Fourth Sunday of Advent

We have been attending the Bratislava International Church in the downtown area. This church is partly supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and is English speaking. People who are part of the church are from all over the world, including refugees from several other countries.

Today our kids were up front for the lighting of the 4th candle of Advent - the photo is a little blurry, but it is really sweet just the same!

Christmas Traditions - Carp & Potato Salad

On Christmas day in Slovakia a traditional meal will include carp and potato salad. Just last week we noticed portable fish ponds showing up outside the grocery stores. Inside were live carp. Next to that were a couple of guys with fishing nets, some bags and a scale. So that is how you get your fish for Christmas meal. We noticed the fish were being scooped up by the net, put into the bag alive, weighed and paid for. I don't care what happened after that. I always thought carp were bottom feeders, the kind that no one ever kept if they were caught. I have little doubt that the spices used to cook this fish must make it tasty. We probably will not have a chance to try it. I guess it could go with potato salad, right?


Here are the kids watching the carp swim around before they become a traditional Slovak Christmas dinner.

Slovak Christmas Traditions - St. Mikulas (St. Nicholas)

Being in another culture for their celebration of Christmas is, indeed, a unique experience. While we miss our own traditions with our families in Michigan, we will enjoy some new traditions while in Slovakia.

On the night of December 5 all the children clean their winter boots. After they are cleaned, they put them in the windowsill. Now, if they have been good and/or their boots are clean enough, they will wake up in the morning with a bag of candy, fruit and nuts inside their boots! If they aren't, there are many other things for the naughty kids with dirty boots (coal, rocks, little nasty devil shaped chocolates).

The stores were loaded up with chocolate Santas, chocolate Saints that I didn't recognize and chocolate devils. Tons and tons of chocolates and candy!! The night of Dec. 5, on my daily Tesco run, I thought for sure it must be Christmas eve early- the crowds were heavy. I have never seen such giant bags of peanuts in bulk and crates of oranges and tangerines. But it was St. Mikulas eve - a huge holiday tradition here that brings warm memories for most.

The night of December 5 we made sure J & A washed their boots and put them in the windowsill. Sure enough, the next morning they had their bag of treats! School on December 6 had some special treats for the kids and appearance by St. Mikulas (St. Nick).

Anya's boots.....

Choirboy Justin

There he is, Choirboy Justin. The boy on the end. I didn't get a photo of the entire choir unfortunately, but they number about 90. This was the annual Christmas, or Vianocne, concert for the "Bratislavsky Chlapcensky Zbor" (Bratislava Boys' Choir). A guest boys' choir from Poland also sang. They numbered only about 25, but were awfully cute and it was fascinating to see them. The two choirs sang together at the end.

Justin sang for a portion of the concert - he is with the smaller children who don't have the endurance or performance skills of the older, more experienced choir members. He sang several traditional Slovak Christmas carols as well as Silent Night, or Ticha Noc, Svata Noc in Slovak. One song was in Latin. I had heard all the songs around the house, of course, but nothing could prepare me for the beautiful sound once inside the church with all the boys singing together.



I had been hoping the concert would be in an old cathedral, but it was in a modern Catholic church - perhaps built in the last 20 years. The acoustics were great, which is the most important thing. The church was really cold, so all the boys kept their coats on until performance time. The oddest thing was this church had a bronze crucifix mounted on a cross painted yellow. I kept looking at it and wondered just what they were thinking.......

The choir just released a Christmas DVD that is wonderful. Justin was not a member yet, so he is not on the recording, but it has many scenes from Bratislava and Slovakia. If you are interested, I can mail a copy to you. I would guess with postage, $22 would cover the cost. Let me know if anyone wants to buy one, even though the Christmas season is coming to a close.

I will attempt to place two video clips from our digital camera below - it can give you a little idea of their sound. The first clip is of their warm-up exercises. The second is the concert. Justin is the boy on your left on the end. The conductor, Magdalena Rovnakova, has great stage presence but we know she must be stern at times to keep the choir in line and performing as well as they do!

Christmas Market

The Annual Christmas Market is a highlight for the City of Bratislava. We have been wandering around the market and it is festive and delightful. The market is in the historic old downtown and is made up of wooden booths set up in the main pedestrian squares. All booths are required to have a Christmas theme and be native to Slovakia.

Lots of crafts and food dominate the market. A stage features many school groups singing and other people performing. Hot wine is also a draw - red, white, or the Christmas punch. The market is picturesque and really quaint. It has the look of Christmas without being gaudy. Here are just a few photos so you get an idea of this most extraordinary celebration.

No tights and a tic

Oh what a day! I finally got my introduction to the inside of a Slovak Health Clinic. Justin has had a terribly painful earache for three days. My call on Thursday morning to request an appointment resulted in an appointment for Friday morning. The doctors were completely booked for Thursday. I thought we could wait 24 hours if we needed to. The 24 hours was tough - We finished the only bottle of Wal-Mart brand Motrin on hand and alternated with the Wal-Mart brand of Tylenol. I began feeling horrible for the situation we were in, but tried to focus on getting through the next day.

Preparing for the morning, I got out my map and located the clinic in the downtown area. Not a bad location, as it was just one bus ride for Justin and I and a short walk. Not ideal, but we are adjusting to this new lifestyle where we don't hop in the car and drive to find a nice parking lot outside a lovely building wherein is located our very friendly, available and able pediatrician with whom I am able to communicate.

