Jeremy Kaschinske introduced Simon Milankovic, in his most formal role, as our weekly program speaker. Simon has been busy at school, eating a great hamburger at Ruby Tuesday, and watching the movie Fargo. Fortunately, his accent appeared to be unchanged by that experience, and Simon provided us with a presentation that covered the geography and brief history of Croatia, the symbols on his flag, and the wide diversity of climates in a country the size of West Virginia. With appetizing photos, Simon confessed to missing some of the unique food in Croatia. We learned about the Croatian origins of neckties, parachutes, ink pens, and Tesla’s electricity. Photos of school, family and his home town of Pula were shared. His mother Joanna is a travel agent, and his father Mladen, manages a coffee shop. Simon explained that the role of a coffee shop in Croatia is more like a community center (without a swimming pool). People visit for hours rather than using a drive-up lane. He also discussed the eastern Europe refugee crisis, crime, street safety and land mines – not the usual topics from previous high school students. Once again, we were impressed with his confidence, maturity and ease of speaking to us.
For more information about Croatia: http://totalcroatia.eu/
Simon’s email: [email protected]
1st Host Family
