woot!

Okay so it's official. I'm back to my happy go lucky self. HOORAY! It only took me two months to get there-but hey I made it! And I guess you can't really blame me. I mean adjusting to a new culture,family,language,food,school, and friends and well lets just put it simply: A whole new way of life; isn't easy. It's not easy but it's an adventure.

This week was pretty mellow. But ya gotta have a mellow week every now and then. It was nice. I went out Friday night to a tea room, pub, and then the disco which, as always, was awesome. The tea room was hilarious. I wasn't really sure what to expect to be honest because all my friends just kept telling me 'oh it will be so nice! They have every kind of tea you can imagine and it's so cozy and wonderful!' Let me paint the picture for you though. It's in a typical run down sketchy looking Slovak building. You walk in and have to go up these narrow set of stairs which turn sharply around a corner. You are then met abruptly with a door which you swing open only to be hit by a wall of hot, 'incense' smelling air. I look around and I have to stop myself from giggling. There are tables set really low to the ground and mattresses laid out everywhere. You have to walk through strings of beads to get into the room and at the front there are rows upon rows of clear glass jars filled with god only knows what. It was hippie central. You pulled up a mattress, got comfy and sifted through the menu which contained hundreds of different types of teas. You could have ordered any tea under the sun, I swear! There were fruit teas, black ones, green, yellow, ones with caramel, some with milk, some with coffee, some with herbs, some hot, and some cold, but you get the picture. It really was lovely once I got over the fact that I was lying on a mattress on the floor ordering tea. I ordered Jablko strudla (apple strudel) and it was absolutely delicious! It was soemthing like apple cider but so much better! mmmmmmmmmmmm.
So that was the tea room. The pub was typical, sit, socialize, drink Kofola (Slovak coca cola which is 100 times better than ours), stare off into space because I have no idea what anyone is saying anymore. Good times. As for the disco it was crazy as usual. LOUD music, TONS of people, smoke everywhere, blinding lights. Also a good time--I have no idea why, but it is.

So I found out a very interesting piece of information the other day and I still can't quite believe it. I was talking to one of my school friends who has a part time job and I asked him how much his wage was. I could hardly believe his answer. He gets 2 euros an hour which is the equivalent of $3.20 canadian. Wow. And he said that's a reasonable wage for a student working part time. SO now I understand why people are more stingy about there money here. They have to be, or if they don't now they most certainly had to be in the past. The thing is although food and the necessities are significantly cheaper here, products like clothing and electronics are the same as in Canada if not more. I found the same Mp3 I bought in Canada for $40 here and it was going for 66 euros ($80 can). So money is definitely valued more here by the people, especially the older generations, who have lived through communism. My counsellor (who is probably 50 or so) was telling me how during communist times (which lasted all the way until 1989)she was forced to sew all of her families clothing. She wasn't a seamstress or anything but she had to out of necessity. She said there was absolutely nothing in the shops. Just imagine, living through such a change. In only 50 years this country has faced immense change. From foreign invasions, to communism, to becoming it's own nation-a heck of a lot has changed. And all the people living here have not only witnessed but expereinced that change and I think you can see it their faces, in their actions, and in their choices. I guess it made me realize why there are holes in all the sidewalks and the buildings are old and sketchy. There's a good reason, the country just hasn't been around that long. You can see it everywhere. They are trying desperately to make it look more pleasing to the eye. All of the communist flats which were originally a dirty white or grey are now being painted bright summery colors, and they are constantly fixing the roads and sidwalks, repaving streets. I dont know though, part of me likes the big square builidngs everywhere. I think they give the country character and act as a reminder of exactly what this country has made it through.

So I'm back, I'm ready to roll, and take on another week. What in store this week? I'm volunteering at the english school, playing some futbal, going to a rotary hosted concert, prob some disco time, and who knows what else. :)

p