Expert: Mila Brekalo - 2/18/2002

Question
Can you give me a list of the mistakes americans commit when they travel to Croatia in relation to speech, dress, gestures, ets

Answer
Hello Ian!

I am very glad that I can answer your question.

You ask about mistakes that Americans can make with dress, gestures, etc. while visiting. To be quite truthful with you, there really aren't any mistakes that one can make while visiting Croatia. Croatia's economy is stirred by more than 90% tourism, and this is very evident during the summer when the beaches and cities are flooded with people from all over Europe as well as America. Every tourist brings his own type of dress and manner, and the Croatians are quite accepting of this. However, Croatia (as well as every other European country) is deeply rooted with culture, and so the only thing to be careful with is to not insult the culture. As ridiculous as this may sound, tourists often find themselves victims of this. For example, in the Croatian language, older persons are referred to with a different "you" (a formal type of "you"). This is only important to know if you will be speaking any Croatian. They are  highly sensitive to that. If you will be speaking English, then you shouldn't have a problem because almost everyone speaks English and in the English language, we don't have a different way of addressing elders (everyone is simply "you"). Also, the girls are very revealing in the way they dress (on the beach and at night), and to some Americans this may be intimidating and strange. The Croatian girls' philosophy can be summed up into one simple statement: if you've got it, flaunt it. Also, one more note: almost 99% of the population is Catholic, so there is evidence of the religion everywhere from television to houses. So if you're not Catholic, be aware of that.

      Overall, if you just be yourself and don't insult the culture, you should have nothing but fun in Croatia. I hope I helped answer your question. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

Sincerely,
*Mila*