MIKULAS!!!

MIKULAS!!!!! (pronounced Meekooolash) was soooo wonderfully fantastic this weekend. I am incredibly tired, having gotten to bed around 4 on both fri and sat night, but it was well worth it!
Okay so a bit of information to fill you in before I dive head first into my description of the weekend. In Slovakia they celebrate christmas twice in a sense. They have mikulas day, where st nicholas comes and brings sweets to everyone who leaves their shoes on the window sill, and then they have christmas on the 24th when Jesus comes down to earth to visit. St. Mikulas is historically a man who was known for his kindness. I had the story translated to me but I'm still a little fuzzy on the details. There was something about him saving three young women from having to live on the streets, even though he had nothing. Regardless, he is now known as a saint in all of Slovakia.

So back to the story, after the fantastic stuzkova which i gushed about in my last post, I slept pretty all day saturday. When I finally managed to roll out of bed for lunch around 2 pm, I had to scramble to get ready for my next adventure--Mikulas!
My family and I (plus Mariely) piled into the car and headed out to a cabin. It was this super cute little place in a mountain village. We met up with my aunt and uncle and their two kids (jakub and Boba who've mentioned in previous posts) and two other families who are university friends of my parents. I was sooo excited to get there and see the cabin. It was the cutest thing ever! When I looked around I couldn't help but think we looked like something out of a christmas catalogue, we all had to wear red shirts (family tradition) and most of us had santa hats. So sat was a pretty fantastic day. Here's how it went down:

First we ate. The couple who own the cabin rent it out to people and they do all the cooking! So we had delicious chicken (and rice of course) plus yummy traditional slovak polievka (soup).
Then we played tons of foosball and table tennis.
Then there was more eating. So many delicious snacks EVERYWHERE! I swear I could have gained 20 pounds just that day, but what's christmas for right? But there was every kind of cheese you could imagine and pretzels and sausage and chocolate galor!
Then santa and the devil came to visit. Yes the devil comes on christmas in Slovakia! The dads got all dressed up in masks and brought down a big bag of sweets for everyone. We sang (and I learned) a traditional slovak christmas carol. They say in slovakia that the good children get sweets and the bad ones sticks and coal. And they made us sing or dance or recite a poem if we wanted to get our treats so I belted out rudolph the red nosed reindeer for all to hear.
Then there was more eating. I mean how could you resist you were just handed a bag full of yummy treats.
Then the rest of the evening was filled with music, sad attempts to ballroom dance, talking, laughing, and more ping pong (they really do love it here).

All in all it was a wonderful day, not just because it was loads of fun but because I really felt like I fit in. I felt like I was part of the family and my Slovak was good enough to communicate to people! I've really come to love my host family, especially my host dad. It was a fantastic time.

On a different note, I had Rotary this monday, and I went as usual but this time it was particularly entertaining. It was one of the Rotarians 60th b day so there was a big celebration going on. So big I might add that the exchange students (the other inbounds and next years outbounds from slovakia) had to be shipped off to another room. Apparently the no alcohol rule means we can't even witness the consumption of alcohol. So all the Rotarians thought we were safely tucked away in the back room, but little did they know we could hear them loud and clear. They were all singing folk songs in their deep manly voices at the top of their lungs, and it was too funny. We also had this special cabbage soup for the occasion and let's just say it wasn't my favorite. It didn't seem like much of a delicacy to me, filled with cabbage, mushrooms, pork, and god only knows what else. I nibbled away at my little bowl while Paul packed away four helpings. At least someone liked it!

AND on the topic of Rotary I am super psyched for this weekend. I leave on Thurs for four days in Bratislava and Vienna! Christmas shopping at the traditional markets!!! I can't wait. I get to take the train there and all the other exchange students will be on the same train so it's going to be an absolute blast! I just have to make it through tomorrow. One more long day at school then the sweet taste of the weekend! woot woot. And another thing to look forward to (aside from christmas and all that jazz) I am switching host families in under a month. My next family will be Mariely's and I've met them and spent a lot of time with them already so I know it will be a smooth transition. Its kind of a bitter sweet feeling though, because I feel like I've just finally settled in and now I have to be uprooted again but I think it will be good. And this time the change will be no where near as traumatizing as the beginning was so I should be good. :)

love as always!

p
ps. I genuinely can't believe I've been here three months, however slow it went in the beginning, the time is flying by now. Each day I am amazed by something new, it truly is a surreal experience!