Saturday Excursion

Saturday started out in a relaxed fashion -- sleeping in, eating a leisurely breakfast, doing a few loads of laundry, housecleaning (which takes a LOT less time in a small flat!), having a cup of hot chai tea (thanks, Lisa E.), and checking emails.  We had plenty of time to meet Carol at 11:15 to take the bus to Svati Kriz - one of the largest of the famous wooden churches in Europe.  It has some fascinating history and is Slovakia's largest example of this type of church.  A 1681 decree banned Protestant churches unless they were outside of towns, facing away from the road, and with no hard building materials (like stone and nails.)    An illiterate carpenter oversaw construction without the use of a single nail, and the church can hold 6,000 people.  It is absolutely gorgeous with domed ceilings and elaborate paintings throughout.  

Carol and Tim, as we got off the bus along the highway and
started walking into the village.

This is the town hall in Svaty Kriz --- with
a stork's nest on the chimney!

Close-up of the stork's nest -- it was enormous!! 

It looks to me like a fruit cellar-type shelter
built into the hillside behind a house

All the back yards were long and narrow, and steeply sloping uphill.
To the left, you can see a tractor mowing hay, and at the top of the hill
on the right, there was a large herd of cattle, complete with cowbells clanking! 

Welcome sign leading on to the church grounds
You can just see the Svati Kriz roof and tower behind the little gazebo

The Svati Kriz wooden church

In front of the church tower - the building is HUGE!  

We took the bus to the highway outside the village, but it was a nice walk through town and then out into the countryside to get to the church.  We saw many interesting sights, beautiful gardens, and lovely homes in the quaint village.  Our travels were over lunch time, so we stopped in a local pub/restaurant in Lazisko for a bite to eat and sat on their outdoor tables.  It was really fun people-watching for the hour or more we stayed - mostly a bunch of local men enjoying the afternoon, and quite a few bicyclists who stopped in for refreshments.  We tried different kinds of sausages with bread - very tasty!  

We walked along and over this creek on the way through
the village and on to the church outside of town.

This footbridge reminded us of Iowa's covered bridges!

Such a cute foot bridge across the creek!  :-)

This bridge was out behind the restaurant where we had lunch.

This is one of our Slovak vocab words --- it means "goodbye".
The sign was as we left the village of Lazisko.

An example of the quaint village houses, beautiful flower gardens,
and unique fences.  (and notice the dish for TV -- everyone has one!)

This is the Catholic church in the village

 When we got off the bus back in Liptovsky Mikulas, we walked to HyperNova for a few items --- when we're always walking, it's easier to shop with a small list, since we have to carry home all our purchases.  :-)   

The sun was really shining on this building on our way home from
the store this afternoon.  We always admire how pretty it is - this is
the public school in town.  

Right now, as I write, the hour approaches for the Iowa - Iowa State kick-off.  We hope it's a wonderful game, very close, so that all the fans have something to be pleased about!   Play well, Hawks and Clones!!  This last photo below is especially for our neighbor, Curran.   :-)   

Dear Curran,
We wanted to send you a special picture, since you know what
the Slovak flag and national emblem look like.  We think about you often
and have been looking for a chance to send you a Slovak picture of us!!
We hope you are really enjoying school.  We miss you!!  :-)   

Finally Friday!

We are relieved it's finally Friday.  Even though we didn't teach too many classes, we spent a lot of time again today working on curriculum.  My brain hurts!!  The students are just super.  I only had my IV's and V's today - the highest two levels - and they are wonderful.  The I's were all on a field trip, so we didn't have those lower-level classes today.  We also were handed a new schedule today --- again!!  This is the third schedule this week.  We've decided to only write things in pencil any more, after going through a lot of white-out in our lesson plan books.  LOL!!  Flexibility is the name of the game in Slovakia --- we learned that in our training in Bratislava --- so we are just trying to adapt and go with the flow.  :-)   Tim and I were about the last ones to leave today - about 3:15. 

