good morning!
the time is quickly passing, and i am ever so ready to be home and to be spoiled with comfort. i can't wait to make small talk with cashiers, to walk barefoot in grass, to sleep in a real bed, and to see people who i love but haven't stayed in touch with.
last saturday i went with my co-worker, misa, and her friend to the Betliar mansion and to Krasna Horka (a castle). if any of you are ever in eastern slovakia, i will take you to both. they were really special. the Betliar mansion was a surprise... i wasn't expecting anything spectacular but this mansion was truly fascinating. it was owned by the Andrassi (sp?) family, which is an extremely aristocratic hungarian family. the house itself was, of course, beautiful. but most impressive were the things which the family collected. in a time without the frequency of travel that we know today, this family was able to travel (literally) around the world. and in their travels, they didn't simply collect vases or plates or jewelery... they collected a grizzly bear from canada, eskimo clothing, a samurai suit, a massive turtle, and a whole elephant from africa (among many other treasures). like the true vision of an aristocratic family, the Andrassis travelled, hunted, were involved in politics, and lived in luxury. the library in the home felt like it was pulled straight out from Beauty and the Beast. i was so impressed by everything.
the rest of the week was relatively uneventful. i had my lessons at school, i met some friends, and i tried to enjoy kosice. last night i said goodbye to two of my spanish friends who won't be returning to slovakia next year... of course it was sad and hard. i simply hate goodbyes. next year i'd like to plan a sneaky exit from slovakia so that i can avoid all of the painful farewells.
i hope that all of you will enjoy your weekend. if you are anywhere near keith wilson this weekend, consider yourself lucky because he is the best father in the world. shake his hand and tell him he's great.
xoxo
6.6.11
tick, tock
can you tell that the time is going slowly for me? this is blog entry No 3 from the past week. something isn't normal... tonight it's raining. true thunderstorm and lightning raining, which feels like a good time to blog.
on saturday i met my coworker misa for a coffee and a film. it was a great afternoon and evening. we met in my favorite hot chocolate cafe and chatted for about an hour. then we walked to see a film, but it turned out that the film was only being showed in Slovak dubbing... not such a good experience for me. so we decided to go to another cinema. we decided to see "X-Men," but since it wasn't playing for another hour we were able to sit and chat some more. the movie was just about what you would expect, but still it was fun to see. and mostly, it was soooo good to get out of my flat and to chat for a few hours with a friend.
on sunday i also had a crazy day. i went to poprad to meet a friend for some hiking. we decided to go to slovensky raj and we walked around a small canyon, it was beautiful. then we stopped for a short lunch, kept driving and we came to a really beautiful lake. it was so picturesque. the air was fresh, the water was clear, the grass was green... everything was still and quiet. it was simply beautiful. it reminded me that i'm in europe, and that i should be grateful to be here (rather than banging my head against the wall....). after the lake, we went to Spis Castle.... another must-see that i was waiting for all year long. it is a HUGE castle in eastern slovakia, and it is really pretty magnificent. in general, it was just a good day to get out.
with love,
anna
on saturday i met my coworker misa for a coffee and a film. it was a great afternoon and evening. we met in my favorite hot chocolate cafe and chatted for about an hour. then we walked to see a film, but it turned out that the film was only being showed in Slovak dubbing... not such a good experience for me. so we decided to go to another cinema. we decided to see "X-Men," but since it wasn't playing for another hour we were able to sit and chat some more. the movie was just about what you would expect, but still it was fun to see. and mostly, it was soooo good to get out of my flat and to chat for a few hours with a friend.
anna
2.6.11
photos from the last few months
easter in the high tatras with the antoni family
alex and will came to visit!
with ludwig at the USA vs. Sweden hockey game
fulbright girls with the ambassador
katie and i in budapest
one month and counting
soon i will be back home! i've been so happy here the past 9 months, but i have to admit i am desperately ready for a change in pace, scenery and lifestyle...
the past few weeks have been quiet. in the middle of may i went to bratislava for a final reception with the ambassador, theodore sedgwick. it was so enjoyable. it was at his house and there were guests from the embassy as well as former slovak, fulbright grantees. it was so interesting to talk to these grantees about their experiences in america. after the reception, the fulbright girls got together and we enjoyed our last meeting. it is so sad to say goodbye to these people... it's been a unique year for all of us.
