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Shauna Pintar is in
Slovakia for her Exchange Year of 2007 - 2008 |
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Greetings
from Slovakia
Read the FINAL Greeting from Slovakia
1
September 2008
Ahoj!
As you know, I am studying abroad this year through Rotary
Youth Exchange. After a rigorous interview and orientation process I was
chosen to spend my year abroad in the Country of Slovakia, which until
1993 was part of the country known as Czechoslovakia.
I departed the United States on August 14th and
arrived in Slovakia on August 16th. Because of safety in
numbers issues and many time zones which I had to fly through, I had a
total of (5) airport changes and a total transit time of just less than 36
hours. I flew from Las Vegas to Minneapolis and then on to Detroit. I
met up with another student outbound for Slovakia in Detroit and we flew
together to Amsterdam, then Prague, and into our final destination of
Zilina, Slovakia.
For the next three months, I will make my home with the
Krupinsky family in Lipovec. My father, Lubo, is a businessman. My
mother, Ida, is a pharmacist. My brother, Peter, was an exchange student
in Virginia in 2003/04. He currently attends University now and is only
home on the weekends. He is the only member of my family who is fluent in
English. I also have a little sister named Kate, who’s 9. Lipovec is a
small village with about 844 residents; however, I will be attending
school in the much large city of Martin which has a population of
approximately 60,000. School begins here on September 4th.
There is a nine hour time difference between Slovakia and
Ely. At 10:00 p.m. in Ely, it’s already the next day at 7:00 a.m. in
Slovakia. We are in the GMT time zone plus 1 hour. After three days of
rest and adjusting to the new time zone, I was whisked off to language
camp in Turany with all the other Rotary inbounds in Slovakia. At
language camp, which lasted for 10 days, we studied 56 compulsory language
lessons. During our breaks however, we were sightseeing as much as
possible. I visited a castle, the water park, and did some hiking between
classes. Slovakia is much greener than Ely so it was easy to just spend a
lot of time just exploring the view. At the end of language camp we
received certificates on our progress. I received a Vel’mi Dobre which
translates to a very good in Slovak. It was the highest award which was
given. I can easily pick up a few words in the conversation now…but my
Slovak remains a constant work in progress.
Not only have I been able to enjoy some of the sights in
Slovakia, I have been eating all kinds of new foods. In America, dairy
products come from cows; in Slovakia they come from sheep, i.e. sheep’s
milk and sheep’s cheese. They eat a lot of white meat here: chicken, pork
and fish. Not so much beef, although, you can order a hotdog or hamburger
when you eat out. So far, my personal favorite is similar to a mozzarella
stick. It is a fried sheep cheese which tastes AMAZING with ketchup on
it. At language camp I ate fried pork with mashed potatoes. Walker
Hilton told me the Goulash was amazing…I would have to agree. Kofola,
which is Coke in the U.S., tastes different here than back home. It’s not
bad, just different tasting. By far, the chocolate and ice cream are the
hands down winner. They are absolutely fabulous.
Eating all these fried foods and delicious desserts I have
managed to lose five pounds since my arrival. Why you might ask? In
Slovakia, they walk everywhere. They don’t jump in the car to go to
R-Place at lunch, they walk. They are very eco-conscious. Public
transportation is also a big thing here. I will use it to travel to
school daily once it begins.
Well, I am off to go tour the town of Cicmany with Nanda
(the Brazillian inbound) and her host brother, Peter for the day. I will
write again and include more pictures in coming weeks. While I miss you
all, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate being given this opportunity
to serve as an ambassador for the United States in this beautiful country
or Slovakia.
Love to all,
..Dot.. |
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1 October 2008
Ahoj!
It’s hard to believe that my first full month in Slovakia
has just passed. Where does the time go? Labor Day is not a holiday
celebrated in Slovakia so I began school on Monday, September 3rd.
I attend primary school at Gymnazium J. Lettricha in the city of Martin.
My class, Septima A, is equivalent to that of a junior at White Pine High
School. It is approximately a 40 minute commute by bus (public
transportation) one way for me to get to school. My schedule is very
different from that of the block schedule offered at WPHS.
Monday:
Slovak, Math, P.E., Slovak and Physics.
Tuesday: Slovak, English, Math, Slovak and P.E.
Wednesday: Computers, Physics, Slovak, Math and English.
Thursday: Math, P.E., Philosophy, Slovak and Slovak.
Friday: English, Slovak, Chemistry, Math and Biology.
Although I am a good student at WPHS, I find myself
struggling in school here because all of my classes (except English) are
taught in Slovak. While my language skills are progressing, I understand
much more than I can speak, it will be some time before I can consider
myself fluent. And while you would think that I should ace my English
class that too is different because Europeans learn proper British
English. There are no school sports teams here so they haven’t a need for
cheerleaders (BUMMER!); therefore, I keep busy after school playing co-ed
volleyball on a league team. A lot of my classmates play volleyball and I
am having a blast spending time getting to know them, in and outside of
school.
Starting school has meant meeting a lot of new people.
There are 4 foreign exchange students in Martin, and only one (Tomáš) is
in my class. The other two are in Septima B. I was very worried about
communicating and making new friends; however, six girls befriended me and
Tomáš the first day of school and luckily for us…they all speak English.
I have made many new friends now. Some of them speak English but others
only speak Slovak, which has been very good for me because it helps me
learn the language faster. I enjoy going downtown everyday after school
and seeing my friends. I hope you are all making Katka feel welcome and
making an effort to befriend her because it’s hard to make new friends
when you don’t understand the language….trust me, I know firsthand.
As part of the exchange experience, I am required to attend
weekly Rotary meetings with my sponsoring Rotary Club, RC Martin. These
meetings are held on Monday evenings at 6:00 p.m. So far, the meetings I
have attended are different from that of the one I attended in Ely. In
Slovakia there are no female Rotarians. I have an assigned seat at each
meeting which is next to the club president. Different Rotarians do not
host exchange students weekly for a home cooked meal and the opportunity
to get to know them on a one on one basis; although, I am suggesting that
to the President at the next meeting I attend. The one thing that Ely and
RC Martin Rotary Clubs have in common – the Rotarians are very friendly
and have made me feel Welcome! Thank you again Ely Rotary for sponsoring
me so I could have this fabulous opportunity to spend my junior year
studying abroad.
My host family, friends, and Rotary Club have all been
terrific showing me the sights and sounds around the country. At the
beginning of the month, I spent time with another exchange student and her
host family touring Cicmany. My host family has taken me to the town
square and to the zoo…which by the way, has different animals then those
you would see in the USA. I also had the option of hiking, biking or
playing tennis with Rotarians this month. Because I had no tennis racket
or bicycle, I chose hiking. Eight other exchange students and I spent the
day experiencing nature up close and personal. We took our first ride
together on a Slovak merry-go-round. Look forward to pics in the
yearbook!!!
I spent the last week of September on a school sponsored
field trip hiking in the High Tatras. This is the mountain range that
stretches throughout the country. It was 4 days of camping in little
cottages and hiking in the mountains near a little town called Kremnica.
While the daily hikes were very long I really enjoyed the experience. One
day we spent more than 2 hours hiking into the town Kremnica. It might
not sound like it was very far for some, but, Slovaks here walk about
twice the speed of people in America. To me, it seems like they might as
well have called it running. After all, I felt like I had to run just to
keep pace with them. While it was exhausting during the day, it didn’t
prevent our appetite for nightly entertainment. We spent almost every
night of our school sponsored field trip in the pub/disco dancing until 10
or 11 p.m. They played good old American songs which I recognized like “I
Will Survive” and the “Macarena” and one which I did not “Take Me Home,
Country Roads.” Nonetheless, I had a great time bonding with my new
classmates and teachers.
While I was off hiking in the High Tatras, I hear my “TWIN”
was enjoying WPHS Homecoming events. I just want to say THANKS to all of
you who participated in making my presence felt during Homecoming that
week.
‘09 Powder Puff Team – Next year those damn refs
will favor us too!
2008 Is Gonna
Be Great!
’09 Macho Man Team – You guys played AWESOME.
