- Michael M.: Too much going on. Life in flux, etc..
- Sunshine: Wow, I was soooo happy to see a new post in my rss reader. I was hopping this is already the comeback! :(...
- gandalf: Did you only get caffeine through Dr.p or did you drink coffee as well? I’m interested, since...
- neeka: nine kilos… wow… :) happy holidays to you, michael, and to all your loved ones! veronica
- m: It was a bargain. No strings attached.
Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Maribor, Slovenia.
Portoroz, Slovenia.
• AlienMelon
• Burger.si
• Heck
• Izklop
• si.blogs
• Sloblogi
• Blogorola
• Natalija Verboten
Kill da wabbit?
Easter in Slovenia involves two losing propositions, either 1) eating the ten kilos of ham that your host has optimistically calculated you will eat, or 2) Not eating an entire mountain of meat. The first involves you stuffing yourself to the point where your esophagus is completely airtight. You only stop eating because it’s physically impossible to continue. But even then your host will ask to take “one more piece” because he was cooking all morning and maybe if you push hard enough you can stuff it in somehow.
The second proposition — to refuse to eat meat, as suggested by the country’s one and only vegan: the President — is the equivalent of saying to your host: “Fuck you and your family and fuck Easter.”
In short, it’s a lose-lose situation and this year, unsurprisingly, I lost again.
Happy Easter!
Comments
Comments for this post are closed.
Haha, this one made my laugh with the fuck-you-attitude. You’re so right; denying host’s ham, or even “prata” (24ur.com/naslovnica/ekskluziv/kuhajmo/20070221_3090538.php) is like denying your God.
I can still hear the voices… :S
“Juaaaaanpi… jeeeeeejjjjj…”
But I took this year the third and worst approach… not painting eggs, not taking ‘em to church and not going to visit the host (mother in law) to eat that in-case-of-nuclear-war reserve of meat. Which means I’m excomulgated, her parents say something bout not allowing the wedding, and I’m expecting the letter from obcina telling me I got 15 days to leave the country… with a spit on the paper
It’s a lot of pressure when you think about it. I made the mistake of going to two different places on Sunday (one for breakfast and one for lunch) so I arrived at the lunch completely full. Needless to say, “I had a huge breakfast and feel like throwing up” is not an acceptable excuse.
I’ve never had “prata” but I hope that pig-head meat doesn’t taste as bad as it sounds. Does it?
@Michael M.: Ah, I was just about to ask which way did you lose
But I guess it comes with the territory… I did the mistake of looking at my bodily profile in the mirror apres feasting, and I looked like I’m four-months pregnant :S I almost freaked out..
P.S.: Why are the words “feasting” and “fasting” so similar in English? Is it just a coincidence?
They get used to it… eventually. I’m a vegetarian and the number of accusing looks and disgusted faces is slowly getting lower. Though I then get mostly oh-poor-thing-what-has-happened-to-you
-have-another-piece-of-potica looks instead
My relatives always feel so sorry for me, not being able to get massive amounts of all the Easter food shipped over here, but I definitely feel lucky! So this year I stuffed myself with seafood - and almost sent them into mourning over my misfortune!
But I feel for you, Michael, and all the other wretched souls who are on the verge of collapsing from overeating. I really do!
I feel blessed that there was no ham whatsoever in our house during the last days (and no hren and potica either).
And we painted only 6 eggs - 2 of them ended in a salad anyway. I will now take a moment to officially express my gratitude for a non-holiday-obedient mother. 
I go with option 2 every time and I can sleep at night, very happy with the turn of events.
“Fuck you and your family and fuck Easter.�
Ah, another commonality my people (Quebecois) share with the people of Slovenia. There’s nothing quite like being a lone vegetarian at a table full of French Canadian meat eaters.
@Michael M: Oh, you broke a cardinal rule…never go to two peoples houses in Slovenia on the same day.
Same thing happens with my relatives. I guess they think our stomachs are bottomless pits!!
I know many people in East Slovenia who used to be hungry a lot in the 40ies, 50ies, that is, when they were still children. The first thing they did when it was finally possible was to become fat from overeating. Meat, meat, meat. And bread and fat, of course. So their doctors told them “You are going to die from this and this food-related disease if you don’t watch what you eat.” Which meant diet. Also called “Bunny’s diet” by some people. Vegetables and stuff.
Now, one would think they would understand and appreciate the younger generation not wanting to eat meat at all, or taking care about what and how much they eat. After all, they themselvse (should) know it is not healthy to exaggerate with some things. Most of the younger generation also does not do much of heavy manual work, so light food is a good idea.
Well, they don’t. I don’t wanna count how many people have been insulted so far at my not wanting to eat meat or much of anything else…
(But mine is a truly beautiful Easter: some work, much time outside and good books.)
Eating is the best and worst part of visiting a relative in Slovenia: The food is awesome, but they don’t stop shoving it down your throat!
After backpacking through Europe for a few weeks before visiting my aunt in Murska Sobota, I arrive at her house where a great meal is waiting, just for me. I proceed to eat this 5 course meal by myself while they all sit around the kitchen table watching me eat. Once done the 5 course meal, my aunt begins preparing a large dinner for me… But I don’t see them eating all this food just me!! Then the next day I’m off to an uncle’s house in Srednja Bistrica where I once again have the largest meals of my life. I lost weight backpacking, then gained it all back and more in the short time I was around!
But I can’t complain. The food was better than anything I’ve had since my Stara Mama passed away years ago! I’m guessing they want to show me and my family that they are doing well for themselves, and we actually do the same for anyone who visits us; whether they are Slovenian or not.
Michael, not everyone eats meat, not everyone celebrates Easter and not everyone has family. That’s why we have at least two propositions. I thing No. 1 didn’t really mean “Fuck you and your family and fuck Easter.”
My first time in BiH my S.O. did the same thing, it wasn’t just that he wanted to make sure I enjoyed myself, it wasn’t just that he’s JUSTIFYABLY proud of himself as a cook, for him it was a matter of Bosnian-Croat National Pride, that BiH is at least not hungry anymore since the war, and that a foreigner there will get fat, I went from 147lbs to 160 in my six weeks in BiH that time, that was in 1997, and I was afraid what it was doing to me, burek, slanina, prscut, vino, riba, kruh, jaje,kolbasa, sarama, roast baby pig, juha govedina, you name it, he made it all and made it well, and it took me MONTHS to get down to like 150, and I haven’t been able to get below 150 since.
In BiH the ONLY way not to eat the lovely things put before you is to say ‘My doctor, my very mean, nasty doctor who is a dictator says I’m too sick for this!’ Even then, it may not be enough.
I have to admit, I had very good food in both BiH and Croatia, loved every bite of it. I did do some American things for my S.O., Southern style fried fish, which he loved, he said ‘From now on you cooking the fish, your fish bolje od mene!’ For someone from that part of the world to say a Mere American does better fish well that’s Something!
Small correction, I was first there in 1998! *
this one made me cry!!! it’s more than just true!