That's how Slovenians make coffee

With some useful phrases in Slovenian for you

I've traveled around the world and I've tried a lot of coffee, from Austria, Italy to Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Korea. I love coffee. I've seen the kopi tiam culture in Malaysia, the coffee house culture in Vienna, I've tasted Italian espressos and cappuccinos and American filter coffee in the famous coffee chains around the world. But how about Slovenia? What kind of coffee people usually drink in Slovenia?

Well, as much as we want to be seen as a central European country, our coffee culture has been adopted from the Balkans. While at home we mostly make and drink Turkish coffee (turška kava), in bars and cafés we drink espressos, cappuccinos and coffee with milk, all made by various coffee makers and machines. But so far we don't have big American coffee chains here, thank god for that.

Let me show you how I prepare my coffee at home every morning:

I put water and a spoon of sugar in the džezva (pronounced "jaz-vah").

I wait for the water to get hot, then just before boiling I add 3 spoons of ground coffee and mix.

The coffee starts to rise just before boiling. Have to be careful not to spill it over.

When it boils, I turn off the heater and let it calm down. I mix it a little and then
pour the coffee slowly in the mug. I add milk, personally a lot of milk.

I usually add more sugar (2 spoons afterwards), some don't. This is called kava z mlekom
(coffee with milk). If you don't add any milk, it's called črna kava (black coffee).

And voilà... the Slovenian coffee is ready to drink. Variations of this kind of coffee are drunk in the Middle East, northern Africa, Turkey, Caucasus and the Balkans. Slovenia is probably the most Western European country, that commonly drinks Turkish coffee at home. If I would host you at my home, I would probably make this type of coffee for you.

Here's some vocabulary for you, if you come to Slovenia and order coffee:

turška kava [pron. toorsh-kah kah-vah] - Turkish coffee

kava [pron. kah-vah] - general word for coffee

črna kava [pron. cher-nah kah-vah] - black coffee

bela kava [pron. bella kah-vah] - white coffee

kava z mlekom [pron. kah-vahz-mlay-come] - coffee with milk

kava s smetano [pron. kah-vahs smay-tah-noh] - coffee with whipped cream

kapučino [pron. capoochino] - cappuccino, just written in Slovenian

podaljšana kava [pron. poh-dahl-shah-nah] - extended coffee, more coffee inside

sladkor [pron. slahd-core] - sugar

s sladkorjem [pron. ser slahd-cor-yem] - with sugar

brez sladkorja [pron. brass slahd-cor-ya] - without sugar, no sugar

brezkofeinska kava [pron. brass-co-fe-in-ska] - decaffeinated coffee

z [pron. zer], s [pron. ser] - with, brez [pron. brass] - without

prosim [pron. pro-seem] - please or you're welcome.

hvala [pron. hvah-lah] - thank you.

If you order coffee in Slovenia, these phrases may be useful to you:

1 For one cup of coffee: One _______, please.

Eno ______ (fill in the blank: kavo z mlekom/črno kavo/belo kavo/kavo s smetano/kavo brez sladkorja/brezkofeinsko kavo...), prosim.

2 For two cups of coffee: Two ______, please.

Dve ______ (fil in the blank: kavi z mlekom/črni kavi/beli kavi/kavi s smetano), prosim.

3 When waiter brings you the coffee, he may say: Izvolite. (Here you go)

4 You say: Hvala. (Thank you). If he's polite, he should say: Prosim. (You're welcome)

How do you drink coffe in your country?

[My Slovenia page][All photos by MKL, 2010]

Jeannie Hsieh's 謝金燕 shocking video

You won't be able to forget that image

Do you remember the hot Taiwanese singer Jeannie Hsieh (謝金燕) I introduced a little while ago? Check this shocking video of her live performance and tell me what do you think by voting on the poll:

If you can't vote below, vote here>>

Dr. Peter Bossman, first black mayor in Slovenia

And what does that mean for Slovenia

ALERT: Please watch Peter Bossman on CNN tomorrow 12.30 CET. A pic>>

Dr. Peter Bossman (born 1955 in Ghana) was yesterday elected as the first black mayor in Slovenia. He is now the mayor of Piran, one of Slovenia's most beautiful towns and top tourist destinations. And no, it's not his cool family name, that made his victory so special, it's the fact, that he's not of Slovenian descent and that he's black. Both facts are something new in Slovenia and many Slovenians outside Piran have never heard about him until this year's mayoral elections. And symbolically it's also a big deal for this part of Europe. How many black mayors do you know in Austria, Germany or Poland? I guess not many... if any.

