Seemed appropriate (posted on a Friday) and it is one that I feel confident enough to pronounce, yah for Friday!
A Friday fishing expedition
While I can now recognise most of the days of the week when I see them written down – (this is no mean feat, see below) Friday and Saturday are the two that I am the most confident with. Petak, (pronounced pay-tak) and Subota two great week days!
Have a look at the rest of the week here and you will see what I mean about Petak and Subota being the easiest to deal with; Ponedjeljak, Utorak, Srijeda, cetvrtak, Petak, Subota & Nedjela (aka Monday – Sunday).
There are so many new words and new ways to pronounce the letters that I have grown up speaking and mumbling for all these years. I feel like I have been making some progress but think my major stumbling block is lack of confidence in my pronunciation skills. I know this is a big mistake on my part and that people here will not mind my fumbling with their language so I must persevere/try harder!!
Now that our business is closed for the season I can no longer use the ‘I’m too busy’ excuse. It has been true, Doka and I have worked really hard since arriving back in Korcula in March. Now we are enjoying some lazy starts to the days and visit our shop to use the internet and Doka is still creating beautiful filigree jewellery.
My new language comes with it’s own new alphabet and a new way of pronouncing most things, and I have no idea what to do with the grammar – the grammar aspect can wait for a later date/month/year.
I am finding it quite touching how some of our friends here are impressed with my minimal language skills – really I only have a few greetings, some random words (kisha = rain, zima = cold etc), and some numbers, that I am confident with.
For the most part I feel pretty embarrassed about my lack of language skills. I have been living in Korcula for 7 months now and feel like I have made such a small amount of progress, it is just as well that everyone’s favourite word here is Polako – slowly! See My Struggle with the Croatian Language, part 1, for more on that.
Growing up in New Zealand I didn’t envisage spending so many years living in Europe or marrying someone from Croatia! We had the choice of learning either French or German when I was in high school and I ignored both of these choices. I hope that after a quiet winter here in Korcula I will be able to report in with some more positive updates on my language skills for you in the new year!
If you want to keep track of my progress sign up for updates on the top right of this page.
When we talked about opening a small store in Korcula, Doka and I talked about the range of products we might offer alongside of his beautiful traditional filigree jewellery.
We wanted to offer a range of product different to the other stores in town and products that highlighted a wide range of Croatian artisans skills. We also wished to add a selection of Fair Trade products from Nepal – the chance to continue supporting Nepali producers and community development in Nepal is important to both of us.
Today I am going to share a little history of the traditional wooden Croatian toys that we sell at Seba Dizajn;
Hrvatsko Zagorje in the northwest of Croatia is recognised as the home of Croatia’s wooden toy heritage. The distinctive style of wooden toy making and painting originated in this area in the 19th Century and is preserved today in a number of villages.
As with other traditional arts and crafts the toy makers craft was passed on from generation to generation, while the number of families that carry on the tradition today those that do are proud of their skills and produce a fantastic selection of colourful toys.
Interestingly the wooden toys are generally handmade by men, while the hand painting of the toys is mainly done by Croatian women.
Natural, child friendly paints are used in the toy production with red, yellow and blue being the dominant background colours, floral and geometric shapes make up the distinctive patterns on the toys.
Wooden horse - konjic
The current range of toys includes about 50 different items including flutes, various animals, trucks and dolls house furniture. The ready availability and popularity of cheap plastic toys and dolls has seen a
stagnation in the production of the traditional wooden toys.
We have been delighted to share the tradition, place some small orders and help share these toys with visitors to Korcula and Seba Dizajn, and further afield – we have just posted a horse and cart, truck and aeroplane to some customers in Canada!
Wooden truck - kamion
What was your favourite childhood toy? Or favourite toy of the moment? Would love to hear from you.
Having just read the newly released Lonely Planet’s Top 10 cities for 2012, I thought I would create my own list. Would love to hear your thoughts on both!
