I got almost giddy talking about my upcoming trip to Croatia and Bosnia when I ran into a friend in the grocery store.
“Are you excited?” she asked.
I was practically speechless. Then I gushed. Effusive words of anticipation poured forth. It was hard to stop.
My sister sent me a passport holder for Christmas. I promptly put my passport in it and hung it on the back of my door where I see it every time I go in and out of my room.
passport = putovnica (English to Croatian)
When I go for walks, when I’m making dinner, when I’m doing the dishes or laundry — I multitask with my language app, practicing Croatian words. Sometimes, when I’m struggling to hold the words properly in my mouth, I pretend that I’m a burly bearded Balkan man and try to say them in a deep guttural voice. It helps, but this is not the ideal way to learn a new language. I need someone to explain things to me, how it all works.
ticket = ulaznica
I’ve got my plane ticket. My friend and I have made reservations at Air BnBs.
entrance = ulaz
When the day finally arrives and I walk through the entrance at airport, I’m sure my heart will be doing cartwheels.
journey = putovanje
The words have common threads. I can see them, but I can’t fully sort them out yet. It’s a journey all by itself, this learning something new.
Even if the whole thing turns out to be a bust — which I’m sure it won’t — but if the travel is awful and the accommodations terrible and the food unappetizing and the people unfriendly and my friend gets tired of me by the end of our trip — even I get bedbugs and a GI bug and see strange new European bugs — if everything bad that I can possibly imagine happens (short of serious injury or death), the trip has already been worth it all.
Hope. Dreams. Anticipation.
Who can place a value on that?
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
No price on those two beauties … hopes and dreams are invaluable gifts. Anticipation is the most intoxicating of conditions and adventures are to be embraced whatever their reality. I love that you imagine yourself burly and bearded to get full Croatian feeling into the words. Learning a language is hard. When you get there, force yourself … don’t be tingue tied and I guarantee the locals will love you for It!
When I see words with no vowels, I simply don’t know how to say them. I listen to the native speaker on the app and still can’t do it. Big and burly, for whatever weird reason, helps me find the right place on my tongue.
My daughter has asked if I will be brave enough to actually say anything. I will. Even if I ask for breakfast instead of lunch, or pay someone ten kuna instead of nine, I’m going to do it.
Way. To. Go! I learned Russian in school for 6 years and when I visited Russia two years ago I was overwhelmed and then I thought – OK that was many years ago but you have been revisiting and you can do this and after that at least I was able to please and thankyou and be nice and the feeling of connection to a place I had longed to visit was enhanced infinitely. I so look foward to hearing all about it 🙂
I love your excitement for the upcoming trip, and all the preparation that you are putting into it. The two of you will have a fabulous time. I only wish I was going along, also…
I would love to travel with you, too, Kim.
Shana Haba B’yerushalayim – Next Year in Jerusalem
🙂
It’ll be quite a trip for you.