Iowa Mom

Saturday, November 23^rd found me headed to Vienna.  I left the village at 7:00 am on the bus.  Once I arrived at the central bus station, I caught the electric trolley bus to the main train station.  I’d been there the day before to purchase my ticket.  If I’d known the system, I could probably have raced in and gotten on the 7:42 train to Vienna, but I was a bit slow and ended up finally figuring things out a few too many minutes late, which was fine.  I had intended to take the 8:42 train, anyway.  I settled into the small internet café, ordered tea, and waited for the next train.   Soon enough, I was on the next train – Vienna bound. 

The sun was out and it was a very pleasant train ride.  I had my breakfast with me, which I ate as I gazed at the passing countryside and small Austrian villages.  Within the hour we were pulling into the recently remodeled central train station – hauptbahnhof.  I quickly found an information desk and asked for directions to the Kardinal Konig Haus.  I had look it up online before leaving so had the address and a general awareness of where it was located in relation to the train station.  With a newly marked map in hand, I headed out and followed the signs to the U1 (underground – line 1).  I made it through the underground maze and found the right line headed in the right direction.  After two stops, I changed to the U4 line and once more figured out what I needed to do!  All of this time I’m remembering Tim and I navigating the Viennese transportation system in 2006 and the number of times I’d used the system map during one my class lectures to introduce graduate pre-service special educators to the idea of generalization.  Their task – compare the known, that is, the Portland Tri-Met Service map with the unknown, mystery transportation map, which is Vienna.  Seven stops later and an escalator ride, I emerged in a Viennese neighborhood at an electric trolley station. 

Here’s where it got confusing!  The lady at the train station had circled key interchanges, drawn arrows, and written the name of the final stop on the map.  She wrote Lainzerstrasse in the upper left quadrant of the map.  I found the 60 Tram line, looked carefully at the map, and noted the final destination to the north.  A quick check of the header on the tram indicated the bus was headed South – not the direction I needed to go.  I waited for the next tram – same, southerly direction.  Walked around – no Tram 60 headed North.  After the second tram left, I walked up to the driver of Tram 10.  He looked at where I needed to go and pointed to Tram 60 in the southerly direction and told me that was the right tram.  As directionally challenged as I am, I would never have thought that directions written in the north part of the paper would translate into a south direction! 

Fortunately, the directions on the Kardinal Konig Haus website noted Tram 60 and mentioned 4 stops.  As I was looking out the window, I realized we were on Lainzerstrasse and it didn’t appear to be a stop.  I was counting, looking for the stop, when I glanced out the window and saw the Kardinal Konig Haus off to my right.  I jumped up and scrambled off the tram.  Whew!!!

I was early so I walked around the neighborhood for a short while, purchased a Christmas table decoration for Astrid’s family, and got some cute little books.  I then settled myself into a chair and pulled out my crochet to pass the time.  I kept glancing up when I heard someone, but was immersed in my crochet when suddenly Astrid was standing in front of me.  I jumped up.  We hugged and there she was whispering “Iowa Mom, Iowa Mom” in my ear.  I was so glad to see her!  We’ve been so fortunate to stay in contact each time I’ve been to Slovakia.   Astrid is now a 40 year-old mother of two young boys who as an 18-year old stayed with us as a short-term exchange student in 1992.  We picked her up from the school in my Bronco II and immediately headed for Kansas City to spend a few days with friends for spring break.  It started snowing so bad I ended up pulling over and spending the night in a hotel.  What a trip and Astrid was such a trooper! 

