It was cold here, felt like Boston maybe a month ago (April). On my way home from the grocery store, the cabby ripped me off a bit. I was feeling a little discouraged here, even lonely, especially since finding someone who spoke English was very rare. But, as usual, time was, and would, go by very quickly with all the work there was left to be done. I hired a translator for Monday morning through the hotel, but man this was an expensive translator! It was about $100/hour.
I had bad dreams all last night and this morning, I woke up trying to yell “Dad!” Maybe I was missing the ‘rents.
The next day I ventured to the mall and I was very pleasantly surprised. The mall was very well developed, it even had an ice rink in the middle surrounded by restaurants so while you eat your unhealthy meal you can watch people fall on ice all over the place. But, I found that I had some major permission issues here. I started surveying with my book open in one of the grocery stores and was caught immediately and told to stop. The manager was suppose to meet me but did not, and when I went to look for her she was already gone. I couldn’t get permission until Monday and this was cutting it too close. I was going to have to stealth, which makes me so stressed out. I also, surprisingly, got kicked out immediately in a pharmacy (twice), trying to get prices for vitamin C. So frustrating! After leaving the mall the first day, I realized that I had a price tag stuck to my shoe when I took it off. Figures! Like I don’t see enough of them.
On the way out of the mall, I noticed the hype for the first time. While everyone was closing down and locking up, all the TV’s in the mall turned on and started blaring music. It was the Eurovision contest, which I had never heard of! Eurovision is the American Idol of the European countries; they all represent their countries and sing their hearts out for the crown. Once I left the mall, I found one of the recommended restaurants and watched while I ate my dinner. It was very entertaining and I gained a fondness for a couple of the songs, especially the one that won “I’m in Love with a Fairytale.”
My friend Emily (over facebook) left me a message that said “achoo” meant thank you in Lithuanian. That was going to be easy to remember!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Life is Much Better With Permission
The next day I was exhausted. I got up in time to catch breakfast but then went back to bed until 1 – (which, I had lost an hour from when I was in Croatia which I swear, 1 and 2 hour losses are so much more difficult than 3+!) Once I was able to peel myself out of bed, I walked to my realtor appointment and then to a grocery store. The first grocery store went really well. After starting to survey with the book open, I had a manager ask what I was doing, but then he left me alone when he couldn’t understand what I was saying in English. About an hour later, a couple young girls approached me (they spoke English) and I told them in English what I was doing. They said normally taking prices was prohibited, but they think that what I was doing would be OK. Phew. Survey life is so much better with permission! After this was cleared up and they understood my goal, one of the girls explained to me that she thought Lithuania was more expensive than most of Europe. Little does she know it’s completely the opposite. I find it interesting that almost everyone in their own country think it is more expensive there than it is in most of the rest of the world.
The first two realtor appointments were a bit disappointing. The first guy had a hard time understanding my questions, and the second guy was nice but gave me so much information that I felt maybe I kept him for too long. By the end, he left in a hurry and didn’t even take the gift I gave him, until I tracked him down and made him take it. The third appointment went well, which I really needed. It was with a guy who had learned how to speak English when he was living for some time in the Middle East and had an English roommate. He didn’t have much time to practice speaking English, so he was very happy to meet with us year after year and get some practice in.
The first two realtor appointments were a bit disappointing. The first guy had a hard time understanding my questions, and the second guy was nice but gave me so much information that I felt maybe I kept him for too long. By the end, he left in a hurry and didn’t even take the gift I gave him, until I tracked him down and made him take it. The third appointment went well, which I really needed. It was with a guy who had learned how to speak English when he was living for some time in the Middle East and had an English roommate. He didn’t have much time to practice speaking English, so he was very happy to meet with us year after year and get some practice in.
You Come From Far Away!
My flight from Croatia to Copenhagen was a business class flight and I was the only one in business class! It was a lot of fun to get treated so specially. Copenhagen airport is very high-end, high-class. They have so many great restaurants, specialty shops, and even very comfortable special-made chairs for napping open to the public! So of course, I took one.
My second flight was a little more rocky coming in for the landing. I really hate being on small planes. I met a really nice guy (sitting next to me on the plane) whose father picked him up at the airport and offered to drive me to the hotel. I took up his offer especially because there were no taxis to be found. I tried to offer him money but he wouldn’t take it. The younger guy even took me to the front desk and helped me get settled in. Then, he gave me his personal information just in case I wanted a tour or had some extra time before I left. Very unfortunately, I did not have the time. Driving into this “city”, I found myself amazed that they could even call this a city. It was so small. I was excited to check out this former Soviet country, which doesn’t even start to get dark until 9:30 PM! I kept having thoughts to the movie “Hostile” since it takes place in Eastern Europe, and this place is so quiet it comes across as being very creepy.
