Goodbye Croatia.

The title says it all. End of this chapter in my life. My brief two-year relationship with this gorgeous land. The time has come for me to continue with the pursuit of my dreams which was never possible here in the first place.

Goodbye to those that have hurled racist remarks at me Goodbye to the unwelcoming system that made it impossible for most foreigners to stay.

That's all for now. Ciao.

Bitter Ice Cream

Last evening we decided to drive ot Kostrena to get our Sladoled instead of the usual ones in Korzo. According to Mr M, this stall has been around for 10 years. And we had been faithful customers every summer. We would never forget to frequent this little ice cream shop along the Kostrena beach.

The Brko owner greeted us and we bought a scoop each. Mine was mixed berries and his Punch. We walked away happily licking our sweet cones when we realised that they tasted bitter. Real BITTER like someone added a bottle of glass cleaner as ingredients!! So Mr M went back and complained to Brko. All I heard was: "Ne Mogu! (Not possible!)". In a terribly unfriendly tone, he asked if we wanted another scoop. We said no and dumped our cones straight into the bin. We'll never return to this shop again.

What amazed me in this small situation that could easily happen anywhere to anyone is the owner's inability to accept his error as with most of the things here. Let's put customer service aside.. a concept that none here has grasped. But a simple apology would appease us. Of course this would not happen as people are too proud to admit their mistakes. I just hope they don't pay too dearly for their mistakes or realised it too late.

Have you taken your break?

Was chatting with a friend of mine and we were on the same topic about the passion of life. For me, it is clear that I wanted to be a patissiere and baker for the longest time. I spent years and money pursuing this interest which I've find most fulfilling and hence made my life meaningful.

With a passion so strong, some of my mates wanted to follow in my shoes. So I offered them a piece of advice to start with, take a break and Find yourself.

This break means not just going on a trip to France but it involves giving your soul a break from everything that used to tie it down to the current life. Family, friends and job. All these make us forget why ourselves. Like in some examples I saw, these obligations gave us excuses to break free from this mundane life that we so loathe.

Your soul searching trip can be as easy as finding an interest that you've abandon. You do not have to take big steps like moving away from your current location if you are not brave enough to venture out. But finding and doing something you like can help you nourish your soul. It is like a plant, it needs a little fertilizer to grow better.

Make yourself happy. Life is too short. Make it worth living.. for yourself!

U2 was here!

I wasn't there. Yes. It's the biggest thing since .. heaven knows.. MacDonald's opened its first "restaurant" in Croatia?

No offence to the legendary band U2 but what is driving us (non-Uber U2 fans) mad is the overplay by the Croatian media. For more than a month, we've been hearing the broadcasts on radio about the band. Few weeks to the actual performance, every single minute was dotted with U2 songs. On sunday (the day of performance), every news station took a good 15 or 20 minutes to report about the event. It was simply U2, U2 and U2 only.. not me too!

I'm glad the whole hype is slowly fading. Now let me just switch to one station that doesn't play U2 songs.

I'm back and kind of ...

I was contemplating about shutting down this blog that I was running for two years. As with all expat blogs, its fate is sealed by theme. I will be moving away from Croatia and back to my homeland and this blog seems to be no longer applicable.

However, it is such a shame as I've met some interesting readers from this side of the world who is interested to read about my point of view as a foreigner living in Croatia. But living and working here is not working for many of us foreigners who are struggling to keep afloat in this country.

After closing access to this blog for more than a month, I've decided to change the theme of blog from simply an expat blog to one where I share my thoughts on various issues. The title Sing-Cro still applies as I will be marrying my Croatian fiance. Hope the change is welcomed and I'll have a new group of readers. Thanks for passing by. I wish to see you here again.