Easter Weekend!

Good Friday is called "Big Friday" here in Slovakia.  We met at church at 8:30 a.m. for choir rehearsal and the 9:00 a.m. Good Friday service, which was absolutely packed!  Huge crowd!!  We sense that in the Slovak church there is much importance placed on Jesus' sacrifice, suffering and death, so Good Friday is a big deal.  (It is a national holiday as well, so people had the day off and could attend services.)  

Our choir sang the two Taizé songs we had prepared, with violin and guitar accompaniment.  I directed the group, which they appreciated.  It sounded really nice!  After the service, most people stayed for the communion service to follow.  Usually, it's only 30-40 people who stay when the extra communion service is offered, but for Good Friday, there must have been a couple hundred.  We were really cold by the end of the second service, so stopped by the grocery store on the way home, both to warm up and to stock up, since stores would be closed for the holiday weekend.  It was almost noon by the time we got home.

This doesn't really fit in with today's post, but Saška, the elementary principal emailed me this picture of one of the basic school classes I teach.  I don't know why Slovaks tend to NOT smile in pictures!!  These kids are so adorable and are usually VERY smiley!!  :-)  

Friday at 5:00 we walked to volleyball, but I suppose due to the holiday weekend and the cold windy weather, there were only five of us there.  It was actually a lot of fun playing just 3-on-2 with a short court.  Thankfully the guy who was on our team was really athletic, because he covered for us a lot!  LOL!!  I stayed afterwards for a little while to watch the basketball action, and I was impressed with the play.  Everyone was really unselfish, played 'team' ball, looked to pass first, and just played well!!  It was fun to watch!  

This pic was sent to us by one of Tim's B-ball buddies.  The group was started in the 60's, and they have a web page with photos and their history!  

Saturday morning we didn't have to set an alarm clock - YAY!!  It was a relaxing morning.  We took a bus to Liptovsky Trnovec shortly after noon, for lunch with Pat'ka and Rivi in their village.  She served delicious chicken and vegetable soup, broasted potato wedges, and yummy chicken breasts baked in foil with leeks, apples, and cheese.  Patk'ka's dear grandmother had made cake for dessert.  

There are many beautifully reconstructed houses in Liptovsky Trnovec.  This one was darling, and I took the picture for Lisa Evans!!  If you ever move to Slovakia, Lisa, this cute little ORANGE house would be perfect for you!!  :-) 

The garden behind the orange house went way back and up the hill - note the old 'fruit cellar' built into the hillside just above the fence!  

From the hillside above the village, looking back across some gardens and orchards on the hillside behind the houses.  

This is the Lutheran church, where Pat'ka is the church organist.

In medieval times, Liptovsky Trnovec was declared a 'King's Village', and as such was granted privileges such as punishments in the public stocks seen here outside the city hall.  The village was also granted the rights to collect taxes and to operate a market.  

We had an Easter egg decorating party after our walk!  The empty, blown-out eggs had already been dyed, and we used colored wax from crayons melted on the hot-plate to decorate them.

We really had fun getting our creative juices flowing, and it was interesting that much of the time decorating was spent in intense and silent concentration!  

We used straight-pins stuck into pencil erasers as our decorating tools.  Then we could either 'dot' or 'dot with a tail' as techniques to draw with the melted colored wax!  Thank goodness Rivi had some sample eggs already decorated in some traditional patterns, so I tried to copy the patterns!  It was really fun for all of us!!  

The four of us played a word game kind of like 'Scattergories', which was doubly fun because words in Slovak or English were allowed!!  :-)  Pat'ka drove us home in the evening, so we could get to bed early because of the 'spring ahead' time change here overnight.  It's a few weeks later here for us to lose an hour's sleep.

This morning we went to the regular Easter service at church, and Jan translated for us.  The 'regular' choir (not our Taizé group) sang a couple of anthems.  It was raining pretty hard afterwards, so Jan gave us a ride to the church in Vrbica (which is near where we play volleyball on Fridays), since he was going there too.  There was a youth-oriented Easter service with contemporary music, and many younger people and kids from our church were there.  We really enjoyed it, and of course Jan translated yet another sermon for us!  :-)  It was raining even harder afterwards, so Jan gave us another ride all the way home.  Normally we don't mind walking everywhere, but in such heavy rain and wearing our good clothes, it was really nice to have a ride!  

