Christmas at home

Although I love Brno and living here, for Christmas I went back home to be with my family and to see some of my old friends. For a minute or so I had second thoughts, I maybe even wished for a moment that it would snow so much that the roads to Croatia would be blocked, but then I realized I would be sad not to spend Christmas at home. I bought online the ticket to Vienna and from Vienna to Zagreb, packed my suitcase and went to Happy Tea House to wait for the bus at 3:20 am. I went with Maja, the other Maja and Faruk, there were also some Polish/Italian/Greek-Canadian people, most of them I didn't know, and it was cool. I love that Happy Tea House, I could sit there for hours, on the floor, drinking one of the milion types of tea they have.

My bus arrived in Vienna around 5 in the morning, which meant I had to wait for my bus to Zagreb till 8 am. Of course, the waiting room opened at 6:30, so I was having so much fun waiting an hour outside in the cold. I wasn't the only one, there were more people. As it turned out, all of those people went to Zagreb. The bus had an extra floor and it was crowded. I was sitting with a farely good-looking guy who probably regretted the day he bought the ticket for that bus because I caught a cold and was snuffing, sneezing all the time. I think he was praying not to sneeze on him or something. Sure thing, I looked like crap (which is funny, when I look good, I always get stuck sitting with an old guy/lady who turn out to be pretty talkative and boring me), had no place and I slept completely upstraight, with my head falling on one and then on the other side. I just hope I didn't snore, considering the state of my nose. Nobody said anything, but I don't think they would even if I did snore.

As we were approaching the border, the guy next to me became more and more talkative, I guess he was happy of getting rid of me soon. In Zagreb I switched the bus to Bjelovar and there I met my dear friend Sven. I was going home with him, but first he had to do some shopping (gifts for Christmas etc.) which took aaaages; seriously, I have never seen a guy in DM to spend more time than me. Okay, the main reason was that he wanted to scan some product with the new scan-program on his mobile phone. Who would say he's 27 years old. 7 maybe. After that we went to have some svařené víno (hot wine) in a bar where a friend of mine from highschool works and we got stuck there as well for a while. In the end, I got home in the evening, spent an hour or so with my mum and brother and then I went out. It was Friday, come on. I had to. I went with Sven to Havana club, one of the rare places where they don’t play folk music, and it turned out to be great. Before Havana, we went to a store, bought two small bottles of liquer and drank it in the car like two drunkards. We were ready to start the party. Since there was nobody in the streets, everything was quiet, we thought the town was dead and that we will go home soon, but apparently everyone was in the club because it was crowded. Right on the entrance I met two of my highschool friends who I didn’t see nor hear from since... well, highschool. I got super-happy for seeing them, and then two steps further, I saw my neighbour who I didn’t see maybe even for a longer time. Her name is Natali and I know here since we were kids. She, her sister and I were playing together almost every day, went to school together, and since we went to different universities, we kind of lost contact. She was with her boyfriend and we said we have to meet for coffee to catch up some of the lost time, but in the end we didn’t because I was flying from one place to another, trying to spend time with everybody I haven’t seen in a long time. Shame.

Later on, we met some of Sven’s friends from work, and when it got so crowded that I couldn’t even stand normally, we went back home.

Saturday I spent pretty much the whole day cleaning. When I say the whole day, I mean the afternoon because I woke up around 1. My dear mommy didn’t want to wake me up. It’s always like that, she complains why I am sleeping so long, but she doesn’t want to wake me up.  She says she knows how it’s like to finally sleep at home and that it’s the sweetest thing. My mum is the sweetest. In the evening, I stayed at home, watching television. Home alone was on TV, I love that movie so much! Every Christmas they play it, it’s tradition already. I enjoyed watching television, here I’m wasting my time only on Internet. There is a TV in the lobby, but it’s all in Czech. No use.

Sunday was pretty much the same, except that I made cake with my mum. And preparations for my favorite French salad. We call it French salad in Croatia, but I think it is called Potato salad in other countries. Doesn’t matter.

Monday was Christmas Eve. I made another cake, finished my French salad, loads of it.

(French salad)

(Cake 1)

(Cake 2)

I love Christmas Eve, it’s the day when I decorate the Christmas tree (and the whole house) and when we have traditional dinner.

(my Christmas tree)

For lunch we eat beans and fish, and for dinner we eat the same, but as well leek, garlic and onion. There is a saying that you have to taste everything on the table at dinner, otherwise the witches will get you. I guess it’s an old superstition, but we still always do it. Before the dinner we clean the table, there is only a bowl with wheat and the home-made little round bread and a candle. We turn off the lights, light the candle and then my father knocks on the door, saying some phrases  likeAnybody home? I wish you all a merry Christmas and all the abundance in the new yearetc. There are many sayings like this one, we have to respond with some other; it’s an old custom which we didn’t do for a long time until this Christmas. Then my father enters with straw in his hands and places it on some spot on the floor. After that, still under the light of the candle, we pray. The light goes on, the candle goes off. Another saying, when one of us blows the candle, we look to whose side the smoke will go; to whose side it goes, that person will die in the following year; if it goes straight in the air, nobody will die. Kind of scary, right?

