Saturday, September 29, 2007
My address:
Hello again! Here is my contact information:
Mailing address:
Ashley Severson
Stredisko Evanjelickej diakonie
Koseca 898
018 64
Slovakia
Phone #:
011-421-918-310-062
Ok, more to come soon!! :-)
Mailing address:
Ashley Severson
Stredisko Evanjelickej diakonie
Koseca 898
018 64
Slovakia
Phone #:
011-421-918-310-062
Ok, more to come soon!! :-)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Technical Difficulties
Hi! So, I’m having technical difficulties with setting up pictures and video. I will keep trying, and hopefully they will be coming soon! The blog pages are in Slovak, and the internet connection here at the facility is dial-up, so that’s the recipe for no success yet! I think I’ve figured out which buttons to press to choose and picture and upload it, but they take a LONG time to upload. Anyway, know that I’m working on it. Ok, more soon!
Arrival in Velky Slavkov
So our little group of nine (the four German girls, myself, Kristen, Mark, and Jessica) arrived in the little village of Velky Slavkov on September 2nd. The train station isn’t really a station, but a little garage sized shack out in the middle of nowhere, pretty much. We were greeted by the Tatras mountains…very beautiful scenary! Much different than being in the city, in Bratislava. We were immediately greeted by two young boys (I would guess about ages 8 or 9). They immediately asked “where is Kya?” Kya apparently was the volunteer from our program that had served there the previous year, and she made quite an impression on this village! Many kids and adults asked us where she was in the first few days, and a reality hit me with this. Volunteers can make quite an impact on people, especially in smaller villages (and my placement is in a smaller village) and are paid attention to very closely! It made me a bit nervous to live up to expectations they might have of previous volunteers, but also excited that I’ve been given the gift of time here. I’ve been given a whole year to build friendships, make connections, and become a part of daily life here in Slovakia, and for that I’m very grateful.
Once Daniela told the boys that we were a new group of volunteers, it didn’t take them long to warm up to us and get excited. They crowded around Mark (everyone we’ve talked to so far is quite thrilled that a male volunteer is in Slovakia!) and gave him a pen so he could write his name on their arms! It was pretty entertaining. They did the same to Kristen eventually. I took pictures, and the boys ran over to me in excitement to see them on my camera screen.
When it came time for everyone to head up the little hill leading into the village, the boys INSISTED on carrying our luggage for us! This is pretty crazy, considering these boys are pretty scrawny, and probably about the same size as the bags we were carrying (and probably about half of the weight…these bags are carrying a year’s worth of stuff!). Anyways, they dragged a rolling suitcase each up the little hill into town, stopping only a few times for breaks. About halfway up the hill, they decided that they were pretty macho and that they could each take TWO suitcases up the hill, one in each hand. So they did. When we finally arrived at the center, the two boys collapsed in the front yard! HAHA! I’m pretty impressed. After carrying just one I probably would’ve been laying there next to them. Hard little workers!
The facility we stayed at was a Christian Retreat Center, newly built within the last few years. It was very nice! All eight of us girls stayed in a big room together, which was REALLY nice. There were actually three separate rooms (one in the little attic, and two downstairs) and a bathroom set. Poor Mark (being the only guy) was again by himself in his own room, but I don’t think he minds too much. The rooms were named after different books of the Bible. The girls stayed in Esther, and Mark stayed in Nehemiah.
