Scenery

Since I’ve last written we went to Istria. Which is not in the east, but in the west as Dr. Cotton stated. Istria is a region in Croatia that has cities within the region. Istria was one of my favorite places we’ve visited so far. The view from our hotel was beautiful. I mean, GOREGOUS. As we would walk up this cobble-stoned driveway to our hotel we would look to our left and see small stores that filled the quaint little town. On our right we saw this breath taking view of rolling hills and rustic looking rooftops. It felt like we were looking down from the clouds upon the region. Once we got to our hotel, there was an outdoor patio where we would order a bottle of wine, chat about life, and watch the sun set at night. I felt like I was in a movie.
There in Istria we saw the Glycolitic Trail. Which was hard to follow because the translation didn’t come across well. Luckily I wasn’t in the class that it was used for. But right after that we went to the SMALLEST town in the world. It had its own government. There were a total of 20 people, which was a population increase from the large number of 15 last year. Hah It was a really cute town.
One thing that I haven’t talked about is the market. There isn’t a day that at least one of our group members goes to the market. They have everything there. They have strawberries, apples, oranges, bananas, figs, any type of nut, and dried fruit. My list doesn’t even begin to give the market credit. They also had meats and cheeses. Bianca and Kelsey’s (my roommates) favorite are figs and almonds. I have a ton of pictures of the Market that Bianca took.
Our next adventure was an 8hr trip to Dalmatia (another region). Yes, Dalmatians came from Dalmatia. Bianca and I created a mix to keep our teachers from playing obnoxious folk music. We also dedicated a song for each teacher and were DJ’s for those songs. We started off with a “Good morning you beautiful people.” Our last song that was dedicated was to Jukovaca (Rockia); it was “Blame it on the Alcohol.”
I would say that Jukovaca (Rockia) is a popular drink made in Croatia. It seems like everywhere we go someone serves it to us. After the terrible hangovers from the wine vineyard, we all dread Jukovaca. It tastes like rubbing alcohol. If I lit a match, my breath would catch fire. I had one good type that had honey in it. That kind was at least bearable. Actually one day in Makarska we hiked up the mountains and ended the hike with a church. We see a lot of churches; they seem to all blur together. This church after the hike was very memorable. After looking inside the church the priest served us Jukovaca with shot glasses before noon. Someone took a picture of me with the priest and shot. I hope to see that picture after the trip.
Once we got to Makarska, we headed straight to our apartments. The apartments are awesome. It’s a two-bed room apartment. I share a room with Bianca, and Kelsey and Jessica share the other room. We have a kitchen that we have started to utilize. One time when I had class and Bianca and Kelsey didn’t. They went to the Market and got some eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and feta cheese. They cooked this awesome meal. Cory you can expect for me to be cooking eggplant more often. I got the recipe. For those of you who don’t know, Cory is my boyfriend. We like to cook and grill out a lot. Right outside our door is a lemon tree that we pick from! They are really good lemons. We put them in our water bottles. Another way you can tell that alcohol is a prominent part of the lives of Croatians is we had wine and Jukovaca sitting on our kitchen table for us when we got there. One night we had everyone over to drink it and then go out on the town and we ended up drinking all of the wine. The next morning we had another full bottle of wine sitting on our table. Not all of the people in our group get that kind of service, so I think its just our land lord.
Our first couple days in Makarska (a city in Dalmatia) have been really laid back. We would have class until one and then we’d all go to the beach. The beach is amazing. The water is clear. You can see straight to the bottom. The beach here has small white stones instead of sand. I really feel like the scenery here is straight off a movie set. On one side of us, there are the mountains and on the other there is the sea. It’s really good for trying to navigate around the city. I’m starting to get to know my way around the city like I’ve been living here for years.
Today we went to a palace. It was the retirement home of the only dictator that resigned. Now days it’s a city with lots of beautiful shops. I spent a lot of cash shopping today. J I hadn’t really bought any large purchases so I felt the need to splurge. Plus, I’m spending my own money. Yes, my hard earned cash that I got in Vegas. Haha For those of you who don’t know, I went to Vegas for my 21st birthday.
I think this trip has been really good for me. I’m realizing that occupational therapy might not be what I’m supposed to do in life. I’m really leaning towards health education at a hospital and getting my nursing degree. I’m not sure what made me realize this, but its been something I was always interested in. We’ve been touring emergency rooms, disability schools, and school doctors. I have a passion for health education and it would truly be a shame if I just let that go. I’m still debating. If any of you have any input, I would love to hear it.

Things I find Interesting
1. To go into a building, you have to push.
2. You can tell an American by their white socks.
3. Every breakfast we’ve been served included bread, meat, and cheese.
4. The service on filling up your water at a restaurant is terrible.
5. I still haven’t found Diet Coke anywhere.
6. We went to a concert one night and they played the song “Sweet Home Alabama.”
7. No one turns off their cell phones when they are in a meeting, lecture, or important talk. That would not fly in Georgia.
8. They are lazy when it comes to cleaning their fish. All fish we’ve eaten has been whole- eye, head, and tail included.
9. I like to go to cafes and people watch.