2008…It’s A Date!
To Bobcat
Football Players – Thanks for taking the time to talk with me
before the
Parade on Coach Bingham’s cell phone and for posing with my “TWIN” for
pictures…I’ll cherish them FOREVER!
To My Rah
Rah’s – You are all simply FABULOUS! I miss you more than
you will ever know…
To Yvette and
Tammi – Thanks for assisting with my hair and make-up. I
couldn’t have looked so good
without you.
And I hope you all enjoyed the dance…I didn’t have a date
so my mom wouldn’t let me go…keep that in mind for next year. It’s never
too early to ask! LOL!!! To anyone else I may have forgotten to thank, I
truly apologize. Thanks AGAIN for making my “TWIN” a welcome addition at
all of the 2007 Homecoming events!!!
I spent the last weekend of September enjoying a carnival
in Martin. It was big compared to those which have come to Ely. There
were many thrill rides…which no Slovaks would go on with me because “it
was too dangerous.” The other foreign exchange students from America all
rode them with me though…it was great fun. I also took in my first ice
hockey game. It’s a violent sport, one which I think I prefer to watch
rather than play. Although team Martin lost 5-2, I did S-C-O-R-E a nice
souvenir from an intoxicated Slovak man…a blue scarf that read “MARTIN.”
So after spending my first full month here I think it safe
to say:
The architecture here is incredible, with many buildings
and landmarks constructed with very ornate detail.
After attending a free concert in the town square I can say
that musician Pavol Habera is fast becoming my new favorite artist.
I have finally tried the national dish “Halušky” which
consists of sheep cheese, flour, salt, eggs and water…and it is
DELICIOUS. Don’t worry; I’m going to learn how to make it before I come
home, though it will probably not taste as good. I never thought I would
learn to eat anything besides meat and potatoes but I am surprising
myself, and my parents, by trying everything there is to eat in Slovakia.
The landscape and surrounding views are absolutely
breathtaking because everything is so green here.
I get homesick sometimes but I have worked through the
temporary anxiety thinking about the positive experiences I have had here
so far.
And last but not least, I will continue to write this
monthly article to keep you all informed during my amazing adventure
abroad.
Love to all,
…Dot… |
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11 November 2008
Ahoj!
I still can’t believe that I am well into my exchange at this point…I have
been in Slovakia now for over two and a half months. I struggled writing
this article for many reasons. As described in one of the books I was
provided at the 2nd orientation in Reno, the “Honeymoon Phase”
has now ended. Everything is no longer new and exciting as I have settled
in to my new family, school, city and the local culture.
I am still living the experience of a lifetime, but, I have to admit that
I am homesick on many levels. I am craving some good old American food:
Nachos, Grilled Cheese (w/American cheese not Sheep cheese), Doritos, and
my mother’s Basque Rice. I miss 2% milk because Sheep’s milk just doesn’t
taste the same. In Europe, bottled water is mineral water. I have not
yet acquired a taste for it and probably never will; therefore, I prefer
to drink the tap water. This is something that definitely sets me apart
from the locals. My host family thinks it is very odd; however, the other
exchange students agree with me. But in an effort to fit it, I use a
mineral water bottle and fill it with tap water prior to any outing.
While I am trying hard to learn Slovak, the other exchange students and I
are case studies for the Slovak “English” classes. I have been attending
three English classes weekly with various age groups of students and they
use us (me and the other exchange students) to practice their English
skills. While it is great fun hearing the locals try to speak English, I
came to their country to learn to speak Slovak. It is comical some of the
mistakes they make and I can appreciate the irony because I know I make
the same mistakes and many more while trying to speak their language.
I considered myself a good student before arriving here but I have to
admit I am struggling in school. At WPHS I was an “A” student with a 3.98
GPA and while I am receiving no credit at White Pine High
School while studying abroad, I am very disappointed to report that I
received a 73.5 on my first math test at Gymnazium J. Lettricha. While
this does meet the criteria for Rotary, (No D’s), I am not very proud of
my grade. Math is my best subject in school, and I thought that I would
do O.K. in Slovakia because mathematical principles are universal…but it’s
those damn story problems which are written in Slovak. They so are easy
to confuse when setting up a proof!
My math teacher is my favorite teacher in Slovakia. She tries very hard
to include me in class and is excited when I participate. I do find it
interesting however that in Slovak Literature we are studying Ernest
Hemingway. I guess great authors transcend continents. Most of my other
teachers in Slovakia don’t really acknowledge me in class; they have me
reading Slovak text for practice or sitting and listening to try to catch
any words that are spoken which I might understand. This is especially
hard because I have a challenging class schedule and Slovaks speak very
fast.
My class organized a 3 kilometer race this month. Race means something
different to me I guess because while many schools participated in the
event everyone ran together in a group. You weren’t running to compete
against each other but rather to motivate each other, staying together and
finishing the race as one large group…I can’t wait to see what track
season is like!
I thought I was coming to Slovakia to learn about their culture and
language, however, I am finding the adults are just as curious about my
culture and language. I went with my Chemistry class on a field trip to a
nuclear power plant this month. We had four Slovak tour guides, only one
of which spoke fluent English. While we had hoped he would translate the
tour information for us, he was more interested in learning about us, our
experiences in Slovakia and where we came from.
After the tour we had an hour of free time in Zilina so we met up with the
two other exchange students there and dished over our experiences thus far
while snacking on Slovak ice cream. Have I told you how AMAZING it is?
It is soooo not like American ice cream…it’s YUMMY!!!
It is becoming harder to make new friends. Girls in Slovakia are like
girls everywhere else. They have their own little cliques and you’re
either in or out. Because I am American, the boys really like me…this
makes the girls really not like me and makes me appreciate even more how
much I miss my friends back home. I have found myself doing what I was
told not to do at Rotary orientation which is clinging on to the other
exchange students. It is just so much easier because they are
experiencing the same difficulties as me but perhaps when I move with my
next host family it’ll be easier for me because maybe I’ll have a female
sibling that’s my own age and perhaps her friends will embrace me and take
me in.
On a brighter note, I have finally figured out the public transportation
system. I had a scary experience on the bus after missing my scheduled
stop in Lipovec and ended up at the end of the bus line. Hopefully, I
will NEVER see that bus stop again! I was so panicked that I couldn’t
even remember my Slovak. All I could manage to say was “Som Americanka”
and “Musim ist na Lipovcy.” The translation, I am American and I must get
to Lipovec. I was crying hysterically and thankfully some nice gentleman
helped me find the next bus. I ride two buses to and from school every
day and I must also catch two busses on the weekend when I travel into
town. The weekend buses run less frequently making them harder to connect
with.
I prefer riding on public transportation than driving with my host
brother. I have taken several trips with him in the car and most weren’t
pleasant experiences. Once, he killed it while entering the middle of a
busy intersection. He claims it is because his dad’s luxury car is much
newer and bigger than the one he used while learning to drive in driving
school but I have my doubt that’s true. I say, who needs driving school
when you have Mr. Nick Brunson to teach you how to drive?
I am still attending weekly Rotary meetings. My suggestion to the Club
President about eating with different Rotarians weekly was very
misunderstood. What he took away from the conversation was trying a new
menu item each week at the meeting…which is good, but not exactly what I
was after. I am going to try to re-explain the concept at the next
meeting. Hopefully my Slovak will have improved enough so I can make him
understand the concept which I was trying to get across.
The president of the MHC Hockey Club is a Rotarian. He came to a meeting
this month bearing gifts for all the exchange students. He not only
provided us with hats, but it was an opportunity to speak with him about
becoming a cheerleader for the MHC Martin hockey team. As such, I would
get into all the events for free, be able to meet the players and gather
autographs, and most importantly do what I love…CHEER!!! It’s the little
things like this that are making the homesickness not so great when you
can participate in the things you did back home. That being said, I have
become a HUGE hockey fan and this month I have attended MHC Martin hockey
games against Skalica, Liptovsky Mikulas, Zvolen and Kezmarok.
