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Post by lizelle on Jul 21, 2011 14:51:02 GMT 1
I have been in this country for nearly 5 years and I often get a bit peeved when most croatian people try to act like they are the last word on everything!!!
ok,ok, I am 'venting' a bit after being lectured for half an hour by the (probably) 10,000,000th Croatian on something they are absolutely correct about!
Hey I dont wanna generalise and I know not all croatians are like this, but its gotta be about 2 out every 4 you meet.
Let me give an example or two....or three:
I share an apartment, my flatmate lectures me about how Croatians are so much healthier than the British because we eat canned foods most of the time and we buy our veggies from supermarkets! I rarely eat fruits,have done for 30 yrs...she is always having fruits and veg (from some garden or market) but the real funny thing is, after all those "croatians are far more healthy than the world" lectures.....she is just another regular "sicknote", she gets bad stomach, joint, back, foot pain and colds/flu/temperatures...etc that last nearly a week and I always recover from sickness in a few days, but...she always digs at the 'unhealthy eating practices' of everywhere except croatia
I was talking about the government and corruption on all levels here, when I am given the explanation that it is 'not badder than other countries, so it is ok' and the world would not function without it.
I was talking to croatian friend last week about how most croats go to to coast in july/august, so zagreb is great to cycle around in.
I said I get confused when people tell me Zagreb is empty...because thats not really the case (or something like that)
he said yes this is true no croatians are left during this time, I said what about shops and businesses, surely they dont just shut? he said only those that are for tourists stay open...but all other croatians are at the coast, I pointed out a few croats that I had seen before and his reply was that they had either returned or are going....the other people i pointed to were just tourists according to him.
All in All...he would not admit he was wrong in generalising....I have more examples and I am sure that you all have some of your own (feel free to input *cough, cough valiant2*)
My point is why do people here (not all) feel the need to sound soo knowledgable? is it to show us foreigners how great they are while looking down at us.
what do you guys think?
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Post by ray51 on Jul 21, 2011 15:33:07 GMT 1
Lizelle ,
seeing as you asked ( and I have spare time today ) :
a ) yes , any Croat I ever met thinks they know absolutely everything ( sadly , this also includes members of my own family in Croatia ) ;
b ) this obviously reflects very well on their Gross Domestic Product , the exports , the incomes , the (un)employment , the retail pricings of too many items , the healthcare and many other aspects of everyday life ;
c ) many other people I know , the Swiss , the Swedes , the Germans , the Belgians tec. do not profess that they know quite so much , since there also could be a bigger picture , another game
who knows ?
But you need to be awake , eyes-wide-open , with-it ...to realise such possibilities .
So , don't be an unhappy chappie - Croatia is what it is and ( as Maggie Thatcher proclaimed ) "not for turning " ; years may come and years may pass , I don't think you'll see much change in many a year , even with the coming generations ;
so then , it's : accept , or make another plan ?
