What we prefer in our homes is culture, not nature

[Andrea9]

Following up on theme questions regarding which appliance preference for rentals -

whether electric water kettle vs. kettle..... airco vs. fans.....

here's a great informative article on cultural difference and appliances:

Moving in with an expat taught me that what we prefer in our homes is culture, not nature

Happy hosting

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 I see you like chips a lot :))) It is always intersting experience to taste local food.

Many of our guests ask us what is typical Croatian food and where they can taste it. We recommend them to taste "Štrukli" bc it is typical for Zagreb and surroundings area . There is one small restaurant in old part of town where only "štrukli" is served but in few variations. Our guests love it 🙂

[Huaai0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0

Are there any Chinese/Thai restaurants in Croatia? Authentic? 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Huaai0of course 🙂

[Huaai0]

@Jessica-and-Henry0

I love kimchi. Do you provide kimchi to your guests?

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Huaai0 

Kimchi is a basic staple in any Korean home 🙂  I don't offer meals but Henry and I like to invite guests to join us for dinner once in a while, and if they want kimchi everyday, it can be arranged~~ 

[Huma0]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 thank you for the insight! Yes, I had guessed by this point that dishwashers were uncommon in Korea, and maybe other Asian countries like China and Taiwan too. The guests alwasy go, "Ooooooh!" when I show them.

In Pakistan, where I originally come from, people don't use them either, but perhaps for different reasons. Anyone with a bit of money has at least one servant who will wash their dishes. I don't just mean the super rich. For example, my aunt who is middle class and has an apartment, not a house, has a lady who cleans, does laundry and helps her with the cooking etc. I guess you would call her a maid as she is there every day and will even lay the table for meals.

I used to be very judgemental about people having servants until I realised how important this employment is in Pakistan. My aunt has put her maid's sister through school and now college and provides her with accommodation. She is paying her maid's daughter's private school fees and buys all her clothes and toys.

This is not at all unusual. Charity is part of every day life in Pakistan. You are meant to give 10% of your income to the poor. Now, while I don't agree with the very distinct class barriers and the huge gulf between rich and poor (it's kind of like the UK pre-World War I in this respect), if this employment comes with an education, then perhaps the next generation won't need to be servants. I call that progress.

[Huma0]

I should add that this is not the same as some other countries I have visited, where the maids are girls from poorer countries who leave their families and their children behind because they have no other way of supporting them. I have seen that these maids are not always treated very well, e.g. made to sleep on the floor in the laundry room or cupboard. They are not treated like part of the family. I have heard much worse stories than this of course, but this is just what I have seen with my own eyes.

[Huaai0]

@Huma0

dish washers are not uncommon in big cities in China. the thing is that most Chinese families use dish washers as dish cabinets. even here in Canada.

[Huaai0]

@Huma0

Nice place! Love the colour! And furniture too. Will consider booking when fly to London!

[Marit-Anne0]

No condenser driers in the US - that explains a lot 🙂

What about the different ways of making coffee folks - how do you get around that ? I hear about Keurigs a lot - some of my US guests cross the street to Starbucks even though I have 5 different ways of making coffee (instant included).

Had a UK guest once and the electric kettle broke, heating water in a saucepan did not even cross her mind. No, she put the cup in the microwave, which also worked of course.

With these new superquick induction cooktops, a kettle is hardly necessary.  Just spent some time in a Dutch home with an induction cooktop - they had a good, old whistle kettle.  I kind of liked that 🙂

[Huma0]

@Marit-Anne0 I have an old fashioned coffee machine - the kind you use with loose filter coffee (you can just see it to the right of this photo), but I encourage my guests to use a caffetiere most of the time if they want filter coffee as it's much easier to clean up.

[Huma0]

So, here's a question for you. Are walk in shower cubicles a European thing? I believe the French call them Douche à l'italienne.

I have one in my larger bathroom. It looks very similar to this:

Although it is designed not to let water out, we have very good water pressure and I've had damage caused by people taking long showers with the water on full blast, somehow not noticing that they are flooding the bathroom. Now, I mention this to all guests when they check in and it hasn't happened since.

However, one Chinese guest seemed absolutely baffled by it. She insisted that all showers in China have doors and refused to use it. I didn't put this down to culture as she was odd is so many ways and none of my other Chinese guests have ever seemed surprised by this.

Then, yesterday one of my American guests came rushing down to find me because she had accidentally pushed the smaller panel of glass out of it's fixings and away from the seal. There is now a big gap between the glass. She said she thought it was a door. Odd because what would be the point in having a door that only went a third of the way across? She really didn't understand why there was no door (even though I had gone through the whole 'don't flood the walk-in shower' chat with her on check in).

Do they not have walk in showers in the USA? I really can't believe that. They are hardly a novelty, but are considered a bit of a luxury as you need a bigger space for them. Still, when I reiterated that it was a WALK IN SHOWER and quite normal, these guests looked at me like I was some kind of cheap skate for buying one, as if I couldn't be bothered to pay for one with a door!

[Huaai0]

@Huma0

Hmmm this shower is much better! No door but keeps water inside, just like restrooms at airport without doors but still private. good idea!

[Huaai0]

@Huma0

I believe that there are walk-in showers, but I think in Canada most families use bathrubs or walk-in bathtubs for seniors. Water is free here and many people would like a bubble/foam bath regularly using Lush bathbombs...

[Huma0]

@Huaai0 I have one of those too, so there is that option! Here it is: