Election Blues

30 January, 2006. 8.53 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.

Who voted for those fools?! I won't go on at length expressing my extreme disappointment about the political state of Canada, but I want to vow here publicly that when I return to Canada I will become politically active. Clearly something is very wrong with the political landscape in Canada if a man like (gasp) Harper can become PM. Not to say that I'd make a very good politician, but I can see no other alternative--how else can one express their vision and hopes for their country? I care too much to ignore politics, but at the same time I feel that wasting my energy in complaining and frustration will do no good either. Maybe I should start another blog expressing my political ideas.....

In the meantime, Slovakia has been treating me well. Several interesting things happened last week. Last Monday I was beckoned to the Foreign Police Office in Trnava as I was told my Temporary Residence Permit was ready. How foolish of me to believe it could be ready so soon.... Instead of telling me on the phone that I needed to jump through two more hoops, I had to learn this after walking all the way to the other side of town. To make matters more complicated, (ironically enough) no one at the Foreign Police Office speaks a single word of English. No wonder they are so efficient. So while one woman insisted on speaking to me in Slovak (when it was clear I could not understand her) two other women sat behind the glass giggling--one in particular had a good laugh while she was taking care of the important police business of reading the latest Avon catalogue.... At the very least, I was able to use some of the Slovak my 1E students taught me: pero (pen) and papier (paper), which was enough to make her understand that I wanted her to write down this latest set of instructions. With my Slovak instructions in hand, I then walked all the way back to Obchodna Akademia where I was told that I would have to have a medical exam at the "Department of Foreign Diseases" in Bratislava, and that I needed to purchase a special 5o Sk stamp at the Post Office in order to complete my Temporary Residence Permit ordeal. I was warned by the Evangelical Americans in Trnava that this might happen, but I naively thought that because I had already passed a full medical exam in Canada before I left (which was officially translated into Slovak and submitted as a part of my original application) that I wouldn't have to endure any more doctors. Wrong. The Americans told horror stories of q-tips in intimate places and special bags for various unpleasant body fluids, so I was less than thrilled to learn that I would have to visit the hospital in Bratislava. Well, despite the turnout of our latest election, I am still proud to be Canadian. I can only assume that because Americans are special people, they get a special medical exam in Slovakia. I am happy to report that my test did not include any q-tips or specially labelled bags. In fact, I was in and out of the hospital within 40 minutes--this included a blood test and a chest x-ray. So assuming that I have not acquired any "foreign" diseases in the last three months (two of which, I might add, have been spent in Slovakia!) I will have my Temporary Residence Permit by the end of this week. I hope.

Tuesday evening saw the official first class of my English Conversation course at the Slovak University of Technology. I had a class of about eighteen students, all adults except two. Much to my surprise, one of these students was Zuzanna, an old friend from Canadian Summer School. She was a student two years ago in Modra and while we kept in touch via email, I had not seen her since my return in November. The class went well, and Mila tells me that feedback has been excellent so far.

On Friday night I attended an opera at the National Theatre in Bratislava. Mila, the deputy-head of the Language Department at the Slovak University of Technology, invited me to attend. Although the opera ("The Masked Ball") was in Italian, with Slovak sub-titles, I still enjoyed the event. The National Theatre in Bratislava is a small theatre but it is lovely. And I used the occassion to buy a new semi-formal winter coat. After my zipper incident a few weeks ago I felt I could take advantage of the January sales to look for something nice and new. With luck I found a good coat that had been marked down from 3,000 Sk to 900 Sk. I am quite pleased with my bargain-hunting abilities.... On the bus to Bratislava and back, I sat with a woman who runs her own private language school. Mila recommended to her that I might be a good candidate to help her with a language CD project that she is working on. We spoke about the project on the bus and I will begin recording the English segments of this CD on 6 February. It should be quite interesting!

On Saturday afternoon I once again returned to Bratislava, this time to visit Miro & Anna and Marek & Kate. As it is my 30th birthday this Wednesday, we had a small party at Marek & Kate's flat. I hope to have another party for my Trnava friends this weekend. In Slovakia it is custom that one throws their own party and supplies all of the drinks and snacks....

My Slovak Guitar

20 January, 2006. 8.45 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.
I bought a cheap used acoustic guitar in Trnava this week.....

How I Like Jazz; or How Many Slovaks does it take to help a Canadian fix his zipper?

16 January, 2006. 8.45 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.
Sunday was an eventful day. After spending a good part of the morning and early afternoon writing up the syllabus for my English Conversation class at Slovak Technical University, I met my good friend Janka in the centre of town for hot chocolate. Hot chocolate here is thick and smooth, just like pudding. And I love it. No question. We talked a little about the "Kristina situation" (or lack thereof), and Janka's opinion was insightful. Drawing from her own experience, she offered the opinion that I'm basically out-of-luck when it comes to women here because they know I'm a foreigner. It will automatically be assumed (with good reason) that I'll be going back to Canada one day (not if Harper is elected!) so no one is really willing to get involved. It seems that most Slovak women are pretty serious about their relationships....at least, that's the sense I'm getting....

