Pictures!!

Finally, finally, FINALLY!! Here are some pictures at last on good old flickr.
Hopefully the link works.

Went on a good old walk on Sunday round the Stary Mesto (Old City),
over the Novy Most (new bridge) and
down by the Petrzalka side of the river with my
tourist hat on and took some pictures.  When Jonathan
comes this weekend, we'll be going to Devin castle outside
Bratislava and will take some more pictures to
post next week.

There're some lovely places here amongst all the Communist buidings.
Made particularly lovely of course
by the sunshine and the crisp weather.
Pictures of people - including me - coming soon!

Sorry I haven't really written for ages. Not very much
to report really. Christmas was nice and chilled.
Unfortunately, time passed far too quickly and it was
time for me to come back before I knew it. It was
strange coming back here and feeling more at home here
than I did there.

It's been somewhat difficult since
coming back because I've got two 12-hour shifts a week
and that's really tough. It's really difficult giving
100% at 6.15pm when you've been teaching since 8am.
Also, for a couple of Mondays, I've had to teach 4
classes in a row, which hasn't been the best
experience. I have another Monday like that to look
forward to I've had Fridays though, so that's great.

Jenny, another teacher, left without giving
any notice so we've all had to chip in and cover her
shifts, but we've managed to hire a new teacher to
take her place - Lydia from Belfast.Speaking of teachers,
Alexis, has been great. She's such a welcome addition. She's
already had over two years worth of experience - in
Turkey and Vietnam - and she's sociable, hard-working
and easy to get along with. Because Jenny has left,
she's now living with Lydia.

But it's been great living with Sandra. It's like we've
always lived with each other and living Ruth was just
a really bad dream. It's been nice to have a tidy flat
and not have to spend most of the weekend cleaning up
after Ruth. Everything's much more chilled out and I
feel I can relax more.

The weather here has been really weird. There was talk
of it being a particularly harsh winter, but so far
it's not been colder than -6. That was on the day I
arrived and since term started, it's not been colder
than -2. It apparently got -15 a couple of years ago,
and that's pretty bad. A couple of weeks ago, the
temperature has been rising and it was 13 degrees!!
In January in Central Europe?!?! But I can't
complain. I did say that I would stay here another
year if I survived the winter, and since it's not been
all that cold, it looks I might. Haha! I bet next year
it'll be really, really bad, but I don't have to worry
about that till next year. :-) Of course, it could
turn really bad now... Who knows?

My teaching had been a little stale the past couple of
weeks. Well, only for my adult classes. I think that
I've definitely changed my approach to my teen classes
and they have been much better, also this term I
started teaching 7/8-year-olds and that's a new
challenge, but with my adult classes, I hadn't been
doing anything new. We had a lesson planning seminar
at the staff training last Friday, and it was the
first one I really appreciated because it was good to
have to re-assess my teaching method, especially since
the first 2 weeks had concerned me anyway. Managed to
find some new material that was better than the textbook
and it made a difference. Well, on with a new week!

Those who still read this, please be in touch. It'll
be nice to know I'm still thought of. :-)

New Year?!?!?

Hello! I haven't written for ages, I know. I've been home. Coming home was a big hassle because my flight was delayed from the Bratislava end, so I missed my other flight from London. Got the megabus all the way from London though, which wasn't the most pleasant experience, but I got home in the end. :-)

I think it's been a long year and I can't believe it's finally a new one. Not entirely sure what this year will bring. Well, I've got the Slovakian winter to look forward to and then I'll finish my contract and be back in the summer. I've been offered a job with Project International - the people I've worked at summer schools for - so I'll do that and hopefully temp for the rest of the summer. I've said to a few people already that if I survive the winter in Bratislava, I'll stay for another year. It's a nice wee place and if I continue to save - especially with the rise in salary if I continue - I'll be able to see a fair bit of Central Europe, the prospect of which is quite exciting. So, fingers crossed the winter is not intolerable. At least I know that the place I work and my flat are both well heated and well insulated, so I may just have to stay in a lot. :-D