Check also reactions from Slovenians>>

✰ There are not many non-white people in Slovenia

The thing about Slovenia is, that we're a very small country, but very diverse. Every region has its own distinctive dialect, way of life and history. And we're a pretty young sovereign state, few months short of 20 years. And who knows Slovenia anyway? We're constantly mistaken for Slovakia or we're not known at all. And I guess that's the reason that Slovenia is not one of the hot spots for foreign immigrants. It's interesting, but you will hardly find people of any other race than white in Slovenia. There are few Chinese, who usually run restaurants with Chinese food. I guess they will be found in almost any bigger and smaller town (but usually one or two families), but when it comes to Africans, Arabs, Turks or Filipinos (ethnic groups that are commonly emigrating), you will have a hard time finding some in Slovenia. Maybe in recent years foreign influx has slightly increased in Slovenia, but it's hardly visible on our streets. Those who Slovenians perceive as foreigners, came from the former Yugoslav brethren nations such as Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia. There are also many Albanians here as well as Roma (Romani people or commonly "gypsies"), who are an ethnic group with a special status in Slovenia and there are also many issues related to them.

✰ How mistrust in foreigners is connected to Slovenian history

So in these circumstances it's of course something new for a Slovenian municipality to elect a black mayor. Of course there is a lot of racism and stereotypical thinking about foreigners here. Some is the same as found in other Western countries, but some is the result of the painful Slovenian history. We were 8 centuries under Austria, partly under Italy and Hungary and even under France for a brief period. We endured two world wars, where many of our countrymen were executed just for being Slovenians. Many Slovenians immigrated, many were Germanized and Italianized. For centuries we had to struggle to preserve our own language and identity. When other Western nations had their first states in the 18th or 19th century, we had to wait until 1991 to be a fully independent and internationally recognized state. Don't misunderstand, I do not want to condone any racism or stereotypical thinking, I just want to explain the reasons to you. History is always present in the minds of Slovenians and every time there are elections, we start to argue about who was pro-communist and who was anti-communist in 1945 and beyond, because we have two blocks (left and right wing), who exploit these sentiments every time we have parliamentary or presidential elections. Most of it is fought out in the media, but more so online. Stupid comments and provocations on both sides are the norm, but I think that's gradually changing.

✰ Left-right online wars peaked in 2008

The peak of these left-right online wars was reached in 2008, where the (at that time incumbent) right-wing government lead by Janez Janša lost the elections by a very small margin. If you had read the online comments at that time, you'd feel like Slovenia was back in 1942 in peak World War II. I must say I really felt uncomfortable during that time, sometimes it was unbearable. It was better to avoid forums and online news and the comments. Two years later and things have changed a lot in Slovenia. Basically now most Slovenians would say everyone sucks. Be it the right wing or the left wing government, they're all corrupt or incapable of leading this nation out of the recession. Slovenians are bitter in 2010. Very bitter and angry, not only at the politicians, but also at business magnates, that (at least according to the media) run this country. There were many layoffs in factories and a lot of general strikes lately, which gives the impression to the average Slovenian that the economy is in shambles. Now it's probably not a big surprise to you that people are sick of the usual nonsense from the politicians, they want serious solutions to important (usually existential) problems. And these exceed class, race and political preference. Basically we feel we're all screwed in this country. And we don't see a light at the end of the tunnel.

✰ 2010 is the year of change for Slovenians

So it's no wonder that the 2010 mayoral elections in Slovenia brought big change in voters' behavior. People now really read the political programs and try to give their votes to people who are not ideologues and to those who seem honest and don't spew the usual BS and most importantly who can get things done. No wonder that one of the richest men in Slovenia, Zoran Janković, who was mayor of Ljubljana from 2006-2010, was reelected. He was reelected, because he got things done. He transformed Ljubljana visibly, something that the mayors before him did not manage to achieve. And he's not even in a party, he has his own list and that's it. And he did not become one of the richest men in Slovenia by luck, he was the CEO of Mercator, a Slovenian supermarket chain comparable to the Dutch Spar (or Walmart in USA). Something similar happened in many other municipalities, people elected mayors who either did something good for their community or they replaced the old ones with people who have fresh ideas and solutions for the future. And that's where Peter Bossman comes in.

✰ And then came Dr. Peter Bossman

He was not known in Slovenia, but he was known in the municipality of Piran. He worked there as a doctor. Before he started his campaign he even had his own private practice. And judging from the opinions of his patients, he was a good doctor. He came to Slovenia (at that time under Yugoslavia) as a student from Ghana in 1977, eventually stayed here, became a physician and started a family. In the past years he was already a member of the Piran town council, which gave him some political experience.

