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Here and There - Vicki's perspective
All the parts and pieces that constitute our "Daily Life" here in Montenegro are not much different than
those that make up our "Southern California Life" when we are in the States. We eat, we sleep, we work,
we play, we worship. However, there are differences and that is what this section will highlight.
- Food:
Let's start with one of our basic needs: food. I (Vicki) find this one of the more challenging
aspects in that I need to be thinking and doing something about it nearly all the time. Shopping,
cooking, eating, and cleaning up happen three (or more!) times daily.
- Grocery Shopping:
All the food stores are small here-some are nothing more than a counter, the largest about
the size of a 7-11 store. Shopping is a daily event. Everything must be carried home and that
naturally puts an upper limit on everyday purchases. Most everything comes in small packages -
baking powder , baking soda, yeast, pepper, oregano, and cinnamon are purchased in tablespoon-sized
packets; milk is sold by the quart; flour by the kilo (2 lbs); and other packaged items (popcorn,
bread crumbs, cocoa, coconut, raisins, for example) are often sold in 100 gr. packages (3.5 oz).
The small packaging makes it easier to buy a variety of groceries at one time, to lug them home,
and to store them in the small-to-very-tiny kitchens. One major exception is flour-because
people tend to do lots of baking, it is possible to buy 10 and 25 kg bags of flour, borrowing a
car to get them home.
Because the stores are small, there are lots of them. Within a 3 minute walk of our home,
there are 3 large (7-11 sized) grocery stores and at least 7 small, "not-much-more-than-a-counter"
kiosks. Fresh produce is available at some kiosks, but the piatz (outdoor marketplace in the city
center) has a greater selection. The fresh produce at the piatz is usually quite good and
in-season produce is very reasonably priced. Out of season produce is generally not available.
This means great peaches, cherries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and summer squash during summer, but
no lettuce, green onions, or mushrooms at all -too hot. Meat and bread are bought at the butcher's
and baker's respectively. Not every store has everything so a small list of 15-20 items requires
trooping from store to store. Ergo! Instant exercise!
- Cooking:
Good, wholesome meals require good, old-fashioned, wholesome cooking. The "frozen foods"
section of a typical grocery story is the size of a home freezer. So, generally if you want
something, you make it. Good bread is available but only one basic style-for variety, you must
bake. Refrigerators are small here, but everyone has a freezer. The freezer keeps the meat,
extra leftovers, homemade desserts, day-old bread for the pig and chickens in the village, and
many of the "putting by" goodies.
"Putting by" in the summer and fall for winter and spring use is standard: jams, slatkos
(super sweet compotes), sour cabbage, marinated vegetables, home frozen veggies, smoked and
frozen home-butchered pigs--all standard. Pickling veggies is so commonplace, vinegars dedicated
to the art are labeled by percentage of acid: 4% (milder than typical US salad vinegar at 5%),
9%, and a whopping 80% - this last one comes with skull and crossbones on the label because one
spoon of it will kill you. It is used by the spoonful to pickle LARGE quantities of veggies at
one time. Alas, young people (30's and younger - even if married or living away from home),
depend on their parents for all these things, so "putting by" is a dying, albeit needful, art.
The quick meal here is "bread and spread": homemade or store bought bread with "something"
spread on it. The "something" often includes: jam, kaymak (a kind of fermented cream cheese -
much better than it sounds), pasteta (extremely fatty meat paste - disgusting unless you grew up
on it), and much more rarely, luncheon meats and cheeses. "Bread and Spread" meals are usually
for breakfast and dinner. A special treat to make for breakfast or supper is palachinke. These
are large, thin pancakes similar to a crepe or Swedish pancake. They are served with jams or
ground nuts and sugar. As you can see, breakfast and dinner meals are on the lighter side. The
main meal is still eaten midday here.
A typical midday meal consists of: light soup (A few noodles in the broth made from boiling
the meat), small portions of the meat (often simmered first for tenderness, then doused with oil
and salt and roasted for flavor), potatoes (mashed or roasted), fresh salads (not usually a
lettuce salad, but made from the produce in season) or pickled salads (in winter), and bread.
