I left the hotel on the outskirts of Vienna at about 7.30 and expected my trusty TomTom to take me back onto the motorway but NO – I found myself driving through Vienna. Maybe it’s the only way or maybe I didn’t program it very well. Anyway, there I was at the beginning of rush hour really having to come to terms with driving on the right!! Fortunately all went well and although my heart was beating a little bit faster than usual I made it through and back onto the motorway. I was watching the film Evan Almighty the night before and one of the things that ‘God’ said to ‘Noah’ (You’ll have to watch the movie if you don’t get that bit!) Anyway, what he said was that if you pray for courage God will put you in a situation where you learn to be courageous. Well I was really scared about the prospect of crossing the Slovak border as I had read that it could be difficult and that you needed to show loads of documentation and I certainly didn’t want to have to empty my car so I had prayed for courage to cope with the situation. Anyway, having negotiated my way round Vienna I came to the conclusion that I could cope with anything the border control threw at me so stopped worrying. Then it dawned on me that a difficult situation had taught me to be more courageous – awesome God we have!!
Then I arrived at the border and there seemed to be no one there and I didn’t have to stop at all!!!!! So I had crossed the final frontier and was nearly there.
I reached school at 9.30 and straight away I was in meetings, meeting new staff and generally getting involved. By this time it was 35 degrees outside and everyone was melting. The photographer arrived at 2.30 to take staff photographs for the website – no I didn’t look my best but so what I mean just about anyone in the world can look at the website so why should I worry?!!!!! No I’m not divulging the website address so that you can take a peek and laugh!!
There is another English teacher starting this term. Nick has moved over with his wife and three children and is very nice. We seem to have the same approach to teaching and it will certainly be nice to have a fellow Brit to chat to. All of the other staff are lovely and most of them speak English. I am sharing my accommodation with a teacher and the admin assistant. It is a pleasant apartment inside although not so beautiful on the outside but I have a lovely big room and my flatmates are great so I think that I will settle in pretty quickly. I went shopping today, Saturday, and that was interesting. I still don’t know what the Slovak is for decaf coffee or skimmed milk but most other things I could find. Well a lettuce,tomatoes and bread look the same wherever you are!! The interesting thing about shopping here is that most shops close at midday on Saturday and don’t open again until Monday morning. Weekends are much more peaceful than in England and weekend shopping is not a family pastime here. The other thing I discovered in the supermarket is that you can pull off any unwanted leaves and stalks from the vegetables before you have them weighed. You put them in a bin and people help themselves for feeding rabbits etc. Seems like a good way to recycle and avoid waste.
I have found the only Protestant church in Trnava so I am off there tomorrow. It will be interesting as it will all be in Slovak. I should be able to follow most of the service but the sermon might be challenging. If the only Slovak I learn whilst I am here is from the hymn book I won’t have done too badly!
Well that is the end of my journeying for a while. My next instalments will be about the school and how I am coping in my new job. It is bank holiday weekend here so I am relaxing until Tuesday. I am hoping that the weather will cool a little as it is still unbearably hot.
I am missing all of my friends and family but knowing that they are thinking of me is great and once I get the internet connected at the flat I will be able to use Facetime and Skype again so will feel less cut off.
Dovidenia from Slovakia.
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