Just another day in Bratislava...

Dnes je voľby!!!

Ok, so it's not just another day in Bratislava (and all around Slovakia), today there is an election! The campaigning has been going on since maybe December? But it wasn't until February that I realized that the [somewhat boring-looking] posters around the city are political advertisements. I can't say much about the event besides that...I've heard that there's one very popular party that nobody likes much anyway, and people seem generally pessimistic about the situation. One advantage of having these posters up for so long: I've managed to read one of the slogans (thanks to Erik one time telling me that "viac" means "more," and Simona's skvele Slovak lesson handouts that included the word "práce" in several useful different forms..it has to do with "work" and "jobs") The slogan is: pre viac práce na Slovensku.  Can you make a good translation guess for yourself?  Now I just wonder if people who happen to hear me faintly whispering the slogan every time I see a SDKU poster think that I really believe in this political party's promises.   I was also able to read a word scratched into the forehead of a candidate on another poster the other day, but I didn't dare whisper it to myself, and I won't write it here either as it is much too vulgar.

Changing the subject now... I was ill a few weeks ago, and got to have my first "I need to see a doctor in a different culture" experience. The way it works here is that if you need to skip work because you're ill then you have to take a slip from your employer and get it stamped when you visit the doctor. Even if you know how to self medicate, or you're sure that all you need is to lie in bed and drink tea for a day, you still have to visit the doctor to get the slip stamped, otherwise you have to take a "holiday day" from work. These "doctor days" are good for one day, but if you're really sick then the doctor will write you a note to stay home for whatever amount of time he deems sufficient to help you recover, and then you have to return to his office at the end of that time to get cleared to return to work. The insurance office gets a copy of this note (that includes your home address) and they are allowed to come check in on you to make sure that you're actually home resting and not taking a skiing vacation. Very fascinating!

Finding a doctor is another thing... I don't know how other people go about it, especially other foreigners..probably there are forums online for this stuff. Erik (my dear, helpful, and kind Erik) asked his doctor if she is willing to have me as her patient; they CAN say "no," but this lady, bless her, she said "yes" and that's how I got a doctor here. (Oh, you can also find private doctors here, but you have to pay them from your own pocket. I didn't pay anything directly to see this "state doctor" here- the insurance and such is just automatically taken out of my wages.)

Back to the original story.. So I was sick with a fever and couldn't go to work. Luckily it was Erik's day off, so we met in the city center and made our way together to the remote district of Bratislava (called Rača) where the doctor's office is. Keep in mind that Erik and I mostly only have public transportation available to us (besides when kind friends give us rides, which happens actually quite often, and we're very thankful for them :) ) But this sick day, we used public transportation. I felt like such a champ, a feverish American toughing it out on the elektricka! (Elektricka = the slow, flimsy, trains that go through the city) As we walked from the elektricka stop to the doctor's office, Erik tried to prepare me for the experience; warning me that his doctor maybe isn't the best doctor in the world (or in the city for that matter)..but you know, doctor's aren't paid so well here so you can understand if they're burnt out... Just as we were agreeing that we prefer the system with these adequate health care services and the peace of mind that it's free and available to everyone than a system that leaves people dying without a chance to have any health care, we approached the doctor's office. When I first saw the small, white building, complete with graffiti and bars over the windows, I thought it was a juvenile detention center and Erik was just making a little joke. No, it wasn't a joke; it was the thunder of reality crashing over my bleeding, left-leaning heart! Well, this is what I wanted, so I've resolved to stay optimistic, and just learn to adjust...
Once inside, we saw that our doctor was on holiday, so she left a note referring us to her colleague down the corridor. The catch was that her colleague only had afternoon hours that day, but we were there at 09:30. So we sat in the waiting room and discussed all our options of what to do, and eventually decided that it's best to wait it out and see the doctor at 12:30. But the waiting room wasn't so comfortable, so we walked to a nearby restaurant and ordered two cups of tea and sat by the warmest radiator for an hour or so. Finally, when the doctor arrived, we were the first to see him. (He also could've refused to treat me, as I'm foreign and not his patient, but I'm so grateful that he was willing!) Erik told him my symptoms, and I sat down and opened my mouth for him to look inside. It kind of bothered me that he didn't use a flashlight before saying the inside of my mouth was škaredy (which I know to mean "ugly").  He and his assistant sentenced me to 5 days resting at home and 2000mg per day of amoxicillin (plus probiotics and multivitamins). I wasn't thrilled, but I have to say they were very kind to look on an online dictionary for the word "Inflamed" to describe the stuff in the back of my throat to me.

