One whole week at school

It is Saturday morning, not very early as I needed a BIG sleep.  That was one exhausting week.  Teachers everywhere work hard but teachers in Slovakia certainly work extra hard in terms of contact time.  We officially start work at 8 – that is with children – and our first proper break is at 12.00.  There is a 10 minute break at 10.45 but it isn’t long enough for anything other than drooping off the materials you have been using and picking up the next lot.  I move from class to class teaching maths, science or English.  I asked for a trolley for science equipment and a custom built one, beautifully made, arrived yesterday, so that will certainly help to transfer equipment.  We also have lunch and playtime duties and early morning ‘greeting’ duty!  So all in all, pretty hard work but I have to say that it is fun – most of the time.  The children are generally pleasant and hardworking, although we have our share of behaviour problems as in any school anywhere.  There are many similarities to English schools but also many many differences.  Some of the differences are refreshing and make life easier and some of the differences are frustrating and my fellow English colleague and I spend time discussing these and wondering how we will adapt.  The head teacher is very open to suggestions and as we are a bilingual school and are planning to take Cambridge International exams there will have to be changes towards a more English system but not too much.  The school is only 3 years old and only became fully bilingual this September so we are all learning.  I believe that the school has the potential to be great but it will take a lot of hard work by staff and pupils alike.  Meanwhile, are there any experienced early years teachers out there who can give me any idea how to teach maths to a class of 16 Yr 1 children who don’t speak a word of English?!!!!

Another interesting piece of news that we receive on Monday was that we, the staff, are going to have a school uniform!  At first I thought that it was a joke but no – by October we will all be wearing black skirts or trousers and matching polo shirts and fleeces in a pleasant shade of blue with the school badge on it.  It will certainly make choosing what to wear each day easy – which black skirt or trousers shall I wear today?!!!!

I am off today to open a Slovak bank account prior to pay day and also investigate the mobile phone market.  There is a Slovak branch of O2 which allows me to call O2 subscribers in the UK for local rates.  All I need to find out is if the recipient of my calls has to pay too.  I still don’t have Wi-Fi at home but at least I have plug in broad band and the Wi-Fi situation is in hand I am told.  As it seems to be free I am not complaining about the delay.  I am confident it will arrive before Christmas.

I am yet to register with the local police.  There has been so much paperwork to fill in but I am assured that I am legal because the process has been started so hopefully it will be completed this week.  It gives me an identity card, access to Slovak health insurance, the ability to pay tax! and a variety of other of life necessities.  I will report on that experience once it happens.

There has been much sadness in Slovakia this week after the terrible air crash in Russia which killed a whole Russian ice hockey team.  In that team there were several Slovaks one of whom was a very high profile player here.  Several of them had also played for Canadian teams including the Vancouver Canucks. It seems that the whole ice hockey fraternity has been affected by the loss and is in mourning for those young lives lost.

I am off to Bratislava for the first time on Sunday as I have discovered that there is an international, English speaking church there so that is where I am headed.  I don’t think that services only in Slovak without a modern hymn in sight (or sound) is going to keep me spiritually satisfied for the next two years so adventuring I must go.  However, I am very aware of God’s presence here with me and He certainly answered my prayers for help this week as I began to finf my feet in the various classrooms.  This week was a getting to know the children week and mostly we were not teaching formal lessons.  However, on Thursday morning I was about to have my third science session with year 6 and felt very strongly when planning on Wednesday evening that chats and quizzes had been done enough and that it was time to have a ‘proper’ lesson.  It was the only class that I felt needed it this week so I went ahead and planned it carefully including a PowerPoint presentation for the Interactive White Board and a practical activity.  When I arrived at work at 7.30 on Thursday morning the head came and told me that there would be two new parents coming to watch one of my lessons as they needed reassurance that they had made the right decision in moving their sons to our school.  “Which lesson?” I nervously asked.  You’ve guessed it – Yr 6 science.  Praise the Lord – all went very well, the parents loved the lesson and I subsequently discovered that one of them was the sister of the owner of the school.  Yes indeed, God answers prayers.

Well that is all my news for this week.  Thanks for reading it, hope you enjoyed it and I promise to add some photographs soon – there have been requests!!!

Bye for now.

