Mom and Dad in Slovakia!

I remember telling my parents I was considering going to teach English in Slovakia following graduating from Bemidji, and Mom's sarcastic reaction: "Great! Just where I've always wanted to go visit."  :)  At that time it was just a funny passing comment but as time went on, I moved in to Liptovsky Mikulas, and Fall wound down, Mom and Dad were seriously considering coming for Christmas!

This was so exciting from my perspective for many reasons!  Although I think Mom, Dad, and I would survive 10 months in separate countries, it was marvelous simply to see them in person, share hugs, and real time with them!  Another reason is because I've learned a lot from traveling and from Europe and thought that Mom and Dad would delight in going outside their comfort zone for a bit of time.  Yet another reason is I've made friends here, but when I go back home people I tell stories about are just names that I can't explain how much more they mean to me, now Mom and Dad, and a few others that have visited or will this spring can share with me a bit of my world, the people I've grown to love, and the way of life I've spent mine living in for a year.  Now I can share with them and them with me memories we have and a time of life that I will remember for the rest of my life!  For that I am grateful, much less the opportunity for me to be the leader and host my parents to a memorable time navigating buses, trains, mountain roads, and airports :)  10 days of breakfast, lunch, and dinner together I think is more than we have ever spent together uninterrupted, that was meaningful in itself and Slovakia proved a wonderful place for it to happen!

My sister sent me this as they got on the plane in Fargo.  It reminded me of the game "Anti Anti I over!" I caught them :)

Mom and Dad were quick to admit the reason they came was to see me and they would be happy sitting in my flat and just looking at me... They say, I think we'd all go crazy!  It was a relief to know I didn't have to entertain, but I sure wanted to show them the places and introduce them to the people I live, work, and play with so I did some careful planning before hand.

Our Christmas was celebrated at Saška's with her family and her Husband Ignac's mother all present!  It's an old Slovak tradition to put a live carp in the bathtub a few days before Christmas so it is fresh for dinner. I wanted to participate!  However, I waited too long and all the stores were closed Christmas eve so I got artistic and cut out a large fish and presented it when we arrived Christmas Eve.  Less eventful than a live carp, but still fun.  Mom, Dad, and I were treated to a traditional Slovak Christmas with a family that I have grown to feel a part of bless their hearts for "English Nights" and sharing their house with a couple foreigners, as well as fun adventures in the mountains!  Dinner started first with prayer, then a wafer with garlic and honey which provides good health for the year!  Another fun tradition is the head of the house hold cuts an apple in half and if there is a star, then it means good luck for the year.  (If you cut it right there is a star every time) :)  Next was Kapustnica (sauerkraut soup) with no meat due to Christmas Eve being a holy day, next was delicious fish (trout) and vegetables, with wonderful dessert to follow.  One very Slovak dessert is Medovniky which is like ginger bread cookies, but made with honey instead and decorated with similar frosting.

We're in luck!  A STAR! with Terezka and Zuzka Bobkova!

The youth group had a girls night to make Medovniky.  Mom got invited, I crashed the party :)  

It was a surprise how quickly time passed soon it was 10 minutes to 7 and we rushed into the living room to open gifts before the movie Popoluska (Slovak Cindarella and traditional Christmas movie.  Most of Slovakia watches it every year at 7 on TV) came on!  Saška translated the whole movie for Mom, Dad, and I!  Santa Clause does not slide down the chimney and deliver presents to the good children in their stockings, but Baby Jesus is said to leave gifts under the tree.  Christmas in Slovakia is much less commercialized, but you can see the westernization of BIG SALES and materialism sneaking in.

Intently sailing our "boats" Terezka, Janko, and I. Saska reading our futures :)

After, they had a fun new tradition that was new to all of us.  We each had half walnut shells with candle wax and a wick in it which acted as our boats.  We each light our candle and set our boats to sea in a large bowl of water.  Depending on what your boat does (where it goes or who it stays near) is supposed to say what your future holds.  Nobody took it too seriously, but it was good for a little fun!  More fun, games, and visiting went on until Midnight when they have a church service!  So we experienced a Slovak service before calling it a night.

