A forgotten entry!

I was supposed to do this post yesterday. All right.. I didn't really know.. so I was forgiven. To make the long story short, it was Croatia's Independence Day yesterday. 17 years since they split form Yugoslavia and the war started soon after.

Nevermind about the depressing history. It's great to know that this "young" country is doing well and fine right now. Hopefully prosperity follows right after peace!

Happy *belated* Independence Day Hrvatska (25,06)!

Football 2 : Nogomet 0

It's Football season! Yeap it's the Euro 2008 and you can't possibly miss it if you are in Croatia. How is that possible? Well.. you can catch the results of every single match especially those that Croatian team is playing on every media. Newspapers, Radio and of course Television news.

How do Croatians demonstrate their love for the game? They fly tiny Croatian flags or huge Croatian flags on their cars and even scooters. Most of them are half drunk before the game. So you'll see plenty of rowdy behaviour around.

How to avoid the Football Fever? Stay at home. Rent a DVD. There's little chance you won't catch a glimpse or mention of any game if you watch the free Croatian channels (RTL, HRT1&2, Nova). In every caffee bar, the seats are filled. Even for those caffee bars with the tiniest TV sets, someone will be there watching and cheering the Croatian team.

All right time to go soon for the latest match Germany vs Croatia. Have fun cheering and don't forget your Laško!

Croatia - my new home for 9 months

How should I introduce Croatia to everyone reading my Blog for the first time or repeat visitors? I should introduce a typical day in Croatia.

Most of the Croatians start work really early each morning. From as early as 730am and finish work at 330pm or later. Nope, unfortunately most of them do not have the luxury of the so called "Lunch Breaks" in this country. Probably not even heard of. Some companies might have a "Breakfast Break" while most of the rest just hang in there till after work.

What is the most common sight in Croatia? Mass of people sitting in caffee bars. Yeap, every caffee has a liqueur license so they carry a wide range of alcoholic drinks. From the Croatian's favourite Rakija to Beers. Expect small cups of coffee served very Italian espresso style. For your more familiar Starbucks coffee, ask for Nescafe in a mug. With the coming hot summer, more Croats will be lazing around in these caffee bars whole day as these outlets open as early as 7am and shut at 12 midnight. No food is served. Sorry. You have to head to the nearest fast food outlet (McDonald's is a rare sight) or pizza cut.

Not many dine out at restaurants. So it's usually reserved for foreigners or big groups. The prices of a typical meal in Croatian restaurant can set you back a hefty SGD60 each. So Croats pretty much prefer their mums' homecooked.

Beaches are only littered with sunbathers around this time of the year. Most Croats can sit and tan for hours in the sun. A common European sight I suppose?


What do the youngsters in Croatia do? They attend schools. Hang out in the centre of town after school. Unlike in Singapore, school children do not frequent caffees. They just hang out elsewhere and play instead of sitting and lazing in caffees which is an activity reserved for the unemployed and pensioners.

So as you can pretty much figure out at this point that the whole Croatian culture is really laid-back. There is never hurry to finish the road works that they started. No hurrying to another tuition centre. No rushing for appointments. Everyone is chill and relaxed. Ah.. moj život (my life)!