Astrid was at the KKH for a continuing education class to become a school doctor.  She’s currently working as a factory doctor, part-time, which suits her and her family just fine.  We headed out to a traditional Austrian restaurant where we had schnitzel (me without the bread crumbs) and a potato salad, Astrid referred to as “bird salad.”  I found a picture, but since it was from someone else’s blog, I decided I’d better not use it.  It was a little sweeter than the usual German potato salad.  Evidently, the Viennese put sugar in theirs and then it was topped with some small, leafy greens.  It was delicious and my meat was perfect.  We absolutely couldn’t stop talking as we caught up with our families.  All too soon, our 2-hour lunch was over and it was time to say good-bye.  With a promise to see each other again, Astrid saw me off on the tram and I retraced my journey back to the train station and was soon on my way back to Bratislava.  It was only when I was on the U4, I realized I hadn’t gotten a picture of the two of us. 

What a wonderful day!  It really is a small world and I am so grateful for the people who have come into my life and enriched it beyond words.

My program

Setting up my visit to Slovakia was not easy.  My colleague is now a top administrator at Comenius University with many international obligations and projects.  I purposely chose to come in October/November to better align with the university schedule.  In 2006 I arrived in September, which turned out to be a lovely time to be in Slovakia weather-wise, but poor timing with regards to the university schedule.  Classes did not begin until mid-September, faculty were busy getting ready for classes, and having class lectures at the beginning of the semester did not seem very pragmatic.  Serendipitously, I did find myself at Comenius when a conference had been scheduled by the Pedagogical Faculty to celebrate 50 years of special education.  I was immediately invited to do one of the plenary sessions.  The focus was assessment, which fit well with what I had just written about at that time.  Most faculty didn’t understand English well enough to listen to my presentation without translation.  As a result, I was introduced to Silvia, a lovely young doctoral student who had recently returned to Bratislava from a yearlong Fulbright in the US.  She was fabulous and anxious to continue connections with Americans. 

Fast forward to 2013.  I arrived with few things scheduled, but anticipated my “program” would fill once I arrived and reconnected with friends and colleagues from my previous trips.  It took me a while to understand “program” was really “schedule of events.”   When first asked about my program, I could only think of a program like we receive at an event such as a concert.  Eventually, I understood it was my plan for while I was in Slovakia.  It was a bit of a leap of faith to hope it would all come together, and it has!

I have provided 2 lectures for students in the Department of Psychology.  Both were students who are studying to become teachers of psychology at the secondary level.  First, I spoke about attitudes towards persons with disabilities.  Second, I spoke about the 20-year history of special education I had observed in Slovakia during my visits. 

I lectured for more than 2 hours to students in the Department of Speech Therapy on Augmentative/Alternative Communication for Persons with Cerebral Palsy.  Next week, I’ll do a 4-hour workshop for students from this department on Assistive Technology.  This will be very hands-on.  I brought supplies with me so each could make a simple adaptive switch and I’ve bought a few things here to use for demonstration.  No sense bringing things from the US, if they can’t get them here.  I felt it much more valuable to use things readily available to them as future practitioners. 

Today I presented a lecture on Intellectual Disabilities Across the Lifespan:  Perspectives for Services.  The difference was today is Saturday and the College in Sladkovičovo is a private university, soon to be renamed Danube University.  Students attending class are part-time students and their program of study is referred to as “extended.”  In other words university coursework for students who are working and are furthering their education on weekends and in the evening.  These particular students are studying to become social workers.  Additionally, I was paid to do this presentation, much to my surprise!  One of the attendees is a friend of my colleague, M.  She brought flowers for myself and M, which she gave us after the presentation.  Got to love that!  While it wasn’t required, students were strongly urged to attend.  One young man played on his phone the entire time I was talking.  Not in a minute, do I ever want him to provide services as a social worker for anyone I know!  Another man came up to me afterwards and genuinely thanked me for my presentation.  He made a point of complimenting the use of pictures in my presentation to support the ideas I was talking about.  Thank you to my dear family and the orphans in China for providing me with good visuals! 

The administrator for International Programs took me to lunch afterwards at a local restaurant.  It was great food!  She was excited to speak English with me and we had a lovely time. 

