Meeting new people

dscn2143 This last week we went to an indoor play gym we had been contemplating for a while. I think Skye was a little overwhelmed, she didn’t really start playing for several minutes. She would just watch the 2 older children there playing. They had a ton of varying toys for varying ages, ALL of which are a new inventory of her current toys. It was fun to do something for her that I’m sure she’ll enjoy doing more of. She loves watching older kids and is fascinated by them. I’m hoping it will be good for her to be around other kids. She’ll still too young to really interact with them, but I think it’s important for her to be exposed to people under 30. It only cost 2 euro/hour (in the states something like this was about ~15/hour).  We stayed for an hour, talked to an Irish mom for a minute and Skye finally started exploring. She loved the balls from the pit, but she also liked being pushed around in a toy dump truck. (camera died after this pic)

When we were back in the states and I was panicking about moving with a baby, I found an SK expat (foreigners living in another country) website and started asking questions from other expats. I started talking with this guy from here, asking him stupid questions like, can we take a stroller on the bus (panicking, yes I was).  We finally met up with him, his wife and their 18-month old daughter for lunch. She is from here, he is from Texas. They were really nice and it was great to socialize for a bit. Hopefully we’ll hang out again, but even if we don’t, it was great to hang out with another family, the same age and in a somewhat similar situation.

From this same website, a few expat mothers are trying to get a playgroup started. The first is this Wednesday, so we’ll see how that goes.

This week we also have our first pediatric appointment for Skye. The doctor is a close friend of my boss and through our e-mails he seems like a really nice man. Skye is fine, we just wanted to make contact with him and ask a few questions about her upcoming transition into her first year.

It’s really bizarre and way out of our comfort zone to extend ourselves like this. You totally have to put yourself out there, be vulnerable and see what happens. At this age, you are just accustomed to having your circle of friends and take advantage of the fact that they can be called at any moment to hang out. So here’s to making a few new friends in a foreign land!

6 weeks in the grand SK

It’s been almost six weeks since we arrived in Bratislava. Now that we’ve had a chance to settle into our routine and figured out how to get around a bit, the entire maelstrom of getting over here doesn’t seem so dramatic anymore.

I leave the flat around 7–7:30 to go to work. The most stark difference to my daily life back in SLC is, of all things, not having a car and using the public transportation over here. I really can’t complain too much about it; buses and trolley’s and the like run frequent enough that the most I spend waiting is about 15 minutes. Everything is a short bus ride away. However, between walking to the bus stops and waiting for the buses and riding the bus, makes outings with a stroller 3 times as long and difficult as they would be with a car. The only difference I can tell about public transit can also be said about the Slovak people in general: the people are aggressive and there is no such thing as courtesy on the bus.   Continue reading “6 weeks in the grand SK”

i miss raves

I miss the pounding, pulsing rhythms that you can’t ignore. The drums that move your body without any effort on your part, and when you do put some effort into it, it moves you that much more and in ways that you never imagined. I miss the feeling you get as the sounds that no earthly instrument can make, the sounds that echo around the room and come back with friends to enter your brain, cause your body to melt from within. I miss the driving bass lines that have no business being in your chest, but are there nonetheless, moving your feet whether you want them to or not. And then, just when it’s getting really good… it all stops, if only for a moment, and the whole room feels it, and waits in anticipation for the release which always comes and brings all of it back and then some.

Continue reading “i miss raves”

devín castle

so we went to devín castle the other day. our first trip outside of our little bubble here in Slovakia. it was the strangest thing to actually see things that you only really read about or see on discovery channel. to say this castle was old is an understatement. the things that I’ve seen in salt lake that are old are like mid-1800s at the oldest?…  this was orders of magnitude older than that. it was so old…  (insert yo mama joke here)

Continue reading “devín castle”

tatra banka

I just have to comment on the banking system here in Bratislava.

We had to open an account with a local bank here, that bank would be Tatra  Banka. It is a fairly large national bank and they have branches located here the way they have StarBucks in Seattle, they are EVERYWHERE!

First, it took us 3 hours to open an account, yes 3!  To say that this bank takes security seriously is a gross understatement. I signed my signature two different ways and they actually noticed and almost didn’t approve a transfer of funds to my landlord.

