Invite
We are inviting you to a live question and answer session on March 4th at 1:00 p.m. EST.
Just post questions to the comment section on this post at that time and we will respond immediately!
Click on invite for more info
Alison
We are ready for questions!
We'll end at 2 p.m. EST.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR QUESTIONS!
This is fun!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The Island of Krk
Last Saturday we headed down to the beautiful island of Krk. We went to several different towns on Krk.
Ever wanted to see Croatia underwater?
Here's a photo taken with underwater mode! I love my camera!
In Krk Town, Caroline met many cats owned by an elderly woman. Only one cat was friendly with kids. We were hoping that Caroline wouldn't get bitten!
Here's Krk Town:
Ever wanted to see Croatia underwater?
Here's a photo taken with underwater mode! I love my camera!
In Krk Town, Caroline met many cats owned by an elderly woman. Only one cat was friendly with kids. We were hoping that Caroline wouldn't get bitten!Here's Krk Town:
This is Francopan Castle in Krk Town. Read below to find out more info.
More from Krk Town:
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| A pretty church in Krk Town |
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| In Krk Town |
On the road to Stara Baška, another town on the island, we saw this:
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| Very old church in Baška |
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| Skipping stones in Baška |
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| Go dad! |
Alison
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Croatia's Capital City & Connections to Home(s)
I spent part of Wednesday and Thursday in Zagreb to attend an orientation for Fulbright scholars at the U.S. Embassy. It was my first time in Zagreb, unless one counts our time in the airport when we arrived in Croatia. I enjoyed the city tremendously and look forward to going back with the rest of my family.
Zagreb is very different from Rijeka. Among other things, it's much larger, it's flat, and it's not on the Adriatic. As I've mentioned before, Rijeka is a lot like San Francisco in its hilliness, and walking around the city usually is a workout! Everything in Zagreb is on a larger scale; the streets are wider, there's more of that grand Austro-Hungarian architecture, there's a lot more shopping, restaurants, and cafés (I didn't think it was possible to have more cafés--there are probably five within a block or so of our apartment in Rijeka!), and there are many tourists. After being in Zagreb, I have realized that in Rijeka, I haven't really seen many tourists (or at least I don't think I have). For example, when we're out and about, we don't hear English at all--unless we're speaking it. Once summer comes though, I suspect we'll see a lot of British, German, Austrian, and Italian tourists in Rijeka.
I hung out at the Cathedral of Zagreb for quite awhile. It was originally built in the 1200s, but much of it was restored in the late nineteenth century following an earthquake which seriously damaged it.
Just a few hours after I arrived in Zagreb, I got a call from Ivan, the brother of my good friend and (back in NY state) neighbor Boris. Ivan met up with me and took me on a fantastic guided walking tour of his hometown, complete with great conversation about both Croatia and the U.S., interesting history, and special doughnuts for Mardi Gras (we were wandering around on Ash Wednesday). Here are a few places we visited:
I especially liked this building, pictured in the photo to the left and the two below. Ivan explained that the Croatian proverb shown here means: "Grain by grain, bread. Stone by stone, palace." As my dear friends Lexi, Michelle, and I discuss on a regular basis, that sentiment applies to most everything in life. I'm happy to know the Croatian version of this!
After our walking tour, Ivan and I did the Croatian thing and went for coffee where Ivan and Boris's father, Drago, joined us. That was lovely! Drago then took me on a driving tour of Zagreb. I cannot thank Ivan and Drago enough for their hospitality and for introducing me to their beautiful city.
While I was in Zagreb, I found out that my Mom had gone into the ER following complications from a routine medical procedure she had had several days beforehand. She's still recovering but back at home and getting much better. My sister kept me updated by e-mail (thank you, Kathryn!), but I felt so far away and helpless. (I can only imagine how helpless my Dad must have felt. He had flown to Los Angeles to give a lecture, landed at the airport, received a call about what had happened to my Mom, and turned right around and flew back to the east coast to be with her.) I realize that had I been in Rijeka--or even in my hometown in the States (which is 7 1/2 hours by car from my parents' house)--there is nothing I could have done. But somehow being in Zagreb, removed from any of my homes, made me feel even further away. Ja volim te, Mom.
