Alright, let's start with the juicy stuff - my Slovak husband. Although I did not, technically, get married, I got a glimpse of a man made for me on Sunday. I was standing at the bus stop, minding my own business, when I happened to get a glimpse of this guy's hat. It had not one, but two, Habs logos on it! I was in love. Then, he turned around and I saw that his jacket had a Thrashers logo on it. While I do not approve of other hockey teams, I was willing to make an exception because he is Slovak and, thus, clearly confused. To complete his absolutely enthralling outfit, he was carrying an NHL tote bag. I literally stared at him for about 10 minutes... I couldn't take my eyes off him. It's not that he was especially hot, but I just couldn't fathom anyone in this country taking such an active interest in the NHL! Unfortunately, I did not talk to him - partially because I'm a chicken shit, partially because I had nothing to say, really, other than "OMG I love the Habs!", which would make me sound like an air-head/douche - so he got away. Alas, Slovak weddings will have to wait!
Now, the reason I was even at the bus stop on Sunday was to make my way to the train station, when Jackie, Christina, Danko and I were going to catch a ride to Vienna. We wanted to see this Guiness World Records Show cuz it sounded awesome. Turns out, it was kind of crappy. The records themselves only took about 2 minutes to break, then there was a wait of about 30 minutes before anything else happened. Needless to say, we did not stick around for that for too long. Before leaving, we did get the chance to see one guy go for two records. For the first one, he put a harness around some rather large guy's waist, then proceeded to stand behind him, take the harness in his teeth, lift the guy off the ground, and walk him around the stage. This guy clearly got enough fluoride as a child! A little while later, this same guy with the crazy teeth decided to arm-wrestle an 18-wheeler (trailer free). How does that work? you may ask. Let me explain. A rope is tied to the front of the truck and, at the end of this rope is a grip-type-thingie (you can see I do this a lot). The man sits himself down at a table, grabs hold of the grip, and tries to move the truck in arm-wrestling position. I'm not even sure whether or not he succeeded, because it was taking too long and we got pretty bored pretty fast.
We spent the rest of the day walking through Vienna. It really is a beautiful city. Each building is more beautiful than the last and every turns leads down a street that looks like it belongs in a movie. We took a bunch of photos, ate more than we needed (because we kept having to tuck into restaurants to hide from the insane wind!), walked for ages, then somehow managed to find our way back to the train station and back to Bratislava.
As far as teaching goes, last week definitely made me feel like I was not cut out for this job! On Thursday, I was cleaning one of the tables in my class so we could use it for an art activity. My laptop was on it and, as I did not want it to get covered with glue and glitter, I decided to move it. I picked it up (not high, mind you, this is a tiny table) and turned around... only to come directly into contact with Marco's orbital bone. Nice. He now has a small but on his eye lid and a giant bruise around his eye. It was definitely a moment I was proud of.
As if that wasn't bad enough, on Friday, something considerably worse happened. One of the girls in my class, Rahel, was born deaf (if not totally, then mostly) and now has cochlear implants. She has had them for six months and, according to doctors, is progressing much faster than average. She has learned to speak (German) and responds well to sound even in a noisy environment. For the implant to work, though, a certain part of it has to be touching her head (it's magnetized) and the battery has to be working (obviously). When either of these things goes wrong, an alarm rings on another device (which looks just like a cell phone) and a picture appears to show you what's wrong. Seeing as she's only 4 years old, I carry this controller around all day and, at the end of the day when her mom picks her up, I hand it back over to her. On Friday, when her mom showed up, I reached down to grab it and it was gone. I assumed it had just fallen out of my pocket, but when I looked around on the floor it was still nowhere in sight. I searched and searched (I even ran 30 minutes to Devin castle and back because we had walked there with the kids in the afternoon) and still came up empty-handed. I had to send her home without it. I felt AWFUL!!!!! I even came into school on Saturday to have another look, but to no avail. Her mom brought in a picture of it today and we made "Lost" posters, so hopefully someone returns it...
As you can see, it has not been an easy week for me professionally. Hopefully, this week will be better... no one will get injured and I will not lose any more vital equipment. However, we're starting to learn the alphabet this week and my kids are both extremely lazy and slightly psychotic, so I can't promise everyone will get out unscathed. I'll let you know how it goes!
Steph :)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Suggestions, please!
Well, another week has gone by and my life in not so much more interesting. We didn't end up going to Vienna on Wednesday, because everyone had work to do (except me, of course... it would appear that teaching Kindergarten is a free pass on all the crazy planning this school requires from its teachers). I did, however, go downtown with Jackie and take some photos of random Bratislava landmarks. I was pretty fun, actually, acting like a tourist. I've posted the photos on Facebook, so I assume everyone has pretty much seen them.
