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
18.8.11
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.
13.7.11
a post from the home base
all of my lofty goals of faithful blogging have once again been pushed to the gutter. sorry, readers.
let's do a short recap: the last weeks in slovakia were CRAZY. in a good way. i went to a great french party in presov, i had a really nice going away party with my closest friends, and my students said sweet goodbyes. i was surprised by a friend. i went for walks with ice cream. i enjoyed episodes of LOST. and i was actually remarkably sad when the morning came for me to haul down my bags and head to the mcdonald's parking lot for the shuttle to the budapest airport. i feel tears reliving the moment.
i traveled with my friend vesna. the budapest airport was nothing short of a nightmare. our flight to amsterdam was delayed an hour, giving us a 30 minute (expected) layover in amsterdam before our flight to minneapolis. after receiving my boarding passes at the self check-in, i went to check my bags, only to be greeted by a clerk who refused to check my bags because she didn't think i'd make my flight in amsterdam. so then i told vesna to forget her hassle getting her boarding passes. so i went to rebook our flights, and the agent told me there was no reason to rebook because we could make our other flights. so then i went to check in my bags again, i was charged 100 euro for my second bag (which i thought i was allowed to fly with), and then vesna was still having problems. finally we got her boarding pass (without a seat assignment), and then everyone told us we wouldn't make it to our gate in time and that vesna might not have a seat because the flight was overbooked. so we decided to risk our luck. we got to our gate and vesna had a seat (in first class!). thank god. but did i mention vesna hates to fly? she doesn't have an ordinary fear of flying, but a full on panic at the mere thought of flying. an inconsolable panic. as if someone was holding a gun to her head and threatening to shoot her. so once we boarded the plane, we offered the not-so-kind gentleman sitting next to me to move onto first class. he didn't hesitate. so during the two hour flight to amsterdam i exhausted my dwindling patience to keep vesna calm. when we landed, the flight attendants told us that we wouldn't make our connecting flight, so we would have to use a kiosk to look for a flight leaving tomorrow. i thought there was maybe a miscalculation on my part with time differences etc., so i went to the kiosk to change our ticket but discovered instead that our flight was "now boarding" at a gate not-so-far from us. so i took an already hysteric vesna and made her run with me. this did not go well, but WE MADE IT. just in the nick of time. we had twenty minutes to make the flight, but the flight in fact left early. we were lucky.
after arriving home, we met some dear friends (luke and eva) for panera. then we took the longest drive back to worthington. our time in worthington was perfect. it was so. incredibly. good. to sleep in my bed, to drink mom-prepared coffee, to eat good food, to go on walks, to see worthington people, to see family, to see over-stocked shelves in monstrous stores. everything was so good. and then we went to chicago. i could have spent the whole trip walking on the street laughing out of pure joy because everything was so beautiful and so american. i saw black people and asian people and muslim people and pretty people and ugly people and fat people and skinny people. all in one place.
we also spent some time on the lake in okoboji, as well as the children's theater. i felt like a child again. for the fourth of july, we went to pioneer village to look at allis chalmer tractors. i ran into some friends and we went jet skiing. we had a picnic with old family friends. and we watched fireworks from our neighbors dock. one word to describe the fourth: perfect.
finally, i just returned from spending a few days in minneapolis. it was so, so, so good to see people who i've missed greatly. on friday we saw my dear former boss, pam, and had a nice conversation and i remembered all of the reasons i loved working career services. we also met eva and her sister, anna, and brother-in-law, caleb, for mexican food. then i had a small party at eva's for my friends, which included two of my most beloved things: dancing and (good) red wine. we spent a day on grand, we spent time at como, we layed out by the pool, we went shopping at MOA... it was wonderful. vesna left late monday evening, and everything at the airport was peaceful, smooth and calm. people were so friendly and so helpful, they even let me walk with vesna to the gate because she was so afraid to fly alone.
tuesday i went to st. cloud to see mr. and mrs. miller. i miss these people like a desert misses rain. we spent the whole day together walking around st. cloud, eating big and greasy burgers, playing with callie, looking at cool blogs (and thus feeling shameful about mine), making dinner, watching a movie... all of the normal things in life which are so much sweeter when done in good company.
now i'm back in worthington, but not for long. this summer is full of travel for me, though the only thing i long to do is watch LOST and attempt to complete the mountainous task of applying for grad school. i wish that days were twice as long, and the distance between all of my loved ones half as long.
