dear readers,
this past weekend i was fortunate enough to take a small trip to bratislava-- or, as some students like to call it-- "party"slava. last year i went to bratislava on a few occasions, and every time i left feeling disappointed. this last trip, however, left me pleasantly surprised.
i arrived in bratislava on thursday after a long 6 hour train ride. i decided to fork out the extra 3 euro for a first class seat, allowing me a 6 hour ride of peace, quiet, reading and sleeping. in slovakia, first class is always worth the upgrade. once in the city, i found the hotel with ease and got ready for the reception with the embassy for this year's fulbright grantees. while i was getting ready, i noticed that i forgot to crucial items: an adapter (for the straightener to fix my travel-frizzed hair), and a tank top to go under all of my gauzy, transparent shirts. nonetheless, i managed to pull myself together and swagger into the reception with a frizzy hair mess and moderately-less-than-appropriate attire. despite my "just escaped!" look, the reception was highly enjoyable. free food, free wine, free conversation... all wonderful to a newly poor teacher like me. i had the chance to meet the new fulbright grantees, who are all exceptional. they are interesting, sharp, engaging, enthusiastic, witty and incredibly fun (one of the grantees is even from minnesota, so it's no surprise she's wonderful). after the reception i went outside to wait for some of the grantees, and out stumbled the highlight of my evening. as i was sitting and waiting, i saw a (very important) person from the embassy stagger out with three friends, very intoxicated. i can honestly say, there is nothing more entertaining than see an incredibly formal person (older than my parents), stumbling outside and acting like a 21 year old. i must admit, i lost a little respect for the person.
in the morning, i had to give a presentation on teaching english in slovak high schools. needless to say, it was a shining, glorious and magnificent display of my brilliance. hard to imagine it could be anything less, right? though i was radiating perfection (as always), four people walked out. and nearly every minute someone got up for coffee. a great ego boost. afterward, i went to the city and spent the best afternoon i've ever had in slovakia.
i went to an exhibition of Picasso's drawings. his drawings are so simultaneously rich in simplicity and complexity, and they all exude a sense of ease and grace. many of the drawings were repeated over, and over and over (a theme with his drawings), but different each time. the one that really caught me was of an artist, a room, and a beast. each evoked something different in me, and i really felt a struggle between what is human, what is art, what is the self, and how in the world do they all relate to each other? it was a soul-filling experience, and one that i hadn't had since college.
when i returned for dinner, i had another soul-filling conversation. for nearly thirty minutes, nora (the director of fulbright in slovakia) and i talked about yogurt. if you know me at all, you know how excited and passionate i am about yogurt... and to find someone who shares the passion? magic.
beyond this, not much has happened recently. i've stopped shampooing my hair in favor of using baking soda and vinegar: this is my most exciting personal news. teaching is going well, but is also presenting challenges and frustrations. the slovak bureaucracy is still finding it's way to get under my skin, but i'm learning to grin and bear it. and the best part of my week? eating falafel and hummus, handed down from god himself in heaven, every monday with my friend val.
until next week,
alw
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