2 September, 2007. 7.25pm Courtland, Canada.Ahoj old friends and readers. Apologies for taking so terribly long to post another update about my Slovak adventures....
From 14-28 July this summer
Canadian Summer School was resurrected. And after a year away (almost to the day) I returned to Slovakia. Arriving with little time to spare, late in the day on the 13th, before the onslaught of teaching responsibilities (due to a conference presentation that I gave in Minneapolis only the day before) things got rolling rather quickly. My friend and Slovak savior, Miro, provided good cheer and accommodation on my first night in Bratislava--despite the fact that his wife, Anna, had recently had a gall bladder operation and, of course, his ever demanding responsibilities of being a new Father! Fellow teacher (and high school acquaintance) Naomi also stayed with Miro and family, providing her with a first hand example of Slovak hospitality. Our other teaching staff, Heather and Heath, stayed across town with Marek and Kate, the Canadian Summer School organisers. After a long night of saying hello once again to Miro and Anna (and Samo), we were off first thing in the morning to a little place called Kamenny mlyn--an old auto rest with a motel, restaurant, campground, and swimming pool northwest of Bratislava on the old highway to Prague (just outside of the town of Malacky)--the new location of Canadian Summer School. Despite three positive summers in Modra, Kate and Marek decided to move the school to a new location in 2007. Kamenny mlyn, it turned out, had its ups and downs, but was overall a pretty decent locale.
With little sleep, we checked into our musty digs at
Kamenny mlyn (in Hotel Rozalia), with only a few hours to spare to get acquainted with our surroundings before the first arrival of students. Nestled just off the highway, in an old pine forest, Kamenny mlyn was once a hotspot, before the motorway was constructed. Now it hosts a yearly folk and country music festival (which we missed by only a few weeks) and an annual gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts (which we also missed by only a few weeks!). Its swimming pool (and hotel, as it turned out) had seen better days, but its rather isolated location turned-out to be a plus for the purposes of teaching. In previous years, in Modra, CSS had been located on the grounds of a high school, but this year all of our classes were held inside makeshift classrooms in the hotel. The combination of a confined space, with no where to wander-off to, meant that our students generally felt more satisfied with the learning environment at Kamenny mlyn. In previous years, the lure of Modra and all it had to offer, was often too much for some easily distracted students (and teachers!), meaning that afternoon social activities were sometimes poorly attended (Modra's public pool, numerous pubs, and ice cream parlors were often too distracting). But at Kamenny mlyn, the swimming pool was on-site, as was the only restaurant/pub for miles, so students and teachers were literally together every waking hour--although exhausting for the teachers, this was a plus in the eyes of most students (the majority of which, by the way, were returning students who had been at CSS in Modra in years past).
The
teaching experience this year was enhanced by two veteran teachers--myself and Heather. Combined with Naomi's experiences from Kuwait and in Canadian classrooms, and Heath's energy and enthusiasm as an Education student, we were well set to give it our best. Moments before our new students were set to arrive, I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by
Lenka and
Bianka--two returning students from eastern Slovakia who I'd kept in close contact with (via SMS and email) during my year in Trnava, but whom I'd never had a chance to meet again (since Modra in 2005). As it turned out, more familiar faces were to arrive over the next two weeks--not only familiar to me, but also to Heather, who had previously taught in Modra, but never at the same time as I. Returning students included Lenka and Bianka,
Peter from Kosice, Stephan and son Michal, Jozef from Germany,
Peter from Trnava, Zuzana from Modra, Peter from Bratislava, Jana from Senec, the mother-daughter scientist team of Alexandra and Alex, and several others.
