Good Morning, Slovakia!

Just had to share, I truly believe that this is the best view to wake up to;

As November Continued...

As November Continued, I got to witness one of the most beautiful nights in Zilina. People came from all over Slovakia to meet in our center and lit lampions (paper lanterns). At 5 pm we all let them fly into the air. The point of lighting the lampion is to light it with loved ones, friends or family, and make a wish as you send it into the sky. I sent two; one with my classmates, and one with a different group of friends. Watching thousands of lights fly into the night sky was simply amazing and beautiful. The symbolism of wishes being made was absolutely amazing. Now, in Slovakia they don't celebrate Thanksgiving of course, and most people here have no idea what it is. But the other two Americans in the city next to mine and I couldn't bare to let the holiday go unnoticed. So, we decided to make thanksgiving dinner for the Rotarians. Conveniently, one of the Rotarians owns a small restaurant, and he not only let us use it for the preparation, but also bought all the ingredients for us and had his head chef help us cook the food. Since we were cooking for 50+ people, we made two turkeys and a whole lot of side dishes. Before we let them dig in, we gave a small speech in Slovak explaining what exactly the holiday is, and also we each told something we are thankful for, to provide an example for them. Needless to say, they all loved the dinner. We are glad that we got to share our tradition with them, and also that we didn't have to go a year without pumpkin pie. Here are some pictures from the lampions and also Thanksgiving.

Lots to Report

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted; the Slovak life keeps me very busy, and sometimes I forget about my blog.. I suppose I should catch you all up on what's been happening in chronological order. At the end of October I was given a pumpkin to carve from my host parents. This was a sweet surprise for me since Slovakia doesn't celebrate Halloween. Yet one more example of how amazing my host family has been. On the first weekend in November my host father's generous sister and her husband decided to take me on a trip. We first went to a huge castle in North Slovakia, which was absolutely amazing. Most of the castle is preserved, so we got the whole experience of being in a real castle. From there we went to a historic village from the 13th century that has been preserved. There, proving our luck, was a film being shot about the Communist takeover, and there were many actors dressed in police uniforms from Nazi Germany that we got to meet. Early the next morning we continued our journey; heading on to a town in Poland called Zakopane. This was by far the most beautiful place I have ever been. The town has a huge outdoor market, which we went through thoroughly, finding all home made furs and slippers, along with everything else you could possibly imagine. After we finished the market, we went out to eat the most delicious food I've ever tasted at an authentic Polish restaurant. Since the town is at the base of Slovakia's biggest mountains, the High Tatras, the view is amazing. After a nice afternoon walking the town and shopping, we headed back to Slovakia. On the way home we stopped at a place called Meander Park; an indoor and outdoor water spa with heated water. I have decided that sitting in a heated pool at the base of a beautiful mountain range, watching the sun set is one of the most relaxing ways to end the day. After we finished at the spa, we went home. It always continues to amaze me how I can go an hour North and be in Poland, an hour west and be in the Czech Republic, and 2 hours South-West and be in Austria. I am truly lucky to be living in such an amazing place with such amazing people. In these pictures you will see my lovely pumpkin with my host family, the castle in North Slovakia, Zakopane along with the High Tatras, and Meander Park.

Weekend of Experiences

Every weekend my amazing host family takes me somewhere new, normally an old village in Slovakia for just a day trip. However, this last weekend my host brother decided we would have much more of an adventure. Since they have a cousin that lives in Bratislava (capital of Slovakia), he decided we would spend the weekend there. The best part, however, is that Bratislava is only an hour away from Vienna, Austria. On Friday night we arrived in Bratislava and spend the night at Maria's (the cousin) flat. Saturday morning we took the short drive to Vienna, where we spent the whole day walking through the beautiful city and seeing all the amazingly architected buildings. I would like to add that the city is by far the most beautiful place I've ever been. Every building has simply amazing design and architecture. Among the many cathedrals we visited, we went into Stevensdom Cathedral. It is one of the most famous buildings in Vienna, for good reason. The inside has breath-taking stained glass and high ceilings along with beautiful interior design. After walking around the inside we decided to climb the church tower, which consisted of 368 steep steps in a tightly wound staircase. However, the view from the top was impeccable and definitely worth the while. On Sunday we walked around Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) where there were also many beautiful buildings. I am lucky to have such a great host family that takes me through these experiences. Unfortunately, when I returned on Monday I became slightly ill, which means I spent Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday in bed being heavily nurtured by my host mother. All is well now though, and I will be returning to school and my normal Slovak life tomorrow if all goes well. Among the pictures I am posting you will see the City Hall of Vienna, Stephansdom Cathedral, the view from our hike up the tower, and some famous churches/palaces/buildings in Vienna.

One Month!