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Post by crojoe on Jul 21, 2011 15:35:57 GMT 1
I have been in this country for nearly 5 years and I often get a bit peeved when most croatian people try to act like they are the last word on everything!!! ok,ok, I am 'venting' a bit after being lectured for half an hour by the (probably) 10,000,000th Croatian on something they are absolutely correct about! Hey I dont wanna generalise and I know not all croatians are like this, but its gotta be about 2 out every 4 you meet. Let me give an example or two....or three: I share an apartment, my flatmate lectures me about how Croatians are so much healthier than the British because we eat canned foods most of the time and we buy our veggies from supermarkets! I rarely eat fruits,have done for 30 yrs...she is always having fruits and veg (from some garden or market) but the real funny thing is, after all those "croatians are far more healthy than the world" lectures.....she is just another regular "sicknote", she gets bad stomach, joint, back, foot pain and colds/flu/temperatures...etc that last nearly a week and I always recover from sickness in a few days, but...she always digs at the 'unhealthy eating practices' of everywhere except croatia I was talking about the government and corruption on all levels here, when I am given the explanation that it is 'not badder than other countries, so it is ok' and the world would not function without it. I was talking to croatian friend last week about how most croats go to to coast in july/august, so zagreb is great to cycle around in. I said I get confused when people tell me Zagreb is empty...because thats not really the case (or something like that) he said yes this is true no croatians are left during this time, I said what about shops and businesses, surely they dont just shut? he said only those that are for tourists stay open...but all other croatians are at the coast, I pointed out a few croats that I had seen before and his reply was that they had either returned or are going....the other people i pointed to were just tourists according to him. All in All...he would not admit he was wrong in generalising....I have more examples and I am sure that you all have some of your own (feel free to input *cough, cough valiant2*) My point is why do people here (not all) feel the need to sound soo knowledgable? is it to show us foreigners how great they are while looking down at us. what do you guys think? Don't let it get under your skin. A while back the prime minister stated that the Croatian government don’t need mentors, although it was the foreign community for example that pointed out that investment was being lost due to changes in Croatian law that she and others voted on concerning foreigners coming to Croatia. Your friend has a point that other places are just as bad, if not worse, but that still does not negate the fact that it's still wrong if it isn't right. Many Croatians are fed up with politics and have no will power to fight it. They just accept it or have a come what may acceptance about it. They figure that no party is any better then the other. It's all the same people; they just trade seats in parliament once in a while. If you drive on the roads or go to Malls you will notice less people out and about in July and August. This year more Croatians are staying home. This is due to unrest in some of the more affordable locations Croatians visit abroad. I would say the Croatian diet is much better then in the UK, but food alone won't keep you happy and healthy. As George Burns ones said at the age of 70 (actor / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Burns) on healthy eating (he used to smoke cigars),.. I don't watch what I eat as I need all the preservatives I can get. It's a bit of a mystery, as people today live longer (and a great deal of our food in processed or junk food). Maybe some of your friends just want to exert themselves? Croatian men especially have a hard time keeping the trap closed or mouthing off, although I've also heard from some feisty Croatian woman. The fact is Croatians are emotional people, with a bit of a mix of Italian and something else (still trying to figure it out). But you get used to it after a while, try 10 years. |
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Post by MartinM on Jul 21, 2011 15:45:34 GMT 1
Hi lizelle,
I've been here for nearly 9 years, I'm married to a Croat, and I have got used to the things you commented about.
I put it down to the fact that Croatia is a small, still 'new' country, which is still endeavouring to prove itself and its nationality and so the people's mentality reflects this - 'small nation syndrome' (?)
Although many times I am dismayed by the people I know here who put down the Croatian/Balkan mentality as being primitive, selfish and xenophobic even those in respected and high positions - very contradictory!
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Post by BrankoL on Jul 22, 2011 11:20:56 GMT 1
What can say except that Lizelle is right, yes we do have last word on any subject. But is this bad?
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Post by Ribaric on Jul 22, 2011 12:13:03 GMT 1
Nice one Brankol, my small šefica tells me the same. She also tells me that it's a well used tactic that, when you are clearly wrong, just keep talking loudly so the 'right' person cannot he heard.... then leave quickly.
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Post by ray51 on Jul 22, 2011 12:41:35 GMT 1
My wife often lets me have the last say , as long as it is :
Yes , I agree with you , my dear !