My poor son somehow made the short walk from the bus stop to the building and we went to the receptionist. I began to have a bad feeling about this when we went to the reception area. The woman who had scheduled my appointment gave me a doctor who sees adults, not a pediatrician. I was sure I had said my son was sick on the phone...... I tried to get transferred by phone to pediatrics, but they didn't answer. I was now downtown with my sick son and NO appointment.

The tension of having a sick child overseas and the feeling of helplessness began to overwhelm me. We walked into the pediatric clinic and I began my efforts to explain my situation. Now, I don't want to slam the Slovaks, BUT there is a cold, icy exterior that many hold (until you get to know them). So the receptionist is an icy, cold Slovak. Although she spoke English, she doesn't seem to get the explanation of my situation, but sighs and tells me both doctors are completely full and I must have an appointment. My frustration and discouragement peaked and the floodgates opened and I began to cry. "My son has been in pain for three days and needs to see a doctor.....is there any other place I can go?" (no) "Is there an emergency room?" (no, we don't have emergency rooms). Next question from her: do you have insurance? "Yes, I have insurance." I hand over the card. I continue to shed tears and use the extra soft Puffs that my mom sent me. Next time you must have an appointment. (Yes, I tried to get one) The icy receptionist tells me to wait a minute. She disappears into a room and we sit down. I continue to dab my tears, which just won't stop. Something (or someone) must have touched the receptionist's heart because I don't even think I tried to pray. She reappears and rather quickly we are ushered into an examining room and meet a friendly woman, I guess she's a doctor. I wiped the remaining tears off my cheeks and sat down. She got a quick history and then checked Justin's throat, chest and ears. One ear is fine, the other is not, he has a red throat and a bit of congestion in his chest. He will need an antibiotic. (alrighty, let's get a prescription and get out of here).

Next, to my surprise, I was asked if I ever noticed the tic in Justin's face. No, I didn't. "The mothers never do. I noticed it right away". (Okaaaaaaay. How about that ear infection?) Next she pulled up the leg of Justin's pants and laughed when she saw his white socks. Normal white socks, right? He should be wearing tights. All children need tights under their pants to keep warm. We had a brief discussion about the fact that I was from Michigan, a very cold state in America, and, yes, it is colder than Bratislava. Much colder. I'm sure I got the bad mother award for the day. No wonder he is sick and in need of a doctor- these foreigners! I imagine her thoughts and the conversation when I leave.

Now I felt totally humiliated and completely pathetic. It's bad enough to be a foreigner and not understand their language, but I felt so judged for not embracing their cultural rules. I was told that I should really get help for Justin's tic while he is still small, before he grows and it is much more difficult. (Note: I regularly check the American Academy of Pediatrics website and they instruct just the opposite - ignore most of these "tics"......) But to explain anything like that is just out of the question, first due to the language difficulty and, 2nd I'm just there to get help for my kid's earache, for heaven's sake! We also dress our children much lighter than this culture. The school, in particular, is very warm. I cannot imagine having a layer of warm tights under the pants. I also know what it's like to travel on an overheated bus with layers of clothing! I would have a sweaty and carsick child. I would have appreciated a little understanding in my time of need.

Back to the earache. I am given instructions for an antibiotic and eardrops. Then I am given a cough syrup and two other over-the-counter medicines to get. It seemed J was getting a head to toe makeover for this and that. Finally we will get J on the road to recovery. All the instructions have made my head spin, but we make the trek to the Lekaren (pharmacy) to get the boatload of medicine before heading back to the bus stop. Somehow I still feel like crying, so I soak another Puffs while waiting for the pharmacist to get our stuff ready.

On our way back home, J is certain he cannot walk to the bus stop. More tears from me. He continues to plod along. We actually ran the last bit for the bus, as we didn't want to wait another 10 minutes. Once off the bus, we have a two-block walk to get to our building. I carried my little boy the last bit to get him home. He's 7 years old, but you other moms know just what you will do when the need is there.

Antibiotics, ear drops, ibuprofen. I'm skipping the cough syrup. I'm also skipping the other stuff that the pharmacist didn't put in the bag. Those were OTC anyway and I don't remember just what they were supposed to do. After checking the AAP website and the new warnings about children's cold medicine, I think we can leave that out of the equation for now. J is beginning to feel better. He had the best night's sleep out of the last four. That means I did too.

Today is his Bratislava Boys' Choir Christmas concert. We desperately want him to sing. But I have resigned myself to just watching if my boy doesn't feel up to singing. I am tired of crying anyway and the sight of him in the choir will cause me to weep again. (Not that there's anything wrong with that).

Funny, funny little girl

Anya, age 4 1/2. Lots of questions, lots of energy, lots of opinions. Her interests include styling her hair, painting her nails and looking at herself in the mirror. Every day she chooses her own fashion look before getting dressed for school. Her classmates speak Slovak, she is even picking some words up along the way. Her favorite activities include ballet dancing, swinging and playing at the playground. She is an avid painter of all types, watercolor and tempera paint and occasionally she dabbles in finger paint as well. We think her rainbow, shown below shows much promise!

