You can tell a lot about a country by the shape and selection in the stores and shopping centres. Last week, I visited quite a few stores (looking for some furniture/paint/etc.) and had a few interesting experiences.
BAUHAUS (German store chain) looks like a complete knock-off of Home Depot, but it looked classier than Home Depot. The store I visited was HUGE! Everything you could buy in Canada (and more) was available here. Two thumbs up!
BAUMAXX is kind of like Canadian Tire and RONA mixed together. They have a good rug selection, but other than that, it's not worth shopping there.
PEVEC (Croatian store chain) was a really confusing store. I think that this store sells everything under the sun. You could find bedding, electronics, groceries, kitchenware, plumbing, tools, tires, building material, and GROCERIES!!! I had a headache after I was done walking through the store as it is HUGE.
SOLIDUM was another interesting shopping experience. This is a mall with about 70 furniture stores. I know, who needs 70 furniture stores in one space, but it did kind of make sense. Each furniture store focused on one thing (or two or three) like chairs, office furniture, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc. The styles that I saw here were amazing. Beautiful kitchens and bathrooms. European style really is something different.
There are so many grocery store chains in Croatia, that I find it overwhelming. Most of the grocery stores also sell almost everything else (kind of like a huge Loblaws or the Real Canadian Superstore). Grocery chains available here are Konzum, Mercator, Billa, Kaufland, Interspar, Ipercoop, Getro, Metro, Tommy, Diona, and a few more. A lot of these stores are from Italy and Austria, and expanded into Croatia as soon as Croatia opened to foreign capital. Selection in these stores is excellent (they have four-ply toilet paper scented that smells like a rose - try finding that in North America!). :-)
Shopping experience would not be complete without a trip to McDonalds, which we only make as we needed to use the washroom. Sneaky European McDonalds caught on that it is being used as a public restroom, so now all McDonalds in Croatia have a pin pad (you type in a pin number) to enter. The pin number is conveniently printed on your receipt which you ONLY get if you buy something. Oh well, I just waited for someone to walk in and then I followed them in. If that fails, I can always ask someone for the pin. The lesson here is, there is no point in having security if it is easy to circumvent it.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Learning a foreign language - Part I
After observing Carla in her efforts to learn Croatian, and from my experience in learning several foreign languages, I came up with a foolproof technique to learn a foreign language. Just because it is foolproof it does not mean that it is easy or quick. :-)
The following are the important steps that need to be followed in the process of learning the desired language:
1. Learn how to pronounce sounds of the foreign language.
2. Build a vocabulary of basic verbs and nouns.
3. Learn the basic grammar rules for tenses and genders (genders are more important in some languages than others).
4. Learn the 'connector' words.
5. Read newspapers and magazines in the area in which you would like to be fluent.
6. Listen to conversations in the area in which you would like to be fluent.
7. Start SPEAKING.
Below, I will provide more details about each of the steps.
1. Learn how to pronounce sounds of the foreign language. The main reason that people have problems being understood in a new language is that they are pronouncing foreign letters the 'native-tongue' way. This is the main reason for an appearance of an accent in the new language. For example, why is it that you can differentiate a Slavic person from an East Indian person in English when you talk to them over the phone. You hear an accent. They are both speaking the same language, but are making sounds the way they did in their mother tongue.
So, the trick to be understood is to properly pronounce the 'new' language sounds. This is why language tapes have proven to be very effective in teaching students a foreign language quickly. It does not matter if you 'don't have an ear for foreign languages.' Everyone has an ear for foreign languages, it's just that some take longer than others to perfect the pronunciation. Don't give up!
2. Build a vocabulary of basic verbs and nouns.
Once you've learned how to pronounce the sounds, you need to expand your vocabulary of foreign words. Learn the important words for your topic of interest. If you are in a finance industry, learn the terms for stocks, bonds, interest; if you are into fashion, learn terms for different types of cuts, clothing, etc.