Curiously, other vegetables are rarely cooked and seasoned and served as side dishes. Some
Montenegrin families have the above nearly everyday. But other main dishes that might be served
include pasta, stew and pasulj (a bean dish). A special meal consists of the above with a few
extras: a first course consisting of cheeses and sliced smoked meat, served with marinated
vegetables; Sarma (stuffed peppers or cabbage leaves); Russian salad (easy but time-consuming);
and an assortment of sweet cakes, cookies, and strudels for dessert. (With 3-7 desserts, serving
sizes of any individual dessert is small, but still! It is hard to leave the table without
groaning!)
Because the typical meal is so very typical, you know exactly what to expect at any special
gathering, whether it be a wedding, funeral, Slava (saint's day), or holiday. Culinary dishes
from other cuisines are virtually unheard of; even pasta and pizza bear only slight resemblance
to Italian-style pasta and pizza. (Pizza here comes with an egg on top and sometimes mayo on
the side). It has been fun to introduce friends and neighbors to Oriental, Mexican, Italian and
Greek foods-all easily do-able here (except for the soy sauce required in Oriental cooking). And
the fun goes both ways as I've learned a lot from my neighbors on the art of putting by and making
great salads!
- Eating:
Actually, we eat the same way we do in the States-with forks, knives, and spoons! : Culturally,
however, meal times are not so standard as in the States. Breakfast varies from early morning
until 11:00 AM. Families eat lunch anywhere between 1:00 and 5:00 pm. Dinner varies from 6:00
to 10:00 at night. The variety of "meal times" is partially due to the fact that families still
eat at home-children do not eat at school, employees do not eat at work, and different families
connect at different times-but also partially due to the fact that "regular routines" are not
particularly valued. "Live for the moment" attitudes cut across all strata of society here.
Because you can never assume that anyone has eaten a meal at a certain meal time, and because
if someone is not at home at mealtime, that someone goes without ("Picking up a burger" is rare
due to the expense), it is always proper to offer a meal or substantial snack to someone who
drops in for a visit, no matter the time. Thus, the savvy homemaker always keeps something on
hand (leftovers, pasta, sliced meats and cheeses, fresh bread) to serve on a moment's notice.
Mealtimes (or the lack thereof) are not the only differences we have found in Montenegrin eating
habits. We have discovered that "pot-luck" style eating, with a long buffet and the pleasure of
picking and choosing, is just not done here. The men, in particular, expect to be served, not to
serve themselves. Our first attempt at a potluck ended with me racing home to get as many serving
bowls as I could so we could serve each table individually!
Because food is a major expense here both in terms of time and money, I now readily understand
why European vacation plans include hotel and meals. The bliss of not having to think one moment
about meals-not about where to go or what to order, nothing! This is the defining quality of a
vacation for the busy homemaker!
- Other Errands or Out-and-About Town:
Shopping for non-food items has been a miserable experience at best. In Montenegro, all stores, even
clothes stores, are small with a very limited selection of colors, sizes, and styles. Many items, such
as towels, linens, underclothes, cheap pants and shirts, are sold on the gray-market to avoid taxes and
overhead. It is quite common for people to buy things from sidewalk vendors (a sheet thrown on the ground
and the goods displayed on it), from cars (cars parked with the trunk open and filled with items for
sale), and from neighborhood garages (extra stuff usually gotten via trips out of country with an eye to
making a profit). Finding good stuff requires connections; without connections, purchases generally
fall under a "buyer beware" sales agreement.
Since I have always been quite frustrated with my attempts to "go out and find xxxx", I asked a friend
here how her family accomplishes it. Solution: send all family members out to survey stores (sidewalk,
car, and garage vendors, too) in different parts of the city for desired item, come back and report on
availability and price, and THEN make a purchase. I confess to missing the joy and ease of reliable mail
order! :
The "Live for the Moment" attitude mentioned earlier plays havoc with attempts to get on with daily
living. It is not at all unheard of to find kiosks closed, business employees gone, teachers absent from
school without notice, reason, or explanation during normal, posted business hours. Since the economy is
a cash economy (no checking, few credit cards), bills must be paid in person. This can be a trying
experience as one cannot count on a representative being there, or if there, deciding not to leave with
people still waiting in line.
However, one pleasant aspect of living in a small city is the ease of getting around by walking.
Streets are filled with people, not cars. I appreciate being in touch with neighbors and even the weather
rather than being cooped up in a car. Children can get to their activities, whether soccer or music
lessons or errands, without depending on parents to get them there. This is very different from Southern
California where daily driving is the norm and two cars a requirement.
Page last updated: July 23 2004 |