After my afternoon with Janka I hurried off to meet a friend of my colleague Mila (from the Slovak Technical University) at the MAX shopping centre. Upon meeting Erika, we walked to Mila's flat and then progressed, by car with another one of Mila's colleagues, to a reconstructed mill on the outskirts of Trnava. This old mill has been refurbished to act as a restaurant and hotel. It's lovely. There we watched a concert by the jazz percussionist Jozef "Dodo" Sosoka. Only, I didn't know that he was a jazz performer until AFTER a TV camera and microphone was thrust in my face and I was asked "How do you like jazz?" As the token foreigner I'm sure to be on TV now, but I performed like a stuttering idiot! This "interview" took place before any music was even played, and even if I had known he was a jazz performer, I'm still not sure I could have answered that question.... Nonetheless, I don't have a TV, so I won't have to witness my own shame..... The concert was interesting. Sosoka is internationally acclaimed in the jazz percussion field. He's about 60 and by the end of the evening he looked physically exhausted!

To make the evening more interesting, the zipper on my otherwise perfectly suitable (and warm) winter coat broke! It was a good thing we had a ride, because I might otherwise have frozen. Mila was kind enough to lend me her son's overcoat and she offered to take my broken coat to her tailor. So, how many Slovaks does it take to help a Canadian fix his zipper? Five. 1. Mila's colleague, Daniella, to drive me home; 2. Mila herself to offer me the replacement coat and the services of her tailor; 3. Mila's son, Michal, for the use of his spare coat; 4. Mila's grad student, Petra, to help me buy a new zipper; and of course, 6. Mila's tailor. Funny how simple things like a broken zipper can be so complicated in a foreign country where you don't speak the language.... Thank goodness for good friends.

I Just Voted

13 January, 2006. 11.00 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.

I voted in the Canadian Federal Election today. I had to register with Elections Canada as an out-of-country voter. Today a courier arrived with my special ballot. For anybody interested, I voted in the Saskatoon-Humboldt riding, since this was the riding I last lived in. I also could have voted in my parents' riding in Ontario, but since all of my ID says Saskatoon, it was easier to vote there (and I also plan to return to Saskatoon one day, unless.....well, I don't want to think about it). I've been reading about the polls on CBC.ca. I can't bear to read other reports.... Harper as PM? I just can't imagine it. I think I'll take-up praying..... In any case, if you or any of your friends can't be bothered or find the time to vote, just think of me.... I voted, and I live in Slovakia!! There's no excuse!!

In addition to voting, this week was eventful because it was my first FULL week teaching at Obchodna Akademia. Although I've been on staff there for almost a month, as circumstance would have it, I never had to teach on a Friday until today. So there were two classes that I hadn't met until today. The week was otherwise uneventful from a teaching perspective--no more dirty Slovak words..... On Monday I met with the Deputy-Head of the Language Department of Slovak Technical University in Trnava. Next week I'll start teaching an evening course at the University. It will run until June. I look forward to teaching at the university since it will mean my students will be closer to me in age and interest.

I "discovered" Tesco this week. Tesco is a British box store that has recently invaded Slovakia. In Trnava, the Tesco is clear across town from my dormitory, so until this week I'd never ventured there. But after looking high and low for a reasonably priced kettle in the centrum, I finally resorted to taking a trip to Tesco. I have to admit that the convenience of everything in one place was...well, convenient! And I found a kettle too, so now I can have hot meals on the weekends in my room (i.e. soup).

Although I never took to watching the Idol programs in North America, I've become a bit of a fan of Slovak Superstar (like Canadian Idol). I'm not into it serious, or anything, but it makes for a nice social evening. Usually I watch it with the Ralbovska family, but tonight I watched it with the Evangelical Americans. These Americans have a facility called "The Building" where they hold Bible studies and other less-religious events. They are nice people and they have a really good facility--it's obvious they get a lot of support from churces back in America. They have tvs and dvd players, etc that the schools in Slovakia can't afford. Even Obchodna Akademia, which is the nicest school I've seen in Slovakia, doesn't have a dvd player. I am considering buying one and donating it to the school... I know they'd get good use out of it.

