My daily post - Pomalo Living
Whenever I’m asked about why I chose Dubrovnik, I end up narrating the same sensational monologue from start to finish. I could never find the right words to describe the carefree, yet often chaotic, way of life that keeps me coming back.
It dawned upon me when returning to Dubrovnik this winter. It’s the locals sipping coffee together for hours on end in a haze of cigarette smoke. It’s listening to klapa music while drinking homemade wine and eating fish with your hands. It’s the way locals only use their car horn to do a friendly “beep beep” when passing one another on the treacherous winding roads. The word for this doesn’t exist in English.
It’s a lifestyle with a strong contrast to the comfort of American convenience and consumerism that I come from. It’s a life without Amazon prime, McDonalds drive thru, Starbucks coolers, or target runs.
It’s pomalo living.
word “pomalo” is one of the most quintessential words in Dalmatian vocabulary. Translated from Croatian, the word literally means slow, or slowly.
There has been a program on UK TV where they take a family back in time and make them live as people did then. Clothes, food, water supply - everything. So far they have lived through the early 1900's and 1945 to 1960. The family's house is converted to what a house would have been like (in the first episode they blocked off half of the original house to make it the right size). Anyway, one of the most memorable things to have come from the experiment is how all the family (mother, father, two daughters and a son) say that they have enjoyed the pace of life and just being together without modern day distractions. It sounds as if Dubrovnik does the same kind of thing. Slows life down and gives one the chance to reflect and enjoy the simple things more. I must remember the word 'pomalo' and the meaning it conveys. Thanks for the post.
That's an interesting concept of the show! Yeah, I feel it here in Winter especially...fast paced life is taking over slow way of living almost everywhere though...slowly but surely
It becomes something all the more precious when we do find it. Take care until next time.
Dubrovnik is sooo pretty.. worth a visit!
True! :)
helo @alexcote, eventhought I can not catch all your dealec, but I can feel the sphere about pamalo living, the people care each other as one family.
Exactly, that is the vibe here :)
Such a cool picture, love the colors!
And I also like the message behind the word "pomalo" and what it means to you! :)
Thanks a lot! I am sure you can somehow rely on it too. :)
Totally, hehe! :)
So glad you find your perfect place to live! You're such a pomalo traveller, I love that! cheers @alexcote