Of course, I walked the city and did the tourist thing of visiting the sights covered in the guidebooks but it is the life of the locals that intrigues me the most. So when I saw a sign for the Film Festival that very week I was all about it. Most films had English subtitles which opened options for me. The one from New Zealand, “Shark vs. Eagle”, captured my attention. Waiting at the student center to enter the theater I observed the crowd. I was certainly among the oldest and few that were speaking English. When the doors opened I wondered if I would live to tell of it. You hear about people being trampled in crowds. I could hear my friends saying at the memorial “She always loved movies!” Seriously, the shove was intense and lack of smooth system for collecting tickets was striking. Once in the very large theater the size of the crowd was even more noticeable as many began to find space to sit on the floor. The welcoming speech was in both English and Croatian. The director, Taika Waititi, introduced his film and excitement was palpable. The tender story explored the human challenge of relationship and the audience showed appreciation with rousing applause.
A few more attempts to immerse with the locals before departure was the requisite gym visit and riding the tram to a local shopping mall in the outlying areas. The further away from the tourist scene the more language became a challenge. At the gym had I been able to speak Croatian or German I could have negotiated the deal for a day pass with the woman who worked the front desk. But a trainer conversant in English wasn’t far away and the added benefit was his willingness to extend a complimentary pass. I notice how much I enjoyed not understanding a word that was spoken as I worked through my routine. I thought how much more interesting another’s conversation was when I don’t understand a word. The imagination has a way of weaving tales when the reality is likely much more mundane.
On the tram the ticket system baffled me and the driver could speak no English. But a young couple gave me the skinny; “Just shrug your shoulders”, they said, “and you can ride free. They go easy on foreigners.” The added plus is that I learned a bit more about Zagreb and Croatia from this engaging couple. As I head back to the city center on tram after perusing local shopping I think that shortly I will leave Zagreb for the Dalmatian Coast and feel excited about the thought of the warmer salt air that awaits me.
