Top 3 similarities between Croatia and New Orleans
Not many similarities, but there are some!
As mentioned in my first blog post, I have been living in the United States for the past 7 years. More specifically, I’ve spent 7 years in New Orleans, Louisiana. This city is very different than some of the big cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago or LA—the cities that people think of when someone says: “United States” or “America”.
Because it is so different than those huge cities packed with skyscrapers, New Orleans has many more similarities to my home country Croatia. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to compare them at all-- there are many dissimilarities as well!
Since I am trying to stay true to my website’s title, I am going to stick to the top 3 similarities between these two places that I am absolutely in love with. Croatia is where my home, family and friends are, and New Orleans is the city that gave me the opportunity to grow into a successful young professional and the city where I have met some amazing people including tons of friends from Latin America that I just adore and don’t know what would I do without!
Now check out the list of top 3 similarities that I chose to talk about.
1. Seafood
Whoever has visited both Croatia and New Orleans probably knew that seafood (or something food related) was going to be on my list. Both places, in general, have amazing food! I am a huge food lover, so I just had to put this on the top of my list.
Seafood is an important part of the Croatian culinary world, particularly along the coast. Although there are plenty of non-fishy options, fresh seafood can be found just anywhere. Of particular note is the small town of Mali Ston near Dubrovnik that is famous for its oysters or, in Croatia, “kamenice”. The hamlet is home to the Bay of Mali Ston – the well-known Croatian oyster bay that produces the most oysters in the country. Oysters aren’t the only seafood delight in Croatia though, mussels and other shellfish are popular as well.
Even though popular, oysters are not as popular in Croatia as they are in New Orleans. Here, you can find them everywhere, and I would say that they are more affordable than back home. I have never tried oysters before I came to New Orleans. One of the co-owners of the company that I work for, Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich, who’s family is originally from Croatia, owns a seafood restaurant “Drago’s” here in New Orleans, and this restaurant is the most famous for its charbroiled oysters. This is definitively one of the top 3 dishes I have ever had in my life!
While oysters usually served raw back home, here in New Orleans they also serve them fried (duh, it’s America), as well as with this delicious sauce made with garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and some spices. Someone in Croatia should totally steal this idea!
2. Drinking in Public
I really believe that this is one of the main reasons why many people see both places as very entertaining and fun! In both Croatia and New Orleans drinking in public is socially acceptable. I didn’t want to go too much into legal stuff, so I am not going to say that this is entirely “legal” but just “socially acceptable”.
For you who live in New Orleans, imagine this city without people drinking on the street! I know, impossible!
And for you who don’t live in New Orleans, look at this video of New Orleans during Mardi Gras, one of the biggest festivals in the South of United States.
…and now imagine it without people drinking on it! Impossible!
Now if you go from New Orleans, Louisiana to, let’s say, Pensacola, Florida, they will not let you drink on the beach. Really?? Drinking on the beach is so common in Croatia, and many people see beach parties as the most fun ones, including myself.
So for you who live in Croatia, imagine being at the beach without being able to have a drink without hiding. I know, impossible!
And for you who have never been in Croatia, check out the video of a beach party in Croatia.
…and now imagine it without people drinking! Impossible!
3. Asking “Di si?” and “Where y’at?” Without Wanting to Know Where Someone Is?
So this last one actually made me write this blog. I wasn’t aware of it until I started thinking about the similarities in people here and back home. This morning, I was leaving my apartment, and my next-door neighbor goes: “Hey, where y’at?”. I wasn’t sure what to say because he obviously knew where I was at the moment, so I just said: “Hey, how are you?”, and got no answer…
I did a research on some other parts of the United States, and this is not common to say at all. People in New Orleans often say “Where y’at?” or “Where are you at?” even though they are actually not interested in someone’s physical location but rather their well-being.
When I translated this into Croatian (I do that sometimes), I realized that we do something very similar. “Di si?” or “Gdje si?” in Croatian means “Where are you?”. Often, people ask this question when they don’t really want to know about one’s physical location. Sometimes, they even ask it without expecting any answer, or when they want to know about one’s state of being.
So these are some of the similarities between New Orleans and Croatia. Overall, they are 2 very different but very special places with a lot of history. If you have visited both places, please comment below, as I would be very interested to see some of your thoughts!
