it is not even 1:00 and this day has already contained a week's of drama. i love it.
this week has been pretty average, on the whole. i've woken up early every morning to write and to drink my coffee in hours of sunny peace. i've met some friends for drinks, i've gone on walks, i've read books, i've been studying for the gre... certainly nothing to write home about.
then, wednesday decided to throw a rock into my placid week. i woke up late: we all know, this is NEVER good. it was 7:20, and i needed to leave the house by 7:30 to meet nelli for a visit to the immigration police. so i hurried out of bed so quickly that i became dizzy and, with my blurred morning vision, ran right into my table and stubbed my toe. i felt a little bit like lucille two suffering from vertigo, but i had no time to dwell on my pathetic coordination. i brushed my teeth, got dressed, washed my face and then painted it back on, did my hair and complemented myself on how surprisingly great i looked for getting ready in a mere ten minutes! (it's a gift, really). i rushed into my kitchen to cut some bread to take with me on my way. i pulled out a butter knife from the drawer and began to attack my hard-crusted bread, and all of a sudden a blue streak left my mouth and i looked at my forefinger to see a stream of blood pouring from it's innocent tip. i ran to the sink and tried to get the bleeding to stop, but it simply wouldn't. i rushed to the bathroom to get some toilet paper, which the blood soaked in a matter of seconds. i searched all around my apartment, praying to find some band-aids... no luck. meanwhile, i am leaving a trail of blood behind me, and spreading it with my frantically searching feet. i panicked. i didn't know what to do. the blood just kept gushing and i was hopeless in making it stop. suddenly, i remembered that i had a washcloth i was about to throw away (the last wash didn't quite remove it's funky smell), so i wrapped it tightly around my finger. the blue washcloth quickly began soaking the blood, but at least it was thick enough to start being effective. with the funky-smelling, blood-stained washcloth suspiciously covering my hand, i dashed out of my apartment (and managed to trip twice on the way out, no less).
i started walking to the bus station, in a hurry, clearly flustered, holding a bloody washcloth over my hand. you would think that this (or at least my stunning, i-got-ready-in-ten-minutes beauty) would cause my fellow street walkers to pause, at least for half a second. oddly enough i hardly received one confused stare. i see a handful of confused, "what-the-hell" stares when i'm normally walking to work... suddenly, when i'm rushed, slightly panicked, holding a blue, blood-stained washcloth, nobody cares?! i got on the bus, and the same thing: NO ONE noticed! this was highly disappointing. i had no one to share my drama with! even when i arrived at the police station and met nelli, she calmly greeted me "good morning, annie. how are you?" i wanted to say "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT MY FINGER! I HAD A TRAUMA THIS MORNING!" but instead i held up my wrapped finger and said, "sorry i'm a bit late, i cut my finger this morning." and she sweetly replied, "oh, that's too bad."
we went up to wait at for the police, and i cautiously unwrapped my finger, and saw that my whole hand was covered in blood and my finger tip was swollen... and i saw that the cut went nearly as deep as my fingernail. the cut skin was thick and flappy. luckily, however, the bleeding had ceased to gush. it was just slowly trickling. i showed it to nelli and asked if i should see a doctor (i was sure the answer would be yes. slovaks usually tell me i need to go to the doctor if i feel the least bit under-the-weather). she said, "ohh no, we can go to a pharmacy and get a bandage after." again, i couldn't believe it. but i didn't argue, because i'd avoid slovak doctors at all costs.
we finally went into the police, i received my visa, and we were on our way out. it was, without question, the least complicated visit i've had with the police. then we stopped at the pharmacy and we got gauze and band-aids, and calmly made our way to school. when i arrived at school, i tried to convey my trauma to my co-workers... but they just said "oh you'll be fine."
i fully understand that i love to create drama about the simplest things that happen to me. god knows i could freak out for hours about a weird pain i had in my foot or a strange noise i heard outside. but truly, i thought this was actually at least a little dramatic. i mean, i nearly lost the tip of my finger... with a butter knife. it's kind of a big deal, right?
ok, maybe not. but maybe i can be thankful that this small hiccup is about the extent of drama in my life at the moment. i'll keep my (wounded) fingers crossed.
