Slovensko, Slovakia

So last weekend I had a Rotary weekend that took place in Strecno, Slovakia. I left on Friday at three and got back on Sunday around eleven thirty. It was definitely a great trip.

I was picked up at three p.m., two and a half hours after I got out of school by the way, by Ivana Horenska and her family. She is the YEO, youth exchange officer, with Rotary Club Uhersky Brod. We drove to Strecno, Slovakia which took about and hour and a half. Once there I checked in at the hotel and dropped my bags off in my room. Then I went down to the big conference room to meet the other students who were on exchange in Czech Republic/Slovakia also. As I walk into the room the first thing I see is a group of Mexicans and Brazilians all talking together. They are separate from the Americans, Canadians, and Australians, who are all talking amongst themselves. So as I walk in they all nod and smile at me because I look like I'm from South America, but instead I say hi in English and they all go back to talking to each other, leaving me to join the others. Everyone is really nice and funny and there are kids from America, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan. About three people actually wanted Czech Republic or Slovakia as their top three choices, but we were all happy with our countries now that we had finally arrived. After talking for a couple hours, the Rotex members, people who went on an exchange years ago and now help Rotary, came in and talked to us about the rules and such. Then we played a couple name games, like throwing a ball to someone after saying their name, which were fun I guess, but then we got to talk to each other again and that was more fun. Finally it's time for bed. I am sharing a room with a guy from Mexico and a guy from Canada. It turns out I know very little about our bordering countries, like what the capital of Canada is, and what Mexico looks like without the U.S. right above it on a map.

On Saturday we get up at seven a.m. We "shower" or at least as much as possible in the tiny shower provided with us in the hotel bathroom. Which, by the way, doesn't have real towels or shampoo or soap. Instead we are given essentially large washcloths to dry off with and no cleaning supplies. After this is breakfast. Instead of water/juice, we are given hot tea that tastes like hot juice. It would have been good had we not had it with every meal; that kinda ruined it for everyone. After breakfast are presentations galore, they talk about culture shock (again) and learning the language (again) and getting involved (again). It was very repetitive. Finally we have lunch. It is chicken breaded with eggs and is excellent. The soup, on the other hand, is not. It is mushroom soup that tastes ok but looks like elephant skin and has the consistency of mashed potatoes. I only have one spoonful before moving on. After lunch we get to go "rafting" to Castle Strecno. And by rafting I mean sitting on a little boat and floating down the river. It was really fun and very educational. The views were amazing, mountains and tree-covered hills, and castles. Our guides told us the history of the river and some Slovak history as well. After this ride, which was freezing as it was cold and overcast, we arrive at the base of Castle Strecno. Castle Strecno is located at the very top of one very large hill, that we all have to walk up. After a good fifteen twenty minute uphill trek, passing collapsed children along the way, we make it to the top and to the castle. Castle Strecno is beautiful. It is really just the ruins of the castle but it was fun to walk around inside and to learn about. We saw what the castle originally looked like, and the kitchen and fridge. We also got to see the dungeon and in the chapel we all signed our names in one of those guest books like in hotels sometimes. After walking all around the castle we went to the very top and looked out over the entire town of Strenco, this led to many great pictures. We returned to the hotel on foot again and had dinner. It was a piece of pork on top of a mountain of sauerkraut. Need I say more? After dinner we had some free time and then the discotheque. For those who don't know what these are they are essentially, dances like a school dance. The DJ played good music and we all danced until early morning.

On Sunday we had to get up at seven a.m. again and everyone looked like the walking dead. We were all really tired. We had a meeting about the rules again again and then about putting information into the computer. Finally, after two hours of sitting, we were allowed to go. We were told that except for two trips the kids from the Czech Republic and the kids from Slovakia wouldn't see each other again while here. We would all go skiing in Slovakia in March and take a bus trip to Italy and maybe Greece in May. Other than that we were to be separated. After saying goodbye I left with the Horenskas and we went home. Along the way we tried sheep cheese which tastes like salt water. It was a great weekend and I made some new friends and got to see some amazing places.