It is hard to believe it is already December. I looked and my last post was all the way back in October. Sorry for letting it go so long in between posts. So, what has happened between the last posting and now?
Well, in the last post I told about the snow we had. That snow melted away a week or so after it stopped snowing and we haven't had any more snow since. The mountains do have snow on their peaks, but not enough for the ski season to start just yet. People are starting to think there will not be much snow this winter. I remember some people saying that last year too but we ended up with a pretty decent snowfall, so we will see what happens.
At the end of October every school in Slovakia has a long weekend for Fall Break. It happens to coincide with Halloween, which is kind of nice. Halloween is not celebrated in Slovakia, but they have a tradition for All Saint's Day where people place candles and other decorations on the graves of family members. The cemeteries around Slovakia look very pretty this time of year.
For Fall Break this year myself and four other lectures took a trip to Dublin, Ireland. That was a very nice trip. One thing that was kind of cool was getting to spend Halloween in the birthplace of Halloween. There are many activities for kids and then Halloween night in the Temple Bar area there is basically a huge block party for adults. It was neat to see and experience some of that, but the crowd can be an interesting one. There are people in all sorts of costumes there and street performers as well as kids trick-or-treating for money.
The five of us were all interested in seeing the city and some of the sights around Dublin. We walked a fair amount and took tours of the Guinness Brewery as well as the Jameson Distillery. We also took a bus tour along the Southern Coast which took us to an old mansion which is now full of boutiques. There is a huge garden in the back that we were able to walk through. Even though it was the end of October the grass was still very green and some flowers were still blooming.
Since the Dublin trip things have been pretty normal, but sometimes it seems the weeks go by very quickly. Last week the Primary school I teach at once a week had their English Olympics, it is a scholastic competition with various parts such as reading comprehension, listening, vocabulary, grammar, a role play and a picture story. As the native speaker I read the text aloud for the listening comprehension section and also took part in the role plays. In one scenario I was the parent of the child and they were to convince me they should have a room to themselves even though that wasn't really an option. In the other scenario I was also the parent, but this time the student was to convince me they should get to spend their summer holiday on their uncle's farm instead of on a family trip I found even though they were at their uncle's last summer. This week the High School has its English Olympics. I don't know the role plays yet, but I wonder if I will be a parent again. Maybe it will help prepare me for the future if I have kids.
We also have a kind of open house this week. It is a day for parents (parents of current students can come too) and prospective students to come to the school. I found out on Friday that myself and the other two lecturers here will be interviewed during a session that day. I was given some possible questions, so now just need to figure out what I will say.
This weekend Liptovsky Mikulas had a Christmas market and festival. There were many artisans out selling their work, rides, food, drink and concerts. Since the town is named after St. Nick they have the festival the weekend of St. Nick's Day, December 6. One tradition they have with St. Nick that I was not aware of before is that he goes around with a little devil. The good kids get a present from St. Nick and I think the bad kids are taken away or something like that.
With the start of this week it will be two and a half weeks till Christmas break. Our break start December 23 and classes start again January 11. I think the time leading up to break will go quickly. I am currently thinking of Christmas oriented plans to do with some of my classes. I am looking forward to the Christmas season and break. I will not be traveling home for Christmas, but will be with a very nice family. Last year I was able to spend Christmas in Denmark and will be doing that again. I am looking forward to learning more about the Danish traditions and the new experiences that will come with the trip.
Here are some pictures from my adventures so far this year.
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Saturday, December 5, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The First Snow
It is October, right? So what is all this white stuff on the ground and falling from the sky?!? Why is the high for the day 2 C? We had what in Slovakia is called an Indian summer, warm summer like temperatures in the fall, for about a week and then the weather changed. For close to a week, maybe a little longer, it has been cloudy and rainy here in Mikulas. Then the temperature dropped and the rain changed to snow right before my eyes. The snow started on Monday and it is still snowing.
Most of the time it is flurries, but there are times when the wind starts blowing and the snow gets really heavy. I can't remember how many people told me today that this has never happened before, snow in early/mid October. The grass is not completely covered yet, but you can definitely see the snow. At some point I want to play Baseball with my first years as a part of our conversation class, but that will have to wait until it is warmer outside. Can you believe I get to teach how to play baseball and American football as part of conversation class? It fits in with US Realia, which is basically a unit to talk about the US and what life is like there. Since sports are presented as a major part of life and society in the US my students get to learn about two of the most popular sports. One student asked me which was more popular, football or baseball. I told the student it would probably depend on who they talk to and where they are in the country. Any other answers I can tell my student?
At the end of the month comes Halloween, as I am sure students in the US are well aware of. I plan on having a Halloween party with both of my first year groups. I think it will be fun to plan. It was a lot of fun last year. I was able to purchase a printer this year with the assistance of my church back home, Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Schaumburg, maybe I can put it to use for the parties for games and the like.
A snowwoman in the field near my school.
One of the damaged trees on the walk to school.
Some of the students are a little shy to speak in class still, but I hope activities like these help make them feel a little more comfortable with their English. I know some of the students are worried about making mistakes, but I told them it is a part of learning. They all have a lot of potential, they just need to use what they have.
My other classes are going well. I taught all my other students last year. It is nice to be with them again. It will be interesting to see changes from what they were like last year and what they will be like this year.
One goal of mine this summer was to learn how to look older than my students. I thought I was doing a decent job so far, until one of the football days. My students kept yelling back and forth in Slovak even though they should have been speaking in English. A student informed me they couldn't tell who was their teacher and who was their classmate because I look so young. She is 16 and her classmates are 14 or 15. I guess there are worse things then looking 10-12 years younger to some people. I got a good laugh out of it anyways.
Well, I guess that's about it for now. If anyone has Halloween party ideas please let me know.
Most of the time it is flurries, but there are times when the wind starts blowing and the snow gets really heavy. I can't remember how many people told me today that this has never happened before, snow in early/mid October. The grass is not completely covered yet, but you can definitely see the snow. At some point I want to play Baseball with my first years as a part of our conversation class, but that will have to wait until it is warmer outside. Can you believe I get to teach how to play baseball and American football as part of conversation class? It fits in with US Realia, which is basically a unit to talk about the US and what life is like there. Since sports are presented as a major part of life and society in the US my students get to learn about two of the most popular sports. One student asked me which was more popular, football or baseball. I told the student it would probably depend on who they talk to and where they are in the country. Any other answers I can tell my student?
