Since I got here to Vrbovce, it has been a constant struggle to simply find some footing, though I think I’ve finally found a bit of a ledge. Most people don’t speak English (though I am increasingly glad each day that I know some German, since that is a very common second language here… I unfortunately felt for a while that my German was improving far more quickly than my Slovak!), and even when I do find someone who speaks a bit of English, I’m fairly certain something gets lost somewhere between my mouth and their ears. I’ve had to learn quickly to accept less than complete understanding of what is going on and to just be grateful for what little communicating I can do!
My job right now is primarily as an English teacher in the village school (1st through 9 th grade). I teach 3rd graders and 6th through 8th graders – a total of 16 classes a week. I find myself both lucky and disadvantaged by the fact that I teach along with the usual English teacher (a 24-year-old Slovak woman employed by the school). It is nice that Jarka can explain things to the students, and she really does most of the work and planning at this point. On the other hand, we have very different teaching styles and views on how a language should be learned. I struggle to figure out how much I can or should step up and take charge – I am, after all, only a one year volunteer, and I don’t want to come off as some self-righteous punk American! I tend to hang back somewhat and contribute when called upon to do so. I am slowly trying to incorporate some fun and/or creative methods into the everyday book routine they seem to have fallen into; soon I hope to do a culture lesson on American history through its musical tradition (utilizing my music major!), and I hope some conversation with the students might come from that. Meanwhile, I am making up songs to teach the 3rd graders basic greetings and some other vocabulary, and they LOVE it (they are first year English). They in fact cheer when I walk in the room – a nice ego boost!
Aside from teaching, I sing in and help lead the church choir (I will eventually take over as director), I work with the youth group, and I generally act as the village American. This involves going to people’s houses for dinner, making appearances at local festivals and football games, greeting everyone I see on the street, and planning activities to get people involved, especially involved in church-related things. I do most of this along with the 18-year-old German volunteer, Viktor, though we each fall into various roles of lead or support, depending on the activity.
My overall comment thus far is that I can’t wait until I can actually communicate with people! I feel I am so limited as to what I can accomplish while here until I can bypass the lengthy translations from English to German to Slovak to German to English. A smile and a nod can get you somewhere, but not everywhere, especially when you are trying to lead a Bible study with a bunch of 16-year-olds who would rather not be there. No matter how much passion I have for something, interest is quickly lost when I’m not understood. It’s great motivation to spend time studying Slovak every day!