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Post by crojoe on Jul 22, 2011 12:58:24 GMT 1
My wife often lets me have the last say , as long as it is : Yes , I agree with you , my dear ! Like the guy said about being the boss of his castle. In my house everything I say is final... semi-final! |
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Post by ray51 on Jul 22, 2011 14:31:58 GMT 1
...we wouldnt want to be appreciated solely for our geography and the beauty of our women. Oh , but a few of them ( the females ) have now been taken off the market , in the prostitution scandal , according to the press ; exactly as the summer season nears it's peaks ! Biiig marketing mistake ? |
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Post by Madgolfer on Jul 24, 2011 9:35:07 GMT 1
I agree with you Lizelle, it can be very frustrating at times, especially when you know you are right. ;D I also get to hear from many "ex-pats" who say the very same about the UK. Equally frustrating.  |
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Post by mickanddeb09 on Aug 6, 2011 11:21:29 GMT 1
Lizelle, of course Croatians know everything...Just ask them. And believe me, I KNOW, I've got one at home ;D Deb  |
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Post by splitpersonality on Aug 11, 2011 12:51:02 GMT 1
I'm a Croat who hasn't lived in Croatia full-time since age 18. In the meantime I've lived in London, Chicago and elsewhere in the civilized world. Now that I'm back in Split, I can tell you I find Croats to be insular and narrow-minded to the point of wishing to move abroad again just so it doesn't rub off on me! Things such as "agree to disagree" and "live and let live", or a simple desire for self-improvement on any level, are simply beyond the reach of most Croats' imagination and they will be surprised and intrigued when you present such ideas to them. On the other hand, Croatia is surprisingly diverse for such a small country and the mentality I describe is by no means prevalent in Istria, for example.
On the topic of eating, I can certainly say that it's far easier and more economical to eat organic meat, fruits and veggies here than in the West. Just take a walk on any open-air market in Croatia and smell the tomatoes or the carrots! This is something I am really preoccupied with - I spent a lot of time hunting down bargain organic food when I was abroad. Here and there you can get something on the cheap but in Croatia it's a rule rather than an exception.
Health is a separate issue as people raised in uber-thrifty Communism have the habit of not going to the doctor unless they have really serious issues, also of not taking any medication unless expressly told the consequences of not taking it will be really really serious. This is itself a corollary of the doctors' unwilingness to actually write a recipe for any disorder you were likely to recover from on your own, no matter how painful or long the recovery. Things are a bit different today but habits change much slower than laws and regulations.
Well that's my two cents, interesting to read the impressions of foreigners living in Croatia - actually, that's the main perk of visiting this forum for me.
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Post by justapixel on Aug 11, 2011 13:10:31 GMT 1
I'm a Croat who hasn't lived in Croatia full-time since age 18. In the meantime I've lived in London, Chicago and elsewhere in the civilized world. Now that I'm back in Split, I can tell you I find Croats to be insular and narrow-minded to the point of wishing to move abroad again just so it doesn't rub off on me! Things such as "agree to disagree" and "live and let live", or a simple desire for self-improvement on any level, are simply beyond the reach of most Croats' imagination and they will be surprised and intrigued when you present such ideas to them. On the other hand, Croatia is surprisingly diverse for such a small country and the mentality I describe is by no means prevalent in Istria, for example. You don't have to run abroad, just go to more civilized parts of Croatia. ;D Zagreb is full of people who have fled Split to greener pastures. They are constantly torn between enduring terrible continental climate and going back to live among the troglodytes. Somehow they always manage to survive another Zagreb winter. . |
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Post by ray51 on Aug 11, 2011 13:30:54 GMT 1
I would almost forgive everything with the Dalmatians , taking into the account where they are geographically and how they are in many other ways .
At least , they gave us Goran Ivanisevic and Mario Ancic .
But , it's much worse in Zagreb : everyone knows absolutely everything , no point arguing , especially when they have never seen foreign press ( none to buy in Zgb , as if anyone would pay for it ) , can't speak a foreign language ( like Jaca ) , any English they chirp is Americanised and their TV is about Brasilian and Mexican soap-operas .
Yet , we have some members on this Forum , living very happily
in the northern parts ( Zagorje ) ; they must know some better secrets to a happier life , then ?
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Post by splitpersonality on Aug 11, 2011 13:39:53 GMT 1
Foreign press has been rather easy to come by in Split for decades, in fact there is a kiosk right on the Riva which sells hardly anything but.
I am considering working in Zagreb, and as I've wintered in Chicago and New Hampshire - in the latter I lived in an area known as the "weather belt", a truly brutal part of New England, the weather is really less of a consideration for me than other things. But I would really prefer Pula or Rijeka.
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