Culture Shock

There's a new Bible at a Christian Bookstore near you. The Green Bible highlights over 1,000 Bible verses in a pleasant-to-read green shade perfect for the Christian environmentalist. It also offers a foreword by Desmond Tutu and supplementary writings from St. Francis of Assisi and Pope John Paul II among others. As a Christian whose political views sway to the left I think I'm supposed to be a fan. I'm not. I mean, give me a break. Should the publishers create a White Letter Bible for the white-supremacists or KKK who attend our American churches? How about the G ray Letter edition for the skeptic? For my part, I like the environment. I even believe we should take time to praise God’s handiwork, to admire His beautiful and profound creation and even to protect the environment. But I don’t need The Green Bible to assist me in that. So here’s my suggestion for those of you who are tempted by the attractive cover or the fact that it’s been okayed by the Forest Stewardshi...

I can remember the Good Friday service when I would hear how Peter denied Christ just a few hours after saying something like "no Jesus, I would never deny you!" "How can someone do that?" I would think to myself "He must be dumb as a...well, rock". I've got it now though. Just this morning I posted the "Relief" post which you can look through if you scroll down a little. I posted it a few hours before our 3 hour drive to Zagreb to get our son's American Passport at the Embassy. We were in a rush so even though I had some thoughts of a bathroom break I held it until the nice American bathrooms at the Embassy (yes there are differences - more on that in another post) We went out to coffee with a friend in Zagreb before leaving and I didn't have the urge until we rolled out of the tollbooth in Zagreb onto the main highway. Petra had to stop an hour later so I decided to...yes that's right...use the facilities. I had a cappuccino an...

Five years after my first visit to Croatia I'm still stunned at the fact that there are places that you have to pay to go to the bathroom. You heard me; you have to pay to use the restroom. In America we have our inalienable rights. The right to use the toilet without paying a cent is one of those rights I’m proud to have. It’s humiliating to get to the bathroom after 5 hours on the highway and have to go to your wallet or pocket for spare change just so you can relieve yourself. And those times when you’re not particularly in a hurry, you stand at the door and ask yourself one of two questions: 1. Is my trip inside this bathroom worth the cash? If I choose not to use this service, is my discomfort until I arrive home worth half a coffee or a newspaper, or a liter of gas? 2. Is it stealing if I’m able to get inside before the restroom cashier comes out to charge me? Is there anywhere else where getting rid of something constitutes taking something that isn’t yours? It’s sti...

The following is a list of obscure things I've studied more/ know better than economics (in no particular order): · Forklift safety · Sabermetrics · Frog anatomy · Quarter tones · Military marching drill · Swahili That's my way of saying I know nothing about what I'm talking about - apart from personal experience - when it comes to the economy. Take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. There have been times when I've been asked about my political views and I suggest that socialism could in fact be a better economic system than capitalism. I usually get some raised eyebrows to which I say that Socialism (the way Marx and Engels imagined it) has never been practiced. On the other side of the capitalist coin some will say that Socialism (the way Marx and Engels imagined it) is impossible. They usually have good arguments, but impossibilities are difficult to prove. The argument may go further: Capitalism is run on every individual’s - and our society’s collective - g...

I've recently discovered the impact musical chairs has had on my driving skills in Croatia. Let's take the Osijek hospital “parking lot” for example. The key is to drive slowly enough that a car owner returning to their car will be easily noticed but fast enough to avoid the wrath (and accompanying horn) of the driver behind me. It feels like those circles around the chairs where you (try to) inconspicuously speed up to the next chair and instantly slow down so you stay close to the chair for as long as possible. When the music stops and you’ve found the last chair or when you find that parking spot – pure exhilaration! You just wish you had the rest of the classroom looking on in envy when you open your driver’s side door and raise your arms in victory. Croatian cities - and most other European cities for that matter – are choked with traffic. I don’t see any relief in sight. So although more people do it here in Croatia than America I will still recommend my friend Milo’s ide...

Enoh was officially still checked into the hospital over the weekend, but since there wasn't anything they could do, or any concern for his health, they let us take him home. He had to go back yesterday to get his blood taken: Today we had to go back to make sure all the tests came out clean, see if his jaundice had gone down and check out of the hospital if everything was alright. They did...it had... and it was! G.K. Chesterton says: "The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen". When it comes to doctors, medicine and headaches I tend to rely on material things more heavily than God. With so many people telling us they were praying I wonder - did we witness a little miracle? Thank you for your love and your prayers. We are blessed to be surrounded with the most important things in life!

