite. Proud as hell, singing patriotic songs together, crying and laughing...  

I go to work in the evening. As I walk through Ban Jelačić square, I think to myself how I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I get home exhausted, but my mom has made štrukle [1]and I am so happy I could cry. My father got upset while watching the news again so I turn to him and say that it will get better. We talk about our day. They say that they're going on the sea-side this weekend. They need to take a rest, get rid of that everyday stress. "If we're going down, we might as well go down in style" they say with a laugh. Something a typical Croat would say.

They are too old to make a change, but we're not. So I'm not running away. This is my home. This is my creek. Those are my frogs. I will work hard, but enjoy my cup of coffee while sitting on a sunny terrace. My father fought for this. I wouldn't wanna let him or this beautiful country I call my own down.

I thank God for my family, my friends, and the štrukli on my plate. :)

---

[1] a traditional meal that comes from Zagorje, a part of  nortwestern Croatia

 

 

Austin My Austin

This is an old blog post I wrote a few years ago that I thought would fit in with the Lifedigs stories...

As we drove through Round Rock on our way to Austin for a quick overnight stay, my mouth hung open at the miles and miles of thick commercial development. What was once rolling cow pasture was now an outlet mall. What was once a two lane road connecting Round Rock to Austin (Hwy 1325) was now an eight lane super highway complete with mix master and toll booth that I think you can see from space. Every square inch of land that borders I-35 is filled with restaurants, car dealerships and big box stores.

My first bridal shop was off of Main Street in downtown Round Rock in the 90’s. It sat just west of the Dell Computer Headquarters when Dell had a total of five buildings. From the looks of it, Dell could probably qualify for its own zip code now. I was a member of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce then. We would have monthly mixers where the local business owners would get together and discuss how to bring new business to the area. We averaged about 25 members at each function. I guess those mixers really paid off. The retail and restaurant industries have definitely found Round Rock, Texas.

We drove down the toll way towards the Arboretum area in Austin to find the hotel we were staying in. I didn’t recognize anything. The new highway made everything look so different I never could get my bearings. Everywhere I looked I saw a depressing amount of concrete. Only because a sign said Braker Lane did I know to turn off the highway. We checked into the hotel and I was a little relieved that the landscaping was looking a little more Austin-ish. The property was filled with live oaks and thick green ground cover.

When we woke up the next morning we decided to find our old neighborhood. We lived off of Far West Boulevard, the same area I had relocated my bridal shop when I expanded the business. When we got back on Mopac and drove down a mile or two, I had to blink twice to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. Right on the highway was a big beautiful white building bearing the name Neiman Marcus. This did not compute in my brain. Neiman’s in Austin? When we lived here the Austinite “uniform” was Teva sandals, a Dell gimme shirt and patchouli cologne. Austin prides itself in a very organic (if not hippie) lifestyle. But apparently Neiman Marcus thought Austin fit their demographic. Could it be that Austin has changed? Had it join the ranks of DFW in metropolitan living? In the ten years we’ve been away did our town have the nerve to grow and develop without us? How rude.

We turned onto Far West Boulevard and immediately things looked better. The condominium complex we lived in was still there and except for a fresh coat of paint looked exactly the same. Same HEB grocery store, same post office, same Wendy’s, same beautiful live oaks. I was starting to relax…until I tried to find my bridal shop. The shopping strip where it was located had several new businesses. That’s to be expected except they seemed to be lower end stores. That worried me a bit. When I found where my shop should have been it was just a big space with the windows covered up in black sheeting. I think I had heard somewhere that it was moving (expanding I hope!) We drove over to Anderson Lane and recognized even more restaurants and stores. Suzi’s, one of the best Asian restaurants was still there, Louis Shanks Furniture and of course, Austin Nuts (I wonder if they knew how apropos the name would be all those years ago?) I found my relocated bridal shop in a newly renovated shopping strip across from the Alamo Draft House (now that was a place that sounded interesting! ) Looking in at all of the beautiful dresses and tiaras I was warped back in time when all that was my life. It made my heart race a little. All in all the shop looked very nice, not the way I would have done it but nice nonetheless.

The kids were starting to whine about being bored and hungry so we trekked over to central Austin to find some place to eat that looked familiar. A lot might have changed driving into to Austin but this part of town was exactly the same. Old houses converted into funky little businesses and restaurants with xerascaped front yards still line the streets. Mike and I looked at each other with big smiles on our faces. This was the Austin we knew and loved. We turned off of 35^th street onto Lamar and were greeted by EZ’s. Eaten there a hundred times. We decided to make it a hundred and one. Everything was exactly the same.

Finally, with a little sadness we started to make our way out of town towards our beach vacation. I hadn’t thought much of Austin these past years. Raising kids and growing a business seems to monopolize my time. So I was surprised to learn that under my ultra-conservative exterior, after all this time, the hippie in me lives on. Thank goodness it lives on in Austin, too.

 

Blog Followers from Russia

It's been fascinating to read the reports that Blogspot provides me of which countries my readers are located.  Of course, the largest following has been the US, followed by Croatia.  But the next largest readership has been Russia.  I think this is so interesting because I don't know anyone there.  After that, it seems to be evenly spread among other European countries.  If you are following this blog from Russia (or any of the other countries) I would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment on this blog or email me directly and let me know something about yourself and how you know about it. 

I will spend this summer working on the Croatian project.  There is much to do but it taking shape nicely. I am already thinking about my next project, however.  There is a short list of countries I am interested in but no decisions have been made.  If anyone has any recommendations or particular countries that you think I should consider, let me know!!

Lifedigs is now of Facebook.  It was just created yesterday so it will take some time to get everything loaded.  Below is the link.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/Lifedigs?fref=ts