First snowfall

I'm behind in my posting of the weather-related news, but we had our first snowfall on a Sunday a few weeks ago. I didn't have my camera on hand when it was snowing in the beautiful downtown area, so you will have to settle for these photos taken from our flat. There will be more snow in Bratislava, but it doesn't accumulate like those of us living in Michigan are usedto seeing.

Bratislava is flat, but a short drive soon becomes hilly and a longer drive will take you into mountains. Snow is plentiful in other areas, so winter sports abound in Slovakia. Sleds, skates and hockey sticks are for sale in all the stores.

Soon I will be able to visit the annual Christmas Market. I look forward to getting some Christmas pictures at this festive event in the old town of Bratislava.

Carolyn

Stared at or ignored? Which would you choose...

Not that I've had a choice, but I've been thinking about whether I prefer to be conspicuous or invisible in the culture I'm living in.

Being a white Anglo with white Anglo children in Ramallah, Palestine resulted in being stared at. All the time, every day, anywhere. While it got tiring at times, I became used to it and considered it an opportunity to be friendly by sharing a smile and a greeting in Arabic.

Now I am faced with the opposite. I live in a culture where strangers do not make eye contact or greet each other. I blend in with the Slovaks at least until I open my mouth to talk. In Ramallah no one expected any Arabic, so when I spoke in their language, it was unexpected and usually well received. I am spoken to in Slovak, asked questions in Slovak, and just end up smiling and saying "nie Slovensky". Perhaps it's time for some serious language lessons.

So what would you choose: to be stared at and conspicuous or to blend in and be ignored or invisible?

Carolyn

Beer & soft drinks

Beer in Europe is very popular. I have noted that beer is cheaper than soft drinks. A tiny glass bottle of Coca-cola Light (diet coke) is the same price as a jumbo glass of beer.

That said, the law in Slovakia has zero tolerance for drinking and driving. That means if you are driving you may not have even ONE drink. No alcohol whatsoever is allowed.

A popular alternative beverage for the designated driver and lots of others is called Kofola. This is made in Slovakia and is a dark, caramel-colored carbonated soft drink that is even offered on draft. My opinion of Kofola? Way too much sugar and caffeine. Not bad tasting, a cross between cola and root beer, but the caffeine and sugar take it out of the running for me.

I see very few sugar free soft drinks here. In fact, most people drink carbonated water and fruit juices and, of course, beer. We have begun to order tap water. Mineral water is also more expensive than beer......... Tap water, so far, has been free. But don't expect any ice in any beverage anywhere, anytime.

Bedwetting Alarm

Family details.......Justin is 7 and has been fortunate to live in the age of Goodnites: nighttime underpants. Not too long ago any child with an inability to hold their pee-pee all through the night would wake up soaked, causing mountains of laundry.........

Now we are living in Europe and my supply of Goodnites was getting low. I checked every supermarket I entered for the first several weeks - no Goodnites, maybe some Pull-ups, but even those were rare (and too small). In my final act of frustration, I looked up the Kimberly-Clark Worldwide website, got the phone number in the Czech Republic and called them from my computer via Skype. I was happy to get an English speaking representative on the line and was told the Goodnites would be availabe at Tesco or any pharmacy. I took one more trip to a pharmacy and even found an English speaker! She told me she would call her distributor and have some brought in. Nice try, and I certainly appreciated her effort on our behalf, but all they could find was an XL size diaper - "those will surely work for the young man". Need I say more to any of you who have been through this?

The story brightens considerably for this mom, as I was anticipating Trouble, with a capital T for my future particularly with my tiny washer and no dryer.

A fellow ex-pat offered to show me around the grocery store before we had lunch one day. We looked through dairy products, meat, then laundry soap-- one more check for Goodnites and I asked in despair: what will I do without these for my son? My new friend then told me that their son JUST went through the same issue. They even had some extra Goodnites that were not needed anymore. A provision straight from Heaven! Next we talked about their success with using an attachable nighttime alarm to wake the child (usually a deep sleeper). A sensor attaches to the underpants and an alarm is attached with a cord (like a phone cord) to the alarm unit that pins to the pajama top. One drop of wetness will trigger the alarm. There are instructions for parental support and a chart to monitor progress. The process takes varying amounts of time, but we are amazed and happy with the results we are seeing, even after only two weeks.

I'll put a link in this posting for anyone who wants to check this out. I am fascinated that the brain and body can be trained in this way. So that's my product endorsement for this edition of our blog!http://www.bedwettingstore.com/Bedwetting_Alarms/malem_ultimate_bedwetting_alarm.htm

Another day, another castle

Slovakia has an unbelievable number of castles! Many are in ruins, some are restored, many contain museums, but they are seen all over on distant hilltops when you travel throughout the country.

While Doug's parents were visiting we decided to venture to the village of Cachtice in the small Carpathian mountains. The imposing castle ruins of Cachticky Hrad have a gruesome and bloody history. A countess by the name of Elizabeth Bathory is known as perhaps the worst serial killer in history. I will spare you the details, but her nickname as Bloody Elizabeth was well-deserved.

My mother-in-law was my hero for that day, as she made the long walk on foot to the top of that hill on rocky, uneven paths to be able to view the castle ruins. We all marveled at the view from the castle of the village below and beautiful landscape all around.

