Week Two: Vitám vás Bratislava a Martin

Perspective. If there is just one word to describe my previous week it is perspective. What I thought I knew about my new home was completely altered in a matter of days. My initial assumption that most of Slovakia operates in a similar fashion to the niche culture that exists in Nové Zámky was thoroughly corrected. This country may be small, but the diversity within its communities is great. For seven days, I had the great fortune to be introduced to the tiny group of Americans who were crazy enough to leave the States for a ten-month stay in Slovakia. Each of my new American friends brought with them a distinct viewpoint of Slovak communities and Slovak school systems. Through my interactions with the eight other Fulbright Fellows, I learned so much about what it means to be a world traveler and how the paths one takes in life can lead to destinations no one can predict. Finally, the word “perspective” can describe how an American feels when they hear of news of their homeland from abroad. In this past week, there were several times when I gained a unique perspective on how the United States is judged on the world stage, and what it feels like to be so far away from home when one’s home is in the midst of historical developments.

I left for Bratislava last Tuesday, on the ninth of September. I am fortunate that Nové Zámky is fairly close to the capital, about an hour and a half by train. I would later learn from some of the other Fulbrighters that their respective train rides to Bratislava ranged from six to eight hours. My train ride, however, was very different than the first time I traveled from Bratislava to Nové Zámky. On the first trip, I was on an express train with its final destination in Budapest, Hungary. This time round, there were a lot more stops on the way, and with these stops came a unique view of the countryside. As this blog entry will demonstrate many times over, Slovakia never ceases to surprise me. As my train passed town after town, I notice significant differences between the different stations. Nové Zámky’s station is fairly well-built with an attractive exterior. Therefore, I was surprised to see countless examples of stations that were comprised of nothing more than a shed with a sign. A great illustration of this was the station in Jatov, an area literally surrounded by cornfields. I distinctly remember seeing a women and her child who were waving goodbye to the women’s husband who had boarded the train in Jatov bound for Bratislava. It struck me that after the train departed, the only way back to civilization for the woman would be to walk down the only existing dirt road back to the village, which appeared to be a good mile walk. This was the first time that week that I would consider myself lucky I was located in a town like Nové Zámky.

In the previous post, I shared my initial reactions to Slovakia’s capital city. I wrote that graffiti covered a great number of the buildings, and that several of the skyscrapers possessed a 1980’s ambiance. My second trip to Bratislava was essentially night and day from that first experience. My hotel, the Hotel Avance, was located in a tourist-friendly part of the city. When my taxi turned the corner off the street that bordered the Danube River, and I saw the surrounding area around my hotel, all I could think was this looks like Europe. The architecture, the modernist sculptures, and the cobblestone streets all together gave Bratislava a beautiful, Old World feel. I could not be more excited that I was about to spend five days in this iconic place.

Because I was the closest American to Bratislava (with the exception of the two girls who are actually based in the city) I was the first to arrive at the hotel around one-thirty in the afternoon. After heading to my spacious room, I immediately did something I had not done for a long time, logged on to a strong WIFI connection. The previous day I had been added to a Facebook group that all the other Fulbrighters had created and been posting on. I wanted to see if any other Americans were close to arriving. One of the group members posted that they would probably arrive around four-thirty, so that gave me ample time to do some happy-go-lucky sightseeing. One of the great things about Bratislava is that it is not the largest city in the world. I had read from various travel sites that Bratislava was built like an abridged version of Vienna or Budapest. In other words, the city possessed a myriad of castles, plazas, restaurants, shops, and street performances, but still retained a quaint atmosphere. Therefore, I was able to walk around the city aimlessly without fear of getting too lost. It was surreal that I had the chance to walk down narrow alleyways, gaze upon churches from the 17^th century, and smell a variety of entrees from the different restaurants and pubs I passed. After a couple of hours of walking, and a quick meal at McDonalds (I know, I know), I headed back to the Avance.