And then came his campaign two months ago and suddenly his name was raised to a national level. Many people were surprised, that there's a candidate of African descent, who wants to be the mayor of one of our towns, but most people thought he does not stand a chance to win. Well, the people of Piran disagreed with that notion and gave the most votes to Dr. Peter Bossman and a small sensation was made in this country. But two things surprised me: The campaign was not about his race and also most reactions were not racist. Sure, there were and are many racist comments online, but we need to put things in perspective. And there were people from Piran saying on TV that they won't vote for him, because he's black. But there were also people, who said he's a good doctor and an honest person and that they trust him enough to be in charge of their town. In the end he won, because people thought of his program and ideas for Piran's future were good and he deserves a chance. He did not win, because of the color of his skin. Most critics attacked his inexperience and the fact, that he's not very fluent in Slovenian. The racist were in a vast minority. And I think that was a small step forward to Slovenia. I'd say a tiny step. You can't take Bossman's victory as a sign of big change in Slovenia, be it in the way we elect mayors or politicians in general, be it how we see foreigners, especially those that belong to a different race. Piran is after all a very small municipality with its specific problems that are not common in other parts of Slovenia. Interestingly, the media gave Dr. Peter Bossman the nickname "Slovenian Obama", which I think is totally ridiculous.

✰ Why is he not the Slovenian Obama

America has a very specific history of race relations, especially between Blacks and Whites. Peter Bossman just happens to be an immigrant from Africa, who came to Slovenia in pursuit of happiness, Obama on the other hand was (and partly still is) the hope of the people, whose forefathers were brought to America as Slaves and were abused, mistreated and humiliated for centuries. Obama's victory in 2008 showed that Americans can move forward, but his election was at the same time the start of a whole movement, that does not want to see a perceived liberal (actually centrist), Muslim (actually Christian), Black (actually biracial) president. What I read in certain comments on articles about Obama is truly scary. I have never read so many racist comments on American websites like in 2010 and I'm not sure, why that's ok to do in America these days. I really hope that Bossman won't have this type of negative reactions after he had served some time as a mayor of Piran. Lucky for him, he will never be a Slovenian Obama. He will always be Dr. Peter Bossman, the mayor of Piran 2010-2014.

✰ Let's stop seeing the color of his skin

Let's give the man a chance to prove himself. And let the people of Piran judge him in 2014. If he did a good job, he will be reelected, if he decides to run again. If he did a bad job, there will be candidates, who will challenge him in 2014. May the best win. And hopefully Piran will win a better future. Keep in mind, it's not about him being black or a good doctor. It's about him being a good mayor and doing good things for the municipality. And yes, he has the right to fail, he has the right to do a bad job and people have the right to criticize him. But please, just please, stop comparing him with Obama or mentioning the fact that he's black over and over again. From now on he's the mayor of Piran and only that should count. I always say, that I don't see colors, I see people. And those of you, who still see the color of his skin, rinse your eyes with pure water, look again and you might see the person. If it doesn't work, try harder. Eventually you can do it. You can. Yes, we all can. Good luck to Dr. Peter Bossman.

Ps: I only hope that Piran will benefit from recent international publicity about "the first black mayor in Slovenia". It's amazing, how the news have spread all over the world today.

Related: [My PIRAN post][Photos of Bosmann's victory/24ur]

Additional post: [Reactions of Slovenian netizens to Bossman's victory]

[Dr. Peter Bossman and his Slovenian wife (photo)][He's celebrating]

World press: [Slovenia elects its first black mayor/HuffPost]

[Photo and info source: Dr. Peter Bossman's FB page]

Slovenian reactions to Peter Bossman's election

My translation of few representative comments from a Slovenian forum

Here are some translations of the comments from the homepage of the Slovenian national TV (RTVSlo.si) in reaction to Dr. Peter Bossman's election as the first black mayor in Slovenia as well as to his instant fame in the world media. The commentators on that website are usually pro right-wing, but in the case of Peter Bossman, the comments are mostly positive (I'd say over 90%). There are many congratulations, even a sort of a pride is felt by many based on the fact, that the new mayor attracts so many positive reactions from all over the world.

Let me share some of the representative comments, the positive and negative. On the right side is a small feature that shows, if people liked or disliked a comment (thumbs up and thumbs down), which also tells a lot about how some comments are perceived.

1

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

kozi
25. oktober 2010 ob 10:09

Bossman ni črnec ali temnopolten, ampak Afro-slovenec...
Ne bodimo no tako zategnjeni :)))

+ 30 glasov

Bossman is not black or dark skinned, he's an Afro-Slovenian.