Laura
Zagreb is very different from Rijeka. Among other things, it's much larger, it's flat, and it's not on the Adriatic. As I've mentioned before, Rijeka is a lot like San Francisco in its hilliness, and walking around the city usually is a workout! Everything in Zagreb is on a larger scale; the streets are wider, there's more of that grand Austro-Hungarian architecture, there's a lot more shopping, restaurants, and cafés (I didn't think it was possible to have more cafés--there are probably five within a block or so of our apartment in Rijeka!), and there are many tourists. After being in Zagreb, I have realized that in Rijeka, I haven't really seen many tourists (or at least I don't think I have). For example, when we're out and about, we don't hear English at all--unless we're speaking it. Once summer comes though, I suspect we'll see a lot of British, German, Austrian, and Italian tourists in Rijeka.
I hung out at the Cathedral of Zagreb for quite awhile. It was originally built in the 1200s, but much of it was restored in the late nineteenth century following an earthquake which seriously damaged it.
Just a few hours after I arrived in Zagreb, I got a call from Ivan, the brother of my good friend and (back in NY state) neighbor Boris. Ivan met up with me and took me on a fantastic guided walking tour of his hometown, complete with great conversation about both Croatia and the U.S., interesting history, and special doughnuts for Mardi Gras (we were wandering around on Ash Wednesday). Here are a few places we visited:
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| Swiss Embassy |
I especially liked this building, pictured in the photo to the left and the two below. Ivan explained that the Croatian proverb shown here means: "Grain by grain, bread. Stone by stone, palace." As my dear friends Lexi, Michelle, and I discuss on a regular basis, that sentiment applies to most everything in life. I'm happy to know the Croatian version of this!
After our walking tour, Ivan and I did the Croatian thing and went for coffee where Ivan and Boris's father, Drago, joined us. That was lovely! Drago then took me on a driving tour of Zagreb. I cannot thank Ivan and Drago enough for their hospitality and for introducing me to their beautiful city.
At my Fulbright orientation on Thursday morning, I got a lot of useful information and met a variety of Americans and Croatians who work for the U.S. Embassy. I enjoyed learning about the lives and many international moves of the people working for the foreign service. I also liked connecting again with the two Fulbrighters who were at the orientation with me; one is a sociology professor at Brown Univ., and the other (a Fulbright "veteran" there to share her experiences) is a doctoral student in political geography at the Univ. of Illinois. (We all met for the first time over the summer in Washington, DC at the stateside Fulbright orientation.) I learned from them as well.
While I was in Zagreb, I found out that my Mom had gone into the ER following complications from a routine medical procedure she had had several days beforehand. She's still recovering but back at home and getting much better. My sister kept me updated by e-mail (thank you, Kathryn!), but I felt so far away and helpless. (I can only imagine how helpless my Dad must have felt. He had flown to Los Angeles to give a lecture, landed at the airport, received a call about what had happened to my Mom, and turned right around and flew back to the east coast to be with her.) I realize that had I been in Rijeka--or even in my hometown in the States (which is 7 1/2 hours by car from my parents' house)--there is nothing I could have done. But somehow being in Zagreb, removed from any of my homes, made me feel even further away. Ja volim te, Mom.
Laura
Friday, February 24, 2012
Calvert School & Poll Info
Alison
Let me describe Calvert School, the homeschooling program that we use. Their website is http://calvertschool.org/. Anyway, this program has a lot more assignments and subjects than my school at home. The only subjects it doesn't have are P.E. (which I am horrible at), music (no problem, I sing everyday and will start guitar soon!), and library. But reading counts, I guess. Today, I had my "review lesson". I skipped math (my weakest subject, and the most focused on in Calvert), and did everything else. It was easy until I saw math again. 36 problems? Seriously? After an HOUR of that I did my spelling test. But this was not a normal one were you sit down and write the words.........it was an oral spelling test on our balcony, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
That random person standing there is my tutor, Greta. We talk to each other and Caroline and always have fun. Plus, she shares my Sims 3 addiction!:)
Thank you to everyone who voted on our poll! The stats are:
17 (50%) |
13 (38%) |
6 (17%) |
13 (38%) |
We will take this into consideration. Thank you for voting! Check out our new poll!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Local police station (with an 80s music soundtrack)
Americans travelling to Croatia do not need visas, but those of us who are here for more than 90 days must apply for temporary residence permits. As we had been warned, getting those permits has been quite a process--which ends (at least for this post) with our local police station and an 80s music soundtrack. I suspect that much of this will sound very familiar to those of you who've temporarily lived abroad. Maybe not the 80s music soundtrack part. (If you don't want the details but just the 80s music reference, skip to the end!)