Too many things have happened this year. There was my CELTA course, my temp post at the Mental Health Tribunal, my 2 weeks in Wolverhampton with Project International, then back to the Mental Health Tribunal and then a new life in a new country. That's just the professional side of things. I don't think I could go into what I've felt and gone through emotionally this year. That definitely was too much. I'm hoping that Sandra as a flatmate won't exhaust me emotionally. I doubt it, but I can't help but feel wary. :-)

Well, I feel that I've started so many 'new lives' this year with 3 different jobs and I'm relieved that I'm continuing with one at least and am able to develop the relationships I've formed over there in Bratislava. I think it'll be tough when Sandra leaves at the end of the school year (she's already decided she's going home) and me starting with a whole new flatmate. But I don't have to worry about that till September...

And who would've thought that I would be writing about being in Slovakia instead of being in Japan?! Hah! That was the biggest disappointment I had this year. But it turned out well. And yes, I'm still planning to go to Japan. I've got 2 more years of check ups and being a cancer patient- which equals 2 more years in Europe - then I'll be in the Far East. With 3 years of teaching experience down my belt, it shouldn't be too hard to get a job with JETS. I'll just have to make sure I meet the application deadlines! Well, there are 2 more years before I have to worry about that. :-)

Ok, I'm going to stop babbling. I never thought I'd end up in a place like Bratislava having dreamed only of Japan and the Far East for the last 4-5 years, but it's not bad. Not bad at all. Never thought that anything that happened this year would've happened, but hey, that's life. It's funny how it turns out. :-D

Howdy! I'm so glad that this week is finally over! It has dragged and DRAGGED, but my last class of the week has finally finished and I can go home for a wee nap. :-) I'm not going to Vienna for the Christmas market tomorrow. I'm just too tired. Too many things have been going on in the last few weeks, let alone this week, that I just want a long lie and time to tidy my room, clean my flat and do some laundry. Speaking of my flat, it turns out I will be living with Sandra after all! Woohoo! So, next term will be a lot easier than this term in the flat. Still haven't got my timetable for next term yet, but I hope that I don't start at 8am on the first Monday back, or any Monday of next term for that matter!

Well, that's it really. One more week and then I'm home. Yey!

Hello! I have some good news finally - I've gotten my ID card! Woo! Had to wait the whole day last Wednesday, but today it was only an hour. Woo! Also, I've heard that the phone line will be installed in January. Well, I don't know when in January, but they have 31 days to do it, so hopefully it will be done in that time. :-)

Also, the new girl has been confirmed. It is Alexis and she's from the posh part of Bristol. From her profile on Facebook, she looks like a bit of a party girl. So I don't know what she's going to be like as a flatmate. I have no idea what to expect. But there's been a wee bit of an issue in another flat, so I might end up living with Sandra instead, which I'd much prefer because we both get on really well. But we'll see what happens. She's going to speak to the Director of Studies today.

Um... Not much other news really. Just finishing up the textbook units in class because of the end of term tests next week. But all the units have finished for teenagers, so I have no idea what to do with them now. Pfff! Oh dear. Maybe I can find a video that they'd like to see... For my intermediate teens, Ruth and I are merging our classes and putting them before a DVD with some questions to answer. That's one class sorted out. Phew!!

Anyway, I'm going to look online for some activities for pre-intermediate teens...

Hello! I'm sorry I haven't blogged for ages. The last time I was on my way to that ice hockey match. Yeah, it was fantastic and I had a really good weekend that time. I'm actually going to the ice hockey again tonight. It'll be lots of fun! The atmosphere was brilliant even though I didn't understand the rules.

Basically I'm fine. Found out that I will be getting a new flat mate after Christmas. Well, I just hope she's not as dirty, smelly or messy as Ruth. That'll be fine. Today we had the Open Day for AV - the school I work for - and it was really hectic and tiring. Wish I hadn't said yes to the ice hockey because I'm so sleepy, but I'm sure I'll wake up.

I'll be back home in 2 weeks. That'll be nice. Totally could do with a wee break, but also have my check up on the Tuesday (18/12). Um... Nothing else to report really. Feeling really settled, except for my annoying flatmate. A little disappointed that people haven't been in touch more, but hey... That's life.