M translated for me today, but for the most part students understand me and I am able to make my points in English.  Several attendees commented on the expression of my voice, face, and gestures.  All helps them to understand me.  I am truly grateful for the gift of non-verbal communication. 

Next week, I’ll do a presentation for students in the Department of Preprimary and Primary Education on Social Inclusion of Children with Disabilities.  I’ll also do a brief 10 – 15 minute presentation on Integration for the directors of the special schools in Bratislava.  They are meeting as a group with the Pedagogical Faculty to make some decisions around future practice.  I’ll also meet with the Director of the American Studies Program at The Economic University.  I met Peter in Oregon when he was part of a tour sponsored by the World Affairs Council.  My friend, Nancy, invited him to her house for dinner along with a colleague in a similar position at Sichuan University in Chengdu.  Nancy and I reconnected with Guang when we were in Chengdu this past summer.  Now, I’ll reconnect with Peter.  It’s a small world!

My last presentation will actually bring me full circle in many ways.  I began my work in Slovakia as part of the Orava Project through the University of Northern Iowa.  The purpose was to infuse democracy into the schools and I was asked to provide technical assistance to the then Department of Mental Retardation at Comenius University.  The project was very successful and provided tremendous support to educators working in schools throughout Slovakia.  When the project finally wound down, a NGO was established in Bratislava to carry on the work.  I’ll be doing a workshop sponsored by the NGO on adult literacy with a focus on functional reading and sight word acquisition. 

All of this has kept me very busy, given me the opportunity to interact with students, renew ties with colleagues, meet new people, and think somewhat differently about what I usually do.  I think that’s a pretty successful program when on sabbatical.

Have PowerPoint, will travel! 

Yes, I did get the cable to work and resolved the issue with resolution and projection.

P. S.  When I get some pictures from my colleague's camera, I'll revise this post to include the pictures.

Change, change, change

Aretha Franklin is occupying space in my brain!  "Chain, chain, chain ..." But, then in my brain, most words can prompt song lyrics from yesteryear.  Just ask my children!

The changes I'm seeing are not the result of a fool, but there is a lot of change here in Slovakia.  Last week I tried to use my MacAir to present during a lecture.  The projector wouldn't pick up the signal though and then the PC laptop wouldn't read my thumb drive so my colleague ended up holding my computer, ala Vanna White, as I presented.  It wasn't horrible, but I was on a mission to avoid that happening again since I have several presentations to do.  She later emailed me a student of hers, in an afternoon class, had been able to present from a Mac with a "special cable."  I decided, given the number of presentations I have scheduled, it would be worth it to buy the "special cable."  She kindly sent me a link to all the Apple stores in Bratislava.

The first notable change is the computer technology in the university classrooms.  There's a locked AV cabinet in the rooms with laptop and projector or there is a projector mounted to the ceiling and a laptop on a table at the front of the room -- at least such is the case in the two buildings I've been in so far.  The Pedagogical Faculty is still somewhat scattered, occupying at least four different buildings in Bratislava. 

This afternoon I had a presentation scheduled from 4:00 - 7:00 pm in the Department of Speech Therapy.  I arrived early with the intention of going to the Apple store before class began.  After lunch my colleague, Z, and his doctoral student, Ivy, researched the locations of the Apple stores, printed me off a Google map and sent me on my way to walk 1.4 km (about 20 minutes) to the closest location, which was in a brand new mall, Eurovea.  I headed to the central bus station where my route was to begin.  Of course, at that point the names of the streets on the signs didn't match the names of the streets on my directions.  One thing hasn't changed for sure!  I am directionally challenged and immediately headed in the wrong direction, which I kept up for at least 1 km.  I then pulled out my trusty iPhone and the GPS engaged showing me I was no where near my destination.  I retraced my steps to the bus station and noticed a sign pointing towards Eurovea.  I then SCRUTINIZED the directions and corroborated that with what my GPS was showing.  With my GPS reinforcing my decisions, I finally found Eurovea.  Or maybe, it was Nirvana?