31.8.11
28.8.11
sunday morning
friday, my first full day back in kosice, was largely uneventful (uneventful, it seems, is becoming a theme of this blog and my life). i went to the school to say hello to my co-workers. it was SO GOOD to see them. they are two of the most important reasons why i enjoy teaching at the school. they were preparing for the next school year, writing out course schedules and i, of course, couldn't be of any help because i don't speak slovak. another theme of my life here in slovakia. beyond catching up with my co-workers, it also seems that the word has spread that i am only going to stay here until the end of january. much to my dismay because this is news that i preferred to share with people in person, rather than through the rumor mill. regardless, the word is out and it is probably a good thing.
friday afternoon i went and bought a few things for my apartment... including a mop and spider-killing supplies. when i arrived in my apartment, i noticed how incredibly dusty and dirty my floor was. i was absolutely revolted. but not nearly as revolted as when i went into the corner that i call my kitchen. i picked up a glass and out squirmed two spiders. i promptly grabbed a paper towel and killed them (thus, according to slovaks, bearing the burden of seven years of bad luck). i went to throw them away and as soon as i opened my garbage lid, three more spiders scattered away. again, i found some in my tea boxes. near my refrigerator. one crawling out of the sink. and two crawling on my bathroom wall. needless to say, i am now shouldering a lifetime of bad luck. but now, thanks to a much-needed tesco run, i have a clean floor and a (hopefully) spiderless apartment.
friday evening i went over to my friend's, vesna's, apartment to eat dinner with her and her mom (my boss). by the time i arrived, i was literally dripping in sweat. it was disgusting. but vesna's mom had prepared great food, which i ravenously ate because i hadn't had one bit of food since waking up. and i even left with two jars of cabbage and meat, as well as some knedla. not too bad. after vesna's, i went to meet some friends for a Kosice 2013 event. it was some kind of installation/performance art. women were walking around, staring blankly, dancing, drifting, and lying in bridal gowns. it was creepy, and it felt too much like halloween. like many of Kosice 2013's events, i felt like the art was more of an imitation that actual creativity... but i'm a little harsh when it comes to art in slovakia.
afterward we went out for some drinks, and i (thanks to jet lag) stayed out too late and woke up far too late... around 2:30 in the afternoon on saturday. and i stayed in my pajamas until 6:00 p.m., finally got groceries, watched a movie and then went right back to bed. quite the life, right? and now it's sunday morning and i just enjoyed reading a good book for a few hours, drinking my instant nescafe "coffee," and eating my beautiful slovak yogurt.
enough of my daily run-through. i hope your eyes are feeling heavy by now. please write, and send me a mailing address (i'm on a postcard kick).
much love,
anna
friday afternoon i went and bought a few things for my apartment... including a mop and spider-killing supplies. when i arrived in my apartment, i noticed how incredibly dusty and dirty my floor was. i was absolutely revolted. but not nearly as revolted as when i went into the corner that i call my kitchen. i picked up a glass and out squirmed two spiders. i promptly grabbed a paper towel and killed them (thus, according to slovaks, bearing the burden of seven years of bad luck). i went to throw them away and as soon as i opened my garbage lid, three more spiders scattered away. again, i found some in my tea boxes. near my refrigerator. one crawling out of the sink. and two crawling on my bathroom wall. needless to say, i am now shouldering a lifetime of bad luck. but now, thanks to a much-needed tesco run, i have a clean floor and a (hopefully) spiderless apartment.
friday evening i went over to my friend's, vesna's, apartment to eat dinner with her and her mom (my boss). by the time i arrived, i was literally dripping in sweat. it was disgusting. but vesna's mom had prepared great food, which i ravenously ate because i hadn't had one bit of food since waking up. and i even left with two jars of cabbage and meat, as well as some knedla. not too bad. after vesna's, i went to meet some friends for a Kosice 2013 event. it was some kind of installation/performance art. women were walking around, staring blankly, dancing, drifting, and lying in bridal gowns. it was creepy, and it felt too much like halloween. like many of Kosice 2013's events, i felt like the art was more of an imitation that actual creativity... but i'm a little harsh when it comes to art in slovakia.
afterward we went out for some drinks, and i (thanks to jet lag) stayed out too late and woke up far too late... around 2:30 in the afternoon on saturday. and i stayed in my pajamas until 6:00 p.m., finally got groceries, watched a movie and then went right back to bed. quite the life, right? and now it's sunday morning and i just enjoyed reading a good book for a few hours, drinking my instant nescafe "coffee," and eating my beautiful slovak yogurt.