Nothing really...

Hello! I don't really have any news. It's been snowing for the past couple of days, so I'm glad I finally bought myself a proper coat last Saturday. I've not really done much except for work because it's been really busy with the new T-Mobile contract we've got. Everybody has had extra hours - except Ruth. I had 2 extra classes so I had preparation to do. Also, we've had some extra work because of the coming Open Day.

But otherwise, I'm fine. I haven't braved church again yet, mainly because I'm a coward. But we'll see. I've also been really tired because of the extra work. But anyway... It has to happen.

Hmmm... I really haven't done much else. I discovered the cinema and that made me happy so I went a couple of times last weekend. I might venture out to it again this weekend, who knows? It's only 3.50 here, so I'm happy! Oh, I'm also going to a Slovak ice hockey match today. Ice hockey's really big here, so we're going to see what the big deal is tonight. Should be interesting since I don't know what the rules are. Hah!

Well, I need to go and get some breakfast!

Finally, the trip to Hungary. We went to a small place called Gyor - the o should have 2 dots above it. It was a pretty wee place and I'd gone there in 3rd year with George and a few CU folk. It was such a big farce from the beginning. I'd gotten the wrong train information and then we ended up having to wait at the station for over an hour. I just st around listening to my mp3 player and Ruth and Sandra went to the 'internet cafe'. I don't know why it's called that because it wasn't a cafe and there were only 2 computers. Anyway, Ruth ended up breaking a chair by sitting on it and had to pay 300 SK for it. She said the chair was sitting right in the first place, but I suspect it's because she weighs about 20 stone. Maybe not as much as 20, but I'm not exaggerating when I say she's between 15 and 20 stone.

Anyway, we finally got there and it was a farce looking for the money changers. Sandra was rushing about everywhere and walking as if she were late for an important meeting and in the end, we got totally lost. It was a good walk though and good for me having to keep pace with her. Ruth, of course, lagged behind. We were really hungry by the time we got back to the centre and just went to the English pub and had some steak. It was really yummy! We sat there for quite a while and then went home.

The train ride back to Bratislava was eventless until we actually got back to Bratislava. We tried to get off at our stop - Ruth and I - but we couldn't get the doors opened. By the time we tried to go to another set of doors, the train had started moving again. I figured it was going to stop at the Bratislava main station, but Ruth was getting really nervous. Anyway, the conductor confirmed what I already knew, so we just waited in our stall. Then this drunk man with a moustache and a cowboy hat came in and started trying to talk to us. He could only say "Hallo" and "Ticket please". Anyway, he eventually left us alone and when we got to the main station, I lost Ruth for a while, cos she got into trouble for smoking in the train station. But it was alright in the end. We got a tram into the centre and then got our bus home. Finally got back at 9.30ish pretty much exhausted. But it was really funny the whole time and no one got annoyed. It was just one of those experiences you have I guess when you're travelling.

I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to to write about it. It's been a busy week and I've had to spend quite a bit of time at home because we had a few leaks in our bathroom and I had to wait for the repair men. Well, it's sorted out now. I'm still waiting for my ID card. It sucks that I can't have a phoneline even until then. AAAH!! Anyway, that's all for now. :-)

Vienna take 2

Hello! Yep, I went back to Vienna again yesterday. Saw even more beautiful buildings. Simon and I walked around for like FOUR hours and saw beautiful building after beautiful building after beautiful building. The weather was really nice yesterday making everything more picturesque than it already was. I was amazed by it all. I have to go back though becuase I think I've only seen a third of it. There are so many more places I want to visit while I'm here - Prague, Budapest and the rest of Slovakia, but I love Vienna so much already that I think I'll just keep going back there every opportunity I get!! It's so much more beautiful than Paris. Sorry Paris lovers, but you'll have to go there and see just how right I am!