The weather in Slovakia has been nice. We have yet to see our first
snowfall. I am told that by the end of winter, we will have seen about
two meters of snow which is equivalent to about six and a half feet. Even
in Slovakia they have good old “snow days.” Because most people live in
outlying villages, it is difficult for the public transportation system to
run. In this event, school may not be held until roads can be cleared.
Currently living two bus stops away from my school, there is a good chance
I will get to benefit from “snow days.” But even more exciting, the
exchange student from Brazil has never seen snow. We are all so excited
for her to experience it and share in a snowball fight or two. She tells
me I have to teach her all of the basics of how to make the perfect
snowball.
The last weekend of October I was very fortunate to travel with my host
family to visit my “grandparents.” I spent the weekend living in their
flat (i.e. apartment) in a small village near the capital of Slovakia,
Bratislava. The family and I attended a play that evening about the
History of Slovakia. My host parents knew I would enjoy it because I
could certainly follow along as there were no speaking roles. It was all
visual and I understood almost all of it. They played contemporary
American songs like Livin’ La Vida Loco and Smoke on the Water. Only
once throughout the play did I have a question about a scene and my host
father answered it for me. Slovak history is beautiful when portrayed on
stage and it was a good learning experience for me. I also took the
opportunity this weekend to meet for hot chocolate with the two exchange
students being hosted in Bratislava. It was fun to catch up with them as
I haven’t seen them since we attended language camp in August in Turany.
Halloween was different this year in the respect that in Europe they don’t
celebrate it although the school week was shortened to only two days. All
of the exchange students from RC Martin gathered in the small village of
Krpel’any to celebrate. We made our own fun, improvised for costumes and
had a blast! Let’s face it, I’m Dot and I’m going to have FUN no matter
what continent you put me on!!!
Well, I am headed off to the hockey game. Tseli zima, od po vel’a! I
have not idea what it means but we say it A LOT! I’ll write again next
month to keep you all posted. MHC, MARTIN!!!
Love to All,
…Dot…
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10 DECEMBER 2007
Ahoj!
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| Me and Nanda (Brazilian
Exchange Student and waiter at a coffee house. |
November
came and November went…where does the time go? I’ve been here now for
over three and a half months yet it seems like just yesterday when I
shared that tearful goodbye with my family at the Las Vegas airport. This
article too has been hard to write but for different reasons than last
month. I was been SO busy this month and I can say with certainty,
November has been the BEST month of my exchange to date.
As I
wrote last month, I found myself craving many American foods. I am very
thankful this month that the exchange student from Nebraska, Thomas,
received a care package from home. His family sent him goodies, including
Doritos, which he was kind enough to share with me! Doritos…who would
have thought that I would be so excited over a bag of chips?
My
ability to speak and understand Slovak has gotten MUCH better this past
month. I am anxious to show the other exchange students how much I have
learned when I travel to Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia, to
participate in the Rotex Christmas Weekend and take the mandatory language
test scheduled December 7 – 9. I appreciate my friends here who only
speak to me in Slovak because it challenges me to learn the language.
While I may not ever become fluent in Slovak, I can now carry on a basic
conversation. Those forty-five First Night Questions I was required to
memorize in Slovak prior to my arrival in NO WAY prepared me for the
challenges I would face with respect to the language barrier.
Math
class still isn’t any easier. I have come to realize that not only is the
language the problems are written in difficult to translate, so is the
fact that I have never studied these concepts before. This is not the
Slovak students’ first experience learning to solve logarithms albeit
mine. The level of mathematics my classmates are studying is well beyond
what I was learning back at WPHS. Although I still do not grasp the
concept, as is evidenced by my test scores, I am continually trying to
earn better than a “D.” It is my sincere hope when I return to WPHS, I
will not struggle next year in Pre Cal because I will have some experience
solving logarithms. Where is Mr. Cramer when you need him?
The
school schedule here is different all the time. I only had two days of
school the last week of October and only four classes each day. So after
celebrating Halloween with the other exchange students, I spent November 1st
and 2nd touring Bojnice with Nanda, the exchange student from
Brazil. We were accompanied by my Rotary D2240 Vice-Chairman and his
wife/my counselor, Ivan and Marta Lamos. I had a lot more fun that I
thought was possible with these adults. While Ivan seems intimidating in
the respect that he can terminate your exchange if he feels it is
necessary yet at the same time, he is like a giant teenager living in an
adult’s body. It was nice spending time getting acquainted with him
outside of Rotary functions.
The zoo
is located in Bojnice as well as many beautiful old castles. Before and
after touring the castle, we went out for hot chocolate. Hot chocolate in
Slovakia is very different from the United States. It is warm, not hot,
and has more the consistency of pudding which is why you eat it with a
spoon instead of drink it. In this case, different is good. I enjoy the
hot chocolate and I’m sure it will be tops on my list of things I miss
about living in Slovakia upon my return. Nanda and I were being typical
teenage girls and laughing about how cute our waiter was. He gave us each
a restaurant menu to keep as a souvenir because there were many
celebrities on it and we are Brazilian and American exchange students. He
also was so kind to pose for photos with us.
On our
way home to Martin, we stopped at the cemetery. It turns out the reason
why we were out of school was because it was a Slovak National Holiday.
The holiday is similar to the Spanish holiday Dia de los Muertos, and what
we know in America as Memorial Day. On this holiday, Slovaks visit
cemeteries and light candles on their loved ones graves. It is a very
pretty sight to see when driving down the road and admiring all the green,
red and yellow candles lit in the cemeteries. And by the number of
candles burning, I could gauge whether we were in a small village or a
bigger city. It was truly an AMAZING site to see. It made me appreciate
even more the time off from school!
I am
still attending weekly Rotary meetings on Monday evenings. These meetings
are a little boring for the exchange students but we go, we eat, and we
pray it will be over sooner rather than later. This week we have a
luncheon meeting where we will be delighting the Rotarians with our
German; heck, we’ve haven’t mastered the Slovak language let alone try to
dazzle them with our German language skills. It should be quite fun
though and I’m looking forward to it. Thanks Mr. Thornock for teaching me
two semesters of German, it has helped tremendously!
I
attended hockey games five times in November. MHC Martin won Kezmarok
(5-2); Slovan Bratislava defeated Martin (4-1); Nitra lost to Martin
(2-3); Poprad failed to score against Martin (0-1); Martin dominated
against Zilina (5-2). As I am now a regular at hockey games, I have made
a few new friends. MHC Martin hockey is something else I will definitely
miss when I return home to Ely. Lukas Riha is my FAVORITE player.
Slovaks always cheer for him at the end of the game and last week he
jumped up and grabbed two cheerleaders’ pom poms and was mimicking their
actions. It was PRICELESS! Soon perhaps, it’ll be my pom poms he comes
and steals to entertain the crown with.
Yes, that
is right, I even managed to earn a spot on the only cheer squad in Martin,
Slovakia! I am expanding my horizons and branching out to include hockey
in my cheer career. I am practicing the routines daily in hopes that I’ll
be cheering before the home crowd soon. The MHC Martin Cheerleaders
practice two times a week here but I can only attend one practice weekly
because of my Rotary commitments. The quicker I can learn the routines,
the sooner I will be able to start cheering at the hockey matches. Talk
about a winner…Go MHC Martin!!!
Slovaks
do not celebrate Thanksgiving; however, my Thanksgiving Day was AMAZING.
November 22 was Pasovaci, which is similar to Freshman Initiation only
MUCH worse. And although I’m a JUNIOR, I’m a new student so I too was not
exempt from Pasovaci. The theme this year was MHC Martin. Three MHC
Martin hockey players participated as judges! Michal Dzubina #19,
Jaroslav Markovic #61, and my ABSOLUTE favorite, Lukas Riha #98. Fun,
games and hazing aside, I had the opportunity to meet all three judges and
have group and individual photos taken with them. Perhaps next time, I
will get their autographs. After Pasovaci, I headed off to MHC Cheer
practice!