in other, semi-notable news, i went on a walk with one of my co-workers a couple of weeks ago. we walked to a tower that overlooks kosice. it was a nice walk, and the weather was beautiful. i really enjoy her company. hopefully this weekend we will take a trip to krasna horka, a famous castle in eastern slovakia.
mostly the past three weeks have been painfully boring. i am only scheduled to teach 16 hours a week, but since half of my students were in their final year and left in the beginning of may... i now only teach 8 hours a week. what a life. my first 8 hour week wasn't so bad-- i listened to the students give their english, oral maturita exams. it was a good experience. firstly, i was able to see all of my students give the exams i'd been preparing them for... and to shake their hand afterwards and tell them "congratulations! you're finished!" and secondly, it was so good for me to see what the exam is actually like. even though people explained it hundreds of times for me, i didn't quite "get it" until i actually saw them first hand. so, it's good for my preparations for next year. also in my free time i've been able to substitute for classes that i don't normally teach. mostly it's a bit of a pain because i'm never entirely sure what my schedule will look like, but sometimes i teach students who are so sweet and who make me feel like i'm a celebrity. last week i went to a few classes who were quite young, so i explained that i would give them the hour to work on homework, etc. after i would sit down to read, i would hear a "miss...? where are you from?", then a "miss...? do you have a boyfriend?", then a "miss...? we wanted to say your teeth are amazing.", then a "miss...? do you like slovakia?", then a "miss....? you are so beautiful!" isn't life here difficult?!
the next few weeks will be, i imagine, similarly quiet. i have a trip planned to vienna with my best fulbright friend as a kind of "farewell" trip before she leaves back to oregon. other than that, i'm tapping my feet and checking my watch until june 24. i'm dying for cake, rhubarb pie, chocolate chip cookies, tacos, homemade hamburgers, coffee-to-go, sales, my car, my bed, my house! i can only hope that my summer will be a fragment of the glory that i'm imagining.
until next time...
anna
the past few weeks have been quiet. in the middle of may i went to bratislava for a final reception with the ambassador, theodore sedgwick. it was so enjoyable. it was at his house and there were guests from the embassy as well as former slovak, fulbright grantees. it was so interesting to talk to these grantees about their experiences in america. after the reception, the fulbright girls got together and we enjoyed our last meeting. it is so sad to say goodbye to these people... it's been a unique year for all of us.
in other, semi-notable news, i went on a walk with one of my co-workers a couple of weeks ago. we walked to a tower that overlooks kosice. it was a nice walk, and the weather was beautiful. i really enjoy her company. hopefully this weekend we will take a trip to krasna horka, a famous castle in eastern slovakia.
mostly the past three weeks have been painfully boring. i am only scheduled to teach 16 hours a week, but since half of my students were in their final year and left in the beginning of may... i now only teach 8 hours a week. what a life. my first 8 hour week wasn't so bad-- i listened to the students give their english, oral maturita exams. it was a good experience. firstly, i was able to see all of my students give the exams i'd been preparing them for... and to shake their hand afterwards and tell them "congratulations! you're finished!" and secondly, it was so good for me to see what the exam is actually like. even though people explained it hundreds of times for me, i didn't quite "get it" until i actually saw them first hand. so, it's good for my preparations for next year. also in my free time i've been able to substitute for classes that i don't normally teach. mostly it's a bit of a pain because i'm never entirely sure what my schedule will look like, but sometimes i teach students who are so sweet and who make me feel like i'm a celebrity. last week i went to a few classes who were quite young, so i explained that i would give them the hour to work on homework, etc. after i would sit down to read, i would hear a "miss...? where are you from?", then a "miss...? do you have a boyfriend?", then a "miss...? we wanted to say your teeth are amazing.", then a "miss...? do you like slovakia?", then a "miss....? you are so beautiful!" isn't life here difficult?!
the next few weeks will be, i imagine, similarly quiet. i have a trip planned to vienna with my best fulbright friend as a kind of "farewell" trip before she leaves back to oregon. other than that, i'm tapping my feet and checking my watch until june 24. i'm dying for cake, rhubarb pie, chocolate chip cookies, tacos, homemade hamburgers, coffee-to-go, sales, my car, my bed, my house! i can only hope that my summer will be a fragment of the glory that i'm imagining.
until next time...
anna
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