enough of my daily run-through. i hope your eyes are feeling heavy by now. please write, and send me a mailing address (i'm on a postcard kick).
much love,
anna
26.8.11
kosice: round 2
i've made it back to kosice, safely and soundly. the trip was anything BUT exciting, which is good news. my first flight left from minneapolis and went to amsterdam. i breezed through security (tricked 'em again) and walked straight to my gate. i bought a copy of 'the economist' and 'the new yorker'-- mostly to look smart-- and partly because one of my guilty pleasures of traveling is buying and reading magazines. for some reason a plane seems like the only appropriate venue for reading something on glossy pages. while waiting at the gate, i sat next to two older people who would not stop complaining that they weren't able to get seats next to eachother. "DELTA ALWAYS TREATS US THIS WAY! i'm just going to sit on the aisle. they can't do anything about it. if we don't sit next to each other i'm never flying detla again. it's all of those people with the perks that get the good seats. well la-ti-da! i'm gonna tell them that i am not happy. they can't do this. they always hassle us like this." needless to say, she was a bit crochety. and her husband just soaked it like a sponge. before i loss MY temper, i moved across the waiting area to another open seat. ten minutes later, i heard the same horrible, nagging voice "i just cannot believe they would do that to us. they are just not helpful. oh over there, there's two seats" and they came walking back to sit next to me. again.
fortunately, it was time to board and my angry friends were (unsurprisingly) all too eager to be the firsts ones on the flight. i waited patiently to be one of the last and avoided the pushy line. i sat down and, luckily, sat next to a girl flying to tanzania for a study-abroad trip. she was pleasant and easy to talk to-- a relief! as soon as the flight attendants walked by with the beverage cart, i started my i'm-flying-eight-hours-don't-bother-me routine. i drank one glass of red wine like it was juice, took a sleeping pill, and then politely asked the flight attendant for a refill. after throwing the second glass back, i blew up my pink, furry next pillow (thank you, jean wilson), and i was out. OUT. the next thing i knew i woke up with thirty minutes left before landing. now that, my friends, is how to bear a transatlantic flight.
in amsterdam i had one, last overpriced cup of starbucks coffee and savored it while doing another of my favorite things: people watching. i love imagining why people are traveling, what they're talking about, where they're going. and i love european fashion. european fashion has always held, for me, the connotation of being trendy, elegant, classy, chique... unfortunately, all of my experience in europe has proven my connotations to be wildly misinformed. of course the businessmen and women look beautiful in their suits and pumps, but generally, people just look weird. and, i'll be honest, a little bit trashy. and it's not even a cool-weird or a hot-trashy. it's just lacking in everything that i consider to be good taste.
after my starbucks, people-watching wait, we finally boarded the plane and flew to budapest. fortunately, my gigantic, overweight bags arrived safely. i plopped them on a cart and went out to meet my friend olivier. thankfully, he drove from kosice to pick me up. it was so nice to catch up with him and swap stories from our summers. on the drive (when i wasn't sleeping) i was observing the landscape and remembering how good this place is. the corn, however, is looking small and dry already (just in case you were interested, minnesotans). once in kosice, we unloaded my bags and went to burekas for my favorite meal: falafel and hummus. i hope this strikes you as odd because no, it's not slovak food. but it is the best falafel and hummus i've ever had. it doesn't even compare with holy land. it's ahhhhh-mazing. the couple who owns the restaurant are great as well. they have two kids who are constantly running around, and they are adorable. the wife is slovak and her husband is israeli... and (i just learned) his family is one of only five in israel who have lived there for over 2,000 years. interesting, right? and after eating, i was toast. absolutely, completed wasted. it had been over 24 hours since i left worthington, and i was ready to do nothing other than sleep. so i went home.
after being in kosice almost a full day now, i can say that nothing has changed. it feels like i never left. but it feels like walking into the other half of my life. it's strange because no one at home understands my life in slovakia, but no one in slovakia can understand my life at home. it's actually really confusing and a little bit difficult. i still hold people from home close to me, they are still on my mind a lot... but they are nowhere geographically close to me. and it was the same when i was at home this summer... i kept thinking about people back here. i hope that once i settle back into life in minnesota for good that this effect will gradually lessen, because it's hard.
alright. i think it's time for me to shower (for the fourth time since arriving). i've been sitting in my sweat all afternoon, thanks to 100 degree weather and an extreme national lack of air conditioning. cold showers are my only remedy. i feel menopausal.