This was a mall like any mall in the US.  I found the directory and located the Apple store.  It was on 0 -- what is it with a 0 floor?  Thinking that 0 is less than 1, I headed to the basement.  Of course, there was no Apple store to be found and I walked the entire length.  I finally asked someone in a coffee shop where the Apple store was.  She didn't know.  I then asked which floor I was on ... -1.  Ah, 0 = the main floor.  Up I went, reoriented myself with the directory and walked to the other end of the mall where I finally located the Apple store.

At first glance, this was just like any other Apple store in the US, with one huge difference -- I was the only customer in the store.  I did not have to wind my way through throngs of people!  I asked about the cable, showed him mine and he proceeded to find the "special cable."  It was the exact same cable I was holding in my hand.  I hadn't wanted to bring my computer with me.  As light as it is, it's still something to haul around. Instead, I'd taken pictures of the ports on the computer, etc. in the event I needed to show/explain.  I whipped out my phone and began to show the pictures.  I persisted because this cable had not worked.  He went into the service room to see if someone else had an answer.  Of course, the first thing they wanted was my computer.  We talked about the possibility of different refresh rates due to European current vs. US current.  I looked at the young man and assured him I was fairly computer competent.  My age always works against me with regards to a perceived level of computer literacy.  Some things don't change.  We discussed what I might do to change the resolution, etc. and I told him that if that didn't work, I'd be back with my computer.

It was time to head back to the university, with the promise of an afternoon espresso from Z before I taught class.  I checked my FitBit when I got back and I had over 11000 steps.  It was warm and sunny, so I got my exercise.  Bratislava is still a very walkable city.

There are more young women smoking as they walk.  There are much fewer men smoking.

Conversations on the bus and in public occur now, but are usually quiet.  Cell phones ring, but again, conversations are generally quiet.  When I was here in 1995, no one engaged in a public conversation.  In 2006/2007 I heard English on the streets in passing conversations.  People cupped their hands over their cellphones and whispered so as not to disturb fellow passengers.

S tells me the students in school are rude and create problems for the teacher.  In 1995, they all stood when I entered the room and remained standing until told to sit down.

I lectured both times in English.  I speak slowly and the instructor has been present to interpret, if needed.  Both instructors have been Fulbrighter's.  The students have understood me.  Not having an interpreter certainly speeds things up.  I also feel like I connect more with the students when I don't have to wait for interpretation.

The entrance to the university buildings is still manned by someone who dispenses keys and maintains the sign-in/sign-out logs faculty and staff must fill out upon entering and leaving the building.  But, I do not need to "check-in."

I had to wait last week for the instructor to arrive.  I sat in a chair, just inside the entrance at the top of a half flight of stairs.  As I waited, a car pulled up front, which I could see through the doors.  Next, I noticed what appeared to be a wheelchair.  Sure enough, a young woman was transferred into that wheelchair by the car driver.  Someone held the door open and then the driver proceeded to haul the woman in the wheelchair up the stairs, one step at a time, backwards!  That was the first person in a wheelchair I've ever seen in a university building in 18 years.  Still no accessibility, but there she was!  Awesome!




There's more, but I'll save that for another post.  

All things sheepish and other culinary musings

The ability to deal with my food allergies while traveling is always a bit of a challenge.  I requested gluten-free airline meals, but the gluten-free products contained dairy, eggs, and yeast, so I still wasn't able to eat most of what was provided.  Any other meal selections are also problematic.  I eat what I can and rely on what I bring with me.