1. DUNEDIN, New Zealand – has to take the number 1 spot, it is my home town and a fabulous city.
Dunedin is amazing for so many reasons aside from the more personal ones, (dunedin is still home to most of my immediate family and some very dear friends), some reasons for your to visit Dunedin when you are in NZ include;
beautiful scenery
Dunedin city from HighgateHarwood, Otago Peninsula - my brothers view!
the stunning and diverse range of wildlife, home to the Yellow eyed penguin, the Royal Albatross, Sealions, and seals to name a few… have a look at this link http://www.elmwildlifetours.co.nz/ if you would like to know more. We also have the recently opened Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a must for bird lovers http://www.orokonui.org.nz/.
wow! i could write a whole post about Dunedin, it really is number 1 for me
2. KORCULA – my current home town, where I met my wonderful husband and so much more…..
Korcula - Stari Grad (Old Town)
again, there are so many reasons that I love Korcula, you can see some of my other blog posts for more about Korcula and have a look at www.korculaexplorer.com for more island information and recommended places to stay during your visit.
Korcula is also the home of our small business,Seba Dizajn, home of fabulous Traditional Filigree Jewellery and so much more….
3. QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand
Lake Wakatipu - looking towards Glenorchy
With scenery like this, and a cute niece like this (below), what’s not like to like about Queenstown? It is also NZ’s self claimed adventure capital and tourist meca, offering literally hundreds of entertainment options and more bars and restaurants than any other small ‘city’ I’ve visited to date.
Like Aunt like niece...do u see the resemblance?
4. VICTORIA/VANCOUVER, Canada – a draw for 4th place
12 years ago I started my current travellers journey in Vancouver and headed on to Victoria on nearby Vancouver Island, both cities rank highly for me as I have GREAT friends living in the two places, therefore they are always fun places to visit.
Both cities also offer a fantastic selection of places to eat, easy to use public transport, & proximity to mountains and sea that are hard to beat. Try The Reef, http://thereefrestaurant.com/ for some extra tasty treats & cocktails and fabulous customer service. Yummy!
5. KATHMANDU, Nepal – oh so many reasons to love this vibrant city.
the PEOPLE of Nepal are fabulous, friendly, resourceful – once again I am reminded how blessed I am to have met such fantastic people in my travels;
An oldie but a goodie; Ram, Chiya, Susmiti, Sushmita and John Kathmandu - November 2007
the FOOD, Kathmandu has some of the tastiest places to eat you can imagine
the CULTURE, Nepal’s predominant mix of Hinduism &Buddhism create a colourful and vibrant cultural mix, and a calendar doted with frequent celebrations and holidays!
At a friends blessing ceremony, November 2010
Kathmandu and the Kathmandu are also home to our wonderful FAIR TRADE supplies, you can find out more about them in my ‘Who is Sewing Your Sequins?’ post.
And I have to make a quick mention of Verena, the wonderful bar keeper and owner at SAM’s BAR – always a friendly welcome, and a friend indeed during my many solo visits to Kathmandu, thanks Verena!
Fergus, Ruth & Verena @ Sam's Bar April 2007
6. GRANTOWN ON SPEY, Scotland – a little bit of a push on the ‘city’ category here but I make the rules!
Really the same rules as above apply to Grantown, friends and scenery make a ‘city’ special for me – ‘no comment’ on the Grantown food options! Although the Royal Chippy and a pint of Belhaven Best at The Claymore must rank somewhere in my most memorable ‘meals’ of Scotland.
Belhaven Best, chips, mayo, curry sauce & a wee blue WKD @ The ClaymoreCheers!
Boys will be Boys!
and of course there is the Scottish WEATHER as a draw card to Grantown???
Grantown winter 2009 – my hoose
7. BERLIN, Germany – family, food, culture, galleries, shopping…. a great mix of good things!
Birthday BBQ July 2010
the public transport, easy to negotiate, cheap and full of beautiful people!
A Colgate moment, Berlin undergroundU know who you are, more underground beauties!
