Culture Shock

It's now been 20 years since I lived in the United States. And over those 20 years, my visits have become fewer and farther between. In fact, this visit marks exactly three years since the last time I was on this side of the Atlantic. So reverse culture shock still hits. It's sometimes just as shocking, if not more so. Here are the top three things I wasn't expecting in the first 10 days of stepping off the plane in Boston. Kenmore Boston 1. Commercials.  I shouldn't have been surprised by this because... I've still lived more than half of my life in the U.S. there are commercials in Croatia I'm still plugged into American culture by listening and watching baseball games and podcasts.  But still.  As soon as I started listening to my podcasts after arriving, I was greeted by a prelude of unexpected commercials. In Croatia, podcasts start with the voice of the host. There are no commercials automatically inserted because it’s a different market. I know this is ol...

Do you remember Curious George? In most books, Curious George "was a good little monkey and always very curious”. But in at least one of the books, we are told that "George was a good little monkey BUT he was always curious." (emphasis mine) Maybe I'm exercising my exegetical skills too much as I read to our youngest child. But these two opening passges are conveying two different things, aren't they? In version one, being "good" and being curious are compatible. In the second, the two characteristics are contrasted.  Is it bad to be curious? I would suggest it's not. In fact, it's a very important characteristic of disciples of Jesus Christ.  Take Matthew 13 for example. At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus is teaching the multitudes. His twelve are there to hear the parable of the sower. In verse 10, they pull Jesus aside and show their curiosity: "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Jesus gives them a long answer then offers a ...

Sometimes the biggest obstacle to praying is “prayer” itself.  As a native English speaker in Croatia, I’ve felt the frustration of not being able to articulate what I want to say when I want to say it. I’ve felt this tension during conversations I’ve had with friends in a local book club, for example. Sure, I’ve read the assigned chapters and I have thoughts about various passages in the book. But then, when someone else brings up a point I want to interact with, I’m not able to say it as I want. My communication is compromised because I’m thinking more about how to say it in Croatian than the actual content of my response. The medium of communication becomes an obstacle to communication.  Photo by  Elin Melaas  on  Unsplash With prayer to God, we may not be worried about talking to God in a particular language. Yet, because we often pray because we’re “supposed to”, the fact that it’s a duty sometimes takes away from its authenticity. Miller says it well in h...

There is so much serious stuff going on, isn't there? And I have thoughts. I have opinions - some of which are informed. Part of me wants to get into the all the discussions. But there are already SO MANY voices.  So here's a post about a sign I saw. 😎 It's been awhile since I've updated my  signs series . Having looked back at all those posts, not all the signs have been properly interpreted. Go back and see if you can guess what some of them might mean.  We saw this sign on our most recent family road trip through Italy. I noticed it on numerous occasions as we passed several rest stops. Finally, when we stopped for gas, I decided to take a picture. But there were no campers parked by - only trucks. I guess if this sign indicates a camper burial site, that may explain why I didn't see any. But that can't be it, can it? Any guesses? 

After spending two posts on Croatian cases, it's time to get into the most used word in Croatian* - može . Može can be used to say "yes". Može can be used to say "I can". Or, as I found out early in my Croatian learning experience, može  and a nod can mean "I don't really understand, but I'll act like I do so we can keep the conversation moving." Može can also be the way to begin a question. In this scenario, the word  li  must follow.  Let's get into the song for today, Može li?  by a band from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dubioza kolektiv .  As we usually do, I'd suggest listening to the whole song before analyzing anything. Listen for the question " Može li? " and see if you can find anything resembling an answer to all the questions.  The song begins with the question: Može li Bosanac biti vegeterijanac? If you're just beginning to learn Croatian (or Bosnian or Serbian for that matter), take a minute or two to try to fi...

Photo by  marianne bos  on  Unsplash We're continuing our series on learning Croatian through songs. Go celebrate the nominative case if you haven't done so already.  This week's song is not nearly as well-known as the last one. But what it lacks in popularity, it makes up for in musicality. And we're going to need something to take the sting out of moving into what, at least for me, is the most complicated of the seven Croatian cases - the accusative.  Song:   Noć u dan by Démodé featuring Tina Vukov and Poncije. My suggestion is that you take a listen before we get into the grammar. Regardless of how much Croatian you know, try to figure out what this song is about. What's the main theme? And see if you can find the fun reference to a 90's NBA dynasty.  Ok, now that you've listened through once, let's talk about the little word " u " that is used a lot.  Question:  The prepostion " u " is one of the most common words in Croatian...