Well once
again, I’m off to hockey! Hopefully the refs will favor us tonight in our
match against Trencin. If anyone would like to know more about the
program or players of MHC Martin Hockey, feel free to visit their website
at
www.mhcmartin.sk The website is in Slovak but you can listen to the
Hymna MHC, we would relate this to On Ye Bobcats! It is a beautiful
Slovak song so give it a listen. I am hearing it a minimum of three times
each night at hockey and it is something else I can already identify I
will miss when I return home to Ely…but for now, I’m in Slovakia
thoroughly enjoying my exchange.
Love to
all,
...Dot...
P.S.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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11 JANUARY 2008
December came and December went in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
Ten months seemed like forever when I first arrived and yet the hardest
part of my exchange (the holidays) has now passed,
my return to Ely is approaching all too quickly...just like the Rotarians
predicted it would at orientation. I won’t lie and tell you all was well
this month, but some parts were pretty terrific.
I had the opportunity the first of the month to partake in a Rotary
sponsored evening of bowling. While you might think what could be
different about bowling in Ely vs. bowling in Slovakia, I would have to
answer - Nanda. My friend from Brazil had never bowled before and we had
a fabulous time. While I averaged about 100 per game, the best I have
ever done, Nanda was a natural; or just incredibly lucky, I haven’t
figured out which yet. Needless to say, fun is what you make it and we
had a lot of FUN!
I was the first of the four exchange students in Martin to change host
families in December. While the others were remaining with their first
host families through the holidays, I moved in with my new family on the
6th of December. I live within walking distance of my school and hockey.
I live in a ‘suburb‘ of Martin called Zaturcie, pronounced Zat-ur-chee.
It was bittersweet to leave the Krupinsky’s; however, moving made the
whole experience of foreign exchange new and exciting all over again.
My new host family is very nice and has different dynamics than your
traditional family but nothing that’s any different from families in
America. My host mom, Jela, and her husband are separated. Each has
a new boyfriend/girlfriend and my “host dad“ has a two year old with his
new girlfriend. I have a brother, Pavol, who is 19 and a sister, Janka,
age 17 who is currently on exchange in Brazil. My host mom’s boyfriend’s
name is Marion and he comes home to visit on the weekends and he spent
Christmas with us. My host grandparents live in the flat below my house
and I can’t even begin to tell you how great it is to have grandparents
live so close. They are very special to me and treat me like I’m their
granddaughter.
I traveled to Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, for mandatory
Rotary meetings on the 8th, 9th and 10th. It was here all the inbound
exchange students were required to take another Slovak language test.
While the test was very hard, I am proud to report I earned a 9 out of 13,
which was the highest score of all the exchange students from my town of
Martin. I can only tell you how proud I was of myself because I didn’t
think I had done so well.
It was very important to me to do well on this test because my passing
grade was my ticket to travel unaccompanied throughout District 2240 for
the remainder of my exchange. I am now able to travel throughout the
Czech Republic and Slovakia without the approval of my host Rotary club.
Don’t worry though, I will be safe and always travel with a partner...it
just allows me a little more freedom than I already have.
Nanda and I traveled to neighboring Zilina one day after school. We had
so much fun. We went with classmates and hung out with some friends, old
and new. We drank hot chocolate and kofola and I am looking forward to
going again soon.
School too is getting better. I don‘t really understand everything the
teachers are saying but I am finally being asked to participate. I just
received my first assignment in Chemistry. I have to prepare a talk, five
minutes in length, in Slovak about any particular drug I choose. I like
having the freedom to choose the drug and it helps that I have a nice
friend who is willing to help me translate it from English to Slovak.
Tomas, the exchange student from Nebraska, me, Nanda and Tono were treated
to a day in Vienna, Austria the week before Christmas. Tomas‘ host family
took us all sightseeing for the day. We traveled to Vienna by bus and it
was a LONG trip. We departed early in the morning and arrived home at
midnight the same day. We saw some beautiful sights in Vienna and I am
happy that Tomas‘ host family invited us to all tag along.
I missed four days of school the week prior to Christmas vacation because
I was sick with the flu. My host mom took me to the doctor and I got some
antibiotics. These helped me get better quickly so I wasn’t home sick
during the holidays, but it did little to cure my homesickness.
Christmas in Slovakia was different from that of Christmas in Ely. Here,
we celebrated Christmas for three days (24th, 25th, and 26th). But long
before that, we kicked off the holdiay season on December 6th by
celebrating Mikulas. On this holiday, you leave out clean shoes and
someone fills them with candy. It was AMAZING, and by far my FAVORITE
holiday I have celebrated abroad yet! LOL. Because I changed host
families that same day, I got candy from my first host family and candy
from my second host family. While at school, I received candy from my
classmates as well as candy from the downtown restaurant where I had
lunch. My three friends and I managed to savor that candy for five
days...a change from when I was younger and would have devoured it all in
a single sitting!
On the 24th we ate a traditional meal of kapustnica, which is basically
chorizos and cabbage, and we also opened all our Christmas presents.
Mom and dad were very nervous about me changing families before the
holidays so they spent a small fortune to mail my Christmas gifts to me so
I would have presents to open; and for that, I was very grateful. My host
mom bought me several nice presents and I will keep them always to
remember my Christmas abroad. I can honestly say that opening presents on
Christmas Eve is a tradition I will miss next year!!!
I called home to talk with Gramps on Christmas Eve. It was the first time
ever I missed Christmas Eve family dinner at his house since I was born.
Gramps was soooo happy to hear from me, he said I made his whole Christmas
by calling him. He didn’t know that he was really helping me get through
mine. I treasure our relationship very much.
On Christmas Day, we spent the day enjoying each other’s company. It was
very nice because I get along so well with all members of my 2nd host
family. Each member in my family talked to my host sister, Janka, using
Skype. While it is much harder for me to understand Slovak over the
telephone, I managed to communicate very well with her.
I had a very tough time on Christmas day though because I missed getting
up at 1:00 a.m. to sort presents, or opening my sister’s Christmas sock
and then going down to wake her and tell her everything she got. I missed
Christmas morning breakfast with the Venturinos, complete with moonshine,
and many other of our family traditions like mmm...prime rib and scalloped
potatoes. I spent several $$$ calling everyone on my Skype phone card so
if only for a little while to be part of the traditions I was missing.
When I called St. Mary’s to speak with Tia Kathy, I also had the
opportunity to speak to my good friend Andy Marich. I miss not having him
tell me Cacotee when he sees me. One of the nurses was confused because
she lived in Slovakia for 8 years and she said it sounded nothing like
Slovak, but then Andy explained to her it was Slavik and she understood.
Thank you everyone for the Christmas gifts and for taking the time to talk
to me when I called.
On December 26th, we celebrated Christmas with friends and neighbors.
I had the opportunity to spend time with the Martin Rotary Club President
and his family. It was a lot of fun. We ate kapustnica, AGAIN, and
watched several Slovak films which I really didn’t understand...but, lucky
for me, the ENTIRE family spoke fluent English and were very accomodating
in explaining things when I didnt understand.
 I still
attend hockey regularly and I still LOVE it just as much. This month,
Nanda and I bought a stuffed teddy bear and wrote “With love your
Brazilian and American fans!!“ on the back and threw it to Lukas Riha at
the end of one game. After the game he was kind enough to pose with each
of us for photos. I also traveled with the MHC Martin Fanclub to the city
of Nitra for one game. Nanda and I met up with our friend Sarah, the
exchange student living in Nitra, and introduced her to our new favorite
pasttime. It was the first hockey game she’s attended all season and she
sat on Martin’s sidelines cheering for her home team‘s BIGGEST rivals. Go
MHC Martin!!!
Rotary meetings are on Monday evenings and the Rotarians here still talk
so damn fast; but, it is ok because I am getting better understanding what
they are saying. It was a real treat when our Rotary President read aloud
the History of Rotary with Women, written in English which he translated
into Slovak. I was able to read from the paper written in English and
stay well ahead of him because I was actually paying attention...it’s hard
not to do when I sit right next to him every week at the meeting.
I missed spending New Year’s Eve with my cousin Alyssa at Gramps‘ house
because for as long as I can remember I have done that too. I spent this
New Year’s Eve with my friend Nanda, my host mom Jela and her boyfriend
Marion at the disco. Nanda and I spent most of our time hanging out with
the MHC Fanclub. Have I told you I am crazy about hockey? LOL. Before
the end of the night, I even scored a souvenir to bring home. It is a
bottle shaped like a gun, you wouldn’t see that in the United States.