We walked to Carol's flat at 4:00, then we walked a couple of blocks with her to the home of a former student of hers, who is now in his 3rd year of medical school.  He came back to visit and invited us all to go on an excursion this afternoon.  We drove up beyond a village in the hills with spectacular views of the mountains all around.  Then we went to Salas Ziar, which is kind of like a sheep ranch, but now it is a restaurant/bar and a horseback riding stable.  We had one of Peter's favorite Slovak beverages - Zincicu - which tastes somewhat like buttermilk.  It's made from the fluids that drain off when they make sheep's milk cheese.  Unique flavors!  We sat outside, and it was such a peaceful and beautiful setting with pastures all around and mountains in the distance.  

This is the most famous of the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia
-   Krivan

Carol and her former student, Peter

Enjoying the scenery!

Krivan - the gateway peak to the High Tatras

Mountain valley

The smaller coins have Krivan on the back

These wooden structures are used to pile the hay into haystacks

Menu board at the salas - we need help translating!! 

The salas area

After that we drove back into Liptovsky Mikulas, and we ate supper at Garcia's Pizza.  It's a really neat place down a tunnel off the square and up a staircase - we never would have found it ourselves, but it's a favorite of Carol's.  Great food, and more good conversation.  Peter spent a year in southern Illinois as a foreign exchange student in H.S., so we had a lot of questions for him about his impressions of the U.S. in comparison with Slovakia.  It was neat to hear his perspective.  Tomorrow we're going on our rescheduled trip to the wooden church outside of town.  Check back for the report on that!  :-)  

Stormy Weather

I was thinking there was nothing new to blog about today, but a couple of things come to mind.  First, you regular readers will remember that we didn't take any photos during the beginning-of-the-year church service for the combined elementary/secondary schools this past Monday.  Well, the school photographers did a great job, and you'll find a link to the school website below.  Just click on Tim's smiling picture.   :-)   

http://esslm.sk/photo/

And second, a huge thunderstorm rolled through last night.  On the walk back from the internet cafe, we started hearing distant rumbles of thunder that kept strengthening.  When we were about a block away, the wind really kicked up and we expected big raindrops any second, but we stayed dry.  It actually took quite a while longer before the rain started, but after some normal heavy rain, the storm really intensified.  We turned out the lights and just watched out the window - impressive lightning bolts, booming claps of thunder, and driving rain - raining in sheets as they say - all made quite a show.  At one point we just looked at each other and mentioned how nice it was to just watch the storm and really not have any worries in the back of our minds, like we would at home with a similar fierce storm......what if the power goes out, what if the sump pump acts up, what if some tree limbs come down, etc., etc.  HAHA!!  No worries!  We did feel badly when a bus pulled up at the bus station and people had to get out and walk away in the worst of the storm.  They were immediately drenched to the skin I'm sure.  But we had a terrific view of the storm from 6 stories up in the air, snug in our flat!  

Today school went great - our new classes were full of neat kids, and all went smoothly.  Away from the classroom we spent a good deal of time working with Carol on curriculum and yearly plans, so our brains were a little fried at the end of the day!  It's time to warm up some leftovers in the microwave.  Thanks for reading!!  Enjoy your day!! 

First Day in the Classroom!

FINALLY, we got to meet some of our students in our first classes at our new school!!  J   We didn’t have many classes with our light schedule, but it was fun to finally get to be the teacher again.  Our kids are wonderful and well behaved, (at least so far!), and they are eager to meet the new American teachers they have heard about.  The first class lesson plan is basically the same for all our classes – introducing ourselves, having them make name tents so we can learn their names, and assigning a 2-minute speech using a notecard for the next class.  Their English is really good, and they are amused at our minimal Slovak vocabulary.  J  We each will have 10 different groups of 12 students, so it will be a lot of names to learn. 

Tim's first period class.   The class ended with........
"Have a Magical Day!"     :-)   

We asked one of Tim's students to take a photo of us together
on our first day of teaching in Liptovsky Mikulas! 

I had all morning free, so I made a bulletin board.  (Don’t faint, Lisa Evans!!  LOL!!)  We were assigned a bulletin board, so I used different fonts and wrote different English expressions related to getting the school year off to a good start.  It’s Tim’s turn for the next one!   ;-)   We also continued working on the new curriculum with Carol – she really knows her stuff!! 

English expressions for a successful effort at school!
(The small white squares are pictures that go with the phrases.) 

Our bulletin board.  
(Also the basketball poster for Eric and Tim's after-school program.)

