Went out with 5 others from the hostel for what was supposed to be traditional Croatian food. The restauran had a plethora of options - of course only about 4 were available - oh and sorry, this will be fried not grilled - oh and this will only be without the vegetables - oh and.... Uuuurrrggg. But for sitting in the pouring rain we did get free preeettyy strong shot of something.
Day 2 - saunter through huge market, plan to go see Diocletian's palace, but... I just feel like walking... Still walking. Through rain. And wind. And more rain. From beach to beach along the coast. Looking out at the beautiful sea and coastline. Absolutely no purpose en tete. No destination. No deadlines. Felt pretty great.
I finally found some rocks by the sea away from everything and lay out on those for a good long while. I was really happy not to be disturbed by anybody, nor to bump into other travelers. For the first time, I think, I was more than just enjoying being on my own - I was blissfully content to be in that spot by myself.
Made dinner with a girl in the hostel. This involved de-veining shrimp and de-gutting squid, which involved a lot of juices and grossness. But the end product was deeelicious!
And day 3, surprises - did an overpriced walking tour about Split and Diocletian's palace. woogreatwhatever. And then when my half asleep 'how's it going?' to the woman in tights and tattered shirt beside me was reciprocated with a very genuine 'Great!' I was instinctively intrigued.
You're an ER doctor? But you moved from Dallas to LA? Ok sure, whatever. But man you seem super disillusioned by the American medical system. And you're in Croatia for a medical conference? So I'm taking this all as it comes, ya de ya de ya da. Shall we walk up this really cool hill to overlook the city? Sure! Ok, but you're also a writer? And not really practicing medicine anymore?
Hold the phone a minute. And ensue Michelle meeting the person with the coolest story thus far.... (please, emphasis on 'story' and not 'destination')
Zoanne is one of 6 script writer's in LA for Grey's Anatomy. She also ensures accuracy for the medical jargon for every episode. Her 'medical conference' is a conference focusing on how to use sitcoms to subtly educate the public about public health concerns... How to slip in some sort of info into the dialogue so that, without even wanting to, America's youth and adults alike, are learrrrning. She's presenting.
Her undergrad was in communications, then medical school, then she practiced for a number of years, but always had a passion for writing & holleywood-esque stuff. So she up and moved to LA, continued in the ER while simultaneously taking extra classes for writing and other stuff I forget, wrote for a smaller show, and eventually got Grey's. And she loves it. SO. COOL.
After our little hike we caught some lunch, much more tasty than the first evening's restaurant and still Croatian. Pizza and octopus salad! Being the, 'brush hair aside' holleywood star that she is, she treated me to lunch and told me my mother would need to know I was being well taken care of. Coincidence that their names are both quite obscure and only one letter off? Probably.
Now, Zoanne, if you DO end up reading this, let me know if I screwed anything up in your story. And to my readers, if you want your ideas scripted into Grey's well then you best be leaving a comment below this post :)
To end this stellar, surprising Split- story, I'll tell you that I'm speedily being swept away toward Sarajevo!
Hey girlie! Got most of it right... there are about a dozen writers on Grey's of which I am one. The conference was sponsored by the UN and talked about using all forms of entertainment to educate ("edutainment") - short films, videos, music, tv, etc. There was this pop star from Macedonia who has some awesome songs about condom use and such who came and talked. Pretty cool. Hope the European tour is still rockin'. It'll soon be back to the reality of med school. Boo and yay.
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