Living Conditions: Week 1

Living almost in the dead center of Ljubljana is head-and-shoulders superior to living in that rented shack I've called home these past 8 months! I'm living the central European high life! I LOVE the slippers custom here. In both homes and schools, slippers are an absolute must! "No shoes, no bare feet" seems to be the Slovenian way of living and learning. The slippers are quite different here. They are much lighter and rarely have backs--in a sandals-y kind of way. And talk about cheap! You can get a pair for only 2 euro.

Otherwise, there really aren't any more huge differences here. People do, however, have highly trained ears for accents and languages in general. In America, there is a lack of linguistic diversity, though physical appearances are abundantly diverse. Slovenians seem to identify most with native tongue and country of familial origin (or village even). They is a bunch 'o white folks over in dese parts!

My Americaness is readily welcomed here. Slovenes seem to like Americans, especially village folk. Mike and I were actually thanked for attending the Jerman Kuzelicki family Easter events in south country (Rozanec). People assume we are British at first, but I suppose that isn't too huge an insult.

WALKING! I love it. It happens soo much more here. If the distance is slightly too long, the bus system is splendid. Perhaps this is indicative of my general ignorance of city living. In any case, public transportation in Slovenia is easy to use, clean and inexpensive.

There are many similarities to American culture. This is very much a Western place. The quality of things here are much nicer--as in the food and conversation. There are little to no processed foods--almost all fresh and chemical free. People are very friendly and not rushed. There is little to no "j-walking" in the city. The service at cafes and restaurants (gostilnas as they are called here) is much slower because of this general lack of hurriedness. Ljubljana is like a chilled, more relaxed version of America. I love it.