Next, we opened our account in branch A, located pretty far from home. So we had them send the credit card to another location, B, closer to home. When I was told to go to branch B to pick up the card, I went to branch C, because I didn’t realize that there were 3 (3!), branches within blocks of one another. So I went to branch C, was told to go to branch B, but saw branch D first, was then told to go to branch B. Didn’t see the door to branch B since it was hidden (I swear it was like a secret passageway, no sign or anything) and went back to D. I saw that D was closed. Went to branch E the next day with the landlord, but they said my signature card wasn’t on file yet so I still couldn’t move funds. The next day, landlord and I went back to branch D (since I thought this was where to go), but then realized it wasn’t a branch but just some office of the bank. Went back to branch B, my landlord found the secret door, but we went upstairs to floor 1 (since ground floor is 0), and then rang some random, unmarked doorbell to where the personal banker was that had my credit card. We were now in Hogwarts. Who knew!?

So this banker gives me my credit card. I need this card to use internet banking. Mind you, you can’t just log in to use their internet banking, you have to actually apply, with a separate application, to use their internet banking feature. This new card I am given is the first step in accessing my Tatra Banka account. First, I log on using a 7-digit user name and then enter a 16-alphanumeric code for my password. Then I insert the new credit card into this little calculator thingy they gave me when I opened the account. This piece of hardware and credit card give a new code that you then have to enter. Only I couldn’t get this far because I keep getting an error on the calculator thingy. But I still have about 5 other passwords and PINS and authentication codes to enter before I can actually get to my account online.

Are you people serious?!

SK update

Some days are great, when all it takes is figuring out a new bus route to feel elated about living here. Some days are really hard, when all it takes is very soggy shoes to condemn all that is Slovak. Then there are other circumstances beyond my control that whittle their way in to it all. I also very much underestimated the spirit of having Sammie around. When the reality hit that we can’t bring her over, I’ve been really sad ever since. I feel like a terrible owner and the house just isn’t the same without her silent presence in the corner. Also difficult, is the loss of Fede.   Every night before I go to bed, I watch Skye sleep and for some reason this brings it all back and I immediately picture our dark living room in SLC once again. I don’t know if I can ever live there again.

Overall though, it is getting better, the more acquainted we become with the city. The cold, snowy weather dampens the explorer inclinations. Without Skye we could probably do a little more, but we’ll get around to it eventually. The weekdays are spent trying to settle in to a routine with work chaos for us both and being home-bound with the weather. I always loved the snow and the freshness it brought with it, but that was before I had to walk in it everyday. I can tell Skye is also eager to be out and about, so it won’t be long now before we are able to venture to the Old City (Stare Mesto) for just a few hours to get away. I really want to see the inside of some of these ancient, impressive cathedrals and castles. I mean, there aren’t any of these anywhere in the states. None. But here they populate the landscape everywhere. I love it!  They have these deep, heavy roots that loom all around and it is impossible to ignore their existence. Even when they will start to become part of the background scenery, which they will, they will always serve as a reminder of the past with just a passing eye.

On another note, here is one of our many, many, many, many, many, many moments waiting for the bus. Sorry for the poor quality, it was taken with my phone.

google earth fun

For those that have Google Earth, here are some coordinates to play around with. For those that don’t have it, but want the free software get it here.

Svetla 12 – Home
48° 9′ 3.80″ N
17° 5′ 4.48″ E

Work – GG office (my office)
48° 10′ 7.39″ N
17° 4′ 11.32″ E

EGL (Cameron + students)
48° 10′ 4.93″ N
17° 4′ 23.88″ E

St. Martin’s Cathedral (in previous post, pics)
48° 8′ 31.08″ N
17° 6′ 16.41″ E

Tesco (think Wal-Mart)
48° 10′ 37.19″ N
17° 3′ 53.53″ E

To give you an idea of scale, to take the bus from Home to Tesco, is about a 5-10 minute bus ride, or similarly, taking the U campus shuttle to research park.

You can also take those Lat/Longs, run them through the converter here, and use the decimal degree (D.dd) values in Google Maps.

downtown bratislava

Another picturesque street scene

Saturday Cameron took us to downtown Bratislava, in the pedestrian only zone, and then we went to the mall, Aupark, across the Danube. It was a chilly but sunny day, but it was so nice to get out and about finally. I read a few historical things about Slovakia before the move, but it is entirely different to then come here and actually see thousand year old churches and structures;  to be where another countries history took place, such as WWII or the Russian occupation, where it actually happened; to walk down these cobble streets, it makes you wonder who else has walked this path and under what conditions. It is very impressive and it made me feel more a part of our world and long history. I felt unimportant and small, humbled even, but very grateful to experience a tiny piece of another rich history, which really is my history too, since we all reside on one planet.

(more pictures after the break)  Continue reading “downtown bratislava”