Christmas Market in the Square

13 December, 2005. 8.30 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.

Here's a picture (not a very good one, mind you) of the big clock tower in downtown Trnava. In the foreground you can make out some of the small booths that are currently hosting the Christmas Market. Every city of this size, or bigger, hosts a Christmas Market in their main square for the entire month of December. Some of the treats you can buy include a variety of home-made candies, warm wine and other alcohol, handcrafts, and jewelry. I'll try to take some better pictures soon. If I'm lucky, we'll get a good dumping of snow.... It snowed yesterday, but by mid-day today it had all melted.

I started teaching this week--or at least shadowing the American teacher who I'll be replacing (his name is Brandon, and he's from Atlanta). Tuesdays are killer, as I'll have 8 hours of class in a row. School starts at 8am here and my days will go no later than 2.30pm. Lunches are only about 25 minutes and often students (and teachers) are finished their day a lot earlier, depending on the day's schedule. Strangely enough, I'm living in the same dormitory as several of my students. The students (overwhelmingly girls, by the way) at Obchodna Akademia are specially selected for their high marks, so many come from a fair distance away. Some take the bus or train every morning for 45 minutes or more.... The food at my residence is horrible, but it is very cheap. You get what you pay for, clearly.

My evenings are generally still pretty free, but I am beginning to make inquiries about starting private lessons. My friend, pani Ralbovska (an English teacher at a primary school), has been helping me with this. We are even considering offering lessons together. Time will tell if this works out or not. In any case, I know that I can make a minimum of 200 crowns an hour for private lessons. That will be a real help financially, considering teachers' salaries here are very low (nevermind what my salary translates into Canadian $$!!). A few of my old students from my time here the last three summers have begun to contact me. Unfortunately none are right here in Trnava, but a few are reasonably close.

This weekend I have plans to join a tour group that is heading to Vienna. I've been to Vienna before, but I figure a guided tour can't hurt me. Besides, I need to start taking better advantage of my free time and making new friends! On Sunday I'll visit an old student in nearby Partizanske. No plans for Christmas as of yet, although I think I'll spend Christmas day, at least, with Miro's family. The departing American teacher has offered me two tickets to Italy at a very reasonable price, but the dates are not particularly convenient. I'm sure I'll think of something....