At the end of the month comes Halloween, as I am sure students in the US are well aware of. I plan on having a Halloween party with both of my first year groups. I think it will be fun to plan. It was a lot of fun last year. I was able to purchase a printer this year with the assistance of my church back home, Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Schaumburg, maybe I can put it to use for the parties for games and the like.
A snowwoman in the field near my school.
One of the damaged trees on the walk to school.Some of the students are a little shy to speak in class still, but I hope activities like these help make them feel a little more comfortable with their English. I know some of the students are worried about making mistakes, but I told them it is a part of learning. They all have a lot of potential, they just need to use what they have.
My other classes are going well. I taught all my other students last year. It is nice to be with them again. It will be interesting to see changes from what they were like last year and what they will be like this year.
One goal of mine this summer was to learn how to look older than my students. I thought I was doing a decent job so far, until one of the football days. My students kept yelling back and forth in Slovak even though they should have been speaking in English. A student informed me they couldn't tell who was their teacher and who was their classmate because I look so young. She is 16 and her classmates are 14 or 15. I guess there are worse things then looking 10-12 years younger to some people. I got a good laugh out of it anyways.
Well, I guess that's about it for now. If anyone has Halloween party ideas please let me know.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A month in
A little over a month of school has gone by. How does time go so fast? I guess that must mean that things are going pretty well. I am enjoying things this year so far. I have some great classes. We are having a good time so far. Students can be very entertaining.
I have also been able to do some traveling already too. I have gone on two hikes since returning to Slovakia, visited another town (Basnka Stiavnica) and gone to Germany for Oktoberfest. The hikes were fun and a good workout. Banska Stiavnica is a town about two hours away. It is an old mining town and very hilly. The group I was with had a great time. We took a tour of an old castle, toured a mine and had fun visiting around lunch too. We left Mikulas about 8:30am and got back to Mikulas about 9pm or a little latter.
The Oktoberfest trip was a lot of fun. I also got to visit Nuremberg that trip and just look around the city some. When my group arrived at the beer tent around 10:30 there were already plenty of people there and enjoying beer. I had a liter beer and half a chicken. Then that evening it was time to head back to Slovakia and get ready to teach again.
The next big things happening this month are planning Halloween parties for a couple classes as part of US Realia and a trip to Dublin, Ireland with some fellow Americans over our Fall Break. I look forward to fun times and great memories with both of those.
I have also been able to do some traveling already too. I have gone on two hikes since returning to Slovakia, visited another town (Basnka Stiavnica) and gone to Germany for Oktoberfest. The hikes were fun and a good workout. Banska Stiavnica is a town about two hours away. It is an old mining town and very hilly. The group I was with had a great time. We took a tour of an old castle, toured a mine and had fun visiting around lunch too. We left Mikulas about 8:30am and got back to Mikulas about 9pm or a little latter.
The Oktoberfest trip was a lot of fun. I also got to visit Nuremberg that trip and just look around the city some. When my group arrived at the beer tent around 10:30 there were already plenty of people there and enjoying beer. I had a liter beer and half a chicken. Then that evening it was time to head back to Slovakia and get ready to teach again.
The next big things happening this month are planning Halloween parties for a couple classes as part of US Realia and a trip to Dublin, Ireland with some fellow Americans over our Fall Break. I look forward to fun times and great memories with both of those.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The summer is over?!?
Greetings everyone! How time flies. The summer has come and gone. I left for home on July 2 and arrived back in Slovakia August 19. As is the same with many people I had a full summer. I was happy to see a number of relatives and friends while I was home.
I have arrived back in Slovakia and have been at school for planning the next school year for two days. The class schedules are still being figured out, so I have been creative figuring out what and how to plan. It has been nice getting to see my colleagues though and catch up a little. All of the teachers here have extended a very warm welcome back.
School starts on September 2 in Slovakia, for religious schools as well as state schools across the country. Classes do not actually meet on the 2nd though. My school will have a church service that day to open the school year. We also have a “new” building; the interior was being renovated over the summer. One floor of the building is ready for use, so the General Bishop of Slovakia and the Eastern Bishop of Slovakia are coming to officially open that building for the school year. There will be some classes using that building and the rest of it will be worked on gradually so the school can use all of it at some point. I am looking forward to what happens this year.
I have arrived back in Slovakia and have been at school for planning the next school year for two days. The class schedules are still being figured out, so I have been creative figuring out what and how to plan. It has been nice getting to see my colleagues though and catch up a little. All of the teachers here have extended a very warm welcome back.
School starts on September 2 in Slovakia, for religious schools as well as state schools across the country. Classes do not actually meet on the 2nd though. My school will have a church service that day to open the school year. We also have a “new” building; the interior was being renovated over the summer. One floor of the building is ready for use, so the General Bishop of Slovakia and the Eastern Bishop of Slovakia are coming to officially open that building for the school year. There will be some classes using that building and the rest of it will be worked on gradually so the school can use all of it at some point. I am looking forward to what happens this year.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Time to travel
It is hard to believe that a year has almost gone by. I should have no problem believing this since classes are finished and school is almost done, but it is seems like it is not the end of June. Maybe all the rain and 18-23 degree weather has added to it not feeling like June. With the end of the year has come some opportunities for travel.
A friend from back home had a work related event in Hungary and Romania and was able to come a little early so we could visit. I took a train to Budapest and met up with my friend for the weekend. It was nice to be back in Budapest and be able to see some familiar sites, but also some that I had not seen before.
The weekend after I found myself in Bratislava to help say good-bye to the couple that has been the in country directors for teachers in Slovakia for the past five years. It was nice to see the Schicks and fellow lecturers, but it was also sad. Having to say good-bye to people is always difficult. I hope that our paths will cross again sometime in the future.
