First impressions from Slovakia by Paulo.

I had a good and long trip to get here.  In the first week I see that it is worth every kilometer of the nearly 11 000 that I took to get here.  I felt a good atmosphere in the city, The city is very clean, well maintained and organized. A great place to live. The ambient in the organization is great,  all very attentive from the moment of first contact. As my roommate has being very helpful and very patient for me everything is different and very good. 

Paulo. 

The roommate arrives

by Svenja

 Last Friday my roomate from Brazil arrived! So I am not that allone in the flat anymore and I have someone to talk with about how it is to be a volunteer in Trencin. Also it is really interesting to share the flat with somebody, who has a whole different culture, speaks a different language... and we really do not like the same food!
Last week we also got internet in the flat- with a lot of help from Lubo, wo installed everything for us.This will be a really nice, funny and multicultural year in Trencin, wich i am really looking forward to.
On Saturday we visited the castle of Trencin, wich is really historic and beautiful! You can see the whole city when you are up on the top of the tower.
In the KCA the activities started. I had to speak slovak to children in pottery class, but they just understand: "Ako sa volas?" wich is the most important sentense in the kurz for now.

But anyway, it was a lot of fun, like you can see on the picture!

Meeting the slovak culture

by Svenja

After I had some time to get around in Slovakia and especially in Trencin I got to know the slovak culture better. Sometimes people act really shy but I did not meet any unfriendly people yet (except in the foreign police office but thats another thing) and also are they always smiling when they hear me trying to speak slovak. I tried this week the slovak national food, Halusky, in a nice and traditional slovak restaurant. The food is really good and always a lot!
Slovak people are always in time and really clean in everything. I think I am the only one that went into my flat with shoes on! But I like that, it's a good thing to learn and to bring home. The last week I gave some german- lessons in the Hotels- Academy. I prepared a presentation about myself for the 2nd and 5th class. The 2nd class was pretty shy and their german not that practiced, but the 5th class was really good and they did understand a lot german and also they could speak with just a few grammar- misstakes.
Somehow I wondered why people here are learning german, I mean aren't there languages more important and easier than german? I am glad that I don't have to learn german anymore because it is a really complicated language, but slovak is the same.

This week I will start the advertisement for my nemecky- klub and prepare the the first meeting. Today will start the pottery- calls in the KCA for children and I practised the requiered words to be able to speak with the children and we will see how it works!

My first week in Trencin

by Svenja 


Ahoj Trencin!
Last monday I arrived here in Trencin, Slovakia. It was a quite long journey, I flew from Hamburg to Warschaw and to Bratislava. There I got my first impressions of this really nice country. I had to find my way to the hlavna stanica and then a way with the train to Trencin. But it was quite easy, so everyone was really helpfull and everyone asked me if they can help me with my luggage or something.
At the trainstation Marta and Peter from my organisation KCA picked me up and we went to my firt own flat by car. My flat, wich is situated in the JUH is really nice and svetlý and I was really happy about my big skrina :)
Really tiered from the long journey I went early to bed and met with Marta and Peter the next day. They showed me the very big center where I work and the way to the Juzanka shopping center. Also we had to buy a carpet for the big but yet empty living room.
I think I never met so many helpful people at one place! The last week I met a lot of new people like Kristina, a girl my age who studies here in Trencin. Also all people at my work are really nice and they are trying to speak german sometimes wich is really sympathic. I have to improve my slovak really fast, because I want to communicate with everybody here in the aktivity center and also in the town.
Kristina showed me the old city of Trencin wich is really pretty and by now I also know my way around. First it was really hard to find the way to my work but I know one of the most important sentences in slovak: Kde je kulturne centrum aktivity? So there are always helpful people around and I fell like home, but still a bit lost because the flat is really big for me alone. But that will be better in a week. The slovak people are really hospitable, so my chef Svetluska gave to me really delicious fruit and vegetable from the own garden wich I ate yesterday for dinner. I also tried a really good other slovakian dish wich is kind of a sweet dumpling I ate with powdersugar and Quark.
Last week was really calm in the center but now that the holidays are over it's getting really busy at work. I am preparing my presentations about myself and for my work at the hotels academy and also I am starting to prepare something for my nemecky- klub wich I will held here in the KCA.

So I will see what the next week will bring!
Dovidenia :)

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