The Best Bus Ride Ever

Saturday night, Amara and I took the bus from Old Town to the main bus station in Dubrovnik, to get on the 7pm bus to Zagreb (another 10-11 hour bus ride!). We survived the first tediously long bus ride just 2 nights before, so we would definitely be able to handle this one. (We would have taken a later bus, just to stay an extra few hours in Dubrovnik; but Amara's friend lived close to one of the bus stops, and they hoped to rendezvous there). To avoid having to pay 7 kunas (=to about 1 euro) to store luggage on the bus, we sneaked our luggage (only 1, that we shared) onto the bus and next to the seats in which we planned to sit. Okay, ready to go. It started out well - they checked our tickets, no one saw the stow-away luggage, and Amara and I each got our own row! We quickly made ourselves comfortable for the long bus ride. At the first stop, a few more people got on the bus, and I moved my legs from the seats across from me to let people pass. Amara was still sitting, and thus was not occupying the seats across from her. Of course, with so many open seats on the bus still, 2 older women sit across the aisle from me. Really? You can't go somewhere else?::sigh:: Okay so I just look at Amara, and she says to just move to the seats (the whole row) behind her because they were empty. So as the bus is starting up, I gather my things and move to the row behind Amara. Probably less than a minute after I move, the 2 women get up, and move to the seats across the aisle from Amara. Amara and I just look at each other like "What the heck was the point of that?" It would have made sense if only one woman sat there (so that each of them would have more room to themselves). But no. Both of them had to move. After that, I felt a little sorry for Amara, because she didn't have a row to herself anymore, and I did.

Yeah, that didn't last long. A couple stops after, a few more people get on the bus. Yet again, of course with all the open seats and rows on the bus, people sit across the aisle from me.

Really, I'm not a selfish person…but do you absolutely have to sit across from me and take 'my' row? And you're probably wondering, 'Well then if there were so many other open seats and rows, why didn't you and Amara move?' Remember that luggage we snuck onto the bus? It was a hassle getting it where it was, and would have been even more of a nuisance to relocate it. Then again, I could have moved on my own. But, like I said, I felt badly for Amara, so I stayed behind her (literally, in the seats behind her). The two people sitting across from me were an autistic boy (at least teenager), and, whom I presumed to be, his father. (Now, I have known a few autistic children, usually pretty well-behaved most times. And I do not have anything against them.)

Okay, time to go to sleep. For real this time. Psych. Okay so the guy kept crying and screaming and whining about something pretty much the whole bus ride (except maybe the last hour). It was terrible! Moreover, I couldn't find a good sleeping position. My body lay in positions in which I'm pretty sure the human body should never be. (It reminded me of the 6-7 hour rides to Las Vegas with the family in those huge 12 or 15-seater vans - when each person brings their pillow and tries to get comfortable, with the head against the seat in front of them or against the window, legs outstretched over another person's arm, neck hanging off the seat, foot pushed up against the van's ceiling or someone else's chin.) Oh yeah, and the bus arrived late to the bus station near which her friend lived; and her friend wasn't there anymore. The ride would have been a little bit more worthwhile had she and her friend met up. That was a bust.

Zagreb- Day 1

After finally arriving to Zagreb, Amara and I were ridiculously exhausted. We hung out at the bus terminal for a while (because, you know, that's where all the cool people are) and ate our 'breakfast' - which consisted of an apple turnover thing, bread and butter and an orange. We walked to our hostel (with no hassle from creepy old fairy-tale witches), and checked in. The hostess was nice and let us take a room (which was not ours) right away to let us get some sleep. We woke up a few hours later, and got ready to go into town. (Also, there was a time change. So it was 4pm, instead of 3pm.) Well, I'm a sucker for sunny days and warm weather, and I just had wear my jean skirt. That wasn't really a good idea. There are a lot of creeps. I'm party glad that I can't understand the language, because I'm not so sure that I would have liked to hear what some people mumbled. This one guy who has having a conversation with a female quickly turned his head to me and made some sort of cat call/ kissing noise. Eww. Really? No, that's gross. Anyway, Amara and I just continued walked around, stopped by a few shops, and took pictures. A few more people tried to talk to Amara in Chinese or Japanese. Haha. While we were just walking, 2 guys -one on a bike, and another walking- passed us, and the one on the bike asked me if I was Filipino. Wow, that's a first. That's quite impressive. I just gave a quick answer and said yes. And then he asked me if I knew of an island in the Philippines, where there's a big lake, and an island in that lake, and another island in that lake of the island…I told him I wasn't from there, and that I didn't know. (does anyone know?) Oh yeah, and the guy on the bike (I think his name was Veci - or something. I'll call him Bob) Anyway, so we chatted for a little bit. They looked about mine and Amara's age. They were nice too (and not in the weird, creepy, pedophilic kind of way, either), and invited us to go to a film festival that was free. We parted, and Amara and I continued wandering. We ended up going to film festival. First, we got a quick dinner from the McDonald's that was across from the theater. It was packed! I become so amazed seeing the really clean, two-story McDonald's. Hmm…

Amara and I watched a few short films - most of them were really funny. Most of the ones we saw were not in English, but Bob was there and he sat behind us and translated for us. He was really good translating too. It was dark outside by the time we left the theater. It was also cold (I was still wearing the skirt, and a light sweater). So Amara and I made our way quickly back to the hostel.