There were no classes yesterday because of the Catholic All Saint's Day holiday. I had to come in today for my 8am class even though my students had already told me that they weren't going to be here. What a big jobby! Anyway, I just sat in my classroom for 45 minutes planning my up and coming lessons for my adult classes. They were quite simple lessons because next week, they'll be sitting a test for 2 lessons and then it's feedback and all I have to do is finish the units that they were on. Next week will be a great week since I'll only have to plan for the teenagers and my 8am Friday class. I suppose I won't be so happy when I have all those test papers to mark, but it'll be nice to go home not be absolutely exhausted as usual. :-)

Tomorrow I'm off to Gyor - it should have 2 dots above the o, but I can't seem to insert it... I was there 3 or 4 years ago for an evangelism conference with George and a few other CU folk. It'll be nice to go back. It's a quaint wee town and if the weather's nice, it'll be pretty. It'll be a big contrast from Vienna though since it's only a wee place. I wonder how much it's changed in the last few years? The last time I was there, everywhere I went looked like a postcard picture. Hope it's still the same.

Oh, they've already started setting up the Christmas markets in the square in the Old Town. Exciting! I can't wait. I saw the pictures of them on-line before I got here and it looked so Christmassy and lovely. Woohoo! It'll be nice looking at and walking round all the stalls while sipping on some mulled wine. :-)

One last but important piece of news: NOVA, the company I was going to go to Japan with, have collapsed financially. 2000 teachers are out of a job, haven't been paid and have no money to get home from Japan!! That could've been me!!! So, I'm glad I'm here. Phew! Even if I do have the flatmate from hell... :-D

Church

So, I finally made it to church on Sunday. Phew! Found it alright. I can't tell you whether it was good or bad because I didn't have the right headphones and so had to sit to through the whole service not understanding one word!! I couldn't leave either because I was sitting in the middle of the row and it was full on each side of me. I was disappointed that nobody even made an effort to talk to me. I was really early and was sitting on my won for ages not really knowing what to do with myself. I guess in that respect churches don't differ from country to country. It's a shame that there aren't more Jennys or Margarets.

This week we have Thursday off and so I'm happy to have a wee extra break. I thought about going away for the whole weekend, but it isn't going to happen. Just going to a small town in Hungary for the afternoon on Saturday. Maybe make it away at some point. Hopefully to Prague. Staying in Vienna for a whole weekend might be a little too expensive, though maybe I should just save up?

Anyway, things are going well, more or less. Really tired all the time, but I guess it just shows I'm working hard. Pay day again on Friday. Woohoo!

Vienna

Hello! I know you're all dying to know about Vienna, so here I am posting about it. Well, I didn't get off to a very good start. I was being a bit of a smart ass and I thought the station was a lot closer than it was to where I lived, so I decided to walk there. Then I got lost and had to take the bus anyway and then I missed the train by one minute. I would've made it as well if I'd known where passport control was... So then I had to wait for an hour till the next train, but it came on time and it was well fancy!

When I got to Vienna, it was absolutely FREEZING and raining. I walked for about 45 minutes heading towards the centre and then started to look at buildings. I did start to take pictures, but soon ralised that I wouldn't be able to get very far if I took pictures of every amazing piece of architecture I saw. It was beautiful and I'm going to go again. Hopefully the weather will be better in a couple of weeks...

I wish I could describe everything, but all I can say was that the buildings were beautiful - spectacular, even! Never seen architecture like it. The layout of the city was similar to Paris. I loved it! It was also brilliant going up to monuments and buildings and reading the inscriptions and being able to understand them. So happy that I could use German still! Also, it was brilliant going into a cafe and being able to understand the waiters and the menu and being able to order in a complete sentence!

Another teacher - Simon - and I were thinking about going by boat to Vienna next time because we could just sail up the Danube, but unfortunately, the boats don't run regularly in the winter and they're quite expensive. Ah well... Might be something to try next year - maybe in the summer... But I think I'm going again in a couple of weeks or so - by train - and this time I'll print off some directions to particular places. It'll be cool.

I definitely recommend going to Vienna, but you need a LOT of time. :-) Come visit and we could go together!!

Um...

Hello! Nothing to say really. Just that I got paid today and I went to the bank to put the money into my Slovak account. I went with my purse and the money - it's just across the road from the school. So, I get there and they ask for my passport. I had my bank card with me and I only wanted to put money in to the account, but I couldn't until I had brought my passport in. Man, I usually have my bag with me and my passport in it! Anyway, I had to traipse all the back to the school and get my blooming passport before I could money in! Ridiculous!

