Medics, Museums, and Memories

First of all, we want to say thanks for reading our blog and sharing in our adventure in Slovakia!!  I finally figured out that I can see how many views our blog has, and we're delighted to know many people are checking in.  I know the pace will slow down soon, and there won't be as much to write, but for now, there seems to be a lot happening each day!

Today started bright and early with the alarm set in the normally unacknowledged hour before 6:00 a.m.  LOL!!  Our companion for the day was our colleague, Jana, and she served as driver, translator, tour guide, and good friend.  She was amazing in assisting us in every way!!  Jana (pronounced Yahnah) drove us to Martin, about 70 kilometers we think, which took about an hour.  We had a 7:30 appointment at the University Hospital there for our medical exams for our work visas.  The whole process was unlike at US medical facilities, mainly because there are no waiting areas to speak of, other than a few benches in some hallways, though not in all areas.  A couple of times we just stood waiting outside doors in a hallway and stairwell.  Someone would come out of a door, talk a little bit, take forms, and go back inside & shut the door, so we would wait.  Once we got inside an area, everyone was very friendly and nice.  Now, if you are NOT interested in the Slovak medical system, feel free to skip ahead past this rather LONG paragraph.........It might be TMI for some people.   ;-)   

First we were handed sealed plastic test tubes with black swabs inside (like half of an over-sized black Q-tip), and told "you know what to do", but of course we didn't know at all!!  Evidently, the expectation was to go in the restroom and self-swab inside your rectal area.  O.K. - no problem!!  (We had expected urine samples, but no, this was the gig here!)  Next we had normal blood samples, and the nurse did a great job - not painful at all.  (This was the needle in the arm kind, with multiple vials taken.)    And finally, we had our chest x-rays.  It was all very professional and ho-hum, except for the part they just expect you to walk right out of the changing room, naked from the waist up, and go stand by the wall.  No modesty allowed - LOL!!  (Now I really appreciate those cute little capes always provided for mammograms in the States!!)  I felt really stupid because I stood with my back against the machine, and, not understanding Slovak, was manually turned to face the x-ray apparatus.  HAHA!!  Then I was gently positioned forward with my whole front side up against the panel, which was COLD!!  Oh well, it wasn't that bad, though in our week of orientation there had been several references to the chest x-ray, almost in a "rite of passage" sort of context!!  :-)  It surprised us that no doctor actually examined us at all - no stethoscope, "say AHHH", no blood pressure, temperature, or any of the usual things.  Just the 3 items mentioned.  Oh, and we had to walk back and forth between buildings in the complex as well.  Hopefully we both passed and will be granted work visas.  

So after 2 1/4 hours there, we were done at the hospital.  Whew!!  And then we had fun "playing hooky" from school.  The deputy headmistress knew how long our travel and the examinations would take, and since the work days this week end at 2:00, she told Jana to show us around a bit instead of rushing back for such a short time at school.  So we taught Jana the phrase "playing hooky" and had fun with that the rest of the day.  Of course we also all agreed that our descriptions to our colleagues tomorrow would describe "work, work, work"!!   :-)  The first order of business was to find food, since Tim and I were told not to eat breakfast before the blood tests.  We had baguette sandwiches and hot tea at a fast-food type restaurant in the center of Martin.  Delicious!  

Tim and Jana on the square in Martin, with the statue of the Slovak "Robin Hood"

Next we headed to the Slovak National Museum in Martin, which is a lot like Living History Farms in W.D.M. - different regions of Slovakia were represented by various restored and reconstructed historic examples of buildings from different time periods.  We actually had a beautiful hike along a babbling brook to get there, and it was a gorgeous day to be outside walking between the outdoor exhibits.  There was an English-speaking tour guide as well.  It was a fascinating museum, and we enjoyed our time there.  

Wooden church from the 1700's

Interior of the church

(I am having difficulty uploading photos onto the blog site now.  I'll try to add more photos from today, but later in the next post.)

Next we headed to one of Jana's favorite swimming areas.  The water was incredibly clear and blue, and it was packed with families enjoying the last week of summer vacation.  If we had our suits along, it would have been perfect weather to take a dip!  

On the way back into Liptovsky Mikulas, we stopped by the Orange store (Slovak version of Verizon!) so Jana could help us get our cell phone activated and put minutes on the SIM card.  The phone was left by one of the previous American teachers, but they put a new number with it today and got us all set up.  The school really wants us to have a cell phone so we are in touch when necessary.  We only paid about $8, and it sounds like minutes are inexpensive.  We don't anticipate using it much, but it's nice to have.

Then Jana wanted to show us the view from a high hill outside of Liptovsky Mikulas.  It was actually farther along the ridge we had climbed the other night, but we drove up a winding one-land road that was lined with trees on both sides all the way.  The views were spectacular - of the town, surrounding villages, mountains in a panoramic backdrop completely surrounding us, and a higher view of the lake - WOW!!!  Jana says it's really amazing at sunset, so sometime we'll have to go up there later in the evening.  

And finally, we headed back into the town center where we met Jana's mother who had been shopping there.  We went to a restaurant and shared a Slovak treat and beverages at an outdoor table, again enjoying the beautiful weather today!  I still can't remember the name of the Slovak fruit-filled dumpling dish, but we tried another variety at this restaurant. The dough was much lighter and thinner, and it surrounded a fresh plum - they were fabulous!!  Jana's mother says they are homemade and fresh here, and we could tell.  We also had radler again - the lemon flavored beer that doesn't taste like beer!  Yummy!  It was such a pleasant end to our day of travels and sight-seeing, visiting and enjoying one another's company.  :-)  

Tim and I made a quick stop at Billa, the grocery store fairly close to our flat, and discovered it is at the bottom of a small, 3-story mall!!  Many of the things we had found after hoofing it all over town, could have been purchased right there.  Live and learn!! LOL!  We actually thought ahead and bought some food for the next couple of days for once.  By the time we arrived back here, we were recounting our enjoyable day playing hooky from school and getting to know Jana.  It was an awesome day!!