Document Text Contents
Page 82
I went out into the yard and not long after I heard someone asking, “how’s business?”
I looked to the left and what scene there was. The Boss from yesterday was standing by a
tree, in a T-shirt with his pants around his ankles. He was laughing, with his hands on his hips, and
urinating.
“Still nothing,” I replied looking him directly in the eyes, “I’m headed for the streets right
now to see the situation.
I got out on the street realizing that there was nothing in that village that could surprise me
anymore.
The village was dead and there was nothing to do. Since I didn’t have any money, and I
didn’t want to impose myself on the guys during their meals, or work as a drug dealer, it was time for
action. I had to get to the civilization and head further east.
I took a walk to the castle, saw a couple of tourists and then I returned to Manu’s place. He
as sitting in front of his house, playing with the dog. “I think I’m going to move on today,” I told him, “if only I could find a job around here to
earn some money to buy food, or if I had a guitar to play around the castle, for tourists...”
He looked at me, went into the house and brought me a guitar with five strings. I took it
realizing, surprisingly, that it was well tuned. It sounded great, even without string number two. Manu
made me a sign in Spanish to explain to the people that I was from Croatia, that I was travelling and
that I needed money for food.
I gave him a hug, being careful not to break any bones in his fragile body, took the guitar and
headed towards the castle.
There wasn’t a living soul around. That was fine by me, it would give me some time to
practice a bit and get attuned. I wasn’t much of a singer, and I also wasn’t much of a player. I put all
my hopes in the sign where people could read something about me and by a small contribution, help a
stranger on his Journey.
I placed myself next to the entrance to the castle, put the cardboard sign and a plastic bowl
and in front of me and threw in the only coin I had, one Croatian Kuna, and played the first chord. A
minor. That was my favourite one.
I had only ten songs in my wide repertoire, and most of them were in Croatian. It wasn’t
much of a start, but I was hoping that people, if any people should appear, would appreciate my effort
despite the language in which I was singing.
With my eyes closed I was playing my favourite song, one that reminded me of…
“ ”[15] Just then a man passed by, rustling a plastic bag, throwing a one Euro coin into
my bowl.
The feeling was amazing. My chords grew stronger and louder, just like my voice in which
you could sense self-assurance. That first coin marked an official beginning to me becoming a street
musician. I’d always been one of those people who would look at the street artist and secretly admire
Page 163
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Page 164
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Everyone that has been a part of this story - family, friends, CS-ers, drivers, random people
met on the street.
The crew that worked with me on this book.
Everyone that contributed to my crowdfunding campaign and made this book possible,
especially:
Miss Krassi Hristova
Mrs Nancy Paiva
Mr Tito Bhuiyan
Mr Jefferey Dunn Mr David Marshall
You, for reading this book.
Thank you, T.
[1] A neighborhood in Zagreb that is home to the zoo, and also the football stadium of Dinamo Zagreb.
[2] Dinamo Zagreb fans, known for trouble .
[3] famous Croatian writer, also known as Shale.
[4] Four big cities on the way.
[5] A kind of a traditional cheese pie.
[6] A kind of traditional dish of cabbage leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat, popularin the Balkan s .
[7] Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995), fought between Croats and Serbs.
[8] Croats and Serbs speak more or less the same language, just with different accents.
[9] Karst lakes near the city of Imotski.
[10] Traditional chocolate cake.
[11] A famous village in Croatia known for the bravery of its people during the war.
[12] A drink made of wine mixed with sparkling water.
[13] May I try?
[14] Of course.
[15] Good luck .
[16] ' Good morning, Croatia' , a morning TV show.
[17] '24 hours', a Croatian daily newspaper group.
[18] Croatian national television.
[19] Thank you.
[20] Traditional flatbread.
[21] A traditional instrument.
[22] Bengali: ‘Tell the truth and follow the right path’.
[23] A pejorative term for someone from Dalmatia.