Their family has 3 children Zuzana, Tereza, and Jano.  Adding the 3 of us and Ignac's mother we had a cozy family around for Christmas which sparked memories of our house full of family with tastey smells and excitement in seeing each other floating around.  I could say it a million times and it wouldn't be enough, it was marvelous to share Christmas with them in Bobrovec.

Before all of those Christmas Eve festivities I woke Mom and Dad up early Christmas Eve and we took a bus to Ziar Valley where we hiked up up up the mountain valley to a mountain cottage I've been to before.  It was a workout and slippery on packed snow and ice, but I kept promising hot tea and snacks at the cottage so kept the moral up.  Unfortunately the cottage is closed Christmas Eve so we had a nice view, ate some chocolate I carried and turned around :)  oops! Well worth it!  I think the first time my parents have been IN the mountains.  No summits, but gorgeous views, and a wonderful active morning with Mom and Dad.

The sun came out!

That.  Is the locked cottage. But we found feline friends!

Ma and Pa :)

I scheduled a MOM DAY and a DAD  DAY that was specified to their interests.  Mom's Day was the day after joyfully picked them up from the airport!  We got on a bus and headed to Modra, Slovakia which is a traditional Slovak pottery town.  The pattern they make their has spread all over the country and most people have a few pieces in their house.  Since Mom makes pottery herself, I figured it would be a fun perspective for her to see pottery on the other side of the world and boy did that happen!   We were the only ones there for a tour on a Saturday and there was no one to give the tour in English, that's OK though they showed us around anyway.  We were in luck, that the owners friend came to visit and he translated for us!  Since they were not busy, the idea came up for Mom to hop on the wheel and make a vase in Slovakia.  First I brought it up, and she smiled, blushed, and said noooo I don't need to do that.  Then the owner mentioned she could make something if she wanted, and with some encouragement from me she suited up in an apron and took her place on the wheel!  What a joyous smile on my mom's face, that I loved to see!  

Look how happy she is!

I like their design :)

All 3 of us wondered around the large facility and even stood inside their massive kilns!  Fun designs, and a very fun lady despite a Slovak/ English barrier.  Our visit ended in the store where Mom and Dad replaced the room in their suit cases of the pottery they brought as gifts with new pottery from Slovakia for gifts to people at home.  I think it was a success!

Across the world, across the language, it's still pottery!

It didn't stop there even, the lady made a phone call and told us to meet her friend outside another potter's museum later that afternoon.  His work was intended to maintain Slovak traditions forever through his pieces.  He made figures of everything Slovak: Folklore dancers, shepherds, mountain men, farmers, potters, cheese makers, textile workers, and many more  things.  It was a wonderful artistic walk through history that will be maintained for many years to come.  After this busy day we took a rest, then visited the Bratislava Christmas markets before crashing into bed!

DAD  DAY was later in the week, I borrowed a car, and we set off with me in the drivers seat through a beautiful mountain pass and into the Banska Bystrica region of Slovakia.  Our destination was in Banska Stiavnica, called Svaty Anton.  I had heard stories about this being an old Hunting Mansion so it seemed a perfect fit for Dad and I to visit to see the Hunting traditions around the world.  The tour guide that lead us through spoke about as much English as I did Slovak so we had really quite a fun time asking questions using our small vocabulary and hand signals and many other forms of communication ha.  The mansion had been owned by 2 families in the past and they were quite wealthy.  They traveled a lot and came back with many souvenirs from around the world.  Not fridge magnets or post cards though, they had beds, couches, huge paintings that furnished entire rooms.  There was a China room, a Bulgaria room, and others.  Whoa, definitely extravagant.  The part we came for was the men of both families were big into hunting.  There is rumors they raised Row Deer on their property even because they were so passionate about animals.  It showed in their mansion too.  Lining the walls of every hallway were European mounted Red Stag antlers (similar to our Elk) totaling over 1000 in the building! At the end of the tour was the hunting exhibition which Dad and I walked through like kids in a candy store!  There were ancient crossbows, rifles, bullets, loading supplies, hunting gear, fishing gear, falconry equipment, and much more.  The final room was a large display of full body mounts of most species in Slovakia.  Wow!!

Their gun collection trumps Dad's by miles!