During check-in, the girl at the front desk said to me: “Wow, you come from far away!”, while looking at my passport. I guess you won’t find too many people from the USA here. The people at the front desk proved to be very helpful. I asked about if there was a gym there, which there wasn’t, but they said I could do “fitness in your room” which I was excited about , but then they provided me with an ancient machine that I could only stand using for about 2 minutes. It was just so uncomfortable.
Later, I ate alone for the first night. It felt very strange to be eating without Beth. The food is very unhealthy; very heavy.
My second flight was a little more rocky coming in for the landing. I really hate being on small planes. I met a really nice guy (sitting next to me on the plane) whose father picked him up at the airport and offered to drive me to the hotel. I took up his offer especially because there were no taxis to be found. I tried to offer him money but he wouldn’t take it. The younger guy even took me to the front desk and helped me get settled in. Then, he gave me his personal information just in case I wanted a tour or had some extra time before I left. Very unfortunately, I did not have the time. Driving into this “city”, I found myself amazed that they could even call this a city. It was so small. I was excited to check out this former Soviet country, which doesn’t even start to get dark until 9:30 PM! I kept having thoughts to the movie “Hostile” since it takes place in Eastern Europe, and this place is so quiet it comes across as being very creepy.
During check-in, the girl at the front desk said to me: “Wow, you come from far away!”, while looking at my passport. I guess you won’t find too many people from the USA here. The people at the front desk proved to be very helpful. I asked about if there was a gym there, which there wasn’t, but they said I could do “fitness in your room” which I was excited about , but then they provided me with an ancient machine that I could only stand using for about 2 minutes. It was just so uncomfortable.
Later, I ate alone for the first night. It felt very strange to be eating without Beth. The food is very unhealthy; very heavy.
Back to the Grind
We were so sad to leave the next day. Our taxi driver was a very creepy woman (apparently the only woman driver in the town) and was the wife of the weird taxi driver who had drove us there in the first place.
Once we got back, we finished up some last minute work and I was on a quest to find a backpack (which I had just thought of) after the fiasco that ensued in Israel and all the extra money I needed to pay because my bag was overweight. The only one I could find was a child’s cartoon backpack fit for a 5 year old but I picked it up anyways since this would be better than nothing. At the end of the night, Beth and I cleared up some last-minute things and then I said goodbye to her. I was sad to leave Beth, and I was alone again and off to Lithuania. This job is so bittersweet sometimes.
That night I only slept 3 hours and before I went to bed, I swore that my mind was playing tricks on me. I definitely left some important papers in Beth’s room which we never found again. I went downstairs and came up and the volume on the TV was down. Another time I went down and when I came back up the TV was off. So very strange.
Once we got back, we finished up some last minute work and I was on a quest to find a backpack (which I had just thought of) after the fiasco that ensued in Israel and all the extra money I needed to pay because my bag was overweight. The only one I could find was a child’s cartoon backpack fit for a 5 year old but I picked it up anyways since this would be better than nothing. At the end of the night, Beth and I cleared up some last-minute things and then I said goodbye to her. I was sad to leave Beth, and I was alone again and off to Lithuania. This job is so bittersweet sometimes.
That night I only slept 3 hours and before I went to bed, I swore that my mind was playing tricks on me. I definitely left some important papers in Beth’s room which we never found again. I went downstairs and came up and the volume on the TV was down. Another time I went down and when I came back up the TV was off. So very strange.
Swimming Sunning and History
We woke up at 10:40 am, just in time to rush over and get the buffet breakfast at 11. We then walked through the Old Town to get to the beach. The views from everywhere you look are just breathtaking. We somehow got away without paying for beach chairs, and then we soaked up the sun and went swimming. The water was chilly but swimmable, not nearly as cold as our New England waters. Also, the water was clear straight to the bottom, and had a stunning blue tint unlike any water you will even see in the Caribbean. My only complaint was that the beach was rocky, not sandy. We were so excited to be on a relaxing, 24 hour vacation! And then we talked about how amazing this job really is. Yes, it sure has its’ moments.
After sunning ourselves, we changed and after a yummy gelato we walked the city walls (which were high up above the town), and saw sights that took our breath away. We somehow found a hole-in-the-wall-place that we noticed while walking the city walls and wanted to check out that was over the ocean, (literally, we crawled through a hole in the wall to get here), and we had a couple glasses of wine. We reminisced about how in 2 weeks we have been to the holiest place in the world, and one of the most beautiful, including 2 UNESCO sights. Moments like this make this job so completely worth it.
Me looking through a restaurant tour magazine: “Let’s go here for dinner, it’s listed as the 6th most romantic restaurant in the world! “
Beth: “I don’t know, Lauren, are gonna put out after cause it’s probably pretty expensive”.
Lots of giggling followed.
We had a lovely dinner by the sea. We wanted to go out after but it was Sunday and the town didn’t really cater to tourists in a late-night sense quite yet, so everything was closed. We stopped by to see the pizza man and we ended up going to his friend’s house with him to hang out because we had nothing better to do. Well, his friend literally pretty much attacked me trying to kiss me so I said Hey! What the F was that? Soon after Beth and I were walking home. VERY much alone.
