Learning in the rain

I have no more excuses.  It's raining. Beli is at grandma's. I pulled out the Croatian lesson book. I sit at the table facing the window, then I notice a pretty flower out in the balcony. "Should I cut it or leave it out there?" I wonder. Ah, why not I need color inside the house so I cut it and I place it in a vase next to my books. I turn on the radio and begin to review the grammar rules:

Nouns in Croatian are characterized by gender( masculine,feminine, and neuter), number (singular and plural) and case (there are seven of them).

For now I will tackle the singular and plural forms of nouns. for nouns that are masculine you simply add -i.
prijatelj->..prijatelji.....................friend-friends...........amigo-amigos
student->>studenti......................student-students......estudiante-estudiantes
prozor->>prozori........................window-windows.....ventana-ventanas

with one exception: if it's a noun with one vowel then you add -ov plus -i.
stol->>stolovi............table-tables........mesa-mesas
zid->>zidovi..............wall-walls..........pared-paredes

another exception: if it's a noun with one vowel but noun ends in lj,j, č,š,ž then you add -ev plus i 
miš-miševi...............mouse-mice  .......raton-ratones
jež -ježevi----------hedgehog-hedgehogs.....???(no idea in spanish)
puž -puževi--------snail-snails........caracol-caracoles

another exception: if it's more than one vowel present but noun ends in K change K to C then add i.
jastuk-jastuci-----pillow-pillows.....almohada-almohadas

but if noun ends in H change H to S then  and i.
tepih--tepisi------rug-rugs....tapete-tapetes

AND if noun ends in G change G to Z then and i.
jastog-jastozi......lobster-lobsters...langosta-langostas

I don't mind learning all the rules, because it's easy to memorize them. The difficult part is to put all these rules together and have a conversation, that's the challenging part.  I continue for about an hour. Then I get hungry, so I make salsa and I'm munching away and reading. So far so good! Then Beli and hubby arrive and I can't wait for Beli's reaction when she sees all those stuffed animals I arranged on the bed.

She walks into the room and at first looks around, she doesn't know which toy to grab first. There are too many!

And this flower is also a token of my appreciation for everyone who gave me wonderful words of support. Thank you! Tomorrow I will continue studying, my goal is a minimum of one hour.

Never too old to learn a new language

The show was a success and we had the audience mesmerized to say the least.

Remember my story about learning Croatian at a cafe? Well now imagine 8 adults putting a play in front of hundreds of spectators as they spoke fluent Croatian. It seems we have come a long way with our language abilities. Last weekend the Center for Foreign Languages hosted it's annual theater performance. There were over 18 small performances including our Class: Learning Croatian (Hrvatski Jesik) Level 2. I wasn't able to participate on stage but I did volunteer to film the entire event.

Performances ranged from kindergarten children singing the alphabet in English to Russian students reading poetry and Spanish students singing "Y soy rebelde." Then it was our turn, I felt nervous and I wasn't even on stage! But I knew my classmates would do fine, they were well prepared. When the introduction was made, I heard whispers from the audience, "they are here to learn Croatian?" I wondered if this was a compliment.

The dialogue began and I heard chuckles from the audience as my classmates carried on their play.Then the singing began. Everyone joined in to the song titled Dalmatinac Sam, a favorite amongst the locals. You can also cheer with us by clicking here to listen to this very popular song.

Our professor informed us that we had advanced to Level 3. Yeah!! Now 20 more levels before we can officially call ourselves a Dalmatinac!

After the play we walked over to Buffet Fife to celebrate. L's husband went fishing the night before and brought what he caught to the restaurant to have it cooked by one of the chefs as a gift to our class. We also ordered house wine, beer Karlovacko, calamari, bakalar, and sang the night away.

No better way to end the evening than in good company. As we were leaving a couple of tourists stopped us and asked what was the occasion for our celebration and I replied, "We are all imports (expats) and we are living in Croatia and we met by attending Croatian lessons." Then I introduced everyone, "E is from Jordan, C and L are from Italy, N and Y are French, E from Portugal, M is from Brazil and P is from Canada, and myself from Mexico." The couple exclaimed, "we're also from Canada!" And the lady continued by saying,"we had paid our bill but then you began to sing, so we decided to stay a bit longer because you seemed like such a happy, and diverse crowd."

I'm very proud of my accomplishments and can honestly say I have improved my written grammar skills. It's still somewhat difficult to speak Croatian and I always, always stumble on my words. But somehow my in-laws understand me. Now I just have to continue practicing daily because I don't want to forget what I have learned. (At home, I speak English with Hubby and Spanish with Daughter, and when we visit my in-laws I speak Croatian.)

Do you have any tips of how I can continue to improve my new adopted language?Fashion Magazines? Children's books?

School Report

It has been over a month since I began my Croatian lessons at the Prokurative and it's time for a progress report. A week ago I actually said these words "I don't want to go to school!" Monday was an intense lesson and I felt frustrated and defeated. It was after this lesson that I dreaded for Wednesday to arrive. The professor had us thinking on our feet literally. She had all twelve of us students standing in a circle and we were to go around and ask each other about our body parts.
Sto je to? (what is this?)
To je Glava. (this is the head) Ovo je celo, oko, nos, (this is forehead, eye,nose,etc..)

While I knew most of this from teaching Isabela the next exercise was the frustrating one. We had to introduce one classmate to the rest of the class, this meant conjugating verbs correctly and so on....I didn't do very well.........