View inside St. Martin's Cathedral

When I got up to my room, I checked the Facebook page again and was delighted to see that two other Fulbrighters had arrived, and their room was literally next door to mine. There was still a couple of hours before the official meet-and-greet, so I knocked on the two’s door and introduced myself to Liz from Alabama and Kelsey from Kentucky. Both of them were located in the eastern part of Slovakia in a city called Košice, the second largest city in the country after Bratislava. The two of them were actually placed at different schools and lived in separate lodgings, but had decided to travel together on the same train. I asked the two girls how they had got involved with Fulbright and what kind of educational backgrounds they possessed. Kelsey, like me, had just graduated college this past May. Liz, who was only one year older than myself, had graduated from college back in 2011. Both had experience with education, in the sense that they worked with tutoring programs for ESL students or, in Liz’s case, had been employed with Teach For America. However, different from myself, they did not go to college to necessarily gain a degree in teaching. I would find out later that evening that I was one of the only Fulbrighters who actually possessed a Bachelor’s in Secondary Education.  Through my brief conversation with the girls I also learned about their extensive background in global travel. Kelsey, for example had spent one semester in Prague, and another semester as an exchange student at Oxford University in England. I will be honest that hearing their amazing stories of foreign travel did make me feel somewhat like a noob, being that I had never traveled overseas before. But, I was not disheartened because I feel this Fulbright experience will in many ways make up for lost time.

At six o’clock, Liz, Kelsey, and I headed downstairs to the dining room to meet with the other Fulbrighters. Over the course of the next twenty minutes, as people began arriving from their various destinations, I had the chance to introduce myself to a group of people I would spend so much time with over the next few days. There was Liesa who was based in Martin, the other Kelsey who was based in Trnava, Katie who came from Fiľakovo, and the two local Bratislava girls, Annie and Carolyn. Then, about thirty minutes after the meet-and-greet had started, Andrew, the only other boy, was able to introduce himself to everyone. I was lucky I had asked for another room key from the concierge, because it turned out Andrew and I were actually going to be roommates for the week. Andrew definitely had the furthest to travel that day, as his placement was in the upper northeast of the country, right along the border with Poland. Now that everyone had arrived, I had an opportunity to mentally size up my new group. We were all in our mid to late twenties, Andrew being the oldest at twenty-eight. All of us had some background with education, and most of us were still single, except Annie, who had been married for four years to an officer in the United States Army Jag Corps. What I liked about this group is that everyone appeared genuine. Everyone was warm, endearing, and most of all grateful to have this opportunity to teach in Slovakia. After our Fulbright director, Nora, paid us her farewells for the night, the nine of us changed clothes and prepared to explore the city to have a drink and continue learning about one another.

Looking back at my week, I am happy that had the chance to converse with each of the Americans at least once in a comfortable setting. That first night, as we headed to a bar in the center of the city, I got to know Katie fairly well. Our situations were the most similar. Both of us were situated in small towns in southern Slovakia. Therefore, unlike our other group members, we did not live in areas surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges or a wide variety of modern shops and restaurants. Much like my first couple of weeks in the country, Katie shared that she had also been operating under a somewhat Minecraft mentality during her first few days, but had gradually began acclimating herself to her new home. Both of us also viewed our stay in Bratislava as bittersweet. What little time we had spent in the capital had already imprinted itself on us, and once orientation finished on Saturday, it was going to be hard to say goodbye. However, with weekends and holidays comes time to travel, so at least we would have the chance to return to the city on some future date, and be able to explore more of Eastern Europe during our long stay abroad.

On Wednesday, orientation officially began with a series of presentations. There were three presentations in the morning, and one after lunch. It was also on Wednesday that I was able to get to know the other Slovakia Fulbright grantees who were here not to work as English Teaching Assistants, but rather working on individual research projects approved by the Commission. Although our day started fairly early, each of the presentations proved interesting. The first was officiated by our director, Nora, who explained the history of Fulbright and its relationship with the Slovak Republic. The second presentation was delivered by Michal, a Slovak citizen who was preparing to leave on a Fulbright of his own to the United States. His presentation addressed a rather important cultural point that is discussed vehemently in the country, Slovakia’s national identity. This country’s history is complex to say the least. Over the last thousand years, Slovakia has only been its own independent country for not even an aggregate of fifty years.  Michal’s presentation used the story of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, a national historical hero from World War I, as a case study on how Slovak and Czech cultures vary from one another. Michal explained that even after twenty-one years of independence, there are still debates being held on whether it was efficacious to split up Czechoslovakia. To add even more complexity, Michal also explained that there are many communities throughout the country that also debate the efficacy of dissolving the Soviet Union. I have already witnessed somewhat of an identity struggle in my own town, where citizens debate not a Slovak v. Czech identity, but rather a Slovak v. Hungarian identity.

