Reflections on January - Part 2

This might shock some of you, but a couple of years ago, my mother nicknamed me "the tornado." (I have no idea why!) Perhaps I earned this moniker because I am only happy when I am moving. Perhaps it's because she says that whenever I enter the room, the volume increased by several decibal units. (She also says that when I leave the room she has a new appreciation for silence.)

I guess in that vein, I must issue the disclaimer that I am constantly looking to challenge myself. In the light (or in Slovakia, the lack of light) in the New Year, I have several goals to work towards.

1. To practice meditation.

I have been doing a lot of reading on meditative practices, yoga and contemplative prayer, and I am working towards being still. (Tornado? HA!) Usually, I begin my mornings with sun salutations, and then tackle meditation. Sometimes I listen to Gregorian chant, sometimes I pray the rosary. Often, I use breath prayers and prayer chants to center myself. I am not going to say that meditation is not an uphill battle, but I am enjoying stretching myself.

2. To brush up on my Spanish and continue to absorb the Slovak around me.

For those of you who do not know, I am going to be serving in Alto Cayma, Peru next year. Because of this, I have had to uncover, dust off, and - in some cases - learn anew Spanish. So, along with reviewing vocabulary and verb conjugations, journaling in Spanish and reading Spanish newspapers for my daily news fix, I have also ordered Twilight in espanol. Hopefully, this will be a fun way to study the language.

As for Slovak, I have to say this language is absolutely crazy. Slovak has completely different verb tenses. It lacks articles ("a," "an," and "the"), and it is difficult to pronounce. Still, I am learning a lot more Slovak than I thought I would. I didn't realize how much I had learned until I was in Italy and opened my mouth to speak and Slovak started coming out. I am by no means as fluent as a four year old; however, I can get by in most situations. I tell my students that I have Slovak "in my heart." They usually just laugh at me while I butcher their language.


3. To find positive energy and bring it home.

Post-communist Slovakia in the wintertime is depressing. It's frigid and bleak outside. At winter solstice, we were averaging 7-8 hours of sun a day. (Most of that time was spent indoors at school.) Also, now that I have been in Slovakia for six months, I have a new appreciation for the communist cancer that infected this society. While Slovakia, is certainly in remission, the scars of communism are very present. People in Slovakia are satisfied with the status quo. Most of the people I have encountered want to do as little as possible to get by. In fact, there are a good number of people who will proudly announce to you that they are lazy. They wear their laziness as a badge of honor and as a shield against challenge and hard work. To be fair, this is certainly not true of everyone in Slovakia; however, there is a strong majority of people who prefer complacency. Unfortuantely, those who are turned-on and inspired often leave the country because there are better opportunities in Western Europe. (This is referred to as the "brain drain" - anyone who could work towards change in Slovakia ends up leaving.)

The American teachers have struggled with complacency in students. We have grown up in a society that stresses achievement and hard work. It is often difficult to relate to people who simply don't care.

It is interesting to note that there is a growing population of people who have said they would rather live under communism than democracy. They reflect upon the "good ole days" when everyone earned the same amount of money regardless of their work ethic and habits. Slovakia will have elections in June, and it will be interested to see which parties end up being elected to lead the nation.

Because of all of this, I have decided that Heidi and I are going to feng shui the house. We have learned, read, and ANNOTATED notes about chi, flow, compass directions, and more. We are conscious of circulating the air in our flat (opening window - even if it's below zero). We are also conscious of the lighting and colors in our house. There is no longer a mirror facing our beds. We have eliminated clutter and are working towards incorporating specific colors for different locations in our home. We are also conscious of being positive about what we say and think when we are frustrated with Slovakia. Who knows? Feng Shui/Thinking Positively seems to be working : ).