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

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.