FAQ
You’ve reached the Frequently Asked Questions Page, so you must be curious about any number of things. Where to begin?
Slovenia and Slovakia are the same, right?
No.
Slovakia, where we do not live, is the eastern half of the former Czechoslovakia, and it’s bordered (clockwise from north) by Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic. It’s in central Europe and is landlocked. Slovenia is a former Yugoslav republic and is a good deal further to the southwest. It’s bordered by Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Italy, and has a short coastline on the Adriatic Sea not far from Venice (which is sinking, FYI). Slovenia and Slovakia do not even share a border. But their flags, like their names, are remarkably similar so it’s understandable that there’s confusion. We forgive you, mostly. Both countries recently joined NATO and the European Union. Don’t even ask me about Slavonia.
Yugoslavia, eh? So, landmines, ethnic cleansing, that sort of thing?
Not quite. Slovenia was the first republic to secede from Yugoslavia, in 1991. There was a very short war — less than two weeks and with very little violence, for a war. This was largely because there are no significant numbers of ethnic minorities, such as Muslims or Serbs or Albanians, in Slovenia. Slovenia set itself up as an independent country in 1991 with very little of the difficulty most people think of when they hear ‘Yugoslavia.’
What’s Slovenia like, then?
It’s a very lovely and peaceful little place about the size of the U.S. state of Vermont, and not terribly different from it in some ways. It is known by such nicknames as “the green piece of Europe” and “the sunny side of the Alps.” Mountains, rivers, farms and forests. It was part of the Habsburg empire for hundreds of years, so there’s a certain amount of Teutonic feel to it. The west, where we live, also belonged to Italy at various times, so imagine a Slavic country with both Mediterranean with alpine influence and you’re getting the idea. It’s a prosperous place with modern infrastructure and lots of Audis. The people tend to be very interested in sport and in being out in nature. They spend a lot of time making their houses and gardens look nice and making wine and sausages. There are just under 2 million people and pretty much every one of them produces their own wine and cured meat products when they are not bicycling up or skiing down the Julian Alps, which form the northern border with Austria and the western one with Italy.
In the east they grow hops.
Slovenia is the birthplace of modern beekeeping. Perhaps you have met the Carniolan Grey Bee? Slovenian.
So, what’s this isogloss thing?
An isogloss is a line on a map (or not) that shows people who care about such things where language changes occur. If you’ve ever driven along the east coast of the U.S. and noticed that long sandwiches go by names like submarine, hoagie, grinder, etc, you’ve been crossing tiny isoglosses. We live on one that is much less subtle: about 200 meters from our door the official language changes from a slavic one (Slovene) to romance (Italian). An hour up the valley it changes to German. The same distance down the coast and Slovene gives way to Croatian. There’s also an isogloss running down the middle of our bed, and yet another between our bedroom and the nursery, where the official language is WHINING.
Okay, fine, but why do you live on an isogloss?
We want our boys to grow up speaking as many languages as possible, and an isogloss seems like the best place for that to happen. Plus, it’s a beautiful and interesting place to live, and ideal for raising a family. Did I mention that it’s peaceful? Or the sausages?
Is it true that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s?
That should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
I can comment on a FAQ? Wow. I don’t know what to say. Nice FAQ, FAG. I realize that it’s a stupid joke, and you can moderate it out, but it was fun to type it.
Comment by jdog — Sunday 1 October 06 @ 11.16 MDT+2.00
I feel so much more worldly for having been here…..my brain has grown three sizes already since reading this faq.
Great blog….i’ll be back.
k
Comment by Kyran — Friday 3 November 06 @ 15.17 MST+2.00
In your blog you claim to be an American. As I am very bored, I have decided to take up your life as a work of non-fiction (I assume you truly exist) for my own entertainment. I’d like to know the story of how you ended up over there. Is this where Magda is from? I look forward to either future blog posts or perhaps pointers to old ones that will explain the rest of the story.
Comment by Clint Geek — Tuesday 29 January 08 @ 04.14 MST+2.00
this FAQ makes me want to live in Slovenia.
Comment by Aubrey — Monday 4 February 08 @ 06.54 MST+2.00
Charming faq.
I passed through Slovenia once, on a train bound for Zagreb, a la Dame West. Though instead of silly Germans, I shared my cabin with a young Slovenian couple who were handsome, polite and did not snore. My only impression of the country itself was that the mountains are very pretty in pre-dawn light (though I am not).
I like that you compare Slovenia to Vermont, where I now live. I love Vermont, but I envy your proximity to the Adriatic. Not to mention your proximity to sausages.
I look forward to reading more!
Comment by Gwen — Thursday 29 May 08 @ 20.34 MDT+2.00
[...] Isoglossia (Slovenia & Bulgaria) – I’m oddly drawn to Isoglossia, despite it feeling like it’s more about things like potty-training and other child-rearing topics than about travel, because the author is bitingly funny. John is an American who recently moved his family from Slovenia to Sofia, Bulgaria, so it’s possible the new environs will inspire more travel-esque posts in the future. Even if that’s not the case, however, the site is worth stopping by for a good chuckle now and then (as is the Twitter feed). And any travel trivia freak will be happy to know just what an isogloss is. [...]
Pingback by 15 of the Best Expat Blogs | BootsnAll Travel Articles — Tuesday 13 October 09 @ 10.04 MDT+2.00