Those who do not remember the past...

Are condemned to climb up a terribly steep mountain!


About 2 weeks ago the other American teachers and I (sort of) decided to climb up to a lake situated in the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia. This is a very Slovak thing to do as Slovaks love hiking!
We prepared ourselves by purchasing the correct hiking pants (usually plaid with patches on the knees and back) and renting a room in a "chata"-or cottage- nearby.

We decided to hike to Popradske Pleso, to stay, and then we would hike (but really, it was climbing) up to the highest lake in Slovakia.

I was excited to take the trip, but also nervous, because I remembered once taking this awful hiking trip in Slovakia with a group of students.

I didn't remember much about the trip I took 5 years ago, except for the fact that I was PISSED! I had no idea how far the hike would be and I had to climb over steep and treacherous pathways covered with rocks just to get to some dumb spot I can't even remember anymore. I guess I've never been one for "spectacular views"

Oh, here's 18 year-old me at the start of the hike

At this point I was thoroughly pissed.

Well, had I remembered more about that awful trip 5 years ago, I might not have repeated it two weeks ago...

That's right, of all the mountains to hike in Slovakia I managed to hike up the same awful one TWICE!
I had no idea until we had already hiked about an hour and arrived at the chata! Even then, I wasn't so sure.

Realizing the mistake I made, I tried to escape!

So, once again I trekked up a mountain in order to get to a pleso...

Heidi (another American) and I crossing a small creek on our way up. Notice my amazing Slovak hiking pants

I was a little upset when I realized I was repeating something I didn't enjoy very much the first time, but then I thought about how lucky I was to get a second chance to take in the surroundings (which I obviously didn't appreciate the first time) I tried to let it sink in how surrounded by nature I was and how Slovak I felt (they really do love their hiking here!)


So, maybe forgetting our past doesn't condemn us, but rather, gives us a re-do.
This time I'd like to think I did it better in two ways:

• I quit early... 
• I drank alcohol both before and after the hike (because that's how the Slovaks do!)

Until next time...

Dovidenia!

Fulbrighters Unite!

One of the best parts of being a Fulbrighter in Slovakia is probably the other Fulbrighters scattered across the country. Many of  them are living in towns I haven't yet explored. And the others are living in towns around Slovakia that I already know and love!

Last month we had our first official Fulbright Conference for all the Fulbright Teaching Assistants in Slovakia. There are eight of us, all girls (YEAH! GIRL POWER! SPICE GIRLS) And it was wonderful to spend some time meeting with the other ladies talking about our background, our hopes, goals and expectations for Slovakia. Finally, it was wonderful to hear about all of their unique ideas and project goals while in Slovakia. ( I'll talk more about my side project another time.) It's nice to have these ladies to talk with. Annnnnnddddd... It's nice to have a small army of good ladies to hit up the clubs with! : )

Part of our group of Fulbright Teaching Assistants. We are all in the middle of admiring something very interesting and beautiful in Bratislava during our orientation. I'm in the yellow hat.

Mostly, it felt nice to chat with a bunch of gals who are in the same place I am, academically and culturally. Even though this is my second year in Slovakia, I feel as though much of what I am experiencing here is new! Perhaps it's because I'm at a different point in my life but, in many ways it, feels like there is different Slovakia, which I am now living in.

For instance, last time I was in Slovakia I visited a really great town, Kosice. Five years ago I visited Kosice to go to a friend's goodbye party (He was being kicked out the Rotary Exchange Program for partying too much, so perhaps it was less of a bon voyage party and more of a death-rattle). I sort of remember arriving in the train station and then heading straight to a series of dive-bars. We didn't sleep, but spent the entire night in a smoky bar drinking and cursing our Slovak lives. At some point early in the morning we emerged from the bar and walked right past the "largest gothic style cathedral in Central Europe" to climb onto a train and go home and sleep.

Here's a picture of that beautiful cathedral and me (actually headed towards it this time)

I can't help but to laugh when I compare the "cultural appreciation" of my last trip to visit a few friends in Kosice this last weekend. The three of us spend our mornings and afternoons trying traditional Slovak foods in various eateries, taking long walks around the town's square trying to soak up as much of the architecture, people, and crisp air as we could. We ducked into this one great chocolate cafe to talk about our experiences in Slovakia so far and compare teaching stories.

Me and my friend Anna headed out to start our Saturday!

Best hot chocolate I've ever had!

Now, I'm not going to lie, we also found our way to a bar or club each night we were in town! The height of my trip might have been when we got on the guest list to see a Slovak hip-hop concert!

Here I am, "enjoying" the music!

I'm not exactly sure why the difference is so huge in only 5 years... It feels more like 20 have passed!
Perhaps, I felt this worldly and culturally aware last time I was here. Perhaps, I lost my motivation to talk about life and what it all means by the time I got to Kosice, and I might loose it later this year again - I hope not. I think with the support of my Fulbrighter friends it will be difficult for me to loose focus of why I'm here.

I'm off to explore some more then - Dovidenia!