Se ne strinjam. Sem iz Ljubljane in tole s problemi pri komunikaciji, v kolikor ne znaš slovensko, je meni tuje. Tudi obiski niso nobena muka in tudi darila ni potrebno prinesti. Strinjam pa se, take so tudi moje izkušnje, da so v Ameriki ljudje hitreje na prijateljskem nivoju kot v Sloveniji, kar pa ni nujno, da je vedno dobro.
I really enjoyed watching your video. I am a Czech guy and these types of things pretty much all apply here as well. You wanna host a bbq for 10 people, you gotta buy a food and drinks, prep everything, clean everything. It's tiring but it is how it is, different culture. Honestly this doesn't bother me too much as those talks. Only politics, work and complaints about the others. That's why I don't like these gatherings much. I lived in Canada for 2 years and casualty over there I liked way more. Nobody judging anybody even when wearing pyjamas in a shopping mall :) ... Friendly people of all nationalities. The life there seemed to be simplier to me.
I live in Slovenia for almost 5 years, and can relate so much! I start hating the language because it is so counterintuitive. I have zero Slovenian friends (real ones) because they are all so reserved and cold, especially to foreigners. The only thing which is completely different in my experience - is visiting friends at home. I am used to 3-5 course meals etc. and here in Slovenia I've never seen anyone doing it, everyone who invited me for dinner just served chips/carrots/popcorn/biscuits but never cooked food. I also feel that my house is 'empty' and people don't visit each other very often here. If they meet, they just go out for a coffee and sit in a cafe for 3-4 hours drinking one cup.
Ha ha... sem se nasmejala ob tem videu... sem Slovenka in prav nič od teh tvojih "slovenskih" navad mi ni znanih. Prav zanimivo se mi zdi, kako različni ljudje privlačimo v svoje življenje različne ljudi... Lahko prideta enkrat z možem k nama na obisk, da se spoznamo. Prav zanimiva oseba si. Kontakti so pa na internetu :-) PS... no copate pa uporabljamo hi hi
if you could just find the time to do an intensive course, your progress would be amazing. By intensive course I mean, not online but there in person in a group
The "comeingover thing" used to be same as you described in america..like in 1980s... And still is like that in litlle villages.. in towns that vanished in 1990s... And the "own country visiting" Bohinj is expensive and people rather visit other countrys (croatia mostly for vacation) because they are cheaper thats it...
My dad is Slovenian so I go to Slovenian school we are going on a school trip to Slovenia this coming year and visit my family but also go with the school and travel. the food MMMMM it is SOO good
are you kidding me?? Balkan cities and people are the most hospitable people everrrrrrrr 😐😑😧 We are not fake. We drink coffee for hours and talk and talk. Its not formal its a nice gesture and ETIQUETTE to bring a "gift" even in Holland and China people come not empty handed....Do not understand Americans...
Ne verjamem, da si imela probleme pri komunikaciji z ljudmi. Večina ljudi v Sloveniji govori angleško in če slišijo, da ne znaš slovensko, takoj začnejo govoriti angleško, torej ravno nasprotno kot praviš, da vztrajajo, da moraš govoriti slovensko. Samo poglej spodnje komentarje, vsi so v angleščini razen mojih.
Sredi viška turistične sezone poleti v Ljubljani sem videla prodajalko v mercatorju v centru mesta (Stritarjeva) govoriti izkljucno v slovenscini z azijskimi turisti. Hotela sta vzigalice in sele po dveh minutah pantomime je prodajalka dojela, kaj potrebujeta. Mislim, da nekateri vseeno niso pripravljeni na interakcijo s tujcem v tujem jeziku.
As much as us Slovenians like to complain about our country.. We have to admit we have a little piece of paradise going on here and we should be proud of that ♥
We, in the eastern parts of Slovenia would bring gifts (a bottle of wine or some coffee) only the first time we visit someone...not every time. But you must understand that you are a "curiosity" (a Cali girl in Slovenia) around here, so people might try hard to impress you and be extra-polite or formal.
