The afternoon Conversation class went well, but I think the kids are expecting something else. There have been American "lecturers" at this gymnázium in the past who were affiliated with either a church or some sort of organization, but never a "real" teacher who was going to be here every day for an entire school year. The lecturers before me had English Conversation classes, and they had topics to cover, but I don't know if anyone was there daily the entire year. I only have approximately 60 class meetings this year to go through 12-15 topics, some of them fairly extensive, and I am not exactly sure how to gauge myself, and I really don't know what to expect from them yet, as it is only our second meeting. They knew A LOT, as I expected, and class went really well. They were able to put history, economy, political system, places of interest, customs, and holidays of Slovakia into English quite well. I only hope the rest of the year goes this well!!!

Have gotten into a pretty regular routine of going swimming at the town pool. It is interesting. There are no lanes designated for lap swimming. You just kind of pick a path, whether it be lengthwise down the pool (which is HUGE!) or across the pool. Regardless of which path you choose, you are going to be interrupted many times during your swim by someone who chose a different path!!! Anyone who know me is going to laugh at this statement: "I am definitely going to return to Hilton Head a more patient person!!!!" And yes, you even have to take your shoes off before you go into the locker room of the pool!!!!

14 September 1999
There was no morning lesson, as the students were on a class trip. I must say it was a mixed blessing. Half of me was relieved to have extra time to get ready, the other half really wants to take the plunge and get into the school year!!! It feels so late into the year already to have only seen these classes once!!!! My afternoon class went really well. Many of the students in this class speak excellent English, and I can tell they are going to keep me on my toes! I am sure more than a few of them wondered what I was doing telling th em about Slovakia! Actually, it more like asking them to explain to me what they already know about Slovakia, but explain it in English. They did very well.

15 September 1999
Yet another day off of school!!! I could so get used to this! It is a Catholic feast day for the Virgin Mary, so schools and businesses are closed. (Wow!!!) I was invited to Sona and Dana's cottage. They are sisters who also happen to be on the faculty at the gymnázium. They are two of the nicest people I have ever met. Actually, every single person in the English department qualifies for that statement.

Today was more interesting and exciting than I could ever have anticipated. We left in the morning for Cadca, a village outside of Zilina, near their family's cottage is. Many families have a cottage where they spend their weekends, some to garden, some to grow vegetables, some just to relax. Sona and Dana's cottage was wonderful. We (Sona, her daughter, and me) had to walk about twenty-five minutes or so up a HUGE hill (I was quite proud of myself for making it without incident--not even a stumble over the many pebbles and rocks!) with only a narrow path for a small tractor to go on. Sona told me that until recently, people lived on this hill/mountain and similar hills/mountains all year around (they were homes, not weekend cottages), and in the winter kids would have to walk down that mountain, in the snow, to go to school, the nearest shop might be kilometers away. Life seemed to be pretty hard. Now a few people live t here year round, and they have vegetable gardens, chickens, goats, cows, everything they need to be fairly self-sufficient. We arrived at the cottage, opened it up, and Sona proceeded to make coffee (it was one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had! ). Soon her sister Dana and Dana's sons arrived. Shortly after they arrived, Dana's husband arrived, and we partook of a Slovak custom--plum brandy! The day was beautiful, warm but not hot, I was the guest, so I was not allowed to do anything! I read my book, talked with them, Sona prepared lunch, Dana worked in the garden, Valen (Dana's husband) prepared the grill for lunch, the boys watered the yard, and Sona's daughter worshipped the sun. Lunch (grilled chicken, salad, and bread) was fantastic. After lunch, I went on a little hike up the hill and made it to the top (after convincing myself not to look down!!! a couple of times I asked myself what I was possibly thinking!). There I had a "Sound of Music" moment. I was alone on the top of a mountain--Poland was to my left, the Czech Republic straight ahead, and Slovakia in back of me. I felt like I was the only person on earth at that moment. There was a little cluster of homes at the top, but there were no people about. It was amazingly beautiful. Eventually a little dog showed up and barked at me, telling me to get off of the mountain he shared with his cows! I went back to the cottage, and Sona, Dana, Barbora, and I went back to the top (this time we took the path!!!). Some men were digging a w ell on our way. When we reached the top, they invited some people in one of the cottages to their cottage for the next weekend. Then we ate plums from the tree and went back to the cottage. We began packing up and went home. Quite honestly one of the best days I have ever had.