The last full week of school was this past week. Monday and Tuesday were the last days of actual classes. The rest of the week was made up of classes taking their class trips and teachers doing wo
rk to finish up the year. Since there were no classes to teach two teachers decided to take me and the other two lecturers sight-seeing on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday we went to Kezmerok, the hometown of one of the teachers. We saw a wooden church, Lutherans were only allowed to build churches out of wood for a certain period in Slovakia and Swedish ship builders came and helped them; a Lutheran church not made out of wood and of course the town. Kezmerok is surrounded by the High Tatras, so if anyone likes views of mountains you would really like this town. On Thursday we went to Oravsky Hrad which is a castle. This is located in far northern Slovakia, about 40 minutes from the Polish boarder. The castle was pretty, it is still in very good condition. The area is very pretty too.
rk to finish up the year. Since there were no classes to teach two teachers decided to take me and the other two lecturers sight-seeing on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday we went to Kezmerok, the hometown of one of the teachers. We saw a wooden church, Lutherans were only allowed to build churches out of wood for a certain period in Slovakia and Swedish ship builders came and helped them; a Lutheran church not made out of wood and of course the town. Kezmerok is surrounded by the High Tatras, so if anyone likes views of mountains you would really like this town. On Thursday we went to Oravsky Hrad which is a castle. This is located in far northern Slovakia, about 40 minutes from the Polish boarder. The castle was pretty, it is still in very good condition. The area is very pretty too.This weekend my big task is to work on packing things since I fly out July 2. Some of you may know, and some may not know, that I have decided to return for a second year. I am lucky that I will get to have the same apartment, so I can leave most of my things here for the summer. While at home I am looking forward to visiting family and friends. I will also be trying to raise some money to help with the cost of my plane ticket and possible supplies for the school year. If anyone is interested in helping please let me know. I would also be more than happy to visit congregations or groups that would like to hear about what Slovakia is like or what teaching in Slovakia is like. For most of my time in the US I will be in the Chicago area with a little time in the Twin Cities area before I fly back to Slovakia.
For pictures from Budapest with my friend check out the following link.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
What to do in a weekend?
Last weekend I went on a hike with a small group to Žiarska Dolina (Žiarska valley). There had been an avalanche there this winter, it is called the 100 year avalanche. It was so large that there is still snow left from the avalanche. The damage that can be done by mother nature is amazing. I was told an area we walked through was full of trees before the avalanche, now the trees are knocked over. We got to walk on part of the avalanche, that was pretty cool. I have walked on a glacier before, but I do not think I have ever seen an avalanche before, so have obviously never walked on one.
Graduation was held on Friday at the Lutheran church in town. I was excited to see what a Slovak graduation would be like. Since the service was held in a church it is probably a little different from other graduations in Slovakia. There was a church service as part of the ceremony. At the end of the service the two classes, 5A and 5B were each called to the front of the ch
urch and the names were called one by one to be presented their diploma, a gift, and a record of all the classes they had taken.
This week w
as an important week for the students who were in their last year of study at my school. They had their maturita (school leaving exam) this week. The exams took place over four days, Monday through Thursday. Each student had three exams to take, they could choose two of the subjects. Since EGJT is a bilingual school they all had to take an exam in English. As a part of their last year each class makes a collage of their pictures and displays it in a store window in town. This is one from one of the graduating classes from my school.
as an important week for the students who were in their last year of study at my school. They had their maturita (school leaving exam) this week. The exams took place over four days, Monday through Thursday. Each student had three exams to take, they could choose two of the subjects. Since EGJT is a bilingual school they all had to take an exam in English. As a part of their last year each class makes a collage of their pictures and displays it in a store window in town. This is one from one of the graduating classes from my school.I helped with this section of the exam by doing role plays with the students. We were give
n a scenario and had to act out the scenario. The English exams took place Monday through Wednesday. Each day there were 19 students, so 57 students all together graduated this year. The class did very well, 222 tests were given and the average for all the tests was 1.6, a 1 is the highest a person can get.
n a scenario and had to act out the scenario. The English exams took place Monday through Wednesday. Each day there were 19 students, so 57 students all together graduated this year. The class did very well, 222 tests were given and the average for all the tests was 1.6, a 1 is the highest a person can get.Graduation was held on Friday at the Lutheran church in town. I was excited to see what a Slovak graduation would be like. Since the service was held in a church it is probably a little different from other graduations in Slovakia. There was a church service as part of the ceremony. At the end of the service the two classes, 5A and 5B were each called to the front of the ch
urch and the names were called one by one to be presented their diploma, a gift, and a record of all the classes they had taken.The 5A class waiting to receive their diplomas.
Here is a link to the pictures of graduation from my school's website.
This weekend there was also something happening in town with old cars. I am not sure what was going on, I found the event while walking around town. Here are some video clips of the event and a couple pictures too.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Guláš
This weekend I had a three day weekend. This is because Friday was deň vit'azstva nad fašizmom, which means the victory over Fascism day. It celebrates the day fighting ended in Slovakia for WWII. May 8 is a National Holiday, which means schools and businesses are closed. However, there is no public celebration that I know about. I asked some Slovak friends and colleagues and none of them knew of celebrations. So people make their own celebrations.
The Vice Principal for the English department had a family gathering and invited myself and the other two lecturers to come for a guláš party. Her husband and friends were the chefs for the day, grilling meat and cooking the guláš in a pot over a fire.
The family started cooking in the morning and we started eating around 2pm. When the guláš is ready it is taken off the fire and set on the ground for serving. Some friends of the family came after we had finished eating and had even gone on a walk, but they were offered some guláš too. Even though it had been a few hours the pot and guláš were still nice and hot. The food was delicious and and the company was great. It was a great opportunity to learn about why today is a holiday and to have some authentic Slovak guláš.
Some pictures from the party and adventures around Slovakia can be seen here:
Monday, April 27, 2009
Easter Adventure
It has been a really long time since I wrote anything. Sorry about that. There have been a few activities happening here in the time between my posts. First of all, we had April Fools Day, which was crazy day at school. That meant that people dressed up from various decades (50s, 60s, 70s and 80s). I went through the clothes I have here and found something that worked. It was a lot of fun. A few teachers dressed up and a number of students.