The dinner/lunch habits really depend on the people.. I know people/families who have friends and relatives in their home all the time and it's really casual to them, but then there's families like mine where we would clean everything like crazy before anyone would come over for lunch or dinner and it would be a really big deal and you had to make sure everybody had their slippers hahah (and yes the guests would stay for at least 4 hours, discussing everything from politics to the second world war, the neighbours, the weather, work, the prices of bread.. 😂)
yeah, she said that Slovenes are closed lol. My family always makes stuf to eat for anyone that comes to the house, lotta times they stay for dinner. that strongly depends on people
I dont like visiting my relatives, becasuse they always talk about others: who died, who is sick, who had done something... It is really boring. and they will ALWAYS ask how your school is going.
Well, think about how much light you can bring to them if you'd have the purpose to go meeting them next time just to make their feeling better and better
Gifts for visiting is usually not something expensive... Like a bag of coffee or homemade moonshine or something. On the other hand what i find strange was (in Canada) when you are invited to a BBQ and everyone brings their own drinks and food. Here if you are invited only thing you have to bring is pants big enough (and what was mentioned earlier) because host will overload you with food. Ofc it is expected to return the favour by hosting yourself at one point.
It really depends on the bbq, you don't always have to bring your own drinks. But don't forget that alcohol is insanely expensive in Canada, that would explain it haha!
to s kavo in manjšimi darili ste od nas ekonomskih emigrantov iz Bosne pobral,ko smo množično drli v Slovenijo obljubljeno deželo tam nekje po pedesetih ....reče se milošta.pa tudi sezuvanje ,edino copate ste dodal.Mi je prav zanimivo
Your point #3 made me think you had no close friends. #4 explained you did have them, but for some reason you think they're somehow "more American". The visit habits are for people you're friendly with, but not _friends_ with. Actual close friends usually just hang out - although we love to eat and drink, so some of that could be involved. The main difference is Slovenians usually don't feel the need to fake being your best buddy even though you're just acquaintances. We may seem cold, but if we actually befriend you, you're basically family for life.
Darila si nosijo ponavadi samo tisti, ki si niso tako zelo blizu. Prijatelji se obiščemo kadarkoli, za kolikor koli časa. ničesar ne nosimo eden drugemu, ničesar ne pripravljamo za pogostitev, razen če ponudimo kaj, kar smo slulajno jedli. To, da bi bilo treba pogostiti zekoga z domači something, to je bila nekoč res navada pri bolj kmečkih družinah, mogoče še redko kdo to dela. Res mi je zanimivo koliko starih navad opisuješ v videih (tudi tisto s poroko, wtf? xD tega več nikjer ni, mogoče pri kakšnih kmečkih družinah) mislim, da tebe ljudje pogostijo na tak način, ker si iz amerike in vsi želijo pokazati kaj domačega, slovenskega.
@@lukabenedicic1954 sej to so bolj družinska srečanja, to se razume :D se pač prilahodiš starejšim. Med prijatelji pa takega pritiska v smislu kaj se spodobi več ni (ne poznam nikogar :D) ok, razen če prirediš kako zabavo.
Neumnost, Melanija govori perfektno angleško, ima pa seveda zelo močan slovenski naglas. Ampak njen naglas je tipično slovenski. Torej s takim naglasom govori večina Slovencev, tudi tistih, ki imajo zelo širok nabor angleških besed.
Loooool, glede na zgradbo naših glasilk in organov, ki proizvajajo glasove, smo Slovenci ekstremno prilagodljivi vsem jezikom. Njenega naglasa že davno ne bi smelo biti, o njeni angleščini pa sploh ne bomo govorili...
It's interesting what you said about visiting friends being really formal in Slovenia, because from what I've noticed visiting my boyfriend"s friends & family it seems rather casual, like meeting for a quick coffee is totally normal, even at their house.
depends on a person, specifically "older" generations (30+ years old). My mom always brings someone a gift when she comes to a visit, and she always tries to convince me to do the same but I never feel the need to and neither do my friends.
I'm a Slovenian and I've officially stopped visiting and inviting people for the very reason that you brought up, Maria. You can hang out here only as a child or a teenager, once you hit adulthood you can forget it. I only hang out with foreigners here and visit Slovenians for birthdays. I tried to talk about this with my friends, and the answer is always the same: we don't have the time to hang out or do anything because of the kids. There you go! A modern parent's life ends when they get kids.
I have to say that the culture of bringing gift's for every time you visit a friend and eating so much food is mostly for people living outside the city's. For ''country'' people. Because when I go to visit a friend, it's not that formal. We just hang out.
