Waiter, there's an octupus in my pasta!

Salutations! It's hard to believe we arrived a week ago, almost to the hour. It feels like time has gone by so quickly. On the other hand, we feel a little more like natives and less like tourists every day. With both of us keeping journals and blogs, things are starting to get jumbled in my mind (more than usual), so please excuse any reruns of information.

Yesterday was a wee bit of a stressful day; Jackie was a little homesick but Cathy and I went into Mom mode and she's going to see how the weekend goes... we're keeping her in our prayers, as well as the other students so that all get to enjoy the experience that is Croatia.

We also had a bit of bad weather yesterday, which probably didn't help. Again, I'm sure you're sympathizing with us :) We lost power/internet briefly, but were back up in no time. We've booked an excursion to Medjugorje for tomorrow; a bus trip up to the shrine - an all day event. Details on that later, of course.

Yesterday we went to one of our favorite spots for lunch, Fuego. It's just a sidewalk cafe near the college, but we had great salads there earlier in the week. Cathy got a pasta with garlic and butter that smelled divine. I decided to spread my culinary wings, so to speak, and had seafood pasta. Imagine my surprise and delight (read that as "surprise and even more surprise") when I poked in my fork and pulled out a little octupus. I didn't verify all the legs, but there were enough there to confirm the protein source. Honestly, it was delicious... maybe it was the sauce (akin to a Campbell's Tomato soup base), but it tasted like chicken... no, just kidding. It tasted like octupus; assuming you know what octupus tastes like. In any event, I had to restrain myself from licking my bowl clean. Thank goodness for all the wonderful bread :)

Dinner last night was in the main street (pictures will follow, as soon as I figure out the technology of my camera) and we enjoyed listening to the soccer fans cheering and singing in a nearby cafe. Someone had a flare down the main street of Old Town and it seemed like half the people walking around were wearing the red and white checkerboard in some sort of apparel. Croatia won, beating Germany 2:1, but I will have mixed feelings Monday when they play Poland... who should I cheer for? :) It's very odd, too, to see this old street with well-worn stones that we walk each day... and a flat screen TV brought out for the patrons to enjoy. The celebration went on well into the night and early morning, as singing could still be heard at the apartment all the way to Old Town, and cars flashed their lights and beeped their horns.

Last night, actually early this morning (1:30 a.m.), Cathy and I awoke to a magnificent thunderstorm. The lightening illuminated the island across from us and the booms and cracks were amazing. Our roomie, Professor Vincent Serravallo, slept through the festivities.

Today our (actually Cathy's) achievement was figuring out how to use the washing machine. Don't laugh. Other than a few icons (a cotton plant, chemical bottle and sheep's head), it was a wee bit intimidating to figure out how to wash clothes. There is no dryer... we set up a rack in part of the living room and there's a clothesline outside.

To answer some questions posed (and feel free to ask, we love sharing our newfound knowledge): We haven't seen a library yet, but we know where the post office is, the location of ATMs and the few small grocery stores. There aren't really lawns or yards that people have; it's really more like apartments connected randomly and stacked on each other. We're never sure when we take a new stairway if we'll end up on the street below or in someone's patio.

TV is mostly BBC, CNN, but world versions. Yes, I know... we don't know who won Top Chef, and we could go online to find out, but don't tell us. I don't miss TV at all; I much prefer the view from the balcony as my entertainment. It doesn't change often, but it's more the sense that "we're in Dubrovnik, for crying out loud... can you believe it?" Life is good.

The few grocery stores we have visited are small, closer to a mini-mart than a grocery store. We're able to find the basics of what we need, but our landlord had offered to take us to a store with shopping carts (as he pantomimed). To be honest, I don't think we miss Wegmans much. Simple is best.

We have not gotten into the water yet. We were excited about the prospect until the environment professor mentioned the fecal coliform that he thinks is in the Adriatic; "I wouldn't swim in there." So, stay tuned for that adventure.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and wishes... it's hard to begin to describe how awesome this trip has been, and how more awesomer it will be. We send our love and thoughts in return.
annette