Fast forward 5 days: I felt better, but my body wasn't coping very well with the huge dosage of antibiotics. I developed a rash (which I thought was spider bites- I searched all over my room for the culprit) and had diarrhea. We went back to the doctor the following Monday so I could be cleared to work (plus Erik was sick by then), and, naturally, I had to use the WC twice when we were there. To describe the "restroom facilities" at the doctor's office, I think there's no better word than primitive.  There was no toilet paper (Erik anticipated this and sent me with tissues), no soap, or paper towels/hand dryer, and (most amusing) it appeared as though someone had purposely removed the part of the faucet that would allow you to turn on the hot water!

If you're wondering, I do still like living here :)

This afternoon Erik and I are going to visit an indoor open market, purely for the cultural experience. I hope to post pictures soon...

Thankful List :: February 2012

Sushi making

• Recycled paper to write lists on,
• People who work in shops who can speak English,
• The tip from the meteorologist about what weather website to use (www.shmu.sk),
• The bus driver who waited for me while I ran to catch the bus, 
• None of my nightmares about my Demo Lesson came true,
• Having a Konverzacia course on my schedule,
• Erik and I share the same sense of humour,
• The hot water is working again,
• All the good things going on (and coming up) at Class,
• The protests in the city so far haven't been violent (or at least I haven't had to witness any violence nearby),
• The beautiful new Class Culture Book,
• Mom and Dad have their flights to Vienna,
• Erik's tiramisu,
• Dinner with the Melos and the Počajs,
• Getting to hear Paja and Ilga's stories,
• The Melos driving us home,
• Leftovers,
• Meeting a goldsmith who wants to do our rings,
• The bus driver who waited for us as we ran farther and faster than the last time a bus driver had to wait for us,
• The English/Slovak labels on everything (všetko) in the kitchen,
• Meeting another American girl,
• McCafé,
• Erik's new razor (and his willingness to use it),
• Leftovers (I guess I'm double thankful for these),
• Lucia's "Alzheimer Prevention Course" on Monday and Wednesday afternoons,
• The school laptop has been working,
• Pete and Edina lending me keys to work when I locked myself out,
• Coffee time with Sara and being able to share some knowledge about the city,
• Heather's home!!
• Running into Sue in the city,
• Sushi and spending time with people,
• The relaxing evening with the Melos,
• Erik's amazing cooking,
• Niki driving us across town,
• Alberto driving us home (x2),
• My tastebuds,
• Payday,
• Meeting with Lucka and Marcin,
• .50€ sale at the Second Hand store (and actually finding good stuff),
• Health insurance,
• Plastic toilet seats aren't so cold,
• Lots and lots of time to rest,
• Erik bringing me bread and jam,
• Erik translating for me at the doctor,
• DIY wedding websites with detailed how-to information,
• Grace being willing to design complicated announcements/invitations,
• The antidiarrheal medicine doesn't taste so bad,
• The doctor letting me quit the antibiotics early,
• The rash from the antibiotics is going away without treatment,
• Coffee with Katie,
• The little sesame seeds on the pretzel sticks,
• Erik's cooking makes even antidiarrheal diets bearable,
• Laura has her flight booked!!
• Erik is already feeling better,
• Skvela lesson with Simona,
• Slovak lesson resources from Simona,
• Libuš lending me a huge Obrazovný Slovník,
•  Late Valentine's Day dinner of delicious Indian food,
• The DVDs from Paja worked on my laptop,
• Erik's camera is working again,
• The thing in the dishwasher that makes it smell like lemon (and not old food),
• The nice weather over the weekend and time to walk and talk with Erik, 
• Americky Tyžd'en at Lidl,
• Beef and chili potato chips,
• A no show lesson,
• The gift of bread from someone else's student,
• My most ornery students were enthusiastic to sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and were even quiet as they listened to their classmates sing,
• "Warm" spring wind, 

All the things I've been meaning to write about...

