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!