The gifts are usually some food that you make and then eat together. And yeah if you go to visit someone they will make sure you are not hungry and thirsty. This kind of visits usually aren't very offten so people rather sit at the table and talk and eat for few hours because they know that they will not see eachother for a month maybe. If you would go to your friend with kids every week they would probably stop treating you with a lot of food and just give you some cookies an tea while your kids play
@@nikafajs7910 You're right. But it's still a hassle to have to stop at the store to buy something before visiting a friend. My best local friend lives 5 mins away walking and it's so weird for me to have to stop at Spar first so I have something to bring.
@@nephilae8722 I know right. I mean I know it's a friendly gesture and I don't mind it if we wouldn't see each other for a while but each visit that is like few months appart? Why again? I just never understood that
07:00 That's old and rural people 09:00 IDK, I guess we have opposite experiences, I think it depends on the social caste you live and hangout with. While your videos are definitely insightful, it needs to be said that there's no singular Slovenian culture, we have different norms depending on where/who
To kar ti praviš bi jaz bolj pripisal menjanju družbe kot pa kulture... mlajša družba počnemo stvari precej podobno kot si opisala za ameriko. What you are exepriencing is changing a type of company... Younger folks still do all the things u described about america.
Really awesome video!! :D Lepo je slišati, da ti (vam) je tukaj čudovito! Bohinj, Soča, Postonjska jama in veliko slapov in gradov...happy adventures! :)
about visiting and knocking on friends home...i moved to LJ 11 years ago and its just in LJ this formality that you need to call before you came and everything need to be perfect. outside you just came to neighbor or friend, drink coffee or something and move on
Yea It's for being polite but also so that you let them know that you are coming and that they have time since it would be unfortunate to come to see somebody and they would be busy or not home. And I do agree that that formality is mostly in Ljubljana since here on the country side it's much more casual. As of gifts I don't know about Ljubljana but here in Styria it's common that we bring something casual. Like pack of coffe or some sweets. Sometimes even wine (preferably homemade) 😂
Hope my reply in English isn't a bother, but I would like to comment on the video. There are people here that have been in the country decades and don't know Slovene, like my grandparents on my fathers' side of the family, so the fact that you try and learn is impressive. You shouldn't feel bad about not understanding all the dialects, I'm from Bled originally and I could understand only about 75% of what my stepfather from Konjska dolina, near Bohinj, was saying. As for the natural beauty of Slovenia, if you look out the window and see natures beauty every day, you become desensitized to it, and it becomes like "oh look the trees are still there.". And what you said about the home visits, so true, that's why I don't socialize much, it's exhausting. It's nice to see people with a positive outlook and some energy, willing to make a life here. Zanimiv posnetek, zelo zabaven, hvala :)
@@Polarcupcheck Eh, it really depends on the situation. The gift thing you we don't really see, though the slippers and providing refreshments, even a light meal, is fairly common. It's not nearly as formal, though that could be just how we perceive it to be. Slovene culture is a bit more introverted, so someone coming over is like a small event. If I was a bit less slovenly, I'd probably be a better host.
Mariah hvala za video! Če lahko prispevam moje skromno mnenje glede znanja slovenščine oz., v bistvu, kateregakoli jezika: Razlika med tujci, ki govorijo odlično slovensko in onimi, ki govorijo samo "dobro" je v tem, da prvi predvsem veliko več berejo. Časopise, revije, knjige, v slovenskem jeziku. Enako velja obratno, za slovence in tuje jezike. Pa veliko sreče želim!
This is like listening to my American hubby and his love for Bohinj, and his love (and sometimes frustration) with slovenian folklore, the language, slippers and the rest. You're hilarious. :)
I’m French living in Slovenia, and I don’t know where you live but for the 3 years I’ve been running my business in Ljubljana, people are pretty open and you can pop up in most people’s places without gifts or an obligation of a formal dinner. I guess it depends on your entourage
Hello Golden Nugget! Hope you’re doing great. This is Prudvi from India. I’ll be moving to Slovenia in a month or two. I have a couple of business ideas as well. Would you be interested for a discussion?
I agree with those who said that ppl are trying to impress you and be extra polite because you're American. Gifts yes, but only when you are visiting someone for the first time. Later on, no... Also, these "formal" visits are more something that older generations do, not people your age. True about our meetups being longer though. Personally, I dont see the point in meeting someone for just half an hour. That's just not enough time for a real conversation!