I talk about hunting ALOT so my new friends have learned that’s what
I like to do back home. I think one of the funnest things about being
abroad for New Year’s was being able to MySpace and call family and
friends from ‘the future‘...it made perfect sense in my mind given the 9
hour time difference. Haha!!!
As much as I loved the holidays in Slovakia, I must say, I have eaten WAY
too much cake this month; however, I am tired so exercising will have to
wait until tomorrow. I hope you all enjoy the article and the photos
attached. I pray that 2008 has been off to a wonderful start for everyone
and of course, I’ll write again next month to keep you all updated on my
adventures.
Love to all
...Dot...
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14
FEBRUARY 2008
Where does the time go? January has now come and gone and
the realization that my exchange is half way over is all too real. This
month I found myself researching colleges in Slovakia because I have come
to the conclusion that I don’t want to leave here. I am having so many
new and wonderful adventures that it is hard to imagine that I must leave
on July 8th.
New Year’s Day represented the anniversary of Slovakia and
the Czech Republic being separated for the past fifteen years. Nanda and
I attended an absolutely AMAZING celebration this day. The President of
Slovakia and the Prime Minister were in attendance too. The end of the
evening was marked by a spectacular light show. It was certainly
different than how I am accustomed to spending New Year’s Day but I
enjoyed it just the same.
I have been fortunate to travel this month with my host mom
and her boyfriend each weekend. They have taken me swimming twice,
visiting friends, and snowboarding…yes that’s right, snowboarding. For
those of you who know just how uncoordinated I am, I am doing relatively
well staying upright. I can stand now without a problem but stopping is a
LOT harder than I thought it would be. I usually fall on my butt when I
attempt to stop; it’s not graceful but it gets the job done. Slowly but
surely, I am learning to turn, however slight they are.
Nanda’s snowboarding skills are still a work in progress.
She broke both the bones in her forearm last weekend while attempting to
snowboard. I guess we should have expected something like that could
happen especially when coming from Brazil and never experiencing snow
before. My dad is sure I will be next to break something, but as scared
as I was when it happened to Nanda, I am trying extra hard to be careful.
Aside from not understanding a lot of what is said during
Rotary meetings, I still attend them weekly on Monday evenings. Nanda and
I share a lot of laughs to pass the time. On the plus side, no one really
notices what we are talking about. We are convinced that Rotary is sick
and tired of hearing about our Slovak passion…MHC Martin Hockey, but that
doesn’t stop us from talking about it 24/7 with each other and anyone else
willing to listen. We even conducted an interview for the
www.mhcmartin.sk website complete with photos of us kissing Lukas Riha
on the cheek. Good luck understanding it because it’s in Slovak but
certainly go check it out!
 Nanda
and I still attend hockey games regularly. My host mom must think I am
ABSOLUTELY crazy because Nanda and I spent one full week at the hockey
stadium watching the team practice. We know and are known to the whole
hockey team now. That week helped us get together the courage to invite
to invite Lukas Riha for coffee. He was gracious enough to accept our
invitation. On top of that, we have traveled with the MHC Martin fan club
to two out of town games this month. MHC Martin hockey is one part of my
exchange I will surely miss when I return home.
School seems to be easier now although I feel like I did
when I first arrived. The teachers have again stopped paying attention to
me or to what I am doing. I can happily report, however, I earned all 1’s
on my semester report card (i.e. those are the same A’s in America).
Because I have learned the language, my teachers all gave me A’s in my ten
classes. Since Christmas, I spend a lot of my class time reading American
books and listening to my IPod. I find reading American books to actually
be a stress reliever for me. It’s refreshing to understand the concept
without having to translate the verbiage in my head.
The weather here has been consistently good. The average
temperature usually differs no more than 10 degrees from day to night.
Most of the month of January it was in the mid 20’s during the day and the
low 20’s in the evenings. While it is actually warmer in Slovakia than in
Ely during the winter, I was so cold the first part of winter but I have
learned to dress accordingly for the weather now…layers!!!
I still am trying all sorts of new things which my parents
would not necessarily approve of. Purple hair got old, so this month I
have chosen to honor my hockey team with my new hair color. Can you guess
what color it might be? I’ll give you a hint, its BLUE! Dad said my hair
had better be a normal color when I return or my butt will also be blue,
black and blue, that is. Well, where else but in Europe could I get to
live such an AMAZING adventure and dare to be different. Look forward to
those pics next month. Until then, go MHC Martin!
Love to all,
…Dot… |
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12
MARCH 2008
Ahoj! Where does the time go? Even with an extra day in
February my time here is passing all too quickly. I can’t believe we are
already well into March. It seems like I just arrived and now after
learning the language it’s time for me to think about leaving. Whoever
said “Life isn’t fair” had great wisdom. After planning then canceling a
trip to Croatia due to my VISA requirements, I am still set to arrive back
in the USA on July 8th.
I spent my time wisely this month and took the opportunity
to spend as much time as I could with my hockey team. Haha! As if I
didn’t dazzle you with my snowboarding story last month, let me tell you
about my newest endeavor…ice skating. My gracefulness aside, I spent the
better part of the first week of the month learning to ice skate and I
had the best instructors…yes, MHC Martin hockey players. The first time I
almost fell, one of my favorite players, Jaroslav Torok caught
me…thankfully! I was a good student and while I’ll never be able to do a
triple-loop or double axle, I can stand alone and go forward now. Thank
you MHC Martin hockey players!
Nanda and I attended our first dog race this month with my
host mother’s boyfriend. It was something new and exciting especially
because we don’t have anything like it in Ely. There were all breeds of
dogs, big and small, but my hands down favorite had to be Filip. He is a
St. Bernard who stands as tall as my waist on all fours. The dogs were
GEORGOUS but I have to admit it made me miss my dog (Otis), Venturino’s
dog (Ginger) and Britani’s dog (Sparkles) ALOT. My first host family
didn’t have a dog for a pet; although my second host family has a dog, we
don’t get along well. He tried to bite me the second time I tried to pet
him.
It would be hard to top Valentines Day 2007 because last
year I received three dozen roses from my boyfriend, Chet; however in the
spirit of Rotary, nothing being better or worse…just different, that
describes my Valentines Day 2008. I was pleasantly surprised to have a
school dance for two reasons; 1) it was held on a school night and that
would never happen at WPHS and 2) because we had a live band. While I
enjoy the dance machine, it’s just not the same as having a live band at a
school dance. The band played not only Slovak music but a nice mix of
well-known American songs too. They performed a respectable rendition of
Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Needless to say, my friends
and I had a great time, too bad we had to get up and go to school the next
morning!
I am still attending rotary meetings weekly. This month, I
think I attended my favorite meeting yet. For one dinner meeting, we had
a kielbasa tasting party. This was about the closest thing I can compare
to a good ‘ol Basque chorizo…which I am craving right about now. It was
sooooo good!
You’ll be happy to hear that because hockey is coming to a
close, I am finding new sports which peak my interest. At the moment, I
find myself very intrigued with handball. While we don’t play competitive
handball in the US, that I’m aware of, we should because I think it is the
ultimate sport. It’s a combination of soccer and basketball and moves at
a very fast pace. I love to watch it and while I have only been to one
game so far, let me remind you it only took me one time to watch a hockey
game and you certainly know the rest of the story by now!
School seems to have gotten easier for me and a lot more
interesting. Currently, we are fortunate to have student teachers this
month. Because they don’t really know us (the exchange students) and what
our capabilities are, they call on us frequently to participate. It is
such a change from the normal scenario that it makes the school day pass
quickly. I usually understand what is being said in class when the
teachers speak slowly but most teachers talk faster than I can listen so
sometimes I just sit there, lost in translation!