16 September 1999
Had only four classes today, as the third year students are in either the High Tatras (mountains) or Croatia for a week-long class trip. I am not exactly sure what they do, but I think it is some sort of outdoor educational experience. Camping, learning about how to live in nature, environmental issues, etc. All of the third year classes participate, and they can choose which location they want. So I have no classes at all on Friday, as I teach only 3^rd year students that day. (Am thinking about going to Italy). So I don't have my American literature class today. In my other classes, we started a unit on air travel. The simplest things (to us), such as what would stop work at an airport, a strike or a stoppage? is really difficult to explain to the students!

One funny incident: we were reviewing some words, I asked if someone could tell me the definition of "suspense." One student said (I thought), "suspenseful." I asked her to explain what that meant. The class erupted into laughter. I had absolutely NO idea what was so funny. Finally, after many, many minutes, I asked her to tell me what was so funny--she tried to explain to me what she meant by "suspenseful," and she was talking about hockey players. I told her I was sorry, I didn't understand what hockey players had to do with "suspenseful" and the students laughed some more. Through my own laughter (it was quite a funny situation), I asked another student to explain what was so incredibly funny, and he told me that she had not said "suspenseful," but "suspender," and was trying to explain that it is what hockey players wear!!! So now "jock-strap" is now another English word they know!!!!

Have decided to go to Venice this afternoon. I think it will take 8 or 9 hours to get there. I have no idea where I am going to stay, but I got the names and addresses of a few campsites and youth hostels in Venice. This is not at all daunting, but incredibly exciting!

17 September - 19 September 1999: Venice

20 September 1999
Watched another video in class today. Now this couple has to ask her parents for money to buy their dream house in the country. The episode introduced some vocabulary, but it was a less than interesting lesson. We did have fun talking about how silly the video was, though. The conversation class went a little better. We finished the Slovakia topic. The students know quite a bit on their country and are able to speak on it well. We start Great Britain next week. I can tell that I am not going to like these first three topics as much (Slovakia, Great Britain, and the United States), and it seems to be a lot of history and facts the students can use on their school leaving exams, if they are "lucky" enough to draw one of these topics.

21 September 1999
Discussed clothing in class today. I made a worksheet from a book and the worksheet was entirely too long. I think the students were a little nervous about the length, even though I told them they would not be responsible for all the work this week. Although I probably said it too fast and they didn't understand me!!! We did get through a few exercises, and the class went very well. These kids are so attentive and polite, it is still taking me a little while to get used to it!! And I don't know if I will EVER get used to their standing up when I enter the room! Conversation class went well, we reviewed Slovakia and watched a film on Great Britain. Note to self: don't use that film anymore. It was NOT the most interesting thing I have ever seen.

I am leaving after school today for Bratislava. We are having an Orientation Wednesday and Thursday at the U.S. Embassy. A tour of Bratislava and an evening at the National Ballet is also planned. Looking forward to it very much.

22 September - 23 September 1999: Bratislava

24 September 1999
Back to the "grind" of school. Had two classes. In the first class, we read a passage from the Headway series. This group of students is a third year group specialized in Sports, and they are a little more restless than most of my other classes. I like them a lot. In the afternoon conversation class (which is also a group of third year students, my only conversation class with third year students) we reviewed Slovakia. These kids really know their stuff. They can express what they know well, for the most part, in English. Great Britain is next week. My homework this weekend: learn all about Great Britain!!!

25 September 1999
Stayed home today (for once!), and did nothing but clean house, laundry, and go grocery shopping. The market closes on Saturdays at around noon, so you have to get there early if you want to get good produce. The days continue to be beautiful. Excellent bike riding weather, excellent walking weather, and there is plenty of opportunity to walk in the forest be hind Solinky, or on the hill, which overlooks a couple of villages, and just bring a book up there and relax.

26 September 1999
I love the fact that I can talk with my parents and Mary Beth and Bob and Tony and Maureen and Lindsey whenever I want. The computer is a marvelous thing. I do have a rather high phone bill (but this is my one "expense" this year, so I do not feel guilty), as Internet use is charged by the impulse (of two, four, or eight minutes, depending on the time of day), but it is considerably less than if I would make international phone calls. As a matter of fact, it is almost what my phone bills were when I lived in Washington and called my parents and Mary Beth. I do miss my weekly Sunday night X-Files calls with Bob, though. I also use Internet to read the papers at home (thank goodness for the Island Packet and Washington Post Online), do research for lesson plans, and get the texts of short stories we read in class. Can I justify my use of this machine anymore???

I love Sunday mornings; now instead of having coffee and reading the paper on the couch (or reading the NY Times at Barnes and Noble), I have my coffee and sit at the computer and read the news. It is great not to feel so in the dark about local happenings.