I also had my birthday, I am now the ripe old age of 26. I know it is really not that old, however, I no longer qualify for many youth discounts. For instance, multi-country train passes have one price for under 26 and another price for 26 and older. That was a nice discount to have. Oh well, I guess it is a part of growing up. April was a busy month of birthdays here in Mikulas. Two Slovak teachers had birthdays this month as well as the other two lecturers here. One of the lecturers, Carol, had her birthday the same weekend as mine. We ended up having a combined birthday dinner to celebrate. We invited some friends over to my apartment for a Mexican dinner. I made tacos and Carol made fajitas. It was a fun time had by all.
Easter also fell in this month. My parents decided to come and visit over Easter. They arrived the Tuesday before Easter. They had a little tour of the town that night and came to school with me the next. We had a church service for school so my parents were able to experience what church is like in Slovakia. There were two styles they experienced; the student service and Holy Communion after the service. In Slovakia Holy Communion typically has a separate mini service after the regular church service. This happens once a month, in Mikulas it falls on the first Sunday of the month. Easter break for schools in Slovakia was Thursday-Sunday, the 9th-14th.
Thursday morning my parents and I woke up bright and early to catch a train to Praha (Prague). There was a group of lecturers going there for Easter as well and we were able to meet up with them. Thursday evening we walked around the city some and had dinner together, a nice evening to get settled into the city for a few days. On Friday we went to the town Plzen which is home to Pilsner beer. The seven of us took a tour of the brewery which was interesting. At the end of the tour they gave us a sample of their beer, unfiltered. I was not a huge fan of the unfiltered beer, but the rest seemed to enjoy it. After the tour we checked out the gift shop and enjoyed some food and beer at the restaurant on site.
Saturday was a tour day for my parents and myself. We decided to do a walking tour of the city. It was supposed to be a six hour tour, but ended up being a seven hour tour. We had to wait for a boat and that set us behind. The group was fun and friendly, the tour guide was nice and knowledgeable and so it ended up being a great time. After the tour my parents and I decided to go to the Communist museum. The four other lecturers ended up coming to the museum 10 minutes or so after we got there. It was a nice surprise that we were able to see each other again and wish each other a Happy Easter before my parents and I left for our next destination....Budapest.
For those who do not know, Budapest is made up of two cities- Buda and pest. I really enjoyed my time in Budapest. My parents and my hotel was in an area called Hero's square. There are a number of museums there, and as we found out a few embassies as well. Walking around the city was really nice. We took a hop-on hop-off bus tour around the city. For anyone who is not familiar with what this is, I will explain. You buy a ticket that is good for 24 hours and you can hop-on and hop-off any of the tour buses as many times as you would like within the 24 hour period, when the buses are running of course. The tour guide is automated so there are a variety of languages to choose from. My parents and I all agreed this was a great way t have a tour of the city, the only draw back was not being able to ask the guide questions. Well, I guess we could have asked questions, but then we would be talking to a box. I will get to go back to Budapest in June with a friend who has a work project there. I am really looking forward to that.
After a quick stop back in Mikulas my parents and I headed West. We stayed in Bratislava but had a day in Vienna and took an overnight trip to Salzburg. In Vienna we took a tour that went to the Schonbrun palace. The last royal family member to use this as a summer palace was Maria Theresa. She was also the longest ruler of her family, 40 years. The palace was neat and we were able to look around the garden a little too. We also spent some time looking around the city of Vienna. We discovered that a race for the cure, Breast cancer, was happening the day we were there. We found this out when we walked by one of the water tables. There was a huge ribbon balloon outside of the Hapsburg palace and even some of the S-bahns were supporting the cause. There was a little festival happening outside the city hall that we checked out. There were a number of booths set up and everything from two men building a mini cabin to log tug-o-war with axes.
After arriving in Salzburg and finding our way to the hotel we decided to see what tours were available. We decided to take the Sound of Music tour. This took us around the city some, but also outside of Salzburg. On the tour you hear some of the behind the scenes stories as well as some of the major sites of the movie. We were able to see the gazebo from the movie, but could not go inside. A couple years ago an older lady decided to reenact the 16 going on 17 dance number. When she leaped from the bench at the entrance to the other bench she missed and fell breaking her hip. Now the gazebo is locked so no more leaping and singing. Even though we had a short time in Salzburg we were able to see parts of the city. We went to the museum at the birth house of Mozart. It was very interesting, there is a museum in a house he lived in as an adult across the river too. Salzburg is a city that I would really recommend. I wish we had had more than 24 hours there. Hopefully I can go back sometime in the future.
The last city we toured around was Bratislava. I know the city a little, but not super well. We were able to find where we wanted to go without any major problems though. We took a little car tour around the city the first afternoon there. That turned out to be a good idea because it started raining during the tour, so we were nice and dry in the car while learning about the city. My parents were amazed at the varying degrees of security at embassies depending on the country. Some have no visible security outside while one or two have visible security. The various between the two is surprising.
After two weeks visiting me my parents had to leave to get back to the US. It was nice to have them visit and to be able to see some great places. I hope you enjoyed reading about them and enjoy some of the pictures too.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6697123&l=53a5d30de6&id=682430592
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=247823&id=682430592&l=5083c79016
The house builders.
Some ladies showing their skills.
I also had my birthday, I am now the ripe old age of 26. I know it is really not that old, however, I no longer qualify for many youth discounts. For instance, multi-country train passes have one price for under 26 and another price for 26 and older. That was a nice discount to have. Oh well, I guess it is a part of growing up. April was a busy month of birthdays here in Mikulas. Two Slovak teachers had birthdays this month as well as the other two lecturers here. One of the lecturers, Carol, had her birthday the same weekend as mine. We ended up having a combined birthday dinner to celebrate. We invited some friends over to my apartment for a Mexican dinner. I made tacos and Carol made fajitas. It was a fun time had by all.
