Winter/spring activities

My oh my, it is now March. When I woke up Monday morning it was hard to believe that it was the start of a new month. There have been some fun and interesting things happening here since the last time I wrote.

At the end of January and the beginning of February is ball season here in Slovakia. My school held a ball January 29 that I went to. It was fun to get dressed up and having fun. The school here had two different balls, one was the one I and many teachers and parents and a few students went to. The other ball was a ball for all the students of the various High Schools in Liptovsky Mikulas. That ball was the weekend after the ball I went to.

Around the time of groundhogs day in US there was a Slovak spring tradition happening. I went to run some errands and as I was getting closer to the town square I head a cow bell. I was wondering where the sound was coming from and then I found out. There was a small parade of people dressed in traditional clothes ringing cowbells and singing songs. I met a student on the street and asked her what was going on. The student explained to me that it was a tradition going back a number of years and would usually happen in villages. People would go from house to house asking for bread and sausage as they prepare for the Lenten fast and to celebrate the coming of spring. Unfortunately I did not have a camera with me so I could not take any pictures of this, but here is a site that has examples of traditional costumes from around Slovakia. http://library.thinkquest.org/22618/1e.html

Last week was Spring break for Central Slovakia. I know, it seems a little early but Eastern Slovakia had Spring Break the week before my school and Western Slovakia has Spring Break this week. I'm not sure if it is true, but I was told once that Slovakia divides itself into three weeks for break so the ski resorts are not overrun with people; I was also told this is why the breaks happen so early. The weeks rotate throughout the country each year so one area does not always have a really early break.

For my break I went to Konstanz, Germany to visit a friend. It was a great time in a beautiful area. Konstanz is located on the Bodensee (Lake Constance) and on the Germany-Switzerland boarder. The week there with the natural beauty, my friend and the German language and food seemed to go too fast. It was very relaxing and enjoyable and should have helped to rejuvenate me for the remainder of the school year.

Here are some pictures from the ball and my spring break trip.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=378572&id=682430592&l=36110f15c1