In Zagreb I met 3 guys from the states: Jack, Zack and Tom. They came to Europe to study. They are enrolled in a student program between the Czech Republic and the USA and lived in Prague for a few months. Zack and Tom are studying economics and Jack is studying philosophy. Tom also plays the trombone on American cruise ships. He gets accommodation, food and about $500/week. That’s for 2-3 hours/day of work. Not bad at all.
OK. And what did they think? That Europe is a good opportunity to have fun, drink and smoke. Almost everything that matters in life for a typical American. They were in Amsterdam, where they were always high. Jack was robbed by a Red-Light prostitute. But it was fun for them.
And they also thought about continuing their trip and coming to Croatia: Dubrovnik and Zagreb. This is where I meet them. We talked for a few hours, we got to know each other, we talked about politics, life in America, life in Romania, traveling… a lot of things.
Around 11 o’clock we go out to a kind of student club. So far so good, we’ve got to get there, drink 1 beer, 2, 3, etc. Jack socialized with dozens of girls, I also met a few. They were very nice, by the way. Those girls, I mean..
Around 3 o’clock I go out of the club to get some fresh air. It was already too crowded and too much smoke for me. Somewhere in the distance, I see Jack and Zack, surrounded by about 5 guys, most likely Croats. OK. I get close to find out what’s going on and when I get 2-3 meters away from them, one of the Croatians starts punching me. My reaction is to try to calm him down. His reaction, abnormal, I say, came to me to slap me. I tell him to stop. I explain that I’m not from America. I’m from Romania, European, like him. I try to explain to them that the two Americans are good guys, there is no point in beating them. I also tell him that we are Europeans and we must be civilized and respect tourists, no matter what country they come from. But no, I just talked in vain. He turned his back on me, gathered his gang and they continued the job. I picked them up from the ground, took a taxi, and returned to the hostel.
I think you’ve got a good life,as American. You have power, you have money, you are famous, you get girls much easier. But you are also hated by many. People are jealous. And this is one of the main problems of the society in which we live. I don’t want you to understand that I’m defending the Americans. They also have many defects. Last night they also made mistakes. But I try to put myself in their shoes. You come to a foreign country, you want to meet people, to make friends, in your own style, of course. And what do you get? Dozens of punches and hits. It is sad! We live in a cruel world, dominated by envy.
It is sad!
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