please write. i'd love to hear from you.
xo
fortunately, it was time to board and my angry friends were (unsurprisingly) all too eager to be the firsts ones on the flight. i waited patiently to be one of the last and avoided the pushy line. i sat down and, luckily, sat next to a girl flying to tanzania for a study-abroad trip. she was pleasant and easy to talk to-- a relief! as soon as the flight attendants walked by with the beverage cart, i started my i'm-flying-eight-hours-don't-bother-me routine. i drank one glass of red wine like it was juice, took a sleeping pill, and then politely asked the flight attendant for a refill. after throwing the second glass back, i blew up my pink, furry next pillow (thank you, jean wilson), and i was out. OUT. the next thing i knew i woke up with thirty minutes left before landing. now that, my friends, is how to bear a transatlantic flight.
in amsterdam i had one, last overpriced cup of starbucks coffee and savored it while doing another of my favorite things: people watching. i love imagining why people are traveling, what they're talking about, where they're going. and i love european fashion. european fashion has always held, for me, the connotation of being trendy, elegant, classy, chique... unfortunately, all of my experience in europe has proven my connotations to be wildly misinformed. of course the businessmen and women look beautiful in their suits and pumps, but generally, people just look weird. and, i'll be honest, a little bit trashy. and it's not even a cool-weird or a hot-trashy. it's just lacking in everything that i consider to be good taste.
after my starbucks, people-watching wait, we finally boarded the plane and flew to budapest. fortunately, my gigantic, overweight bags arrived safely. i plopped them on a cart and went out to meet my friend olivier. thankfully, he drove from kosice to pick me up. it was so nice to catch up with him and swap stories from our summers. on the drive (when i wasn't sleeping) i was observing the landscape and remembering how good this place is. the corn, however, is looking small and dry already (just in case you were interested, minnesotans). once in kosice, we unloaded my bags and went to burekas for my favorite meal: falafel and hummus. i hope this strikes you as odd because no, it's not slovak food. but it is the best falafel and hummus i've ever had. it doesn't even compare with holy land. it's ahhhhh-mazing. the couple who owns the restaurant are great as well. they have two kids who are constantly running around, and they are adorable. the wife is slovak and her husband is israeli... and (i just learned) his family is one of only five in israel who have lived there for over 2,000 years. interesting, right? and after eating, i was toast. absolutely, completed wasted. it had been over 24 hours since i left worthington, and i was ready to do nothing other than sleep. so i went home.
after being in kosice almost a full day now, i can say that nothing has changed. it feels like i never left. but it feels like walking into the other half of my life. it's strange because no one at home understands my life in slovakia, but no one in slovakia can understand my life at home. it's actually really confusing and a little bit difficult. i still hold people from home close to me, they are still on my mind a lot... but they are nowhere geographically close to me. and it was the same when i was at home this summer... i kept thinking about people back here. i hope that once i settle back into life in minnesota for good that this effect will gradually lessen, because it's hard.
alright. i think it's time for me to shower (for the fourth time since arriving). i've been sitting in my sweat all afternoon, thanks to 100 degree weather and an extreme national lack of air conditioning. cold showers are my only remedy. i feel menopausal.
please write. i'd love to hear from you.
xo
23.8.11
my bags are packed
i'm ready to go. this is just a post to give you the details on the next leg of my adventure.
i'm flying out tomorrow at 3:10, arriving in budapest thursday at 12:30 (5:30 a.m. our time). i will then start my next semester of teaching at gymnazium m.r. stefanika. i'm very excited, except this year will be quite different than last year. instead of teaching 16 hours a week, i will be teaching 24. also, i will be teaching much more english language... which means more book work. and to top it off, i'll be studying for the GRE and nervously applying for grad schools. all in a short amount of time. if you want to send me an email to encourage me, to remind me how beautiful, intelligent, wonderful, exceptional and successful i am... please do. i need encouragement (and lies)!
regardless, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write me. let me know what is going on in your lives so that i still have reminders of minnesota. i will try to post interesting things, or just the boring details of my life, as often as possible to keep you all updated.