A real Hunting hat!  Where do I find a feather like that?

Carpathian Red Stag. whoa!

Concluding we walked through the mansion grounds now a park of sorts, and explored the hillside view, the man made pond at sunset, and deer stands overlooking waterfalls.  It was a perfect day enjoyed by all!  On the way back we stopped at a  wooden church made in the "Catholic Reformation" period where the King made strict stipulations for protestant churches: must use only wood, no nails, no steeple, no bell, doors facing away from the road, and outside the city center, oh ya and you must build it start to finish in 1 year.  Amazing to see the engineering and construction of such buildings, and this was  out in the country side, just beautiful!

Mom and Dad being in Love in the park of Svaty Anton :)

2 such churches they call articular (made by the articles required) this one is in Hronsek, Slovakia

And this one much closer to Mikulas is in Svaty Kris.

Navigating the winding mountain roads near dusk and after dark was an interesting experience with many "slow downs" cast from the passenger and back seat while I went well under the speed limit.  A growing experience for all, that brought us closer in the end :)

 Many More adventures we'd love to tell you about!  Some snapshots:

2 of my students in a Traditional Christmas folklore concert.  Ema plays Violin and Vladmira dances!

Slovakia has many mineral springs.  This was a pleasant forest walk in an evening with  Mom and Dad.  They say each one tastes different and contains different healthy minerals.

Dad and I in or Slovak Hunting hats drinking Zlaty Bazant (Golden Pheasant) Slovak beer.

Mom stepping out of her comfort zone to see the top of a waterfall with me! GO MOM!

Momma!

Our family Christmas Picture 2015 :)  Missing Sam, Wes, and Baby Green!

Pictograph of my life + words

First a photo recap since November:  A lot has happened in events, school, and mentality of being here since month 3 to now which is month 5!  About half way through the school year.

Peter (Physical Education teacher), Me, Ignac, Saska, and a solo hiking woman who joined our team in the snowy slippery mountains.  A beautiful day and a physical workout.  We hiked 9 hours this day as we had to get in our mountain time before the snow flew more and we switch to skis :)  Time in the mountains has been valuable.  I love spending time with outdoor active minded people and the mountains is a place where we all enjoy, but it's just the place.  The people, relationships, and conversations all grow and are enriched by the wilderness no humans have built on, driven on, or humanized.  It looks the same today as when the first humans were put on earth.  Kind of like an original piece of the author, God.

Students are great!  They learn a lot in the classroom and we discuss some neat topics in conversation class, but it's with a whole class of 15 people.  These 2nd year students (sophomore equivalent) invited Daniel and I out for pizza to the nearby town Ruzomberok and it was great to get to know them!

Jenny and I making snowmen at 6,500 feet.  Blue skies, 4 day weekend, and lots of mountains to explore!  I took probably the most steps I ever have in  consecutive days that weekend.  Tiring, but life giving to be in the mountains with good people. The 4th day I felt like I'd been hiking so much and hurrying to get down before dark, I hadn't been able to attempt to take in all that IS in the mountains.  So I ventured up to Babky to pray, journal, and watch the sunset.  Very refreshing to realize how small I am, and how big God is.  I'm not going to change the world, but God will through me and all his sons and daughters.

My 1st year class wrote "Happy Name Day" on the board for when I walked into their classroom.  Great fun, good kids.  Name days are really popular in Slovakia.  The calendar has nearly everybody's names on a particular day and that is their name day every year.  Martin happens to be a famous one named after a patron saint of France.  He came across a poor man, ripped his cloak in 2 and gave half to the poor man.  He also rode a white horse so the sang goes that the first snow should fall on Martin's name day November 11th.  We had snow before, but none on the day.  I've got big shoes to fill :)

THANKSGIVING

Slovak teachers style. Daniel and I hosted some English speaking colleagues to our flat for a baby turkey (otherwise known as chicken), pumpkin pie, apple crisp, and many pot luck dishes!  

