Promaja! (Also Know as “A Mighty Wind”)

I’ve written about promaja (pruh-MOY-uh) previously. Of all the cultural differences I have experienced, I still find this to be one of the more perplexing. (Although there are others that come close. Anyone care for spaghetti with ketchup sauce? :-P)

In case you didn’t know, “promaja” refers to cross-breezes. Apparently, they are very dangerous here in the Balkans.

I first learned of promaja while riding in a taxi with my two sitemates and my language teacher. It was 95 degrees out, and our taxi driver had the windows rolled up (also note: there was no air conditioning in the taxi). I thought the taxi driver was 1) oblivious to the heat or 2) just being a jerk. But then my language teacher told us about promaja (mind BLOWN!). I had never heard of such a thing.

This story has come to illustrate something important to me: Sometimes, people do things, and they might not be doing those things for the reasons I think (or reasons I know).

Still, that doesn’t mean I believe in promaja. 🙂

Happy Halloween! 🙂