27 September 1999
Well, today we watched part three of the odyssey of Matty and her husband's trying to buy a house in the country! We spent a lot of time talking about onomatopoeia. That was actually a lot of fun. In the afternoon conversation class, we reviewed Great Britain. I know we picked the topics of Slovakia, Great Britain, and the United States to do first, because they would be lots of facts, history, basically boring. And it is! I sometimes have trouble focusing, so I can imagine how hard it is for the kids to focus. We do manage to have a few laughs and discussions, though.

Ivana, my department chair, has been telling me some stories about life before 1989. Her stories are very interesting, and these are the kinds of things you don't read about in history books. She told me that in the 1950s, the only books that were allowed for the study of English history was Morton's History of England because of its Marxist philosophy. She also told me that the history classes here at the gymnazium are mainly conducted by lecture, as the history books here are not up to date. She told me that before 1989, if people wanted to take classes at the language schools here in town, they had to literally camp out overnight to get a spot on registration day.

29 September 1999
Ah, my early day! First lesson (7:50!). Spent most of 4.D and half of 3.C discussing prefixes (mini-unit on air travel). These kids are GREAT! Funny, clever, bright, and really, really nice. Had the other half of 3.C and read a Headway passage. It strikes me every so often how difficult to teach a foreign language. The conversation classes are not "easy," I am not responsible for teaching them the language, but rather helping them refine what they already know and helping them express themselves. It amazes me to watch my Slovak colleagues, with their incredible mastery of the English language (and a few other languages!), teach their students. It is one thing to try to get a literary concept across, but it is quite another to try to get the basic meaning of words across. I am in awe of these women! They often ask me to clarify a grammar point of word usage, and I am discovering that in the process I am learning English too! The materials they use here are British, and in some cases, our languages are quite different!!

30 September 1999
Wednesday is my early day, Thursday is my long day!! Seven lessons in a row, with a half-hour break. In first lesson (4.D), we watched a Headway video, "The Seven Wonders of Britain." The Double Decker bus, Parliament, Stonehenge, and cricket (to some extent), I can see. The milkman? The English country garden? The weather? We got through it, though. Still kind of feeling my way around things. We really got down to business today in 3.D (American lit). This was only the second time I have seen them since school started (they had a class trip, and I had the meeting in Bratislava), so we jumped right in with literary terms today. Some of the terms are the same in Slovak, which is good (for all of us!). We also started reading "The Most Dangerous Game," which is what most 9^th graders at HHHS start their high school English careers with. We didn't finish it, but the students certainly enjoyed what we did read. I have two classes of second graders (sophomores). These kids I really like. They are a bit more talkative than my other students, who for the most part don't really talk at all, unless they are asked a question or invited to speak. Every once in a while I catch myself thinking, "It's too quiet here."

Tonight two of my colleagues, Sona and Dana (and Dana's husband Valen) came over. When I went to their cottage a couple of weeks ago, Valen asked me lots of questions about the computer and how I talked with my parents and friends. So I invited them over to talk with my dad. I set up a time so that my dad would be at his computer when they came over. We logged on, and Sona and Dana had a nice little chat with my father. Dana lives not far from me, and she can see the lights in my house (and checks up on me now and then), so now she knows what I am doing when the light towards the back of the flat is on, because the light at the front of the flat, where the t.v. is, is rarely on! I can't imagine having to do this year without being able to instantly send and receive letters. Internet is a wonderful thing!!!

1 October 1999
Had 3.A this morning (specialized in Sports). We read a passage from Headway that was less than interesting. I don't feel like I can really bring across what they should probably know in the text. But the kids are very good and roll with things. Had my third year conversation class also. These kids are SOOO funny--they are always laughing about something or asking questions

Today after school we drove to Barbora's parents' flat in Dolny Kubin, about an hour from Zilina. We are going to spend the weekend at her husband's family's cottage in Orava, a region at the Polish border. We are planning to go to the market in Poland this weekend. We walked through the town of Dolny Kubin--very small townish--a village square with a statue of a famous Slovak poet who is from the town, a covered bridge, and surrounding the village, a small mountain for skiing, an ice rink for hockey and skating. Barbora was telling me about May Day, in which the children, who were of course Young Pioneers, wore their uniforms and red scarves and participated in the May Day celebrations. She also talked of television when she was a kid (she is 27 now), and that the only thing children watched were fairy tale cartoons on Sunday mornings. There was really no "American" television, except the occasional bad movie. It is so interesting to hear about life during the Communist regime, and it is hard to believe that it was only ten years ago!!