Encounter with locals

I usually have 1-2 hour walk everyday with Tiuku and so did we yesterday also. As we were walking down the village road an elderly couple approached us on the street. As it often happens, they also started to speak something to Tiuku. That something sounded like baby talk and at least term small dog was mentioned in it. Tiuku stopped politely to listen with the tail waving and as often happens when the movement stops, her hind legs started to shake slightly.

This shaking makes people generally think that the dog is either cold or scared. Being cold is a pretty funny idea especially in the summer heat and with moderately hairy dog. But of course, you never know. Terriers shake, often it is said that it's kind of being prepared shake, a way to stay warm and ready for example to go after a rat at any time without danger of ruptures or other damage. When Tiuku was younger she also had that kind of shake, a bit different than the one she is having now. According to several opinions I have received from vets and other professionals this is due to an old age and aging of the nervous system. It doesn´t affect on her movement and it does not seem to bother the dog any way.

From the dog's physiology, we go back to the elderly couple. When they saw the vibration in the legs, they were wondering if there was something wrong with her? I assured them that there is no problem. I told the dog is just old, 13.5 years already and that´s why she is shaking a bit. And now comes the most important thing: all this conversation happened in the local language, no English or any other language was used. However, my dialect hopelessly revealed them that I´m not local so they were eager to know where I'm from. The knowledge of me coming from Finland gave them a very positive reaction and they very much praised my language skills. They asked if I live here and I said I have been in the country for 1.5 years. They seemed very happy and with the big smile they reiterated that it was so great that I had learned the language so well. It seemed to be a big thing for them. We continued in our own ways with happy smile.

In the name of honesty, the level of my Croat language is still very much at the point of beginner basics. But yes, it is quite surprising how well I understood yesterday and I was able to understandably communicate back. However, the greatest joy came from the encounter itself. Its genuineness and warmth, the interest and positive feedback shown by totally unknown people. I smiled all the way home and even after that. And this was not the only time something like this happened in here. Once after a few minutes of conversation (that time in English) with a complete stranger I surprisingly was given a bunch of oranges straight from the tree. At the beach I often meet an elderly lady, with whom we are having discussions in Croat and with the power of body language in very good spirit. And many other joyful moments with different people.

All these encounters has one thing in common. I have never experienced a negative attitude because of my foreign background. Usually the opposite. Often at first people seem to think I´m local, especially during the winter season when there are no tourists here and more so if there is a dog with me. When it turns out I do not necessarily speak so fluently in the local language and if the language skills of the opposite party are not the strongest area of ​​expertise, then with a smile they will spin some words in English or maybe German or at least there is a lot of vivid body language if they have something to say. And I'm trying to understand and be understood.

Hope that today you will meet someone completely unknown, create contact and get a great feeling about that.