Much Needed Update...

I would like to appologize for not updating the blog recently. I have been violently intestinally ill and slowly recovering, finaly figuring out that it was the lack of protein in my diet and lack of regularity of eating that has set my body off. Finally, now, I am back on track.

I was unable to go to Bosnia because of my illness, but Stuart did an excellen job recording some images for me, and I will post them as soon as I find some time to edit them and place them on my Facebook or a few on the blog. I have placed numerous images on my Facebook page, and if you are not a friend of mine and want to see the pictures, look me up.

What has been fun for us, is trying to use our Croatian in the marketplace and in restaurants. Julie is by far the the most outgoing of our group and having a great time impressing the Croatians with her Hrvatski. It was fun to watch Peter (prounounced Pate-er) our waiter warm up to us as Julie launched in to her Hrvatski with me following suit. The restaurant was not crowded and Peter took the time to talk with us, as we found out more about he and the surrounding area. He went out of his way to give us excellent service and even calculated Julie's bill into U.S. dollars as payment for her check. Peter stopped by our table more often than he did the others and really enjoyed our presence there. It was warm, and engaging, especially with the heaters going in the cave like outdoor section of the restaurant.

While it takes time to build relationships with Croatians, some, especially the public workers seem to appreciate our being here, and go out of their way to make sure we are finding what we need. Whenever we get 'stuck' in our limited Croatian, they find one of the employees who can help us. Whenever we don't understand how the store works (like finding the 'number' of the fruit, veggie or nuts we are purchaseing, going over to the scale, typing it in and printing out the label) they gracefully assist us with it all.

Initially, it seems so overwhelming. Everything is new. Everything is different. We find ourselves trying to figure out which is the mustard, which is the mayonaise and catsup (they all come in tubes here). Foods and food containers are all different. Just going grocery shopping is a new challenge. But we are finding our way. We are learning much about Croatia and Croatian way of life. We are getting a taste of being a stranger in a strange land, and growing because of the experience. It will take weeks to process all that we have experienced in such a short time here.