Tuesday, February 11, 2014

You know what is the hardest about being in Slovakia? Without a doubt it's the language. It's so difficult, and tiring.  Very tiring.  You also have to be a pro at charades. Seriously.  I need to go to pantomime school.

I do a lot of prep work before we travel.  Hours.  This is because I need train schedules, bus schedules, hotel information, tourist information, map information etc.  I have a Slovak cell phone and a Slovak phone number, but I have not paid for data.  This means that I have no internet access unless I access a hotspot.  The good news is that everyone has hotspots: every hotel, restaurant, salon, bus station. But there is no internet when you are standing on  a street corner needing information or assistance.  No internet when you are on the train and wondering which stop is yours.

So, I bought a printer. See, unlike Germany, where there are take-a-way bus and train schedules at every station, Slovakia has few, if any. So, while I can look online or on the boards for the correct train number and departure time- I have no way of knowing all the stops. But, not knowing the train schedule is not why I bought the printer.  It was my hair.

Please keep this to yourself, it would really ruin my image...but I have grey hair.  Seriously grey.  Like get it colored every month, grey. So it was that time again.  I found a salon (difficult in itself) and made the appointment.  Then I did my hand motions and gyrations and some pantomiming. About 15 minutes later, the stylist was still confused. Luckily a young woman came in who could speak English.  I came out of the salon with darker hair then I wanted, and a shorter cut then I expected, but I survived. It does not look too bad.

After this experience, I purchased the printer.

I determined that I can print off the train schedules, maps etc and save my dignity from my poor attempts at charades.  I figured I can print letters to Caden's teachers in slovak and save my dignity from poor pantomiming.  I can write a bunch of phrases I need to remember, and cary them with me to show people when we can't come to an understanding, saving me from feeling frustrated,  and I can print out what I want my hair to be like.  I am feeling pretty smart. I am sure there is a positive strong statistically significant correlation between feeling smart and buying stuff.  There has to be.

You may ask why did I purchase a printer instead of just adding data to my plan.  Simple.  It forces me to talk to people.  When I have internet, I find myself spending time on the phone instead of talking to people.  This phone watching seriously impedes me learning the cultural lessons I want to learn.  So, a printer it was.

Now I just have to find ink.

8 comments:

the old man in south texas said...

A real adventure. LOL Sounds like a plan except for the printer ink thing. Kto by si myslel novú tlačiareň by nemali atramentová kazeta v it?

Lavender Shutters said...

I love your haircut!

the old man in south texas said...

Post! Post! Here Post! HMM. Nope, none here. :-(

Adrianne Henderson said...

I love the hair cut!! Very nice!

Unknown said...

hello, miss you, you are having the time of your life, I am so happy for you

Unknown said...

hello, miss you, you are having the time of your life, I am so happy for you

Unknown said...

hello, miss you, you are having the time of your life, I am so happy for you

Unknown said...

I feel for you. Being in a foreign land can leave arduous situations for a tourist who doesn't know the basic language. I'm at least glad that you decided to print out the conversations you were sure to have with the locals. That way, you learn Slovakian and you get to communicate with Slovaks. Talking about hitting two birds with one stone, right? Anyway, buying that printer is definitely better than spending time looking down on your phone every once in a while. Hahaha! Take care!:)

Arthur Griffin @ Copy Solutions

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