Author Archives: Luka Karaman

Pticica krade djeci dude varalice (little birdy steals baby’s pacifier, binky)

Nationality: American
Age: 49
Occupation: financial manager
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/19/2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Croatian

SK is my mom who’s been living in Croatia for the past 15 years. She told me that both my brother and sister used pacifiers. And then she told me how she got them to stop using them.

Just like here in the United States, parents in Croatia buy pacifiers for their babies to calm them down. And as everyone knows it is hard for a baby to get rid of it. So I asked my mom how did she get my siblings to stop using them.

 

Why did you buy them pacifiers?

 

-It helps a lot, for an example it helps them go to sleep, it calms them down, but they easily get addicted to them.

 

How did you get them to stop using them?

 

-The teachers at the local preschool your brother and sister went to, told the babies when they lost their pacifiers that a little birdy took it and gave it to its baby birds to make it seem ok. I heard it from them and decided to give it a try. And it worked.

 

The whole story about birds steeling pacifiers from babies is ridiculous, but when you think about it, it actually works in this case. A baby can be strongly addicted to its pacifier and a playful story like this one can teach them a lesson of growing up.

DUBROVNIK ROZATA

Nationality: Croatian
Age: 68
Occupation: retired
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/19/2017
Primary Language: Croatian

NK is my grandmother who was born and raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Being a local she knows a lot about the city and its folklore. She knows a lot about the local and traditional cuisine. Rozata is a very traditional dessert in Dubrovnik.

 

“Rozata is one of many traditional cuisine in Dubrovnik. This type of desert has been made for special occasions in our family for generations.“

 

What ingredients do you need to make rozata?

 

“well to make it you need:

– eggs 12 pcs.

– sugar 0,22 dkg +0,12 kg (for the caramel)

– milk 1 l

– vanilla bean 1,00 Pc.

– whipping cream 0,35 l

– almonds 0,10 kg

– raisins 0,07 kg

– rum 0,02 l

– candied orange peel .”

 

How do you make it?

 

“You boil the milk and the vanilla bean, mix the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl. Pour the boiled milk through a sieve, cool and carefully add to egg mixture, stirring all the while. After that you want to mix carefully, paying attention that foam does not form at the surface. Then caramelize the remaining sugar and cover the bottom and sides of the forms. Fill the forms with the mixture and place in a medium hot oven in a water bath to fix the cream. When the rozata is half thickened, add a few rum-soaked raisins in the middle of the forms. The finished rozata is removed and cooled. Then you place it in the fridge overnight. Remove from the forms, and pour the melted caramel over the tops. Then you can decorate it and add flavor with whipped cream, thinly cut home-made candied orange strips and toasted almonds.”

 

Rozata has been prepared in my family for as long as I can remember and way longer than that. It has been passed down from generation to generation, but managed to keep your original recipe. I am grateful that I was a part of the generation who had the opportunity to grow up on this exquisite pastry prepared by our grandmothers, and I am even more honored to be able to present and write about it.

Dubrovacka rozata

Two men filing a missing report

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles,CA
Performance Date: 3/17/2017
Primary Language: English

Informant: TF was born and raised in Villa Park, California. His father works in commercial real estate and his mother working as a manager for Choc Hospital. He has one older brother, a twin sister, and one younger brother. TF is half Lebanese and strongly connected to his Lebanese background. He is a first year student at USC. TF heard this joke from his friend back in high school. TF told me this joke last semester while studying for one of our finals.

 

“A husband came to the police station to report that his wife is missing. There was one man already there filing the papers for his missing wife Katarina. The police officer asked what Katarina looks like; the husband says: “long legs, blonde, big breasts…”

The police officer turns back to the other husband and asks: “and your wife sir.”

“Forget my wife, lets find Katarina.”’

 

The joke makes fun of men; as soon as they see an attractive woman they go running after her. Not thinking with their heads, but instead with their penises. The joke is exaggerating that men are only interested in the superficial. This is why it is funny, because if we generalize men, it is true to an extant.

7, 11, doubles

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 3/20/2017
Primary Language: English

7, 11, doubles

 

Informant: TF was born and raised in Villa Park, California. His father works in commercial real estate and his mother working as a manager for Choc Hospital. He has one older brother, a twin sister, and one younger brother. TR is half Lebanese and strongly connected to his Lebanese background. He is a first year student at USC. He learned this game from a friend at high school.

 

What do you do when you go out to parties?

 

“I like to dance and play drinking games with my friends”

 

Drinking games?

 

“Yes, like for an example 7, 11, doubles”

 

What’s that?

 

“It’s a drinking game. You need a cup, two dices and alcohol of choice. You role dice and if you get 7, 11, or doubles (like two 2) you choose a person to drink from the cup in the middle. If you get 7, 11, or doubles again before the person drinks everything from the cup that person has to drink again.”

 

Does this game mean anything to you?

 

“I mean it’s a fun game to play when you go out to a party, that’s all.”

 

Later on the informant said that he plays the same game. It’s interesting how popular this game is among teenagers. A drinking game that makes drinking more fun.

Tucanje jaja (Cracking eggs)

Nationality: American
Age: 49
Occupation: financial manager
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/19/2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Croatian

Tucanje jaja (Cracking eggs)

Informant: SK is my mom. She was born and raised in New York, but moved to Croatia in 2002 and has been living there ever since.

 

What’s your favorite thing to do on Easter?

 

“Play cracking eggs.”

 

What’s that?

 

“It’s a game my family plays every Easter.”

 

How do you play it?

 

“Ok, so you need two players, each player has an egg and you hit the egg with the other egg. The egg that’s the least damaged is the winner. The winner as a prize gets to eat the egg.”

 

This game is a traditional Easter game that’s appropriate for all generations, and it’s interesting how from simple things like eggs a family cam make up a game that will bring the family even closer. Having it played on a holiday like Easter makes it even better because the whole family is there.