The Bus Story
One day, around noon, in December or January, all the trolleybuses (I mean all the ones that I could see) stopped working! We (Erik and I) thought it was just the bus we were on and the one in front of us that were stuck in traffic for a long time; then the driver let everyone off. So we walked up the street and visited a suit shop, and when we came out we saw that the street was lined with MANY stopped trolleybuses. So we went to a TESCO Express (and debated going to Lidl), and then we were planning to walk the whole way to my house (a long way). But as we were plodding along they started to send out (very old) back up buses, which ended our adventure.

The Dress Story

Also in December or January, we (Erik and I again) found a beautiful wedding dress online. The website was some sort of Slovak Craig's List of wedding things. (Oh, it's a known fact that we're engaged now, right? If anyone doesn't know yet, WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!) Erik called the lady who was selling it and arranged that we would meet her later in the week in the nearby town of Nitra. She was selling the dress for the low price of 90€, so of course we were hoping and praying that it would fit me and be as beautiful as the pictures. We planned to take the bus to Nitra, of course checking the times and prices of the buses online beforehand. The website gave all the information we thought we needed, including which platform the bus would leave from. We arrived about 10 minutes early, and as we were boarding the bus (that had a sign that said "Nitra" in the window) at the platform mentioned on the website, Erik double checked with the driver that his bus was going to Nitra. 

"Nie." 

Sure, the sign said "Nitra," and he drives through the city, but he doesn't stop there. He used to stop there, but he hasn't for at least 2 years now. Weird. So we looked at some water-stained schedules on a bulletin board nearby, but if the hip new internet site didn't have accurate information, why should we trust the old papers tacked outside? Still confused, Erik talked to the bus driver again, and the guy insisted that the only bus going to Nitra at that time was the one on the other side of the waiting area. We reluctantly joined the end of the long line to board, although we could see that all the seats were full and the narrow aisle space was starting to fill up too. They shut the bus doors and took off with just 4 or 5 people in front of us. What else could we do? We went inside and Erik asked at a ticket desk, and the woman directed us to a platform near the ones we had waited at before. About 15 minutes later, we were happily seated on a bus definitely bound for Nitra!

Then I grilled Erik with some need-to-know-before-I-officially-agree-to-marry-you-questions to help pass the time on the long ride. (We weren't engaged at this point, by the way, which is why this story has been kind of on the DL, because who buys a dress before they're engaged? ..oh, people who find a 90€ dress do!) I was hoping/expecting his answers to be sufficient, but he really impressed me, actually. Better, braver answers than I would've given if I were a man! Needless to say, he passed :)

We arrived at the main bus station in Nitra where we were supposed to catch another bus to this lady's house, but we were experiencing the same sort of confusion as at the bus station in Bratislava, so she sent her husband to come pick us up by car. Soon enough, we were taking our shoes off at their house. (Everyone in Slovakia takes their shoes off when they go to people's houses. The personal effect this has had on me is that I always make sure my socks don't have holes in them if I'm going to be at someone's house.) Actually, the couple lives with her parents and maybe a few siblings, so we were welcomed in by several people. None of them really spoke English, but I could tell they were very friendly! The previous-bride invited me into the living room, which was empty of people but full of a Christmas tree, normal living room furniture, an old TV, and lots of little glass things on shelves. Actually, it was so full that the furniture kept the door permanently propped open. As Erik chatted with her father and husband and mother in the next room, I nervously replaced pieces of the outfit I was wearing with pieces of wedding dress until I was fully dressed in bridal gown. Erik and I agreed beforehand that he would look at the dress and give me his honest opinion, reason being that I definitely wanted a second opinion before spending "so much money" and I needed more than just the nodding and smiling of the woman who had been trying to sell the dress for months. It's not traditional, we know, but after all, as my parents wisely pointed out, no couples on the verge of divorce go into counseling complaining that their marriage is on the rocks because the groom saw his bride in her dress before the wedding day! They didn't have a mirror anywhere around, so all I really saw of it was in the few photos that Erik took. He was well impressed with it though, and I trust him eeeeeeven in the area of wedding dress selection, so we agreed to buy it. The couple and their family was so sweet..they gave us some tea and offered us some cookies. We were polite and ate a couple of their cookies with our tea, but they were so kind, they packed the rest of the cookies in a bag and sent them back to Bratislava with us. And they were sure that there would be no more buses or trains going back to Bratislava at that time of night (it was maybe 19:00 or 20:00), so they drove us back to the city themselves! But not before giving us some marriage advice AND a bag of apples! 