After our first meal at the facility (spaghetti with beans and chunks of hot dog in it), we were invited to the church next door for a music concert. Our language teacher, Zuska, said she didn’t know how good it would be, but we went anyway because we wanted to check it out. It was hilarious. The first few rows were filled with people, and then us and a bunch of teenage guys were in the back. The concert began with a blat noise from the balcony above us, coming from a trombone player. This trombone player played for probably fifteen minutes for the first song, but he didn’t actually play a lot…he just sort of held LONG, drone-like, out of tune notes. He held an out of tune note while he traveled from the balcony down to the main flower and held it as he made is way down the aisle up to the front. Once he got to the front, he finally switched to a different note, and then he started spinning in a circle! He was spinning for at least five minutes, still playing this one note, still out of tune. We tried REALLY hard not to laugh, and it was going okay, until Zuska (the only native Slovakian) started laughing out loud when the trombone player ripped the mute out of his instrument and threw it at the ground (it made a loud cracking noise), and after that we lost it. We weren’t the first ones to laugh, or to leave. I felt bad! Most of the people in the church were snickering, and at least fifteen people from the back rows, where we were sitting, filed out of the church before the trombone player finished his first song. We stayed for a few more songs after that, one more number by the spinning trombone player, and then a woman sang a folk song with her guitar (also a bit drone-like and out of tune). It was a pretty funny experience, and I was surprised at how the locals behaved. Especially for a volunteer performance at a church! Pretty crazy.
Once Daniela told the boys that we were a new group of volunteers, it didn’t take them long to warm up to us and get excited. They crowded around Mark (everyone we’ve talked to so far is quite thrilled that a male volunteer is in Slovakia!) and gave him a pen so he could write his name on their arms! It was pretty entertaining. They did the same to Kristen eventually. I took pictures, and the boys ran over to me in excitement to see them on my camera screen.
When it came time for everyone to head up the little hill leading into the village, the boys INSISTED on carrying our luggage for us! This is pretty crazy, considering these boys are pretty scrawny, and probably about the same size as the bags we were carrying (and probably about half of the weight…these bags are carrying a year’s worth of stuff!). Anyways, they dragged a rolling suitcase each up the little hill into town, stopping only a few times for breaks. About halfway up the hill, they decided that they were pretty macho and that they could each take TWO suitcases up the hill, one in each hand. So they did. When we finally arrived at the center, the two boys collapsed in the front yard! HAHA! I’m pretty impressed. After carrying just one I probably would’ve been laying there next to them. Hard little workers!
The facility we stayed at was a Christian Retreat Center, newly built within the last few years. It was very nice! All eight of us girls stayed in a big room together, which was REALLY nice. There were actually three separate rooms (one in the little attic, and two downstairs) and a bathroom set. Poor Mark (being the only guy) was again by himself in his own room, but I don’t think he minds too much. The rooms were named after different books of the Bible. The girls stayed in Esther, and Mark stayed in Nehemiah.
After our first meal at the facility (spaghetti with beans and chunks of hot dog in it), we were invited to the church next door for a music concert. Our language teacher, Zuska, said she didn’t know how good it would be, but we went anyway because we wanted to check it out. It was hilarious. The first few rows were filled with people, and then us and a bunch of teenage guys were in the back. The concert began with a blat noise from the balcony above us, coming from a trombone player. This trombone player played for probably fifteen minutes for the first song, but he didn’t actually play a lot…he just sort of held LONG, drone-like, out of tune notes. He held an out of tune note while he traveled from the balcony down to the main flower and held it as he made is way down the aisle up to the front. Once he got to the front, he finally switched to a different note, and then he started spinning in a circle! He was spinning for at least five minutes, still playing this one note, still out of tune. We tried REALLY hard not to laugh, and it was going okay, until Zuska (the only native Slovakian) started laughing out loud when the trombone player ripped the mute out of his instrument and threw it at the ground (it made a loud cracking noise), and after that we lost it. We weren’t the first ones to laugh, or to leave. I felt bad! Most of the people in the church were snickering, and at least fifteen people from the back rows, where we were sitting, filed out of the church before the trombone player finished his first song. We stayed for a few more songs after that, one more number by the spinning trombone player, and then a woman sang a folk song with her guitar (also a bit drone-like and out of tune). It was a pretty funny experience, and I was surprised at how the locals behaved. Especially for a volunteer performance at a church! Pretty crazy.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Visit to Parliment
Hi again! So on one of our free days in Bratislava, we went with our country coordinator, Daniela, to see the Bratislava castle. On the way there, we stopped to look at the Slovak Republic Parliament building. We soon found out that it was a free observation day there, and decided to tour the building! I guess at this time of year every year there are a lot of celebrations going on because it’s the anniversary of the signing of the Slovak Republic constitution in early September. It was amazing how relaxed security was, and how freely we could wander around the building. It made me remember going through Parliament in London when I was here a few years ago. The process of even getting into London’s Parliament doors took over an hour, with multiple metal detectors and bag/body pat searches, not to mention the tight security and limited access to what we could see after we actually got through the building. We went through one detector in this building, had a quick purse/bag check, and that was it. Also, we were able to go through pretty much the entire building. We got to go into the main offices of the five chairmen, as well as other rooms with video clips honoring the country’s history and displays of original flags and gavels and things. We got to go in the main council room where meetings are held. We got to go up into the balcony and see the view from the press boxes, as well as go down on the main floor. They even let people sit in the high-rise seats in the front, where the president of Slovakia and other government officials would sit. One thing that was really exciting too, (and I never thought I’d hear myself say this) was that we got to see and KEEP a copy of their constitution! They were giving out nice book copies in Slovak, English, and German! It was exciting to be able to read it.
I think the greatest part about our trip to the Parliament building was the entertainment going out in front of the building. While we were still in the building, we saw kids and teenagers running around in groups, dressed in costumes (which we assumed were traditional country costumes). Daniela told us that each city/town in the country has their own unique pattern or style of uniform that represents that area. There was a stage set up outside where each group was performing a traditional song or dance wearing their area’s costume. It was great!! We watched for almost an hour and got to see quite a few different types of performances. The girls’ costumes were usually long dresses with an overlapping apron of some kind, and the colors and designs were all unique. The guys’ costumes were usually a shirt with some type of vest, a hat, and pants. The girls sang a lot of folk songs, usually in a nasal-pitched tone, and they yipped/screamed short little screams while they’re dancing. It’s strange, and at first I thought the screams were coming from the small kids at the front of the stage. I’m going to post video clips I took of the dancing, and if you listen you can hear the screechy yips they make! There were a few all male groups that went up that told folk stories, and did more acting and dancing, but not much singing. Anyways, check out the clips and pictures from the dancing. Sorry if they aren’t up right away, but eventually they will be. Hope all is well, talk again soon!
I think the greatest part about our trip to the Parliament building was the entertainment going out in front of the building. While we were still in the building, we saw kids and teenagers running around in groups, dressed in costumes (which we assumed were traditional country costumes). Daniela told us that each city/town in the country has their own unique pattern or style of uniform that represents that area. There was a stage set up outside where each group was performing a traditional song or dance wearing their area’s costume. It was great!! We watched for almost an hour and got to see quite a few different types of performances. The girls’ costumes were usually long dresses with an overlapping apron of some kind, and the colors and designs were all unique. The guys’ costumes were usually a shirt with some type of vest, a hat, and pants. The girls sang a lot of folk songs, usually in a nasal-pitched tone, and they yipped/screamed short little screams while they’re dancing. It’s strange, and at first I thought the screams were coming from the small kids at the front of the stage. I’m going to post video clips I took of the dancing, and if you listen you can hear the screechy yips they make! There were a few all male groups that went up that told folk stories, and did more acting and dancing, but not much singing. Anyways, check out the clips and pictures from the dancing. Sorry if they aren’t up right away, but eventually they will be. Hope all is well, talk again soon!
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Bratislava Adventures!
Hello again!
So after saying goodbye to everyone on Monday morning (August 27th) we all parted ways and headed off in our seperate country groups. There are five of us from the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission Program that are in Slovakia for the year: Me, Mary (from Oklahoma), Kristin (from Pennsylvania), Jessica (from Pennsylvania) and Mark (from Virginia). Mary headed back home after orientation week and she'll meet up with us on Sept. 5th, but the four of us got on board our flight to Munich! The flight wasn't bad. I took Benadryll to help with sinus pressure, and it put me to sleep almost right away! As soon as we got into the Munich airport and went through security again, I instantly noticed how loud we are, as Americans. The time I was abroad, someone had to bring it to my attention before I noticed, but now I can see it right away. I paid attention to the looks and/or glares we got when conversed...and so it begins. I think this will be an eye opening year in so many ways, and one being the stereotypes people have of me because I carry an American passport. We were even advised at orientation to buy a passport cover, to draw less attention to ourselves.