This week, Philipp's crying has been reduced to about an hour a day. He cries when his mom or dad drops him off in the morning, then he stops. Then he starts again at lunch (it's like he knows that lunch means the day is almost over and his parents will be here soon), and all-out wails during "rest time". Then he stops again and is pretty quiet until his parents get there. Maybe next week will be even better... one can only hope!
Yesterday, I went down to Bratislava castle with Shelby and Danko. It was closed. It's probably better off, though, since I'm pretty sure the inside is a museum and I really have no interest in visiting it. I'm not smart enough for museums. Since the castle was closed and this cut our afternoon meandering short, we decided to walk around the city aimlessly. We came upon a hostel, so stepped inside to steal some maps and/or brochures. We got one that advertised a "Free Walking Tour of Bratislava", so decided to do that... except we didn't want to see half of what was on it, so we just followed the map and did it ourselves. We saw the Castle, the Presidential Palace and it's gardens, and some old buildings we had never really noticed before. the palace gardens were my favourite because there was an adult-sized see-saw in them. Awesome! We played on them for a while and made complete fools of ourselves before leaving. There is photographic evidence of this on Facebook... I only posted 3 pictures, but we took like 10. Real mature.
Today is kind of a veg day, but I think we are going to try for Vienna again next weekend. Apparently, there is some kind of show where people come and try to break Guiness World Records, so that could be interesting... I'm open to suggestions as to which record you think I could train for and beat in a week's time.
Let me know!
Steph :)
This week, Philipp's crying has been reduced to about an hour a day. He cries when his mom or dad drops him off in the morning, then he stops. Then he starts again at lunch (it's like he knows that lunch means the day is almost over and his parents will be here soon), and all-out wails during "rest time". Then he stops again and is pretty quiet until his parents get there. Maybe next week will be even better... one can only hope!
Yesterday, I went down to Bratislava castle with Shelby and Danko. It was closed. It's probably better off, though, since I'm pretty sure the inside is a museum and I really have no interest in visiting it. I'm not smart enough for museums. Since the castle was closed and this cut our afternoon meandering short, we decided to walk around the city aimlessly. We came upon a hostel, so stepped inside to steal some maps and/or brochures. We got one that advertised a "Free Walking Tour of Bratislava", so decided to do that... except we didn't want to see half of what was on it, so we just followed the map and did it ourselves. We saw the Castle, the Presidential Palace and it's gardens, and some old buildings we had never really noticed before. the palace gardens were my favourite because there was an adult-sized see-saw in them. Awesome! We played on them for a while and made complete fools of ourselves before leaving. There is photographic evidence of this on Facebook... I only posted 3 pictures, but we took like 10. Real mature.
Today is kind of a veg day, but I think we are going to try for Vienna again next weekend. Apparently, there is some kind of show where people come and try to break Guiness World Records, so that could be interesting... I'm open to suggestions as to which record you think I could train for and beat in a week's time.
Let me know!
Steph :)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
A little crying never hurt anyone, but a lot will give you a headache!
I guess the latest info you guys have is that my kids are super cute and that I had surgery (I'm basing this on the fact that that was my status not so long ago and we are all basically Facebook addicts). Let me update you on both counts.
First, the ear. It's fine now... I'm continuing to put cream on it and monitor my body for any other concubines that might decide to take up residence, but I'm praying that this latest course of antibiotics has cured me for good. I should hope so, because these ones tasted disgusting! I had a horrible taste in my mouth for the entire week, no matter how often I brushed my teeth or how much water I drank. Oh well, doesn't matter now, it's in the past (thanks to Rafiki for teaching me such a valuable lesson).
Onto the kids... they are still very cute. However, they are also huge babies!! I understand crying a little bit when your mom or dad leaves you in the care of a total stranger and you are a scared 4 year-old and that is exactly what most of my kids do - shed a few tears at the departure of their parents, then promptly get distracted by the many toys that have been sprawled across the floor for them to play with. Philipp, on the other hand, is a special case. On Monday, Philipp cried all day. On Tuesday, Philipp cried all day. On Wednesday, Philipp cried all day. On Thursday, Philipp only cried for 90% of the day. On Friday, Philipp cried for 85% of the day.
First of all, let me just say that I am seriously impressed at Philipp's endurance. If I cried for that long, I would fall asleep standing up, because my eyes would be burning so badly. Not Philipp. He just goes on and on and on and on. Second, I feel it is important to point out that Philipp has quite a set of lungs on him. If he were a silent sobber, I wouldn't mind so much... but he's not. He sits in class and he wails: "German German German... mein Papaaaaaaaaa... German German German... mein schweeeeeeester!" There is nothing anyone can do to calm him down and, while I'm pretty resistant to sob-induce headaches, Friday afternoon was definitely an Advil moment. One can only put up with that horrid sound for so long. Hopefully, next week will be better, but I'm not holding my breath... I feel like I am facing quite an uphill battle with this kid.