Don't worry about our dialects ... even native Slovene like me don't understand some dialects. For visits, gifts are not necessary... a bag of coffee or some biscuits/cookies is fine for me xD
Don't worry about the dialects xD I once brought my ex-boyfriend with me while visiting my grandparents (remote village, very strong dialect :D) and he was so lost and couldn't understand half of the stuff they were saying xD And we're both Slovene so I can only imagine how hard it must be for you!
Visiting friends and friends visiting is as casual as you describe it is in the States for my family and family friends (I'm not from Ljubljana). I don't know what you mean by bringing gifts - from my experience that's only for people whom you don't know very well or are trying to be extra polite and even then it's like a packet of coffee or a chocolate bar. I'm also surprised that you encounter that in Ljubljana, since it's supposed to be the most "modern" and "up do date" city.
Admittedly, it's a fairly difficult language. If we didn't have Standard Slovene, we probably wouldn't understand each other! There are 48 dialects after all.
In Spain I think there's an strange mix between the American amd the Slovene way, because we don't prepare and expect anything (maybe we have something, Cookies, fruit, some chocolate, a sandwich at 5 or so that we call "merienda") but we WILL stay for a lot of hours, sometimes even the dinner's time is postponed just to keep on talking until we finally leave, and after we have dinner (here is not really common to stay for dinner)
Well in Slovenia is more deppends on where you are "country " people do not see relatives from other parts of country so often or friend that live far away for a long time sometimes but in City you have normal "American" way of life.We are closed people like Scandinavians,Germans,etc.. not so open to people we do not know.Americans can think they understand everything so there is just that part of ego behind here saying that or not understanding the full picture.And we do not bring presents (at least not expensive ones)more often then not something home made(alcohol,fruit,vegetables) but the host is always expected to give something (at least a drink) some food you know to welcome somebody to the house but then again people usualy are expected to tell the people they are coming over so they know.It is cultural thing goes back longer then America exist.
Hi Mariah, I am laughing so much about your experiences because they seems to be what I have been experiencing since I moved here. I´m Dominican and one of the things shocked me is that one when my wife before we go to her parents house or sister house to pass by she first call and ask them if it is ok for us go pass by. I understand it might be a matter of not interrupting if they might be busy or just make sure they are home, but in my culture we never call when visiting my family we just get there and that´s it. Something elce, in my culture if you have been away for a while ( ex: a month ) and then you come back my friends and relatives will just happily jump to hug me, greet me, ask me how was it and bla bla bla. Here after me been away for a while and we go to visit her family I am expecting same reaction like we dominicans do and no!!!!!! we get there and they are all seated and just say žjvio Smith, and that's it!!!! I can not change the culture ha ha ha ha
For that friends thing is that you havent lived here since chiledhood, so you dont have close friends that you did crazy shit with when you were young.
Depends what kind of friends you have. Or better put it like this: "friends". Because it can be those "formal" friends you don't spend everyday with just once in a blue moon you stop by to see them and they might expect a gift or smth in that case.
Just stumbled upon this video and it was worth watching :). I totally understand your "issue" with cultural expectations of Slovenes, i guess cause i am one of those exceptions you mentioned :) i pop-in, say hi, drink a glass of water and im out. You can imagine how many people "like" me visiting :D :D :D . Well with time i guess they accept me as i am since i always point out that im grateful for their offerings and am ok with "just" a glass of water, and i turn this into a joke how "cheap" my visits are for the "hosts" :D And yes, Slovenia is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l and a lot of people dont know or dont perceive it like that. Its a shame. There is big chance you will find more foreigners than Slovenes in some places during the season :) Anyways, be yourself and the ones who "deserve" you will appreciate it. Oh and btw i dont bring anything when i visit. Its just Me, Myself & I. Best "gift" EVER :D
It totaly depends on the people. I see this gift giving (usually just chocolate and coffee) is for family related and staying long hours as well (which i also don't enjoy). Or when you are visiting for the first time that you bring a gift. But other than that i totally agree with you. Great video 😊
I am an American living in Ukraine with my wife and a lot of the cultural things you are talking about are spot on exactly the same as here. I think that Eastern Europe as a whole is like that.
Well my mother’s family emigrated from Slovenia to the US, and so I was raised with their standards which are indeed more formal. I think Americans are incredibly casual. I appreciate some reserve. Americans are soooo extroverted (or pretending to be) and I think it’s tiresome. Manners are good.