until next time...
xo
let's do a short recap: the last weeks in slovakia were CRAZY. in a good way. i went to a great french party in presov, i had a really nice going away party with my closest friends, and my students said sweet goodbyes. i was surprised by a friend. i went for walks with ice cream. i enjoyed episodes of LOST. and i was actually remarkably sad when the morning came for me to haul down my bags and head to the mcdonald's parking lot for the shuttle to the budapest airport. i feel tears reliving the moment.
i traveled with my friend vesna. the budapest airport was nothing short of a nightmare. our flight to amsterdam was delayed an hour, giving us a 30 minute (expected) layover in amsterdam before our flight to minneapolis. after receiving my boarding passes at the self check-in, i went to check my bags, only to be greeted by a clerk who refused to check my bags because she didn't think i'd make my flight in amsterdam. so then i told vesna to forget her hassle getting her boarding passes. so i went to rebook our flights, and the agent told me there was no reason to rebook because we could make our other flights. so then i went to check in my bags again, i was charged 100 euro for my second bag (which i thought i was allowed to fly with), and then vesna was still having problems. finally we got her boarding pass (without a seat assignment), and then everyone told us we wouldn't make it to our gate in time and that vesna might not have a seat because the flight was overbooked. so we decided to risk our luck. we got to our gate and vesna had a seat (in first class!). thank god. but did i mention vesna hates to fly? she doesn't have an ordinary fear of flying, but a full on panic at the mere thought of flying. an inconsolable panic. as if someone was holding a gun to her head and threatening to shoot her. so once we boarded the plane, we offered the not-so-kind gentleman sitting next to me to move onto first class. he didn't hesitate. so during the two hour flight to amsterdam i exhausted my dwindling patience to keep vesna calm. when we landed, the flight attendants told us that we wouldn't make our connecting flight, so we would have to use a kiosk to look for a flight leaving tomorrow. i thought there was maybe a miscalculation on my part with time differences etc., so i went to the kiosk to change our ticket but discovered instead that our flight was "now boarding" at a gate not-so-far from us. so i took an already hysteric vesna and made her run with me. this did not go well, but WE MADE IT. just in the nick of time. we had twenty minutes to make the flight, but the flight in fact left early. we were lucky.
after arriving home, we met some dear friends (luke and eva) for panera. then we took the longest drive back to worthington. our time in worthington was perfect. it was so. incredibly. good. to sleep in my bed, to drink mom-prepared coffee, to eat good food, to go on walks, to see worthington people, to see family, to see over-stocked shelves in monstrous stores. everything was so good. and then we went to chicago. i could have spent the whole trip walking on the street laughing out of pure joy because everything was so beautiful and so american. i saw black people and asian people and muslim people and pretty people and ugly people and fat people and skinny people. all in one place.
we also spent some time on the lake in okoboji, as well as the children's theater. i felt like a child again. for the fourth of july, we went to pioneer village to look at allis chalmer tractors. i ran into some friends and we went jet skiing. we had a picnic with old family friends. and we watched fireworks from our neighbors dock. one word to describe the fourth: perfect.
finally, i just returned from spending a few days in minneapolis. it was so, so, so good to see people who i've missed greatly. on friday we saw my dear former boss, pam, and had a nice conversation and i remembered all of the reasons i loved working career services. we also met eva and her sister, anna, and brother-in-law, caleb, for mexican food. then i had a small party at eva's for my friends, which included two of my most beloved things: dancing and (good) red wine. we spent a day on grand, we spent time at como, we layed out by the pool, we went shopping at MOA... it was wonderful. vesna left late monday evening, and everything at the airport was peaceful, smooth and calm. people were so friendly and so helpful, they even let me walk with vesna to the gate because she was so afraid to fly alone.
tuesday i went to st. cloud to see mr. and mrs. miller. i miss these people like a desert misses rain. we spent the whole day together walking around st. cloud, eating big and greasy burgers, playing with callie, looking at cool blogs (and thus feeling shameful about mine), making dinner, watching a movie... all of the normal things in life which are so much sweeter when done in good company.
now i'm back in worthington, but not for long. this summer is full of travel for me, though the only thing i long to do is watch LOST and attempt to complete the mountainous task of applying for grad school. i wish that days were twice as long, and the distance between all of my loved ones half as long.
until next time...
xo
18.6.11
6 days and then i'm gone...
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
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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