"Where the hell is Cavtat, Croatia?" Carl asked.
"Southern Croatia. Across from Italy. In Europe, stupid," he wife Angela replied.
"Whatever happened to foreign exchange students coming from Toronto, or Nassau?"
Angela frowned. "It's a smaller world now. Some of these countries produce very bright kids because of the Internet, better schools, you name it."
"What do we know about...Nela?" Carl asked, thumbing through a stack of papers Angela had on the table.
"She's eighteen; the daughter of a doctor and an educator," Angela said. "They are fairly well-to-do by Croatian standards and..."
"Whoa!"
Carl's bark of excitement was made clear to Angela when she saw the picture he was holding. It was a shot of Nela and her family. She stood between her father and strikingly beautiful mother. They were all dark haired with deeply tanned skin and rugged features that only added to their attractiveness.
Nela's mother was just under average height but with a lusciously curved body that she obviously passed down to her daughter. Their hair was shoulder length, thick, and wavy. Dark eyes seemed to penetrate the camera and invite the viewer of the photo into the scene.
"NOW do you feel better about going over and interviewing them so Nela can live with us for a year?" Angela asked.
"When do we leave?" Carl said.
In a house on the other side of the world, overlooking the Mediterranean, Lidia and her husband Ivo were equally excited and frightened by the prospect of Nela spending the next year of her life so far away from them. They knew that the organization in charge of the student exchange was well known and had been doing exchanges for decades. That wasn't the issue.
"This is really important for Nela's career," Ivo said seriously. "This could get her into an American university where she can study whatever she wants. And then come back and teach others, here."
Lidia nodded. "I know. But it's so far.... And we don't know anything about these people that she's staying with other than the packet of information sent to us."
"But they are coming here," Ivo said with enthusiasm. "We can meet them and ask them questions and..."
"What if they don't like us?"
Ivo stared at his wife. "We must MAKE them like us, Lidia. We must do whatever is necessary to make them like us."
She couldn't remember him ever looking at her in that way, but she understood. She said, "OK. If you say so, darling. And if it will help Nela."
The flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia was fifteen hours with two layovers. The drive to Cavtat was another half hour on some of the most treacherous, yet beautiful, roads Carl and Angela had ever been on. More than once, they looked out the window of their taxi and saw only a steep drop straight down to the rocky shore of the Mediterranean.
They tipped the driver generously when they were outside Nela's house, primarily for arriving alive. They retrieved their bags from the trunk and didn't even make it to the front door before Nela came out with a big smile and raced to greet them.
Carl immediately came to the conclusion that the photo had not done her justice. She was a doll. Hugs were exchanged and Nela invited them inside.
The two story house was upper middle class by American standards, but after the drive from the airport Carl and Angela knew it was among the nicest in the area. The inside wasn't as open as most modern houses in the States, but clearly it was well maintained and the art on the walls was obviously selected by an expert.
Nela was talking rapidly in her nearly perfect English as she led the guests down the hall. They turned into a family room and Nela's parents were standing and waiting.
This time both Carl and Angela did double-takes. Ivo wore a sport coat over a crew neck shirt and along with his Dockers struck a dramatic figure for Angela to inspect. Likewise, Lidia in her figure-hugging dress caught Carl's eye.
During the introductory small-talk, Carl and Angela each guessed the other couple's ages as around forty. They, themselves, were not yet fifty and, while not quite as striking as Ivo and Lidia, were hardly considered repulsive by the people they knew. In fact, the blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin on Angela was quite the contrast to the host and hostess. The Americans were fit and even athletic looking, in keeping with the cycling and running they enjoyed as hobbies.
Nela remained with the group through dinner. Then the adults retreated to the back deck with a view of the nearby mountains and lush valleys. Drinks were served, including some local specialties that Carl and Angela eagerly adapted to.
Ivo was prompt in leading the conversation towards what Carl and Angela had in mind for Nela during her visit. They had briefly discussed the topic at dinner, but the parents wanted to know more than just the fun stuff her host family planned for her. Carl and Angela were prepared for the 'grilling' and seemed to provide enough information to satisfy the parents.
"So tell us about you," Carl said at one point. "What was it about the exchange program that made you sign up Nela?"
"We are a new country, Carl," Ivo said with apparent pride. "We want to be known as more than a stop for cruise ships. Our young people have opportunities some of their parents never had. I was lucky. I got to study in Italy and make a good living here. The same with Lidia. But for Nela to have a chance to go to the United States and maybe enter a school there...well, that would be very special."
"She's a good girl," Lidia added. "Very smart. You'll find that out quickly. We'd do anything to let her have this chance."
Carl doubted that Lidia had any other meaning behind her words, but the glance she gave him when she spoke could have implied otherwise.
"It would be extremely disappointing to come all the way here and then have to go home and report that we can't take Nela," Angela said. "I really hope that the two days here will convince us that we are all compatible."
"We hope that, also," Ivo said. "How about some more baklava?"
The two couples snacked and drank until darkness forced them inside.
"Will Nela be joining us again tonight?" Angela asked.
"Oh, no," Lidia said with a chuckle. "She goes to bed very early, in my opinion. And quite a sound sleeper. You should be happy with that."
Angela and Carl smiled as everybody settled into seats in the family room. More conversation filled another half hour and the atmosphere was clearly less nervous than before. At one point, two separate conversations broke out: one between Ivo and Angela, and another between Lidia and Carl.