First, when I attended my Fulbright orientation in Washington, DC in July, I was told that our family should begin the process of becoming temporary residents early because things often get confusing and messy. The Fulbright program (both the staff in Washington, DC and in Zagreb) and the University of Rijeka's International Relations Office have been very helpful with this process.
Second, in September, we sent our marriage certificate and the girls' birth certificates to the various county clerks' offices where we were married and where the girls were born, so that those certificates could get the appropriate county seals and authentication. Then, J.D. and I got our fingerprints done and sent away for criminal history reports.
Third, we had to take all of the above-mentioned documents and send them to the Secretary of State of New York, so that office could put a special gold stamp called an apostille on them. An apostille authenticates the documents that will be used a foreign country. The state of New York gets enough requests for the apostille that it has a special Apostille Office. Ginny--at that office--must be the kindest and most patient bureaucrat on the planet.
Fourth, when we got to Rijeka, we had to register with the police within 48 hours of our arrival. This involved all four of us going with our landlord and a representative from the university's International Relations Office to the police station, filling out a lot of forms in Croatian, and standing in lines. We got paperwork that said that we were allowed to be in Croatia--and that we had 30 days to get the temporary residence permits.
Fifth, we had to have every one of those earlier documents (girls' birth certificates with the county clerks' seals/authentication and with the apostille, etc.) translated into Croatian by special "court interpreters for the English language." Plus, the Ministry of Education in Croatia had to send some special forms about my Fulbright award to the police (I think).
All of the above involved money--in the case of the translations, a fair amount of money.
The representative from the university's International Relations Office had initially thought we would be going back to the police station on one particular day, but because of some delays of documents from the Ministry of Education, that didn't happen. So we took our trip to Istria and had a tentative date with the police on the Monday we returned.
We were wondering if the travel would be a problem since it was to occur more than 30 days after our arrival in Croatia--that is, after the deadline when we were to get the temporary residence permits. But the International Relations Office staff person was told, when she kindly called the police station on our behalf, that our travel was fine. Apparently, it wasn't quite fine.
Yesterday, the four of us returned, once again with our landlord and International Relations Office staff person, to the police station to become temporary residents. As it turns out, the police knew where we had been. In fact, they had records of the exact times when we had arrived in Istria and had left Istria. We had had to go with the owner of the house we rented in Istria to register at some really tiny office, and I'm guessing that that information went into a gigantic Croatian police computer system. Going to Istria without telling the police was evidently a no-no--not a huge no-no, but just one that required that we fill out eight extra forms in Croatian.
We then purchased some special stamps (probably for the permits). We have yet to receive the permits, but...
I'm pleased to report that we are now temporary residents of Croatia!
J.D. and I (no kids required this time) still have to return to the police station next Monday and perhaps several more times after that. I guess this is because of some delays in our paperwork from the Ministry of Education. I'm suspect we'll learn more later. Or not.
About the music soundtrack...while hanging out in the police station, we heard such 1980s English-language classics as the Pointer Sisters’ "Slow Hand," Elton John’s "I’m Still Standing," and Naked Eyes' "Always Something There to Remind Me." We frequently hear 1980s English-language music here in restaurants, stores, and...our local police station. I like a lot of 1980s music (though not all of the songs mentioned above!), probably because it reminds me of high school and college. But here, for some reason, whenever I hear that music, I just want to laugh. Listening to that music in the police station made the bureaucratic procedure even funnier than it already was.
Actually, I find this formal, bureaucratic stuff to be fascinating.
Laura
First, when I attended my Fulbright orientation in Washington, DC in July, I was told that our family should begin the process of becoming temporary residents early because things often get confusing and messy. The Fulbright program (both the staff in Washington, DC and in Zagreb) and the University of Rijeka's International Relations Office have been very helpful with this process.
Second, in September, we sent our marriage certificate and the girls' birth certificates to the various county clerks' offices where we were married and where the girls were born, so that those certificates could get the appropriate county seals and authentication. Then, J.D. and I got our fingerprints done and sent away for criminal history reports.