We sat way in the back of the balcony so Jan's translation wouldn't disturb others, and this was our view behind the organ.  These cushions are on all the pews, so this must be where they store the spares.  I thought the rainbow colors were pretty, and I am imagining church circle ladies sewing all those cushion covers many years ago!  

For Easter dinner, I didn't even have to cook, since Pat'ka sent leftovers from yesterday's meal home with us.  :-)  I just added some sautéed zucchini/peppers and a fruit salad.  I've also gotten caught up with laundry today, and Tim walked to the ATM in preparation for our next journey tomorrow.  (More on that later in the week!)

The Easter Bunny came, bringing a chocolate bunny and some not-quite-malted-milk eggs for Tim!!  :-)   This is our table centerpiece with our Slovak-style decorated eggs! 

Close-up of a couple of the eggs!   :-)   

Happy Easter to everyone!!  

He is Risen!!  He is Risen indeed!!

Teacher Appreciation in Prešov

The first digit on the alarm clock for Thursday morning was a dreaded '5', but we felt rested.  We packed a thermos of hot tea and arrived at school to meet the bus by 6:00 a.m.  

It was a small bus, for about 25 passengers, and of course the secondary staff headed for the back of the bus, with the pastor, the headmistress, and the elementary staff in the front.  Many of our secondary school colleagues were working at school on Thursday, grading Maturita tests, instead of going on the trip.    :-(  

On the way to Prešov, we passed Spiš Castle, which we intend to visit sometime this spring.  (It's closed in the winter, and it's quite a hike to reach it evidently.  

We've read that Spiš is the largest castle in Slovakia, and everyone says it's a 'must-see'!  

We arrived at the Bishop's office.  The building formerly housed the first secondary school in Slovakia.  It's very beautifully reconstructed to preserve its historic looks.

At the Bishop's office.  (Lutheran Bishop of Eastern Slovakia)  Erik kept insisting that HE take some pictures so I would be in some of the photos too.  Thanks, Erik!      :-)  

When we arrived, there were many delicious refreshments.  Hot and cold drinks a plenty, and a multitude of sweet and salty treats.  (There was also another set of tables in a nearby area with more goodies, tea and coffee, etc.)

After refreshments and a time to visit and chat with people from other schools, we walked across the street to the Lutheran church for a worship service.  This is Vicki and Katka (who both play volleyball on Monday nights), and Erik and Tim.  

The interior of the church was beautiful.

The balcony and organ at the back were really ornate.

A group of elementary students from the host school in Prešov sang some songs during the worship service.  Vicki translated the sermon for us, which focused on Jesus washing the disciples' feet at the Last Supper, and how Jesus gives teachers the example of serving others.

After church, we went back to the Bishop's office for more refreshments.  (Hot tea again was nice after being in the unheated church for the service!)  Then we were ushered into this enormous, gorgeous room with highly ornate decorations and a library around the top floor.  The room was all set up with chairs for a program and awards ceremony.

Students from the Lutheran H.S. in Prešov presented an entertaining program with musicians, skits, and speeches.  

Vicki from our H.S. and Katka from our elementary both received teacher awards.  (Two teachers were recognized from each of the four schools in attendance.)  The Bishop is in the middle, then our Headmistress, Janka, and the elementary principal, Saška.

After the Teacher Appreciation / Recognition program, we walked a few blocks to have a luncheon all together.  We ate with some of the teachers from Košice, because we hadn't  yet gotten a chance to talk to A.J., another American who has been in Slovakia 4 years.  We had a 'small world' connection with A.J. (at left).  His aunt, Pam Haase, was Lute's pre-school teacher at the Lutheran pre-school in Boone!!  We remember her well!  Tim and I also taught some of Pam's kids (A.J.'s cousins) in Boone - crazy!!  

Erik's hometown is Prešov, so he was our personal tour guide for the hour between the luncheon and our bus departure time.  The building in the background is a bank designed by a famous architect.  

This statue of Jesus is in the Centrum (pedestrian walkway area in the center, historic part of the town.)  The 47th meridian runs directly through the center of Prešov, just behind the statue a bit.