The Suit Story

Earlier on the day of our big dress adventure, Erik and I popped into a suit shop near the city center that was having a big sale, just to check things out. The building seemed old and maybe a bit unkempt (but that shouldn't surprise me any more I guess), complete with chipped linoleum flooring, dim lighting, and fake-wood paneling behind the floor-to-ceiling racks of suits. But when their permanent marker and poster board signs said "vypredaj" ("sale") they sure meant it- we found a lovely black suit in Erik's size for just 40€! Only one (or two) other fishy things.. we paid with a 50€ note and the lady behind the counter didn't even double check for the watermark on it in case it was counterfeit. Nope, she just stuffed it in the cash box, then took the suit off the hanger, folded it as well as someone possibly could fold a suit, and stuffed it in a plain old plastic grocery bag, then walked away without saying anything else to us! Who knew that when you pay 150€ or more at a "normal" suit shop, you're actually paying for friendly service and nice bag?

 

 

Thankful list :: January 2012

• Fireworks,
• Babysitting the well-behaved Higgins boys,
• Nice, fairly-comprehensible English/Dutch/Slovak conversation while waiting at the foreign police,
• Erik getting off work early sometimes,
• Being engaged,
• Found a wedding dress online for 90€,
• The 90€ wedding dress fits and it's pretty,
• We got to sit on the bus to Nitra,
• The wedding dress selling people drove us from Nitra Autobusova Stanica to their house, and then back to Bratislava,
• The wedding dress people also serving us tea, and giving us all the cookies from their kitchen table, and the bag of apples next to their door,
• The 40€ suit for Erik,
• Simonka playing some music at CityLight,
• The new piano stand,
• Time off from work at the beginning of January to spend with Erik and other friends,
• My mint plant is still alive,
• The flowers from Erik,
• Second Hand store trousers for Erik (3 pairs for 6€) (in December),
• Brown heavy jacket for me from the Second Hand store: 2€ (in December),
• Skyping with Jenn S. (December),
• Skyping with Antonia,
• My finger is healing,
• Clearance tomatoes,
• Clearance chocolates,
• "Italian night"
• Erik's late starts at work so he could go with me to the foreign police and insurance offices,
• The angry man at the foreign police didn't come back with a weapon,
• The overhang to stand under at the foreign police,
• Erik translating for me,
• The successful trip to the insurance office,
• Feeling comfortable and welcome around Erik's family,
• The nice relaxing weekend in Esztergom,
• The useful information from the lady at the office in Stúrovo,
• All the nice people at the church in Esztergom (even though I couldn't understand them myself, I could just feel they were nice),
• Getting my haircut,
• The flower on my houseplant is blooming,
• So many days of blue skies (even when the temperatures are below freezing),
• A little bit of snow,
• Calvin and Hobbes comics online,
• A new student in my low-attendance teenage class,
• There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
• The pizza party to celebrate the January birthdays,
• Getting paid to speak natively at a gymnasium,
• I have no shortage of things to read,
• Being in Europe during the US presidential election campaigns,
• Tomek getting to speak at the Catholic church in Poland,
• All my needs have always been met,
• Just happened to have an extra little activity on hand for when I couldn't log into the laptop during a lesson,
• Finding some wedding band options that we both like in our price range,
• Heather comes home soon,
• Finding wedding napkins and plates at IKEA in exactly the colors we want,
• The hand blender set at TESCO for cheap,
• The spice containers for less than 1€ each at IKEA,
• The meatball deal at IKEA (plate of 10 meatballs for 1€),
• Seeing Lucka and Marcin at IKEA (my first time running into people I know in months!),
• Erik being favored by the head chef and other supervisors at his work,
• Cheap flights to Rome, 
• A really good deal on rooms at Sheraton hotels for employees,
• All Paja's help with bank things,
• The Melos are feeling better after being ill,
• Meeting another international couple on Sunday,
• Getting to know the bus connections around the city a little better,
• An easy week at work before new classes begin