Epi-blog

Well, it's been over a month since we've been home. I already feel like I've lost touch with Dubrovnik, now having to drive a car to get to the grocery store and work, swimming in a plastic pool, cooking my own meals (with nary a fresh octupus in sight).

Cathy filled you in on our last few days in Dubrovnik. I'll bring you up to date with our departure from the country.

We left Saturday morning (July 12), early. The night before we said goodbye to our landlords, Cristo and Maria; they gave us each a bag of figs to take home, a remembrance of our wonderful trip.

The taxi arrived at the base of personal hell at 6:00 a.m. Mr. Vincent bid us farewell as we took the 30-minute ride to the airport. As we entered the room to board, we saw Gene, one of the students from the program. He would be on the same flights as us, as far as London/Heathrow. It was wonderful to have another friendly, familiar face on our journey.

Cathy and I were fortunate enough to have business class seating on our flights from Dubrovnik to Zagreb and Zagreb to London. Not that the plane was huge, but we had real china and glassware, cloth napkins; a delicious cherry juice, a cheese blintz, pepper cookies. When we asked Gene what he had back in coach seating, he replied, "an olive and a piece of bread" (that still cracks me up as I write it... I think he was kidding... at least I hope he was.)

Arriving in London, we had a brief wait to catch our overseas flight to Philly. The terminal we were in was like a small shopping mall... so many stores and shops... World of Whiskies, Caviar Center, Harrods! I went into Harrods, not to purchase anything, but just so I could say I had been in there :)

We said our goodbyes to Gene, as his flight to Chicago left after ours. We boarded the plane, not realizing how much we would feel like sardines. I swear, two of the largest men on the entire flight sat in front of and behind me. Thank goodness for my daily dose of glucosamine! The flight was relatively uneventful; there was a young couple nearby with two small children. The mother and baby boy sat in one row, the father and toddler daughter in the row behind. During the entire flight the kids were awake and passed back and forth between their parents to entertain them. As fate would have it, they both fell asleep minutes before we landed in Philadelphia. I complimented the mother on her patience; she looked exhausted.

As the co-pilot came on the PA system to annouce that cell phones, PDA's, etc. should be turned off, he concluded his announcement with a quiet "Marty, where are you?". Puzzled, people smiled and looked at each other but thought little of it. The co-pilot came back on a few minutes later with the same announcement. This time he ended it with, "... and the crew would like Captain Marty to come up to the cockpit to fly the plane." We burst out laughing.

About one and one-half hours before we landed we saw the infamous Captain Marty make his way through the plane, chatting with passengers, asking about their travel plans, making general conversation. He got to Cathy's and my seats and asked us where we had been, what we had been doing. We explained we were captionists, we had been in Dubrovnik for five weeks supporting a student who was hard-of-hearing. He was interested and polite, but we got that kind of confused "I don't get it, but I'll smile and nod and pretend I do" look that people give when they're not really sure what you do, as much as you try explaining it in layperson's terms.

We approached the east coast and Captain Marty came on the PA system to point out landmarks; Martha's Vineyard (what the heck were we doing way up there?), the Jersey Shore (home to Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi). We attempted to land in Philly, but there was a backup of planes, and so we flew around for an extra 15 minutes (I think that's when the little ones just started settling into sleep mode). With the exception of one poor girl who got sick during our second attempt at landing, it was relatively uneventful. As we were de-boarding (is that the right term?), Captain Marty congratulated the honeymooners, he wished a wonderful vacation to the little girl who was coming to the USA for the first time and he welcomed back to the States the "two educators who just spent five weeks in Croatia". Cathy and I looked at each other; ok, so we're not "educators" (then again, everyone is an educator and a disciple, right?), but we were tickled to be mentioned. Thanks, Captain Marty!

A short layover in Philly and we were on our way to Rochester, to the open arms of our family and to life as we left it in what seemed like ages ago.