I’m glad that D-5190 rotary suggested that I take the SAT
and ACT to get a baseline for my English skills prior to traveling
abroad. I find myself so immersed in the Slovak language that I find it
hard sometimes to remember my English. Such was the case the other day
when the teacher asked Thomas, Mary and I to participate in English class
and I couldn’t remember my first language, English. I felt as though I
have failed my OWN language. Mrs. Thompson is going to have her work cut
out with me next year in Honors 12 English!!!
My rotary club president, Ivan Lamos, visited my district
D-5190 the end of the month for Rotary meetings. He had the opportunity
to tour Reno, Lake Tahoe and the surrounding areas while in the USA for
Rotary meetings. He missed meeting with my mother and Katka by just one
week as they were in Carson City the week before and gone to Boise that
particular week. I’m sure it was nice for him to finally put names and
faces together with the Rotarians of District 5190 who work tirelessly to
send numerous students in and out of our district each year.
Hockey play-offs begin in March so I am very excited.
Unlike March Madness in the USA where games are played throughout the day,
play-off games for hockey don’t begin nightly until 5 p.m. This certainly
makes me happy because I can attend almost every game to route on my
favorite team, MHC Martin! I am already beginning to experience
separation anxiety because my departure from Slovakia is all too eminent.
I am looking forward to March because this month begins my
travels throughout Europe. I am going to Rome for 5 days the middle of
the month with the other inbound exchange students as well as meeting them
again for ski week in Jasna, Slovakia the end of the month. I am excited
to see everyone to learn about and share our adventures since our last
gathering in December. I don’t know if I’m too excited for Easter because
the boys and girls have a strange tradition here which I will elaborate
more on next month. All I will tell you is I hope Easter Sunday is a very
warm day!
While I am excited to meet with my fellow inbound students,
I can’t even begin to describe what it was like to spend a week Mary
Murdock this month. She was in Slovakia for her ski week the middle of
February. I never thought I would be so happy to see someone from Ely.
We spent all our waking hours together and I was happy to be her tour
guide to what’s been going on in my exchange. While she didn’t go skiing
once, she joined me at school, made friends with the MHC Martin hockey fan
club and attended her first hockey game. She understands when I say my
new friends are like family just exactly what that means. She was
pleasantly surprised how the people of Slovakia have embraced me into
their culture. Perhaps she was even a little jealous as to how friendly
my countrymen are because she hasn’t always found the same warm reception
in Poland. Looking ahead, when we talk about our exchange in the future,
we’ll always remember the times we shared at Lapacka, and be able to
smile!!!
Well, I haven’t any new photos uploaded to include with
this article. I need to buy batteries for my camera so I can transfer
them to the computer. As Mrs. Crookshanks told me, you can never have too
much money on exchange. I find my monthly Rotary allowance and my weekly
allowance from my parents doesn’t stretch as far as I wish it would. I
will send photos from Rome for next month’s article so until then, you’ll
have to be happy with the news from Slovakia.
Well everyone, this is getting pretty long and I have to
go. I have to get to the stadium where I have luxury of sitting in the
V.I.P. section right above the team for tonight’s game. Dukla Pukla!
Skurveny Trencin!
Love to all,
…Dot…
P.S. The blue hair wasn’t all I
had hoped for so I’m just now waiting a sufficient amount of time to dye
it again. Blonde bombshell is the new color I have chosen. My friends
and family in Slovakia are excited to see me with blonde hair because they
think it’s a perfect fit for my personality. After only seven and a half
months, they already all know me so very well!!!
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9 APRIL 2008
I can’t believe March has come and gone already. I am not
excited to be writing yet another article because it just makes me realize
that I am that much closer to nearing the end of my exchange. The cycle
of an exchange student was explained well by the D-5190 committee, right
down to experiencing the lows of having to return home after finally
settling in to our new families, having made new friends and of course,
learning the language. I have to say I couldn’t agree more because I am
NOT at all ready to come home!!!
Like March Madness in the USA, March in Slovakia meant
playoffs for the MHC Martin hockey team. Again, I was a HUGE fan
attending every game I could locally and diligently watching all of the
away games on the television. Let me start by saying, we started out
great! We won our first three games; however, that marked the end of our
winning streak. After losing one game to an opponent, our team wasn’t
able to recover the momentum and ended up losing the next four games in a
row.
It was a sad ending to what I would deem an AMAZING
season/experience for me. At the conclusion of the last game of the
season, the fans (including their biggest two – Me and Nanda) jumped onto
the ice and showed our support for the team. I think the team goalie
summed it up best when he said “it’s a freaking shame that Nanda and I
won’t be here next season to support the team and we have to plan a trip
back…soon!” Of course, he said it in Slovak but I translated that for you
to English so you’d get the drift.
There are only two teams left now vying for the title this
year and that is Slovan Bratislava and Kosice. I haven’t been able to
score tickets for the finals games but Nanda and I will surely watch the
games broadcast on television. I have to say that hockey has been a huge
part of my exchange, one which I will surely miss upon my return.
I spent the night with my friend Lussy and her family this
week. We got up at six o’clock in the morning, got dressed, and proceeded
to go grocery shopping for her father. Afterwards, we met up with Lussy’s
boyfriend Mates and our friend, Katka. We walked for quite a while before
coming upon a small cottage type house with lots of animals. It was
around seven o’clock now and her father and several of her cousins exited
the cottage with a small pig in tow. The proceeded to slaughter the pig
and boy did it squeal. The whole process only took two minutes and eleven
seconds. It reminded me of all the fun times I spent with Ben and Megan
while my dad and Peterson were butchering animals for the meat shop. It’s
crazy how similar things really are between my life in Ely and my life in
Slovakia sometimes, even though I am thousands of miles away from home.
 March also
marked the beginning of my European travel adventures as well. I was
fortunate to travel to Rome for five days this month with a group of other
exchange students. The city was absolutely GORGEOUS! I can say that it
is quite possibly my favorite place I have visited so far. I saw all the
typical tourist attractions including the Coliseum, Vatican City, the
Sistine Chapel, etc. My only complaint was how expensive everything was.
Exchange students are poor, and I am no exception. I am ever so grateful
that I don’t have to live using the Euro as my currency as it doesn’t even
come close to stretching as far as the Slovak crown.
I was blessed to attend Palm Sunday Mass offered by Pope
Benedict XVI in Vatican City. I obtained tickets well in advance so I was
fairly close to the front, considering there were thousands in attendance
for Mass. I was able to take some pictures during the Mass and look
forward to sharing them with you upon my return. I had the opportunity to
climb a few stairs (551 exactly on the way up, and 551 exactly on the way
down) just to see a BREATHTAKING view of Rome…and it was so worth it even
though my legs were like Jell-O when I reached the ground again! The
photos taken of the Sistine Chapel in our history books doesn’t even begin
to do justice to the beauty of seeing it in person. The Coliseum was also
nothing short of spectacular. Nanda (Brutus) and I (Caesar) reenacted our
version of the Brutus killing Caesar as you can see by the attached
photo. Oh my gosh, what a fun day!
Our trip wasn’t all perfect though. We were given an hour
of free time on Saturday evening to explore the city or whatever and so we
divided into groups and set out. I was so excited to see only my 2nd
McDonald’s in eight months so Nanda and I went with Ivo, a Rotex student,
to go grab a bite to eat. Seventeen of my fellow exchange students made
another choice. They purchased and consumed seven bottles of Vodka in the
same one hour of free time.
As a result, three exchanges were terminated and the
fourteen other students were put on probation for the remainder of their
exchange. Additionally, two of these fourteen students were expelled from
attending Ski Week. So, to the Class of 2008/09 outbound students, when
Rotary is preaching to you about the 4 D’s let me tell you just how
serious they are about it. There have now been six students in all from
D-2240 who have been sent home for drinking and such. Please don’t ruin
your exchange next year by making a stupid choice to drink.
A traditional Slovak Easter was not NEARLY as bad as I
expected given everything I have been told…let me explain. First of all,
Easter is not celebrated on Sunday like it is in the USA; here it is
celebrated as Easter Monday. Beginning early on Monday morning, the boys
come over to the girls’ houses and take advantage of being able to throw
lots of water, very COLD water, at the girls. Then, they get to whip you
with a branch and then spray you with perfume. Some boys are nice though
and only choose to spray you with perfume. Tuesday is the Great Day of
Revenge. The girls return the favor and repeat the ritual and throw cold
water on the boys. On both days, the water stops flying at noon.