In other news: I am going to go to Vienna for the day. At least I hope so. I'll definitely go if the weather's nice. I'll be going on my own, but that way I'll have some peace from Ruth and an excuse not to go out that night since I'll be far too tired. Heehee! Then I can go to church on Sunday. Woo! And make some friends finally! :-) It'll be weird going to Vienna! I'm so excited! It's only an hour away from where I'm staying. I'll take lots of pictures, but I won't be able to post them until I get the internet in my flat. Which will probably be never. :-( Haha! Just a few more weeks!

Hello!

Hello! I'm so sorry I haven't written for ages. It's mainly because nothing much has happened... I wake up, teach my 8am class, plan for the next day, my teens and my 4.45pm class, then I teach my teens and my 4.45pm and I go home. On the weekends, I sleep in, I clean up after my flatmate Ruth (this is turning me into quite a good housewife actually, but it annoys me how dirty and messy she is!!) and then I read. A couple of Saturdays we've gone out, but I hate it. It's no fun being cramped into a crowded space and having Ruth dance AT you. Nope. I have yet to make it to church on Sunday... Mostly I've been sleeping in, and then planning my lessons, grocery shopping and more reading!! Woo! This is of course broken occasionally when Phil, my director, lends me one of his DVDs, then I really go wild!!

Just a hint of sarcasm there for ya...

Seriously man, I need a life outside of work, outside of the flat and outside of Ruth. As someone to hang out with, Ruth's alright, btu I have to hang out with her ALL THE TIME and work with her also. I need some other friends!!

See, this is why I haven't written for ages. There just hasn't been anything to say... I'm fine though, just a little bored. :-)

Woohoo for the Weekend!!

Hello! Thought I should post again before the weekend. Not really much to say really except that I'm glad another week is over and I don't have to teach again for another 2 days. Phew! Also, that I feel weird about having my birthday with no-one really to celebrate with. Well, sure there are the other teachers, but if I were in Glasgow, at least I could be with my mum and maybe some friends... Ah well. I guess I'm only thinking that because I'm a little homesick. I always miss home more at the weekend than during the week. Probably because I don't really have time to think about anything other than teaching and planning lessons during the week, oh, and sleeping as well. :-)

Em... Yeah, I'm going to go to this church that is near the school on Sunday. I have no idea what to expect, but they do have an English service, so that's something. Yeah, I never thought I would miss Christians, but I do. That's a horrible thing to say, but what I mean is, when I left, mass gatherings of Christians really scared me because well, I was sick of being patronised just because I was struggling with my faith. I guess I haven't really made any firm decisions, but more and more I see that I am more on the Christian side than any other. Certainly the more I hear about other religions, the more I see the Christianity is the way.

Yup, I'm going to go now and buy a copy of Pascal's Pensees. See if Pete keeps his promise to study it with me over the year - via email of course.

Bye!

Activities?!?!

Hello! This is an appeal for ideas. You know the game Mafia? My young teens LOVE it! I'm wondering if any of you might know of a game like Mafia that teenagers might like? I'm sure they'll get sick of it soon enough and I have no idea what to do with them then... Eek! My young teen are adorable, but the older ones are a pain in the ass! Well, only 5 of them, but still...

Teaching is so exhausting! I love my last class of the day and it's a great way to end each day. Plus, planning for them is great because I know them well enough now to know what they like and what they don't like. I think I'm getting there with the morning class too. They intimidate me a little though... I don't know if I'll ever get used to the teenagers... Goodness! I hope I get tot he point where I enjoy teaching here. I did at the end of my course.

I think I'm just having a bad day... :-S

Teenagers?!?!?!

Just a quick post to moan before I go on to teach another class: I did CELTA specifically so that I could teach adults and only adults because not only do teenagers not want to learn, but they definitely do NOT want to learn English!! My teenage classes are my lease favorite classes in the day. I could do without them.

Right, off to teach my class of the day. Lovely Intermediate adults. Phew!