All Saints' Day

We had a school and National holiday last week from October 31 through November 2 for All Saints Day. All Saints Day is a time to remember the deceased and to visit the graves. Most will decorate the graves with flowers and place candles that will illuminate the grave at night. A few weeks ago colorful flowers began to appear in abundance at outdoor markets. Candles were for sale in the supermarkets in red and gold glass jars.

Most cemeteries are surrounded by low cement walls, but occasionally we were able to get a glimpse of one in full All Saints' Day dress. I have seen cemeteries in America around Memorial Day and have to say there is no comparison! The cemetery pictured above was in a village about 1 1/2 hours from Bratislava. Many people were visiting even as the holiday weekend was drawing to a close.

I think American Halloween is somehow linked to All Saints' Day. That said, Halloween is an export from America. It is not an event here, except for a few schools (like Galileo) who had grand parties for the kids on the 30th, the last day of school before the holiday. Feel free to comment if you have some knowledge on this topic!

Knock Three Times.......

Adjustments, adjustments. Guess that's the word of the year for us. Even during our stay in the Holy Land (Ramallah), we did not have close neighbors. Our flat above the library at the Friends School was quiet at night, except for a few musicians who were in the flat next door occasionally. Once we moved to the upstairs of the Swift House the following year, we were alone on the property, as there were offices downstairs. My point being we did not need to be quiet just because we had neighbors.

Now that we are living on the 7th floor of a large apartment building we do, indeed, share walls and floors with others. I have been surprised how quiet the building is, and rarely hear voices or TVs, dogs barking, etc, through the walls and floors. I guess maybe that's because we are usually the ones making the noise. We have a neighbor below, an older woman, who must be getting tired of us (already)....... Yes, I'll admit the kids are noisy, can be loud and running and jumping happen inside our flat from time to time. Justin has outbursts of loud singing that go over the top for me as well.

Our flat is heated by radiators that are connected by exposed pipes (they are painted white to match). Now I know that the pipes also are connected throughout the building! Our neighbor is clanging on the pipes when she is annoyed with our noise. I don't know how long she has been doing this, but I just made the connection yesterday. It happened again tonight and now we are certain that this is a request for us to be quiet. I'm trying to be courteous and explain the shared wall and floor idea to our kids, but I can't help but begin humming the oldie sung by Tony Orlando & Dawn - Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me, twice on the pipe if the answer is no......... So it ends up making me smile. Maybe we can get her to smile someday when she gets to know us better.

Head Lice - 'Tis the Season?

Anyone who has been through an episode of head lice infestation can certainly relate to my dismay at discovering a louse in our house (or Justin's hair).

The day the school sent out a parent newsletter with a paragraph titled "head lice occurrence" was when we made our creepy discovery. To make matters worse, Justin was scheduled for a class field trip the next morning. We tried to let Justin know that he wouldn't be able to go on the class trip (tears) and decided to make a trip to the pharmacy for a treatment potion the following morning.

The school director told Doug that we could certainly get Justin on the bus at 9:00 if we just got some special shampoo right away. Justin and I hurried to the Lekaren (pharmacy) about two blocks away. I asked the nice lady if she spoke English - nie was her reply. I would never call my communication at a time like this sign language. That is so much more sophisticated. This is more like charades and just as silly except for the urgency of the situation. I point to my head, pretend I'm shampooing and then point to Justin's head. She smiles, nods her head, and returns with a box labeled Parasidose anti-poux Shampooing that has a picture of a couple of little crawly things in a target circle. I paid my 137.40 SKK (about $5), smiled and said Da kjueme and we hurried home. My next task, get the hair shampooed, use the blow dryer and walk Justin to the bus for his trip to the Bratislava Zoo. I had two choices of language for the instructions: Slovak and French. I know neither. I looked real closely at the French instructions, after finding my reading glasses, and saw Mode' D'Emploi--appliquer 3 minutes, rincer, and that phrase was repeated. Looks like, wet hair, shampoo, wait three minutes, rinse, do it again...... How hard was that? The deed was done, we made it to school by 9:00 a.m.

Later I was talking with the school administration and heard that head lice is a huge problem in all of Central Europe. She also said the shampoo doesn't work, as the lice have developed resistance to the chemical. So much for having the deed done. I continued to wash sheets, towels, clothes and bedding (remember my tiny washer and no dryer), all the while wondering if we were going to be rid of them.

NO! They were still present the next day. Start the process again....... This time I called upon my very linguistically gifted Slovak friend to help me at the Lekaren. By mobile (cell) phone, she talked to the pharmacy clerk and explained the situation and was there any other product that would kill the lice. I watched her walk away and return with a box in her hand -there were some really happy children on the box with all their heads touching. Looked good to me. It was called Paranit and came with a lice comb (isn't that special). The price?-- 639.50 SKK ($30). Five times more than the last loser cheapo shampoo. My friend continued to review the instructions on the new product with the clerk while I forked over the cash. The language choices on the instructions were not too much better than the last product: Slovak or Czech.

I guess I am now an expert because I think (hope?) I've beaten these things. I've used shampoo on wet hair, this licorice-smelling stuff on dry hair and the special comb on Justin's head while he watches a movie and I painstakingly comb his scalp to remove anything that thinks it will come to life in a few days. We will repeat the process in about 5 days. I'm open to any stories or suggestions from my blog friends......

Grocery shopping as I know it.....

