What is primary education in Croatia like?

Croatia questions - please help!!!!?

• please give as detailed answers as possible!! What is the education system like? What jobs are well-respected? How do Croatians feel about Americans? Where do they get their information about Americans from and what exposure to Americans do they typically have? What are some big similarities and differences between the U.S. and Croatia? What activities should I get involved in to really understand the culture? What is the social system like? Are there major differences based on where in the country you live? What are the effects of tourism? How are tourists seen? How have technological advancements affected Croatia? What would a typical day be like for a Croatian? What are some popular hobbies and activities? What are traditional/popular foods, dances, songs, etc? What do Croatians think of other cultures in general? How are families structured? What are some things that only a Croatian would know about?

• Answer:

  Wow lots of questions. Ok here goes my best attempt to answer. the educational system is different. In most primary schools, there are simply too many children for the whole school to fit, so they break it up in shifts. Half the kids go to school usually from 8-2, and then the other half go from 2:30-8 or 9 ish. In college, you take all your classes, and then get tested on them after you finished taking the course. If you fail (which often happens) you get another chance. If you fail 4 times, you have to retake the class. If you fail the test 8 times, you are kicked out of school. School is also FREE (for the most part). Well respected jobs in Croatia- Doctors, lawyers, engineers Croatians either seem to not like Americans very much (blame it on Bush) or they are neutral. I never met a Croatian that was ECSTATIC that I was American. They think a lot of our policies our stupid, and that we have too many laws, and too many fat people (which is true!) Many Croats get their info about us from mainstream media, and ALOT of it comes from Hollywood movies that are played in Croatia. Differences- the biggest would be the standard of living. It is much much higher in the U.S. People get paid more money, gasoline is WAYYY cheaper (we complain about gas prices but in Croatia its about $8 a gallon!) America is also way more diverse. You will rarely see black people in Croatia. Croatians are also very forward, which Americans may sometimes misinterpret as rude. Croatians have much better coffee too. Similarities- Croatia and America both have extreme corruption in their governments. Both countries love to use very descriptive curse words. Activities to get involved in- Learn the language. It's very challenging for English speakers, so learn now. Start smoking cigarettes and drinking lots of coffee and alcohol because that is what Croats do to relax. Social system- Socialism. Google it if you need further explaining on Socialism. There are some differences in dialects depending on where you are in the country. In Zagreb, people say goodbye with the word "Bok" and on the coast, everybody says "Ciao". People in the northern coastal areas seem to be the most friendly and open minded. Tourism is a huge part of Croatia's economy. Croatia brings in the most revenue from the months of June-September. This is because they have a fabulous coast and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Tourists are swarming in the summertime, and most of the coastal towns and cities jack up the prices of everything to get as much money out of tourists as they can. Technological Advancements- I suppose modern technology has affected Croatia in the same way it has affected the rest of the world. Typical day for city folk- Wake up, meet a friend for coffee for an hour or so. Go to work if you are lucky enough to have a job. After, meet a friend on the way home for a drink, then go home. Croatia is a highly Catholic country, so nobody works and nothing is open on Sundays. Typical day for village folk- Wake up, eat a huge lunch, then spend time tending to the farm or garden patch. Croats love to grow their own fruits and veggies. Potatoes are like a step below God in the agricultural world of Croatia. They eat potatoes with everything. Hobbies- Once again, it is a coffee culture in Croatia, so they love sitting around having coffee. At parties, you will often see people making food over a campfire- meats are cooked, whole pigs are roasted, and goulash is stewing in a pot over a fire. Soccer is the main sport, so they love attending soccer games. Foods- Any kind of meat and potatoes is the Croatian staple food. They also make delicious desserts- pancakes, or "palacinke" is like a crepe- stuffed with sweet fillings like marmalades, chocolate, or nutella. A traditional Croatian dance group is called Kolo- they dance around in a circle holding hands. Other cultures- Ive noticed Croatians seem to be fond of Irish (probably because of the shared fondness of alcohol) and any kind of Spanish culture. Many Croats seem to really like Mexican food because the spices taste exotic to them. Families- every family is different in any culture, and this cannot be answered in sweeping generalizations. What does seem to be very common is that children will still live in their parent's houses for a much longer time than American children live in their parents homes. There is a long running joke that the only way out of the house is married, or dead. Croatians like to brag that they invented the tie. They did. The tie, or "kravata", was invented by Croats when the wives would tie a little scarf around their husbands to keep their necks warm while they went to war. There you have it. A crash course on Croatian people. And I don't even have one ounce of Croatian blood in me. But trust me, most Croats would agree with these answers.