Easter also fell in this month. My parents decided to come and visit over Easter. They arrived the Tuesday before Easter. They had a little tour of the town that night and came to school with me the next. We had a church service for school so my parents were able to experience what church is like in Slovakia. There were two styles they experienced; the student service and Holy Communion after the service. In Slovakia Holy Communion typically has a separate mini service after the regular church service. This happens once a month, in Mikulas it falls on the first Sunday of the month. Easter break for schools in Slovakia was Thursday-Sunday, the 9th-14th.
Thursday morning my parents and I woke up bright and early to catch a train to Praha (Prague). There was a group of lecturers going there for Easter as well and we were able to meet up with them. Thursday evening we walked around the city some and had dinner together, a nice evening to get settled into the city for a few days. On Friday we went to the town Plzen which is home to Pilsner beer. The seven of us took a tour of the brewery which was interesting. At the end of the tour they gave us a sample of their beer, unfiltered. I was not a huge fan of the unfiltered beer, but the rest seemed to enjoy it. After the tour we checked out the gift shop and enjoyed some food and beer at the restaurant on site.
Saturday was a tour day for my parents and myself. We decided to do a walking tour of the city. It was supposed to be a six hour tour, but ended up being a seven hour tour. We had to wait for a boat and that set us behind. The group was fun and friendly, the tour guide was nice and knowledgeable and so it ended up being a great time. After the tour my parents and I decided to go to the Communist museum. The four other lecturers ended up coming to the museum 10 minutes or so after we got there. It was a nice surprise that we were able to see each other again and wish each other a Happy Easter before my parents and I left for our next destination....Budapest.
For those who do not know, Budapest is made up of two cities- Buda and pest. I really enjoyed my time in Budapest. My parents and my hotel was in an area called Hero's square. There are a number of museums there, and as we found out a few embassies as well. Walking around the city was really nice. We took a hop-on hop-off bus tour around the city. For anyone who is not familiar with what this is, I will explain. You buy a ticket that is good for 24 hours and you can hop-on and hop-off any of the tour buses as many times as you would like within the 24 hour period, when the buses are running of course. The tour guide is automated so there are a variety of languages to choose from. My parents and I all agreed this was a great way t have a tour of the city, the only draw back was not being able to ask the guide questions. Well, I guess we could have asked questions, but then we would be talking to a box. I will get to go back to Budapest in June with a friend who has a work project there. I am really looking forward to that.
After a quick stop back in Mikulas my parents and I headed West. We stayed in Bratislava but had a day in Vienna and took an overnight trip to Salzburg. In Vienna we took a tour that went to the Schonbrun palace. The last royal family member to use this as a summer palace was Maria Theresa. She was also the longest ruler of her family, 40 years. The palace was neat and we were able to look around the garden a little too. We also spent some time looking around the city of Vienna. We discovered that a race for the cure, Breast cancer, was happening the day we were there. We found this out when we walked by one of the water tables. There was a huge ribbon balloon outside of the Hapsburg palace and even some of the S-bahns were supporting the cause. There was a little festival happening outside the city hall that we checked out. There were a number of booths set up and everything from two men building a mini cabin to log tug-o-war with axes.
After arriving in Salzburg and finding our way to the hotel we decided to see what tours were available. We decided to take the Sound of Music tour. This took us around the city some, but also outside of Salzburg. On the tour you hear some of the behind the scenes stories as well as some of the major sites of the movie. We were able to see the gazebo from the movie, but could not go inside. A couple years ago an older lady decided to reenact the 16 going on 17 dance number. When she leaped from the bench at the entrance to the other bench she missed and fell breaking her hip. Now the gazebo is locked so no more leaping and singing. Even though we had a short time in Salzburg we were able to see parts of the city. We went to the museum at the birth house of Mozart. It was very interesting, there is a museum in a house he lived in as an adult across the river too. Salzburg is a city that I would really recommend. I wish we had had more than 24 hours there. Hopefully I can go back sometime in the future.
The last city we toured around was Bratislava. I know the city a little, but not super well. We were able to find where we wanted to go without any major problems though. We took a little car tour around the city the first afternoon there. That turned out to be a good idea because it started raining during the tour, so we were nice and dry in the car while learning about the city. My parents were amazed at the varying degrees of security at embassies depending on the country. Some have no visible security outside while one or two have visible security. The various between the two is surprising.
After two weeks visiting me my parents had to leave to get back to the US. It was nice to have them visit and to be able to see some great places. I hope you enjoyed reading about them and enjoy some of the pictures too.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6697123&l=53a5d30de6&id=682430592
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=247823&id=682430592&l=5083c79016
The house builders.
Some ladies showing their skills.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Benelux
Hi everyone, sorry that it has been a while since I have written. Things in Slovakia are going well. The past week or so I have learned that Slovakia has strange weather during the change from winter to spring just as the US. We had a number of days that started clear with a gray sky, then there would be a light snow that turned into a heavy snow that a person could hardly see through, and then it would stop. This cycle happened a few times a day, but the snow has now disappeared again. We will see what comes with spring now that it is officially here.
Some of you may be wondering what the title of this entry means. Benelux = Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. These were the destinations of the spring break trip I took with two other lecturers. Each of these countries was a new country for the other two lecturers, Luxembourg was a new country for me. In Slovakia when a school has spring break depends on where the school is in Slovakia. Western Slovakia had spring break first, the second to last week in February; Eastern Slovakia had spring break the next week and Central Slovakia (where I am) had spring break the following week, March 2-6. The other two lecturers, Becky and Carsten, also teach in central Slovakia, so we decided to travel together.
We met in Bratislava and flew out from Vienna, Austria on Monday, March 2. We flew to Amsterdam and stayed there for two nights. I had been to Amsterdam before a couple of years ago, so I knew the city a little. It was neat to walk around and see something and be able to say, "I know this!" Seeing Amsterdam in the off season was also nice. We all had a great time there, there is a lot to see and do. We took part of a city walking tour, we did not realize at first that it would be a three hour tour. After an hour and a half we decided to break off from the tour so we could find something to eat and rest a little, we had to wake up at 3:30am for our flight. We also went to the Van Gogh museum, the Heineken brewery and other sites of the city.