The new TESCO supermarket superstore opened up on October 13. Our family made the one-block trek to check it out 20-minutes after the scheduled opening. Wow! Such a big, beautiful store and so close to home. It was truly a new day for me in the grocery arena of my life in Bratislava. The kids got balloons and I got a keychain with two (2) tokens for the grocery cart locks - see what I mean?

Among our purchases was a hair dryer for me. I should have bought one long ago while we lived in Ramallah, but never got around to it. Now, being in a colder climate, it seemed like the right time. We bought fresh pastries and yogurt and cold milk from the dairy case instead of the long-life box.

I also picked up the Tesco flyer which highlights the specials for the next week. Sitting at the kitchen table with my English-Slovensko dictionary and the flyer, I began to empower myself by translating the words. Ahhhh, what a feeling! I translated sour cream, orange juice and gave myself notes on a few items to remember next time.

My exhilaration didn't last too long the next week, for I still had to carry everything home. I realized I had bought way too much heavy stuff. I have to learn to space out the bottled water, Diet Coke, cooking oil and milk. But really, it is great to have a much wider selection close by. I even found some yellow cheddar cheese, labeled "English Cheddar". All the cheeses are white and have names I don't recognize.

Slovakia & The Holy Land

Four days until the new, GIANT Tesco supermarket opens. This will be a huge convenience for our family and very welcome BUT I wonder if the tiny supermarket that now butts up to the Tesco rear parking lot will be able to make it. From what I can tell, it is a family-owned franchise and it is small, with a limited selection. Reminds me of Wal-Mart in America putting the little guys out of business....... This morning I walked to the another supermarket, the Rema 1000, so I could get some Tide (more laundry to do......) and welcomed the thought of a closer place to stock up.

What does this have to do with The Holy Land? Our first trip to Rema 1000 was the day we arrived, and we took a walk to check out the supermarket and nearby pizza restaurant. We walked past rows of "Communist bloc" apartment buildings, none of which are any more remarkable than the next. The landscaping is haphazard, occasionally someone has made a little garden, but the trees are overgrown and the grass and weeds grow next to each other. I noticed the familiar shaped leaves and color of an olive tree. Who planted an olive tree in Bratislava? I don't believe this is a usual place - Central Europe - let alone in a city, next to a formerly public housing project. Even more surprising, I saw olives growing on the branches. The tree is obviously in need of pruning and I doubt will be harvested, with the fruit taken to the local olive press to be made into oil for the use of any residents here.

One thought leads to another and I have found myself missing friends, acquaintances, landscape and the climate and history of Ramallah, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Doug and even Justin mention longing for the best parts of belonging to that part of the world. I also long for the best parts but still cringe at the worst. Since arriving in Sovakia, our passports have been inspected only a few times: to open a bank account, purchase a mobile phone, drop Anya off to the Ikea play area. Some trips to Jerusalem from Ramallah were especially tedious, with our passports being inspected 3, even four times.

Just about one year ago we were harvesting olives with a family in Bethlehem. After learning the rich symbolism the olive tree has and the significance to family history and the land, I can never forget it. I think God has reminded me through this seemingly "random" olive tree in a most unlikely place to pray for peace and justice in The Holy Land. I hope some of you, my dear friends and family, can take a moment and pray for the same.

Carolyn
http://hartofeurope.blogspot.com

A Few Facts

Dogs are the pet of choice. Lots of Yorkies and small to medium dogs - most people live in flats in these 7-10 story cement buildings. Pet owners are seen walking their little pooches in the morning and evening. I've seen dogs on the bus, but they always wear a muzzle and are leashed. It always makes me smile to see a dog outside a store with its leash hanging free but obediently waiting for his master to return. Not all pick up after their dogs, even though the city provides special bags just for this purpose. Here's a scan of the special doggie bag. It even has a piece of cardboard inside the bag which can be folded into a scoop......

Gasoline - Gas stations are just like we see in the US, with drinks and snacks available for purchase. Gas is sold by the litre and calculates to about $6.00 per gallon. Cars are smaller, for obvious reasons! Large SUVs are for the very rich or those with large families. Many "petro" stations have car washes attached.

Our neighborhood is typical of the middle-class in Bratislava. To many of our friends in the States, it would look like the inner city of Anywhere, USA, but our flat would sell for about $200,000. You could get a 0% mortgage to buy one, however. We have met nice children on the playground outside, mommies are strolling their babies on the sidewalks that are all around. The apartment buildings are typically surrounded by lots of "green space" - trees, large boulevards and frequent playgrounds for the kids. If only all the dog owners would pick up after their dogs!

Bus/trolley/tram transportation is also for the middle class. The buses come frequently and are rarely empty. We are paying about 75 cents for a one-way trip to downtown Bratislava which takes about 20-30 minutes. Justin rides for 1/2 price and Anya is free. They are comfortable most of the time, except when they are overcrowded. I hear the winter can be difficult riding on the bus because they are terribly overheated.

We are continuing to settle in. Many things no longer seem strange and our daily activities are becoming routine. I have successfully lit the oven, purchased bus tickets from the ticket window while speaking no Slovak, and taken a leisure trip to the Mall and Ikea with Anya. I feel comfortable walking around the neighborhood and the surrounding area. We took a trip to the mountains last weekend and visited a high mountain peak and another castle. I'll send a link to more photos in the next day or so.

