Im not, Im not, IM NOT!

Nisam Gladna, Nisam Zima, I Nisam Luda.

These are the three phrases that I am constantly telling everyone here! For those of you who I know just thought "Oh lord, time for google translate" Ill be kind and translate them for you, therefore eliminating the need to open yet another tab on what im sure is your already very full computer.

First and foremost. Nisam Gladna. It means, quite simply, that I am not hungry. Now I try to refrain from using this so as to not cause any offense. I eat my first helping, quite enjoyably. Then I eat the second that I am given, not hungry but willing to eat it because -to be honest- my host grandmother makes killer food! Its by the middle of the third helping that im feeling helpless. I cant eat anymore! I will explode. I might just keel over from the sheer amount that I have somehow managed to inhale! and so, quietly, I say no thank you to the fourth helping. Nisam Gladna.

Next comes Nisam Zima. No, I am not cold. I am asked this usually at school when I go out for a coffee and dont feel the need to take my jacket. As the coffee shop is a whole thirty seconds (soooooo far), I usually make it there and back in five minutes. Five minutes in weather that is still hovering quite nicely around 8 to 10 degrees. Brisk, is the word I would use to describe it. Or even -when it nears 7 or 8- cool. But cold? Not by a very large margin! I make a conscious effort to have my jacket with me in case I get chilly, but putting it on takes me longer than walking to the cafe! So no. I appreciate your concern, and you make me giggle with your earmuffs and scarves. Nisam Zima. Why? Because Ja sam is canada. I am from Canada.

and finally, Nisam Luda. This usually follows Nisam Gladna, or Nisam Zima. Sometimes however, it just follows me being my normal self and goofing around with some of the amazing people that I have met here in good old Hrvatska (Croatia). Or maybe it follows one of the random dance moves I sometimes feel the need to break into (I blame my dad, I get it from him). But almost always it follows a really good laugh. Nisam Luda means no. I am not Crazy.

So here I am. Ja sam Meghan, Ja sam is Canada, Nisam Gladna, Nisam Zima, i ne, Nizam Luda.
I am Meghan, Im from Canada. Im not hungry, Im not cold, and no, Im not crazy!

Have a great day, I know I am!
Meghan