{"id":10205,"date":"2020-05-11T11:12:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T15:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/?page_id=10205"},"modified":"2020-05-13T12:15:40","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T16:15:40","slug":"slovenia-learning-home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/slovenia-learning-home","title":{"rendered":"Slovenia: Learning at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong>Get creative<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Did you know Slovenia holds its own Carnival festival? Carnival in Slovenia is called Kurentovanje and is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday when locals eat donuts instead of pancakes. Carnival usually involves a public procession of masked characters: in Ptuj, the main figure is a Kurent, a scary masked figure clad in sheepskin, with large horns, cowbells, and a long whip. The Kurent jumps and makes loud noises to scare away winter and bring spring and abundance to the land. Have a look at a Kurent\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JmUozXTk5Fo\">here,<\/a>\u00a0then learn all about the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kurentovanje.net\/en\/the-kurent\/\">Kurent costume<\/a> and try to make your own!<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Pick a film<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Watch a movie that relates to your destination. Some ideas for Slovenia include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Where to Invade Next (2015)*<\/li>\n<li>The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)<\/li>\n<li>Captain America (1990)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>*Rated R (may not be suitable for all students)<\/em><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Study some history<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Did you know Slovenia is home to a two million-year-old cave system called Postojna?\u00a0 The underworld system is home to the mysterious, unique, and rare amphibian Proteus Anguinus, or human fish seen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jungledragon.com\/image\/66100\/the_olm_or_human_fish_proteus_anguinus_slovenia_august_2018.html\">here.<\/a> \u00a0If caves aren\u2019t your thing, how about a visit to Ljubljana&#8217;s castle? Perched on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, this castle was originally a medieval fortress and dates back as far as the 10<sup>th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 Have a virtual look at the Ljubljana Castle <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slovenia360.si\/en\/sights\/ljubljana-castle-3107\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Choose a book<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Read and discuss a book that takes place in your destination or describes the local culture. Pick from titles like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>A Day in Spring <\/em>by Ciril Kosmac<\/li>\n<li><em>Forbidden Bread<\/em> by Erica John Debelkak<\/li>\n<li><em>The Land Between: A History of Slovenia<\/em> by Oto Luthar<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Fill up your plate<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Arrange a potluck and encourage your friends to bring a traditional dish from your destination. Try pumpkin seed oil, a Slovenian specialty, or look for a Slovenian cheese called kozov\u010d (a 50\/50 goat and sheep\u2019s milk mix). Know a chef? Hold a cooking class with your travel group, or consider a group outing to a restaurant that offers your Slovenian cuisine. Try <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitljubljana.com\/en\/visitors\/stories\/when-trying-local-and-slovenian-food-struklji-are-a-must\/\">struklji<\/a>, a dumpling that is available savory or sweet, or look for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/archive.jsonline.com\/features\/recipes\/124319214.html\">matev\u017e<\/a>, a traditional bean dish often served as a side dish on sausage plates. Try adding some Slovenian sauerkraut to your sausage or dine on Slovenian ravioli, called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.farmtourism.si\/gastronomy\/recipe\/idrijski-zlikrofi-z-mesno-omako\">zlikrofi<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Learn the language<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Call up a friend or set up a group video chat and practice your language skills. Learn some helpful <a href=\"https:\/\/theculturetrip.com\/europe\/slovenia\/articles\/9-fascinating-facts-about-the-slovenian-language\/\">words and phrases<\/a>\u00a0to use on the phone or throughout your travels (think about ordering at restaurants, buying souvenirs, and chatting with locals).<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Did you know?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The Solkan Bridge in western Slovenia is the world\u2019s longest stone arch bridge, measuring in at nearly 85 meters long!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Get creative Did you know Slovenia holds its own Carnival festival? Carnival in Slovenia is called Kurentovanje and is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday when locals eat donuts instead of pancakes. Carnival usually involves a public procession of masked characters: in Ptuj, the main figure is a Kurent, a scary masked figure clad in sheepskin, with <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/slovenia-learning-home\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10211,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10205","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10205"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10262,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10205\/revisions\/10262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}