For now - Ciao from Slovakia!
love,
Carolyn, Doug & kids

Post-birthday funk

I've just had a birthday and have been in a post-birthday funk. Yesterday, after waking up and realizing that I nap while my 4-year-old plays on the bed next to me, I had a terrific brainstorm. Maybe being 47 doesn't mean my brain has ceased coming up with a creative idea. I have been tutoring the kids at school and am bored by the curriculum that I've been given. Our own books arrived last week and I found two great books that I thought I'd read to the little ones. One thought led to another and I decided I would be a book distributor for this British company. I could sell to school parents and hold book fairs at the English speaking schools in Bratislava. I LOVE books, and particularly these. The English book selection at the book stores is slim and this would have a sure market. Maybe we could even make some decent money. Currently, I am collecting Slovak beer coasters in hopes of making a few dollars by selling them on ebay.

I found the website for the publisher, shot off an email to the UK with a request and waited. A few hours later I checked my email-- their response was waiting for me: "sorry, we don't ship to Bratislava". Just like that. My idea was a non-starter. No explanation, just an apology. I wish she had understood how important this was to me. I doubt if I made a plea to the Slovakian government officials that I could change this. Now isn't that just unfair?

I have scheduled this Thursday as a non-working, no kids day for me. This means I will take the bus to the Avion Shopping Park and Ikea. I imagine a latte at the mall and soup and salad at Ikea for lunch, a leisurely walk through Ikea, stopping to see what is on a super sale and buying a few items for the house - no more than I can comfortably carry home on the bus, of course.

Reality Hits

Almost three weeks have passed since we left the world of Rockford, Michigan and flew across the ocean and halfway across Europe to Slovakia! Seems like a lot longer, should the truth be told. There is no gradual transition, nothing gentle about it!

Suddenly I have a tiny washing machine, no dryer and laundry for four people. I need to do laundry daily because of the time it takes both in the washer and to dry on the rack. I am still trying to figure out where to dry the sheets. I have a vacuum cleaner - I think that is a luxury. It's a good thing, because I haven't seen a Swiffer in the store (yet) and these tile and hardwood floors show everything. I am even wearing the slippers we bought for guests because I can't stand all those little particles on the bottoms of my feet. No one wears shoes in the house and it is courteous to have some extra slippers by the door.

I have no car, no automobile independence to go any place I want. No quick trip to K Mart or Meijer to get the best price on Kraft Macaroni 'n Cheese. We don't even have ANY boxed macaroni and cheese. Although the kids haven't missed it, I have. What a convenient way to fill them up--cook the pasta, throw in some milk, butter and the "cheese" powder and you're done. Only slightly less convenient than going to the Wendy's drive-thru.

Our house in Rockford had three bathrooms which included four sinks! Here we all share our miniature bathroom/laundry room. We can't all fit in it at once. The toilet is a separate "room", although it is more like a closet. We have a shower hose and sprayer in the tub, but the sprayer it isn't hooked to the wall. Just attached to the bathtub spout. No real showers in this flat.

Dishes - we have fewer, but it is a good thing because we have no dishwasher. I still don't enjoy doing dishes. We don't have a double sink, just a small one that serves as both washer and rinser. Sometimes a big pot works to wash in and I still have room to rinse.

Cooking - the oven scares me. I tried to light it (with a match) yesterday, but after I got it lit it quickly went out. I shut the gas off right away. I can't stand the thought of blowing up the house trying to cook a frozen pizza........ I will use the stove for now. I have the burners figured out. We have a microwave and the first bag of popcorn popped even better than Orville Redenbachers.

Grocery shopping - I feel like a first grader trying to read the labels. I can't read Slovak and there are few imported goods with English. It takes me lots of time to figure out what I'm buying and if there is no picture I'm lost. I had help from my friend to buy the right kind of flour, sugar and salt. She wrote down the Slovak words, so I took the paper to the store as my cheat sheet. You bring your own bags and bag your groceries yourself. I'll never complain again about how my groceries are packed in the bags at Meijer. I do a pretty lousy job. The next challenge is carrying everything home, up the stairs and into the elevator. When the Tesco opens up a block away, shopping and hauling will be much, much more convenient. It is supposed to open in a couple of weeks.

Weather - this wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have to worry about a sudden rainstorm. The temperatures are comfortable but it seems like there is always the threat of rain. So we haul the umbrellas and raincoats along on the bus or to school.

Friends & family - goes without saying that I miss everyone.....

Love from Bratislava,
Carolyn

Little annoyances

Before I become accustomed to these (assuming I become accustomed....), here are some things that are really strange about this part of the world.

• Spoons: they appear to come in two sizes: teeny, tiny or HUGE, GIANT. What's wrong with medium? A medium spoon would be like "one size fits most". Teeny, tiny are too small for cereal, the huge or giant are too big for a coffee cup. To say nothing about small children struggling with soup at school.......


• The 24-hour clock, or military time: How am I supposed to tell my brain what 17:13 is without doing a complicated math equation? How are my children going to learn how to tell time? A 2nd grader is learning math and I need to tell him that 21:00 is bedtime? Okay, 21 minus 12 = bedtime. And that would be the easy way because it's on the hour. Even the alarm clock is on this 24-hour thing. The bus schedule is the same. Annoying!


• Calendars start with Monday: I need my week to start on Sunday. I can't just change now to make Sunday the last day of the week. I'll be importing my calendars from the US.


