HALUSKY

So I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda glad Christmas is over. It's a big relief to be getting back to normal routine (I never realized just how much I thrive on structure until I came to Slovakia). Don't get me wrong, I loved having the opportunity to celebrate it in another country and learn a different way of life so closely-but it was rough.

I've had a wonderful past couple of days though as I've been working hard to keep myself busy. Yesterday I woke up with the house to myself (which is always lovely and quiet and peaceful) and I made myself toast (which is a special treat when you live in Slovakia). Later on I went out with friends, and we had plans to go to a Mexican Restaurant for Mariely, but it turned out to be closed so we just went to a pub. It was nice night out with friends. Today was even better! I went to my favorite little coffee shop in the morning and ordered a delicious caramel latte and sat and read my book (I got from the library) in the back corner. It was so relaxing and made me so happy. Then I went to the English school for a couple of hours to plan out my lessons for next weeks story hours. And the best part came next. I went with my councilor to a place called Slovakia Bethlehem. It is this giant (10 m by 4m) wooden carving which is stunningly beautiful! You can't even imagine the detail that it has. And what was really neat about it was that each section represented a different part of Slovakia. I could have stood in front of it for hours and still not seen it all. There were little black smiths, women sewing, castles accurate right down to the windows, animals, and a nativity scene right in the middle. And get this--they all moved! I don't even understand how one man could finish such a master piece all on his own. It really was spectacular. I will put up a photo of it but it definitely doesn't do it justice!
So after the Bethlehem scene I stayed at my councilor's home for a couple of hours and worked in the kitchen with her. She showed me how to make delicious vegetable soup and Halusky! You have no idea how proud I am! SO when I get back I promise you all I will make some Halusky just for you so you can have a taste of slovakia! I have come to really love my councilor and her husband and they seem to have adopted me as their daughter so it's really nice. They are such kind people and I feel very loved by them, and I've only known them for four months. But that's kind of how it is with exchange. You get to be able to call almost any place home and you get really close to people in a very short time, partly because you are forced to if you want to survive, and partly because people are so kind and warm and welcoming to you. It's a very neat experience I don't think you can get any other way.

Since I have been on holidays, and will continue to be for the next two weeks, I have had a fair amount of time on my hands (okay thats a lie, I have had a LOT of time on my hands) and so I have been playing with my camera. I have taken several pictures in around my host home and Zilina. I've created an online album and so I will share the link here. So if you are interested, I invite you to take a look. I think they are really representative of just how beautiful this little country is and they give you an idea of how the city really feels. So Enjoy!

http://cid-61a3334c3c7815a5.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Slovakia%20in%20December?authkey=e6fsuZVZttM%24