20-27 October 2011

It seems I've written fewer blog updates this month than I did last month. I think that's a sign that my life here is becoming less novel to me. I'm just here... working, making friends, trying to find the best deals at the grocery store and the most efficient ways to cross town. Likely nothing too different from your lives. The language learning is still in progress. I was able to "decode" a word recently by hearing and reading it so often that I could figure out the meaning. I don't want to brag, but I think it's a good accomplishment because you have to understand some of the surrounding words to figure out the missing word. I like learning words that way because I think they stay in my mind longer :)

I've had a few interesting encounters in the last few weeks, both with people and objects... I'll number them to switch up the paragraphing format:

1) As I was stepping out of the bus today, the door closed and hit me. I almost lost my balance and it nearly knocked my glasses off! No harm done though, just a little embarrassing! In my shock, I exclaimed, loudly,  "Whoa! That was weird!" so if anyone was doubting that an American was just hit by a door, they could know right away that was what just happened!

2) I walked into a different door earlier this week. It was Tuesday and I really needed to buy groceries, so I went to the big TESCO in my neighborhood (that I just heard about recently). It was my first time in there, so as I came into the entry way I wondered if I needed to go up the moving walkways that I was looking at on my right, or if I was supposed to keep walking forward like I was doing. Then BAM! I walked right into the glass door! The woman next to me looked so shocked; it was great! (PS- I went shopping on an empty stomach, bought way more than was on my list + some toiletries, and still spent less than 21 euro!)

3) Two weekends ago I met a nice pair in the city center. I had just sat down to wait for some friends, when I was approached by a young man and an older-looking woman. They greeted me in English and introduced themselves as Petr and Maria, then we had a usual introductory conversation. They guessed I was from Russia or Austria, and I was kind of flattered by that. After we talked for maybe two minutes (and Petr shook my hand throughout the entire conversation) they said goodbye and walked away. It was nothing but pleasant :)

4) On a less pleasant note, I was waiting on a bench outside the train station on Saturday morning. A clean, well dressed older man (his hair was all white) came and sat next to me and started talking. I told him I'm learning Slovak but I don't understand him, and he asked if I speak German and I said I don't, only English and a little Dutch. He kept talking in who knows what language, and I kept listening and telling him I didn't understand what he's saying. Then he used some words I know: Hotel. Slaapen (or whatever's German for "sleeping" that's probably similar to the Dutch). I said, "Oh! yeah, that's right! A hotel is for sleeping!" I thought he might just need some help with his English, so I was in teacher-mode for a second. Then he said, "Crown Plaza hotel." I said, "Oooooh, yeah, that's just down the road..." and gave him all the directions for how to get there as demonstratively as possible. Then, I don't know what words he used, but I got the idea that he wanted me to show him how to get there. Of course I said no though because I was waiting for a friend so we could go on a trip. Then the man said, "Sex." I gasped, "I'm not a prostitute!" "Prostitute?" he grumbled, and got up and walked away. I hoped I hadn't been too presumptuous in thinking that he was actually trying to proposition me, but I didn't mind that he had left. Well, he actually came back two more times to try to get me to walk to a hotel with him, and by the third time I actually started to feel scared and irritated, and I even practically shouted at him in the best Slovak sentence I could construct, "Niiiiiieeeeee, počkám pre moj príatel!!!" ("Nooooooo, I'm waiting for my friend!") and walked away.

5) Also while I was waiting at the station on Saturday morning, when the dirty old man wasn't talking to me, I was approached by two others. The first was a man who was clearly begging. I tried to deflect by claiming that I didn't understand, but who doesn't understand and hand reaching out and the word "money"? He was being so sweet anyway, trying to talk to me in a bit of every language he knows, but still I prefer not to give money because it could go for drugs (probably most people have that conviction I think...). I didn't have any better excuse than, "I don't want to give you money." He took that so well though! He smiled, stroked my face, and walked away.   A few minutes after he left, a man with a duffel bag sat down near me and struck up a conversation. We had the typical introduction conversation using all the Slovak phrases I know best. Then, I'm not really sure, but I think he offered me his half finished cup of coffee.


All those stories are really just a little rabbit trail from the other things that I planned to write about, so I hope you're not exhausted from reading too much! :)
These last two weeks have been really packed, actually... I feel like it was the first time since being here that I've been truly "busy."  I had forgotten that I like that feeling, and especially the feeling of relaxing in between the moments of busy-ness.

This weekend I took a long moment to relax. I had a friend from Groningen, Joshua, visiting the city this Friday though Sunday, so I didn't bother going into work even for an hour over Saturday and Sunday. It was a super weekend! We had some traditional Slovak food on Friday evening, then walked around the city center for a long, long time until we were ready to give up looking for the jazz cafe. Saturday we took a trip to štúrovo, in the south of Slovakia. We drank some coffee there before crossing  the Dunaj to get to Hungary. That was my first time in Hungary, and my first time walking across a country border (especially without my passport). After a hunt for a restaurant with good prices (that would also accept the Euro), we finally found a place that was completely empty except for the two women working there. They didn't speak English or German, so as a last resort I had to use my Slovak. (One of the two women there spoke Slovak.) Whew- I was sweating! I think she was trying to sell us a salad and the most expensive entree on the menu, but I'm not totally sure. It's amazing we got our food, actually, because I can't recall a single thing she said that I understood! After lunch we walked up to the huge cathedral that was build in 997AD! See the pictures...

Standing in Hungary, looking at Slovakia, thinking, "Whoa! I live there!"

The Slovak Republic beyond the Dunaj

The cathedral from 997AD in Esztergom, Hungary

Then we walked back to Slovakia and to the train station to get our train. A day full of walking! Back in Bratislava, we had dinner and later met some of my work mates for drinks before calling it a night. Sunday was rainy, so we spent our time leisurely drinking coffee, reading, and talking in a café until it was time to go to church. Such a lovely way to spend a Sunday :)

This week at work went by rather quickly, and even ended well with a successful lesson (that I thought was going to be very difficult) about subjects and objects in a sentence. ("Who loves Mary?" "Who does Mary love?" It's complicated...) Now I'm very ready to plan some lessons lessons for next week and enjoy a four-day weekend :)