Then of course, the school day ends after 6^th hour all this first week, so we walked over to the canteen for another good lunch with some of the teachers.  Chicken and rice soup, then schnitzel with mashed potatoes, and cucumber/onion/vinegar salad just like Judith's.  :-)  We got a few more things done after lunch, but everyone was leaving by about 2:30 again. 

We walked uptown for some quick errands – changing money, finding rubber bands and folders for our classes, getting some stamps at the post office, and then on the way home we stopped at a corner kiosk and bought baguette sandwiches for supper, which we’ll eat later.  We had to be back by 4:30 because the landlady, Luba, and her husband came back to check on the water pipes.  They stopped by yesterday with the neighbor who lived in Ireland and speaks English, saying the neighbor below noticed some moisture on the ceiling.  They didn’t find anything, so wanted to check again today.  Yesterday Luba brought us some plums and apples from their garden that are delicious!! 

Our internet isn’t working today after school, so we’re really bummed.  The neighbor says it goes out for a while every now and then – so at least we know it’s not a problem with our computer, since her internet is down too.  LATER....... Well, we are now at a cafe/bar with free wireless internet, so we've been able to check emails and update the blog.  :-)  It's another beautiful day in the neighborhood - we had so much fun, we're going to do it all again tomorrow!!  

Clean Criminal Records in 2 Countries!

It was decided that today would be the day to travel to Ruzomberok to the authorities there who would conduct our Slovak criminal background check.  We met Pat'ka and Carol at school at 7:00 a.m., and Pat'ka drove us there in her cute little red Kia Rio.  It's about 30 kilometers away, so we arrived nice and early to go through the security check then fill out paperwork with Pat'ka's assistance.  (Tim often comments that for all the Slovak papers we've signed which we can't read or understand, he hopes we aren't signing loans for cars or anything!!)  And then we waited.  Meanwhile quite a few others came up, filled out the papers, handed them in, waited a little while, then were handed back their papers and they left.  Not us.  We continued waiting!!  Of course we used the time well and had fun conversation, but it was a long time!  And finally the door opened, and a lovely young lady smiled and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Olson, please", so in we went, signed another paper, and voila, we were cleared and could leave, official papers in hand!!  :-)  Evidently our request also had to be faxed to Prague, so both the Czech and Slovak governments could verify that we didn't have a criminal past in their countries.  So along with our FBI background check from back home, I guess we're good to go - so we can finally actually apply for a work visa later this week.  That will require a trip by train to yet another city, in order to hand in all this other paperwork we've accumulated, I'm sure fill out more papers, and hope they approve us with no further delay.  :-)   We won't get paid until we get official work visas, and in some cases, the Global Mission workers have had to wait until November.  

Tim with Carol and Pat'ka in front of the
Lutheran Church in Ruzomberok

After leaving the government building, we found a little cafe and relaxed with tea and coffee.  Then we had a short walking tour of Ruzomberok - it is a charming city with a beautiful center (like in the other towns - a pedestrian area where the streets are closed to vehicles) with many shops, restaurants, and coffee shops.  It's in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains, which is of course typical of this region of Slovakia.  On the drive back to Liptovsky Mikulas, we stopped at the opposite end of Liptovska Mara (the lake near L. Mikulas), where the dam is.  More beautiful scenery on the drive and at the lake.  

Art school - I loved the building when we walked by it!

City Hall in Ruzomberok

Walking down to the city center

Tim, Pat'ka and Carol on the center

The stairs back up to where we parked

The Catholic church in Ruzomberok

At the lake - the bell tower in the background was moved
to the edge of the lake before the dam flooded the town
it was in -- in 1974!  

When we got back to school, it was lunchtime, so we had our first experience in the canteen.  Tim had purchased our lunch tickets (about 60 cents each - the employer is required to help subsidize lunches), so we used the first two today.  Sauerkraut soup with potatoes and red beans, 4 slices of a sweet bread with chocolate swirls, and a nectarine, plus cold milk.  It was all good!!  Zuzana, one of the English teachers, joined us, then we walked back to school.  The canteen is in the basic school (elementary) several blocks from the gymnasium (secondary school.)  This first week, the students don't have periods 7 or 8, and the teachers are done at 2:00 again, so we left shortly after lunch.  