Yesterday we took Enoh to a routine checkup with his pediatrician. After a few minutes she decided that he should go to the hospital. He's had jaundice since he was born and apparently it is bad enough now that they need to run some tests. They haven't told us much so we really don't know how serious it is. He's been hooked onto the IV for 24 hours now and had some blood taken so we're hoping tomorrow we'll find out some more information and possibly even be able to take him home. Petra made sure to bring my old baby blanket my mom gave us last Christmas. She (Petra) is holding up alright, but I think Enoh's doing the best. He's been more content at the hospital in the last 24 hours than he usually is! We have been surrounded by love and prayer from our church and immediate families. We thank the Lord for the blessing they are to us. There's no better feeling than knowing you are being prayed for.

Just last week a friend asked me a question I’ve been asked many times since Petra and I moved to Croatia: “What do you miss most about the States?” I’ve got my answer down pat. First it’s family and friends. And that’s the truth. I would have loved to have them around for the birth of our son and I really miss celebrating birthdays, holidays, family reunions and anniversaries. Those are the kind of things you take for granted and then find out you miss the most when you don’t have them. But that answer makes sense to people. “Oh, of course”, they’ll say, “But besides family and friends what do you miss most?” “Baseball” I promptly reply. I don’t even think I sound apologetic anymore – because I’m not. I miss baseball a lot. You can’t describe baseball to someone who hasn’t experienced the sensation any normal person gets when they walk into the park. The buzz of the fans, the smell of the grass, the crack of the bat, the taste of the hot dogs, the exhilaration of a home run…it just do...

The more I think about it, I'm not so sure we should label this thing “politics”. Sure the candidates are all politicians; the offices they work in and are vying for are political. But just because they’re politicians doesn’t mean that what we watch, converse about and debate is politics. Maybe it would be better labeled as “poplitics”. Why? Are we talking about the new regulation Bush passed last week that would block some women from receiving abortion related assistance? No. Is CNN’s “best political team on television” discussing a new amendment to the Constitution of the United States? No. We’re not even talking about Secretary of State Rice’s recent visit to Tripoli. That falls under “world news” or “foreign relations”. Instead they’re showing McCain’s head photoshopped onto Elvis’ body playing “Blue Suede Shoes”. Poplitics. I see an elderly man jumping up and down at the RNC wearing a pin that reads: “Oklahoma War Vets for Alaska’s Hot Chick”. Poplitics. We’re talking about th...

If you’ve watched a sporting event in America anytime in, oh, say the last ten years you know that product advertisements are all over the place. “This kick is brought to you by New Balance”, “That replay is brought to you by ACUVUE Lenses”, etc. (Even my online baseball updates are now endorsed by possibly the most boring brand in history – GrapeNuts.) In light of the name brands that get their ad space in every-which-way, it’s not surprising to hear the end of the political speeches these days. They might as well just say “This speech was brought to you by God”. Obama said it, Palin said it, and I presume McCain, Biden, Huckabee, Clinton and Clinton all said it too. They get towards the end of the speech, the volume rises, the intensity kicks in, the crowd is on their every word and you can’t forget to give the exclamation mark – “God Bless America!” And it gets us every time. That warm fuzzy feeling that says yes, we are all Americans, we all love God, God loves us and our party is...

Incidentally, I was given permission to post Dr. Kuzmic's column about Joe Biden. So here's the more detailed, more articulate first-hand version of my earlier post for those of you who know Croatian. For those of you who don't, you'll have to settle for less. Sorry. Dr. Kuzmic from Glas Slavonije: Obama i Biden: Pravi partneri vrijeme i vječnost Američkog senatora Josepha Bidena osobno poznajem već dvadesetak godina. U nekoliko navrata sam bio u njegovu uredu, pozivan na njegova javna predavanja kad god je govorio o Balkanu i(li) ljudskim i manjinskim pravima. Bilo je i nekoliko neformalnih kraćih, ali nezaboravnih, susreta i kreativno-provokativnih razgovora. Uvijek me impresionirao sjajnim analitičkim umom, govorničkim darom i osjećajem za pravdu i solidarnost u našem ranjenom i grijehom opterećenom svijetu. Ali o Bidenu sam slušao već kao postdipomac i sveučilisni asistent u Americi daleke 1972. kada je kao jedan od najmlađih u povijesti izabran za senatora da bi ub...