View of the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava

The last morning presentation was delivered by a couple of special guests. Two representatives from the U.S. Embassy greeted us; Janelle who worked for the Public Affairs Office, and the U.S. Ambassador himself, Theodore Sedgwick. It was not certain whether the ambassador would be able to make it, so we were fortunate to get a chance to talk to him. For this presentation, Janelle’s role was to described an institution semi-associated with the State Department known as American Resource Centers, which are libraries spread out across the world that allow guests to research the English language and a wide variety of American resources. Ambassador Sedgwick’s portion of the presentation manly consisted of a question and answer format. Since the issue had headlined most of the news lately, a great deal of our questions centered upon the situation in Ukraine and how America planned to create a European coalition to stand up against Russia. Many of the ETA’s questions also touched upon expanding American business into places like Slovakia. For my question, I asked the ambassador what plans were being discussed in Washington to expand American energy services into Eastern European countries, like Slovakia, so as to counter the regions heavy dependence on Russian natural gas. Although I cannot openly write about what the ambassador specifically stated, as this exchange was treated like a closed door session, I can report that the ambassador gave me a thoughtful answer to my question and touched upon the important impact U.S. industry can have in places like Slovakia, such as the positive effects that have come out of U.S. Steel opening factories in Košice and other communities.

Finally, it was time for lunch. Ambassador Sedgwick already had a prior engagement with the Mayor of Bratislava, but Janelle was able to stay a little while longer and eat with us. I was really interested to hear how she had got involved in this line of work, as I have entertained working for the State Department after law school. Janelle was kind enough to share with us amazing stories of her travels to different countries, and the logistical side to working for U.S. embassies and consulates. One of the most interesting stories she shared with my table was her time she spent in Cuba. In short, she shared that to be an American working for the U.S. Government in Cuba is not a job that wins one a lot of friends. Janelle shared how many members of the Cuban security detail that worked with her colleagues would continually harass the Americans, sometimes harmlessly, other times more sinister. One of the craziest instances happened in 2003. Janelle was holding a meeting when an impromptu Anti-America parade commenced outside her office. As she went to the window to investigate, who does she see leading the parade, but none other than Fidel Castro himself. It may not have been the easiest assignment, but she was glad she stuck with it and continues to be assigned to offices across the world.

The Presidential Palace

            The remainder of the afternoon went rather quickly. After lunch, Nora explained what kind of documents we needed to have in order to request a temporary residency permit from the Slovak Alien Police. Afterwards, there was a two hour break before the evening’s dinner, which would feature a number of guests from different embassies, American Resource Centers, and other individuals connected with Fulbright.  I mostly spent the dinner talking to Andrew, as both of us are game for social events, but not necessarily wired to carry on conversations with absolute strangers. I asked him more about his placement and what his community was like. Of all the ETA’s, Andrew definitely had the most rural location. His town only possessed a population of ten thousand people and was a good distance away from most larger cities. Andrew talked about how his apartment was on the second floor of an antique shop, and how he had to climb over a wall just to get into his room. He shared that the closest source of clean water was a stream thirty minutes away, and that he would have to carry his jug to the stream at least four times a week. Andrew also shared with me his thoughts about his colleagues. Each of the teachers he met were exceptionally nice to him, but were definitely eccentric. He talked about how on one of his first nights there a number of teachers invited him to a house to drink large amounts of vodka. I almost could not believe it when Andrew shared that during that same evening, his colleagues dressed him in a 1990’s Czechoslovak Army uniform, a fur hat, and spent the night singing the praises of Vladimir Putin. His story sounded like it was straight out of a Cold War propaganda film, but it was real.

            One ironic part of the evening happened when Andrew and I were discussing whether we would be interested in doing the kind of work Janelle does. I answered that it would interest me, because I would like to travel and to have the opportunity have a hand in overseas diplomacy. Not two minutes later, Nora comes by our table and tells me, “Derek, the Ambassador would like to have a word with you.” I was a bit flabbergasted. Why would the ambassador want to see me? I didn’t even know he knew my name. Apparently, the city manager in Nové Zámky is half-American and he wanted to give me his contact info so I could reach out to him as a helpful resource. I then talked with the ambassador for a few minutes before heading back to my seat. I just thought that part of the evening was ironic because here I was discussing my intentions to work for an embassy someday, and then a U.S. ambassador calls for my company.

