one week in.

dear faithful readers,

i arrived in kosice one week ago today. it seems strange... i'm not sure if it feels like i've been here longer or shorter. i know it sounds odd, but truly it feels more like i traveled to a different planet where they keep time in a completely different way. i felt the same way in england... it was as if everything that happened in england was in a fourth dimension, entirely removed from life as i once knew it. maybe some of you understand what i'm trying to say, but most of you probably just think i'm crazy. which i probably am...

i think i am finally starting to get into the "swing of things" at school. i really love teaching. it's easy because the students i'm teaching are SO eager to learn. they all pay attention, they all participate, they all care... it's a dream. for instance, i gave each of my lessons a homework assignment. i asked them to write a short essay about the importance of family. when i gave the assignment, i thought that maybe only half of the students would actually remember to do it. imagine my surprise when EVERY student completed the assignment. every student! i can't remember a time in all of my years at school or college when everyone in the class completed the assignment. i was shocked and so pleased. as much as i love teaching, i'm constantly nervous that my students are learning anything from me, or that i'm not teaching them the right way or the right things. in some classes i'm worried that my lessons aren't challenging enough, but in others i'm concerned that they are too difficult. and i'm not entirely sure how to adjust accordingly... english is so native to me that i can't even begin to sort out what would distinguish a pre-intermediate and an intermediate speaker. oh well... i'm sure it will become clearer in a few months.

besides school, my life is entirely boring and average. i haven't made any friends my age yet (sigh....) so i've been pretty lonely. on sunday evening i went to a ballet with one of my 50-something friends, vera, and her friends. i really love ballet so it was so much fun to go. it was called "Four Stars of European Ballet." there were four ballet troupes, one from slovakia, poland, hungary, and czech republic. i really liked two of the troupes, but the other two were entirely mediocre. in any case, it was a really fun evening. it was a bit awkward, though. imagine me, a 20-something american, with six 50-something slovaks attending a ballet together. it was strange... but fun.

i'm hoping to start learning slovak soon. one of my fellow english teachers has volunteered to teach me in exchange for conversation lessons with her daughter. i am really happy with this arrangement, as i am eager to learn slovak and also to spend time with people outside of school. it is so frustrating not being able to understand anything or communicate with anyone. for instance, this morning when i was walking to school a little gypsy girl started to run after me. she was yelling something at me and when she caught up to me she started talking... i think she was asking me something. i had no idea what she was saying, and i tried to tell her that i didn't understand, but she wouldn't stop! finally i just ignored her and she went away. it was frustrating. also, i'm tired of meeting people and not being able to have the common courtesy to say "nice to meet you." in moldova it was so much easier for me to learn russian because i lived with three people who continually taught me, my students learned through teaching me phrases, and i was friends with even more people who were entertained by my attempts to learn. here i simply feel out of the loop and am having difficulties getting in. so hopefully taking formal lessons will help... but we'll see.

finally, the hypochondriac in me wouldn't be satisfied if i didn't give a health update. :) my joint pain is gone! i feel so much better than i had felt ALL summer, and looking back i can't believe i could endure feeling the way that i did. so now i think i might actually be able to run again-- for the first time after getting mono.

well, i think that is all for now. i'm sorry i don't have any interesting stories or exciting adventures to talk about... i'm saving those for later :)

missing minnesota,

anna