We took a train to Brussels, Belgium which was a new city for me. We stayed in Brussels but took two day trips from there. We went to Bruges and Luxembourg. Bruges is a city on the northern coast of Belgium. We spent the day walking around the city and saw a Salvador Dali exhibit. I would like to go back to Bruges someday to see the town again and maybe experience it without as much construction. Even with the construction there is a lot to see.
Luxembourg was also a new city and country. We took a train there, I think it was a three hour ride one way. Unfortunately it rained almost the whole day we were there, so we did not do a lot outside. We did find some interesting museums. One was a national history of art museum. There were exhibits from the stone age to modern day. We also found the city museum which had a special exhibit on religion. There were video and audio clips of a few different people talking about what religion is to them and if it is important for them or not. There were also different exercises for visitors to do and at the end would find out what type of religious view they hold. After the museums the rain had stopped so we walked around the city some. From what I saw I enjoyed the city, and country; hopefully I can return sometime and be able to see more of the city and possibly the country.
The next big event here that I know of is Easter. I will have some visitors, my parents. Hopefully our time together goes well and travels go well. April will also be an interesting month because many teachers at my school, at least four, have their birthdays that month. I actually get to start the celebrations with my birthday at the beginning of the month. Now to figure out how to celebrate and what snacks to bring to school. Any suggestions are of course welcomed.
Some pictures from my Benelux tour. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=227616&id=682430592&l=1c31ba4c7c
Some of you may be wondering what the title of this entry means. Benelux = Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. These were the destinations of the spring break trip I took with two other lecturers. Each of these countries was a new country for the other two lecturers, Luxembourg was a new country for me. In Slovakia when a school has spring break depends on where the school is in Slovakia. Western Slovakia had spring break first, the second to last week in February; Eastern Slovakia had spring break the next week and Central Slovakia (where I am) had spring break the following week, March 2-6. The other two lecturers, Becky and Carsten, also teach in central Slovakia, so we decided to travel together.
We met in Bratislava and flew out from Vienna, Austria on Monday, March 2. We flew to Amsterdam and stayed there for two nights. I had been to Amsterdam before a couple of years ago, so I knew the city a little. It was neat to walk around and see something and be able to say, "I know this!" Seeing Amsterdam in the off season was also nice. We all had a great time there, there is a lot to see and do. We took part of a city walking tour, we did not realize at first that it would be a three hour tour. After an hour and a half we decided to break off from the tour so we could find something to eat and rest a little, we had to wake up at 3:30am for our flight. We also went to the Van Gogh museum, the Heineken brewery and other sites of the city.
We took a train to Brussels, Belgium which was a new city for me. We stayed in Brussels but took two day trips from there. We went to Bruges and Luxembourg. Bruges is a city on the northern coast of Belgium. We spent the day walking around the city and saw a Salvador Dali exhibit. I would like to go back to Bruges someday to see the town again and maybe experience it without as much construction. Even with the construction there is a lot to see.
Luxembourg was also a new city and country. We took a train there, I think it was a three hour ride one way. Unfortunately it rained almost the whole day we were there, so we did not do a lot outside. We did find some interesting museums. One was a national history of art museum. There were exhibits from the stone age to modern day. We also found the city museum which had a special exhibit on religion. There were video and audio clips of a few different people talking about what religion is to them and if it is important for them or not. There were also different exercises for visitors to do and at the end would find out what type of religious view they hold. After the museums the rain had stopped so we walked around the city some. From what I saw I enjoyed the city, and country; hopefully I can return sometime and be able to see more of the city and possibly the country.
The next big event here that I know of is Easter. I will have some visitors, my parents. Hopefully our time together goes well and travels go well. April will also be an interesting month because many teachers at my school, at least four, have their birthdays that month. I actually get to start the celebrations with my birthday at the beginning of the month. Now to figure out how to celebrate and what snacks to bring to school. Any suggestions are of course welcomed.
Some pictures from my Benelux tour. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=227616&id=682430592&l=1c31ba4c7c
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
In with the new...
It has been a little while since I wrote anything here, sorry about that. Well, as you can see by the title of this entry there are changes happening around Slovakia. Probably the biggest permanent change was the change in currency that happened at the beginning of January. Slovakia is now one of about thirty countries that uses the Euro. I do not know when the change was voted on, but there has been work happening for this change since I arrived in Slovakia. Some of the preparations became more apparent when it was closer to the new year. A set conversion rate between the Slovak Crown and the Euro was in place when I arrived. Starting in December every place that sells goods had to have prices displayed in both Crowns and Euros. The prices are still displayed in both currencies. I learned from one of my student's speeches that both currency prices being displayed will last until December, 2009. The last day Slovak Crowns were accepted as payment was January 17, 2009. Banks will continue to accept Crowns for deposit for a few months though, June or July I believe.
Another change that happened is hopefully not a permanent change. This has to do with Slovakia's gas supply. Some of you may have heard mention of this in the news. If not, I will briefly fill you in on what has happened there. Slovakia receives most of it's gas supply, for heating and such, from Russia. The gas is sent through a pipeline system that runs through the Ukraine. There was/has been a dispute between Russia and the Ukraine. Russia had been allowing the Ukraine to receive it's gas for a price lower than the rest of Europe and wanted to start charging the Ukraine the same as the rest of Europe. The Ukraine did not want to agree to the change in price. Russia then accused the Ukraine of stealing gas. Supplies were limited, but then were completely cut off starting January 7. This cut-off affected the Ukraine as well as a large section of Europe. Many countries were without any heat or had to minimize consumption. This happened when temperatures were below freezing, a few days it was as cold as -18C at night or a little colder. Slovakia was not impacted as much as some countries, but some people did lose their jobs because of factories not being able to have all their shifts. There had been an agreement for Slovakia to receive gas through pipelines that run through Poland and the Czech Republic. I am not sure if there has been any form of agreement reached between Russia and the Ukraine up to this point.
Another change that has happened did not affect the whole country or other parts of Europe. This change did affect the school I work at though. We started a new semester and with that came a new schedule. I still teach the same students, but the days and times I meet them, as well as the rooms we meet in, have changed. I am almost through my first week with the new schedule. So far it is going well, it may take a little time to get used to.