I totally agree...There are a lot of similarities between the American social culture and England. I have yet to have an informal visit to a friends place here or an unexpected drop-in from a friend. Everything needs planning and soooo much time! I've known Slovenian friends here for over 10 yrs, that come from all parts of Slovenia not just Ljubljana, and yet when we meet up it's still a formal handshake, sometimes not even that. I miss the hug, kiss on the cheek, that show of affection for another, that would come naturally back in London. I've slowly come to accept that these cultural differences will not change and that I just need to accept them. P.S. I know I've said it before, but your hair is looking really good lately...especially straight and tucked behind the ear...classic style never goes out of fashion! x
The hug or a kiss on the cheek is quite common between girl friends or between guys and girls, but you won't see this behaviour between guy friends. As a girl I don't know for 100% what's up with that, but I believe guys see this kind of greetings as "girly" or (I'm sorry to say that) "gay".. We have very manly guys here :/ and of course there is a "no cry" rule for them, because society unfortunately still sees crying as a sign of weakness.
Hvala da si govorila o nas.Ampak mi ko znamo slovensko ni nam teško. When I was little I watched so much RU-vid videos. Thats how I learned alot of english. And still I know the language English and Slovenian. Love z 💓😊🇸🇮
It is obvious, you don't understand the context of the culture eventhough you live there for 7 years + I think you might have weird friends. I don't have friends like that in Slovenia. People visit each each other whenever they want don't need to bring gifts. It is a tradition you bring something when visiting 1ste time. Seems like your husband is a bit to worried what to buy etc. and you picked that up and generalised it. I travelled extensively around US and in some cases being told to bring drink to someone's birthday when I was invited was mind boggling. I agree California is different, again it depends where. I have nowhere in the world seen so self-centered and narcisistic people as in LA.
I agree food is so much cheaper and every time I walk through the open markets I can’t believe how great it looks .. and they give you nice portions not crazy over full plates of food Have spent 8 weeks just driving around Slovenia and still amazed every new thing I found .. and correct I mentioned a few places I’ve been and some of the other friends there are wow really I didn’t know that .. I offered to give them tour some day !! Lol
There are people from southern countries (former Yugoslavia -with similar language) living in Slovenia over 50 years and still with a thick accent. Coming as an adult you may never speak perfectly. And those dialects from some villages...sometimes even I can hardly understand what they're saying. Especially if they talk fast. What you described was more like a party. Birthday or christmas. Or first time visiting someone who's not exactly close friend. Friends come and go (without bringing gifts) for a short visit all the time. Maybe have a drink. It is probably polite to call first. Not just to drop in.
Alek Samson i’m from Idrija and our dialect is really hard to understand for most Slovenian people 😀 and then thers Prlekiščina which is a language of its own haha. We have around 50 different dialects in slovenia
I think you and your husband are amazing :) I have deep respect for both of you, and you shouldn't feel bad, Slovene is not an easy language to grasp. I felt similarly when I went to Finland when I dated my ex girlfriend who is Finnish. Any foreign language sounds like noise most of the time. :) Also, I hate to sound tacky, but I like the sound of your English. :)
Hm... weird, we never bring gifts unless it's some special event. I really don't see it as formal at all, quality hanging out time is what I call it, half hour visit I'm too lazy to put on pants for that! Good friends that live close by are very casual, no dinners or obligations etc. Anyway, it's interesting to see how foreigners that moved here see our country :D Hahaha, what kind of formal gatherings are you attending that šnopc is some ritualistic drink xD Btw those casual "come and go as you please" friendships are formed before you enter college and even then people don't live close enough in adulthood to take advantage of it. I wish we were more friendly in this sense but it's so draining if it's someone who isn't a good friend.
I agree. I'm not a Slovene but I do live somewhere in Europe and I think the way Americans interact with each other is kinda fake-ish if that makes sense. Personally I think the ideal is somewhere in the middle, not overly formal, not overly casual.
The "visiting and gifting culture" id really huge one! Ass a child i would to my request to go to visit sbdy when passing by always get answer: we've got nithing to bring!😨😣 But you know what we(my housband and I)ö do: we are just being rude and we pop in and we stay for the dinner or we leaveï quickly...and people end up liking it!!! And so far we are always wellcome everyvere... with our for kids! So dont give up!! The other thing is: many traditionaly slovenians love baking, cooking, making salamies soooo much that they just need audience. So they are actualy happy if you come and let them host you!!! Honestly!!! In prekmurje they would even give you a big gift of goodies when leaving to thank you for the visit. 😀😀😀oh.. and ofcourse you are all always wellcome to come by any time when we are at home!!! Your presence is the bigest gift you bring!!!