Berlin also has fabulous NIGHTLIFE, especially if you have a FABULOUS GUIDE!
Berlin is also home to some amazing artistic talent, including that of Helen Bogun of http://helz-design.com/, look at this FABULOUS tree she did for our Christmas website….
8. PRAGUE/MLADA BOLESLAV, Czech Republic – another draw; Chocolate, architecture, FAMILY, and Skodas!
PragueThis one's for you Roy, I visited the Skoda factory purely because my brother Roy likes Skodas! Was interesting and there were a lot of classy skodas on show.
9. WELLINGTON, New Zealand – friends, food, scenery, seaside dwelling, the wind?
Wellington in New Zealand’s capital city and home to some VERY fine people, and it will always hold a dear spot in my heart, we hope to make it to Wellington next time we are in NZ as we sadly had to miss it last time round.
Homes on a Wellington hillside
Wellington is a vibrant buzz of a city, home to some amazing galleries, museums and artisans. Te Papa is of course the most well known museum and hosts some fabulous touring exhibits. The gallery I want to mention is located in Lower Hutt, just outside of Wellington, Expressions Gallery is a fabulous community that hosts a gallery, theatre, cafe and recreation centre all in one, http://www.expressions.org.nz/ IMPRESSIVE!
It looks like I need a new trip to Wellington to update my photos, something to look forward to for 2012.
10. ROME, Italy – the city of romance and rendezvous, fabulous food, wine, CHEESE, shopping and more.
I have recently written about Rome in my ‘5 Lost Years – where does time go?’ post, I met a dear friend in Rome 2 weeks ago and we had a blast walking the town and taking in the city sites and coffee! Rome holds a LOT of special memories for me, in 2010 we met my Mum and some friends there for a pre-wedding party, and in 2008 I was lucky enough to be there to meet more friends and my lovely now husband! Here are some of my favourite Rome photos;
A, D & H Nov 2008the angelic ShellieFour fabulous kiwis in Rome, January 2010Fab friends on a tram in Rome.
There it is, my TOP 10 ‘Cities’ – would love to hear you thoughts, what’s your TOP CITY and why? Where do you think I should visit next? Thanks again for joining us and remember you can sign for all the Seba Silver updates in the box at the top right of this page.
Family and friends make it for me everytime, of course great food gets a look in too!
Thanks to all of you, mentioned, photographed and not.
Today I am delighted to introduce Rev. Jamie L. Saloff as a guest blogger on our site. Jamie is an author, speaker, intuitive, from Edinboro, PA, USA. I hope you enjoy her post, remember you can leave your comments and feedback in the box below.
Since I was little I loved sequins, beads, crystals, and sparkly things. Luckily, my mother often had a lot of those kinds of things around. She not only made all her own clothes (and most of mine), but she had a home-based business of creating felt Christmas tree ornament dolls that included buyers such as Marshall Fields in Chicago and Frederick Nelson in Seattle. (See http://www.iaulandas.com) From the age of three I was “helping” by glueing mouse ears and other small parts.
I grew up, my mother retired. Although I played around with craft, writing was more my calling. Nevertheless, I never lost my desire for “sparkly” things and continued collecting special beads, gemstones, and crystals, which I would wear or give away.
I decided to go back to school. Not for writing this time, but for healing. I learned a lot in the two-year program. There was an unexpected side effect. It started with the teachings of Sig Longren, who taught about sacred space, which he created with a small bag he carried always, containing symbols of the four directions (wind, earth, fire, water).
I thought about this little bundle and wanted to create something like that, but thinking of my already stuffed purse, I decided to create it in the form of some jewelry that could be worn instead of carried.
The result was a gemstone donut with a flurry of fiber and dangles representing–now six–directions (heaven above, the earth’s molten core, fire, water, air, earth). I hung Tibetan tekkite as a center piece, a stone said to be meteorite fallen into Tibet. (One never knows when creating the piece if that is really true.) Entwined among the ribbon and fluffy threads are balls of lava (core of the earth), gemstones, and charms of fish and birds, bells and feathers, inspiring words, and other trinkets.
