Where I've Been, and What I've Been Doing

6 July, 2006. 3.19pm. Trnava, Slovakia.

Gwyn Ashton's dobro guitar...

Hero's Square in Budapest...

Michelle in Nitra...

Eva, Romana, and Natalia in Strbske Pleso...

Mila in the Male Karpaty mountains.

June was a blur. Perhaps because I was struggling with a stubborn cold all month, I realize that I’ve come to neglect my blogging duties somewhat.

June began with DobroFest. Jan Dopyera, the inventor of the dobro guitar, was born in the Trnava region, so for the past fifteen years a festival in tribute to Dopyera and the dobro has been held in Trnava. I was looking forward to this festival because it promised to draw several international folk and country performers, but unfortunately the organizers were cursed with the worst weekend weather of the Spring. It was cold and rainy the whole weekend, and I suspect this had something to do with the cold I developed. I went to as many performances as possible, nonetheless. But much of Trnava stayed home, and international performers were greeted by only sparse crowds. Highlights of the weekend for me were, Petr Brandejs Band (CZ), Country Team (SK), Gwyn Ashton (AU), and Toni Balloco (I). There was one Canadian act featured, Vox Violins. Before DobroFest I’d never heard of these aging hippies, but after listening to their brief set I now know that they hail from St. Catharine’s, Ontario (because they talked about their small city obsessively—as though anyone in Slovakia knows where St. Catharine’s is!). But maybe I’m being a little unfair to Vox Violins. They were good, in a mid-afternoon CBC kind of way (and don’t get me wrong, I love the CBC!).

The second weekend in June saw me in Budapest, once again. I was eager to go back, particularly for the fine Hungarian cuisine. This was a one day bus trip and unfortunately the weather was not in our favour. We did get to see inside the Parliament Building, however, and I had a good walk around Hero’s Square, but most of the day was spent on the bus….

As I’ve mentioned before. June also say the end of the school term. Not only did my classes at Obchodna Akademia finish, but also many of my private lessons. But before I finished teaching, I was able to enjoy lunch at my colleague Stanka’s house, along with her family. I also joined my colleague Andrea, and her sister Silvia, at their home to cook bryndzova halusky (the Slovak national dish). They were sceptical that I could cook it myself, but I proved to them I could! I love this dish, which is a simple mixture of potato dumplings (halusky) and bryndza cheese (from sheep’s milk, it is unpasteurised and therefore unavailable outside of the Slovakia), garnished with a little bit of bacon. Mmmm.

Two weeks ago I spent a lovely day in Nitra with my friend Michelle. Nitra, along with Trnava, claims to be the oldest city in Slovakia. But Nitra is a much prettier city than Trnava. It features a castle and several hills, and its historical buildings have, for the most part, been restored (unlike in Trnava, where many stand forlorn and in near ruin). Michelle gave me a tour of the city, including the castle—the oldest part of which was built in the 11^th century.

Throughout the month I was treated to a multitude of fresh cherries and strawberries. Almost everyone has a garden or at least access to a cherry tree here. I consumed more cherries last month than in the entirety of my life prior, I’m sure.

Last week I went on 1E’s class trip. Since February members of the class were begging me to go with them, and I looked forward to it. The students arranged accommodation in some cottages in a small village called Vel’ký Slavkov, which is about 10km from the city of Poprad in central Slovakia, near the High Tatra mountains. But unfortunately, beyond getting to the cottages, there was no programme planned. The other two teachers on the trip (who have had experience with this kind of trip before, I might add) also planned nothing and insisted on letting the students decide what we’d do. Well, ask 30 teenagers what they want to do, and approximately 25 of them will say “nothing.” This is precisely what we did—nothing. After more than two hours of deliberation one afternoon we finally agreed to travel by bus to Strbské Pleso, to hike around the lake—and that was the extent of our activities on this three day trip. The rest of the time was spent sitting around the cottages. I was not pleased—with the students or the other teachers. I did my best to suggest activities, but the other teachers wanted to do everything together as a group. And instead of dictating to the students what we’d do, they let the students decide. Chaos. Not surprisingly several of the students misbehaved on the last night, drinking and smoking, etc. The trip was a major disappointment for me, to say the least, and an unfortunate way to say goodbye to what had been my favourite class.

The end of the school year passed, last Friday, with little ceremony. Some of the teachers wished me well, as did a few students, but in the end everyone trickled away. I did my best to find a replacement Native Speaker for the school, and I hope the woman I recommended will take the job. While I’ve met several Native English speakers here, I can truthfully recommend very few of them. Mind you, some of them are returning home, like me, but others are not what I would consider good teacher material. A few are just drunks, other are just plain strange….

My colleague and friend from Slovak Technical University, Mila, has (as usual) been keeping me busy, and I’m grateful to her. In June we took a lovely 30km bike trip through back roads and fields to the nearby village of Cifer, and back. This week already Mila and I have taken two bike rides, to Modranka, Zeleneč, and Hrnčiarovce near Trnava, and yesterday we took a bus to the town of Smolonice. From Smolonice we hiked into the hills, following the Smolenický kras instructive path. Most interesting was the site of Molpir, from the 6^th or 7^th century BC. The hill where this fort and settlement was once located is now covered in wild cherry trees and strawberries. We arrived at 9am and feasted freely on the wild fruits. We hiked all day, until 4pm, ascending the tallest mountain of the Malé Karpaty mountains, Záruby (767 m).

Later today I will be boarding an overnight train to Warsaw. There I plan to meet my old friend Kristen, who has been studying in Finland for the last few years. Like me, she will be reluctantly returning to Canada at the end of the month. I am looking forward to Poland, as I’ve only been to the Warsaw airport in the past….