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......
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