The amazing thing about these sacred space necklaces is that I have never sold them and never make them just for fun. Instead, a kind of inner knowing will come over me, compelling me, even nagging me, “create a piece for so-and-so,” and so I do. I usually end up making three or four a year.
I feel that when I honor this calling I am honoring the creative muse in my heart, in turn, honoring my mother who instilled that in me, and my father, who also worked with his hands. It honors the person who receives the special gift, and honors spirit with its bits of Mother Earth and Father Sky.
In addition, when I work in this mode, I find my life sparkles in other ways. The creative muses open my mind to finding previously unseen solutions for life problems and situations. I love how my mind becomes quiet and focused on the task at hand, how time seems to stand still,
and how from nothing but bits of earth and sky, water and fire, a gift of love emerges.
While Rava was in town (see my previous post – 5 lost years) I enjoyed playing tour guide and shopping in some of our many souvenir shops. I picked up a copy of Marco Polo’s Isle by Michael Donley for my Mum, I will read it then send it to her, perfect! I have been intending to write some blog posts about Korcula and this post is inspired by Mr Donley work. And the start of a new series on Korcula and island life;
Korcula
The prologue to Marco Polo’s Isle contains this poem by Tartalja;
Seaside Landscapes
Mala kuca kamena
Sa tri mala prozora:
Zeleni im kapci,
Krov sav od plamena,
A na krovu vrapaci.
A little house of stone
With little windows three:
Green their shutters,
The roof all aflame
And on it, some sparrows.
I have always enjoyed poetry and this short poem paints a vivid picture for me that could be Dubrovnik, Korcula, Lumbarda, Orebic or any of our nearby villages or hamlets. The green shutters and orange tiles are very much a part of our landscape here. As you approach Korcula by road you look down on a town tiled in orange and walking the streets green is the dominant shutter colour.
Dubrovnik
The shutters catch my attention and remind me of travels in Italy and Switzerland, even without hearing the locals speak I know I am in an area far from my homeland of New Zealand where you seldom see shuttered windows. The stone houses here also remind me that I am far away from home, whilst we too have a tradition of stone masonry and a heritage that includes stone buildings the dominant building stone is a different colour and the NZ building style tends to reflect the Scottish and English heritage of our latter settlers.
Green shutters and graffiti - Split
The first chapter of Marco Polo’s Isle highlights a NZ – Korcula cultural similarity and this may be one of the reasons that I feel so comfortable here on this isle thousands of miles from home. Mr Donley’s book opens in the seaside village of Lumbarda,
Lumbarda
and he starts with talking about the crystal clear Adriatic sea;
and goes on to talk about how everybody knows everybody, and everything that is going on in the village. Macandrew Bay where I grew up is a small suburb of Dunedin and as a child growing up there we too knew everybody in the street and many of those same residents are still living there as neighbours. For me this is a community that I will always belong to, while many of the families I grew up with have moved away there is still a lot of familiar faces and a strong sense of community. I get this same feeling here in Korcula, while the history and families here have a much longer connection to the land and region we are all from small communities and everybody knows everything!
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We wanted to offer a range of product different to the other stores in town and products that highlighted a wide range of Croatian artisans skills. We also wished to add a selection of Fair Trade products from Nepal – the chance to continue supporting Nepali producers and community development in Nepal is important to both of us.
The result was a gemstone donut with a flurry of fiber and dangles representing–now six–directions (heaven above, the earth’s molten core, fire, water, air, earth). I hung Tibetan tekkite as a center piece, a stone said to be meteorite fallen into Tibet. (One never knows when creating the piece if that is really true.) Entwined among the ribbon and fluffy threads are balls of lava (core of the earth), gemstones, and charms of fish and birds, bells and feathers, inspiring words, and other trinkets.
