One. Two. Tree. I was so proud of those first three English words I carried to my first day of International School. A few months later my first grade ESL teacher complimented me on correctly using “circling.” I fell in love with the English language and soon it was my home.
But Slovenian class.
Ours is a golden age.
I know. It’s hard to believe. We have orange goblins and secret policemen and climate cooks and kooks. Bear with me.
I listened to the BBC World Service on shortwave radio in Dar es Salaam in 1990. The radio ran, I drew, and I thought received pronunciation was normal. In the 90s and 00s radio and TV died. Guggle and Facetube started killing journalism and other stuff. And podcasts appeared.
Early in our relationship YL had a great fear.
We met in Lausanne, the edgiest and most crime-ridden city in Switzerland. This means that the city is very safe. Old ladies with manicured dogs dominate the promenade and three night-clubs stay open late on weekends. This also means local taste is adapted to saucissons, choucroute, fromage and patates.
I play and run and create tabletop role-playing games. Things like Dungeons & Dragons. They’re fantastic.
Many of my friends have made fun of them. Some, perplexed, asked “but, what are they?” A few play them. I’ve tried to explain TRPGs many times and floundered every damn time.
I was at university in 2004 when Slovenia joined the European Union on Labor Day. That’s the 1st of May. Some people complained, some people cheered. I got on with the life of a know-it-all student. Years passed and Europe was there. … more >>>
Food is an amazing cultural artifact. I love food. I love meals with friends. I love the magic of raw ingredients becoming cooked. The very essence of what it means to be human is bundled into every meal. But I’m getting carried … more >>>
Hello, Busan.
About a month ago my wife and I moved to Busan. But that’s not my topic now. No, my topic is irony.
Ten years ago I built a blog for myself and called it “Prekomorec.” I coined that word in Slovenian to describe myself and it means “male person from over the sea.” Slavic languages are dense and that literal translation sounds stupid, so let’s leave it at “Oversealander.”