In other news, I finally found a musical instrument store today. My friend Lubica and her son showed it to me. I will probably buy a used classical guitar. During communism the Czechs and Slovaks made pretty good (and inexpensive) guitars....

cozy kozy

10 January, 2006. 8:15 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.
I learned a new Slovak word last week: Kozy. Now, before you go running to your dictionaries, and then close down your web-browsers in disgust, let me tell my story. Last week, being the first week back to school after the Christmas holiday, I was naturally asking my students to speak about Christmas, what they did on the holiday, what they recieved, etc, etc. These students are generally not shy--some students wasted no time in telling me about ALL of their gifts (including at least one "push-up bra"!), so when one girl mentioned she recieved the sweater she was wearing, I said "Oh, how nice. It looks very cozy." Well, the class (remember: mostly female) erupted into uncontrollable laughter. Clearly "cozy" also had a meaning in Slovak. So, after some persuasion (and lots of giggling), one brave girl said "kozy in Slovak means....." and then she pointed to her chest (more uncontrollable laughing). So, completely innocently I had struck upon a less-than-polite way of referring to breasts. As at least one person has pointed out, they will never forget the meaning of "cozy" and I will certainly never forget "kozy".....

What else is new? This past weekend was a long weekend in Slovakia. Friday was a holiday to celebrate "Three Kings Day," the day when the three wisemen are believed to have visited Jesus and offered him gifts. Slovakia is a Catholic country. Sometime in the future I'll tell you a little bit about the Americans I've met here. Despite the fact that Trnava has more churches than I've ever seen in one town, there are some southern American evangelical missionaries here.... They are nice people, but I've yet to fully comprehend what they're doing here!

I am told that my Temporary Residence Permit is now available at the Office of the Foreign Police in Trnava. I just have to find a time that I can go there with a Slovak translator to pick it up! After all the mess earlier with the Canadian Language School, this was the last piece of legal information I needed. Now I know for certain that the CLS was merely trying to intimidate me with their threatening emails that claimed I was "illegal" and in danger of being arrested if I did not pay them money. Speaking of CLS, they threatened me again in an email last week--again explicitly stating that if I did not pay them 6,000 Sk that they would "hand my file over to the State Police." Well, I never signed a contract with them, and for a mere 6,000 Sk the police will probably just send them away. Clearly their business is in trouble if they believe they can intimidate me in this way. But I won't breath completely easy until I have my Temporary Residence Permit in hand....

Within a week I hope to have my ballot in-hand to vote in the Canadian Federal Election. Let me go on record saying this: if Stephen Harper ever becomes our Prime Minister, I will have some serious problems with the idea of returning to Canada!! Think lesser of two evils Canada!!! PLEASE!

Christmas Concerts I Forgot to Mention

2 January, 2006. 7:10 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.

I forgot to mention that I attended four Christmas concerts in Trnava, which is known to have a rich musical culture. The first was in the town square, when the Christmas Market was still set-up (it's gone now)--Cantica Nova, a high school student choir sang, and then the Funny Fellows played. The Funny Fellows were great! Next I went to the old Jewish Temple a day or two later to hear an a cappella group, called Kruhy (Circle). I wish I'd brought my camera.... The inside of the temple is beautiful. On the 23 December I went to the Franciscan Church with some new Slovak friends. A famous choral group was singing, called Tirnavia. They were wonderful. And on the 29th I attended a benefit concert, the highlight of which was Alan Mikusek, Slovakia's most famous country singer. He did a great version of "Good Hearted Woman"....

Tirnavia's website:
http://www.tirnavia.asteri.sk/

Cantica Nova's website:
http://www.canticanova.asteri.sk/

The Funny Fellows' website:
http://www.funnyfellows.sk/

Kruhy's website:
http://kruhy.sk/skupina.php

More Christmas Pictures

6 January, 2006. 7:00 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.



Viera, Lenka, and Janka Ralbovska, 25 December.


Marek and Jakub Fillo, 26 December.

A Christmas recap

2 January, 2006. 6:25 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Holiday season. It hasn't stopped raining in southern Slovakia yet in 2006! This after one of the biggest snow storms the country has seen in years on 30 December (there was a forty car pile up on the highway outside of Trnava, with four fatalities). Everything, and I mean everything, is covered in slush and snow. I'll be amazed if I can get home tonight without wet feet!

I had three christmases in Slovakia: two with Miro and family, and one with Janka and her family. Christmas is celebrated here in the evening on the 24th, and the traditional meal is carp with either fish or cabbage soup. I had two meals with carp, and the third was a turkey in my honour! Carp is a very fishy fish, for those of you who haven't tried it. It is fried, but there are some rather large bones to watch out for. And to think that we throw these fish back in the water in Canada! Before this trip I didn't like cabbage soup, but after about half a dozen feedings, it turns out that I love it!

The holiday was a short, but busy one. In addition to visiting Miro and Janka a few time, I went to Piestany to visit Kristina and Sylvia, and to Jalka to spend the New Year with Lubos and his girlfriend Marta (who is Slovak, but works in Dublin). Jalka is a small town between Bratislava and Senec. The evening was quiet, until midnight when suddenly almost every house in the town released fireworks! I expected this in Bratislava, but in Jalka it was a big surprise!!

Now I am scheduled to return to teaching tomorrow. But then Friday is a holiday, so it will be a short week!!

The attached picture is my second Christmas with Miro's family. More pictures to follow...