a few days ago we celebrated another year of this cultural immersion adventure, the fourth so far (1 in netherlands, 2 in china and now 1 in slovenia) and i don’t think we’ll stop our mission around the world any time soon… although slovenia has managed to charm us thoroughly! in fact, i can picture us settling down here, on a big house (all houses are gigantic around here) by the mountains, spending our days hiking, eating sausages and mushrooms and breathing in the fresh air with a mug of planinski tea or bela kava on our hands.

i’m almost wary of singing slovenia’s praises for fear that the country will be invaded by tourists, spoiling its magic. i’m not the only one thinking so – we’re like a league of secret slovenian admirers, speaking of the country as if it’s mythical (a bit like bielefeld conspiracy, I’ve heard…). seriously, when was the last time you heard of slovenia in the news? never? i rest my case. :P

right now, the first snows have fallen, and we’re eager to start enjoying the winter before packing the tent again and moving somewhere… north. after shanghai we craved quietness, pure air, nature. after slovenia, we’re craving a bustling city, events, cafés with internet. we’ll see. :)

and now that we’re out of the house searching loop, i can finally breathe better. we got a slovenian phone number, called dozens of landlords and real estates, saw quite a few houses and ended up scoring a little apartment that we can just barely spot on some of the city’s postcards. :) right now, our fridge magnets are holding our favorite polaroids, there are maps on the walls, the table is a mess of postcards and notebooks and there is a cat (i don’t know who the owner is, but he likes belly rubs) sleeping on our patio chairs. it feels like home.

as a reward (or perhaps because of my persistent nagging), we went to see new moon on the cinema, yesterday. the room was filled with giggly teenagers, who clapped during the kissing parts and sighed loudly on the sight of their favorite shirtless character (vampire or werewolf), but all in all, i had a nice time. to me, new moon felt much more coherent with the books than twilight did and so the whole story felt familiar, matching what i had imagined when i read it. i can see why people dislike it, especially if viewed as a standalone movie, which it is not meant to be…

…frankly, i can’t wait for eclipse! :)