Leaving Slovenia

I arrived in Istanbul last night, and I am finally back to free high-speed internet access, so I'll be catching up on my blog posts over the next couple days. Not all of them will be in chronological order just to forewarn you.

06 JUN 2009
My last day in Slovenia was the perfect culmination of another great visit to the country. I rode with Natasa’s brother, Borut, to Celje, where we spent some time hanging out at Tropic Bar and having a great lunch prepared by Natasa’s mother. It’s like being home, surrounded by close friends in a country I love, eating Eta’s great food. Upon returning to Ljubljana, I met up with my new friend Jorge and another local couch surfer. The young Slovenian girl that was hanging out with us was quite the character, but I really enjoyed meeting her. The amusement started when she told Jorge, “I have to tell you, I have emotions.” It turns out that she had a Guatemalan roommate while volunteering in Ecuador to whom she was obviously very close. Just by fact of origin, Jorge had given her “emotions.”

When asked if Jorge reminded her of her friend Marcial and why, she replied, “You move and you smile.” Who knew that non-Guatemalan people were so cold and stationary? During dinner at Pizzeria Osmica, things got even more interesting. The girl began to explain how Latin people touch each other a lot more than Europeans in general. She admitted that she was sad because she really wanted to ask Marcial to “lay on top of [her], just to feel his weight and presence” before they said goodbye, but she was too shy. “Next year though, people laid on top of me,” she said very matter-of-factly. The conversation took another radical turn when she mentioned the interesting reactions one gets “if you just ask someone to touch you anywhere.” Apparently, she attempted this experiment with one girl and one guy, and the girl was very uncomfortable, but touched her behind the ear and “gave [her] emotions.” The guy touched her hair, but she was unmoved by that. Jorge recommended that she not try that question on people in Guatemala if she ever visits.

Soon enough, it was time for the young girl to go back to work on editing a film for her university. Jorge gave her two pecks on the cheeks to say goodbye, and she practically melted. I did the same, and she said, “He’s just American.”

Jorge and I finished the night by meeting some of the folks from his youth hostel for some drinks and a long walk in the rain and lightning. Trying to jump over a large puddle, I sorta kinda ended up jumping into a large puddle and splashing the poor English girl behind me. She pointed out every puddle for the rest of the night and asked if I’d like to jump in again. As far as these young folks were concerned, the night was young, but at 2AM, I thought it best to retire to my hotel to pack and rest before my 6AM departure to Iraq. Many hugs and multiple goodbyes, followed by the chorus of “please stay alive,” and I was back to the hotel, ready for another adventure.