Anaïs: My first days in Bratislava (Part II)

Learning about Slovakia's history through the tours 

We started the second week of February by learning history from the 20th century, thanks to a tour. I have learned interesting information, such as that Aron Grünhut was a Bratislava-based Jewish activist who helped 1.365 Slovak, Czech, Hungarian and Austrian Jews illegally emigrate to Palestine before and during World War II. He helped more people than Oskar Schindler, who assisted approximately 1.200 people. Unfortunately, the rest of the world probably doesn't know about Aron Grünhut. But the Jewish Community in Bratislava built a nameplate in honor of Aron Grünhut and they put small stones on it to remember him. 

Fiesta during the second weekend of February 

On February 10, Barbara invited us to spend the morning helping to prepare for this holiday called "STAROMESTSKÝ DETSKÝ FAŠIANGOVÝ SPRIEVOD s RC Prešporkovo". We went, dressed up the costumes (you can see the pictures), and were ready to have fun. We met other people from Rodinné centrum Prešporkovo, who were wearing traditional Slovak costumes and were also preparing for the event. Even we were filmed by TV news! It was an excellent opportunity to learn more about Slovakian culture and traditions. 

The time for the Tea meeting arrived 

In the first month, each volunteer had to talk about their country and themselves at the meeting. But that wasn't all. We had to cook the typical meal from our country. I spent the whole week getting ready for my presentation and searching for Spanish ham in all the supermarkets and shops in Slovakia. Finally, I found it and made "pa amb tomàquet" (bread with tomatoes), a typical meal from Catalonia, with Spanish ham.  

And the time for the tea meeting arrived, and with it came a lot of nervousness. At the beginning, I was not very nervous, but when I went out to talk about my presentation, I realized that I was so nervous that my voice and entire body were shaking. Fortunately, I had a highly pleasant public, and Monika greatly assisted me by asking me questions and calming me down. I think we had a good time and laughed, which is the most important thing for me. 

When the presentations were finished, we enjoyed all the meals from Latvia, Italy and Spain. Finally, we headed out to celebrate with the folks we met at the Tea Meeting. I greatly enjoyed this day because we were able to meet people, play games, and taste typical Slovakian drinks. 

Slovakian classes have already started 

We met our Slovakian teacher on February 15th, her name is Laura, and on February 20th, we started our first Slovak lesson. I was excited to start the class because Katka, a girl I met at the Tea meeting, told me that in the Slovakian language there are declensions like in Latin or Greek language. I was captivated by her explanation. Later, I realized that maybe learning the Slovakian language would not be as easy as I thought at the beginning, but Laura thinks that we can get enough level for talking from now to June, so I trust her (ha, ha). For now, I could have a short conversation with the shopper asking to pay by card, so not too bad :D 

Leo's birthday 

At the end of February, Evelina and I planned a birthday surprise for Leo on Sunday 25th. So, we invited Matúš, Katka (my mentor), Jana (Evelina's mentor), Jakub, Alessandro and Katarína. Matúš picked up Leo to go around and out of the apartment while Evelina and I were cooking and getting all ready. The funniest thing is that we prepared lunch, but Leo had lunch before. So, Evelina and I tried to stop him, but he didn't suspect anything, and finally he ate his lunch. When we came back with Matúš and went inside the apartment, he was very surprised and happy. Then he had his second lunch (ha, ha). 

But his birthday was on Monday 26th, so in the office, Mirka, Monika Majka, Braňo, Barbara and Mária prepared a delicious cake for Leo. So, all of us wished him a happy birthday, just like Slovakian people use to do it. (We learned it from Barbara's birthday). Evelina's Name Day was celebrated as well. It was on the same day as Leo's birthday. What a coincidence! 

Therefore, that's all for this month. Thank you so much for reading me! 

Ciao :)