hills, hockey and home (sick)

it seems like the past few days have been full of adventure. they have been fun and good, but they've also put me in a mood of loneliness.

on saturday, i went hiking with my colleague and her boyfriend. i met them around 11:00 and we took a bus to an area near to kosice. she had told me to plan for a 4-5 hour hike, so i had envisioned simply a day of walking in the forest. i knew i was mistaken as soon as she and her boyfriend pulled out their hiking poles. the beginning of the hike was slanted slightly uphill, but not at all strenuous. but suddenly, the incline became quite a bit steeper and i could feel the burn! and then when i thought i had already made a panting fool out of myself, i saw the final leg of the climb and wanted to say "really!? REALLY?!" it was so steep that we had to zig zag up it. i was panting and sweating like a kid a fat camp. i was so embarrassed because my colleague and her boyfriend hiked up as if there was hardly any strain. i wanted to say "i had mono! i've been lazy for the past 5 months! but really i'm usually quite healthy! and i'm not usually this fat!" but, of course, i was too tired to breathe... let alone speak. but once we finally made it to the top, i knew it was worth every gasp for air. it was a really beautiful scene. the air was crisp from the fall weather, and we could see a spread of fall colors on the trees below. situated between two hills was a small village which looked like everything a small slovakian "willage" should look like, i believe the name was Kojsov. it is home to a famous slovak director, juraj jakubisko. we sat, overlooking the mountains and breathing the crisp air. we had a small picnic and then headed on another trail that would lead us back to the beginning. this trail was quite easy... barely even a slope downward. we had a nice conversation about family, they told me stories about WWII, and we enjoyed starbursts sent to me by the lovely jean wilson. after we'd been walking for about five hours, we got lost. the trail was very poorly marked. we got to a meadow and suddenly had no idea where to go. there were about five different options, and it took us about 45 minutes to sort it out. thankfully, they had a map and a very good guidebook... and they are experienced hikers. i wasn't worried at all, but it certainly made things interesting. once we got back to where the bus had left us, we realized that the next bus didn't come for another hour. so we went into a small hotel nearby and had a few drinks, relaxed, and waited until the bus came. they told me that the bus didn't go back to kosice, but it went to another town. at this town, we would have to catch a train back to kosice. the catch was that we only had 7 minutes to buy our train tickets and to get on the train! we left the hotel and waited in the dark for the bus... which arrived about 6 minutes late. we took the bus for about 15 minutes, and when it arrived at the train station, we ran to the ticket booth, and we ran to the train. luckily, we made it! it was so much fun. when we finally arrived back in kosice, i realized how tired and sore i was. it was such a fun, adventurous, and pleasant day. certainly one of the best days i've had here.

on sunday, my friend vesna invited me over to her flat for lunch. her mother, ivana, is the director at our school... and also an amazing cook!! she made roast beef for lunch, and it tasted just like home. her whole family was so kind and warm toward me, i felt so welcome. her mother packed me some borscht, some apple bars, and even gave me some chocolate. it was such a wonderful afternoon. however, it made me feel entirely homesick. it was so familiar to be with a family, and it was so nice to feel included in something. when i came back to my flat i realized how cold and empty it felt, and all i wanted to do was cry. but i know that this is simply a temporary period in my life... i can deal.

monday was mostly average. but tuesday was interesting. after i was finished teaching, i went to talk with nelli for a little while. when i was in there, an older man came in a few times to ask her questions, take care of some business, etc. the final time he came in, he asked nelli if i would want to go to a hockey game on tuesday night. of course i said, sure! after i agreed to going, he told me that his cousin would be there... his cousin who was single and attractive. ughhhh. i'm so sick of people trying to set me up with slovak men! anyway, i'd already agreed to go, so i decided to be optimistic. i met them at the U.S. Steel Arena (the main arena in Kosice), and the first period was mostly horrible. but then we got to go into the box with some very important people... the General Manager of the team, as well as the vice president of U.S. Steel. It's like going to Target Field and watching the Twins in a box with the CEO of Target. there were other "VIP" people there, but i'm not sure exactly what all of their titles were. we were served wine, raspberry alcohol, strawberry alcohol, plum alcohol, hot dogs... it was overwhelming. but most interesting to me, however, was that i met a woman, eva, there who runs a private language school in kosice. she was so lovely to talk to. we had a nice time watching the game, talking about slovakia, talking about the hockey players... she was wonderful. afterward we went out to "Sport Cafe" for some wine, and then finally i came home. watching the game was a lot of fun for me because it reminded me so much of hockey games in minnesota but, of course, it also made me quite homesick.

i'm not sure what has gotten into me recently... but i just feel lonely and sad. of course i'm fine and generally happy, but i have moments where all i want is a hug or a comfortable conversation. it's a lot of work having conversations with people from other cultures. or maybe i'm simply making it more work than what it has to be... i'm not sure yet. in any case, i'm craving comfort... of which there is little while living abroad.

lovingly,

anna