Third, we had to take all of the above-mentioned documents and send them to the Secretary of State of New York, so that office could put a special gold stamp called an apostille on them. An apostille authenticates the documents that will be used a foreign country. The state of New York gets enough requests for the apostille that it has a special Apostille Office. Ginny--at that office--must be the kindest and most patient bureaucrat on the planet.
Fourth, when we got to Rijeka, we had to register with the police within 48 hours of our arrival. This involved all four of us going with our landlord and a representative from the university's International Relations Office to the police station, filling out a lot of forms in Croatian, and standing in lines. We got paperwork that said that we were allowed to be in Croatia--and that we had 30 days to get the temporary residence permits.
Fifth, we had to have every one of those earlier documents (girls' birth certificates with the county clerks' seals/authentication and with the apostille, etc.) translated into Croatian by special "court interpreters for the English language." Plus, the Ministry of Education in Croatia had to send some special forms about my Fulbright award to the police (I think).
All of the above involved money--in the case of the translations, a fair amount of money.
The representative from the university's International Relations Office had initially thought we would be going back to the police station on one particular day, but because of some delays of documents from the Ministry of Education, that didn't happen. So we took our trip to Istria and had a tentative date with the police on the Monday we returned.
We were wondering if the travel would be a problem since it was to occur more than 30 days after our arrival in Croatia--that is, after the deadline when we were to get the temporary residence permits. But the International Relations Office staff person was told, when she kindly called the police station on our behalf, that our travel was fine. Apparently, it wasn't quite fine.
Yesterday, the four of us returned, once again with our landlord and International Relations Office staff person, to the police station to become temporary residents. As it turns out, the police knew where we had been. In fact, they had records of the exact times when we had arrived in Istria and had left Istria. We had had to go with the owner of the house we rented in Istria to register at some really tiny office, and I'm guessing that that information went into a gigantic Croatian police computer system. Going to Istria without telling the police was evidently a no-no--not a huge no-no, but just one that required that we fill out eight extra forms in Croatian.
We then purchased some special stamps (probably for the permits). We have yet to receive the permits, but...
I'm pleased to report that we are now temporary residents of Croatia!
J.D. and I (no kids required this time) still have to return to the police station next Monday and perhaps several more times after that. I guess this is because of some delays in our paperwork from the Ministry of Education. I'm suspect we'll learn more later. Or not.
About the music soundtrack...while hanging out in the police station, we heard such 1980s English-language classics as the Pointer Sisters’ "Slow Hand," Elton John’s "I’m Still Standing," and Naked Eyes' "Always Something There to Remind Me." We frequently hear 1980s English-language music here in restaurants, stores, and...our local police station. I like a lot of 1980s music (though not all of the songs mentioned above!), probably because it reminds me of high school and college. But here, for some reason, whenever I hear that music, I just want to laugh. Listening to that music in the police station made the bureaucratic procedure even funnier than it already was.
Actually, I find this formal, bureaucratic stuff to be fascinating.
Laura
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Carnival
Yesterday was the children's carnival parade (postponed by a week due to the bora winds), and today is the international carnival in Rijeka. We went to both. At today's carnival, 98 groups are participating, so we can still hear carnival going on from our apartment (maybe four hours after it started). From today....
Here's a 12-second video clip of some Ghostbusters (there were two different Ghostbusters groups) to give you a flavor of today's fun, raucous event:
J.D. and I liked that both the people participating and those watching were of all ages. We also liked that although carnival had corporate sponsors, the participants and floats appeared not to have them. There was something authentic-seeming about the event. We noticed a lot of kids (like 13 year olds) smoking. Maybe we're out of touch (no comments necessary on that one!), but we don't tend to see kids that age smoking in public in the U.S. anymore.
We're pretty sure that a panel of judges rates the groups of participants. At dinner, we had a discussion about our favorite groups. Three out of four of us were noncommittal, but J.D. had a favorite--jellyfish from yesterday's children's carnival:
Laura
Here's a 12-second video clip of some Ghostbusters (there were two different Ghostbusters groups) to give you a flavor of today's fun, raucous event:
J.D. and I liked that both the people participating and those watching were of all ages. We also liked that although carnival had corporate sponsors, the participants and floats appeared not to have them. There was something authentic-seeming about the event. We noticed a lot of kids (like 13 year olds) smoking. Maybe we're out of touch (no comments necessary on that one!), but we don't tend to see kids that age smoking in public in the U.S. anymore.