            Much like the night before, once the dinner ended, us nine ETA’s planned to hit the town. Tonight, however, was going to be special because we were going to head over to Annie and Carolyn’s apartment to hang out on the roof. After hitting the liquor store, where I bought a beer with a goat on the label and a Simpsons inspired “Duff” can, we arrived at the two girls’ apartment in the middle of town. To say that Carolyn and Annie got a good deal on their place is an understatement. Their flat was not only beautiful, but incredibly spacious. What was even better, there were not too many loud neighbors to deal with as many of the rooms in the apartment were vacant. Even in the surrounding area, many of the apartment buildings were empty except for a random occupant here and there. As we headed up to the roof patio, we were able to see a beautiful glimpse of the city at night. There was a full moon out, so we still had plenty of light to see each other. Nonetheless, Annie was gracious enough to light a number of candles to set the mood, and Carolyn hooked up her iPod to some speakers and played a collection of indie music. Looking back, Wednesday night was probably one of my favorite nights in Bratislava because it was a casual evening. For hours, our small group just talked and talked. It reminded me somewhat of being back in college when I was living in my fraternity house. Some of the best nights I had were not the ones where we had massive parties, but rather chill nights where maybe ten of us would have a discussion in the foyer. Through our conversations, I realized just how different my new friends were from me. I remember Carolyn talking about her parents who now live in London and the time she and a friend went to see a concert in Paris. Andrew shared about his summer teaching English in Panama. Katie discussed her passion to meet new people and how many times when she is traveling through Europe she will couch-surf from place to place, greeting new people along the way. It dawned on me that my new friends were very free-spirited. Most of them followed a Bohemian, almost hippie-like philosophy.  I was impressed by their stories and hoped that while I am in Europe I can learn to become more Bohemian as well.

            Around midnight, many of the ETA’s were ready to call it a night, with the exception of Carolyn, Katie, and myself. We were still somewhat wired, and planned to explore an ice bar we had been hearing so much about. After saying goodnight to the rest of the gang, the three of us headed to our final stop of the evening. The ice bar was extremely cool, no pun intended. Before one can even enter, you have to put on a silver jacket, hat, and gloves, all of which were adorned with a Heineken label. Being that it was a Wednesday night, the bar was not that crowded. There was only ourselves, and a married British couple who referred to us Americans as the “former colonists”. Inside, there were a number of ice sculptures and even an ice throne. We did not spend too much time there, but what time we did was spent taking pictures and touching everything in sight. One neat aspect about the ice bar was that the shot glasses were all made out of ice. Therefore, after a person finishes their drink, the custom is to throw one’s glass on the floor, shattering the cup. I had fun hanging out with the girls, but once our toes started to go numb, as it was ten below (Celsius), we took that as a sign to officially call it a night.

            The next twenty-four hours went rather quickly. The day was filled with more presentations and even a crash course in speaking Slovak. Unfortunately, it rained all Thursday, so our sightseeing tour of Bratislava had to be cancelled. That night, as the rain continued to fall, our nightly plans consisted of getting a bite to eat and then heading back to the hotel to hang out in one of the rooms to watch the USA v. Lithuania basketball game. Thursday, however, was also an interesting day for all of us because it was September 11th. It was a weird feeling watching news coverage of the twin towers falling and not being in America. What is more, the news outlets were also discussing the ever growing threat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. President Obama had apparently laid out a late night announcement on his plans to increase airstrikes in the area and his intent to create a coalition of European and Middle East nations to combat ISIS. Andrew and I discussed the varying depictions of this news story when we flipped from CNN International to the news station Russia Today, and compared the two very different narratives being reported. For someone who watches the news consistently, I did not know how to feel about my current situation. Part of me felt out of place not being home watching the news. However, another part of me felt more connected to the goings-on of the world because I was experiencing it firsthand. I may not have been located in the Middle East, but I was viewing the world from a foreign perspective, and felt somewhat more connected to current events.

Throughout the old town center are a number
 of iconic statues that have become
essential lighting rods for tourist pictures

            Eventually, it was Friday and the last day of our orientation. Of the presentations that were delivered that day, my favorite was one created just for English Teaching Assistants. Our presentation speaker was Theresa, a 2013-2014 Fulbrighter in Slovakia who had actually secured a job in Bratislava. Theresa’s insight into the logistics of English teaching in Slovakia was beneficial to us all, especially since each of our assignments differed from the next. Some of us were operating as assistants, whereas others were acting as full-fledge teachers. Some of us were based in schools where the student competency levels were high, and others were teaching classrooms where students did not speak a lick of English. Theresa did a good job of fielding our questions, sharing about her experience, and providing us with a number of potential lesson plan ideas we can use with our students. Afterwards, we all had lunch, another crash course lesson in Slovak and then, that was it. Around four o’clock in the afternoon orientation had simply come to an end. We each still had one more night at the hotel, but officially, orientation had come and gone. Therefore, the only thing left to do was to have one last hurrah as a group before heading back home.