Almost a week later

Well here I am after almost a week in Trnava and what an experience or rather experiences I have had.  The weekend was strange as I had no flat mates.  One was helping her sister to move houise and the other was still away recovering from an oeration.  On Saturday I finshed unpacking as best I could given the limited amount of furniture in my room including the rather major lack of a wardrobe.  Anyway, having explored the local area on foot and then chickened out of driving anywhere I spent a pleasant enough evening with a bottle of wine and a DVD.  The following morning I set off for the 9.00 am service at the local Protestant church.  Well it was absolutely fascinating.  It is a beautiful building, quite modern and designed like half of an amphitheatre. i.e. semi-circular.

Inside, the seats are arranged in tiers in a semicircle facing the altar which is against the flat wall in the centre.  High above it is the pulpit.  Priests in this church must not suffer from vertigo.  The service began on time with the arrival of the priest who has rather long grey hair and is about late 40ish.  It became immediately obvious to me that there were no similarities between Anglican church services and this one and I didn't have a clue what was going on.  Everyone seemed to know all the words to everything and there was no order of service.  Everything is sung by the priest or the congregation and all prayers are said standing up and all hymns, which are more like psalms, are sung sitting down.  I had thought that at least I would be able to take communion but I realised, too late, that in order to do so I needed to have stood up at a particulsr time in the service to make it known that I wanted to do so - I'll know next time!! As my Mel would say - snooze, you lose!!  Anyway, despite the strangeness of it all, I found it rather lovely and felt a profound sense of peace whilst there and the singing was trully beautiful.
After the service I had arranged to meet a school colleague who had promised to take me on a walking tour of Trnava and also to show me how to catch a bus to Tesco - yes a Tesco superstore on the edge of town.  We had a lovely time touring the old and new parts of Trnava including Tesco where I picked up some much needed provisions and we ended up in an amazing chocolate cafe enjoying a cup of melted chocolate with fresh fruit to dip in.  I promise to take anyone who visits me - it is trully delicious.
On Monday I drove myself, under the strict instructions of my friend TomTom, back to Tesco and ajoining shops and spent several pleasant hours wandering around, reading Slovak labels and using my newly purchased dictionary.  I now know that decaf coffee is 'Bez kofeinu' - obvious when you know!
In the evening I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected arrival of my flat mate whose Godfather had kindly driven her back as she wasn't allowed to drive all the way across Slovakia herself after her recent op.  We spent a pleasant evening chatting and then it was time to get a good night's sleep ready to start work the next day.
Since then I have been permanently attached to my laptop writing a years' worth of lesson plans for Grades 1,3,5,6,and 7 science which I am now responsible for.  In addition I will be teaching Grades 1, 3 and 5 maths and Grades 1 and 3 'library'.  They seem to like to allocate me the odd numbered classes.  The children return to school next Tuesday so I have much to do and having had a bank holiday on Monday we have another one tomorrow, Thursday, (there are a lot of one off holidays in Slovakia!) and during the holidays the school is locked so I don't have much time left to prepare.  However, today internet was installed in the flat.  As yet it is not wifi but at least I can blog, email and search the internet and for that I am very grateful.
So how do I feel after my first week.  Funnily enough, very settled and at home.  My colleagues are warm and friendly and my two young flat mates are delightful.  Living here is an experience every minute of the day. I struggle to understand what is going on some of the time but a lot of the time it is rather refreshing to let the hubub of life just wash over me and just concentrate on the important things in life - especially the people and from next week onwards, the children.  The fact that I can stay connected to friends and family back home is hugely important too and I consider myself really blessed to have had such a positive experience so far.

The Final Frontier

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.

