A Glance

I know some of you out there know Ljubljana like the back of your hand while some of you aren't even sure precisely where Slovenia is. For that second group, I just stumbled across this video my new company made about Ljubljana. It's slightly corny (hey man I didn't make it!), but informational nonetheless. Check out the capital city....

Frozen Frustration/ More MIllion Dollar Ideas

As readers of this blog will note, there are countless things that annoy me about living here. Normally I am nice enough to try and balance them out with kind comments, and I usually only mention the trivial things that bug me instead of the big glaring things like inane bureaucracy and how rude people can be here. So in light of focusing on one big glaring thing that has bugging me I am gonna focus on something trivial that seems to be growing in importance as the temperatures creep up....ICE



Is it true? Can I really NOT buy a big ol' bag of ice in this country? Just some big cumbersome thing to shove in the freezer and throw blocks into my blender to make refreshing drinks all summer long? Is that unavailable? Really? REALLY?



I mean I am willing to tolerate the lack air conditioning in the houses thing but no ice? What gives? This whole place is full of ice and snow all winter, are we all so afflicted that we cannot bare the sight of it once the winter is over? Come on! A girl can't live on low-grade pivo alone! Gimme a break. Gimme some ice.

Svakog gosta tri dana dosta

Apparently I belong here more than I knew. Without getting into this for people who don't understand what this means. Let's just say that a trip to Serbia is definitely in order, I think I'm really gonna connect with some people there.

Hostess with the Mostest

The Captain and I are hosting my first visitor, an old college friend who is travelling through Europe. I forgot how hard it is to play hostess, and it is even harder with the language barrier, nonetheless it is illuminating to see Wheelville and Slovenia through another person's eyes.

Here are some photos:

Žiga vs. R. Kellz

R. Kelly's fate is now in the hands of court.

I was a little surprised to find this on the first page of Dnevnik newspaper's website right after our venerable Minister Turk. I really don't think this is pressing news...especially not here in Slovenia.

Done and done

I don't usually follow sport, and when I do I don't follow basketball, but it seems a lot of men in my life (in America) do, and they keep bugging me about this Sasha Vujačič kid who is "really ballin*'" on the Lakers. So here's a short video about him, so everyone knows that I know about him.

Just don't expect me to watch his games or anything.....
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*Which in some circles gets him awarded a plaque as an "official brotha, by association"
Image by Eric Kilby via Flickr

Overhead Yesterday

Image via WikipediaHigh School Boy #1: Yeah they closed all the roads so The Champ could pass through.
High School Boy #2: Champ? What? That guy's a dick. He's just a big capitalist symbol.
High School Boy #1: Yeah.

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As much as I sort of loathe taking the train with the high school students here*, I was sort of proud to be standing on the platform with that bunch yesterday.

*Note to Slovenian government: Can you please institute a school uniforms policy here before I have (teenage) kids? If I ever see some child of mine walking out of the house and headed to school with muffintop rolling out of overstuffed capris and "I SLEPT WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND" or "THEY'RE REAL AND THEY'RE FABULOUS" plastered across their chest, that kid is on the next plane to boarding school, and I'm sending you guys the bill. I do not define personal freedom through cheap heinous clothes. Uniforms NOW.

Searching For My Sister

This video by Blackgirl on Mars (aka Lesley in Copenhagen) kinda made me tear up.

Well as you might have guessed there are not a lot of black people here in Slovenia. That said, every time I go to Ljubljana I do see at least one. I walk by, smile, and say hello, hoping one of them might stop me for a friendly chat, being too shy to do so myself. So far, no luck. Unlike in America where I feel more confident that I can start gabbing away in English and the person will most likely understand, I always hold back for fear of possibly being presumptuous with someone who might not speak English or might not speak it well, someone who might be actually Slovene, someone who might not really feel connected to me. I wonder if they think the same of me. Somehow the connections are never made.

Anyway, the other day as I was on the bus, we pulled up to a stop and I saw a tall thin and annoyed-looking African girl waiting there. I instantly got excited realizing that, up til now, nearly all the black people I've seen have been men. All of a sudden, this seemed to be a chance for a real black girlfriend here: someone to exchange hair care tips and funny stories with; someone who would understand some of my frustrations; someone who could share shipping on a box full of cosmetics for dark skin; someone for laughter and tears and support. A sister...

I was in the very first seat on the bus, unmissable, and I readied myself to smile and greet. She quickly climbed on and breezed straight past me without even a glance. As we rolled down Slovenska cesta, I kept looking back through the crowd of people hoping to spot her and catch her eye; visions of our forthcoming friendship danced in my head. As the bus neared my stop I stood up and walked towards the exit and stood right next to her, staring at her, waiting for her to turn her head. With a steely steadfastness, she simply continued to stare straight ahead with the same bothered look on her face, and as we descended the steps and headed our different I sort of got a little choked up about the possible missed opportunity....

So I was thrilled this week, on the final day of my Slovenian language course (week long intensive, more on that later) to read the story of a friendly-looking black woman (from England) who also lives here in Slovenia. Someone whose family also comes from Ghana and also does similar work to me. She also came here to be with her Slovenian partner; the coincidences are too great! As soon as I got home, I looked her up. I am now in the process of contacting her, and (without putting too much pressure on the situation) I am hoping she writes back.

Lots and lots

I have LOTS to post and talk about but not sure exactly when I can do it all.

To start, here are some images from my friend Andrej Kamnik's art show a few weeks ago. I got there early, but within minutes the room filled with elderly people, children, and then the twenty and thirty somethings started filing in. As the room got crowded I came to find that aside from Andrej's great friends most of the people there were members of his family (from young to old) and I was pleased to find they were some of the most friendly, supportive, unpretentious, and enthusiastic art fans I'd ever met! Heartwarming. :)




Andrej getting photo'd for the newspaper








i tried to snap a pic of the inner workings of one installation, to little avail


Andrej with the gallery owner and curator




The ladies circle


A very nice evening, indeed. I hope for many more to come!

Wet Wet Wet

Photo Credit

It has been raining cats and dogs here for days on end and from all forecasts I've seen there is no end in sight. I spent a few minutes looking around online for somewhere I could hop on the train to, somewhere where I could escape from the rain, but it seems it is raining everywhere nearby! It is destroying me. I think I am going to buy a tub of ice cream and just stay in all weekend.
:(

Random Shots

Here are some pictures from a week or two ago. I will post something more recent soon.


I tried to get the back of this van. The woman was calling for help because she "wasn't colored".


cross walk


over the river, near the fish store


photo face-off with bestie Nela


me

who won?


birthday lunch for our friend Gia from The Philippines. We also met our new friend Nadia from Venezuela.


this statue is really beautiful at this angle


all different, all equal - ad for something (multiculturalism comes back to slovenia. perhaps even worse than last time. check this youtube video out)


some event about live books. you can't judge a book by its cover. hmmm, we'll see.


is this necessary? i just don't know


This is Slovenia. In case you were wonderin....