Let's not be so backwards :)))

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PICENG 25. oktober 2010 ob 10:07

Mi je všeč!

+ 29 glasov

I like him!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

3

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

commonsense
25. oktober 2010 ob 10:11

Zgleda, da bo en mož naredil več za "prepoznavnost" Slovenije kot cela državni aparat turizma in oglaševanja.

+ 28 glasov

Looks like one man will do more for the "visibility" of Slovenia than

the whole state tourist board and their advertising.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

4

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

kolibri123
25. oktober 2010 ob 10:28

Bosman je vljuden, prijazen in dober zdravnik. Ljudje mu zaupajo, ker ga poznajo iz prve roke, Barva kože je pa postranska stvar.

+ 16 glasov

Bossman is polite, friendly and a good doctor. People trust him,

because they know him first hand. The color of the skin is a secondary thing.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

5

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

kleman3 25. oktober 2010 ob 10:16

Čestitke!!! Pa le slovenci nismo taki rasisti kot sm mislu!

+ 15 glasov

Congratulations!!! Slovenians are really not as racist as I thought!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Valuk_
25. oktober 2010 ob 10:16

Čestitke res.

Bo tole kar pretreslo verjetno marsikaterega ksenofobnega Slovenčka.

+ 12 glasov

Congratulations, really. This will probably shaken up quite few xenophobic Slovenians.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

7

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sheppard 25. oktober 2010 ob 10:13

Sam nevem al samo mene al se koga druzga spominja na onega iz leathal weapons, drugace pa da je zmagu svaka cast kdo bi si mislu hehe.

+ 10 glasov

I'm not sure, is it only me or does he really look like the one from leathal weapons*, on another note his victory deserves all the praise, who would have thought hehe.

(*He means Danny Glover)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

8

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

enoo
25. oktober 2010 ob 12:50

Upam, da bo Bossman tako dober župan kot je zdravnik!! Skratka želim mu dobro vodenje prelepega Pirana.

+ 5 glasov

I hope that Bossman will be as good as a mayor as he is as a doctor.

I wish him good management of the beautiful Piran.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

9

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

pAznik
25. oktober 2010 ob 10:35

Bravo čestitam

+ 4 glasovi

Bravo, I congratulate

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

10

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOB
25. oktober 2010 ob 10:19

Once you go black you can't go back. ;-)

+ 2 glasova

*Don't need to translate this one :-)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

11

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dr. Kumrovec
25. oktober 2010 ob 10:50

Majhen korak za človeštvo a velik skok za vzhodno Evropo. Od Pirana do Moskve imamo vsi vzhodno evropejci razlog za slavje.

Small step for humankind, but a big jump for Eastern Europe. From

Piran to Moscow all of us Eastern Europeans have reason to celebrate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

12

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

kreten=kreten 25. oktober 2010 ob 10:34

kaj bi dal, da na naslednjih volitvah v teh tako imenovanih liberalnih občinah kandidira kak cigan/rom................ pa da potem vidimo, kolk so liberalni

- 1 glas

I would give anything to see that in the so called liberal

municipalities a gypsy/roma runs for office............

let us see then, how liberal they are

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

13

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

michael25 25. oktober 2010 ob 11:54

Najbolj so pri nas nestrpni levičarji, ki nikoli ne bi izvoli nekoga, ki je Slovenec in katolik... ne samo, da takšnega človeka levičarji ne bi nikoli volili, pa če je še tako dober, oni bi Slovencem katolikom tudi najraje odvzeli vse državljanske pravice in jih izgnali iz države...

- 8 glasov

The most intolerant people in our country are the leftists, who would never elect someone, who is a Slovenian and a catholic... not only, that the leftists would not elect such person, even if he's really good, they would also like to expel the Slovenian catholics out of the country...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

14

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

elzial4x 25. oktober 2010 ob 10:29

Bossman je popolnoma nekompetenten za biti župan. Žalostno je videti, kako je s slovenčki lahko manipulirati, dva-tri članke v časopise in potem volijo (ne vejo kaj, kar nekaj) nekoga samo zato, da bodo del "nečesa velikega". Kake prazne glave.

- 12 glasov

Bossman is completely incompetent to be a mayor. It's sad to see, how easy it is to manipulate with slovenians, two-three articles in the newspapers and then they vote for (they have no clue why) someone only to be part of "something big". Empty heads.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

15

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

spf xxii 25. oktober 2010 ob 10:47

Ja men je to sramota in izguba lastne identitete.

- 21 glasov

For me this is a shame and a loss of our own identity.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What was your reaction to Dr. Peter Bossman's victory?

[Photo by Luka Cjuha, Dnevnik]