Shopping and Getting Accustomed

Today is a sunny day, finally. In fact it's quite bright, but it's still very cold and windy. Apparently the wind can be pretty intense here. In fact I read that the islands between here and Venice were deforested during Venitian rule of this area, and since then the fierce winds have made it impossible for the islands to ever be reforested. The topsoil is gone forever it seems, and most of the islands and even much of the coast around here are quite rocky and not so good for farming.

I came into the office and found out a little about my schedule. I will teach Research Methods to senior students (English majors) on Wednesday evenings. And then I may help out with a few other classes or get another class of my own later in the semester (maybe in a few weeks). There were people in the office today, partly to conduct some "defenses" (final oral exams) for students to graduate (with a B.A.). So I finally got to meet some people here. Everyone seems very nice, and since it was English professors (one from Zagreb, two from here), their English was excellent. One man was telling me a little about the country's history and how it was before the wars (the more recent wars). He said he was in the States and Britain and even had opportunities to move there, but he chose to stay in Croatia because he thought the country had so much promise. But he thinks things have been really hard the last 10-15 years. And everyone affirmed that Rijeka is really the best place to be in the country, better than Zagreb, or even other coastal cities. They said not to worry, that as soon as the weather changes, it will be marvelous. One man told me it will even get too hot, into the 30's (celcius).

I was happy today to find that the little health food store I found the other day -- Ganesha (maybe spelled differently) -- serves vegetarian lunches. So while the other profs used the office for the students' defenses, I went there and had lunch. It was very delicious, some kind of green veggies (kale I was told, but uncertainly) mixed, I think, with mashed potatoes; I also had a salad with lettuce and potatoes and other veggies, a piece of homemade bread, and a kind of falafel like patty that was good. There were many other options too, including homemade tofu sandwiches, homemade seitan, pasta, and soup. I think I will go there for lunch often. It seemed to be a very popular place, too. There must have been 50 people in and out (most buying sandwiches or take-out hot food) just in the 20 minutes or so that I was there. I got more food than I could possible eat (maybe because the woman did not understand I just wanted a little of each, or maybe that's the only way they sell it), so they wrapped up my leftovers to take home.

I also bought a few things there, which were quite expensive in retrospect. I do more or less have the money down, 6 kunas to a dollar, but it is still confusing to divide so quickly and realize the price while you're trying to pay and people are waiting, and so on. So I bought a roll of digestive cookies for something like 4 dollars, and a jar of peanut butter for over 6 dollars, and some sunflower seeds (only a few cups) for 6 dollars, and an organic chocolate bar for 4 dollars. About 20 bucks for one little sack of food. Meanwhile the big double sized lunch was less than 5 dollars. Eating lunch there will be the thing to do, rather than buying the overpriced groceries. But I guess organic and health food is more expensive in the States too. Then I went to the grocery store on the Korzo and mostly just looked around at what they had for sale. I always find grocery stores in foreign countries fascinating, what they have, what they don't have, how they organize it, how they sell it, and so on. Probably the most ubiquitous things worldwide are bread, potatoes, pasta, coffee, biscuits, tomatoes, eggs, paper products, and other staples. There are also always products from Nestle everywhere I have ever been. It's amazing how you can be in a little, tiny spot on the road in Africa, where someone is set up just to sell coffee to people stuck there waiting for public transportation, and they'll have Nescafe instant coffee and cocoa. They may only have a tiny little hibachi type grill filled with charcoal to heat the water, and no real supplies beyond what they can carry there with them, but no problem finding Nescafe. Anyway, I noticed that much of the chocolate available here was from Nestle.

I bought some bread and tea, and some basil (I found a dried version of it there in a little jar just like at home). I also saw in the bakery section something that looks like the Croatian delicacy that our family makes, that we call pugatista. I asked the women if that is what it was, and they said no. But they knew the word, though they pronounced it a bit differently (the s had an sh sound for one thing). They said that is just a special kind of bread, not necessarily with a (walnut or poppyseed) filling rolled in it. I told them my grandmother was Croatian and she used to make it with a sweet ground nut mixture rolled in it, and they said, yes, you can make it that way too, but it is not the same as what was for sale there (which honestly looked like the pugatista we make). So I'll have to ask around to find out more details on what pugatista is here and what this other thing is and how it's different. I did not buy any because I already had a heavy sack to carry and I figured it would probably get smushed.

I have also been on a quest to find laundry soap that doesn't have dyes or perfumes, and so far I haven't found any. I asked the very helpful English dept. secretary, Neli, if she knew where I could get some. She wasn't sure so she called a friend, and they consulted about it. She recommended one brand, Meli, that she thought would be the most mild, but she said most Croatians want very strong smelling laundry detergent -- I guess they are always advertising new smells. Maybe they think that without the smell you're not really getting it clean. The stuff I've been using smells quite strong, and in fact reminds me of the stuff I used to use in France. It may even be a French brand. But I really prefer no smell at all. Anyway, Neli thought I should try this German store in town that she thought might have something I would like. So I'll look for it.