            Friday night’s activities began at an Irish Pub in the middle of the city. I helped myself to a delicious plate of chicken steak and a tall glass of Zlatý Bažant. At dinner, Katie informed us of a party that was happening that night at a local magazine company. Apparently, this magazine was celebrating its official launch and were inviting the public to an open party on the roof of their building, which simultaneously operated as a trendy nightclub. I will be honest that I did not know every detail about this party, but it sounded like a good time. So, that became the group’s plan for the evening. After dinner, some members of our group headed back to the hotel to get a change of clothes while the others were going to head to another bar before the party. I decided to stay with the group who wanted to continue exploring the city nightlife. About six of us headed up the street from the Irish Pub and sat down outside a bar Carolyn had given hear seal of approval to. The six of us shared our feelings about going back home and what plans we had for future travel. Some of the group had actually suggested making an impromptu trip to Vienna the following day, since this was going to be a three-day weekend due to another state holiday on the following Monday. I had only packed enough clothes for this week, but I felt like a spontaneous trip would be a great way for me to act more avant-garde. In preparation, I had actually had time to stop at a local mall in Bratislava to buy some additional clothes just in case people were planning on continuing to hang out after orientation finished. I even was able to get a pretty good deal on two pairs of jeans and two shirts, all for only forty-eight euros. The only downside to this plan was the weather. Since this bar had WIFI, I was able to check the radar for the coming weekend, and was chagrined to see a massive system coming east from Germany, right over Vienna. But, I thought I would just play it by ear.

            Around ten o’clock my tiny group decided it was time to head out to this elusive magazine party. Luckily, I had been practicing my language skills a bit, so I was able expedite things by confidently asking our waiter for the check in Slovak, being that he did not speak much English. Prosím si účet, or “I’d like to pay the bill”. Once we arrived at the magazine company and met up with the people who had gone back to the hotel, our collective group headed inside. After paying the cover charge at the front desk we all rode the elevator up to the rooftop and stepped into the already active party scene. I do not know if Slovaks have theme parties, but if they do, the theme that night must have been “hipster heaven”. There was a live DJ blasting all sorts of indie-techno music. There were girls with tattoos of birds on their backs and a collection of guys who all had Macklemore-inspired haircuts. I definitely got the Toto, we’re not in Illinois vibe from this party, and I enjoyed it. Like in previous nights out, I decided to use this time to get to know my new American friends even more. That night I spent a great deal of time talking to Liesa. We were probably the most conservative of our Fulbright friends, but we each desired to become more Bohemian through our time in Europe. After buying her a drink, the two of us made our way to the dance floor. I told Liesa about how some of the Fulbrighters were interested in traveling over the weekend. I also told her that I was not completely set on a trip to Vienna because of the high possibility of rain. Liesa also wanted the chance to still interact with our group after tomorrow, but like me, had only packed so many extra pairs of clothes. I then asked Liesa about her city and whether or not she liked it. She told me that she was absolutely in love with Martin, that it was a great fit for her. It may not be the largest city in Slovakia, but it lied on the foothills of the Tatra Mountains, and thus the surrounding area was beautiful. I asked how far away Martin was, and she said it was only three hours east of Bratislava. As she continued to describe the city, I felt inclined to make a visit, especially since I figured the further east I went the less likely it be that I would run into rain. Therefore, we both planned to travel to Martin together for the weekend so that I could get a chance to explore her town. The rest of the night was filled with dancing with our friends and soaking in the last few hours we had in Bratislava together.

