Croatia is the home of Kelly Pedroni, one of our international Potter’s School students. She’s lived in Croatia for the past nine years. Kelly says that the main difference between the American and Croatian culture is the pace of life. “The US is faster, less personal,” says Kelly. “Here, people take time out to go out for a coffee or just sit on their balconies watching the world go by.” When asked about her cultural experience Kelly said she’s been to way too many countries to count, including “all over Europe, basically, as well as Canada and Mexico.” The difference in culture, she said, depends mainly on the country, but in every one there are similarities and differences.

Kelly loves the closeness of her culture, as well as the friendliness of people and the relaxed way of living. However, she dislikes the fact that family history and religion play such big roles in the culture, saying “Superstition and just general ‘rules’ about society that keep people locked in traditions even though they don’t mean anything.” A cultural tradition Kelly and the entire Pedroni family enjoy is walking through the town like the natives. She said, “We’ve gotten to be very ‘spur of the moment’ since that’s what we’ve become used to.” Quite obviously, although the Croatian culture is different, there are many advantages to the differences, and other cultures are something we should take the time to both learn about and try to experience and enjoy.