We got ready for bed, and met another person sharing our hostel room (male, mid 20s). Our hostel bedroom had 8 bunks. Lights out, the 3 of us were in bed and ready to go to sleep. A couple minutes later 2 guys came in with their backpacks and made their beds. Quick introduction. Undress. Get into bunks. Then a short while after another guy backpacker came through. Amara and I were in a bedroom with 4 other guys. Don't be so shocked. It wasn't bad. Each person got to bed quickly, and we didn't hear them leave in the morning.

Zagreb - Day 2

Next day Amara and I pretty much did the same thing… eat, walk around, take a ton of pictures, check out shops, and get approached by random people. We were just walking and crossing the street, and some random older guy (40s maybe?) tried to say hi to us.I try not to be rude, so if someone is approaching me, I do not think too much about it, and just humor the other person by saying hello, and then leaving. So this guy says something like "Can I just say hello to you? My name is…I am a professional musician…" and stuff. Amara and I were just like 'Uhm…okay, that's nice, hi, yeah nice to meet you…okay bye.' Riiight. Totally random. How often do you approach strangers and tell them your profession? There were also some rude people. While walking, a group of teenage (?) boys passed by and one said "Made in China." I gaped and said "Oh my God, what a b**** face! I totally would've punched that guy." To which Amara, responded with "What, did that guy hit your butt too?" Me: "What?! No. Did he do that to you?" A: "Yeah, but I just ignore it." They were long past us at that point. If that happened to me, I would have confronted the guy. (As you may have already guessed, I can be rather confrontational sometimes). On another occasion, just in passing, another teenager said something along the lines of "Ching chong chay." Guh. Why do people have to be such jerks? After getting dinner, we walked to the theater to catch part of the film festival. We met 'Bob' and a couple of his friends again. This guy was something else. He was wearing white sneakers without a tongue (the giant flap that the laces go across), and a cerulean-blue hammock wrapped around his head! We asked him why he was wearing it, and he said he was going for the 'troubadour' look. Hmm…okay.

Oh yeah, and earlier in the day, while sight-seeing (that's an odd phrase) we visited a few churches (Catholic). I went into a church, and took a seat in a pew in the very back. There was a service, and a few people were present, reciting lines from rote. In the pew in front of me was a man and his very young daughter (about 2-3 years old). She quietly climbed up and down the pew bench, and walked back and forth from her dad to the end of the pew, and to a display of Mary in a garden. (In some Catholic churches, there are 'stations' or religious displays --paintings, statues-- at which people may kneel and pray.) The little girl knelt down, positioned her arms over the banister, and folded her hands. She was so cute.

We walked back to our hostel relatively early (before 10) because we had to get an early start the next morning. Back at the hostel, we met 2 more people (girls) backpacking through Europe. We chatted a little bit, then got ready for bed.

Back to Amsterdam...and then some...

Amara and I woke up at 4:30 the next morning, walked to the bus station, and took a bus to the airport. I was actually looking forward to getting back to Amsterdam…to the familiar. It's strange how we learn to adapt to different environments and people, and the ease with which we can find ourselves in a place that, at one point, was new and scary. But then we become accustomed to life in that setting, and things are not so new anymore. I find myself sometimes referring to my apartment, and Amsterdam as 'home.' Maybe just for now.

[A fourth person in our hostel room (the last guy to arrive the night before) was only 18. He just graduated high school and was spending a few months traveling around Europe (and the rest of the year traveling other places)…by himself. That takes so much courage. I really was amazed at his age and what he was doing. (However, I think that if I was a guy, that I would be more comfortable, and feel safer, traveling by myself, than as a girl.) Biology aside, I personally do not think that I would have been able to handle being away from home for such a long time, fresh out of high school. I imagine that the internal experiences of growing up and maturing, coupled with various other environmental factors, including the people which one meets along the way, may be overwhelming at times. Consequently, such varying paths shape each person into a -hopefully - responsible human who is culturally conscious and learns from other people as much as he/she can, taking, gratefully and considerately, a lesson from each experience.