As I was the only girl home at my house on Easter Monday,
so I was the only target. I only had water thrown on me twice that day
and it was courtesy of Nanda’s host brother and father. They had a great
time “whipping” me with the branch and then spraying me with perfume after
soaking me like a drowned rat. I enjoyed the time spent with Nanda’s host
family but I REALLY wish it could have been without the company of a cold
shower. LOL. On Tuesday, the great day of revenge, I didn’t go back to
Nanda’s house and return the favor of a cold shower to her host father and
brother. My host brother and I didn’t partake in this ritual either. The
Easter Bunny sent gifts to me in Slovakia so I spent Easter enjoying the
best of both cultures.
I am still attending Rotary meetings although they have
been hit and miss because I traveled so much during the month of March. I
missed one while I was I Rome and the other while I was off to Ski Week
with the other exchange students. My snowboarding “skills” are still a
work in progress and can only be described as amateur as best, but it sure
is fun. For those of you wondering why we are enjoying snow sports still
into the first week of April that because the weather here isn’t a lot
different from Ely - Rain, Snow, and Sunshine in lots of combinations are
very typical for the local weather. I am excited to have had the
opportunity this year to discover how much fun winter sports (ice skating,
snowboarding and hockey) really are. I’m looking forward to joining Ski
Club next year at WPHS.
I’m not looking forward to returning home and having to be
studying every night instead of enjoying the nightlife with my friends
like I do now. Nanda and I have discovered the magic of the movie
theater. We have been to see three movies the past month. Most of the
movies are shown in English but occasionally some are in Czech. I find
myself translating some of the English movies for Nanda as it isn’t her
first language, and we both help each other with Czech translation. We
also meet a lot of new people when we’re out and about at the movies.
My Slovak language is continually progressing. I have made
acquaintances with many of the town folk and it is so nice to be able to
be asked and answer a question using Slovak. The highest compliment I
receive is when I am told that I sound native and my Slovak is perfect. I
know it is not, however, it’s nice to hear them say that it is. I have
really tried hard to learn the language and become a member of their
culture while I have been on exchange.
Upon return from Ski Week I will be moving to my third and
final host family. I have married parents, twin sisters age 17, and a
host brother age 19. One of my twin sisters is currently on Rotary Youth
Exchange in Oregon this year. My other sister, Sarka, lives at home
currently but will be traveling abroad next year through RYE and will be
living in Florida. My host brother lives at home too and travels to
college in the neighboring village of Vrtuky.
Well everyone, I hope you have enjoyed my adventures during
the month of March as well as the pictures I have enclosed. I am sorry
again for not sending any last month. This is getting long and I have to
finish packing for Ski Week so I’ll talk to you soon.
Love to all,
…Dot…
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13 MAY 2008
Ahoj! I can’t believe that it’s already the end of April
and I find myself sitting down again to write this article outlining my
many adventures during the month of April. I REALLY resent having to
write these articles because it forces me to acknowledge just how little
time I have left on my exchange. I can’t believe already 8 ½ months have
flown by since I left Las Vegas on a jet plane bound for Slovakia; but,
even more depressing is the fact that I only have about 9 weeks left
before I have to board the same jet plane and come home. Although they
try at orientation, I am feeling that D-5190 Rotary orientations really
can’t prepare you for the overwhelming emotions that accompany the
impending end of an exchange…so I am finding out!
Knowing that my exchange is nearing the end, I have been
fortunate to spend most of the month of April traveling throughout
Europe. I spent the first full week of the month in Jasna, Slovakia with
my fellow inbound exchange students enjoying the slopes. I had the
opportunity to work one on one with a snowboarding instructor. I learned
how to ride both my edges but I am still very cautious, especially after
Nanda broke her arm the last time we tried this! It was a lot of fun, and
my teacher was great but I was frustrated to say the least by time the
week ended; My butt was very sore, (I wasn’t always vertical while
learning to snowboard…LOL!), as well as most of my muscles, and to top it
off, I was EXHAUSTED!!! I hope JJ will be fully recovered from his
accident and he will be willing to refresh my memory and take me
snowboarding next year when ski season begins again.
The day I returned home from Ski Week I also changed host
families. My host father, Jano, is a Rotarian. We seem to argue a lot
about sports and such and each of us is too stubborn to concede to the
other…Déjà vu, it reminds me of being home trying to win an argument with
my mother…like that’ll ever happen! My host mother, Sarka, is amazing.
My only complaint is that she tries to feed me all day long. I have
already gained 20 pounds while on exchange and her constant persistence
trying to get me to eat isn’t helping my diet!!! She doesn’t understand I
have a tiny little cheer uniform that I have to fit into just six weeks
after I return home.
I have twin sisters and a brother in my new family as
well. My sister, Sarka, is my age and loves to play sports, practice the
piano, and spend time with her boyfriend of six months, Jan. I’m excited
because Sarka will spend her Rotary year abroad beginning in August 2008
in Florida…perhaps I’ll get to see her stateside. Her twin sister, Slavka,
is currently in the U.S. on exchange in Oregon. Unfortunately, I will not
be able to meet her because she comes home after I leave. My host
brother, Janko, is AMAZING! He is nineteen and when he is at home, I
spend my quality time with him doing HIS English homework. He spends his
free time with his friends and his girlfriend of nine months, Adriana, and
occasionally he works. Janko has the best job, he works as a model; i.e.
he’s verrrrry NICE to look at. Thanks Rotary!
April also brought to a close the end of my two favorite
sports, MHC Martin hockey and hockey ball. Ian was kind enough to inform
me that “hockey ball” is called “street hockey” in California. Whatever
you call it…I’m missing it already. Our two favorite hockey ball teams,
UBA and Stars, both made the play-offs but lost in early rounds to other
teams. Similarly disappointing was MHC Martin’s performance in the
play-offs. After MHC Martin was eliminated, Nanda and I set out for a new
team to cheer for. That wasn’t a hard task, we chose Slovan Bratislava.
We religiously watched the televised games as if they were our own MHC
Martin boys. Bratislava came through for us and won the title in a game
that ended 3:2. Look out Slovan Bratislava, next year I’m predicting
it’ll be MHC Martin all the way!!!
I had the opportunity to travel the middle of the month to
Athens, Greece. One day, I enjoyed guided tours of the Acropolis. The
next, I spent the day touring the Mycenae, Epidaurus and the Corinth Canal
by bus. During our free time, Nanda and I set out to visit everything
else within walking distance which we could find including the National
Gardens, The Parliament and the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, the
Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Panathenian Stadium, the Filopappou, the
Monastiraki, the Omonoia Square, the Panepistimio, and the Areos Park.
The view overlooking the city indicates that everything is COMPLETELY
white; however, looks can be deceiving. Upon a closer the city was
actually very dirty, filled with heavy smog which hovered above. I can
only liken it to the view coming into Las Vegas when you drop over the
hill entering on the I-15.
Taking into account Rotary’s “not better or worse, just
different” approach, I did see many spectacular sites while visiting in
Greece; although, it wasn’t necessarily the best side trip I have taken so
far. Many Europeans travel with a flag from their country, Nanda and I
could have benefited from knowing this before we departed the USA and
Brazil. In place of our respective country flags, we choose to proudly
display our MHC Martin hockey flag at the Filopappou. At the end of our
trip, we felt very accomplished in our efforts to experience all we could
in Greece and while I enjoyed getting together again with my fellow
exchange students in Athens, in the end I was DEFINITELY happy to return
back home to Martin.
Thanks to mom and dad, I just returned from yet another
side trip the end of the month. I traveled again with a delegation of
Slovakia exchange students by train and plane to Barcelona, Spain. To
date, I would have to say this is now the best trip I have taken while
studying abroad. Not only did I enjoy spending my free time walking about
in city center exploring everything, I also went on a guided bus tour
which highlighted many spectacular sites in Athens. At the end of our
guided bus tour we visited the Picasso museum as well.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous…it was a balmy 27
degrees C/81 degrees F. To celebrate seeing the sun after 8 months of
winter, we all decided to spend some quality time at the beach. It was
truly a spectacular experience which I will be paying for the next few
days…I got so sun burned!!! It’s been so long since I was sunbathing at
the beach, Hawaii 2000, that I forgot just how easy it is to get burned.
