Getting ready to go back
I am getting ready to return to Philly and I have mixed feelings about it. I’ve been living in Zagreb, Croatia since January and although the transition was difficult at first I’ve really grown to like it here. Life here is far less stressful than in Philly, even when I have the same workload. It will take me some time after I return to Philly to really understand why.
People say the pace is fast in Zagreb. I can’t imagine it any slower. Folks really haven’t experience East Coast U.S. After that, they’ll love the “slow” pace in Zagreb again, hehehe.
Before I came here, I couldn’t imagine living outside of the U.S., although it was one of my life goals to do so. Now, I’m a little worried about returning to the fast-pace, stressful environment of Philly.
I’m very excited about returning to see my family and friends, work on my new house (that we left behind last year), and enjoy many of the American “conveniences” I’ve done without for the past 5 months. The first thing I think I will do when I return is buy a Starbuck’s grande non-fat latte, do a load of laundry to use the dryer, and watch some cable TV :)
While I’ve been in Zagreb, I’ve done without a lot of things…
- no clothes dryer
- no microwave
- no more than 4 channels via rabbit ears
- no to-go coffee
- minimal eating out (no one goes to restaurants here)
- no car to get up and go wherever, whenever I want
- no sushi (i love sushi)
But, this was a fantastic experience that can’t last forever. I’ve met a lot of great people, got to know my “extended family” better, visited a lot of exciting places, and experienced life in another country gaining a better understanding of its culture, language and all those great things that make up Dinko. I just hope I have time to see all the great folks I’ve met here that have really made my experience so great.
I have one more trip before a week of packing before I go. I will be spending a great long, Memorial Day weekend in beautiful Novi Vinodolski on the Adriatic sea.
In the meantime, you can check out all the pictures of the places we’ve been so far at www.dinko.net.
3 Comments so far
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Bok!
I’d beg to differ a little bit about life in Croatia. I’m an American who has spent over 8 months living in Zagreb (over 3 yrs )
I’ve found quite a few people go out to eat on a regular basis.
Just about 80% of the houses I’ve been to have had a microwave.
I can buy Sushi in Interspar quite easily as well as in the town center that’s a Sushi restaurant.
I understand the no more to go coffee. You can buy a coffee maker and buy coffee in Billa but it isn’t normal. I’ve learned to just have instant while in Zagreb and Kava’s and Cappuccinos in cafe.
Glad you like it here. I love it here. It’s nice to have life slowdown a lot compared to USA…
I just listed the things that “I” did without while I was living there. Things weren’t readily available as in the States and the perks that I could get were either too expensive to be worth it or too different from what I was hoping for.
All-in-all it was a fantastic experience that I hope to do again in a few years.
How hard is to make sushi boiled rice horseradish just add some spices to croatian sarma and ya have sushi