A Little Texas In Croatia

Texas didn't play a large part in our lives until we moved to Rijeka. Here we've had 2 sets of friends from Texas.

The first is Erin, a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, whom I met last summer at the pre-Fulbright orientation in Washington, DC. She moved here in September and was very helpful to us before we even arrived. Once we got here, Erin taught us about many aspects of living in Rijeka, served as my teaching assistant at the university, found us Greta, the girls' homeschooling tutor and now our friend, and told us about TRY Theatre, the English language theater company in which Alison participated. We're grateful to Erin and wish her well as she begins law school!

Erin in front of the Faculty of Philosophy building
(This is our office building.  Faculty of Philosophy = all of the departments of humanities and social sciences.)

The second is a family whose temporary stay in Rijeka was almost the same period as ours. They were here because Chris was doing business in Rijeka. One of my colleagues, Irena, introduced us; her husband is a close business colleague of Chris's, and Irena thought that the kids in our families especially would appreciate meeting other American kids in a similar situation. Irena was right. The three Texas kids and the two upstate New York kids enjoyed time together at the Kantrida beach, on playgrounds, scootering on the Korzo, eating many a sladoled (ice cream) at what became their cafe, and having their first sleepover in Croatia. We're thankful to have met Jace, Avery, and Reid--and their parents Ana and Chris!

Reid, Avery, Jace, Alison, & Caroline on their scooters in the Korzo

Laura