Our first school lunch at the canteen (cafeteria)

Pat'ka asked me to help with her after-school drama
activity - this is our recruiting sign!  :-)

It is such a warm, nice day, we decided to go running, since neither of us has had a chance to run since even before we left for Slovakia.  It really felt good to get out and go.  :-)  We crossed the railroad tracks and went into the countryside on a narrow little winding road, and went for about 5K total.  We took it slowly since it had been so long, but it was really fun.  It was another of those "are we really here in Europe doing this???" moments!!  LOL!!  
Tonight we plan another picnic lunch on the square, eating on a park bench and people watching.  And maybe a .40 Euro ice cream each afterwards!   ;-)   

Opening Service for the School Year

It's late, but I wanted to get a post done about today, because it was a neat day.  We went to school at 7:30 and got some work done before walking over to the church for the opening service with all the students.  (A brisk 20-minute morning walk!)  There was such excitement in the air as all the students from both the basic (elementary) school and the gymnasium (secondary school) gathered outside the church in their class groups!!  Everyone was really dressed up and looking "smart", as they say here in British English.  Many parents and grandparents were also there to share in the big day.  The students were ushered in and seated with their class teachers, littlest ones in front.  As newbies, we were also seated in the front, with the Deputy Headmistress just behind us to translate.  I didn't take many pictures because there were school photographers moving around taking multiple shots the whole time, and the photos will be posted on the school website.  So I'll just include the link once the photos are there.  

Carol, Katerina, and Jana up in the balcony

The back of the church as students were leaving

The service was a lot like regular church, with hymns, scripture, liturgy, prayers, and a sermon, plus remarks and introduction of new staff members (including us) by the Headmistress.  One of the most amazing things about the day was when the opening words of the service were being read - a psalm - and we were hearing the translation.  Our eyes opened wide, and we were mouthing the words right along with Pat'ka because it was Psalm 103.  For those of you on the Olson side, you know why we had goosebumps hearing that as the opening for the celebration service!!  That is the celebratory "birthday psalm" that all the Siefkes family (Tim's mom's side) reads on birthdays, and writes in birthday cards.  We just felt it was an awesome affirmation of our journey here to Liptovský Mikuláš!!      The sermon was also really meaningful, as it talked about the plans God has for us, and how we also must make plans and work diligently towards goals, with the Holy Spirit's guidance.  We also heard about the importance of prayer - not just once in a while at a meal - but continually as we seek relationship with Jesus Christ in our lives.  While it was strange hearing a sermon via a translator, it was an awesome message for teachers and students alike.  

After the service, the teachers all gathered for a group photo, then headed back to school.  We got a ride with Pat'ka, which was nice.   Back at school, there was a combined staff meeting of both schools to discuss the upcoming anniversary celebration (elementary - 20 years & secondary - 10 years) at the end of September.  During the meeting, we were called up to the front and presented with our very own worship books, gold-stamped with our initials.  These were not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill standard versions, but really beautiful books with the fancy gold edging of the pages.  We were really touched by such kindness!  It was only yesterday morning when we asked where we could purchase one, and somehow the Headmistress orchestrated the purchase and embossing in less than 24 hours!  So from now on, we will be able to sing along with all the hymns as we worship here.  :-)  

Our new worship books with our initials in gold!  

Lunch with teachers was great, as usual during work days, and the school day ended at 2:00 again today.  Tim talked to Eric, a teacher who does an after-school basketball program, and he was delighted to take Tim up on an offer to help.  Pat'ka asked me if I'd help with her after-school drama/music program, and I'm looking forward to that joint effort!  We did get more preparations done in between events during the day, and left at 2:30.  

After changing into more comfortable clothes, we did a few errands, mostly to get groceries.  At the grocery store, there are several smaller shops (kind of like at Wal-Mart where they have an optometrist, nail salon, etc.), and as we were going by, a purse caught my eye.  I know, I know, I'm not the "purse" type, but here in Slovakia it has become evident that I need to carry a purse rather than my little string back-pack that has a logo on the back, when I am all dressed up for school or church.  All the female teachers here are so fashionable, and a purse is a "must" when there are so many things I need to carry - passport, camera, cell phone that doesn't fit so well in a pocket, etc.  So, yeah, Tim bought me a purse today!!  LOL!!  It's really cute and has lots of space to carry everything.  

