A New Bed!!! :-)

Well, our big news is indeed BIG --- it's a new bed for our flat - 150cm X 200 cm, which is a few centimeters shy of a U.S. queen size!!   We are really thankful that our sleeping will be so much more comfortable now!  Once we decided to stay here for next year, we thought it would be worth the investment if we could find a reasonably priced bed.  (Not an easy task here as beds are quite expensive!)  We have been visiting furniture stores all over town over the past month or so, and Zuzka and Katarina each accompanied us once to help communicate in Slovak with store employees.  Well, finally, we found a bed that was 50% off because of some slight damage on the inside of the frame, but it doesn't even show.  

This is the pull-out couch that we have been sleeping on.  (The head of the 'bed' is on the right side.)  Not very comfortable with all the separate cushions, and not very stable either.  Plus, Tim had to crawl in and out from the foot of the bed, and I had crawl back & forth over to the wall to make the bed every morning.  Not to mention that changing sheets was a royal pain too - very difficult!!  For a few months it was tolerable, but we were very ready for a real bed.  

Tim getting the alarm clock and light plugged in behind the NEW BED!!!  YAY!!!   And he can even walk on his side of the bed now like a normal person - YAY!!  

The new bed was delivered yesterday - completely disassembled, with all parts wrapped in plastic (like giant sheets of saran wrap - ha!) and with no instructions whatsoever!!  THANK GOODNESS for our landlord, Mr. Betko and his tools.  Katka came over to help us talk with Mr. & Mrs. Betko for a while, which really helped.  Tim and Mr. Betko got everything put together, but there was one important piece missing - the brace underneath the bed slats that goes down the middle head-to-foot for support.  So Katka and I walked all the way to the store, and as soon as we arrived, the lady there said she had found the piece and had already called Tim on the phone to tell him.  So, I hoofed it back to the flat carrying my 6-foot brace contraption.  (The phone number for the store didn't work to call them, and of course no car, so this was about a 45-minute process.  I think they could have at least refunded the 7 EU delivery fee since I had to walk all the way there and back - HAHA!!  And, the allen-wrench tool that fit the screws was taped to the missing piece, so without Mr. Betko running down to his flat to find one, we couldn't have put the bed together in the first place!!)  Anyway, it's a crazy tale, but with a good ending.  :-)  

This is our former bed - now back to a couch - in the spare bedroom!  It can definitely be used for guests for a few nights - no problem!  

The new bedroom set-up is wonderful!  (The wooden pieces behind the headboard are storage bins for bedding, but they are a great substitute for bedside tables.)  

Backing up, the week was a blur - it seems like I am always rushing back and forth between buildings to teach more classes - six this week at the basic school.  And we had several other extra things like the newspaper interview, reading tape-scripts to be recorded for the listening portions of the Maturita later this spring, attending a book-reading event where I was giving the welcome, the monthly school-wide church service, and going to a presentation for parents and guests by the youngest basic school kids.  All fun, but my desk just kept getting piled higher and deeper with un-done things since I lost a ton of my plan times to other events!!  I got behind on grading and lesson planning, which always bugs me, but spending an extra hour after everything was finally done on Friday afternoon helped somewhat - at least lesson plans are ready for our short next week before Easter break!   :-)   

To send to the newspaper reporter - she asked for pictures of us with our students!   These are our "V.I.P." students --- The V.AP class, who hosted us at their Stuškova!  

And these are the I.A5's - the first-year students in the five-year program.  They are another fabulous group of kids, just like the V's!!  

This group is mostly made up of drama club students, but some others attended this poetry and book reading event Friday afternoon as well.  Great group!! 

Thursday after school, Tim got a ride to Podbreziny with Katarina and her 'chauffeur' (her brother) Juraj, to visit his adult English student, Marian.  We had gotten a call earlier in the week from Marian, letting us know he was in the hospital after a skiiing accident last weekend.  He must have been going pretty fast, hit some icy snow, ended up crashing into rocks and trees, and he broke several ribs & was pretty banged up!  He was sent home Thursday, so Tim visited their flat instead of having their normal lesson at our place.  Poor guy!  Tim caught the bus home from Podbreziny while I was teaching Eva's lesson.  

Last night we ended up missing volleyball and basketball because of the whole bed fiasco, but after all the furniture-moving and bed assembly, then deciding to rearrange everything again after the others left, it was too late.  We didn't mind having a quiet couple of hours in our cozy flat, especially since it has gotten really cold and windy out, and Zuzka told us that record low temperatures are expected this weekend.  Brrrr!!  

Today Tim is playing in a basketball tournament at school with the teachers' team again.  I'm sure I'll find things to keep busy even after finishing the blog post this morning!   :-)