We're pretty sure that a panel of judges rates the groups of participants. At dinner, we had a discussion about our favorite groups. Three out of four of us were noncommittal, but J.D. had a favorite--jellyfish from yesterday's children's carnival:
Laura
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Longer venture into Istria
We just returned from a four day trip to Istria. I cannot say enough good things about this region. All four of us really enjoyed our time there. I suspect we'll be going back!
Istria is in the westernmost part of Croatia, and for much of the early twentieth century, it was part of Italy. The city and town names are all in both Croatian and Italian. I guess that Istria has frequently been compared to Italy's Tuscany region, seen as like Tuscany but for half the price. See, for example, this article in The Chicago Tribune.
Alison chose the place where we were going to stay in Istria. She really misses our rural town back in the States, and ever since we've been here, she wanted to get into the country again. She chose a gem--a house far off the beaten path that we all loved. Getting there was a bit tricky though. First, the map we had was not terribly detailed, so we took long, winding, poorly marked roads (Istria is filled with these) to get there. Second, once we arrived in Krmed, we had difficulty finding which house was the one we had rented, so I called the phone number I had for the owners. The woman with whom I spoke was fluent in Croatian, Italian, and German but did not speak any English. I spoke with her in my (limited) Croatian, and then J.D. talked with her in his (less limited) German. Eventually, her husband, Romano, showed up in Krmed and indicated that someone who spoke English would be coming soon. Together Romano and his friend Heinz, a retired German police officer who now lives in Krmed, warmly welcomed us.
The house we rented is approximately 200 years old and was recently renovated inside. Because it's off season in Istria, the price was right. (In fact, because it's off season, we felt like we had a lot of Istria to ourselves!)
On the way to Krmed, we stopped in Hum, which claims to be the smallest town in the world. It was the first of many beautiful medieval towns we saw in the past week.
J.D. and I especially liked Rovinj, a small city on the western coast of Istria.
Istria is in the westernmost part of Croatia, and for much of the early twentieth century, it was part of Italy. The city and town names are all in both Croatian and Italian. I guess that Istria has frequently been compared to Italy's Tuscany region, seen as like Tuscany but for half the price. See, for example, this article in The Chicago Tribune.
Alison chose the place where we were going to stay in Istria. She really misses our rural town back in the States, and ever since we've been here, she wanted to get into the country again. She chose a gem--a house far off the beaten path that we all loved. Getting there was a bit tricky though. First, the map we had was not terribly detailed, so we took long, winding, poorly marked roads (Istria is filled with these) to get there. Second, once we arrived in Krmed, we had difficulty finding which house was the one we had rented, so I called the phone number I had for the owners. The woman with whom I spoke was fluent in Croatian, Italian, and German but did not speak any English. I spoke with her in my (limited) Croatian, and then J.D. talked with her in his (less limited) German. Eventually, her husband, Romano, showed up in Krmed and indicated that someone who spoke English would be coming soon. Together Romano and his friend Heinz, a retired German police officer who now lives in Krmed, warmly welcomed us.
The house we rented is approximately 200 years old and was recently renovated inside. Because it's off season in Istria, the price was right. (In fact, because it's off season, we felt like we had a lot of Istria to ourselves!)
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| Krmed. In the distance, you can see Caroline running toward our rental house. |
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| Our rental home in Krmed |
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| Balbi Arch, built in the 17th century, Rovinj |
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| Playground, with the bell tower of St. Euphemia Church in the background |
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| Coke ads by the playground |
We also explored Pula's Roman amphitheater, built in the 1st century A.D. and one of the six largest Roman amphitheaters in the world. This place is truly awesome. For several centuries, this amphitheater was the site of gladiator fights, and today summer concerts are held there.
We visited Jama Baredine (the Baredine Cave) in Nova Vas. During the winter, it's only open by prior appointment, so we e-mailed in advance and got a private tour of this underground world, going about 200 feet down into the cave with a guide.
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| Reflection in the water at the lowest point in the cave where visitors are allowed. |
We ended our stay in Istria with a trip to Poreč, another small city on the west coast of Istria.
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| Caroline's debut in Poreč |
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| This photo and the next three are of the Basilica of Euphrasius, a 6th-century Byzantine church |
Laura
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