The fountain we walk by almost every day, going to the town center

The new purse!!  :-)   

Tonight we had Carol, the American teacher we're replacing, over for supper.  She brought gifts, according to Slovak custom!!  A lovely bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and two darling and delicious fancy cake slices.  Mmm - mm!!   We had good conversation and a delightful evening.  And that wraps up our day!

Tomorrow is another unexpected day --- instead of teaching, we will be taken to the police station in another town for our Slovak criminal background check.  Tim promised Pat'ka that he'd keep me in line tonight so I wouldn't have anything on my record by tomorrow!!  ;-)   
So, goodnight all!!   

Weekend Words

Saturday morning we walked to the town center looking for school supplies, but still couldn't find the 3" X 5" notecards we wanted.  Oh well - we'll make do - we will look in one more stationery store on Monday after school.   :-)  On the way home it started to rain lightly, but Tim had brought the mini-umbrella along, received from Mom Olson (thanks!), which was perfect.  Carol called to say she was still recovering from jet lag and needed to sleep, so we postponed our sight-seeing excursion, which was fine since it rained for a good part of the day.  We enjoyed having a day to just chill.  :-)  We caught up on emails, read the DM Register online in more detail than we've had time for recently, and had some FaceTime and Skype chats as well.  I also did a little laundry and tested out the drying racks here inside the apartment, and that system works great - good to know before winter arrives!  We realized that this was the first unscheduled, relaxing, kick-back day we've had since we arrived in Slovakia, and most of you know how full our last days were before we left Iowa, so we probably really needed a day off.  :-)  

On our Saturday walk, we took this picture of the Lutheran church

The Lutheran Church - on Saturday with no crowds!  

This morning we got ready and walked to church, allowing a little extra time for me to negotiate cobblestone sidewalks in heels!  The Slovaks dress very nicely for church, so we are doing likewise.  So we blend in....until someone speaks to us!!  LOL!!  We were looking forward to singing hymns in Slovak again this Sunday, but we figured out too late that everyone brings their own worship books --- there aren't any extras in the pews like at home.  Our landlady, Luba, was sitting down the pew from us, and she sweetly asked the couple between us to share and give their second book to us for the service.  :-)  After church, we ran into Jana, our school Headmistress, her brother, son and nephew.  Her son, Roman, helped translate a little.  He will be in his first year at our school starting tomorrow, so either Tim or I should have him in conversation class.  We asked him where we could buy our own worship book, and his mother said the school would be buying us a copy to use.  Very nice!!  

I took a photo of the worship book, so we could ask for one in a bookstore!
We've learned explanations can be complicated, so I thought the pic might help.  :-)

The front of the church.  They turned the lights off right after the service,
so it's hard to see - notice the pulpit on the wall to the left, and the enormous chandeliers!

We found another little neighborhood grocery store on our route back from church, so stopped in to check it out.  We picked up a few items, and now we know where we can go instead of Hy-Vee on our way home from church if we need something quickly.  :-)  After a light lunch, (including more of Pat'ka's delicious tomatoes!), we decided to go visit the art museum in town, which is second to Bratislava's in quantity of artworks.   The guidebook said it was open Sundays until 5:00, but the sign on the door said only Tues.-Sat., so we decided on Plan B for the day.....a walk along the Vah River if possible.  We did find access to the river, and there was a little dirt walking path all along it, so we had a beautiful walk.  It's a clean, shallow river, with water moving fairly quickly, but it looks perhaps a little low from lack of rainfall this summer.  We figure we walked about 4 miles total - good exercise on a warm summer day.  

This sign is perfect for Tim ---- hope you have a Magical Day!!  :-)

Street light near the church

This is kind of like the cart we used to help Carol move --- ours had wooden sides too, and we pulled it.
Maybe people were staring at us because the correct way it to push it!!   :-)

Tim read the DM Sunday Register for a while until he fell asleep - just like on his big brown chair by the window in the living room at home.  So now I'll read the news online too.  :-)  We've gotten some emails lately - thanks so much for the contact!!  We miss you all!!