Everyone should learn the essential nouns (numbers, colours, animals, fruit/vegetables, family relations (son/mother/etc), days of the week, directions, etc.) and verbs (eating, sleeping, and anything that you do every day). The basic vocabulary can be anywhere from 200 to 600 words and you would have a very good chance of being understood (or at least shown where the bathroom is) :-) in the new language.
If you are serious about learning the new language, I would recommend that you keep a small notebook of new words that you learn. Keep reading this notebook and quizzing yourself daily. Other ways to speed up learning of new words is to:
-write them out repeatedly
-put them on post-it notes all over your house/office
-make audio tapes of words that you can listen to on your drive to work/gym/shopping or during your walks
Try each of these techniques and do the one that works for you. We all learn in different ways (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) so find the way that works for you.
I realized that this topic will require a lot more writing, so stay tuned for other parts of the "Learning a foreign language" post.
The following are the important steps that need to be followed in the process of learning the desired language:
1. Learn how to pronounce sounds of the foreign language.
2. Build a vocabulary of basic verbs and nouns.
3. Learn the basic grammar rules for tenses and genders (genders are more important in some languages than others).
4. Learn the 'connector' words.
5. Read newspapers and magazines in the area in which you would like to be fluent.
6. Listen to conversations in the area in which you would like to be fluent.
7. Start SPEAKING.
Below, I will provide more details about each of the steps.
1. Learn how to pronounce sounds of the foreign language. The main reason that people have problems being understood in a new language is that they are pronouncing foreign letters the 'native-tongue' way. This is the main reason for an appearance of an accent in the new language. For example, why is it that you can differentiate a Slavic person from an East Indian person in English when you talk to them over the phone. You hear an accent. They are both speaking the same language, but are making sounds the way they did in their mother tongue.
So, the trick to be understood is to properly pronounce the 'new' language sounds. This is why language tapes have proven to be very effective in teaching students a foreign language quickly. It does not matter if you 'don't have an ear for foreign languages.' Everyone has an ear for foreign languages, it's just that some take longer than others to perfect the pronunciation. Don't give up!
2. Build a vocabulary of basic verbs and nouns.
Once you've learned how to pronounce the sounds, you need to expand your vocabulary of foreign words. Learn the important words for your topic of interest. If you are in a finance industry, learn the terms for stocks, bonds, interest; if you are into fashion, learn terms for different types of cuts, clothing, etc.
Everyone should learn the essential nouns (numbers, colours, animals, fruit/vegetables, family relations (son/mother/etc), days of the week, directions, etc.) and verbs (eating, sleeping, and anything that you do every day). The basic vocabulary can be anywhere from 200 to 600 words and you would have a very good chance of being understood (or at least shown where the bathroom is) :-) in the new language.
If you are serious about learning the new language, I would recommend that you keep a small notebook of new words that you learn. Keep reading this notebook and quizzing yourself daily. Other ways to speed up learning of new words is to:
-write them out repeatedly
-put them on post-it notes all over your house/office
-make audio tapes of words that you can listen to on your drive to work/gym/shopping or during your walks
Try each of these techniques and do the one that works for you. We all learn in different ways (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) so find the way that works for you.
I realized that this topic will require a lot more writing, so stay tuned for other parts of the "Learning a foreign language" post.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Helping lost tourists
It's been a while since I posted last. I am realizing that I REALLY don't like writing, but since people enjoy reading the blog, I will try to post at least once a week.
You can tell that you are a local when people start asking you for directions AND you can provide them with correct directions. Well, I guess I should mention that my GPS device helped with the directions, but that's beside the point. :-)
Few days ago, as I was walking back home carrying grocery bags from my trip to the farmers' market, I was stopped by a francophone lady asking me if I spoke English. As a matter of fact, I do. :-) Lady's husband (waiting in the car with diplomatic plates) works for the French Embassy in Sarajevo. They were on a week long vacation, trekking from Sarajevo through Banja Luka and Zagreb on their way to Ljubljana.
Poor lady (and her husband) was looking for a Sheraton hotel, and everyone was sending her downtown. The lady did not realize that there were two Sheraton hotels in the city, and that she was staying in the one that was not located downtown.