Croatia was an amazing experience. Cathy and I both realize how blessed and lucky we were to have the opportunity to do what we love in a whole new environment. And we also realized how blessed we are to have families and co-workers and friends who kept us in their thoughts and prayers while we worked and played and traveled and climbed each and every one of those steps. Thank you for sharing our journey with us!

Mir... annette & Cathy

Hasta la Vista Croatia

Yesterday we had our final lunch with the faculty and students. We went to a traditional Croatian restaurant called Komin. The website is restaurant-komin.com if you would like to see it. Everyone was there but our student Jackie. She was probably en route to London by the time we ate.

The setting was so open and airy under the trees. We had drinks (no wine for me!!) and appetizer platters were served. We could choose from an array of huge whole broiled shrimp, squid ink risotto, cooked squid and onions or teensy white fish the size of a grain of rice. They are harvested to be eaten shortly after they are born. Our environmental professor say that is an ecological disaster, but heaped his plate. Next we had tossed salads and good chewy bread. The main course was a huge platter of meats and potatoes that had been cooked "under the bell". I say it was lamb and Annette says it was veal. Dessert was a light cool dish of chopped fresh fruit with ice cream and whipped cream on top. Delicious.

After lunch, our ACMT Coordinator stood up and gave a nice little talk and gave each of the students a bag with a t-shirt, a pen, a lanyard and a certificate from the college. Then she gave one to each of the faculty and...Yippee! Annette and I each received one also.

We all hugged and promised to keep in touch and jumped on the bus to go back to town. Some of the kids are going home, some are doing some traveling in Europe before they leave. It was a great group of people and we all learned so much from the professors and from each other.

Annette and I went home to the apartment and got comfy, because there were going to be fireworks at 11:00. We were on the balcony at 9:30 and spent our waiting time making each other laugh. We have had such a great time talking and laughing and sharing life experiences - I told Annette that I will always have such good memories of our time here. We never had a moment of friction; or if we did, Annette didn't tell me.

The fireworks started around 10:30 and they were spectacular. From our vantage point, it looked as if they were just for us. We have two huge trees in front of our apartment and they framed the fireworks beautifully. When they finished, Keti next store called over to us to see if we wanted to come for cake. Her whole family was there and her mom had put on a big spread. I was in my jammies and really tired, but Annette and Vincent went over and had a good time.

This morning, I got up early to take a picture of the old town. Annette always says it looks as though the sun is peeling back from the city.

We went down to the beach for a swim and back up to the apartment to start packing, but Annette fell asleep so we still have to finish. We are in the office for our final few hours. We will turn in our keys, shop our way back to the apartment and get ready to fly home tomorrow morning.

We will never be able to tell you every story or every experience we have had, but this has been five of the best weeks of our lives.

We both are looking forward to coming home, but we will be very sad to leave this place. Even Vincent is inquiring into coming back next summer. He says he will try to recruit a student that will require C-Print. That would be fantastic!

Thanks so much for all your affection and support. We have tried to help you see everything through our eyes because we felt so privileged to be here. We hope we made an impact and opened the door to new opportunities for everyone to get involved in the Study Abroad program.

We will see you soon. Lots of love from Cathy and Annette

winding down and gearing up

Well folks, we're getting to the end of our journey. It seemed when we first got here it was hard to remember what day it was; so much to do and see, so many new experiences. Each day blended into the next. This week, each day has been, "this is our last Sunday.. our last Monday.. our last Tuesday..."

We're making our lists of things we need to get before we leave, places we want to eat, things we want to see... in anticipation of our return to the States. Our last pizza at Mea Culpa, our last walk to the college, our last gelato, yes, even our last trek up the stairs will be sad events, but ones we will relish and enjoy and be grateful to have had the experience and opportunity.

We discovered yesterday that quite a few of the students also seemed to have suffered over the weekend with not feeling well. Not exactly sure what caused the rumblings in the tummies or the extreme tiredness, but we all seem to have weathered the storm, so to speak. Good thing, as this is no way to end a wonderful trip.

