Slovenia is at the crossroads of the Balkans, Southern, Eastern and Central Europe and offers a very diverse landscape—the Alps, beautiful forests, the Mediterranean coast and the Pannonian Plain. This is a country that loves sports and recreation all year round: Skiing, snowboarding, swimming, hiking and cycling are all-time favorites. However, Slovenian culture lovers get their fair share of action at the many cultural events organized throughout the year.
In Slovenian culture, women make up 45% of the overall work force, but because of the patriarchal driven society, they are limited to the fields of cultural and social welfare, public services and administration, and the hospitality industry. They are also expected to take care of all household matters, regardless of outside careers. Competition into universities is stiff, with only 36% of the population obtaining a full degree. Nuclear families are more common in urban areas, with rural areas still sometimes having multiple generations in one home.
The official language is Slovene. Hungarian and Italian have the status of official languages in the ethnically mixed regions along the Hungarian and Italian borders.
Slovenian food is rather simple: most common are potatoes, meat, and warm thick soup. In the morning, Slovenes usually have a small breakfast (cereal or a piece of bread with jam or some other spread), followed by a snack—a sandwich and a piece of fruit or a yoghurt during weekdays while in school or at work. Otherwise they enjoy lunch as their biggest meal of the day featuring a main course and a salad; some also have soup as an appetizer. Dinner is a lighter meal. Typical Slovenian dishes include potica (a delicious nut roll pastry), štruklji (cream filled dumplings), or čevapčiči (a minced meat dish).