Another week of teaching...

The first week here was exhausting and was full of teaching, planning lessons and teaching again. My flatmate and I both finish at 6.30pm and then when we get home, if we don't have any more planning to do, just collapse in a heap of exhaustion. We both feel like losers because we're too tired to even to go to the cinema or out for a drink! But I've been assured that this isn't the case once you get into the hang of things. Well, I hope that's soon because by the end of last week, I just didn't want to get out of bed since I was sooo tired!

Had a fairly restful weekend though. We did go with some Slovak girls to a Harley Davidson bar in the middle of nowhere. I was expecting rock music at least, but they played cheesy 80s stuff and then in the middle of all that played Rammstein, which was then followed by Thriller!! It was bizarre. Plus the DJ was a creepy old man! Eugh! By about 1 in the morning, the music got a bit better. I really didn't want to be there. When I first went out, I thought we'd just be going for a couple of drinks and home again. I wasn't prepared for not getting home till 3am!! I would've left sooner, but I didn't know where I was and didn't particularly want to wander about Bratislava on my own in the middle of the night, so I stayed. Slept most of Sunday, then went grocery shopping, read for a while and then planned my lesson for Monday.

So glad for the weekend though. It was good just doing things like cleaning my kitchen, laundry and just reading. I really feel better for it and feel prepared for a new week ahead. Though by Wednesday, I'll probably be longing for the weekend again. Speaking of the weekend: It's my birthday on Sunday, so I fully expect that those of you who've got my address should send me a card! :-P I'm allowed to make demands, I think, since I'm going to have to celebrate my birthday all alone in a foreign country. Heehee!

Lastly, those of you who pray for me, please pray I find a church nearby and some good Christian friends soon. That would great! Ok, back to work now!

Teaching

Hello! I can't believe I'm teaching 3 classes a day! My classes first thing and last thing in the day are really nice. I have teenagers in the afternoon and they're CRAZY!! But some of them are cute. I'm sure I'll get to used to them in time. :-) I can't believe how much time it takes to plan all these lessons! I was expecting it, but still... I was so spoilt during my CELTA course because we had so much time to do everything! Anyway, I'm sure I'll get into the swing of things. All the teachers that have been here a while say it gets easier to plan as the terms go on, so hopefully by Christmas it'll be almost second nature.

Someone asked if I could post pictures of where I live and I will. Once I get the internet in the flat sorted and then I'll be able to upload my photos from my laptop. I'll take some pictures of the old town too.

Well, I'm going to go back and do some work now before I have to face the dreadful teens!

Bratislava

Hello! This is the first proper time that I've been able to blog. Been able to check emails, but for some reason blogger was really slow. Anyway... So, I'm in Bratislava. For a capital city, it's pretty small. It's really beautiful though. Had a walk around the old city yesterday and yeah, it's really beautiful. Most people go home at the weekend and do it's pretty quiet here. My flat is nice. very 70s looking and set among a whole load of communist built flats. They would be intimidating if it weren't so green all over the place and peaceful. It's been really hot here the last few days, but today it's a little chilly. Still not freezing or anything though, so that's ok. In a couple of weeks, I'll hopefully be able to have the internet in my flat, so that will make things a lot easier.

I don't really know what else to say really. Just taught my first class. It's a lot less intimidating since I'm not being assessed. I have to start at 8 everyday though, but because the buses are so regular and we don't live that far away from the school, I can leave at 7.30 and get in for plenty of time. My next class isn't till 3.30 though, so I might just do some photocopying and go home for a little while.

Bad news

Oh dear... I just found out that Ruth and I are not going to be living in a nice, lovely flat. We've been moved to a rather horrible sounding one. I'm not sure what's happened or why we've been moved. Ruth didn't even know that we were being moved until Friday. No more balcony and no more living room. I've emailed Simon - my boss - and asked him to clear up the situation. Lovely! At least it's free. I hope the heating works during the winter. My mum's really annoyed about it. What can I do now? I just have to deal with it. All part of the experience, right?

Looks like there will be no room for visitors I'm afraid. :-( I just hope this isn't what the whole year is going to be like...