After sunning ourselves, we changed and after a yummy gelato we walked the city walls (which were high up above the town), and saw sights that took our breath away. We somehow found a hole-in-the-wall-place that we noticed while walking the city walls and wanted to check out that was over the ocean, (literally, we crawled through a hole in the wall to get here), and we had a couple glasses of wine. We reminisced about how in 2 weeks we have been to the holiest place in the world, and one of the most beautiful, including 2 UNESCO sights. Moments like this make this job so completely worth it.
Me looking through a restaurant tour magazine: “Let’s go here for dinner, it’s listed as the 6th most romantic restaurant in the world! “
Beth: “I don’t know, Lauren, are gonna put out after cause it’s probably pretty expensive”.
Lots of giggling followed.
We had a lovely dinner by the sea. We wanted to go out after but it was Sunday and the town didn’t really cater to tourists in a late-night sense quite yet, so everything was closed. We stopped by to see the pizza man and we ended up going to his friend’s house with him to hang out because we had nothing better to do. Well, his friend literally pretty much attacked me trying to kiss me so I said Hey! What the F was that? Soon after Beth and I were walking home. VERY much alone.
Dubrovnik (AKA Paradise)
We had the hotel reservation but we needed to buy the flight at the airport. Despite that Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia, the airport is very tiny. There was one small restaurant open that served sandwiches. We were starving so we both bought one. It was a very easy, short flight over, but would have been a 6 hour drive. Though, it would have been nice to drive along the coast, all the car rentals in the whole city were sold old by the time we enquired about availability. The ride to the hotel was unbelievable. The drive was all along the windy streets of the coast. Our taxi driver was very strange though. We wanted to split the cost so we asked for 2 receipts but he said it was against his policy to do so. We couldn’t understand why. As soon as we arrived, we went to find food. We were summoned to eat at a pizza place by the owner. He was a young, cute Croatian who insisted on providing us with an endless shot after shot of grappa made by his grandfather, although we were still feeling pretty hung over and besides, the grappa really was not very good. We ordered pizza and a salad and then he insisted that we sit and eat with his friend who was sitting at a table next to us. Meanwhile, I talked up the friend who was nice, but not very good-looking while the owner taught Beth how to make pizza, and then she took on the task like her second job, haha. I said to the friend, “what time will you go to bed?” and he replied “now”. I said, oh, really? Clearly confused and he said “ya with you”. I laughed and said “nice try”.
Once we got enough of the pizza-making skills and the free, bitter grappa we began to head home, but meanwhile met 2 young Canadian guys just out of college traveling the world. I admired them because this is exactly what I wanted to do when I graduated college! They tried to get us to stay out but we needed to go to bed. It was already much too late for what we had already gone through that day. So we took a bunch of pictures with them instead and then they joked (after we told them about our job), “so where are you guys staying, the Hilton?” And we said yes. They were impressed, it was by far the nicest in the town.
Once we got enough of the pizza-making skills and the free, bitter grappa we began to head home, but meanwhile met 2 young Canadian guys just out of college traveling the world. I admired them because this is exactly what I wanted to do when I graduated college! They tried to get us to stay out but we needed to go to bed. It was already much too late for what we had already gone through that day. So we took a bunch of pictures with them instead and then they joked (after we told them about our job), “so where are you guys staying, the Hilton?” And we said yes. They were impressed, it was by far the nicest in the town.
Checking Out the Nightlife
By Friday we had finished the bulk of the survey. After the last mall, we stopped had a coffee, discussed some work and then Beth said one of her infamous quotes, “let’s switch restaurants”. To which we both laughed and said oh, our life is so hard! We walked down to the very pretty pedestrian-only area where restaurants with people eating outside line the streets and found a wonderful French restaurant to stop at. After eating dinner, we went back home, took a nap and decided to go out and celebrate; by this time it was about 12 am. We went to a popular place to hang out, out by the lake that’s in Zagreb. Shorties Beth and I couldn’t compete, though; like I had mentioned before we were surrounded by beautiful women a whole foot taller than us. But we danced, and sang along with American songs (just because we could, and they couldn’t) and had a great time. We eventually met some good-looking Croatian guys and danced the night away with them, and stumbled back into our hotel around 6 am after Beth’s constant refusal to go home with one of them.
The next day I didn’t get up until 4 pm. I felt terrible. Aside from going to bed really late, apparently I drank too much too. After eating lunch, we rushed around to pack, and organize our last minute flight/hotel reservation to Dubrovnik! We had the time to do it and we had finished our work, so we figured why not! We had heard great things about Dubrovnik.
The next day I didn’t get up until 4 pm. I felt terrible. Aside from going to bed really late, apparently I drank too much too. After eating lunch, we rushed around to pack, and organize our last minute flight/hotel reservation to Dubrovnik! We had the time to do it and we had finished our work, so we figured why not! We had heard great things about Dubrovnik.
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