Using my trusty GPS, I was able to find their hotel (2.5km away from where they were). For some reason, streets in Zagreb are laid out in a really wacky way so there was no way for me to give directions that these poor folks could remember. I told them, I'll hop in and take you there. It was just easier, and less painful for them.
Few minutes and several confusing turns later, we were at the hotel. The couple was so thankful that I helped them, they wanted to drive me back. I thought that it would have been kind of pointless for them to drop me off at home and get lost again. So I walked home (2.5km with grocery bags in each hand. I needed a walk.
The couple offered to take me and Carla out for supper that night, so I told them that I would check with Carla and get back to them. Carla thought that it would be fun to get together with them so we picked up the couple at their hotel in the evening and took them to a nice restaurant downtown Zagreb. Carla did most of the talking (in French) as the husband did not speak English and the wife was not comfortable speaking in English all evening.
The supper was lots of fun as the couple had a lot of stories to tell (they have lived in Beirut, Iraq, and a lot of other interesting places). After the supper, we showed the couple around downtown Zagreb and they were thrilled to have a 'local' guide them. I guess I'm a 'local' now. :-) This was definitely a time well spent!
You can tell that you are a local when people start asking you for directions AND you can provide them with correct directions. Well, I guess I should mention that my GPS device helped with the directions, but that's beside the point. :-)
Few days ago, as I was walking back home carrying grocery bags from my trip to the farmers' market, I was stopped by a francophone lady asking me if I spoke English. As a matter of fact, I do. :-) Lady's husband (waiting in the car with diplomatic plates) works for the French Embassy in Sarajevo. They were on a week long vacation, trekking from Sarajevo through Banja Luka and Zagreb on their way to Ljubljana.
Poor lady (and her husband) was looking for a Sheraton hotel, and everyone was sending her downtown. The lady did not realize that there were two Sheraton hotels in the city, and that she was staying in the one that was not located downtown.
Using my trusty GPS, I was able to find their hotel (2.5km away from where they were). For some reason, streets in Zagreb are laid out in a really wacky way so there was no way for me to give directions that these poor folks could remember. I told them, I'll hop in and take you there. It was just easier, and less painful for them.
Few minutes and several confusing turns later, we were at the hotel. The couple was so thankful that I helped them, they wanted to drive me back. I thought that it would have been kind of pointless for them to drop me off at home and get lost again. So I walked home (2.5km with grocery bags in each hand. I needed a walk.
The couple offered to take me and Carla out for supper that night, so I told them that I would check with Carla and get back to them. Carla thought that it would be fun to get together with them so we picked up the couple at their hotel in the evening and took them to a nice restaurant downtown Zagreb. Carla did most of the talking (in French) as the husband did not speak English and the wife was not comfortable speaking in English all evening.
The supper was lots of fun as the couple had a lot of stories to tell (they have lived in Beirut, Iraq, and a lot of other interesting places). After the supper, we showed the couple around downtown Zagreb and they were thrilled to have a 'local' guide them. I guess I'm a 'local' now. :-) This was definitely a time well spent!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
We're baaaack!
Just came back from a short trip to a three Croatian islands. We had a great time!!!
First, we booked four nights on island Krk in town of Punat. We arrived there in the evening and went to check out the town's promenade. Then, we had a supper that I am still trying to forget (I think you have to be really good to make meat taste bad :-( ). The evening was so hot, and our apartment had no A/C (first lesson of this trip, always ask for A/C in your room), so we had to leave doors and windows open to get some airflow to cool of the apartment.
Well, fresh air came in but so did a commando pack of battle-hardened mosquitoes! It is really hard to sleep when you can hear mosquitoes buzz around your ear. What an unnerving noise. We had a really crappy sleep, so we decided to call the owner and try another place. Luckily, the owner agreed to return most of the money (we had paid for the full four-day stay in advance) so we were off to another adventure. Decided to try another island.
We took a ferry from Krk to island Cres and visited a tiny, quaint town of Cres. It looked beautiful, like something you've seen on a painting of a small fishing village. We spent about half and hour there and then took off for the island of Losinj (islands Cress and Losinj are connected by a 10 metre bridge).