Slovakia, like many other countries/cultures has seen a rise in the incidence of food allergies.  After a careful perusing in Tesco, I was able to find rice noodles, rice milk, oatmeal, etc.  Fortunately, most packaging is transparent so I can see what I'm getting along with translating the ingredients list as much as I can.  Most products are intended for several countries within and not in the the European Union.  If I don't know the food word in Slovak, I can usually decipher it in German.  I brought with me a couple of gluten-free baking mixes that would need a few ingredients to complete, which I was confident I could get.  In the US, I have only identified one brand of margarine and one variation within that brand that is soy-free.  I really didn't think I'd find margarine, but thought I'd give it a try.  I was even ready to look for lard.  Much to my surprise all margarine here is made with sunflower oil, not soybean oil.  After diligently inspecting each ingredient listed, I took the plunge and bought some generic margarine.

What I knew I could eat, once I got here, was sheep's milk cheese.  Sheep's cheese has a long tradition in Slovakia.  I first ate it in 1995, breaded and fried -- think mozzarella sticks -- and, served with roasted potatoes and tartar sauce.  It was a common meal, available everywhere -- gooey, and quite satisfying.  I eat several sheep cheeses in the US, but most are French or Greek in origin.  I said something to my hosts about sheep's milk cheese and was told there was a special, sheep's milk store where the best sheep's milk products could be obtained.  My host wanted to go there anyway so he offered to pick me up some things.  The true season for sheep's milk begins in May and is waning now, but products are still available.  In the spring you can get sheep's butter.  He came back with five jars of yogurt, smoked cheese, and the plain, soft cheese I was more familiar with.

 

The yogurt (left) is out of this world!  It is thicker than any Greek yogurt I've every seen.  You can definitely stand a spoon in it.  I've been mixing it with jam (homemade, courtesy of my host), oatmeal, and a banana for breakfast.  It's tangy, but not too tangy and the cute jar it comes in is an added bonus.  The plain cheese (lower right) is pretty tangy.  I've used it to make a Slovak version of "mac and cheese."  It melts into the hot rice noodles and with some added margarine and a bit of mustard is the best gluten-free pasta dish I've had in a long time.  The smoked cheese (upper right) must be put into some kind of mold before being smoked.  It's really good as well.  I'm in sheep's milk heaven!

  

My host also brought me some sheep's milk (left) from Tesco.  It's a strong version of buttermilk, probably more like kefir.  I've used it to make salad dressing and thin the yogurt.  The last item (right) is a commercial brand of the plain sheep's cheese.

While my product discrimination skills are pretty good, I did make a pretty foolish mistake at the local potraviny the other night.  I was in need of toilet paper.  Since the store is small, not too many choices sit on the shelves and everything is jammed together.  I selected the item on the right, brought it home, opened it, and, to my chagrin, discovered I'd bought paper towels.  The key piece of information was 2X, which meant 2 pieces, not 2-ply.  Later, I purchased the second package and noted the 4X.  It's good to have learning opportunities!  And, to laugh at one's self. 

On my second trip to Tesco I discovered powdered rice milk.  Oh, how I wish we had that in the US.  At the health food store I also bought rice cream.  Now, why can't we have that?  I put it in my coffee yesterday and today -- perfect!!!!

Speaking of yogurt ... there's an old, not so politically correct joke told by Europeans.  What's the difference between Americans and yogurt?  Yogurt has culture.  M and I went to the ballet on Wednesday, so I'm even getting my culture!  It was Romeo and Juliet.  Just beautiful!!!!  We were sixth row and slightly right.  There was a live orchestra.  The dancers were an international group working in Bratislava.

I didn't bother to buy a program -- couldn't read it anyway.  Instead, I took a picture of the posted program.  There were four bus loads of Austrians.

The next day I could have sworn the dancer who was Romeo was on the bus across the aisle from me.  The tickets were 14 Euro.

Later, we've got tickets to the opera, Aida.  Can't come to Bratislava without going to the opera!  With my senior discount the ticket was 10 Euro.  :)

Dobre chut' (Good appetite!)

My Younger Sister

Today I went by bus to Bratislava by myself and navigated the short distance from the bus station to the Department of Speech Therapy where I reconnected with one of my colleagues I first met in 1996.  Over the years we have stayed in touch and I appreciate him a great deal.  I walked into his office today and we were both so glad to see each other!  He looked at me and said, "you look so good! so much younger.  For a minute I thought you were your younger sister."  It is good to have friends like this.