email: alw310@gmail.com or anna.wilson@fulbrightmail.org
address: Anna Wilson/ 55 Alzbetina/ 040 01 KOSICE/ Slovak Republic
all my love,
anna
i'm flying out tomorrow at 3:10, arriving in budapest thursday at 12:30 (5:30 a.m. our time). i will then start my next semester of teaching at gymnazium m.r. stefanika. i'm very excited, except this year will be quite different than last year. instead of teaching 16 hours a week, i will be teaching 24. also, i will be teaching much more english language... which means more book work. and to top it off, i'll be studying for the GRE and nervously applying for grad schools. all in a short amount of time. if you want to send me an email to encourage me, to remind me how beautiful, intelligent, wonderful, exceptional and successful i am... please do. i need encouragement (and lies)!
regardless, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write me. let me know what is going on in your lives so that i still have reminders of minnesota. i will try to post interesting things, or just the boring details of my life, as often as possible to keep you all updated.
email: alw310@gmail.com or anna.wilson@fulbrightmail.org
address: Anna Wilson/ 55 Alzbetina/ 040 01 KOSICE/ Slovak Republic
all my love,
anna
18.8.11
single tear
my time home in the united states is nearly over! i feel like a child kicking and screaming and complaining when her mom tells her it's time to leave. i wish that i could bathe in the red, white and blue sunshine forever.
last week i spent in alexandria with my family. it was a wonderful week. what better way to spend a week in alexandria than hiking, swimming, tanning, boating, reading and eating? it was beautiful. plus we played cards, went golfing, went shopping... it was the pure definition of relaxing. and, surprisingly, we didn't really even fight that much. dan was home so we were able to hear all about his time on the border. katie was home so we were able to psychoanalyze everyone that we know.
then i spent the following weekend in minneapolis reconnecting, once again, with friends. most memorably, sunday afternoon i spent a few hours with my dear friend shannon. we had lunch, we chatted, drank ice coffee, and enjoyed her new place in ne minneapolis. then we walked to st. anthony main where there was a polish festival. i must say, i was filled with ounces of dread to see pirogys, traditional folk dance costumes, and the familiar slavic ring of polish. don't get me wrong: i love slovakia. i love central europe. but when i'm having such a nice time at home, and when i'm acutely aware that this time is ending... the last thing i want to see is any remnant of slavic culture. i'm sure i'll be happy to go back and will relish the bryndzove halusky at med malina... but for now, i just want to eat burgers. and listen to hip hop. and drive my car.
all for now.
xo
anna
last week i spent in alexandria with my family. it was a wonderful week. what better way to spend a week in alexandria than hiking, swimming, tanning, boating, reading and eating? it was beautiful. plus we played cards, went golfing, went shopping... it was the pure definition of relaxing. and, surprisingly, we didn't really even fight that much. dan was home so we were able to hear all about his time on the border. katie was home so we were able to psychoanalyze everyone that we know.
then i spent the following weekend in minneapolis reconnecting, once again, with friends. most memorably, sunday afternoon i spent a few hours with my dear friend shannon. we had lunch, we chatted, drank ice coffee, and enjoyed her new place in ne minneapolis. then we walked to st. anthony main where there was a polish festival. i must say, i was filled with ounces of dread to see pirogys, traditional folk dance costumes, and the familiar slavic ring of polish. don't get me wrong: i love slovakia. i love central europe. but when i'm having such a nice time at home, and when i'm acutely aware that this time is ending... the last thing i want to see is any remnant of slavic culture. i'm sure i'll be happy to go back and will relish the bryndzove halusky at med malina... but for now, i just want to eat burgers. and listen to hip hop. and drive my car.
all for now.
xo
anna
1.8.11
minnesota lovin'
i've been in minnesota for more than one month now, and i must say: i love this state. the month has been full of good friends, meeting new people, discovering new places...
one of which was duluth. i've lived in this state my whole life, but i've only been to duluth once-- a trip which went down in Wilson family history. i was really young, but the only things i remember from duluth are these three wonderful things: 1. i had lice 2. dan bit through his tongue and went to the emergency room 3. the person staying next to us was struck by lightning. let's just say this, it wasn't on the top of my list to return. however, i did return, and was more than pleasantly surprised. i went back with a friend to visit his sister and brother-in-law. who knew that minnesota possessed a city so beautiful? the lake, the forests, the shops, the people. it embodied everything that i love about minnesota.
i've also been able to spend a few days in minneapolis, discovering places that i'd never been before and seeing people that i've loved for years, reconnecting with people i'd forgotten about, and realizing that there is no place like home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)