This is a screen shot of the day my sister and brother in law told me I was going to be an Uncle!  All smiles, I can't wait to meet her or him when I get home!   So much joy in hearing of a child joining our family :)  Sam was creative.  She cut out a oven and baked a Hawaiian sweet bun and told me there is a bun in the oven :)

This is as close as I got to MN deer hunting for 2015.  My sister did not take my place, as she said this is as close to hunting as she is getting this year :)  I did get running reports from Dad, our hunting party, and friends.  It made it a little better, but nothing to shake a stick at spending time with my dad and our hunting family out in the woods.

Once a week I go to the Liptovsky Mikulas bouldering room with a few students.  It's the best of all the worlds because we both get to do what we love, try new things, speak English, and get to know each other as people.  This is Michal from the 1st year class climbing the roof route!

Natalia and I in front of the crazy carnival ride "THE BOOSTER." Mikulas is Nicholas in Slovak so St. Nicholas is St. Mikulas which our town is named after.  Therefore they celebrate St. Mikulas day December 6 and have a big Mikulas Market in the city center for the weekend with community events going all weekend.  Natalia and I talked each other into going on the booster, and talked each other through surviving the experience.  It is like a Ferris wheel with more speed, more flipping, and more spinning.  Amongst the spinning and flipping at one point she said "why arent' you screaming?" So I started to join in her howling, then she said, while upside down, "If we survive will you put me in your blog?" I said of course!  It was a memorable carnival ride, I'm glad we did it and I'm glad we survived to tell about it!

My new friends that play on a 10 year old hand ball team.  We sat in the same box on the train, they spoke little English, and I spoke less Slovak, but we helped each other out, counted in each other's languages, shared colors, days of the week, and other simple conversations.  We shared many smiles and laughs throughout the process.  I even got a team sticker and all their autographs!  

Thanksgiving in Bratislava with nearly all the ELCA missionaries from Slovakia and Hungry!  Ole collaborated with the staff at their school to organize a school building, 2 huge turkeys, and a fun weekend spending time together, sharing stories, laughs, struggles, and joys.  It was a rich experience!

Kapustnica is a traditional Slovak Christmas soup.  It is made with saurkraut,and I think is delicious!  Kapustnica parties are popular before Christmas time. This one is our teacher's Kapustnica.  They serve not only kapustnica, but a full meal, and lots of visiting, story telling, and even a little dancing!  This is Nada, Kristina, and Daniel.

This is the Evangelic church kapustnica party!  The pastor (in the blue), Marian Bochnicka, makes soup and serves it to the congregation members as a service to them.  It's a healthy perspective, I think that he serves them.  Like how Jesus washed the disciples feet, and came not to be served, but to serve.  Not everyone here speaks English, but we managed to communicate a few things and found a couple people who were great with English.  Even one retired English teacher!

Trade hiking boots for skis when the snow falls and back to the mountains!  Ski alping is very popular here, and this is the first time I have done it in my life!  Peter and Peter, both physical education teachers took me to Chopok in the Low Tatras.  For ski alping you put nylon skins on the bottoms of yours skis walk up the mountain, then lock in your boots, remove the skins and ski down!  I didn't remember until I was on top of the mountain that I am a snowboarder not a skier!  Gravity helped, but I got down.  It's great to be able to travel in the mountains in winter!

Christmas party at a language school I visit here and there.  It was great fun for all of us.  We went around the room and shared Christmas traditions from one family to another.  Slovakia has many fun traditions.  For example, the first thing they eat Christmas Eve before the meal is garlic and honey to signify good health for the year.  An apple is cut in half, if a star shows (it does every time) it signifies good luck for the year, some families leave a place at the table empty to remember their family members that have passed away and to welcome a passerby if the opportunity presented itself, Baby Jesus comes to bring presents instead of Santa.  Many more, but I shared things like Lefsa, the kids table, cutting our Christmas tree, Aunts and cousins cooking delicious things, ice skating, sledding, and snowmobiling.  Fond fond memories of Christmas are only going to be enriched from this year away.  The things I took for granted show up like a sore thumb now.  Now this wraps up in mid December, shortly before MY PARENTS came to visit me.  I'll write up some stories and highlights from our 10 days together and share the experience soon!  

May the Lord make His face shine upon you!  Live each day like it could be your last.

Thinking of you in Minnesota and all around

Peace, Love,

Marty