Have you ever been fascinated by one nation, then by another? Maybe that’s just strange, or maybe that’s just me? In an attempt to share my fascination I have tried, in my previous blogs while living in Barcelona, to give in totally to the Spanish culture and people. To be absorbed in an attempt to better understand, even going as far as to compare them to the Italians. Now it’s the turn of the Croats.
Ok maybe I am biased, being that this was always my country of destination and I already love Croatia. Being honest I will most likely see them favorably, flaws and all. Or maybe they just are that interesting?
“I wonder, maybe they are that interesting!!“
What makes the Croats very special? While they live in a part of the world where languages intertwine and history is shared, it is their unique culture and outlook that separates them from their Slavic neighbors and the remainder of the Europeans. They sit in the middle, quite literally and figuratively, with one foot in Eastern Europe and one in Western. Clinging to history and tradition, but also looking forward.
Here in the Balkans, culture is everything. And in Croatia it gets drummed into young people from an early age, influenced by the very nature of the people who have survived centuries of occupation.
There is a strong sense of spirit in this beautiful country. A self-reliance rising from the turmoil of all they have fought to retain through countless protests and uprisings over the centuries to finally formally declare their independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The war of independence is still a sensitive topic and one to be avoided as a common courtesy. No matter what, when I get a chance to be invited to dinner I won’t mention the war! And furthermore don’t confuse the Croats with the Dalmatians or the Slavs - you might as well tell a Scotsman that he is British.
They are relaxed laid back people, but with a sense of pride and style influenced by nearby Rome and Venice when it comes to putting a good leg forward and heading out. Nowhere is this more evident than on a Sunday, watching the Croatians heading to church in old town in their finest. And here too one sees the mix of tradition and new, of East and West. There is something to be said about the value of culture and rich traditions.
“Was I gawking? Maybe, but then remember I only have my 3.5 outfits. Yes I know I keep going on about this but when I said my new paradigm was to live frugally I never intended this frugally!!!!“
Coming from my South African paradigm I find the Croatians very interesting. They don’t waste time on small talk and being extremely direct can appear arrogant. Don’t let this fool you though, they can be persuaded around to your way of thinking 😊 and once you break that wall they are beyond friendly, helpful and accommodating.
We had an interesting experience on a town quay the other day where we were given two hours of free mooring to fill up on water and supplies at the local shops. As we were about to leave our neighbouring yacht asked to borrow our hose (as theirs was too short) which delayed our departure by 30 minutes. The guy from the port authority was rather surprised to see us still there and quite affronted. We explained our delay but the trust had already been broken. Integrity is assumed, taken for granted. They are non opportunistic, trust at face value and don’t expect to be taken advantage of. In return they give the same. Oops, I will not make that mistake and break the trust again.
Oh and family, family, family rules supreme. This is the social center in the country. Aren’t you loving them already? Children stay at home often until married and the country boasts only 383 homeless people (yip, that’s an official government stat) which equates to just 0.078% of the population. Drug abuse as a percentage of total population is a bare 0.2% - strong family values show that they are doing something right. Interestingly enough the homeless live in old submarine bunkers which I love exploring on a run.
And of course, I have to, as coffee is my lifeblood talk about the coffee culture here and the significance it carries in this Mediterranean haven.
Moments after you arrive, the intoxicating sweetness of coffee culture washes over you. Life slows down and you click back into the here and now. There’s only one word to describe such passion is good coffee. And the best way to discover it is to go where the locals go. My coffee stop after the run 😊
The all-embracing Croatian cafe culture is more than loafing around to get your fix, for me it is first thing in the morning watching that sunrise. But for the locals its actually about reconnecting with friends, finalizing business transactions and meeting new people and what better way to do it. Be it that the cup is the final part after a day of connection and the coffee is used to sober you up.
An important note, Croatians never ever go Dutch. Treat one another with a good cup of coffee - coffee always finds its way into divine balance.
And when times were hard that lifeblood always continued and the Croatians found a way during the war and found imaginative ways to source coffee and thus traveled to Italy and Austria to smuggle countless kilos of the coffee bean back home. I love their priorities.
There is a social saying about the Croatian men - Traditional Croatian men never cook. They don’t know how to and can even brag about never setting foot in the kitchen. The saying goes on ti ništa ne zna skuhati, osim kave [he can’t cook anything, but he knows how to make coffee].
Ok back to the real reason I am writing this particular blog, when in South Africa I found work stress was phenomenal I started exercising to alleviate the stress to ensure a good and healthy life. Eventually the stress of my exercise goals ended up with me competing in multiple 7 day mountain stage races (yes I was that stressed) which the training alone exceeded the work stress as especially I needed to fit both into a normal day. By the end of it I was properly stressed, I needed a work break.
So we cancel the one out with the other. And then to create the perfect balance we do what? We drink. Tequila. It helps. Or not.
After the sports obsession in Spain, when we arrived in Croatia I hoped to see motivated sports people. And really I am still looking. For the Croatians the focus is on work-life balance not sport. You remember the parable about the fisherman being questioned why he didn’t work much harder so he could retire and have an easier life when he retired. He could then enjoy his fishing and he replied but I already enjoy it right now? Well it might have been written for the Croatians.
And there are two reasons why they have this work-life balance. First, they are not hugely ambitious as admitted by them, and second, they live in a country that spoils them.
Don’t get me wrong, they do aspire to have a good job. But the best job is in a state-run institution. And why? Well it pays by the hour not by the work done. And the holidays are bountiful 13 per year with a phenomenon of ‘connecting days’. If a national holiday falls on a Wednesday, the state-run job enables one to ‘connect’ it with the weekend. But let’s talk about looking after their people, Croatia has 42 employer sick leave days and have state support thereafter. That is a very special concept - look after the health now and avoid the sick elderly later.
In the last decade, Croatia has had a negative population growth of -0.5. But why? Maternity leave is 56 weeks with varying pay rates. So why the negative growth? For the same reason the Croats are not making more money, because of work-life balance. Before, when people lived off the land, large families were a necessity. Children were part of the workforce. So the more children the better the chances of survival. Today they no longer struggle for sustenance, they strive for happiness. You won’t hear them talk about ‘minimalism’ because they’ve walked it since forever.
“ Here and now and some fish.😊”
And of course their loyalty and integrity. In the western world we surround ourselves with a multitude of friends who are actually acquaintances. We measure our popularity in numbers. We have this inner circle which is pretty large and we dedicate time to maintaining this. A large network of contacts is the strongest social currency. A friend in Croatian terms is different. This is a country where emotion lives in close-knit communities with deep relationships built early on in life.
So walking along the roads smiling at the locals getting strange stares in response I realized this is a nation that is far better at forming deep bonds than at casually chatting to people.
It made me notice how much time I have devoted to casual acquaintances. And I am honest I will give everyone a chance, and sometimes because you never know who can help you move up in life. And I suppose this is why some have fallen by the wayside. And it’s not wrong but makes me appreciative of the friends I do have, and I have a big circle of very dear friends.
I hope that one day you will get an opportunity to appreciate this nation with me.
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