Of course, Monday we discovered there is also Murphy's Law in Croatia too (although we're not sure what it's called here... maybe St. Blais' Law). Our dictionaries decided to go on holiday and leave no forwarding address. Yes, we hear all of you groaning in empathy. Why shouldn't the end of our stay here conclude the same way we started. But, our knight in shining armor, John Mannara, came to our rescue. Through the amazing and unfathomable powers of remote technology, he was able to access our laptops, zap the dastardly software and install clean versions and get us back on track. Even miles and miles away, across oceans and mountains and seas, we are connected. Thank you, John :)

As we trudged up the stairs Monday night, Cathy and I giggled about our private jokes from our stay here, some of which we've shared with you in these blogs. We will beg your forgiveness if something triggers our memory when we're back at work and we break out into hysterical laughter. Don't be afraid to ask why, we'll explain as best we can (although you might be afraid of said hysterical laughter.. I have taken to snorting and wheezing in my glee... it's not pretty.)

Monday night Cathy and I sat on the balcony, watching "the Dubrovnik channel" as I like to call it. We saw some of the cathedral domes light up in Old Town; we assume in anticipation for the summer festival which begins Thursday. There will be fireworks that we'll watch from our apartment balcony... supposedly for all the tourists starting their vacations, but we secretly know it's Croatia's way of bidding us a fond farewell.

In Professor Kate's class yesterday she shared her pictures of Old Town, taken both before and after the war. Homes, monuments, churches were bombed and partially destroyed. Through her work and the crews she supervised, Old Town has and is being restored to its former glory. It was a bittersweet class; knowing that there are people who care enough for their "home" to repair it and care for it, but knowing too how these people suffered during the conflict. May we never have to know the pain and loss and heartache they experienced.

Last night, confident I knew enough Croatian to translate, I surmised there was a concert of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra; I was sure it was at St. Blais church, why else would all those bleachers be set up? Cathy was kind enough to humor me as we strolled around town for a few hours, way past either of our bedtimes, waiting so we could hear the rich melodies of violin solos of Mozart. Alas, it was not to be. There may have been a concert, but it was not in the vicinity of where we sat.

We were treated, however, to a sight as we wandered Old Town getting some last souvenir shopping in. As we passed a barber shop in one of the back alleys, I pointed out the parakeets in cages about the shop door. Five little birdies, each labeled with the name of an opera singer. "Psst.. hey.." we heard from the doorway. Inside sat Adriano and Luisa, along the wall with two of the locals. In the barber's chair, circled by a very large man with scissors and a razor, was Tanya getting her hair cut. Ahh, to be young and impetuous! Her haircut was adorable and we were so delighted to have shared (and documented) part of her experience.

As we walked up the stairs late last night Cathy reminded me of my prediction that we would be sprinting up the stairs by the end of our trip. We're not. We still huff and puff. We still sweat. But we're not taking rest breaks as often or cursing our lack of muscle tone and lung capacity. As a reminder, I took a snapshot of a car on our street... one with a message that would serve us all... focus... relax. (the other pic shows you a "taste of home" :)

I imagine each of us will get another post or two in; at least a postscript if anything. We appreciate all your comments, messages and well wishes while we've been here... and hope we have shown you Dubrovnik and points beyond through our eyes.

Until we meet again... mir... annette & Cathy

It is another hot day in Dubrovnik. The weather forecast said cooler with a breeze, but I think they were lying. It felt just as hot walking in to work. We have the air conditioning in our office set to 68 degrees just to cool off.

Friday was our last field trip with the students. We met at 9:00 and were driven to the town of Stun (pronounced Stawn) where there is another old town with wall fortifications. These walls go straight up the mountain, unlike Dubrovnik which built on a flat area in a natural harbor. Well, the art professor hops out of the van and starts trudging up the steps to the walls and all the students followed. Annette and I were horrified because of course it was 90 degrees again and we had had our fill of old towns with big walls that you had to climb.