Then we set the table and we eat. When the dinner is over, the table must not be cleared; the crumbs are being thrown out in the morning for the birds to eat. I don’t know why but I really love this traditional dinner. Especially this year because dad brought in the straw. We don’t do it usually because there is nobody who would sit on it, but now my brother’s kids are just the perfect age for it so we did it.

After the dinner my mum and I got ready for the midnight mass. Again a change this year, the mass was not at midnight as usual but at 10. The priest said he put it at 10 so that children can come too. I know every year my mum would almost fall asleep before we should go to church and she would always complain that it should be earlier; this year she was complaining that it is too early because she didn’t manage to do everything she wanted. Hahaha, my mum, gotta love her. So I brushed my teeth toroughly and tok a chewing gum, knowing it still won’t disguise the smell of leek, onion and garlic together but I had to try, and we went by foot to church. We didn’t get far, one of our neighbours stopped her car and gave us a lift. We got to the church half an hour too early, but that was good because I found a seat in the bench. I was starring at the decorations as I always do in our church and wondering if they have speeded up the songs a bit when my sister-in-law came with Klara. Then we sat for 15 minutes or so, looking who came to the mass and asking each other if we know that or that person. Like two old ladies.

The mass lasted for an hour and a half, the songs were slow as always, I couldn’t keep track of the sermon, I got lost somewhere in the middle. It was weird to get out of the church after the mass and say merry Christmas to everyone when it was not after midnight. We did it quickly and went home. I watched television some more, ate my French salad (so delicious!) and went to sleep.

Christmas was like every Christmas. I got up for breakfast and basically didn’t do anything the whole day except eating, watching television, sending Christmas messages to my friends and family. Some of them I even called. Christmas in our house is always like that. In the evening I went out with my ex-boyfriend and some of my old friends. It maybe sounds weird when I say I went out with my ex-boyfriend but this is quite inevitable because we were always in the same company, we had the same friends. And it was great, I was happy to hang out with all of them again. It was funny though, because except me and Jelena, everybody else were guys, but I was the fastest drinker. We ordered, and I drank my glass while they still had their glasses like half full. Stevo, one of my friends, tried to keep up with me, but failed. I told him: „Man, I’ve been training for three months now. C’mon.“, and he was like: „Yeah, I’ve been training for four days already...“ and I told him: „Three months, man, three months. What are you talking about?“ He made such a sad funny face I wanted to die of laughter.

(Stevo)

(Fleki and Jelena)

(Fleki, Igor (my ex) and Jelena)

The day after Christmas, the house was full of people. My three uncles came and they took with them my cousin’s two sons (grandchildren of one of my uncles) and my brother came with his family. So, we were 14. In the morning my uncle and auntie from my dad’s side came as well, woke me up, and basically the whole day was full of laughter, talks, food, coffee etc. It was so much fun. And this is also a kind of tradition now, every year my uncles and my brother with his family come the day after Christmas. I really didn’t want to miss that. Thank God I didn’t.

(My brother Mario, Klara, Gabriel, Luka, Matej, my uncle Josip)

(Kids on the straw)

(my little hahari)

(I'm sorry, just can't get enough of them)

(my sister-in-law)

(my brother Goran)

(my little Dorotea <3 )

(my mum, my little Gabriel, my uncle Ivo and my dad)

(Dorica; her t-shirt says : Today I'm furious)

Thursday, I went to town with my mum, I had to postpone the agreement with my mobile phone operator and buy some Croatian food to bring to Czech Republic. I also wanted to meet with Anita, my friend from highschool, but we were so late that she already had to go to work. I was quite pissed that day.  In the afternoon, I think I was studying. Just a little bit, trying to study.

Friday, I went to town again. Of course, I forgot that I have to do net-banking and some transactions in the bank. I spent some time with Anita and bought winter shoes. I had time. In the evening I visited my brother. There was also their best man and his wife with kids, my sister-in-law’s brother and sister with her ex-boyfriend ( I don’t know what is their story, seriously don’t know). We were just drinking, chilling, playing cards, laughing. Children were running around all the time, something unforgettable. Later I went out, it was nothing special, but it was fun. One of the people I went out with was my friend from primary school who I didn’t see a couple of years for sure. He was also my first (unreturned) love. Ah. He’s got fatter now. Oh well, almost all of us did.

Saturday was my last day home. I spent it making cake, reading the Theory of translation, watching television, chilling. In the evening I went out again, met Anita and her boyfriend, my sister-in-law’s brother and other sister, some friends and one of my ex-boyfriends.

(my Anita and me)

I danced the whole time until we left home. In the morning I packed my stuff and left. To tell you the truth, I was sad, I wanted to stay home for longer time, to see everybody I wanted to see, to spend more time with my brother’s kids, but then again, I couldn’t wait to get back to Brno. I missed the people, I missed the spirit of Erasmus, I missed the parties. Hell, I even missed the dormitories and my room. My roommate. So I wasn’t extra sad when I was leaving. A week at home was almost enough. Plus, I was meeting with my Đu in Zagreb, she was going with me to Brno for New Year’s. I was really happy to see her because I missed her so much. If only my dear roommate Šu could have gone with us, that would be unforgettable. Well, I guess it is unforgettable anyway because Ivana (Đu) and me had a nice little adventure in Vienna. About that, next time.

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