The List Goes On

My time in the States is winding down. And when I get back, I'll likely no longer have time to write creatively. So let's add to the list while I'm still thinking about it. 

4. Halloween. Ok, I've spent most of this trip in Massachusetts (where I lived for many years) so I'm not surprised to see traces of Halloween in October. But I was stunned to see a yard in Quincy decked out like this in September - more than a month before Halloween. 

Quincy, MA

Nor was I ready for the extent that some home-owners go to in decorating their yards. 

Ipswich, MA

Quincy, MA

Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NY

I began sending these pictures to my family WhatsApp thread (with messages like "Isn't this crazy?!").

Worcester, MA

But this one in Worcester, MA takes the cake as far as I'm concerned. The next three pictures are from the same yard. 

I think I've gathered enough data to support the thesis that, for many Americans, Halloween is one of the most important events of the year. Or am I misinterpreting the evidence?

If I find even one Croatian yard that's 1% as decorated when I get back, I'll be surprised. It's not that Halloween doesn't exist in Croatia. It's just not a family event in the same way. There are Halloween parties at cafes and clubs in late October. But there's no month-long "Halloween season" throughout the month. I'm guessing some of that is because of Maškare (Carnival) in February. But even then, elaborate yard displays are virtually nonexistent. 

5. House gadgets. I'll have to admit, I never thought of my parents as tech gurus. But when it comes to getting into locked buildings without a key, they were way ahead of me. When I arrived, they explained that they had a fob for me so I could enter their residence on my own. To which I responded: 

    "What is that word that you are using?" 

     "It's a fob."

    "I've never heard of that before, what does it stand for?"

Well, that had all of us stumped so I had to look it up. It turns out that I've actually used a fob before in the mini-van we rented 4 years ago when our whole family visited. But no one had told me that's what it was called. And the longer I stay here, the more I realize that fobs are pretty universal now. Do we have these in Europe? In Croatia? Kako se zovu?

But then there's this other thing that it seems like every kitchen I've visited has now that it didn't have 3 years ago - a grill. Or at least that's what it looks like. 

What's its purpose? 

See, Hulu and Roku had me all mixed up when I was looking for the playoffs on TV. But I get that. There are always new apps and channels to figure out. I just thought the kitchen sink was already as technologically advanced as it could get. 

6. Air Conditioning/Heat

I have a theory that the temperature of a place relative to the temperature outside contributes to the sense of security people feel within that space. In Eastern Europe, that means heat; in the U.S., it's air conditioning. 

Let me explain.

When I moved to Croatia, I was stunned by how warm many people kept their homes in the winter. Although this has changed to some extent over the last 20 years, many living rooms and kitchens were enclosed, with doors separating them from the hallways and sometimes from one another. The idea was to save on heating. You don't heat rooms you're not using. But the rooms that were being used felt like saunas.

Here's the key: even the people who were used to those temperatures were hot. But much like cooking good food—and lots of it—for your guests, keeping a home warm is a way of making someone feel at home.

As an American, though, despite their kindness and generosity (and the fact that they fed me well), I didn't feel at home. Their houses reminded me of boot camp at Parris Island in July. I sweated through all my clothes.

Looking back, keeping the stove going was their way of showing they cared. For many Croatians, especially those of older generations, staying warm helps keep colds away. It keeps you healthy. And that's what matters most.

There's a very similar, but opposite, way of thinking on the American side of the Atlantic. Imagine walking into a grocery store on a 95-degree summer day and finding that it's exactly the same temperature inside as it is outside. You wouldn't even think about buying a single item. Sure, more than half the products in the store would be perfectly fine, but you'd turn around and head back to your air-conditioned car before you could say “sour milk.”

In other words, Americans feel a sense of security when they walk into a grocery store and it feels like it's about to snow. In our minds, that means everything is fresh.

So, while things are changing in Croatia to some extent, I still don't fear the propuh (draft)! But I am actually more uncomfortable in the air-conditioned room I'm sitting in now than I would have been 20 years ago. It's 40 degrees (Fahrenheit, 4 degrees Celsius) outside, and the air conditioning is on! What in the world?!?

No one else is here! And I understand that the thermostat is set to a certain temperature. But whether you walk in here at midnight or at 3 in the afternoon, whether it's 98 degrees outside or 0, the air is circulating. Energy is being used. I just don't get it.

On the Croatian side, the most extreme example of this is preschools in winter. In the five minutes it takes me to drop my son off, I feel like putting on my swimming trunks before heading back outside into a February morning.

So the contrast remains: energy being used to make things hotter than they need to be in Croatia, and energy being used to make things cooler than they need to be in the U.S. 

Does that make sense? Does anyone have a better explanation?