God is good, because our student Jackie said "I don't want to climb up there. Can you help me find a bathroom?" Annette and I, being the responsible adults that we are, went back down into the town with her. After finding a toilette, we were way too late to rejoin the class, so we settled for cappuccinos under an umbrella at a cafe.

Eventually the rest of the folks dragged in and we piled back into the vans and off to a vineyard that the environmental science professor wanted to show us. We went way up in the hills, parked and started walking, this time through a long tunnel that had been cut through the mountain. On the other side, we walked halfway down the mountain on a hot dusty road to a vineyard that is planted almost perpendicular to the sea. The slope is so steep that the grape pickers have to tie ropes around themselves to keep from tumbling all the way down. The grapes grow in very little soil; mostly the substrate which is porous. There is so little rain that most of the water comes through the roots. The grapes are very sweet because of the intense sun.

We walked back the way we had come, up the road, through the tunnel to the winery. The son of the owner greeted us with a short talk on the history of the vineyard and showed us where the wine is made. Following that, we were treated to a great lunch in the winery restaurant which was below ground and very dark and cool. We had a rustic meal, typical of the region: lentil soup, good chewy bread, anchovies in lemon juice and olive oil, prosciutto and cheese and fried eggplant, zucchini, peppers and onions. It was wonderful!

This meal was accompanied by wine, wine, wine and then some more wine. First we had white, then red, then rose and then a sweet dessert wine. It was a great bonding experience with lots of laughter and teasing. A lot of the kids bought wine to take home - I wonder how much of it will last that long. We have a couple of serious drinkers in the group.

We were home early and went to bed. Then I got sick. Today Annette doesn't feel well, although she swears she is OK. Vincent says we have "departure depression".

Well, today is our last Monday. We have class Mon - Wed and then our student Jackie is going home early to attend a wedding. We will have Thursday and Friday to clean up the office, pack the laptops and tidy up the apartment. Soon we will be on our way home.

Take care and thanks again for your support.
Cathy and Annette

fishing and churches and museums

Wednesday in Environmental class, Professor Stasa had the students play a game called "FishBanks". The point was to show how fishing companies eventually deplete the seas as they try to make their profits. Carly zoomed out ahead in the beginning, but Gene (our Marketing student) won overall. Professor Stasa was stumped that the students did not deplete the coastal fishing in their ten-year period, something that usually occurs in other classes within five years. I think they have been paying attention in his lectures and were well prepared to "go fishing" :)

At 4:00 p.m., we met Professor Kate at the Onofrio Fountain for a tour of some of the monasteries and museums in Old Town. Thankfully we were in shade or inside for part of the tour.

































Our first stop was the Franciscan monastery with its cloisters flanked by Renaissance columns. Again, we are so lucky to have Professor Kate as a personal tourguide for all the history Old Town holds. There was an original painting, as well as a copy, in the musuem of what Old Town looked like before the earthquake of 1667. The original painting and many other treasures were inside a special room where no cameras were allowed, unfortunately.

Inside the special room were robes worn by the priests with intricate and magnificent embroidery. There were ornate chalices, relics, paintings and icons and jewelry... rows and rows of jewelry. Cathy was puzzled; why would Franciscan monks have earrings and rings with diamonds and pearls and precious stones? Well, many families donated their possessions to the church for favors or special prayers... mystery solved. The Franciscan monastery also currently houses a pharmacy; in the museum there were weights and scales and prescription 'recipes' displayed as well.

Onward to the Dominican monastery, which houses one of the more extensive collections of art and relics in Dubrovnik. The cloisters (hallways where the monks and friars walked and mediated and communed with nature) contain pillars with more of a Gothic influence. Within the cloisters was a small yard with a well head and a lemon tree that produces fruit the size of grapefruits, but none were available at that moment. The church itself was incredible, a high arch above a very simple altar, with a more ornate altar to the side.