It has officially been one month since my arrival in Slovakia. I am becoming more accustom to the daily life, and picking up on the language much quicker than I thought I would. At this point I am semi-able to understand questions people ask me, and some times I can even reply in full sentences. I find it amazing that I studied French for two years and I have already surpassed everything that knowledge in Slovak by far. Naturally, the first things I learned were insults or 'bad words', thanks to my ever so helpful classmates. However, now I have a small but useful vocabulary that is almost sufficient for getting around Zilina and conversing with strangers. One of the strangest things is when I am writing or talking to an English friend and I accidentally say a slovak word instead of the english word I should be saying. This last weekend I was in Strecno again, this time for my first Rotary conference with my new district (including all the inbounds from both the Czech and Slovakia). My new district has roughly 75 inbounds from countries including USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brasil, Columbia, Ecuador, Taiwan, and many more. Meeting with these other foreign teenagers was exciting and encouraging. We had a great time comparing stories and finding out that we had shared similar confusing situations. Besides all the lectures, it was a great weekend. We visited the castle (2nd time for me), and every country was represented by our flags. This made for some exquisite pictures, showing the bonding of many cultures. I look forward to meeting these amazing people again at future Rotary conferences. Besides that, I have been attending school as usual, which now includes a dance class where we learn typical dances. It would be an understatement to call the confusion and embarrassment of my 15-year-old male cassmates trying to dance hilarious. One of my favorite things about my new life is my frequent visits to a rooftop cafe that overlooks the beautiful mountains here. I enjoy a cappicino with moja kamarati almost every day (yes it is a weakness of mine) before catching the bus home. Life here is so relaxed and perfect for me, milujem Slovensko.

After Two Weeks...

After two weeks of being here I have decided that I am completely in love with Slovakia. The first week was slow, but now that my social life has become more existing the time is already flying. The first day of school I instantly became friends with the other exchange student (from Colombia), Ivan. Kids in my class were exceptionally welcoming also, and I knew right away that friends would not be a problem here. From then on, I had no clue about what was happening, nothing made sense and by the end of the day I was the most confused and frustrated I've ever been. However, getting plenty of sleep and trying things again the next day helped a lot, and I realized that it's ok for me to not know what's going on; I'm an exchange student. Being confused about things is something I've learned to accept, and accepting it has made things much easier. As school has progressed I have had a lot of fun with my classmates and helped out my English teacher quite a bit. Now that I have my bus cards and actually know how to use them, it is easy for me to be more dependent and makes going into the city to spend time with friends very convenient.
The other day I was in the city (Zilina) with a friend who loves photography while he was taking pictures of a festival that was going on. We had been everywhere interesting when he decided that he wanted to go somewhere new, so we went to the 13th Century church in Zilina. There we asked the man inside if there was any way we could climb the bell tower in order to capture some better pictures. To our astonishment he said yes, and led the way. Being inside the bell tower was beautiful and an amazing experience. The man opened the gear shaft for us too, as you will see in the pictures I posted.
On Sunday, my amazing host parents took me to Strecno, where a beautiful and ancient castle still stands. Since the castle is on a cliff, both the hike up and the view from it are breath taking. We toured the castle and saw the main rooms including the chapel, crypt, torchure chamber and kitchen. Being somewhere so old, and so filled with history is a feeling that cannot be described through text. I am so grateful for this experience; it is definitely worth all the hassle!

Getting Settled In

Starting this blog a little late, but better late than never...right? Anyways, I am spending my year in Slovakia for a better grip on understanding different cultures, and gaining new experiences. What better way than to plant yourself right in a family and live the true Slovak way. For my first host family, I am living in Divina, a small village on the outskirts of Zilina. My host family consists of my parents, the oldest brother, Jan (29 years old), and his wife, Marian (27 years old), and me; which makes me the baby of the family. The only hardship so far: none of my family members speak English. This means that in order to communicate (an essential part of living here), I must learn Slovak. This is a very difficult thing to do, however my host family is extremely helpful. Every day while we are at the table eating, my host family teaches me new words. This seems like a slow approach, however it is working well and I am picking it up quicker than I anticipated. I am lucky to have been placed in such a caring and generous family. Also, my host mother is a fantastic cook! After being here for one week now, I have come to the conclusion that Slovak mothers always want you to eat more; which is hard when you eat 5 times a day. However, Slovak food is very good, and I have only come across two things I did not like. The second day I was here my host brother took me into the city (Zilina), where we met up with a Slovak friend of mine (Zuzka) and got my bus pass and visa application. I also got a tour of the city from them. Zilina is a beautiful city right at the base of the mountains. It dates back to the 13th century and has an interesting mix of extremely old buildings and very modern architecture. I am in love with it. I have also posted pictures of it, along with some pictures of my house.