The 5th Border

Another day over, or almost, and yet again temperatures have reached 33 and I gave in and used the aircon.  Arrived in Vienna (well somewhere on the outskirts) mid afternoon and my first appointment was with a long cool bath!!!  Couldn't get the water to come out of the Austrian shower.  Not sure if I'm being stupid or whether it is broken and frankly too embarrassed to ask incase I am being stupid!!  Anyway, the bath made a change and I certainly felt cooler afterwards.  Yet again I have been able to park the car opposite the window - ok I am 4 floors up but at least I can see it which is comforting.
Had to pay toll charges for the first time today when I crossed into Austria.  Yet again there were no border checks.  Haven't shown anyone my passport since I left Dover except today in the hotel.  Anyway wasn't sure what to do about paying motorway tolls so stopped at a service station soon after crossing the border and after some investigation found that I had to buy a sticky thing to put on the windscreen which lasts for 5 days and allows me unlimited driving on the motorway.  Perhaps I should drive round and round all night to make the most of it!!!!
Tomorrow is potentially the most difficult part of the journey.  I will certainly have to go through border controls when I go into Slovakia and show all sorts of documentation.  I would value prayers that I don't have to empty the car or undo my vacuum packed clothes.  If I let the air into those bags I don't think that I will ever get them back into the car.  So far everything has gone very well and I have had great fun so hopefully tomorrow will also go smoothly and I will be able to get to school in time for the staff photographs!
The holiday is almost over and now the work begins!

Day 2

What a great day.  I left my 'interesting' hotel somewhere near Cologne - never did see any of the city - at about 9.30 after a surprisingly good night's sleep and a good breakfast.  My route took me onto the autobahn almost immediately and then I took flight.  There is something very civilised about German motorways, the fact that on many of them there is no upper speed limit. Traffic seems to flow well and it helps that on long stretches lorries are not allowed to overtake.  I spent much of the day cruising at about 85/90 mph and got to Ragensburg at about 2.30. A journey of over 400 miles.  OK, I didn't see much scenery and my few stops were at motorway services but the point of this journey is to arrive in time to start work, not to do the touristy bit! However, the drive through Bavaria was very beautiful and I went from cloud in Cologne, torrential rain for about half an hour - yes I did slow down!! - to souring temperatures that reached 33 this afternoon.  I was trying not to use air conditioning in order to save fuel so I had windows and sunroof open which meant that I arrived looking just ever so slightly dishevelled! 
This night's hotel is brand new, so new that it isn't finished yet and the outside rather resembles a building site.  However, inside it is beautiful, the car is parked just outside the window and the shower is amazing.
After unpacking and freshening up I walked to the local shopping area via an ice cream parlour where I managed to buy an ice cold weiss beer and resist the lure of the ice cream.  A trip to the local supermarket furnished me with a picnic which I have just enjoyed.  On top of all that there is unlimited free wifi connection so life is definitely feeling good.

Tomorrow should see me in Vienna on almost the last leg of my journey.  So far it has been a great experience and I am looking forward to crossing yet another border tomorrow  ( 5 in three days) and visiting Vienna for the first time.

Day 1 of the journey

Day 1 started at 6.30 at Dover East Dock. The ferry journey to Dunkerque was pleasant enough and gave me time to collect my thoughts, look at a map, program TomTom and do a bit of people watching.
As we neared France I began to get very nervous about driving but as I had no choice I gave myself a good talking to, did some fervent praying and launched myself onto the right (or is it the wrong?) side of the road. As most of it was motorway it wasn't too bad and by the time I had to leave the motorway I was feeling more confident. TomTom found the hotel and I had a longed for shower, a walk around the local area-a long way from Cologne city centre-and had a pizza. I am now ready for a good sleep in preparation for the next leg of the journey to Ragensburg.

Nearly time to leave

Only 6 days to go and I shall be on the ferry on the first leg of my journey. I have now booked my enroute hotels and if all goes well I should be in Trnava on Friday 26th. Most of my belongings are now either in storage to be left in the UK or in bags, boxes and vacuum packs ready to cross the Channel. I am sure that I am taking things I don't need and leaving behind vital items but only time will tell. I guess that physically I am nearly ready but mentally and emotionally - probably not. It all seems rather immediate now, much more real and that is a bit daunting. I shall be glad when I finally get on the ferry and begin the journey but I know that the goodbyes before that will be hard. But hey why all the drama? I shall be back for a visit in 8 weeks and by then I will be settling into my new life and hopefully have many tales to tell. Look out friends and family, I am about to become a 'my life in Trnava' bore and you won't be able to shut me up. Nothing new there then!
Thanks for reading this- it is good to know that you are interested enough to visit my blog. Hopefully my ramblings will become more interesting as the adventure really begins.