Next stop was another church which was actually rebuilt twice; the original just discovered beneath the second and third rebuildings only recently. Professor Kate said the history books will have to be rewritten to include these new findings. We weren't able to stay in the church very long, (and in many of the churches we could not take pictures because of the value of the artwork inside) because some of the students were not appropriately dressed. (not appropriate being defined as tank tops and shorts... they take their religion very seriously here).





















Onward to the last few stops; a fountain that was partially destroyed during the war and then restored thanks to contributions from a group of German people. Then onto the Jesuit church and college, with steps (oh no, more steps!)... St. Ignatius was amazing. I wish I could have taken pictures of the frescos painted around and over the altar; since I couldn't, I've attached a link which will show you, but it pales in comparison to the real thing. There is a college right next door, where students have a rigorous curriculum of Latin and other difficult subjects. http://www.triptouch.com/croatia/dubrovnik/photos/1113



















Our last stop was the Rector's Palace and we were only able to walk in just a little way. It used to house the Rector who was elected for a one-month term during Roman times. They didn't want people getting too comfortable, or corrupt, during their tenure, so there was constant turnover. Within the palace is one bronze statue of a sea captain, considered unique for the time. Normally there were no statues recognizing citizens and such, but this sea captain had donated all of his wealth to the government and the statue was the town's way of showing their appreciation.





















Well, that concludes the tour of Old Town for today. Please return your trays and seats to the upright position and stay tuned for our next adventure, touring the vineyards of Peljesac.

mir.. a & c

Can you believe it is July 1st already???

On Friday, we were picked up at 7:30 am for another field trip; this time we were on a four hour van drive to a city called Split which is the second largest city in Croatia after the capital, Zagreb. I was so tired that I slept for the first two hours in the van. I woke up just before the border check at Bosnia/Herzegovina. It was a lot more risky than when we went to Medjugorje because two of our kids are international students and their visas did not allow them to leave Croatia. We all held our breaths, hoping the guards would just wave us thru and not check out passports. We all were relieved when they didn't stop us.

Our student coordinator Zoran had made a "funny" joke saying if we were stopped, all the non-American and non-Canadian students should run for the bushes because the Bosnians would probably shoot them in the back. Ha ha. Weird sense of humor over here sometimes.

Anyhow, we finally arrived at Split and went to Diocletian's palace. He was a Roman governor and the building is still in pretty good shape. The lower level is full of gift shops! It is so strange to see counters full of souvenirs lined up along walls that are centuries old. That is the first picture, the kind of dark one. The girl in the orange shirt is our student Jackie.

The big statue in the picture is a Bishop: Gregory of Nin (Annette googled him). He introduced the Croatian language into religious services. The Croatian language nearly died out several times, but was recaptured before it became extinct. People rub the toe of the statue for good luck. Even though we are already the luckiest people in the world to be here, we rubbed anyways.

We all had free time to shop or eat lunch. Annette and I found a cool (temperature-wise) restaurant and had salads. Hers was good, mine not so much. Very vinegar-y. I soothed myself with a gelato (ice cream); coconut with chocolate chips! Yum. We shopped a little and bought coral necklaces. Annette had better keep an eye on hers or it will be going home in my suitcase. We keep checking to make sure stuff is made in Croatia, not China.

We stopped at a nice park for a rest stop on the way home. The kids were climbing the trees and Jackie surprised everyone by showing off her cheerleading/gymnastic skills; back handsprings and cartwheels. Everyone was very impressed.

In the van on the way home, Luisa and Tania started singing, so Annette and I responded by singing, too. We were surprised that no one requested an encore from us! It was really fun and we all laughed and talked and sang. Then everyone got quiet as it got darker. It had been a long day.