Anyway, other than the crying and the fact that none of my kids really understand a word I am saying, I have a pretty sweet job. I really only have to plan for two, fifteen minute "educational activities" per day. The rest involves eating, playing, eating, sleeping, playing, eating, and playing. All that play/rest time gives me plenty of time to prepare materials or lessons for the coming days and gives me time to prepare little extras for the kids, like class books or videos of the Teddy Bear Sleepover, which was basically my favourite moment of all time.
Other than school, my life has been pretty boring lately. Everyone has been really exhausted with all the first days excitement, so opportunities for going out have been scarce. We did go out drinking for Shelby's birthday last weekend, which was fun. The only problem was that all my clothes (including my bra!) reeked of smoke when we got in... which means I had to do laundry... with no drier... so sad :(
Next Wednesday is a National Holiday in Slovakia so we are thinking of going to spend the day in Vienna, just to be crazy and exciting. Maybe then I will have a slightly more interesting blog to write... we'll see!
That's all for now!
Steph :)
P.S. Rob bought me Habs tickets today for when I'm home at Christmas. Made my day, it did. Made my day.
First, the ear. It's fine now... I'm continuing to put cream on it and monitor my body for any other concubines that might decide to take up residence, but I'm praying that this latest course of antibiotics has cured me for good. I should hope so, because these ones tasted disgusting! I had a horrible taste in my mouth for the entire week, no matter how often I brushed my teeth or how much water I drank. Oh well, doesn't matter now, it's in the past (thanks to Rafiki for teaching me such a valuable lesson).
Onto the kids... they are still very cute. However, they are also huge babies!! I understand crying a little bit when your mom or dad leaves you in the care of a total stranger and you are a scared 4 year-old and that is exactly what most of my kids do - shed a few tears at the departure of their parents, then promptly get distracted by the many toys that have been sprawled across the floor for them to play with. Philipp, on the other hand, is a special case. On Monday, Philipp cried all day. On Tuesday, Philipp cried all day. On Wednesday, Philipp cried all day. On Thursday, Philipp only cried for 90% of the day. On Friday, Philipp cried for 85% of the day.
First of all, let me just say that I am seriously impressed at Philipp's endurance. If I cried for that long, I would fall asleep standing up, because my eyes would be burning so badly. Not Philipp. He just goes on and on and on and on. Second, I feel it is important to point out that Philipp has quite a set of lungs on him. If he were a silent sobber, I wouldn't mind so much... but he's not. He sits in class and he wails: "German German German... mein Papaaaaaaaaa... German German German... mein schweeeeeeester!" There is nothing anyone can do to calm him down and, while I'm pretty resistant to sob-induce headaches, Friday afternoon was definitely an Advil moment. One can only put up with that horrid sound for so long. Hopefully, next week will be better, but I'm not holding my breath... I feel like I am facing quite an uphill battle with this kid.
Anyway, other than the crying and the fact that none of my kids really understand a word I am saying, I have a pretty sweet job. I really only have to plan for two, fifteen minute "educational activities" per day. The rest involves eating, playing, eating, sleeping, playing, eating, and playing. All that play/rest time gives me plenty of time to prepare materials or lessons for the coming days and gives me time to prepare little extras for the kids, like class books or videos of the Teddy Bear Sleepover, which was basically my favourite moment of all time.
Other than school, my life has been pretty boring lately. Everyone has been really exhausted with all the first days excitement, so opportunities for going out have been scarce. We did go out drinking for Shelby's birthday last weekend, which was fun. The only problem was that all my clothes (including my bra!) reeked of smoke when we got in... which means I had to do laundry... with no drier... so sad :(
Next Wednesday is a National Holiday in Slovakia so we are thinking of going to spend the day in Vienna, just to be crazy and exciting. Maybe then I will have a slightly more interesting blog to write... we'll see!
That's all for now!
