Captured her Loved One by Trapping her Sister !?

Jelena and Sakitoshi

In the Croatian city of Zagreb, where Jelena was brought up, schools have been teaching about Japan since the city is a sister city to Kyoto. Jelena was taught that Japanese have long lives since they eat raw fish, and she created an image in her mind that Japanese look like aliens. Then, a drama called “The Shogun” became a big hit in Croatia. Jelena was very moved by a scene in which a man commits hara-kiri suicide to take his responsibility.

In 199l, a conflict broke out in Croatia. While living under conditions in which all products required for daily life were rationed, Jelena just happened to see a tea ceremony being held by a Japanese volunteer. Jelena felt that the tea ceremony in which they serve sweets and bitter tea together had something in common with life. With her heart now captured by Japan, Jelena worked very hard for a year to save money, and at last, in 1995, she came to Japan. She was 24 at the time.

At the moment she got off the plane, she thought she had arrived at the wrong destination. What she could see around her were only high buildings — no geisha girls or shogun at all. She even checked at the airport information desk to be sure the country really was Japan. After settling down in Osaka, she started her new working life by taking a part-time job in a coffee shop while at the same time starting tea ceremony lessons.

Afterwards, her sister Kora came to Japan and a love battle started. While the two sisters were having a drink at a bar, a man called Sakatoshi — who was to become Jelena’s future husband — sat down next to Jelena. She mistakenly took a cocktail drink that he had ordered for himself and drank it. Sakitoshi said “It’s mine!” and she replied “Shut up” — this was the moment she fell in love with him at first sight. She felt like “He has something different from others!”

However, her sister Kora had also fallen for Sakitoshi. Moreover Sakitoshi liked Kora more than Jelena. Jelena was afraid that Sakitoshi and her sister might begin dating, so Jelena pretended to be a go-between for them … trying to prevent them from joining up, but also being careful not to be avoided by them.

Taking advantage of the fact that Kora could not understand Japanese, Jelena misinterpreted words to and from her sister. For example, when Kora wanted to cook something for Sakitoshi, she asked him “Are there any foods you don’t like?” Although he replied that he did not like hot foods, Jelena interpreted that “he loves hot food very much.” And as a result Sakitoshi had to eat extraordinarily hot beef stew.Jelena said to him “Kora is not good at cooking.”

Due to the success of Jelena’s touching plans, she and Sakitoshi finally became lovers. Then, Jelena said to Sakitoshi who had not yet proposed to her — “It’s nearly time for us to go to the city office, isn’t it?” (This means “It’s time for us to marry.” City offices accept marriage registrations.) At present, the couple are enjoying a happy life with their five-year old son, Teo, and are now promoting tourism to Croatia. Furthermore, they run a website for Croatia’s well-known ring fighter and now Croatian congressman, Mirko Cro Cop, and manage an Internet sales business. “I finally got Sakitoshi through overcoming difficulties, therefore I have to take care of him even more” says Jelena with a smile.