Our first week of classes was accompanied by record-breaking heat, with temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius some days. Thankfully Kamenny mlyn was mostly shaded, with a swimming pool on-site, and a natural lake nearby. Similar temperatures in wide-open Modra very well might have killed us! We also didn't have far to go to obtain the refreshment of Kofola or pivo at the on-site restaurant. Although the food and service (with the notable exception of Marianka, the Czech waitress) was not always as good as it should have been, we didn't go thirsty. Sadly I lost my camera at some point during (or before) the first week of classes. To this day I don't know if it was lost or stolen, but the result was the same--I have no photographic record of our first week of classes or the students we came to know so well. Heather and I both agreed that the first week of students in Kamenny mlyn was comparable to our best classes in Modra (for me, the very first class in Modra in 2003). A combination of several enthusiastic returning students, and a good group of up-for-the-challenge youngsters, meant that week one went off without a hitch, despite the almost unbearable heat and lackluster meals.
Kamenny mlyn's most serious downfall, of course, was its lack of a wine cellar. In previous years the wine cellar evening in Modra was always a favourite activity. But to make-up for it this year, Kate arranged for the weekly
BBQ event to be held mid-week, rather than on our first night. The mid-week BBQ also meant that people were more familiar with each other, and as a result I think the social results were far more rewarding. Heat during the first week meant that our field trip to
Pajstun Castle was canceled, but thankfully Naomi and I were lucky enough to take the trek during the second week of classes. The hike to Pajstun, from the nearby village of Borinka, involved about a 35 minute vertical climb, which would have been near impossible during the heat wave. As I've been feeling rather out of shape in recent months, this climb was a little challenging for me--but it was nonetheless worth it, as castle ruins are among some of my favourite sites in Slovakia.
With a half-day off on Saturday, before the arrival of week-two students on Sunday, Miro took Naomi and I (and little Samo) to Trencianske Teplice, the site of the now nearly completed Hotel Praha. This reconstruction of two 19th century hotels in the spa-resort town of Trencianske Teplice, just outside of Trencin, is Miro (the architect)'s pride and joy. Equipped with a classroom (including a digital projector and internet access) Miro and I have been talking about the possibility of establishing a permanent language school there, so I was anxious to see its progress. I was not disappointed, and the prospect of one day working there is very enticing.
Our second week of classes brought a much needed drop in temperatures, and of course a new batch of students. But much to our surprise, no less than seven students from the first week (Bianka, Lenka, Peter, Jaro, Veronika, Basha, and Mirka) decided to join us again--proof, it seemed, that we were doing something right! Week-two also brought a little time (on a rainy Tuesday afternoon) for me to travel into Bratislava with Miro to buy a new camera. I am therefore pleased to point anyone who is interested in the direction of my photographic record of
CSS, Week 2, 2007.
With a host of new friends and email addresses, CSS 2007 in Kamenny mlyn was a great success. Kate told us that the student feedback was overwhelmingly positive with regards to the teachers and classes, confirming what the teachers already suspected from the general feel of the two weeks. Whether future summer schools will be held in Kamenny mlyn, Modra, or a mystery third location, is still up for debate.
Following the departure of all students and teachers from Kamenny mlyn, I spent six busy days traveling throughout western Slovakia, doing my best to visit old friends. Demonstrating an incredible degree of trust, Miro and Anna lent me one of their cars (a Skoda Fabia!) so I could get around much easier. This, it turned out, was an absolute blessing, as I simply would never have managed to see even half the people that I did. Old friends, the
Ralbovska family, were very hospitable and offered me a place to stay in Trnava for the week--this despite their move from their flat to their house only the day before my arrival! In Trnava I was reacquainted with several old friends, including Mila, Veronika,
Jana and family, some
old students from
Obchodna Akademia, and Peter from CSS, who took me for a ride on his chopper... Miro's car allowed me to travel to nearby Piestany, where I met old OA student,
Romana and CSS student,
Sandra; Partizankse, where I met old friend and student
Mirka and family;
Nitra, where I met old friend
Michele and daughter
Eva; and into Bratislava, where I spent an afternoon with CSS student, Martina, at the
Slovak National Museum (to see an exhibition I'd previously done some editing work for). My hectic week also included a trip to Surany, where I met with old friend and student, Jan, and to Podhasjka for an evening of relaxing with Miro and Anna (on their holiday!). Despite the benefit of a car, I was still unable to meet several old friends, who will sadly have to wait for my next return to what I now call "my second home."