Between the end of the previous semester and the start of this semester we had a half year break. Last Thursday my school had a church service at 8am and then that was it for school until Monday. Since I had a long weekend it seemed a good time to do something. Jenny, my flatmate, had a friend that was visiting for two weeks and was going to be flying out of Krakow Saturday. They asked if I wanted to go with to Krakow, and I said yes. The three of us left Thursday afternoon for Krakow and arrived there that evening. Jenny and I headed back to our apartment Saturday and spent the day traveling and resting. A seven hour train ride and getting up at 3am to go to the airport can take a lot out of a person.
I am looking forward to what this semester brings for myself and my students. At the end of the semester I asked for feedback from my students and was very surprised and happy with some of their responses. Many students said how my class was their favorite, they like the relationship I have between myself and the students in that I actually listen to and ask for their opinions, one said the thing they did not like from the semester was when our conversation classes were cancelled and another said they thought our conversation classes were not long enough. Can you imagine, a student wanting to be in class longer, I guess I must be doing something right. I hope I can continue what I am doing and that my students continue to give their thoughts and opinions in class.
Another change that happened is hopefully not a permanent change. This has to do with Slovakia's gas supply. Some of you may have heard mention of this in the news. If not, I will briefly fill you in on what has happened there. Slovakia receives most of it's gas supply, for heating and such, from Russia. The gas is sent through a pipeline system that runs through the Ukraine. There was/has been a dispute between Russia and the Ukraine. Russia had been allowing the Ukraine to receive it's gas for a price lower than the rest of Europe and wanted to start charging the Ukraine the same as the rest of Europe. The Ukraine did not want to agree to the change in price. Russia then accused the Ukraine of stealing gas. Supplies were limited, but then were completely cut off starting January 7. This cut-off affected the Ukraine as well as a large section of Europe. Many countries were without any heat or had to minimize consumption. This happened when temperatures were below freezing, a few days it was as cold as -18C at night or a little colder. Slovakia was not impacted as much as some countries, but some people did lose their jobs because of factories not being able to have all their shifts. There had been an agreement for Slovakia to receive gas through pipelines that run through Poland and the Czech Republic. I am not sure if there has been any form of agreement reached between Russia and the Ukraine up to this point.
Another change that has happened did not affect the whole country or other parts of Europe. This change did affect the school I work at though. We started a new semester and with that came a new schedule. I still teach the same students, but the days and times I meet them, as well as the rooms we meet in, have changed. I am almost through my first week with the new schedule. So far it is going well, it may take a little time to get used to.
Between the end of the previous semester and the start of this semester we had a half year break. Last Thursday my school had a church service at 8am and then that was it for school until Monday. Since I had a long weekend it seemed a good time to do something. Jenny, my flatmate, had a friend that was visiting for two weeks and was going to be flying out of Krakow Saturday. They asked if I wanted to go with to Krakow, and I said yes. The three of us left Thursday afternoon for Krakow and arrived there that evening. Jenny and I headed back to our apartment Saturday and spent the day traveling and resting. A seven hour train ride and getting up at 3am to go to the airport can take a lot out of a person.
I am looking forward to what this semester brings for myself and my students. At the end of the semester I asked for feedback from my students and was very surprised and happy with some of their responses. Many students said how my class was their favorite, they like the relationship I have between myself and the students in that I actually listen to and ask for their opinions, one said the thing they did not like from the semester was when our conversation classes were cancelled and another said they thought our conversation classes were not long enough. Can you imagine, a student wanting to be in class longer, I guess I must be doing something right. I hope I can continue what I am doing and that my students continue to give their thoughts and opinions in class.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Christmas break adventures
A late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all had a great time over the holidays and were able to enjoy celebrations with friends and family. From what I read on the internet, and heard from some people, it was very cold in parts of the U.S. It has gotten colder here in Slovakia. The high the past few days has been around -4C (~24F). As I said in my last blog entry, I had plans to travel to Denmark over my break. I traveled to Bratislava in the morning of December 20th. I was met at the train station by two fellow lecturers and we went to where I would be staying overnight to drop off my bags before traveling to Vienna for the day to visit the Weihnachtsmarkts there, Christmas markets.
The next day was Sunday so those of us in Bratislava went to church and I made a brief stop at the coffee hour afterwards. But then Carsten and I had to get ready to leave for the airport. Our flight was at 3, so we wanted to be at the airport around 1 to make sure we had enough time for check in and such. We had to wait for a little while but it gave us time to arrange things in our bags so we could store our coats in our backpacks for the flights and grab a little something to eat.
We had two flights to get to Denmark. We flew from Bratislava to Prague to Copenhagen. When we got into Copenhagen we bought train tickets to Middelfart where Carsten’s aunt and uncle met us and they took us back to their house in Strib. We stayed there most of the time we were in Denmark. Carsten’s family is very nice, friendly and a lot of fun. I really enjoyed my time there learning about Denmark, meeting Carsten’s family and getting to know Carsten better.
I was able to see many sites around Denmark. We were on Fyn which is the island just east of the Jutland Peninsula. We visited Ribe, Middelfart, Koldinghus, the West Coast of Denmark, Vejle, Legoland and a few other places. I was able to experience Danish traditions for Christmas like holding hands and walking around the Christmas tree while singing. I also helped with some of the food preparations and so learned how to do things I had never done before like peeling boiled potatoes, making a carrot-cabbage-orange-raisin salad and making marzipan candies. There were others too, but those a just a few examples. I was informed by various members of Carsten’s family that I was now a part of their family too, which was very nice to hear. I also received some very nice Christmas presents that were unexpected. I have many pictures from my time in Denmark and I will post links at the end for many of them.
