Well, December came and went like a gust of wind! The greatest part of December was when my family came to visit me! The five of us spent the holiday gallivanting around Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, and Munich! The tour of Europe included taking pictures of Harry Potter, a llama scarf, and sweet leather pants, and historical/famous landmarks - while also turning into icicles everyday, developing sicknesses, and having family riots every now and again. I miss you all already! COME BACK!
In school news, we are still in our second quarter and first semester here. The semester closes at the end of this month and I am knee deep in grade compilation and make-up work for the massive amounts of students who were gone before and after the break. Slovaks miss SOO much school! And, realistically, if our gas doesn't come back (Russia cut off their supply to the Ukraine, which is the country that supplies ours), school migtht be closed because there will be no heat! We haven't been affected yet, but it is interesting to read and watch what is happening. Oh, and I will keep the same students, though I wish we had a system like American sports where trading was involved. ;) j/k - they are, mostly, wonderful.
Speaking of changes: besides the possible heat loss, Slovakia has officially switched their currency from the Slovak Crown to the Euro. It is kind of exciting to know that I still have pieces of a currency that is no longer in circulation. It makes me feel connected to the history here. One day I will be able to tell people, "Well, when we had crowns in Slovakia..." Impressive? Ah...I'll leave that as a rhetorical question!
Oh....Christmas traditions. Well, we had carp living in our bathtub for a day. I was asked to fill up the bathtub with cold water, and the carp appeared with a Slovak friend - procured from a plastic bag (they were wrapped in news paper of course). The next day, the same friend appeared again: this time with a hammer and huge knife! I experienced a good anatomy lesson, found out that I am a germophob (fish guts in my kitchen was NOT ok!), and then enjoyed a traditional Slovak Christmas dinner: a shot of...something really strong, a wafer thing with honey on it, carp, and Slovak potato salad. We did not put up stockings (though we did dress up our Halloween ghosts with scarves and ear muffs), but I bought little ornaments and one of my roommates dug a Christmas tree out of the depths of our storage closet. I also celebrated Chritmas on the 24th - European "Christmas Day" before meeting my family in Vienna on Christmas Day.
I would love to hear about everyone's Christmas, with pictures included!?! Miss you all!
:0) Maika
Yes: they were.
This looks soooo much better than when the fish was all over our kitchen....I do not like fish scales.
This is hilarious because mom is the only one who really looks happy, but this was our favorite bread shop in Munich!
Sissies!
(Oh, and I believe the man in leather pants is somewhere behind us)
Prague (the Tyn Church)