I will do several lectures for him and meet with the department while I'm here.  I also met his PhD student who is focusing on Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) for adults with disabilities.  She and I are going shopping tomorrow to buy sticky velcro and speaker wire so students can create a simple CD switch as part of the workshop I will do.  I brought most of the materials with me, but thought I could get these things in Bratislava,  (I was extremely reluctant to carry wire with me in my suitcase!)  I'll also consult with her on the clients she's working with.  Z tells me she's the first PhD to focus on AAC in Slovakia, so this is really special!

We went for lunch at a new place, which is like a lunch buffet for workers in the area.  The food was delicious and inexpensive -- much better than the previous university-run canteen. 

I retraced my steps to the bus station and on the way realized I was passing one of the health food stores I'd seen on the Internet prior to leaving the US.  In I went and was able to quickly look around and see what they had I might need.

I had not realized when I got on the bus this morning that I needed to state I was going to Bratislava.  The bus driver didn't speak any English.  I offered my 2 Euro and we had a short staring contest, which he won!  I finally said, in English, "ticket."  He then said after a long pause, "Bratislava?" to which I could reply ano (yes).  I quickly had my change and ticket.  Lesson learned!  At least I'm a one trial learner.  When I returned, I practiced saying, Malinovo because as good as my Slavic pronunciation is, I have an "accent," which means I often have to repeat things.  I told the bus driver, Malinovo, twice before he got it.  Now, I have two (expired) tickets, which I'm keeping with me as examples for future bus rides with different bus drivers. 

The adventure begins

After a long day of travel, I arrived in Vienna to discover I did not have to go through passport control.  When our flight from the US landed in Amsterdam, we did go through passport control; but because of the European Union, it was not required in Vienna.  I found the supermarket, bought some lunch items using my German, found the bus ticket counter, discovered I needed more Euro's, found an ATM, retrieved needed Euro's, purchased my ticket for Bratislava, and was soon on the bus to Slovakia.  The bus actually had Wi-Fi on board so I was able to SKYPE my host and let him know when I would be arriving at the bus station in Bratislava.  The sun was out, the landscape was familiar, and I drank in the European countryside.  The bigger surprise came, though, when we crossed from Austria into Slovakia.  The once carefully guarded boarder was deserted.  The buildings were empty and we drove without stopping.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  No policeman boarding the stopped bus.  No cursory examination of my passport or more intense examinations of various travel companions of the moment.  No one was hauled off the bus; no one breathed a sigh of relief when the bus started off again.  There was no unearthly silence.  The 1995 feeling of crossing from a world full of color into a black and white world was only a memory.  Slovakia's admission into the European Union had changed all of that.

We arrived at the bus station and in no time at all my bags and I were loaded into the car and we were off.  Because of my allergies I had wanted to find a place where I could cook.  The university hotel where I previously stayed doesn't allow visiting faculty to access the communal kitchen or have appliances in the room.  One of my colleagues, M, who I had met earlier, identified a house I could stay in while their neighbors were away.  This is my home away from home for the next few weeks.  I will use the bus or carpool to get to Bratislava and enjoy the atmosphere of a small village.  It is very quiet here and so far has been working out quite well.  My colleague and her family are being very kind and generous hosts!

I arrived on October 31st, Halloween!  The origin of Halloween is the eve of all saints day, which is November 1st.  Thus, it has been a long holiday weekend for all of Slovakia, university students, and university faculty.  Tomorrow, the university will resume it's schedule.  In the meantime I've been acclimating myself and doing a few things.

Friday was a beautiful day -- warm, sunny, and very relaxing.  I enjoyed sitting in the garden and simply resting.

