September in Slovakia
Dobry den! I finally arrived at my placement here in Obisovce, Slovakia on September 23, 2006. The first three weeks of my stay in Slovakia consisted of several hours of Slovak language training a day in Bratislava, the country’s capital. There I lived with four other volunteers: two girls from the ELCA, and two girls from Germany. Our country coordinator, Daniela, spent a lot of time with us orientating us to the country and educating us about cultural norms and customs.
While the orientation in Bratislava was good, I am finding that small villages in Eastern Slovakia, like Obisovce, are much different from the big Western city. Here in Obisovce I live with the Lutheran pastor and his wife, Daniel and Anna Misina, in the village’s parsonage, which is quite large. I have my own flat upstairs with a bedroom and bathroom. I can use the church’s kitchen downstairs or eat with the Misinas. Obisovce consists of about 400 people, but Pr. Daniel is in charge of five other congregations in the surrounding villages in addition to Obisovce. We think our pastors are over-worked here – Daniel has no secretary, janitor, or even Worship Planning Committee. The congregation is lucky to have an excellent organist and a dedicated Board of Elders, consisting of 28 men from the six villages. An important aspect of the area I am living in is that there is a 24% unemployment rate and the average salary is 8000 SK a month, or less than $3200 a year. While the cost of living is lower, this is obviously not a wealthy area.
On St. Michael's Tower overlooking the Stare Mesto (Old Town) of Bratislava: Katy, Rebekka, Carolin, and Kaija
I will be able to explain more about my job responsibilities later, but to break it down simply, I have three areas in which I will be working. The first and most time-consuming part of my job is to help Daniel with his ministry. This can be as simple as playing the melody to hymns on my trumpet so that the congregation sings faster (every pastor’s wish!), or helping plan games for the religion and confirmation classes he teaches. Daniel is a younger pastor with many ideas for improving the life of his congregation, and I think it will be exciting to work with him. Secondly, I am helping Anna with her public relations agency which she started to help create more jobs in Slovakia by networking with people around the world. She sends me English-translated texts to edit so they sound more natural, for example. For an English major, this is a dream job! Finally, I will be working with several refugee families from the Congo and Afghanistan in Kosice, the nearby big city. I am looking forward to the work that is ahead, and I am especially eager to share my experiences with you. Stay tuned!
If you would like to learn more about Slovakia and my mission there, please check out these websites:
http://www.cultureshock.sk/ (Anna’s company, click the English translation which I edited!)
http://www.lutheran.sk/ (Obisovce church congregation website, with English translation coming soon!)