A place you could, well, just stay...forever

Now I may not know about all the social and political issues that plague Croatia like most countries around the world, but as a guest, I really don't need to be overinformed. I do know that Croatia has an unemployment rate hovering around 18% (much like Italy and many other European countries..) that they have a high percentage of people living in poverty or scraping by, and that they have a huge referendum going on right now about whether or not gay marriage should be allowed and what the word "family" means. The Catholic Church here has rallied against gay marriage, and has collected enough petition signatures to create a referendum for the people to vote on whether it should be allowed in Croatia. Today the people of Croatia are voting on how they want the future of the traditional "family" to be represented, and from what I have heard, 70% of the polled population are against gay marriage. 

The world is watching today and all will be said and done (for now) after the ballots are counted. It has been interesting listening to the varied opinions people have, from Jenny and Tomo, her mother who stopped by to say hello today, to the men walking down the street, sharing a beer and discussing how they voted and why. Of course, Jenny had to translate because my Croatian is basically nonexistent. These are all issues that, as an American, I can relate to because these are the same issues people back home are facing. The only difference is, I don't fully understand and can claim ignorance because of the language (and culture) barrier.... Despite these problems, Split is a place I could easily just stay.. and not leave.The mountains, the sea, the islands, the food, the people... It is definitely a great place to immerse yourself in the Croatian lifestyle and take it all in.

Perhaps my mindset would be different had we stayed elsewhere, and not in Tomo and Jenny's home. We stayed here for 6 nights, then left per her advice to see Hvar (where she grew up..lucky girl!), and have come back to Split to spend 2 more nights in their apartment before we head off. We have been fed amazing food and tea, seen beautiful scenery, taken yoga classes with Jenny (in Croatian), I have taught them a yoga class in house, and now we have learned we will be in the Bangkok airport at the same time in February and will plan to meet up for lunch. I cannot express how grateful I am that we had such awesome hosts... It really has made our time here great and we have found a place to come back to when it's warmer (and you can rent scooters, boats, and other fun things).

Croatia is so cheap, too. To put it in perspective, 100 kuna is $18... A good pair of leather boots (that I wanted to buy, but resisted) was around 299kuna, a bowl of soup, 15 kuna, a glass of wine, 8 kuna.. a big bottle of shampoo, 13 kuna, a nice bottle of locally produce wine, 31 kuna (and that's getting the "nice" stuff).. I think I spent 8 cents on an onion at the store earlier.  We have averaged spending less than $20 a day for both of us, for food and whatever else we needed. If you are trying to stretch your hard earned Amercan dollars, get out of the Euro Zone and come to Croatia. 

I know I go on and on about Airbnb, but, I cannot stress enough how much better our trip has been because of the cool peope we have met. Tomo and Jenny are excellent hosts who have become our friends. We will have friends all over the world when this trip is said and done! Having friends around the world is one of the best things, because you always have places to visit and can learn so much from them.

Tomorrow we head to Mostar, Bosnia for 3 nights. The only visual I have ever had of Bosnia was from the war in the 90s, and I vaguely remember that because I was between the ages of 7-9 when it was going on.. Mostar is famous for its diverse (and divided) population. In the old town, there is a bridge called "Stari Most" that separated the Christians from the Muslims.. I don't know much more about Mostar, but I am sure during our time there I will learn a great deal. The war may have been 20-ish years ago, but the bloodshed and destruction in Bosnia really scarred generations of people. This is a war I did not learn much about in school, and it will be interesting to learn how everything went down. Tomo and Jenny recommended visiting Mostar because of its rich history and beautiful scenery. We may even get to see young boys jump from the famous bridge (it is a deeprooted tradition and from what I've read an everyday occurrence). 

Bosnia was not even a thought when we started this trip, and now we will visit Mostar and Sarajevo before heading back up into wherever else we want to go before the Czech Republic. I think I have finally learned to stop planning obsessively.... and just enjoy the ride. Nearly 5 years of being conditioned to plan and overplan left me always thinking about what is to come next. I think Croatia has made me realize a more relaxed mindset. As long as we have good reliable train/bus transportation and a place to sleep at night that is not $$ (which is pretty easy, since we are traveling in the "off" season), I can ease my mind and just enjoy the scenery. Tomorrow, Mostar! Croatia, you are a gem.. and I will miss you!