Radio Slovenia

One of the local village men proposed marriage over prosciutto the morning after my arrival. I hadn’t yet learned “no” in Slovenian, but I was pretty sure it was a close relative to the Italian—a universal variant beginning with “n.”

So far, these were the words I’d learned in Slovenian (apologies for lack of pronunciation accents):

Dober Dan – Good day
Hvala Lepa (“H” is silent) – Thank you
Lahko Noc (“c” is “ch”) – Good night
Racun (“c” is “ch,” “u” is “oo”) – check
Olinjo oljo (“j” is “y” or “i”) – olive oil
Nasdrawya (“w” is “v”) – cheers
Prosim – Please, you’re welcome, excuse me, etc. (almost everything else)

I’d also learned I could pass for Italian among the Slovenians and for German among the Italians, but no one mistook me for Slovenian, my pronunciation of Dober Dan falling flat each time.

I spent the morning with Mara (short for Tamara), Mao, and anyone who stopped by Vnck, waiting for the other writers to arrive. In the background a Slovenian radio station played vintage 80s and 90s, including Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero.” In case you need a memory jog, here is the extended version on youtube:

Holding Out for a Hero - Bonnie Tyler

If you play the song and look at this photo simultaneously, you’ll get a sense of the experience: