*NOTE* I've added a picture to the past blog "Sara" that was taken during my family's visit to Slovakia a few weeks ago. It's a nice picture, scroll down and check it out! :) Ok, back to my current blog...
So I’ve collected ideas, comments, misconceptions that my students at Ilava Obchodna Akademia (my first placement) had of Americans. I’ve also included general misconceptions from people I’ve met along the way, from either Koseca, Hybe, or both. (Also, some added misconceptions about America itself.)
“All AMERICANS ARE FAT”. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me, “Wow, you don’t look American. You’re too thin to be American” since I came to Slovakia in August. “You look Slovak.” Just because I’m thin? That’s not fair, because there are overweight people here too (although I’m aware that America’s weight problem definitely exceeds any other country’s). They’re a bit shocked that I like healthier foods, and that I don’t really desire to eat cakes every day. And to go along with that…
“ALL AMERICANS EAT MCDONALDS. A LOT.” Of course many of us eat McDonalds from time to time, but not always a lot. And I know many people who would sooner die than stick a Big Mac in their mouth. Myself? I go a few times a year, and that’s more than enough. I understand why they would think this though, since McDonalds did COME from America. And have you all seen “Supersize Me?” Yikes.
“ALL AMERICANS ARE BUDDIES WITH CELEBRITIES.” No, I’m sorry, I don’t know Brad Pitt, or Julia Roberts, or Renee Zellwegger. One kid at Ilava even came up to me and said, “Hey, when you go back home…can you tell Weezer (music group) that I say hello, and that I really like them? Next time you see them?” Um, sure. I will do that. WHEN I meet Weezer….
“ALL AMERICANS LIKE GEORGE W. BUSH, BECAUSE THEY ELECTED HIM….TWICE.” I’ve had to very carefully handle this one a few times. This is a pretty rough assumption, I would say. Many Americans would be quite irritated with this. I’ll just leave it at that.
“SO, THE WEATHER IS PRETTY WARM IN AMERICA, YES?” Whoa. They don’t really have a concept of how BIG the United States is, and how many different climates, and temperatures exist. They also were surprised that we didn’t have a train system running from state to state (like they do, running country to country) as well. This is why everybody in America owns a car. Also, when I told them about how common it is for students to move all around the country for colleges and jobs, they weren’t that surprised at first. They sometimes do this too, but the other side of the country is reachable in one afternoon. Not so much our case, eh?
“AMERICAN ENGLISH AND BRITISH ENGLISH ARE THE SAME.” Well, I myself thought they were really similar until I came here, and tried to teach English out of British English books. I knew there was a lot of British English slang, but I didn’t realize how much British English is its own language. They are of course both English, but a LOT more different than I realized. The teachers in Ilava used to get REALLY frustrated with me, especially.
“Can you explain block of flats to the students, please?”
“Um. Sure.” I silently walked over to the teachers and whispered quietly, “What exactly is a block of flats?”
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“But it’s English. You speak English! You’re a native speaker!”
“Well yes, but I have no idea what a block of flats is.”
I also didn’t understand “trainers,” “standing in queue,” “getting on,” or “in a row.” Anyways, they’re definitely different. (A block of flats is an apartment building, “trainers” are tennis shoes, “standing in queue” means to stand in line, “getting on” means to get along with someone well, and “in a row” means to get into an argument.) We speak the same language, but we do NOT speak the same language.
“LIFE IN AMERICA IS A DREAM!” This has been an interesting one. Living in America, in the economic powerhouse of the world, has its advantages to say the least. And many Slovak people end up traveling there (or more often to somewhere in the United Kingdom, because it’s closer) to improve their English and to earn money. However, living in America also has definite disadvantages, especially in comparison to Slovakia. They have no idea about our problems with money, with health care (they are required to leave work for weeks at a time when they’re ill, and are paid for it), with maternity leave (we have a few months, they have 4 years, and they’re paid basic living expenses during that time and are guaranteed their job back), with retirement, and that it costs THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of dollars for higher education (their universities/colleges are government funded, and practically free). I’m glad I was able to inform them of the realities of living in the U.S., and to inform them that people work REALLY hard, and things are still difficult.
“AMERICA IS JUST LIKE EVERYTHING WE SEE IN THE MOVIES.” And how scary is this! I’ve gotten many questions like, “Is it true that in American schools, all of the girls like guys who play sports?” (Slovakia has NO organized sports, music programs, or any kind of groups or organizations as part of school) and “Is it true that you guys have REALLY BIG parties where people hang out of houses, and have really loud music, and puke on front yards?” Haha! Um, well of course there is some truth to most of the things they see in movies, but of course it’s not the “do and say all” of American ways. And how do we defend those stereotypes when they keep popping up OVER and OVER in movies? And our movie industry is THEIR movie industry. They watch mostly American movies here, because Slovakia has almost NO money to create their own industries for film, music, television, etc.
People have said, “Oh yeah, HALLOWEEN! Where you dress up in costumes! I saw that in the movies!” and (while looking at pictures of our house in Westbrook) “Your house looks exactly like a typical American house in the movies!” I think it’s scary how many assumptions opinions they have formed/can form about our country, because of movies and SO much more. The U.S. gets the most attention in the world, as far as the entertainment business goes, and political news, amongst other things.
*I will continue with the second part of this, sometime in the future!
Until next time... :-)
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Car Wash Capades
“So after school today, I need to run a few errands. And then we need to go to the car wash, because this car is disgusting.”
Usually once a week I help my friend Zuzka teach English classes in the neighboring village, Liptovsky Hradok. She is an amazing teacher, and tackling around 25 English classes a week, for the Electronic Engineering School (550 boys and 30 girls). Her English is amazing, she’s so sharp, and she is the perfect person to teach in an almost all boy high school. She has a great sense of humor, is patient, and isn’t afraid to sass them and whip them into shape (not to mention whack them in the back of the head when they joke around too much. Love it! And the boys do too).
Anyways, one Friday after classes we went into town and ran some errands, stopped at the ATM, went to the Christian bookstore, went to the grocery shop. Our last stop was the gas station out by the school, so we could go through the car wash.
“Ok, I’ll be back. I’m going to go pay for this, and hopefully he’ll give me directions on what to do.” And then she made the “yikes” face (the one we make together, you know Mom what I’m talking about…). I then realized that she’d never done this before, and was a bit uneasy about the whole process. (She later told me that car washes were a pretty new thing in Slovakia, and that they’d only been around for 5 or 6 years.) I was a bit surprised it was her first time, because of the casualness in her voice before, “Oh yeah, we’re just going to run through the car wash, ok?”
She came back out, looking a bit nervous. We crept up to the big door and it opened its white SLOVNAFT door slowly.
“Ok. Ok. Do you think I can go??”
“Yeah I think so. The door’s all the way open. Go ahead.” Plus, the clerk guy was standing there, staring at us blankly.
We parked in the middle and the door growled loudly behind us as it sealed against the concrete. Silence.
“Ok, what now?”
I just chuckled a bit. And then suddenly we were in business! The wash started to go, rinsing us off first. And then….THEN…the giant blue sweeper brushes swallowed our car. And everything went dark. And Zuzka freaked out.
“AAH!!!” She let out a shriek and grabbed my arm. She continued to shriek/laugh for almost a minute after that. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was so fun and childlike, and it made my day. I’m pretty glad I able to be there with her to share her first car wash experience. Thinking about it now still makes me smile. Again, it's all about the small things.
“Do you think your boys would like this?” I asked. Her two sons, Marek and Radko, are 7 and 4.
Her eyes got popped open at the thought, and she started to giggle mischievously.
So, will I get to be there for Marek and Radko’s first car wash experiences? I hope so! :-) Stay tuned.
Usually once a week I help my friend Zuzka teach English classes in the neighboring village, Liptovsky Hradok. She is an amazing teacher, and tackling around 25 English classes a week, for the Electronic Engineering School (550 boys and 30 girls). Her English is amazing, she’s so sharp, and she is the perfect person to teach in an almost all boy high school. She has a great sense of humor, is patient, and isn’t afraid to sass them and whip them into shape (not to mention whack them in the back of the head when they joke around too much. Love it! And the boys do too).
Anyways, one Friday after classes we went into town and ran some errands, stopped at the ATM, went to the Christian bookstore, went to the grocery shop. Our last stop was the gas station out by the school, so we could go through the car wash.
“Ok, I’ll be back. I’m going to go pay for this, and hopefully he’ll give me directions on what to do.” And then she made the “yikes” face (the one we make together, you know Mom what I’m talking about…). I then realized that she’d never done this before, and was a bit uneasy about the whole process. (She later told me that car washes were a pretty new thing in Slovakia, and that they’d only been around for 5 or 6 years.) I was a bit surprised it was her first time, because of the casualness in her voice before, “Oh yeah, we’re just going to run through the car wash, ok?”
She came back out, looking a bit nervous. We crept up to the big door and it opened its white SLOVNAFT door slowly.
“Ok. Ok. Do you think I can go??”
“Yeah I think so. The door’s all the way open. Go ahead.” Plus, the clerk guy was standing there, staring at us blankly.
We parked in the middle and the door growled loudly behind us as it sealed against the concrete. Silence.
“Ok, what now?”
I just chuckled a bit. And then suddenly we were in business! The wash started to go, rinsing us off first. And then….THEN…the giant blue sweeper brushes swallowed our car. And everything went dark. And Zuzka freaked out.
“AAH!!!” She let out a shriek and grabbed my arm. She continued to shriek/laugh for almost a minute after that. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was so fun and childlike, and it made my day. I’m pretty glad I able to be there with her to share her first car wash experience. Thinking about it now still makes me smile. Again, it's all about the small things.
“Do you think your boys would like this?” I asked. Her two sons, Marek and Radko, are 7 and 4.
Her eyes got popped open at the thought, and she started to giggle mischievously.
So, will I get to be there for Marek and Radko’s first car wash experiences? I hope so! :-) Stay tuned.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Death to the "TO DO" Lists
I recently finished reading “A Simple Path” by Mother Teresa, and found these quotes that I’d like to share with you.
“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results.”
“There is value to it. Being with someone, listening without a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love.”
“The more we can remove this priority for results the more we can learn about the contemplative element of love. “
-The following are words from Brother Geoff, General Servant of the Missionaries of Charity Brothers
This section definitely jumped out at me as I read through it. So true, I kept thinking to myself. I have been struggling with this quite a bit during my time in Slovakia. This all goes back to the basic idea of mission work that we focused on in orientation: accompaniment. My time here has been all about accompaniment, experiencing a different lifestyle WITH others, being in the church community, being part of a family here in Hybe. Just being. Jumping from my college life to this experience has been challenging in quite a few ways, one being this transition from constantly producing “results” to just being.
My time in Hybe has been quite busy, and exceptionally busier than my time in Koseca, as far as being involved with different aspects of the community. But still, I feel this restlessness. I miss college, and I’m having a difficult time adjusting. And I can’t help it. Besides the obvious aspects (like being around people that speak and understand the same language as I do), I miss having deadlines. I miss being REQUIRED to finish papers and exams. I miss the feeling I had after finishing a new piece of writing for one of my writing workshops, and getting responses for them. And grades. And professor critiques. I miss it all. And I wish it were easier for me to simply be satisfied with just “being,” but the truth is that it’s not. It’s hard, but I’m trying every day. It’s so difficult, because I tried for four years to get my act together, to use my time efficiently, to make money for tuition, to PRODUCE results in almost every aspect of my life. And in the midst of amazing experiences here in Slovakia, amongst fantastic people, at times I still feel very unproductive. It’s not that I don’t see the value in the time spent just “being,” I absolutely do. But I still have this discontentment sometimes. This is pretty frustrating. Admittedly, this unproductive feeling that eats at me sometimes is one of the driving forces behind my blog writing. (Although definitely not the ONLY reason. I thank God for the ambition/ability to write.)
At many different points during my time in Hybe, I admit I’ve made “To Do” lists (yes, I’m one of those people…yet I don’t always accomplish the things on the list. It just feels good to make them). These lists contain things that are usually completely pointless, in comparison to the importance of just spending time with my host family, sitting in a church service with the youth group, etc. I’ve found myself writing small tasks on the list, just for the purpose of being able to cross something off my list, because MAN, does it feel good to cross things off the list sometimes. My need to cross things off the list is currently very frustrating. I don’t know if I’m really a person that NEEDS to produce “results” (I hope to not be like this), or if it’s just part of my transition from college to reality.
I guess my purpose for writing this blog entry (besides my need to communicate this to all of you, and to get my feelings out on “paper”) is to ask a prayer request of you. I ask that you please pray for my patience and contentment with just “being,” so that I can get rid of the “To Do” lists, because I’m driving myself a bit crazy with them.
Thank you, as always, for your support!!! For reading my thoughts, for your prayers, for everything. I am incredibly grateful. Words can’t express.
Until next time…
“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results.”
“There is value to it. Being with someone, listening without a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love.”
“The more we can remove this priority for results the more we can learn about the contemplative element of love. “
-The following are words from Brother Geoff, General Servant of the Missionaries of Charity Brothers
This section definitely jumped out at me as I read through it. So true, I kept thinking to myself. I have been struggling with this quite a bit during my time in Slovakia. This all goes back to the basic idea of mission work that we focused on in orientation: accompaniment. My time here has been all about accompaniment, experiencing a different lifestyle WITH others, being in the church community, being part of a family here in Hybe. Just being. Jumping from my college life to this experience has been challenging in quite a few ways, one being this transition from constantly producing “results” to just being.
My time in Hybe has been quite busy, and exceptionally busier than my time in Koseca, as far as being involved with different aspects of the community. But still, I feel this restlessness. I miss college, and I’m having a difficult time adjusting. And I can’t help it. Besides the obvious aspects (like being around people that speak and understand the same language as I do), I miss having deadlines. I miss being REQUIRED to finish papers and exams. I miss the feeling I had after finishing a new piece of writing for one of my writing workshops, and getting responses for them. And grades. And professor critiques. I miss it all. And I wish it were easier for me to simply be satisfied with just “being,” but the truth is that it’s not. It’s hard, but I’m trying every day. It’s so difficult, because I tried for four years to get my act together, to use my time efficiently, to make money for tuition, to PRODUCE results in almost every aspect of my life. And in the midst of amazing experiences here in Slovakia, amongst fantastic people, at times I still feel very unproductive. It’s not that I don’t see the value in the time spent just “being,” I absolutely do. But I still have this discontentment sometimes. This is pretty frustrating. Admittedly, this unproductive feeling that eats at me sometimes is one of the driving forces behind my blog writing. (Although definitely not the ONLY reason. I thank God for the ambition/ability to write.)
At many different points during my time in Hybe, I admit I’ve made “To Do” lists (yes, I’m one of those people…yet I don’t always accomplish the things on the list. It just feels good to make them). These lists contain things that are usually completely pointless, in comparison to the importance of just spending time with my host family, sitting in a church service with the youth group, etc. I’ve found myself writing small tasks on the list, just for the purpose of being able to cross something off my list, because MAN, does it feel good to cross things off the list sometimes. My need to cross things off the list is currently very frustrating. I don’t know if I’m really a person that NEEDS to produce “results” (I hope to not be like this), or if it’s just part of my transition from college to reality.
I guess my purpose for writing this blog entry (besides my need to communicate this to all of you, and to get my feelings out on “paper”) is to ask a prayer request of you. I ask that you please pray for my patience and contentment with just “being,” so that I can get rid of the “To Do” lists, because I’m driving myself a bit crazy with them.
Thank you, as always, for your support!!! For reading my thoughts, for your prayers, for everything. I am incredibly grateful. Words can’t express.
Until next time…
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Slimacik Babetko
As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, my host sister Katka loves fish and had 9 of them in a tank in the kitchen. She added four new fish to the tank during my first week here and was so proud of them! She also had a snail, which she so graciously let me name. Within another week, she got another snail to add to the tank, and let me name that as well! SO, I chose to name them Fred (formally Fred Flinstone, but was soon after changed to Fred Murtz) and Lucy Ball (both after the tv show I Love Lucy). So we had this big happy fish tank family! But then....
One of them died. And then another one died. And another. And another. (I felt pretty bad for Katka, she was quite sad. And they had to die ONE at time so she was sad about it for like 6 different days within 2 weeks or so). So, the four new fish and the five old fish that she'd had for months before, everyone dead. EXCEPT the snails! Of course, the small little lumps of brown that don't do anything are left to man the entire tank by themselves. So I guess they were feeling lonely and wanted some company to fill the void that "Rachel, Jacob and crew" left. So one day I came back home from the shop and Katka and Janka both were like, "Look! Come look!"
They brought me into the kitchen.
"See all those black spots?"
"Yes." (I assumed the tank was just dirty, they hadn't cleaned it out in awhile.)
"Those are snail babies!" (slimacik babetko)
Eww. Fred and Lucy had babies!! LOTS of babies! After we laughed and discussed it for awhile, I learned that snails are hermaphrodites. I didn't know this before (maybe I didn't pay attention in science classes, maybe I knew and then forgot, maybe I just never really gave the reproductive habits of snails much thought...) So not only did Lucy have snail babies, but Fred did too. Quite funny, everyone laughed a lot. But I was a bit grossed out. And even further disgusted that they just left the tank as is, (and that was almost about three weeks ago) and the snails are probably still reproducing as we speak. Gross.
Anyways, on a much less disgusting note.....
HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!! :)
I hope you all have a blessed Easter!! May it be filled with peace and love! And hopefully less snail reproduction than mine :) Hehe. I'll post again soon about my Slovak Easter celebration!
Peace,
Ashley
One of them died. And then another one died. And another. And another. (I felt pretty bad for Katka, she was quite sad. And they had to die ONE at time so she was sad about it for like 6 different days within 2 weeks or so). So, the four new fish and the five old fish that she'd had for months before, everyone dead. EXCEPT the snails! Of course, the small little lumps of brown that don't do anything are left to man the entire tank by themselves. So I guess they were feeling lonely and wanted some company to fill the void that "Rachel, Jacob and crew" left. So one day I came back home from the shop and Katka and Janka both were like, "Look! Come look!"
They brought me into the kitchen.
"See all those black spots?"
"Yes." (I assumed the tank was just dirty, they hadn't cleaned it out in awhile.)
"Those are snail babies!" (slimacik babetko)
Eww. Fred and Lucy had babies!! LOTS of babies! After we laughed and discussed it for awhile, I learned that snails are hermaphrodites. I didn't know this before (maybe I didn't pay attention in science classes, maybe I knew and then forgot, maybe I just never really gave the reproductive habits of snails much thought...) So not only did Lucy have snail babies, but Fred did too. Quite funny, everyone laughed a lot. But I was a bit grossed out. And even further disgusted that they just left the tank as is, (and that was almost about three weeks ago) and the snails are probably still reproducing as we speak. Gross.
Anyways, on a much less disgusting note.....
HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!! :)
I hope you all have a blessed Easter!! May it be filled with peace and love! And hopefully less snail reproduction than mine :) Hehe. I'll post again soon about my Slovak Easter celebration!
Peace,
Ashley
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sara
So there’s this little girl in my life named Sara. She is wonderful. I don’t even know if there are words to express how much I enjoy her, how much she brightens my days.
I think she is my angel. Whenever I’m mixed in a crazy church activity with teenagers who are worried about chemistry tests, or with adults who are too nervous to try to talk to me because they can’t speak English, or with parents who are chasing their toddlers around, she swoops in. There have been many difficult times where I’ve felt so overwhelmed by the language barrier or a situation, and I’ve just quietly pulled myself out of the situation. And she notices, when everybody else is wrapped up in the craziness of the situation. She sees me, and comes to me and smiles. I feel such a special connection to her. God reaches out to me through this amazing 4 year old. And she’s so smart! She’ll just start rambling in Slovak, and sometimes I understand, but more often I don’t. As soon as she sees “the look” of confusion on my face, she stops and says, “you don’t understand?” And I just shake my head no and smile. She smiles back with a “nevermind” and we move on. She understands that I’m a foreigner and that I speak a different language, yet it doesn’t discourage her at all from wanting to communicate with me.
I’ve met people of all kinds and ages since I came to Slovakia, but the easiest to connect to have been kids. They are usually so happy and bright, fresh and curious. They accept me without question. They aren’t held back because of nervousness with the language barrier, and they have no preconceived notions of what a foreigner is or how they should react to someone different from them. They simply like me just because I like them. Just a little smile builds a bond so quickly. They constantly remind me to keep things simple and to keep up a Godly attitude of acceptance. SO refreshing. I am so grateful for them, and thank them. And especially Sara, because she makes me smile so much every time I see her.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
February Newsletter
Hello everybody! Wow, the month of February was a busy one, it flew by really quickly!! It was another month of adjustments for me, almost like another September, getting familiar with all of the new wonderful people in my life at my new placement. I’ve been really blessed here in Hybe, and am thankful for everyone and for all of the new adventures I’ve had this month.
To kick off the month, I was formally invited to “Ples rodicov a priatelov Zakladnej skoly v Hybiach”, also known to everyone in the community as simply “Ples.” This is the formal dinner and dance party held every year for friends and family members of the Hybe School. My first few weeks helping with English at the school went well, and the teachers warmed up to me quite quickly! They invited me to Ples during my second week of teaching, and I accepted (not really knowing what it was). When I told me host family later that evening, they shrieked in excitement and my sister Katka ran to get her ball gown. I didn’t realize the event was formal (dress/suit and tie formal). When the night of the ball came, my host mom and sisters were CRAZY excited to dress me up. I was their Barbie doll for the evening. They ran around the house, yelling “SHE NEEDS A PURSE! SHE NEEDS EARRINGS! WHERE IS THE GOOD PERFUME?!?” My host sister did my hair and put me in her formal graduation party dress and pointy white dress shoes (both of which I would never wear at home). It was the first time in my life I’ve carried a glittery purse, worn a shiny pink shawl, and worn so much make-up that I could’ve scraped it off in layers, but it was a really fun bonding experience for me with my host mom and sisters. The ball was a really fun time! It was fun to see everyone all dressed up. The oldest students from the Hybe School wore matching dresses and suit/tie combos, and performed a few dance numbers to open the ball. After that, the dancing and celebrating began! At midnight they served cabbage soup, as they traditionally do every year. Enjoyable night for all!
Another highlight for the month was the youth group’s trip to Orava (a little city in the mountains, about 70 kilometers from Hybe). We (myself and 11 others) went up to stay in Adrianka’s (pastor’s wife) brother’s cabin in the woods. The scenery there was beautiful, and the cabin was secluded and quiet. It was a bit insane at times, spending four days in a little cabin with 11 teenagers who don’t speak a lot of English, but it was a great experience all in all. I ended up connecting with some of the kids more, so I’m thankful for that time. Some of the things we did: Had worship, played guitar and sang, cooked soup, made snowmen, read and relaxed, played games, had theme discussions on youth in pubs/disco clubs, homosexuality, love and relationships, and the Holocaust (they were roughly translated for me later, so I got something out of them), and watched movies. We watched some movies in the Czech language (because Slovak subtitles on films are rarely available, and the Czech language is so similar to Slovak that all of the Slovak people can understand Czech). We even watched a movie in English, and I tried to translate for them! Ha! That wasn’t a booming success, but I did get a few things across and it was pretty exciting when they understood.
In the middle of the month, the other volunteers and I decided that we wanted to plan a weekend to get together and visit each other’s placements (since I am not terribly far away from two of the other volunteers). We met together on a Friday in Velky Slavkov (a small village about 30 kilometers from Hybe, where we had our language training classes back in September) to visit Kristen and Jessica at their placement. They work at a center for gypsy boys (around the ages of 18-24) planning activities, helping in the center’s kitchen, teaching English and swimming, running Bible studies, and more. We even got to get in on an English lesson on Friday evening when we were there and hang out with some of the boys a bit. I’m really enjoying seeing the other volunteers’ placements and getting to experience them a bit first-hand. I’m glad we all think it’s important to visit each other during the year and get a feel for what each other’s lives are like. On Saturday I took the volunteers back here to Hybe to have dinner and sleep over at my host family’s house. My host family was REALLY excited to have 5 Americans visiting, and they learned the name and location of each volunteer's home state. They also came with me to church the next morning. We went up in front during the service and introduced ourselves, and where we were staying for the year! The pastor was excited that everyone was in Hybe together and requested that we sing a song during church, so we sang, “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” I thought it would be a good choice because the youth group in Hybe also sings the song (in Slovak and English), so they knew it and could follow along with it. It was a really great weekend, and as always, I enjoyed spending time with my fellow YAGM’s.
While the month was full of great events, it was a challenging month for me as well. After becoming familiar and independent after four months in my old placement, it was difficult to go back to square one, new cities and villages, new bus and train routes and schedules, new methods of doing things, new lifestyles, and more. The transition, from living practically alone to living with a host family, has been intense at times because I’m confronted with the language barrier all day and every day. Also, this is the halfway point for my year and the realities of life after my year of service have started to hit me. What will I do next year? Where will I find a job? How will I deal with readjustment back in the U.S.? How will I process this year of volunteer experience after it’s finished? God only knows. For now I’m just trying to live life day-by-day here (which has proved to be challenging at times), trying to stay in the moment. Dealing with these challenges has helped me to become a more patient and tolerant person, and for that I am grateful.
So the question to address for this month’s newsletter was a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would choose small pieces of the questions to reflect on a bit.
“Theologian Kathryn Tanner argues that Christians form a ‘separate’ group within the wider culture by virtue of how we see ourselves in an intimate relationship with God. But, God’s grace finds us as no more deserving than others outside the Christian community, she says. While Christian identity can lead to lives of peace and love; and we believe that the power of the grace of Christ transforms human lives; can we really congratulate ourselves on the possession of some unique perfection?”
I think this is a really good point, and was glad to see such an important reflection question pop up in my newsletter email. I think the answer to the question is no, that we can’t congratulate ourselves on some unique perfection, because we are in no way perfect. We are all human, and we are sinful. Some of the best friends I’ve had in my life have been Christian. And some of the best friends in my life have not been Christian. I don’t feel that I am any more deserving, or any better than them. I think we all struggle in life, and everyone is at different stages in their faith walks (or not on faith walks at all), and it is reality. I think that people understand things differently. They understand the idea of a family differently. They understand other parts of the world differently. They understand societal duties differently. They understand God differently. God made us all to be different. Christians come in all shapes and sizes, different bodies, minds, gifts and abilities. I believe that my job as a Christian is to love and accept all of them to the best of my ability, regardless of their ideas or beliefs.
This leads into another question asked, “Is there or should there be a distinct Christian ‘culture’ vis-à-vis the world around us?” I believe the answer is no. If God made us all to be different, and put us in different parts of the world with different beliefs and/or ideas, I don’t see how it’s possible for one distinct Christian ‘culture’ to exist. I say accept differences, and embrace them, because differences are what make God’s world and people interesting. What should be the basic common thread amongst Christians? LOVE God. LOVE each other.
And another question, “Where do we as a church stand in our societies?” I believe that the purpose of the church, of God’s house, is not to seclude ourselves into a ‘separate’ group, but to create a foundation. This foundation is solidity and comfort fellow Christians seek, in order to meet fellow Christians and find more inspiration needed to go out and live their lives in the way God intended, and to shine as His examples. The purpose of the church is to invite and to welcome, not to seclude.
These questions are important, and a lot to think about! Hopefully you followed my thoughts alright, they were a bit difficult to organize with all of the questions to ponder. Ok, thank you VERY much for reading, for checking out my blog, for all of your support!! I appreciate it more than I can express!
Until next time,
Ashley
To kick off the month, I was formally invited to “Ples rodicov a priatelov Zakladnej skoly v Hybiach”, also known to everyone in the community as simply “Ples.” This is the formal dinner and dance party held every year for friends and family members of the Hybe School. My first few weeks helping with English at the school went well, and the teachers warmed up to me quite quickly! They invited me to Ples during my second week of teaching, and I accepted (not really knowing what it was). When I told me host family later that evening, they shrieked in excitement and my sister Katka ran to get her ball gown. I didn’t realize the event was formal (dress/suit and tie formal). When the night of the ball came, my host mom and sisters were CRAZY excited to dress me up. I was their Barbie doll for the evening. They ran around the house, yelling “SHE NEEDS A PURSE! SHE NEEDS EARRINGS! WHERE IS THE GOOD PERFUME?!?” My host sister did my hair and put me in her formal graduation party dress and pointy white dress shoes (both of which I would never wear at home). It was the first time in my life I’ve carried a glittery purse, worn a shiny pink shawl, and worn so much make-up that I could’ve scraped it off in layers, but it was a really fun bonding experience for me with my host mom and sisters. The ball was a really fun time! It was fun to see everyone all dressed up. The oldest students from the Hybe School wore matching dresses and suit/tie combos, and performed a few dance numbers to open the ball. After that, the dancing and celebrating began! At midnight they served cabbage soup, as they traditionally do every year. Enjoyable night for all!
Another highlight for the month was the youth group’s trip to Orava (a little city in the mountains, about 70 kilometers from Hybe). We (myself and 11 others) went up to stay in Adrianka’s (pastor’s wife) brother’s cabin in the woods. The scenery there was beautiful, and the cabin was secluded and quiet. It was a bit insane at times, spending four days in a little cabin with 11 teenagers who don’t speak a lot of English, but it was a great experience all in all. I ended up connecting with some of the kids more, so I’m thankful for that time. Some of the things we did: Had worship, played guitar and sang, cooked soup, made snowmen, read and relaxed, played games, had theme discussions on youth in pubs/disco clubs, homosexuality, love and relationships, and the Holocaust (they were roughly translated for me later, so I got something out of them), and watched movies. We watched some movies in the Czech language (because Slovak subtitles on films are rarely available, and the Czech language is so similar to Slovak that all of the Slovak people can understand Czech). We even watched a movie in English, and I tried to translate for them! Ha! That wasn’t a booming success, but I did get a few things across and it was pretty exciting when they understood.
In the middle of the month, the other volunteers and I decided that we wanted to plan a weekend to get together and visit each other’s placements (since I am not terribly far away from two of the other volunteers). We met together on a Friday in Velky Slavkov (a small village about 30 kilometers from Hybe, where we had our language training classes back in September) to visit Kristen and Jessica at their placement. They work at a center for gypsy boys (around the ages of 18-24) planning activities, helping in the center’s kitchen, teaching English and swimming, running Bible studies, and more. We even got to get in on an English lesson on Friday evening when we were there and hang out with some of the boys a bit. I’m really enjoying seeing the other volunteers’ placements and getting to experience them a bit first-hand. I’m glad we all think it’s important to visit each other during the year and get a feel for what each other’s lives are like. On Saturday I took the volunteers back here to Hybe to have dinner and sleep over at my host family’s house. My host family was REALLY excited to have 5 Americans visiting, and they learned the name and location of each volunteer's home state. They also came with me to church the next morning. We went up in front during the service and introduced ourselves, and where we were staying for the year! The pastor was excited that everyone was in Hybe together and requested that we sing a song during church, so we sang, “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” I thought it would be a good choice because the youth group in Hybe also sings the song (in Slovak and English), so they knew it and could follow along with it. It was a really great weekend, and as always, I enjoyed spending time with my fellow YAGM’s.
While the month was full of great events, it was a challenging month for me as well. After becoming familiar and independent after four months in my old placement, it was difficult to go back to square one, new cities and villages, new bus and train routes and schedules, new methods of doing things, new lifestyles, and more. The transition, from living practically alone to living with a host family, has been intense at times because I’m confronted with the language barrier all day and every day. Also, this is the halfway point for my year and the realities of life after my year of service have started to hit me. What will I do next year? Where will I find a job? How will I deal with readjustment back in the U.S.? How will I process this year of volunteer experience after it’s finished? God only knows. For now I’m just trying to live life day-by-day here (which has proved to be challenging at times), trying to stay in the moment. Dealing with these challenges has helped me to become a more patient and tolerant person, and for that I am grateful.
So the question to address for this month’s newsletter was a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would choose small pieces of the questions to reflect on a bit.
“Theologian Kathryn Tanner argues that Christians form a ‘separate’ group within the wider culture by virtue of how we see ourselves in an intimate relationship with God. But, God’s grace finds us as no more deserving than others outside the Christian community, she says. While Christian identity can lead to lives of peace and love; and we believe that the power of the grace of Christ transforms human lives; can we really congratulate ourselves on the possession of some unique perfection?”
I think this is a really good point, and was glad to see such an important reflection question pop up in my newsletter email. I think the answer to the question is no, that we can’t congratulate ourselves on some unique perfection, because we are in no way perfect. We are all human, and we are sinful. Some of the best friends I’ve had in my life have been Christian. And some of the best friends in my life have not been Christian. I don’t feel that I am any more deserving, or any better than them. I think we all struggle in life, and everyone is at different stages in their faith walks (or not on faith walks at all), and it is reality. I think that people understand things differently. They understand the idea of a family differently. They understand other parts of the world differently. They understand societal duties differently. They understand God differently. God made us all to be different. Christians come in all shapes and sizes, different bodies, minds, gifts and abilities. I believe that my job as a Christian is to love and accept all of them to the best of my ability, regardless of their ideas or beliefs.
This leads into another question asked, “Is there or should there be a distinct Christian ‘culture’ vis-à-vis the world around us?” I believe the answer is no. If God made us all to be different, and put us in different parts of the world with different beliefs and/or ideas, I don’t see how it’s possible for one distinct Christian ‘culture’ to exist. I say accept differences, and embrace them, because differences are what make God’s world and people interesting. What should be the basic common thread amongst Christians? LOVE God. LOVE each other.
And another question, “Where do we as a church stand in our societies?” I believe that the purpose of the church, of God’s house, is not to seclude ourselves into a ‘separate’ group, but to create a foundation. This foundation is solidity and comfort fellow Christians seek, in order to meet fellow Christians and find more inspiration needed to go out and live their lives in the way God intended, and to shine as His examples. The purpose of the church is to invite and to welcome, not to seclude.
These questions are important, and a lot to think about! Hopefully you followed my thoughts alright, they were a bit difficult to organize with all of the questions to ponder. Ok, thank you VERY much for reading, for checking out my blog, for all of your support!! I appreciate it more than I can express!
Until next time,
Ashley
My Online Interview
*Here is a copy of the interview I did with my main contact person from the church (Zuzka), for the church's website! They have the interview posted on the website in both Slovak and English, and I would just paste the link here to bring you directly there. HOWEVER, they put a heinously unattractive picture of me on top of the interview that I would not appreciate everyone seeing. Ok, here it is. :-)
Q: Please introduce yourself and tell us exactly where you come from.
A: Hello, my name is Ashley Severson and I come from the U.S.A., from the state of Minnesota. The town in Minnesota I’m from is Westbrook, and I’m a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Westbrook, Minnesota.
Q: So how did you come to Slovakia? How did you get the opportunity to come here?
A: I decided that I wanted to spend a year through the volunteer program Young Adults in Global Mission, which is a missionary program through the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). The program sends volunteers to countries all over the world, but I wanted to come to Europe and was most interested in Slovakia. I could’ve been sent to England, Scotland, Ireland, or Germany, but I wanted to come to Slovakia because it is a smaller country that I didn’t know anything about. I wanted to learn more about Slovakia’s culture, and I was interested in trying to learn a new language.
Q: Ok, and how is your Slovak then?
A: When I first came to Slovakia in August, I took a two week course in the Slovak language and it was very difficult. I think Slovak’s grammar is more complicated than English’s grammar. I have a difficult time with pronounciation also, sounds like ť, ľ, ch and others. But my Slovak is getting better as I spend more time here. I can understand more than I can actually speak.
Q: When did you first arrive in Slovakia? Where was your first place of stay, and how did you end up in Hybe?
A: I came to Slovakia at the end of last August. I came with my four fellow American volunteers, and we spent three weeks in language classes and getting adjusted to the culture before going to our separate placements. My first placement was in Košeca, working at a Diakonia, center for elderly people, as well as teaching english at Obchodna Akademia school in Ilava. I was there until mid-January, and then my volunteer program decided to relocate me. I had many great experiences in Košeca, but communication was very difficult because the elderly people didn’t speak any English, and my Slovak wasn’t very good. I was also anxious to work with younger people, and to have more experiences within a village community, so I was sent to Hybe.
Q: What is your program here in Hybe? Are you enjoying your time here so far?
A: I am helping to teach at the primary school in Hybe two days a week, and once a week in the engineering school in Liptovský Hrádok. I also participate in activites in the Lutheran Evangelical church, such as children’s choir, community Bible study, youth group activities, and hanging out at Quo Vadis with kids from the community. Some plans I have for the future are: teaching the children short meal prayers, English songs, having simple conversations about religion with the youth, and teaching English conversation to people in the community at Quo Vadis. I am definitely enjoying my time here in Hybe! The people in the community have been very friendly and welcoming, and I am enjoying getting to know everyone.
Q: And where are you living in Hybe?
A: I am living with the Turčanová family: Jan, Jana, Katka, Janka and Starka Milka. I have my own room there that’s very nice. It’s very nice to have two host sisters about my age. It’s easier to communicate with them and they are very helpful. The whole family is very kind and I am thankful to be staying with them.
Q: How long will be staying Hybe?
A: I will be here until sometime in August, so I will stay here through most of the summer. I am enjoying the winter scenary, but really looking forward to warmer days here too! There is a very far distance between Slovakia and my home country, but we are all united in God. I’m very happy to be here, and to connect with God’s children on the other side of the world.
Q: Please introduce yourself and tell us exactly where you come from.
A: Hello, my name is Ashley Severson and I come from the U.S.A., from the state of Minnesota. The town in Minnesota I’m from is Westbrook, and I’m a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Westbrook, Minnesota.
Q: So how did you come to Slovakia? How did you get the opportunity to come here?
A: I decided that I wanted to spend a year through the volunteer program Young Adults in Global Mission, which is a missionary program through the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). The program sends volunteers to countries all over the world, but I wanted to come to Europe and was most interested in Slovakia. I could’ve been sent to England, Scotland, Ireland, or Germany, but I wanted to come to Slovakia because it is a smaller country that I didn’t know anything about. I wanted to learn more about Slovakia’s culture, and I was interested in trying to learn a new language.
Q: Ok, and how is your Slovak then?
A: When I first came to Slovakia in August, I took a two week course in the Slovak language and it was very difficult. I think Slovak’s grammar is more complicated than English’s grammar. I have a difficult time with pronounciation also, sounds like ť, ľ, ch and others. But my Slovak is getting better as I spend more time here. I can understand more than I can actually speak.
Q: When did you first arrive in Slovakia? Where was your first place of stay, and how did you end up in Hybe?
A: I came to Slovakia at the end of last August. I came with my four fellow American volunteers, and we spent three weeks in language classes and getting adjusted to the culture before going to our separate placements. My first placement was in Košeca, working at a Diakonia, center for elderly people, as well as teaching english at Obchodna Akademia school in Ilava. I was there until mid-January, and then my volunteer program decided to relocate me. I had many great experiences in Košeca, but communication was very difficult because the elderly people didn’t speak any English, and my Slovak wasn’t very good. I was also anxious to work with younger people, and to have more experiences within a village community, so I was sent to Hybe.
Q: What is your program here in Hybe? Are you enjoying your time here so far?
A: I am helping to teach at the primary school in Hybe two days a week, and once a week in the engineering school in Liptovský Hrádok. I also participate in activites in the Lutheran Evangelical church, such as children’s choir, community Bible study, youth group activities, and hanging out at Quo Vadis with kids from the community. Some plans I have for the future are: teaching the children short meal prayers, English songs, having simple conversations about religion with the youth, and teaching English conversation to people in the community at Quo Vadis. I am definitely enjoying my time here in Hybe! The people in the community have been very friendly and welcoming, and I am enjoying getting to know everyone.
Q: And where are you living in Hybe?
A: I am living with the Turčanová family: Jan, Jana, Katka, Janka and Starka Milka. I have my own room there that’s very nice. It’s very nice to have two host sisters about my age. It’s easier to communicate with them and they are very helpful. The whole family is very kind and I am thankful to be staying with them.
Q: How long will be staying Hybe?
A: I will be here until sometime in August, so I will stay here through most of the summer. I am enjoying the winter scenary, but really looking forward to warmer days here too! There is a very far distance between Slovakia and my home country, but we are all united in God. I’m very happy to be here, and to connect with God’s children on the other side of the world.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
the Slovak Language
I just thought this was interesting...
Here is the Wikipedia link for the page about the Slovak language. You can check this out if you're interested, and get a little taste of what I've been trying to learn and understand for the past seven months. Pretty crazy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_language
The page goes into great detail, and is a bit complicated and drawn out at parts. So, here are some of the basic highlights:
*The Slovak alphabet has all of the letters in the English alphabet, plus many additional dipthongs (two letters together that count as one letter) and other consonants with different types of accent marks.
*Adjectives, nouns, pronouns, and verbs change gender. Yikes!
*Slovak is very closely related to the Czech language, and is somewhat similar (and has been influenced by) the languages Czech, Hungarian, German, and Polish.
*Slovak is broken into four different dialects (the language is spoken differently, depending on which part of the country you live in). I've noticed a decent amount of differences from my first placement to my second placement. The people at my first placement spoke the Western Slovak dialect, and at my second placement the Central Slovak dialect.
Here is the Wikipedia link for the page about the Slovak language. You can check this out if you're interested, and get a little taste of what I've been trying to learn and understand for the past seven months. Pretty crazy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_language
The page goes into great detail, and is a bit complicated and drawn out at parts. So, here are some of the basic highlights:
*The Slovak alphabet has all of the letters in the English alphabet, plus many additional dipthongs (two letters together that count as one letter) and other consonants with different types of accent marks.
*Adjectives, nouns, pronouns, and verbs change gender. Yikes!
*Slovak is very closely related to the Czech language, and is somewhat similar (and has been influenced by) the languages Czech, Hungarian, German, and Polish.
*Slovak is broken into four different dialects (the language is spoken differently, depending on which part of the country you live in). I've noticed a decent amount of differences from my first placement to my second placement. The people at my first placement spoke the Western Slovak dialect, and at my second placement the Central Slovak dialect.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Photos :)
Click here to check out some of my pictures from Slovakia!
View Photo Album "Hodgepodge Slovakia": http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051458&l=07e06&id=184900177
View Photo Album "Slovensko and its Ludia": http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056728&l=a2f40&id=184900177
View Photo Album "Ashley and Chris do KOSECA!": http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056800&l=b7252&id=184900177
***Apologies for the lack of pictures thus far. I will make it up to you all. Here's a start!***
View Photo Album "Hodgepodge Slovakia": http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051458&l=07e06&id=184900177
View Photo Album "Slovensko and its Ludia": http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056728&l=a2f40&id=184900177
View Photo Album "Ashley and Chris do KOSECA!": http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056800&l=b7252&id=184900177
***Apologies for the lack of pictures thus far. I will make it up to you all. Here's a start!***
Redecorating!
SO, as you've probably noticed, my blog page looks different! I felt like I needed to spice it up a bit, and that it was time for a change. I will be adding more things also, so stay tuned.
I just got back from adult's choir practice at the church. A few weeks ago, the pastor asked me if I could help him. I said I would definitely join. I love music for SO MANY reasons, one being that I can participate and join in with the language barrier, no problem! And pastor said that was good, but he would like me to help each section practice their parts, and that he wanted me to play piano for them! It's been awhile since I've played and took lessons, but I agreed. It's been a pretty entertaining experience. It's pretty fun when things from the past come into play and become useful out of nowhere (like all my years of piano lessons). I think the adults enjoy that I play, even if it is just one hand to help them hear their different parts. I even say "tri, styri..." (which is 3,4....) to cue them in. Funny! :-) Hopefully I can continue to be useful for the choir. They're preparing two songs for Easter Sunday, both of which I already know (that's really helpful!) in English, so now I just need to learn the Slovak words. The titles of the two songs are: "Ja Viem, Zi Zije" and "Velka' Noc". Easter in Slovak, by the way, is "Velka Noc", which literally means Big Night.
P.S. Today I received a little package in the mail from the ELCA, and it was the Global Mission Annual for 2008! Exciting! There is information inside about all of ELCA's missionary and volunteer programs (Young Adults in Global Mission being just one of them), pictures of staff and all of the volunteers! It was pretty fun to look at. I will have it with me at future presentations/visits when I get back. :) I'd totally forgotten that they'd taken our pictures during orientation, and didn't even know why they did at the time. It's nice to see all of my fellow volunteers' faces again! My fellow YAGM's are in India, the Phillippines, Kenya, Germany, Slovakia, the United Kingdom (in Scotland and England), Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico.
So, I have a pray request! Please pray for:
*Beth, Rob and Laura in India
*Gretchen and Ralecia in Phillippines
*Sarah L.and Sarah W. in Kenya
*Vanessa and Toby in Germany
*Jessica, Kristen R., Mark, Mary, and myself in Slovakia
*Katherine A., Christina, Amy, Eric, Amanda, Crystal, Matt, Anthony, Kristin V., Amehed, Lindsey, Kelly, Maren, Candace, and Anna in the United Kingdom
*Kevin, Kristina D., Kristin D., Karin, Kim, and James in Argentina and Uruguay
*Katherine G., Jennifer, Jacob, Sarah R., and Winston in Mexico
Or, you could probably just pray for "all of the YAGM volunteers" :-) Thank you so much for all of your support!
*If you're interested you can check out the website: http://yagm.blogspot.com. There you will find blogs and newsletters of the other volunteers from each country, if you're interested in taking a look.
I just got back from adult's choir practice at the church. A few weeks ago, the pastor asked me if I could help him. I said I would definitely join. I love music for SO MANY reasons, one being that I can participate and join in with the language barrier, no problem! And pastor said that was good, but he would like me to help each section practice their parts, and that he wanted me to play piano for them! It's been awhile since I've played and took lessons, but I agreed. It's been a pretty entertaining experience. It's pretty fun when things from the past come into play and become useful out of nowhere (like all my years of piano lessons). I think the adults enjoy that I play, even if it is just one hand to help them hear their different parts. I even say "tri, styri..." (which is 3,4....) to cue them in. Funny! :-) Hopefully I can continue to be useful for the choir. They're preparing two songs for Easter Sunday, both of which I already know (that's really helpful!) in English, so now I just need to learn the Slovak words. The titles of the two songs are: "Ja Viem, Zi Zije" and "Velka' Noc". Easter in Slovak, by the way, is "Velka Noc", which literally means Big Night.
P.S. Today I received a little package in the mail from the ELCA, and it was the Global Mission Annual for 2008! Exciting! There is information inside about all of ELCA's missionary and volunteer programs (Young Adults in Global Mission being just one of them), pictures of staff and all of the volunteers! It was pretty fun to look at. I will have it with me at future presentations/visits when I get back. :) I'd totally forgotten that they'd taken our pictures during orientation, and didn't even know why they did at the time. It's nice to see all of my fellow volunteers' faces again! My fellow YAGM's are in India, the Phillippines, Kenya, Germany, Slovakia, the United Kingdom (in Scotland and England), Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico.
So, I have a pray request! Please pray for:
*Beth, Rob and Laura in India
*Gretchen and Ralecia in Phillippines
*Sarah L.and Sarah W. in Kenya
*Vanessa and Toby in Germany
*Jessica, Kristen R., Mark, Mary, and myself in Slovakia
*Katherine A., Christina, Amy, Eric, Amanda, Crystal, Matt, Anthony, Kristin V., Amehed, Lindsey, Kelly, Maren, Candace, and Anna in the United Kingdom
*Kevin, Kristina D., Kristin D., Karin, Kim, and James in Argentina and Uruguay
*Katherine G., Jennifer, Jacob, Sarah R., and Winston in Mexico
Or, you could probably just pray for "all of the YAGM volunteers" :-) Thank you so much for all of your support!
*If you're interested you can check out the website: http://yagm.blogspot.com. There you will find blogs and newsletters of the other volunteers from each country, if you're interested in taking a look.
Monday, March 3, 2008
My Host Family
Hi everybody! Apologies for not keeping up with my blog very well lately. I promise to get much better, and to write more regularily. Ok! :-)
So one of the greatest parts of being at my new placement is my host family! That aren't words to express how happy I feel that I belong somewhere, and that I have people that really care about me and who have welcomed me into their family SO openly! I much appreciate the deeper experiences I'm getting with them because of living here, with the language, food, different aspects of the culture, everything.
So here I will just update you on each member of my host family!
Jana (host mom): She is SO sweet! She keeps close tabs on me and calls me daughter with her two other real daughters. She constantly checks on me, if I'm hungry or cold (and even when I say no, she comes over to me and covers me up with a blanket anyway...). She has learned a bunch of words and phrases in english for me, and it is really funny! :) She tells me I'm very skillful and gets really excited whenever I help her do chores around the house. She is a pretty hyper person, and talks really fast because she gets excited (even my english speaking contact person said that she has a hard time understanding her, in SLOVAK, because she speaks so fast). It was difficult in the beginning to communicate because of this, but it's getting better now. She is learning to adjust to my speed and understanding level with the language, and writing things down in a little notebook she has. And she has a dinner song that she sings and is determined to teach me, which is awesome.
Jan (host dad): He is also very sweet! He is a quiet and smiley guy. He works quite a bit and isn't around all of the time, but when he is he always makes the effort to pop his head into whatever room I'm in and say "ciao ashley!" He's pretty patient. I felt a bit bad in the beginning, because the man lives with his wife, mother, and two daughters, and I was YET ANOTHER girl to add to the household (and his two sisters are here every day to visit). But he handles it like a trooper. Him and Jana took me shopping a few weekends ago and told me that they wanted to buy me pajamahs as a gift. The only stipulation was that they had to have animals on them, so they would match my sisters' elephant pajamahs. HAHA! We like to match here in the Turcanova household. And so I am now the proud owner of blue zebra pajamahs.
Starka (a.k.a. Grandma): She is pretty feisty! She can be pretty funny sometimes, even though we don't really understand each other a lot of the time. The other day we were having coffee together (me, mom, grandma, and sisters), and I left the room for a few minutes and while I was gone Starka put sugar in my coffee! She did it on purpose, because she knows I hate it, but she thinks I need more sugar (and more of everything for that matter). Sneaky Starka! She laughed a lot at my face when I took the first sip and made a terrible face. She is constantly telling me, "YOU DON'T EAT ENOUGH! YOU DON'T SLEEP ENOUGH!" According to her, I don't eat enough, or the right things, and I dont wear slippers like I'm supposed to, and I don't wear enough clothes, or the right clothes, and I should wear hats, and use umbrellas, etc. The list is quite long. Sometimes we struggle seeing eye-to-eye, because our relationship faces not only a cultural barrier, but a big generation/age barrier as well. But we do okay.
Katka (older host sister): Katka tries SO hard to improve her english! And I'm impressed at how much she's improved already since I got here, so I'm excited to see her at the end of this summer! She's very sweet too, and GIGGLES a lot. She has a really fun high pitched cackle-type giggle that makes me laugh. We both like to dance, and we both like to exercise. I'm really excited for spring time, because we have plans to go jogging together!! Should be great :-)
Janka (younger host sister): I have a great time attempting english conversations with Janka! It's usually the two of us together, because she speaks the best english of anybody in the family. And she also has tried to learn a lot for me, and I'm very grateful for that!! I love Janka's attitude and sense of humor with things. When we're in the kitchen and mom or grandma starts talking about how we don't eat enough food, she is the one who rolls her eyes and is like "LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE'S NOT HUNGRY!" I love it. She watches out for me. Also, her and I both like to read. One of my favorite things to do is sit in the kitchen and read with her (when there's actually enough silence to concentrate...which isn't often). She loves Harry Potter. She is currently trying to read one of the books I borrowed her, in english!
I will write again soon about more experiences with them! As well as some pictures!
So one of the greatest parts of being at my new placement is my host family! That aren't words to express how happy I feel that I belong somewhere, and that I have people that really care about me and who have welcomed me into their family SO openly! I much appreciate the deeper experiences I'm getting with them because of living here, with the language, food, different aspects of the culture, everything.
So here I will just update you on each member of my host family!
Jana (host mom): She is SO sweet! She keeps close tabs on me and calls me daughter with her two other real daughters. She constantly checks on me, if I'm hungry or cold (and even when I say no, she comes over to me and covers me up with a blanket anyway...). She has learned a bunch of words and phrases in english for me, and it is really funny! :) She tells me I'm very skillful and gets really excited whenever I help her do chores around the house. She is a pretty hyper person, and talks really fast because she gets excited (even my english speaking contact person said that she has a hard time understanding her, in SLOVAK, because she speaks so fast). It was difficult in the beginning to communicate because of this, but it's getting better now. She is learning to adjust to my speed and understanding level with the language, and writing things down in a little notebook she has. And she has a dinner song that she sings and is determined to teach me, which is awesome.
Jan (host dad): He is also very sweet! He is a quiet and smiley guy. He works quite a bit and isn't around all of the time, but when he is he always makes the effort to pop his head into whatever room I'm in and say "ciao ashley!" He's pretty patient. I felt a bit bad in the beginning, because the man lives with his wife, mother, and two daughters, and I was YET ANOTHER girl to add to the household (and his two sisters are here every day to visit). But he handles it like a trooper. Him and Jana took me shopping a few weekends ago and told me that they wanted to buy me pajamahs as a gift. The only stipulation was that they had to have animals on them, so they would match my sisters' elephant pajamahs. HAHA! We like to match here in the Turcanova household. And so I am now the proud owner of blue zebra pajamahs.
Starka (a.k.a. Grandma): She is pretty feisty! She can be pretty funny sometimes, even though we don't really understand each other a lot of the time. The other day we were having coffee together (me, mom, grandma, and sisters), and I left the room for a few minutes and while I was gone Starka put sugar in my coffee! She did it on purpose, because she knows I hate it, but she thinks I need more sugar (and more of everything for that matter). Sneaky Starka! She laughed a lot at my face when I took the first sip and made a terrible face. She is constantly telling me, "YOU DON'T EAT ENOUGH! YOU DON'T SLEEP ENOUGH!" According to her, I don't eat enough, or the right things, and I dont wear slippers like I'm supposed to, and I don't wear enough clothes, or the right clothes, and I should wear hats, and use umbrellas, etc. The list is quite long. Sometimes we struggle seeing eye-to-eye, because our relationship faces not only a cultural barrier, but a big generation/age barrier as well. But we do okay.
Katka (older host sister): Katka tries SO hard to improve her english! And I'm impressed at how much she's improved already since I got here, so I'm excited to see her at the end of this summer! She's very sweet too, and GIGGLES a lot. She has a really fun high pitched cackle-type giggle that makes me laugh. We both like to dance, and we both like to exercise. I'm really excited for spring time, because we have plans to go jogging together!! Should be great :-)
Janka (younger host sister): I have a great time attempting english conversations with Janka! It's usually the two of us together, because she speaks the best english of anybody in the family. And she also has tried to learn a lot for me, and I'm very grateful for that!! I love Janka's attitude and sense of humor with things. When we're in the kitchen and mom or grandma starts talking about how we don't eat enough food, she is the one who rolls her eyes and is like "LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE'S NOT HUNGRY!" I love it. She watches out for me. Also, her and I both like to read. One of my favorite things to do is sit in the kitchen and read with her (when there's actually enough silence to concentrate...which isn't often). She loves Harry Potter. She is currently trying to read one of the books I borrowed her, in english!
I will write again soon about more experiences with them! As well as some pictures!
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