It was late when we got home, with lots of thunder and lightning, but no rain. We haven't had any rain since the first weekend we were here except for one five minute shower.

Saturday we just loafed around and went out for lunch. Sunday Annette came to the office and did some shopping; I stayed home and read and did laundry.

Monday was Culture class at 11:00 and Zoran lectured on Croatian music. He started with the traditional folk singing called klapa and then the introduction of rock and something called turbo-folk. He showed us a lot of video clips and the concerts looked and sounded like what we are used to in America. Since I never understand the lyrics (are they even called lyrics anymore?), it didn't matter that it was in Croatian.

Our Environmental Science class met for the first time in a week. Our professor was in Budapest at a conference all last week. He challenged the class to start brainstorming; their assignment is to think of an ecological disaster waiting to happen and then brainstorm solutions, no matter how crazy. His example was washing machines and how much water they use, how much power they consume, and then what do you do with it when it breaks? Tania kind of timidly suggested stainproof clothing as a solution and the professor was delighted! He had recently purchased a pair of pants made of fabric treated with a substance derived from the lotus plant. It sounds almost like Teflon. Annette and I love to caption this class because it is so interesting! Full of gloom and doom about the future, but interesting.

At 5:30, we met Professor Kate at the fountain in the old town to walk the walls. There is a huge wall around the entire area that was built in the 1400s to protect the city from invasion. It was a long hot walk, but the views were breathtaking. That shot of the red tiled roofs is so indicative of the brilliant colors and sites that we have become familiar with. Annette, God bless her, took along a spiral notebook and took notes for Jackie through the whole trip.

Finally, after a long day, Annette and I had a fashionably late supper at one of our former favorite cafes. We scratched them off our list when they served us a basket of stale bread one evening. Last night, everything was perfect. We had delicious cool chicken salads and ice water. After we paid our bill and were walking away, I looked down and saw a 20 Kuna bill on the street. I snatched it up and bought us each a gelato to eat on the way home. We have almost gotten to the point where we can make it up one flight of these horrendous stairs without stopping. Having a gelato in your stomach doesn't make the trip any easier.

That is it for today. Keep safe, keep cool, and we will see you soon.

touring the islands

Professor Kate giving us island background

Thursday, with very little time to recover from our Italian adventures, we boarded a boat in Old Town harbor to tour a few local islands of Dubrovnik. The first island was Lokrum, the one we can see from our balcony. It is just south of the Old Town and we had been told it is inhabited by only one family, the caretakers of the island. Little did we know, from looking at this piece of land every day, the wonders and delights it held.
The island is deceiving. The southern part actually splits open and that is where the boat docked so we could get off. There are many remains of Roman ruins there and a fortress (Fort Royal) at the top of the island, built by Napoleon's army. Many people come here to go swimming and sunbathing. There is also a beautiful botanical garden with over 200 varieties of plants and trees; eucalyptus, cactus, palm trees. If you close your eyes, you can almost hear a voice-over saying, "Welcome to Jurassic Park". We wandered a bit more and came to a park area where we encountered one of the island's inhabitants; a peacock. After much patience, squawking and various methods of coaxing, we were able to get the feathered critter to show us his wares. Gorgeous!

Our next stop was a small island, with a restaurant as the only establishment. The owner had prepared a wonderful barbeque for us of sardines, mackerel, squid and sausages. Not your typical American picnic fare, but it was delicious. There were grilled vegetables, potatoes and cabbage, coleslaw salad. We enjoyed a leisurely meal before we headed onto Cavtat.

Cavtat (Sah-v-tat) was our last stop; here we visited the gallery of one of Croatia's most famous painters, Vlaho Bukovac. The gallery was actually once his home and he had painted murals on many of the walls. We also visited one of the churches on the island, again, impressed and in awe of the beautiful artwork and architecture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaho_Bukovac

Stay tuned for our next installment, the trip to Split, the second largest city in Croatia... until then... Adio!

a & c