Explaining the meeting of new people, I was thinking, what are you talking about, but then you started explaining more and more.. yeah, I never realised how non casual everything is...
I don't know what kind of people you met but with my family and friends, we do pop up for a casual meeting like you said for America.. We do meet for coffee for an hour.. I do go to my friends house when I'm there for a quick stop on my way somewhere just to say hello.. You just haven't made the right people yet I guess 🤷🏻♀️ And there is neighbours and friends who casually stop at our house when they see cars on the driveway 😂
I don't know you, however you sound frustrated over the fact, that you have to live in SLO. Or maybe just tired? Not judging, just wondering... I suggest you to switch to new kind of friends, who aren't that uptight about visitations. I would also find it very frustrating if I had to encounter that kind of friendly gathering... Formal, uptight, unpleasant. Don't worry about language, just Vežbaj. Many Slovenians live here since day of birth and can't speak Slovenian :)
People from eastern and western part of Slovenia that were under Italian/Hungarian rule for centuries are definetely more open than people from central or nothern part (mosty under Austrian rule).
as a fellow slovenian trust me even we don't aleays understand eachother... you live in ljubljana which has the easiest dialect to learn... say hello to your husband from a fellow Dolenc hahahaha xD
Well, honestly, us Slovenians weren't such closed and reserved ppl 10 or more years ago. Back then you could just walk on the street, greet or talk to random ppl and 80% of them would happily greet you back or start a small talk with you. Nowadays 80% of them just give you the "WTF is wrong with this guy" look or don't react to you at all. Idk wtf happened to us but i hate it so much. :( Also visiting friends is not always formal. It's usually formal just when you visit a family or a friend that you rarely visit. Otherwise it's just casual like in USA. :) Glad you love it here. :)
@@dominikklanjsek3589 Zakaj pa ne? Mislm de je vecina folka, ki gleda ta channel, Americanov oz. anglesko govorecih. Kaj zdej mi bo kle en lolek kokr si ti ukazoval v kakmu jeziku nej govorim? Lol Dej rajsi se mal postimi u glavi. ;)
Mariah about the warmth and friendliness it depends which city you're from...I'm from Maribor and we're very friendly (and loud 😂) kinda like the Irish...
Well i dont agree totaly. The reason you are served the "formal" way when visiting someone is because you are from a foreign Country (especialy America), youre hot and you seem very intersting. And everyone wants to be a good host. 3 hours visit? No way, by that time we would be dead drunk already. Nobody goes on a visit for 3 hours except you dont want to see the other guy ever again. Most Slovenians go to a visit, stay there for max. 1 hous, drink a few spritzer or beer and then everyone either thinks "i have to get outa here" or "i hope he gets the *uck home soon". Thats the truth :D
Your perception about slovenian culture is spot on. If you don't stuff your visitors with food until they are sick, you're a bad host. And if you stay less than 4 hours you are a rude guest as in "why did you even come if you want to leave so soon?". I hate this so much, but like you said, you can't change the culture.
