AN AMERICAN, Andra Ishmael, has spent some time in Croatia, and he devoted a video to our country, which he uploaded on his Youtube channel called The Last Kong.
Andra, who comes from Florida, wrote down all the most important things he learned about the Croatian people in his notebook.
“Croatia is known for its beaches, islands, and football players. Nikola Tesla was Croatian,” he said and added:
“How to piss off Croatians? Just tell them that Nikola was Serbian and have fun with that.”
He came to Croatia two years ago for the first time, and he admits he didn’t know anything about Croatia or its language.
“Seriously, I didn’t even know Croatia was a country,” he said.
He was volunteering in a hostel at the beginning. He says that his host is still teasing him of how scared he was when he first came here.
After that, he spent time traveling across Europe, then he returned to Florida, and later decided to visit Zagreb once again.
“People may seem a little stand-offish, cold and serious, but that’s only their approach to life. They don’t embellish things and they are very honest. If they don’t like you, they don’t like you. If they do like you, they love you,” he said.
He admits that people in Zagreb still stare at him when he is walking down the street.
“These are not malicious stares; they are just curious,” he said.
He told a story of how one time a Croat approached him in a tram and started a conversation. His friend explained that the man is interested in where he is from, and in the end, they got off the tram together and went for a drink.
“Drinking with locals is one of my favorite pastimes during traveling,” he said.
He added that the Croatians know Spanish because of the Spanish telenovelas, as well as German and English, which they learn in schools. He revealed more things that are characteristic of the Croatian people:
“Two-hour coffees. Every single one of you owns black leather jackets. It’s so ridiculous. Like when you’re born, they give you one before you leave the hospital. I talked a lot with the Croatian people, and they were telling me about life in Croatia: corruption, low wages, people not fulfilling their contracts, the increased cost of living. It’s a mess. It’s a wonder how people get by, but they do,” he concluded.