A recap of the holidays, happy 2010!

Hi everyone. Is it really mid January already?!? My how time can pass quickly. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!

I enjoyed my Christmas and New Years a lot. I was fortunate enough to be in Denmark again this year. Christmas break started in Slovakia after school on December 22, so I got to Denmark on December 23; just in time for the festivities to begin. The family I was with was so friendly and wonderful again this year. We enjoyed ourselves a lot.

This year I was able to see some areas of Denmark I didn't see last year. I spent a day in Odensee and went to the Hans Christian Andersen museum. I learned somethings about H.C. Andersen I didn't know. Did you know that he also wrote novels and plays? I did not know that about him. I also got to see Copenhagen this year, last year all I saw was the train station and airport. It was nice to see the city, even if it was only for a few hours. I was able to meet up with a good friend of mine who is from Denmark, we met while I was in Germany in 2005-2006. It was nice to be able to visit with her some.

New Year's Eve this year was spent in Aarhus. The fireworks were not as scary this year as they were last year. It didn't seem like there were as many, which might have had something to do with that. Oh, there was snow this year too! I was told that this was the first time in about 10 years that there has been snow for Christmas.

School started again on January 11. It was a time for final projects and tests. The semester officially ends at the end of January and the next semester starts in February, but grades were due the 21st, at least at my school. Some classes might be taking it easy for a class or two while others just keep chugging along.

Oh, I have had the chance to try out the Slovak medical system this year. I had some problems with my right ear from the flight back from Denmark, it would not pop. After close to a week of no luck popping my ear I went to see a doctor and a fellow Slovak teacher came with to translate. The doctor popped my ear and we all thought that was the end of the problem. I was given a prescription for some drops and was told to come back if I still had problems after 4 days. I gave the doctor my insurance card and so all I had to pay was 17 cents for my drops. Well, my ear was still hurting, so I went back to the doctor and found out there was a small problem of inflammation. I was given three prescriptions this time and paid a little under 6 euros for the medicine. I have to say, it was nice not having to fill out any paperwork and only paying a small amount for medicine. Slovakia has a government run/supported system and I would say it worked well for me.

Here are some pictures from my year so far, various trips including Christmas and New Years.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=324612&id=682430592&l=eeef317ca6

Time flies

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.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=324612&id=682430592&l=eeef317ca6

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.

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.

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.

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 work 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.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=270373&id=682430592&l=b10cbe352f

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.

This week was 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 given 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 church 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.

http://esslm.sk/photo/?level=album&id=64

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.