• Colored toilet paper is sold in the stores. Didn't Slovakia get the worldwide news report that colored toilet paper is bad for the septic systems and water treatment plants? There are some items that don't need to match your decor--white goes with everything, right?


• No one puts your change from a purchase in your hand. It goes in a tray and you pick it up from the tray. I don't know why- germs, maybe? Whatever - I just feel so silly holding out my hand again and again (slow learner).


• B.O. (body odor) I hate to mention it, but it is so common with the population. It's bad enough being on a bus for someone who gets motion sickness......the unpleasant odor is really annoying.


• Pedestrians do not have the right of way at a marked crosswalk. Laws changed after people were not being considerate of the cars. (Just what does that mean?) I have to admit if I am pushing a stroller it is more likely that a car/bus/van will stop at a crosswalk


• No ice in beverages (except at McDonalds) I like my Diet Coke cold! Here's the nice display of flags in downtown Bratislava at our American institution.

Pinch me!

I have to say pinch me to believe this is happening! It's better than a dream, especially my dreams lately. Justin is having his first choir practice for the Bratislava Boys Choir. Besides a moving Broadway play or Opera, a Boys Choir has the power to make me weep during a performance. And now my own son, just seven years old, will be a part of just such a choir.

Last Friday, Doug called the number for the Bratislava Boys Choir to inquire about their audition/enrollment process. To our surprise, they asked to have him come to audition the very next Monday. I knew he could pass the audition, if given the chance. These are just things a mother knows. He was given a private audition with the conductor and an associate and was accepted into the choir at that time! This afternoon after school Justin and I took the bus downtown right after school and headed to the beautiful Slovakia Symphony Hall where he will have rehearsals twice a week. I decided to have a Latte at the McDonalds across the plaza and wait out the rehearsal. He will be on a one month probation - Doug and I think this is to assure his cooperation and that he won't be a behavior problem. It gives the leaders an out if they need one.......

Justin bravely stepped into the rehearsal room, where about 8 boys were waiting and were obviously familiar with each other. They probably speak little English and his teacher and I had a hard time communicating about the few details I needed (like where to pick him up, etc). I walked away marveling at how a child of mine could be so brave. He must have gotten that from his father.

I drank my Latte and wondered what Justin's reaction would be after his rehearsal......... At 4:30 he came bouncing out of the room and told me they sang "Little David, Play on your Harp", a song he is well familiar with. I thanked God for that. Justin also made a friend, a boy who speaks English. J and I had a celebratory Happy Meal at Mcdonalds and then walked to the bus stop, where we boarded the #202 and journeyed home to the Dudvazska stop to share the news with Dad and Anya.

We have reminded ourselves and our children about how God gives good gifts to His children and we are so grateful!

If you would like to check out the Bratislava Boys Choir website, here's the link. If you click on "cd" you can hear a sample!
http://www.bchz.sk/index_eng.php

First week of school

Monday, September 3 was our first day of school at the Galileo School in Bratislava, Slovakia. Doug began as a teacher for the upper grades, Justin in 2nd grade and Anya in the lower Kindergarten. I came with the understanding that I would tutor one on one, as they especially like to have native English speakers read to and interact with their children who are learning English as their 2nd language. First change in plans, as one kindergarten teacher was sick, and I was asked to help in that classroom. I panicked thinking that I was going to be in charge of a classroom, but realized that couldn't be the plan!! I showed up Monday morning to help with a class of 14 - 5-year-olds.

The first day of school was controlled chaos. Kids were crying, parents were dabbing their eyes, just like all around the world when this day arrives for many. Slovak teachers are greeted by many students with a rose! We had a brief welcoming ceremony outside the front door of the school and then went inside to figure out what to do next. My kids didn't cry, even though it was Anya's official first day of school in her life! One fascinating aspect of the Galileo School is the snack/lunch/snack schedule. I was pleasantly surprised to find a clean dining room with two long tables and tiny chairs for the littlest and the rest of the room set with tables of four. Children come to have their snack served to them or line up - cafeteria style - to get it themselves. The morning snack was a slice of bread with fresh garlic butter and a sliver of green pepper. Milk or juice was the drink available. To my surprise, I picked up a glass of milk for myself and found it was WARM. Oh, this tells me we are living in a culture that does not serve any cold drinks to children as it would be bad for their health. Lunch was soup - in fact, soup is served first and daily! The main meal was pancakes with some kind of cheesy sweet topping. It was delicious. This will be where I get a chance to try many traditional Slovak foods. After the children are finished, they take their dishes to the dishwashing station, head back to the classroom where they brush their teeth. Then I am done with my day, at around noon, and pick up Anya from her classroom. We go to her locker where she takes off her slippers and puts her street shoes back on. Our walk home is a short 3 minutes - we love that!

The class of 5 year olds that I have been with for one week now is great. I can tell they are finding a place in my heart already! We have a Sara "Sarinko", Leonard "Leonko", Sam "Samko", Simone "Simonka", Lucy "Lucka", Martin "Martinko", Emma "Emka"---all their names have a diminutive (?) for their given name. I have been able to spend one on one time with each, showing them some English books and reading to them. They have varying levels of ability with the English language so far.