Steph :)
P.S. Rob bought me Habs tickets today for when I'm home at Christmas. Made my day, it did. Made my day.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The First Days of School
Hello again,
Before we head directly to school, let me tell you a little about committing my first Slovak "crime". On Tuesday, you may have heard about a shooting here in Europe's safest capital (I'm not trying to say I did it, this is just how our story begins). It happened while I was at school, just one bus stop away from where I am currently living. After work, my current roommates and I were unable to get home because of roadblocks, so we headed to Danko's house for a mini potluck. Danko, Shelby, Jackie, Christina and I were all starving and ready to eat, but we had to wait for Corey. Finally, he arrived, weird cucumber juice in hand, looking flustered. We asked him what was wrong and he told us that he had locked his keys in his apartment and that the only person who would know where to get a spare is currently on holiday in the States. We mulled over this information during dinner and finally came up with a foolproof plan - to boost Danko onto Corey's first floor balcony where he could break into the open patio door... So off we went, scoping the place out, measuring distances and trying to come up with a way to do this without having anyone call the cops on us (the part of the plan where the girls distracted the cops by taking there tops off thankfully got left out). We finally did it, cop free, and Corey got his keys back. We now live in fear of the same thing happening to Shelby... she lives on the fourth floor!! (I photographed the whole event - because if you photograph it it's not a crime - and put the photos on Facebook... they're quite entertaining, you should probably check them out.)
Now, onto school. I think it is fair to say that, for most people, the first few days of school are a busy, exhausting, exciting time. For me, they were just confusing. For starters, until today, I had no idea where I would actually be teaching. Although this didn't bother me too much, it did make my planning/setting up the classroom time rather pointless. I didn't know where to put my stuff, wasn't sure which group I should be planning activities for, and was out of the school doing paperwork or immigration stuff so often that I felt like I was doing basically no work. Somehow, my would-be classroom (if I were to stay in Bratislava, which, as of today I have found out that I am) got set up and it looks awesome, but I can not really say how this happened.
Then there is the fact that, today, on the children's first actual day of school, I only got to stick around for about 10 minutes to meet them. The reason for this being that I had to be rushed to a doctor for surgery! I think most of you can remember the horribly revolting "buddy" I brought back from India on my arm... well, to spare you the gorey details, let's just say that I had a new friend in my ear to take care of today. It was awful.
I'm going back to the doctor tomorrow morning for a follow-up on my ear. Hopefully it will be less painful and unpleasant. I tried to post some photos of my awesome classroom on here to get your minds off this disgusting topic, but the computer/internet is too slow, so I'll put the on Facebook instead. Go check them out there!
See ya later!
Steph :)
Before we head directly to school, let me tell you a little about committing my first Slovak "crime". On Tuesday, you may have heard about a shooting here in Europe's safest capital (I'm not trying to say I did it, this is just how our story begins). It happened while I was at school, just one bus stop away from where I am currently living. After work, my current roommates and I were unable to get home because of roadblocks, so we headed to Danko's house for a mini potluck. Danko, Shelby, Jackie, Christina and I were all starving and ready to eat, but we had to wait for Corey. Finally, he arrived, weird cucumber juice in hand, looking flustered. We asked him what was wrong and he told us that he had locked his keys in his apartment and that the only person who would know where to get a spare is currently on holiday in the States. We mulled over this information during dinner and finally came up with a foolproof plan - to boost Danko onto Corey's first floor balcony where he could break into the open patio door... So off we went, scoping the place out, measuring distances and trying to come up with a way to do this without having anyone call the cops on us (the part of the plan where the girls distracted the cops by taking there tops off thankfully got left out). We finally did it, cop free, and Corey got his keys back. We now live in fear of the same thing happening to Shelby... she lives on the fourth floor!! (I photographed the whole event - because if you photograph it it's not a crime - and put the photos on Facebook... they're quite entertaining, you should probably check them out.)
Now, onto school. I think it is fair to say that, for most people, the first few days of school are a busy, exhausting, exciting time. For me, they were just confusing. For starters, until today, I had no idea where I would actually be teaching. Although this didn't bother me too much, it did make my planning/setting up the classroom time rather pointless. I didn't know where to put my stuff, wasn't sure which group I should be planning activities for, and was out of the school doing paperwork or immigration stuff so often that I felt like I was doing basically no work. Somehow, my would-be classroom (if I were to stay in Bratislava, which, as of today I have found out that I am) got set up and it looks awesome, but I can not really say how this happened.
Then there is the fact that, today, on the children's first actual day of school, I only got to stick around for about 10 minutes to meet them. The reason for this being that I had to be rushed to a doctor for surgery! I think most of you can remember the horribly revolting "buddy" I brought back from India on my arm... well, to spare you the gorey details, let's just say that I had a new friend in my ear to take care of today. It was awful.
I'm going back to the doctor tomorrow morning for a follow-up on my ear. Hopefully it will be less painful and unpleasant. I tried to post some photos of my awesome classroom on here to get your minds off this disgusting topic, but the computer/internet is too slow, so I'll put the on Facebook instead. Go check them out there!
See ya later!
Steph :)
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