spoonfeeding
Introduction
originally from San Francisco, CA. Went from Berkeley to Utrecht, then Ljubljana, and, as of this January, Sarajevo. I imagine I'll eventually circle back to California, at this rate...
I joined expat.com on 03 October 2011.
Pictures by spoonfeeding
Expat experience
Studying Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and interning, starting this Winter
how absolutely gorgeous it is and how much it reminds me of my hometown (SF) in a lot of odd ways
getting in/out/around. Sarajevo's great for walking, but it's a huge pain to travel anywhere outside the city
Spent a glorious summer in Josefstadt
Walking everywhere on hot nights. The feel of a small city (like my beloved SF), where you run into people you know everywhere - also the feel of a cosmopolitan city, where you run into people from all around the world. Feeling safe. Outdoor music and film festivals at night. Sunset picnics in vineyards high above the city. Everything being open late.
The winter. ;)
Attending grad school at University of Ljubljana
THE FOOD. And the people, so far, who have been so warm and familiar in their habits, compared to the last place I lived. I like the general attitude toward time and organization I've observed, which may or may not be particularly representative (a few months, off and on, doesn't tell you all that much...)
Not sure this qualifies (since it says more about me than the place), but the language. I didn't even realize how much Dutch (and even German!) I knew, until I was in Slovenia. I've found myself reading pages in Dutch or Spanish, when they don't have english translations (and my Spanish is pretty pathetic).
Research Master's programme
um... nice, flat surfaces for biking. Good place to practice driving in the EU. Oh, and Apenheul!
enough to move as soon as possible. Food that lacked discernible flavor would be high on the list. As would the odd disconnect in manners between the way I was brought up (think Irish) and what seems like Dutch norms. Slovenia felt much more like "home," almost immediately.
I lived in SF, off and on, from when I was 14, and consider it my hometown.
THE FOOD. Ease of travel. Regional variation in [often astonishingly pretty] landscapes, as well as cultural norms.
It's hard to single out anything I really dislike about the SF Bay Area (except that it's too cold to swim in the ocean). For the states, generally: obviously feeling cut off from the rest of the world.
pretty much everything, except the lack of dairy (hard on a vegetarian)
precious little. lack of easy access to books and an easy way to connect with people back home, I guess. (Oh, and bird-eating spiders.)
fun to run aorund and play
heat