This area is Holy Trinity Square - with St. Nickolas atop the statue.  

St. Nickolas Cathedral - (Roman Catholic) - is the most imposing structure in the Centrum.  Unfortunately it was locked, so we weren't able to look around inside.  

This photo is for Joe and Jackie Carey - I hope you see it!  I don't know why I thought of you when we were here, but I did.  This is a lovely statue of Pope John Paul II next to the Catholic church, and the Lutheran church is in the background.  It is just such a serene statue to honor the Polish Pope.  All the Slovak peoples are very proud of him.  

This giant Easter Egg on the square near the cathedral has Prešov's  city emblem, with strawberries and blossoms.  (Tim of course told Erik that his Dad's hometown was Strawberry Point, also with strawberries as symbols of the town!)   :-) 

The yellow building at the far end of the arches is part of the school Erik went to, and that is the actual room where he sat for the Maturuta!   

Prešov is another really beautiful city, with many examples of Baroque, Rococo, and Gothic architecture.  We had a great time with Erik as our tour guide for his beloved city, which is the 3rd largest in Slovakia.  

In the distance, halfway up the hill, you can see Prešov's 'Calvary', which was too far for today's short time, but Erik says the views from the top are spectacular, and it's his favorite place in the city!

Erik wanted to show us the Greek Catholic church as well, but its doors were also locked.   Luckily, as we walked by the adjacent Bishop's house, we noticed a priest, so Erik asked him if we could enter the church.  A cell phone call later, a nun opened the doors and let us inside!  It was really impressive!

Erik really wanted us to see this - it's one of only 3 replicas of the original Shroud of Turin.  There were many other religious relics in the Greek Catholic church as well. 

This is the Greek Orthodox church (different from Greek Catholic!)  Prešov, in the east part of Slovakia, is quite close to the Ukraine, so there are more Eastern Orthodox in the area.

One of the ornate buildings along the Centrum area.  (I think this was a judicial building / court for the Prešov region.)  

Views of the High Tatras from the bus window on our trip home.  

The clouds really changed the look of the mountains!

Another castle on the way back - in Liptovsky Hrádok.  We dropped off several of our teachers in various towns and villages along the way, to save them back-tracking to get home from our journey's end at our school in Liptovsky Mikuláš.

Just after we dropped off a couple of young elementary teachers in a small village, this horse-drawn cart came by.  The driver laughingly told the gals to hop on for a ride home, which prompted Saška to tell us another Slovak expression that goes something like this:
A good wife looks fine in a cart and fine in a carriage.    I kind of like that one!!   :-)  

We had an evening appointment after our day in Prešov.  We had no English lessons because of Maundy Thursday (Green Thursday here - for the Garden of Gethsemane).  Last Monday after choir rehearsal, one gal who also plays volleyball had asked us, through an interpreter, to come on Thursday and meet a Slovak couple who had lived in the U.S. for 16 years.  We eventually found out the couple are Baptists, the husband preaches, and there would be a Bible Study at their house.  So we went to their home in a village a few kilometers away, Smrečany.  We got to visit with Peter and Iveta and hear their fascinating life stories of defecting from communist Czechoslovakia, meeting in Texas working for a Baptist radio station, and then receiving amnesty to return here after the fall of communism.  Peter still works part time for United Airlines in Texas, so they go back and forth a lot with the free flight benefits.  Their kids all speak perfect English and are home-schooled in English, though they are learning Slovak as well.  It was really neat to experience their dynamic Bible study group, though we mostly listened to Slovak, so didn't follow much.  They'd stop every now and then to give us a general overview, but it did make us appreciate even more how patient our school colleagues are in translating constantly for us!!  And it was so nice of Martina from church to invite us to their Bible study group, and give us a ride there and back!  

This was a great 'children's sermon' type lesson about Easter.  Each of the different colored eggs had something inside, which related to the Easter story.  For example, hair to represent the donkey Jesus rode on as He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, a (Lego) cup to represent the wine at the Last Supper, a thorn to represent the crown of thorns, etc. etc.  It was really clever!  The second to last egg held a stone, symbolizing the stone covering Jesus' tomb entrance.  And the last egg was ...... EMPTY!!    Because the tomb was empty on Easter morning because He is Risen!!  Praise God for this great gift of salvation and eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ!!  