[24] Next station.
I went out into the yard and not long after I heard someone asking, “how’s business?”
I looked to the left and what scene there was. The Boss from yesterday was standing by a
tree, in a T-shirt with his pants around his ankles. He was laughing, with his hands on his hips, and
urinating.
“Still nothing,” I replied looking him directly in the eyes, “I’m headed for the streets right
now to see the situation.
I got out on the street realizing that there was nothing in that village that could surprise me
anymore.
The village was dead and there was nothing to do. Since I didn’t have any money, and I
didn’t want to impose myself on the guys during their meals, or work as a drug dealer, it was time for
action. I had to get to the civilization and head further east.
I took a walk to the castle, saw a couple of tourists and then I returned to Manu’s place. He
as sitting in front of his house, playing with the dog. “I think I’m going to move on today,” I told him, “if only I could find a job around here to
earn some money to buy food, or if I had a guitar to play around the castle, for tourists...”
He looked at me, went into the house and brought me a guitar with five strings. I took it
realizing, surprisingly, that it was well tuned. It sounded great, even without string number two. Manu
made me a sign in Spanish to explain to the people that I was from Croatia, that I was travelling and
that I needed money for food.
I gave him a hug, being careful not to break any bones in his fragile body, took the guitar and
headed towards the castle.
There wasn’t a living soul around. That was fine by me, it would give me some time to
practice a bit and get attuned. I wasn’t much of a singer, and I also wasn’t much of a player. I put all
my hopes in the sign where people could read something about me and by a small contribution, help a
stranger on his Journey.
I placed myself next to the entrance to the castle, put the cardboard sign and a plastic bowl
and in front of me and threw in the only coin I had, one Croatian Kuna, and played the first chord. A
minor. That was my favourite one.
I had only ten songs in my wide repertoire, and most of them were in Croatian. It wasn’t
much of a start, but I was hoping that people, if any people should appear, would appreciate my effort
despite the language in which I was singing.
With my eyes closed I was playing my favourite song, one that reminded me of…
“ ”[15] Just then a man passed by, rustling a plastic bag, throwing a one Euro coin into
my bowl.
The feeling was amazing. My chords grew stronger and louder, just like my voice in which
you could sense self-assurance. That first coin marked an official beginning to me becoming a street
musician. I’d always been one of those people who would look at the street artist and secretly admire
Page 163
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Page 164
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Everyone that has been a part of this story - family, friends, CS-ers, drivers, random people
met on the street.
The crew that worked with me on this book.
Everyone that contributed to my crowdfunding campaign and made this book possible,
especially:
Miss Krassi Hristova
Mrs Nancy Paiva
Mr Tito Bhuiyan
Mr Jefferey Dunn Mr David Marshall
You, for reading this book.
Thank you, T.
[1] A neighborhood in Zagreb that is home to the zoo, and also the football stadium of Dinamo Zagreb.
[2] Dinamo Zagreb fans, known for trouble .
[3] famous Croatian writer, also known as Shale.
[4] Four big cities on the way.
[5] A kind of a traditional cheese pie.
[6] A kind of traditional dish of cabbage leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat, popularin the Balkan s .
[7] Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995), fought between Croats and Serbs.
[8] Croats and Serbs speak more or less the same language, just with different accents.
[9] Karst lakes near the city of Imotski.
[10] Traditional chocolate cake.
[11] A famous village in Croatia known for the bravery of its people during the war.
[12] A drink made of wine mixed with sparkling water.
[13] May I try?
[14] Of course.
[15] Good luck .
[16] ' Good morning, Croatia' , a morning TV show.
[17] '24 hours', a Croatian daily newspaper group.
[18] Croatian national television.
[19] Thank you.
[20] Traditional flatbread.
[21] A traditional instrument.
[22] Bengali: ‘Tell the truth and follow the right path’.
[23] A pejorative term for someone from Dalmatia.
[24] Next station.