Doug's classes are also going well. He has NINE preps, which is a huge workload, but the student count is much lower than the 120 he had at the Friends School. I think he has around 35-40 different students.

We are all happy to be working and going to school in the same building. I think we're going to like it here. I am still trying to navigate my way around the grocery store and markets to put a meal together. Seems to me like chicken, pasta and rice will get boring quickly. I found many American products in Ramallah and here I have found none but cereal. I will continue to work at it and have a patient husband and kids, so that makes my job easier.

As for the weather? It has turned Fall-like after our first week. Not only that, we have having our 2nd day of continuous rain. This is not ideal for a family with no car. I left the two umbrellas out of the suitcases at the end of my packing and now wish I had brought those. We can find those here, of course, but I didn't know they would be an immediate need! I see some leaves turning color and dropping, but they are not the brilliant shades of a Michigan fall.

I am expecting Doug and Justin home at 3:05. Anya and I have been napping after we come home from school - it is wonderful to get some rest after my busy morning with the kids and Anya needs the rest also.

Successes

We have successfully opened a bank account with the Tetra Banka, set up a cell phone account with the local Orange service and navigated our way home from downtown Bratislava twice on the bus. That means we recognized our landmarks and were able to determine which stop to get off. I realized we had never written down our address, so it's a good thing we did not get lost! Our success is due to the help from Kevin and Annette, who are giving us their time and their knowledge to help us acclimate to our new home and surroundings. Without their help, we would be sitting in this flat thinking we are stuck for the next 9 months in our communist block!

The city of Bratislava is sprawling - we live on one edge in the Vracuna area. We are close to a active railroad track and can see fields of crops from one side of the building. We are also close to the Slofvnaft oil refinery. There are the lower Carpathian mountains in the distance. We can see the schoolyard from our window, our daily routine will be easy, so we are grateful for this location.

The language - Slovak is the spoken language and it is a Slavic language. I am so happy to see the alphabet we use instead of Hebrew or Arabic characters! Many words can be figured out if they are similar to the English spelling--pronounciation is a different thing. I am working on a basic greeting - "Dobre Denye" is good day. When you are familiar with a person, you can use the more casual "a-hoy". I thought that was pretty funny. Some words are very close to Russian, so I've heard a little of them before. Lots to learn, but our every day interaction with people at the school will be in English, as all subjects are taught in English.

I'm having some computer trouble so the pictures will be coming later. Or maybe I can post them on facebook or some place like that. I am anxious to show you where we are.

I'll post more later today, but must get ready for school......

Arrival in Vienna, then on to Bratislava

Well, I have much to talk about but one of the things I find most amusing is that our kids will be taking their street shoes off and wearing "slippers" for school. Justin may be able to wear his black Superman clogs, but we'll have to wash them up and he will keep them at school for use during the school day when not outdoors.

We arrived on time and, after our extremely nice Austrian Airlines flight, were happy to see all nine bags of luggage next to each other on the luggage carousel. So they can be organized with the luggage.........I don't think I've ever seen our bags come off an airplane in such an orderly fashion.

Our drive in the Galileo School's minibus took about one hour. We traveled through the Austrian countryside and even waited at a traffic light for our turn to drive through the one lane castle gate where we could continue on the road to Bratislava. The border crossing was simple - our passports were not even looked at except for the front covers. Anya was not feeling well from the long flight. We were, after all, up in the middle of the night Michigan time. She needed to make a few stops and we tried to have her drink some water. OOPS---forgot to ask for STILL water. She was not happy about the bubbles in the bottle that our gracious host, Peter, bought for her.

We made it into Bratislava and then onto the drop off to our new home. Can't say I was impressed at all when I looked at the pre-fab cement slab building standing before us. I had seen many similar buildings when we made our adoption trip for Anya in Northern Russia. These are the remnants of Communist rule and socialism---. The cement is not painted and has the refugee camp-look from Palestine. These buildings go on for blocks and blocks. Some are being renovated on the outside, but for now we definitely in the "communist block". I hoped for the best as we made our way up the teeny, tiny elevator to our 7th floor penthouse apartment. To my delight, the apartment was beautiful. Everything had been freshly updated and remodeled recently. We are outfitted for almost everything (no coffee pot)! What we thought was a four bedroom flat is a four room flat. We can still have visitors, as the rooms are a nice size and we can double up the kids..... The kitchen is bright, with a view of the courtyard and playground (soviet era again) below. The walls are peach in the living room and a lighter peach in the kitchen. The kids have nice roomy airy rooms as well. Doug and I have a small veranda where I'll be able to dry the laundry. Nice washer wedged into the tiny bathroom, but no dryer. The toilet is in one room and the tub/sink/washer is next to that room.

We've been to three different grocery stores now. Stocking up is not so easy when you need to carry everything home. The stores are not far, but we look forward to a new store opening in one month---Tesco---that is British and it is even closer than all the others! That will be very exciting.

We have met one family who spent time in Jerusalem. What a blast to be able to talk about Israel, the West Bank and Palestine during our first days here. The man is American from California and met his Slovak wife in Jerusalem, where they were married. They have a five year old who has become fast friends with Justin and Anya. She speaks both English and Slovak. They also have a newborn! These friends have shown us the downtown area, the bus system, a local church, and some other sites. We look forward to more time with them.

I should go for now. We are six hours ahead of Michigan. We'll be in touch now that we are internet connected.