"Why didn't I prepare or study more?" I asked myself. Well should I count the reasons? First, because I am lazy (yes, I am admittingly saying so) and second because I am dedicating most of my time to Isabela. If I am not constantly supervising her, I am worried she will fall and injure herself. We don't need another cut on her forehead.

So far this is what we have learned:

Zanimanju/profession (feminine and masculine form example: singer you say pjevac/pjevacica)

Nationality. "I am from Mexico, I am Mexican." translation "Ja sam iz Meksika. Ja sam Meksikanka." Sounds hilarious!!!!!! Try it, Mek-si-kanka.

Naming Colors, fruits and vegetables

Conjugating the verbs ending in -iti and -jeti. Examples include govoriti, (to speak) and voljeti (to like, to love). You drop the -iti and add -im so govoriti is govorim (ja govorim-I speak). For voljeti you drop the -jeti and add -im.
(Volim TE -I love you)

I did a bit of research about the best method for learning a new language. I needed a bit of motivation. I read an article which stressed the importance of speaking, even if you don't know the meaning of words, because this will give you the opportunity for a more comprehensive experience. So the culture, T.V, newspapers, talks on the street, everything takes a new meaning.

After reading this article I felt motivated to commit more time to learning the Croatian language.

Have you lived overseas and struggled in speaking the native language? What methods worked for you?

Parenting 101: Not Sleeping

I know no one said parenting would be easy or without its challenges but yet at times like today I cannot help but wonder and ask "Are We the only parents experiencing this?" We have been struggling with Isabela's sleeping habits since day 1 when she came home from the hospital. Tomorrow she will be 18months old and we are still struggling. I know you do what you feel is right for you and your baby. But that is the problem- the feeling part-because you read so many reports contradicting themselves, for example letting your child cry "is an example of a crucial early development stage: self-calming." or this article states "if you let them cry and they actually stop crying, it is because they have abandoned all hope that help will come." So how do you know if what you are doing is the right thing?

For instance today we went shopping early in the morning so we could be home in time for her nap. But we took a little longer than anticipated (Yes I know, a NO, No, for toddlers) Isabela was tired,cranky and refusing to eat anything we offered from the restaurant. She wouldn't sit still on the chair and was screaming. So we had to take turns eating alone so the other parent could walk around to entertain her. Then we come home and we prepare for her afternoon nap routine: change diaper, drink milk, read book, but then when I go to put her in the crib she starts crying. I comfort her by telling her I love her and it is time to go to sleep. I leave the room. Self-calming technique, remember? I look at the clock as it ticks one minute, two minutes, half an hour goes by. I am trying to be strong despite her calling "MAMA, mammy!Mama, come!" AH I almost want to cry myself. I go in and again soothe her "Isabela, go to sleep mama loves you". I leave the room again and she continues crying. Then I hear a pounding noise, alarmed I go into the room and she is pounding her head on the wall! What have I done???? I pick her up and calm her down then put her back in the crib. And the crying continues until finally one of us gives in and my husband goes into the room and picks her up and after 15 minutes or so of rocking her, she falls asleep. I don't have a problem, since I am a stay at home mom, to carry on a two hour napping session with my daughter. But then I think what is going to happen when I have to return to work and then what? I know that she needs a nap. She barely sleeps 12 hours during the night and then she is cranky half way through the day. She needs a break ( Sometimes I need a break!that is permitted right?)

Since there were complications during birth I still have not recovered from the fear of "what if something goes wrong" so when people ask us when will Isabela have a baby brother/sister? I look at them and say "probably a year or two or maybe even three I don't know." I just don't know how do you amazing parents manage? Does it get "easier" after the first one?" Please tell me because I just don't know.

I Love my daughter and I wouldn't have it any other way, but at times I doubt myself as a parent, if I am doing "everything" right. Will she grow up to be a confident, independent adult, or will she grow up to be needy and insecure? Are these valid questions?

Parenting is definitely a "learn as you go" process. What are your thoughts? Any advice for this first time Mom? What methods worked for you?

Classes: Day 1

Can I tell you how excited I was today when I woke up and realized today was the DAY? Yes, the long awaited day to start Croatian lessons. Last Friday there was some miscommunication with registration and I was informed when I called the office that classes had already began a week ago. I missed 1 or 2 lessons. Won't deny I was frustrated but only lasted a few minutes because I informed the lady on the other line that I was still interested in attending and would be there on Monday at 6pm sharp!

So its Monday..........How was it you are asking???

After two hours of practicing Croatian with 2 Italians, 1 Brazilian, 1 Canadian, 2 French and 1 Jordan gal and myself from Mexico, I feel ready to conquer Split!!!!! It was challenging but so much fun!

Recap of the evening:
I walked in and saw a student preparing for class and I introduced myself and asked him about the previous lessons and what book(s) I needed to purchase. Then other students starting walking in and saying IN Croatian "oh another new student" (yes I understood that phrase)...I started panicking, these guys are already speaking so well and I told them did I get into the right class? ( I think I was expecting beginner's class...like count from one to ten...learning the colors....but really I wasn't sure what to expect!) One of the students said "Don't worry I have only been in the country for two weeks, I am sure you are well more advanced than I am". Wow I guess this is going to be a fun experience and I can't wait.

The professor walked in and apologized for not having me on her registration list and welcomed me aboard...She is so cool...I like her and her class. She told us right of the bat," I am not here to tell you what words mean in English, that is why you have a dictionary, but rather I am going to teach you about grammar and pronunciation". That is exactly what I need I told myself. Lessons will be twice weekly at the Republic Square and will meet for hour and a half for 5 months.

Again I love challenges! I need to buy my grammar book Pronto!
See you next Wednesday! Laku Noc!