            When I woke up the next morning, that bittersweet feeling hit me, I was going to have to leave Bratislava today. But, at least I was not going to have to spend another long weekend by myself. After saying goodbye to Andrew and the other group members who had not left yet, I headed downstairs to check out. Then, I headed out with Liesa to grab breakfast at McDonalds before leaving for our train that afternoon. Kelsey from Trnava also joined us as she would be riding on our same train until she got back to her stop. After finishing another delicious Mickey-D’s meal, we made our way to the bus stop that would take us to the train station. We had timed our meal fairly well, because it was not long after buying our tickets that we were boarding our train eastward. Kelsey was only on the train for about twenty minutes before her stop came, so most of my trip to Martin was filled with me talking with Liesa and looking out at the wonderful countryside. Whenever we passed a lake or a hillside that was adorned by the ruins of a castle, I was always taken aback by how beautiful this part of the country looked. Alas, however, as our train was nearing our stop, the prodigal rain was able to find its way to us. Regardless, I was not too bothered by this development as I had decided I was simply going to go with the flow this weekend, and as long as I had company, I was content.

            Around five o’clock in the afternoon the train arrived at our stop and Liesa and I headed for the bus that would take us to her apartment. After an extended ride on the bus, as Liesa had somewhat forgotten what stop we needed to get off at, we eventually were able to make our way to our final destination. It could not have been a moment too soon because I had discovered that the wheels on my suitcase had become rather roached by this point, and dragging that large bag in the rain was not exactly the most fun. Nonetheless, I was thankful to have arrived at Liesa’s flat, which actually neighbored a Slovak Army base. Once I stepped inside, I was impressed to see how spacious her apartment was. There was a quaint entranceway, a large kitchen, and a series of skylights throughout the apartment that let in a great deal of natural light. From her window I could see an amazing view of the small mountain range around her city and could not get over just how green it was. It may have been raining, but I was extremely glad I had decided to make this trip with Liesa.

            My time in Martin for the weekend was very different than my stay in Bratislava. Unlike the nightly outings I had had during the week, my time in Martin took on a much more relaxing tone. After changing out of our wet clothes, Liesa and I passed the time simply talking and watching TV on her laptop. We discussed our families, our goals for the future, and how a girl from West Virginia wound up teaching in Slovakia. On Sunday, we woke up to the sound of rain, but again I was not bothered by this turn of events. Liesa felt bad that I was not able to explore the city, but I assured her that the ability to have a lazy weekend with another human being was all I needed to keep me happy. And thus, that was how I spent my time in Martin. It seemed like a luxury to just be able to order out pizza (which required a lot of patience on the phone), watch shows like Doctor Who, Big Brother, and Breaking Bad, and just be able to have a conversation with someone in English. I felt like I was back home in America and not five thousand miles away in the middle of Europe.

View from the Martin train station

            Finally, on Monday morning, I had to make my way back to reality and set out again for Nové Zámky. Liesa was kind enough to call me a taxi as I packed up for the trip home. The rain had finally stopped when my taxi arrived, and after giving Liesa a hug goodbye, I set out for the train station. My trip back to Nové Zámky consisted of a few more connections than I would have preferred, but eventually I was able to see the familiar green station I had passed by so many times before. One highlight of my trip back, however, was a stop I made in the town of Žilina. I had about an hour before my next train, so I decided to get lunch in this city. Žilina is in the northern part of the country, so I was still able to see a number of mountain ranges close by. On the way to the restaurant, I passed by a number of ritzy hotels, boutiques, and a large gothic style church right in the center of a plaza. I even had the chance to bump into a couple of Mormons from America who were there on mission work. Even though my stay was brief, I decided I had to come back for a weekend visit to see what else I could explore.

Holy Trinity Church in Žilina 

            So, now I am back in good old Nové Zámky. It is true that my town does not have all the various nightlife attractions that exists in Bratislava. It is also true that this area of the country is fairly flat, and thus not too many scenic areas to hike through. Nonetheless, I am happy that I was placed in this town because I feel my personal skills are best suited for this area. As I mentioned previously, I am one of the only Fulbrighters who actually has a degree in teacher education, and already those skills have come in handy. Even before I left for Bratislava, my teaching abilities were tested in a real world setting. On the Monday before I left, I had two lessons I was responsible for that day. The first class was another introductory presentation, but the second class I had already met. Therefore, I was actually going to have to devise a real lesson for the day, five minutes before the class began. Luckily, my experience in student teaching kicked in and I was able to deliver an effective and improvised lesson on Past, Present, and Future tenses of verbs to my class in a way that they could understand. While I am in Europe I plan to travel as much as possible. But, at least I can take solace in the fact that while I am in Nové Zámky, I possess the skills to be an effective educator to groups of students I have already started building a rapport with.