The beach, Barceloneta, did offer me a unique experience though, one which
I had never seen the likes of before…it was a topless beach. Now before
you go jumping to any conclusions, as my parents quickly did, I was one of
many girls on the beach who chose to keep my bathing suit
top on. Gotcha!!!
There were optional programs offered while I was in
Barcelona as well. There was a Medieval Night performance with dinner and
a Flamenco show which cost about $68 U.S. dollars. That was almost
one-sixth of my budget for this trip but I still opted to go…and I’m glad
I did. The food was great and the entertainment was AWESOME! I did visit
a typical Cataluña market also; while there I purchased a lot of fruits
and other various food items to try. I also bought souvenirs such as shot
glasses, a lighter for my friend, and a scarf and tank top for myself. I
visited one of two Barcelona football “soccer” stadiums too.
I am home for now and back in school. Yes, I do attend
school regularly here. I won’t begin traveling again until the middle of
May. Next up, I will head to Slovensky raj, Slovakia followed immediately
by trips to Krakow, Poland and the Czech Republic. I am looking forward
to celebrating my 17th birthday on May 21st in
Prague with exchange students from throughout Europe at the District
Conference. More of my many adventures to follow next month so until
then, Ciao!!!
Love to all,
…Dot…
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15 JUNE 2008
Ahoj! I have really been dragging my feet writing this
article of my adventures in May for two reasons. First, the end of my
exchange (July 8th) is approaching all too quickly and I am
having trouble acknowledging that fact; it’s so hard to believe that I
have been in Slovakia for more than nine months and now it’s time to
return “home.” Second, I have been spending time with my host families
and friends, the other exchange students, and of course, my beloved MHC
Martin hockey players continuing to make memories which will last a
lifetime. Well enough whining, let’s begin.
I have gained 14 pounds since I arrived on exchange because
I have done little/no exercising, especially during the winter months. So
when I went hiking the first weekend of the month with the MHC Martin
Hockey Fan Club it was very challenging to say the least. By the time I
reached the top of Magura I felt like I was ready to die. I was crying
and all I wanted to make it better was my dad. What can I say? I have
always been daddy’s little girl.
My Rotary counselor, Marta Lamosova, had a birthday this
weekend as well. We enjoyed a party in her honor. We celebrated at her
flat by eating lots of food and visiting with family and friends. It was
a lot of fun and very different from how I would spend my birthday.
I spent the second weekend of the month in Bojnice with
some of my best friends which I have made while on exchange. There was a
performance in a castle, similar to a haunted house in the USA, which we
were all very excited to go see. While I laughed throughout most of the
performance, Nanda spent most of her time screaming through it. I won’t
lie to you; I did jump a few times…and screamed once. It was different to
see a haunted house in May and not during October which is when we
traditionally them in the USA…but remember, they don’t celebrate Halloween
in Slovakia. All in all, it was great fun!
The middle of the month I departed on yet another Rotary
adventure. I spent the weekend in Slovenky Raj with the inbound exchange
students and next year’s outbound students from Slovakia. It was fun
getting to share my experiences with next year’s outbound students. I
also met the student who is coming to District 5190 next year. He will be
hosted by the Susanville Rotary Club so perhaps we’ll meet again. Nanda
and I sang Mandarinka Darinka in the talent show in matching outfits we
purchased for the occasion. The students and Rotarians seemed to love it
and we had fun. What more can you ask for.
Immediately upon the conclusion of the weekend, the inbound
students jetted off to Krakow, Poland. It rained the whole time we were
there but it was definitely an experience to remember. We visited many
churches and landmarks within the city. It was nice to see yet another
country while out on exchange.
While in Poland, I let a fellow exchange student cut and
dye my hair, again. It’s back to black…which my friends say looks better
on me. I’m getting used to it but mom and dad aren’t quite sold on it.
They are insistent I have a “normal” color upon my return home. This is
just the first hurdle of many we will face upon my return. I guess we’ll
have to see who wins. I love the freedom I have had while on exchange.
Parental rules…blah!
From Krakow, we traveled by bus to Prague in the Czech
Republic. We stopped in a few spots along the way. On Wednesday the 21st,
we visited Auschwitz and Birkenau. It was kind of a depressing to spend
my birthday there but at least I was with friends. It was not exactly how
I had hoped to spend my 17th birthday but something I’ll
definitely never forget. P.S. Thanks everyone for all my birthday gifts!
From Auschwitz we headed to Prague. If you’ve never been
there let me tell you it is a GORGEOUS city. I saw many things and
experienced life firsthand in a tourism based city. I heard more English
spoken there than I did Czech and I realized just how easy it was to
understand Czech, and even Polish, now that I am fluent in Slovak. I
never thought I’d be able to say that since I knew so little Slovak when I
arrived here. Where has the time gone?
We spent some of our time in Prague attending the District
Conference for Rotary. I met lots of new people as well as a fellow
D-5190 outbound, Trevor Jacobsen. After the conference, Trevor and I
visited a little but eventually went our separate ways to be with the
exchange students from our respective countries. It was great to see a
familiar face while on exchange…thanks Trevor, it was fun to trade stories
about our experiences while on exchange.
The weekend ended all too sadly as we spent the long bus
ride back to Bratislava reflecting on our adventures from the past nine
months. This was the final time the Slovak exchange students would all be
together. While we have a Rotex Farewell Weekend scheduled next month,
about half the students will depart prior to the weekend. By the time we
reached Bratislava to go our separate ways, we were all crying. It was
sad to say goodbye to friends whom you may never see again. All I can say
is THANK YOU for the time we spent together…I’ll treasure the memories I
made with each and every one of you forever!!!
Upon returning to Martin, I had to give a presentation
about Ely to my host Rotary club. While I had brought ample information
from home prior to leaving, the challenge came in translating everything
to Slovak. I worked on my presentation for a week straight; in the end, I
presented a 15 minute slide show on PowerPoint which my host Rotary club
seemed to enjoy very much. The Rotarians were very complimentary of my
efforts. It is my goal upon my return home to prepare another PowerPoint
of my adventures in Slovakia, written in English, to share with family and
friends, the Ely Rotary Club and anywhere else I may be invited to speak.
Well, it’s been a whole month since I talked about hockey
so let me fill you in on what’s been going on. May marked the beginning
of World Cup hockey. This year’s tournament was hosted in Canada. Nanda
and I were delighted to watch every game we could throughout the
tournament. In the end, Canada lost to Russia.
MHC Martin Hockey also started their summer training
program in May. Hair color aside, the hockey players still recognized me
when Nanda and I showed up to watch. Our team captain, Michal Beran, has
asked Nanda and me to participate in training. While I realize that
exercising with these grown men could kill me, because I am out of shape,
I will participate in their last training session on June 20th. I am
looking forward to my last memory with MHC Martin being the fact that I
exercised with them…especially if I survive!!!
It’s crazy to think how important MHC Martin hockey has
become to me over the past year. Even in the off season, I find myself
looking forward to next season which unfortunately I’ll have to follow on
their website instead of in person. The team has been fabulous to me
throughout my exchange and I appreciate it more than they’ll ever know.
My favorite player, Jiri Polak, took me to an interview with him this
month, signed my play-off shirt, and gave me his personal e-mail so we can
stay in touch after I leave. Although he speaks Czech and I speak Slovak,
I don’t always understand him, but, I keep trying and he loves it. I’ll
TOTALLY miss these guys when I have to leave. All I can say is MHC MARTIN
forever!!!
Sadly, this is the last article I will write from
Slovakia. I will not take the time to write another during my last week
here as I will be too busy saying goodbye to the families and friends I
have made while on exchange. I will send the final two articles (June
adventures and July readjustments) after I return “home.” So until then,
Ciao!
Love to all,
…Dot…
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