After a five hour wait in the Munich airport, we boarded our small plane to Bratislava for a 50 minute flight. As we were boarding we met two American men that had been in Bratislava many times to work in the past 10 years or so. One of the men was a gypsy, and worked with a Lutheran church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's interesting because there are many gypsies in Slovakia (Roma Gypsies), and I'm still not exactly what it means to be a gypsy. He works with a program similar to the one we are on with Young Adults in Global Mission, and he was really excited to meet us! He told us we were his heroes and said he was praying for us. He answered a lot of our questions about the country and was very encouraging. "Oh, they're just going to love you over there! They're such friendly people!" He taught us a few words, and he said that my pronunciation was very impressive! YEAH! Good sign, I hope...I guess we'll find out at language training. Anyways, he was very helpful, and made sure we made it into the right place for immigration and baggage claim and then waved goodbye.
We found our country coordinator right away, Daniela, and she is amazing!! Very sweet and welcoming, and brought us to our hostel. Later in the day we met the four German volunteers we will be having orientation with, and will be meeting up with throughout the year: Ann, Emilye, Maike, and Linda. It has been really interesting, and a great experience getting to know them! I almost feel like I'm preparing to serve in Germany, because I've learned a lot abou their culture through conversations with these four. They all just graduated from high school (ages 18, 19, and 20) and are from different parts of Germany, also serving for a year in Slovakia.
Ok, time to sleep! Goodnight all!
So after saying goodbye to everyone on Monday morning (August 27th) we all parted ways and headed off in our seperate country groups. There are five of us from the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission Program that are in Slovakia for the year: Me, Mary (from Oklahoma), Kristin (from Pennsylvania), Jessica (from Pennsylvania) and Mark (from Virginia). Mary headed back home after orientation week and she'll meet up with us on Sept. 5th, but the four of us got on board our flight to Munich! The flight wasn't bad. I took Benadryll to help with sinus pressure, and it put me to sleep almost right away! As soon as we got into the Munich airport and went through security again, I instantly noticed how loud we are, as Americans. The time I was abroad, someone had to bring it to my attention before I noticed, but now I can see it right away. I paid attention to the looks and/or glares we got when conversed...and so it begins. I think this will be an eye opening year in so many ways, and one being the stereotypes people have of me because I carry an American passport. We were even advised at orientation to buy a passport cover, to draw less attention to ourselves.
After a five hour wait in the Munich airport, we boarded our small plane to Bratislava for a 50 minute flight. As we were boarding we met two American men that had been in Bratislava many times to work in the past 10 years or so. One of the men was a gypsy, and worked with a Lutheran church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's interesting because there are many gypsies in Slovakia (Roma Gypsies), and I'm still not exactly what it means to be a gypsy. He works with a program similar to the one we are on with Young Adults in Global Mission, and he was really excited to meet us! He told us we were his heroes and said he was praying for us. He answered a lot of our questions about the country and was very encouraging. "Oh, they're just going to love you over there! They're such friendly people!" He taught us a few words, and he said that my pronunciation was very impressive! YEAH! Good sign, I hope...I guess we'll find out at language training. Anyways, he was very helpful, and made sure we made it into the right place for immigration and baggage claim and then waved goodbye.
We found our country coordinator right away, Daniela, and she is amazing!! Very sweet and welcoming, and brought us to our hostel. Later in the day we met the four German volunteers we will be having orientation with, and will be meeting up with throughout the year: Ann, Emilye, Maike, and Linda. It has been really interesting, and a great experience getting to know them! I almost feel like I'm preparing to serve in Germany, because I've learned a lot abou their culture through conversations with these four. They all just graduated from high school (ages 18, 19, and 20) and are from different parts of Germany, also serving for a year in Slovakia.
Ok, time to sleep! Goodnight all!
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