Then I went off to St. Francis Church & Monastery, which was supposed to have some museum in it, but the museum was also closed. However, the church and the surrounding area was very pretty. At this point it was obvious that Zadar is a summer town and was in the process of closing up shop for tourism for the winter.
But I went back to the center and found the archaeological museum where they had a free audio guided tour if you had a wifi enabled device. I bet I spent almost 2 hours here learning about the early history of Croatia. Like pre-historic information, I forgot what they called it, but it was pre-palen...something, then followed it up through the eras until there was some modern discoveries. I would have spent some more time here, but the website stopped working, so I couldn’t hear anything else about the displays. But, they allowed pictures!
After this, I was looking for somewhere to mail the postcards I had bought yesterday, and I thought I had seen one down this little side road, but then I got distracted at some local painted art work. I have recently decided that I want to collect local art from my travels- something that shows the place, the way I remember it. This way I can decorate my house with it! Anyway, I stood there looking at it for a bit, waiting for the sale guy to come back. When he did, he spoke English and wanted to practice his English on me. He was super nice! We talked about my travels, research in Macedonia, what I liked about Croatia, the health problems of cell phones (did ya know that apparently Nokia puts harmful stuff ON PURPOSE into their cell phones? the Internet told him that. But now he has an LG phone and they only put good things in their cell phones. The Internet again), technology, government surveillance, life in general. I learned about his life story a bit, he survived meningitis as a kid, and he is taking care of his grandfather who has Alzheimer.
He asked me where I came from. Like, where my parents were from- my ethnicity. He didn’t understand when I said I am American. “But where do your ancestors come from?” I mean I know that I have Native American and French Canadian, but I am only 12.5% and 25% respectively. Other than that- I have no clue! This was utterly surprising to him, but he said that he was heard other Americans say that. He was Croatian, but hi dad was Serbian. I ended up spending a little more than I wanted ($30), but for the conversation it was worth it.
He then told me where the post office was! When I bought some stamps and the lady selling them told me, “I’ll send them for you.” Such nice people. I know I saw practically everyone is nice, but maybe I just meet nice people. I decided that lunch was in order and was hoping for a sandwich,but did not find any right off the bat so I got some pizza.
I then decided to go try out the Museum of Ancient Glass, because really- when do you ever see a museum dedicated to glass? Well, my first thought was WEIRD! to be honest, but hey, I had time to kill. The museum was a bit expensive compared to other local Balkan museums, but was worth it at the end. They had one room devoted to these shipwreck finds near Zadar. In another room, there was a lady making those little multi colored glass beads. The museum was filled with bottles, cosmetic cases, bowls, plates, etc. I was amazed how perfect everything was even when shaped by hand! They were truly talented back then. I even learned a lot about glass that I did not know that I did not know. Like how the first glass was made, how over time a few different types of glass making were developed. But the best thing- the thing that made it worth it to pay the entrance fee- there were people on the top floor who were actually blowing glass! They were making square bottles! I wish I had gotten some pictures, but by this time I had realized that I wasn’t supposed to take pictures. I wish I had felt confidant enough to record it- what would they do- stop making glass and tell me to stop? The talent and the strength needed-just cool! You don’t see people doing stuff like that any more.
After sitting to rest for a few minutes (I’d been walking or standing most of the day), I decided to see one more museum on my way to this internet cafe I saw, since I had no internet at Erin’s. It was a small, all in Croatia ethnographic museum, Like two rooms small. Some nice photos and clothes but not too much to look at. Not worth the price if you aren’t a student. Afterwards, I went off to the cafe. Well, it was totally disappointing. You had to pay for the wifi- and it was over priced! But I got hot chocolate. And wrote a bit of the blog, then went back to Erin’s.
When I got back, I realized I didn’t know the name of the people she was renting from last name! So I guess what she had told me, and they buzzed me in. I thought I had the correct one, but when I got up to Erin’s and rang her door bell she wasn’t expecting me. So thanks to whoever let the random person in without talking to them. Read for awhile, took a nap. I know, I know, boring. But I was exhausted. We later went back down town so that Erin could look for some special face stuff she uses but I found travel toothpaste! We walked along the quay, and then back home where I cooked some pasta for dinner. We then went to see In Time with Justin Timberlake in it with some of Erin’s local friends. It was actually really interesting and made you think!
SPOILER ALERT!
The premise was that you stop aging when you turn 25, but you only have 1 year to live after that. You can live longer or shorter because time is literally money. You pay for coffee in minutes, bus tickets in hours, rent in days, and cars in years. However, there was a definate class distinctions between rich and normal. One of the lines was “for few to be immortal, many must die.” But the heros of the story “steal” time and Robin Hood it to the poor so much that they upset the balance of power. If time is money and your life depends on it- how does that change the world? What is different about that world from ours? Does the movie just make it more obvious than how we treat time and money now? 
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