Town of Cres
We drove to the town of Mali Losinj (a little bit bigger than Cres but still beautiful) and stopped by a travel agency to inquire about vacancies. The agency staff would only show us the really expensive stuff (100+ Euro = CAD160+) so we decided to search on our own. We found a street where every house seemed to have an apartment for rent. So we looked at probably 20 apartments until we found a place that matched our price/comfort ratio. :-)
The apartment was really nice, and it had A/C!!!! The view from our balcony was great, and I have a picture to prove it. :-)
We spent the next three nights visiting the core of Mali Losinj, Veli Losinj and beaches in the area. Veli Losinj had the best restaurant by far. They made all their food on a wood burning grill and stove so everything tasted SO GOOD. Their pizza was heavenly and their cevapi were the best that I've had in Croatia. In addition, this restaurant (Fortuna Grill) was charging half the price of all other restaurants. Go figure!?
The trip back on Tuesday was interesting. On our way back from Mali Losinj, we took a detour to a tiny (population 20) town of Lubenice, situated at a top of a cliff. A friend recommended we see this town as it is close to a beautiful beach (30 minute walk from the cliff) and a beautiful view from the top of the cliff. Nice place but getting there was a bit scary. To get there, we had to driving on a narrow one lane road with 6-foot stone walls on each side. I was praying not to meet a car coming from the opposite direction as it would not have been fun.
View from Lubenice
First, we booked four nights on island Krk in town of Punat. We arrived there in the evening and went to check out the town's promenade. Then, we had a supper that I am still trying to forget (I think you have to be really good to make meat taste bad :-( ). The evening was so hot, and our apartment had no A/C (first lesson of this trip, always ask for A/C in your room), so we had to leave doors and windows open to get some airflow to cool of the apartment.
Well, fresh air came in but so did a commando pack of battle-hardened mosquitoes! It is really hard to sleep when you can hear mosquitoes buzz around your ear. What an unnerving noise. We had a really crappy sleep, so we decided to call the owner and try another place. Luckily, the owner agreed to return most of the money (we had paid for the full four-day stay in advance) so we were off to another adventure. Decided to try another island.
We took a ferry from Krk to island Cres and visited a tiny, quaint town of Cres. It looked beautiful, like something you've seen on a painting of a small fishing village. We spent about half and hour there and then took off for the island of Losinj (islands Cress and Losinj are connected by a 10 metre bridge).
Town of CresWe drove to the town of Mali Losinj (a little bit bigger than Cres but still beautiful) and stopped by a travel agency to inquire about vacancies. The agency staff would only show us the really expensive stuff (100+ Euro = CAD160+) so we decided to search on our own. We found a street where every house seemed to have an apartment for rent. So we looked at probably 20 apartments until we found a place that matched our price/comfort ratio. :-)
The apartment was really nice, and it had A/C!!!! The view from our balcony was great, and I have a picture to prove it. :-)
We spent the next three nights visiting the core of Mali Losinj, Veli Losinj and beaches in the area. Veli Losinj had the best restaurant by far. They made all their food on a wood burning grill and stove so everything tasted SO GOOD. Their pizza was heavenly and their cevapi were the best that I've had in Croatia. In addition, this restaurant (Fortuna Grill) was charging half the price of all other restaurants. Go figure!?
The trip back on Tuesday was interesting. On our way back from Mali Losinj, we took a detour to a tiny (population 20) town of Lubenice, situated at a top of a cliff. A friend recommended we see this town as it is close to a beautiful beach (30 minute walk from the cliff) and a beautiful view from the top of the cliff. Nice place but getting there was a bit scary. To get there, we had to driving on a narrow one lane road with 6-foot stone walls on each side. I was praying not to meet a car coming from the opposite direction as it would not have been fun.
View from LubeniceAfter the visit to Lubenice, we got back on the road and got home safely. I would highly recommend visiting the island of Losinj, and the town of Mali Losinj, to anyone who intends to visit Croatia. It is such a beautiful and serene place.
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