At the end of the time in Denmark Carsten and I traveled back to Copenhagen to see my friend Ditte. Ditte and I met and became good friends while I was living in Germany. We were in the same seminar group and worked/volunteered at the same place in Germany. Ditte was the only person in our group from Denmark and I was the only person from the U.S. in our group. Carsten and I spent the night at her apartment and she and her boyfriend took us to the airport the next day. Our flight was at 9:30am and we were told the Copenhagen airport can be busy so we aimed to get to the airport by 7:30am. Ditte and Uffe were not sure what rush hour would be like so we left at about 6:50am and ended up making it to the airport around 7:20. It was a good thing we got to the airport with a little extra time because of what happened at check-in. When we went to check our bags and get our boarding passes the clerk told us we needed to go and pay for our bags. We were both surprised and perplexed by this. When we flew out no one said anything about needing to pay. We each had one bag each and had a limit of 20 kilos (44lbs.), Carsten had 16 kilos (35lbs.)and I had 15 kilos (33lbs.). The man that was assisting us at the window we were sent to was very confused by this situation as well. He told us we did not need to pay and stamped and signed where he needed to so we would be sure to have our bags on the plane with no problem. We were both relieved by this and thanked the man for his assistance.
We arrived in Slovakia with no problem, as did our bags. We went to the bus stop and were glad we had some Euros on us. On January 1, 2009, the Euro became the currency of Slovakia and the ticket machine no longer took Slovak crowns. However, at stores people are able to pay with crowns until January 16. Once we got to the train station we said our good-byes and I headed for my train while Carsten went to see some fellow lecturers until it was time for him to catch his bus. I ended up making it back to Liptovský Mikuláš with no problem on a very warm train. Carsten did not have as much luck. None of the lecturers ended up being home but he caught an earlier bus only to end up waiting in 5F (-15C) weather for 105 minutes or so. He was very cold when he got home and could not warm up until the next day.
I had a wonderful time in Denmark. I had a lot of fun, learned a lot about Denmark and was able to experience some new traditions. I was also able to talk to some family members during the time too when they were at family Christmases. That was very nice. Once again I hope that you all had a wonderful time over the holidays and that 2009 is a wonderful year. I look forward to finding out what will happen this year and adding more stories to my blog.
Sites in Denmark-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200654&l=580e6&id=682430592
Christmas-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200585&l=5279e&id=682430592
Sites in Denmark-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200691&l=611cf&id=682430592
New Year's Eve-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200714&l=4b6d3&id=682430592
The next day was Sunday so those of us in Bratislava went to church and I made a brief stop at the coffee hour afterwards. But then Carsten and I had to get ready to leave for the airport. Our flight was at 3, so we wanted to be at the airport around 1 to make sure we had enough time for check in and such. We had to wait for a little while but it gave us time to arrange things in our bags so we could store our coats in our backpacks for the flights and grab a little something to eat.
We had two flights to get to Denmark. We flew from Bratislava to Prague to Copenhagen. When we got into Copenhagen we bought train tickets to Middelfart where Carsten’s aunt and uncle met us and they took us back to their house in Strib. We stayed there most of the time we were in Denmark. Carsten’s family is very nice, friendly and a lot of fun. I really enjoyed my time there learning about Denmark, meeting Carsten’s family and getting to know Carsten better.
I was able to see many sites around Denmark. We were on Fyn which is the island just east of the Jutland Peninsula. We visited Ribe, Middelfart, Koldinghus, the West Coast of Denmark, Vejle, Legoland and a few other places. I was able to experience Danish traditions for Christmas like holding hands and walking around the Christmas tree while singing. I also helped with some of the food preparations and so learned how to do things I had never done before like peeling boiled potatoes, making a carrot-cabbage-orange-raisin salad and making marzipan candies. There were others too, but those a just a few examples. I was informed by various members of Carsten’s family that I was now a part of their family too, which was very nice to hear. I also received some very nice Christmas presents that were unexpected. I have many pictures from my time in Denmark and I will post links at the end for many of them.
At the end of the time in Denmark Carsten and I traveled back to Copenhagen to see my friend Ditte. Ditte and I met and became good friends while I was living in Germany. We were in the same seminar group and worked/volunteered at the same place in Germany. Ditte was the only person in our group from Denmark and I was the only person from the U.S. in our group. Carsten and I spent the night at her apartment and she and her boyfriend took us to the airport the next day. Our flight was at 9:30am and we were told the Copenhagen airport can be busy so we aimed to get to the airport by 7:30am. Ditte and Uffe were not sure what rush hour would be like so we left at about 6:50am and ended up making it to the airport around 7:20. It was a good thing we got to the airport with a little extra time because of what happened at check-in. When we went to check our bags and get our boarding passes the clerk told us we needed to go and pay for our bags. We were both surprised and perplexed by this. When we flew out no one said anything about needing to pay. We each had one bag each and had a limit of 20 kilos (44lbs.), Carsten had 16 kilos (35lbs.)and I had 15 kilos (33lbs.). The man that was assisting us at the window we were sent to was very confused by this situation as well. He told us we did not need to pay and stamped and signed where he needed to so we would be sure to have our bags on the plane with no problem. We were both relieved by this and thanked the man for his assistance.
We arrived in Slovakia with no problem, as did our bags. We went to the bus stop and were glad we had some Euros on us. On January 1, 2009, the Euro became the currency of Slovakia and the ticket machine no longer took Slovak crowns. However, at stores people are able to pay with crowns until January 16. Once we got to the train station we said our good-byes and I headed for my train while Carsten went to see some fellow lecturers until it was time for him to catch his bus. I ended up making it back to Liptovský Mikuláš with no problem on a very warm train. Carsten did not have as much luck. None of the lecturers ended up being home but he caught an earlier bus only to end up waiting in 5F (-15C) weather for 105 minutes or so. He was very cold when he got home and could not warm up until the next day.
I had a wonderful time in Denmark. I had a lot of fun, learned a lot about Denmark and was able to experience some new traditions. I was also able to talk to some family members during the time too when they were at family Christmases. That was very nice. Once again I hope that you all had a wonderful time over the holidays and that 2009 is a wonderful year. I look forward to finding out what will happen this year and adding more stories to my blog.
Sites in Denmark-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200654&l=580e6&id=682430592
Christmas-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200585&l=5279e&id=682430592
Sites in Denmark-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200691&l=611cf&id=682430592
New Year's Eve-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200714&l=4b6d3&id=682430592
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