I'm always interested when America describe my country. 1st no worries: 7 years is nothing to master 50 Slovenian dilalects or at least 7 major one, that can sound total unrelated. Most Slovenes does not understand each others if one really use hardcore rural language. All that said, I was once talking with student-friend, from which part of Slovenia she came to study, since we were in 1st class. She told me she is from ICELAND! Ok?!? When do you moved there? A asked convinced that parents moveed there bus she still wanted to study at home. Nope. She was native Icelander and was in Slovenia only for 9 months prior we talked and before she was in China. She travel with parents (I had this right), and they are 4 years in each country and she learn to speak natively in 3-4 months. OMG, respect. I know how Slovenian is hard for "spoiled" English speaker, since it is one of the most archaic language on the world. Few examples: English does have 3x the number of words in vocabulary and a lot of words Slovenian language (especial for technical stuff), but for everyday living it is super exact. I was working on TV station and it was nightmare to make English. Italian and French voice over for documentaries originally shot in Slovenian language since no way all the text fitted in those languages. English is very simple (if one wants) but inefficient (need a lot of words to describe something: "The Princes of the Peoples Heart" = "Ljudska Princesa"). It is interesting Slovenian language have common roots with Basqe and Sanskrit language. It is said to be the only language left that counting have rhyme. Also original Slovenian names for months only have 10 names. We know that 2 month was added later. All Slavic languages have added 2 more names to fit 12 month callendar, but Slovenian language just splitt two names to make four by adding "small" and "big" before the previous name. That points out those names were older than roman names and callendar was older than roman calendar. Also Slovenain language have NO genuine curse words. Most of them which are used are sound-like translation of foreign curse words. Like Serbian "pizda" (cunt) = "pišuka" (which in polite form means the same; organ which pee). Than Serbian "Jebem ti sveca" (I f**k your saint) = "jebela cesta" (which directly translated means "it is white road", so it nonsense). So keep the faith. Many Serbian and Bosnian people live here for 40+ years and they still does not know Slovenian. But this is the other reason. They do not want, or need since we all learned Serbo-Craotian in shool when all republic were forming Yugoslavia, bot those southern did not learn Slovenian. The fact they wanted to mix up new Yugoslavian race, speaking only one language. I can feel you brain struggle. I was in Straya (Australia) for some time and there anything knowing about English fail. Brain really overheated fast there if I tryed to translate in my head in real time.:) I hat to star thinking in Strayan and in just few months I started to fail finding words in Slovenian after I return. **** Something about Slovenian: - You mentioned neverending eating. This is known for Carniola - the middle part of country (Gorenjska, Dolenjska, Notranjska, Suha Krajina in Bela krajina). It is much rare to see it in Stayer part. Especially sounthern Carniola (Dolenjska) was poor and having food is BIG for them. So there are those feast came from. It is like that since WW2. Not all region are like that. Other region will give much more frugal offering and those lower part of country always had upper one for stingy on offering. - Yes gifts are also known to be expected mostly on lower part of country. You can't go "empty handed" to someone. But than again, it is not like this everywhere. It depends where you live. Slovenian are really two (or three) major type of people. Some are just like you described for American, other are wery buttoned up. I would say we ere very prudent. So meny nations ran over us, so we are open, but to certain extent. After that you need visa to make friendship. But after you are granted to be someone's friend, it is deep. Also I must say grief how our nation generally deteriorated in just 25 years after gained independency. Greed and selfishness rulled over all common sense our ancestor had. Most of your description would be incorrect 30 years ago. We did not lock doors, we crash at neighbour houses, we had meals, feast together, helped at common work together. 95% of people have (had) his own brick and mortar house - mostly build by them selves with help of friends. Now we had to plan drink-out for year in advance and still at the last monent SMS message will cancel it, even if we live in same village. People are so much self oriented latelly. They rather joke over FB, than meet. The relations become so shallow. One sentence jokes, some chit-chat and that is it. People met atr the funeral and the most heard cliche is "oh, we only meet on funerals latelly, we really have to meet more often" and than until next funeral of common relative, nothing. It is really not expected to be joyfull if most people earn around 700 EUR per month. So this come and leave we really feel rude. After all time, only five minutes? Also We have saying that if you just "turn on your heels" you'll take the sleep with you. You need to sit and drink at least something. It is endeed in our culture that we need to give something. We feel accepted if you take it (let it be only drink). Men will force you drink wine, women to eat cakes. They tell "domača" (domestic), to enforce you. You will not have guts to turn down him/her since that wine/cake is same is they. Thankfully most wine in Slovenia is drinkable latelly. 30 years ago, I preyed to god that wine would be passable. :) Slovenia is small by square kilometers (New Jersey at best), but if you want to explore it full, one life is too short. Keep good life and all the best in Slovenia. If nothing else, your left eye is something to fall in love with. So I understand Luke why he could not look away. :)
#1 I'm only just now realizing how uncommon it is to hear someone speak 'proper Slovenian' in casual conversation, it'd be strange, so I guess it's a pai nfor a foreigner when the language in theory can be very different from the language in practice :D #3 Yeah I've often read that American culture is in general way more extroverted than European. Europeans are in the broadest sense of two types: cool climate (more reserved, formal, like Germany or England) and warm climate (more outgoing, casual, like Greece or Italy). In Slovenia you have both, I'm from Ljubljana and when I visit relatives by the seaside and people just drop in unannounced it's a bit jarring :D