Palm Sunday

Sunday was a busy day.  We started with our regular church service and Zuzka translating the sermon.  Then we continued to the catholic church for mass, so we could hear my student Eva's son sing the Pašie, or Passion story.  He has a beautiful voice, and we also enjoyed the service which was oriented towards children.  After that we listened to our online sermon, which featured Simon Estes' story - very cool - and another beautiful voice!  

The organ in the catholic church

The front of the church before mass.  

This is a picture from last fall - just to show you the catholic church, St. Mikulaš - from the 13th century as I recall - maybe older!  

I made brynzová halušky for Sunday dinner, this time from scratch, and it was better than my first attempt using a box mix.  (I got tips from Katarina's mom and Zuzka!)  

Slovak national dish - halušky - YUM!! 

In the afternoon we went to a traditional Slovak folk dancing competition at the House of Culture here in town.  Children of some of our colleagues were participants, so that was neat!  

Some of the younger participants - so cute!

The dancing was really enjoyable!  

The accompaniment was all live performers - lots of accordions!

We have seen similar folk dances with the traditional axes before.  

Some of the dances were quite athletic for the boys! 

This is an effigy of Morena -  the dance symbolizes the end of winter and the beginning of spring as the effigy is burned and thrown in the river.  

I kept thinking the whole time --- this is traditional Slovak 'show choir' --- singing, dancing, beautiful costumes!!    It was quite an impressive spectacle!   :-)  

Then later, Tim helped me dip chocolates by tossing the maple creams and peanut butter balls into the bowl one by one.  He's a pro!  (I had made the centers the night before since it was cold enough on the balcony to freeze them - all covered up of course!)  

Monday we had one final church choir rehearsal before the Good Friday morning service when we'll be singing.  Towards the end we moved into the sanctuary for a final run-through there.  It should sound pretty good!  Then we went to volleyball.  We took some chocolates to school, to church choir, and to volleyball, to share a Pekny Pondelok.  (The wonderful Slovak alliteration for "Happy Monday!"  

Tuesday at school there was some sort of Teacher Appreciation Day.  A parent came into the workroom with a large bouquet of flowers and gave a nice speech to the teachers thanking everyone for working with our students.  Then there was an assembly where awards were presented to the most popular teachers.  Yes, really!  

Dasha receiving her award from the students.

Miro received the top prize for the history department.  

And Katarina also received a top award and beautiful purple flowers - her favourite colour.
(Our school teaches British English, so we have to get used to some different spellings!)
LOL!!

Today there were no classes, but we were busier than ever at school!  It was a day of entrance examinations for students who are applying for admission to next year's new classes.  As we understand it, there were over 150 kids there, so it was kind of crazy early in the morning as parents were dropping off their children.  But the school staff was incredibly organized, so it all went really smoothly.  During the 2 hours of testing, we had our school Slovak lesson (on past-present-future tenses --- fun!), and then we were busy proof-reading, editing, and making suggestions for more of the tasks on the oral Maturita for English.  Next, we were part of a team of English teachers who graded a big stack of tests.  Evidently there were four parts to the entrance examination, so other teachers were grading the other subject areas.  Each test paper had to be graded by two different teachers, with our initials on each paper, etc. --- very official!!  Then Tim and I went back to doing our Maturita work again until we were told to leave, as the doors would be locked for vacation at 3:50.  Well, this time, we didn't mess around.  We remember they mean business when they lock up for vacation, so we headed out in plenty of time to NOT get locked in this time!!  

This beautiful Easter egg was made by a colleague of Eva's, and she gave it to me Tuesday night at our lesson.  So beautiful!!   :-)   I think it is made of a styrofoam egg, with strips of satin ribbon folded and pinned into these geometric patterns.  

The alarm is set really early for tomorrow - it's our bus trip to Prešov - Lutheran school teachers from eastern Slovakia will all be getting together for some special day.  We'll learn more about it, like everything else, as we go!!  :-)   And we'll go at 6:00 a.m. - yikes!!