My colleague has a son with Down syndrome.  He is employed at a coffee shop in the old town center of Bratislava.  This coffee shop is a supported work environment for persons with disabilities.  He rode the bus to work but because of the holiday, we went to pick him up at the end of his shift.  We drove in early, walked along the Danube, got some roasted chestnuts (they're in season, now), and then enjoyed tea in the coffee shop towards the end of J's shift.

One of the interesting things I saw were these wayside exercise options.  None are electrical.  All must be human-powered, although they emulate many of the fitness machines found in gyms.  I have yet to see this type of adult playground equipment in the US, but I saw these on numerous occasions in parks and outdoor fitness courts while in China.  A similarity!

That evening we watched Czech television.  First, it was the Czech version of Dancing with the Stars.  Even though there was quite a bit of commentary, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the initial episode of this new season.  The selection of celebrity dancers was interesting and the dancing was quite good.  Next, we watched a combination telethon/concert.  This concert was for the benefit of an organization for persons with visual impairments.  Various celebrity singers were joined by non professional artists who were blind or visually impaired.  For the next two months various organizations will have a turn each week.  So far there have been programs/concerts for children with cancer and people with diabetes.  More will follow.   Again, I could follow along reasonably well. 

Sunday, J had to work again; but in the afternoon.  First, was church in the morning for M and J.  I went along to the nearby town to tour the village "castle" and have coffee with her husband.  The castle had been built in the early 1900's, fallen into disrepair, been used at one point as a home for "bad boys," and then recently reconstructed by the original family's heirs.  I took one look at it and thought "wedding venue," which was quickly confirmed by H that it was indeed a very popular wedding venue, booked several years in advance.  Where have I heard that before?  We wandered the grounds briefly, got a quick tour, and had our coffee.  I've quickly regained my ability to drink European espresso.

The plan for Sunday afternoon was that I would accompany J into Bratislava so he could show me how to use the bus.  What a delight!  He is so independent and was so pleased to be my guide.  We arrived at the main bus station, transferred to an electric trolley, and were soon getting off outside of Tesco, the big box store of Europe, or at least Central Europe.  He left me to my shopping and I began to reorient myself with this multiple level shopping complex.  I took my time and wandered around and found most of the things I was looking for including rice milk in the grocery (potraviny) section.  Of course, I had two big bags by the time I left there.

My next stop was the museum, something I had not visited during any of my previous visits.  I stowed my bags with the coat check lady and then whipped out my passport, pointed to my birth date, and got in at the senior rate -- 2 Euro (rather than 8).  The museum was very interesting and set up in a series of rooms, passages, and eventually, I climbed multiple stories to reach the tower.  The docents were quite tolerant of my limited Slovak skills and with much non-verbal language I didn't make any faux paux and navigated the rooms in the correct order.  At one point, after saying, d'akujem (thank you), one of the women told me, dobre Slovenske (good Slovak).  What I know, I can say well; however, my vocabulary is limited!

After the museum it was off to the coffee shop.  I was so impressed with J and his co-worker as they served the customers, found things to do, and followed through with everything they needed to do.  It was such a pleasure to watch young adults with disabilities working in such a meaningful way.  What was even better was watching the customers.  There was so much respect!  Everyone gave them eye contact, spoke to them as if they were waiters in any coffee shop, and did not act awkward at all.  When J's shift was finished, everything cleaned up and put away for the night, we headed for the bus station, a 10 minute walk through the center of Bratislava.  We arrived just in time to catch the bus.  This bus would only take us part way though because it was Sunday.  When we got close, J called his dad and he met us to take us the rest of the way home.  It was so awesome to be the student and have such a great teacher!  Tomorrow, I will go by bus myself.

Today, things turned to work.  I accompanied my colleague to one of the universities where she teaches and set up a presentation I will do there in a few weeks.  Then it was off to Bratislava and the opportunity to meet more people who work in different areas both medical and school-related.  Each and every encounter provides a glimpse into the lives of persons with disabilities in Slovakia and how services are provided.