It's all Spanish to me!

Our main job right now and for the many months to come is to learn the Slovak language. It is a beautiful language similar to Russian, I think. There are a few sounds that we can't find a parallel to in our English language, which makes it harder to speak without a blaring accent. What is interesting to me, though, is that my high school Spanish class is in the forefront of my mind during these lessons (Hola, Senorita Hillyard!). Now that isn't so hard to comprehend, since that was the last time I was in this situation. But what is so interesting, is that so many words are coming back to my memory, Spanish words, words that I haven't used in 20 years! I keep trying to remember my new Slovak words, and jumping out of my mouth first, comes those words in Espanol! Instead of saying "Ahoj!" ("hello" in Slovak) I hear myself greeting people with "Aqui" ("here" in Spanish). And after a beautiful Slovak monologue to the lady at the deli counter, asking her for my sliced cheese, I end with a whopping "Gracias!" and walk away as fast as possible!

We are being taught by a friend named Zuzka, who is a teacher in the primary schools here in town, and comes to our house 4 afternoons a week. She is very good at her teaching, and does a great job making it easy for us to understand and practice. Happy Birthday, Zuzka!

First Day of School

Well, the boys have completed their first two weeks in the Slovak public school here in our city. They have some funny stories that came about from the language barrier and culture differences. They have a great teacher who is able to speak some English to them, but for the most part, they are listening to Slovak speaking in their classes. They love English class, art and p.e. I'm sure Math is their true favorite though!!! The best part of their school day is for sure the lunch, as they get a bowl of soup as well as their "plate meal"; and always come home nice and full.

Jaylin and Gage have adjusted well to the boys being gone everyday, and have found plenty to do to fill their time. We visited a preschool today where we plan to send them a few mornings a week, to help them in their language learning.

A view from our house

Ed took the kids hiking up the hill directly behind our house. The view was beautiful, as they could see out to the historic square of Bardejov, a short 10-minute walk from our home. We have been enjoying the view of the river, too, right across the street from us. The kids have been exploring a bit, and look forward to spring when they can venture a little further.

Back online and all charged up!

Well, we now have "permanent" internet in our home, in theory, I guess. Actually, once the glitches were taken care of this week, we have had no problems with our connection. It is definitely nice to be back on with all of our connections to all of you.

We have been enjoying our continuing adjustments, and have some pictures to post to catch you up on our last two weeks. Ed has even had the chance to use his electrical expertise to fix a bathroom switch! We also get a kick out of all the static electricity there is in our house!