A Real Job?

So I know that my posts have not been as up to date as everyone would like. The truth is, internet is very hard to come by for long periods of time here, and I have so much to type. Right now I am in my office at the British Chamber of Commerce. Things seem to be going well so far. My title is Executive Assistant, so you can guess what duties go along with that. Livia, my boss, is a great woman. Very understanding and helpful. We'll see if she likes my writing style and thinks I am a quick learner.



I find myself constantly anxious about my situation. I never know what to expect next, and become very frustrated when things aren't going the way I expected them to. Not having a clue about the Slovak language makes things difficult enough, and then not really having a whole lot of sustained help causes that difficulty to multiply. I know that things will get better, and now that I have a routine for work that will calm me down a bit. I haven't cried or anything, but I feel lost on an almost daily basis. This is expected of course. I'm living in Eastern Europe for goodness sake!



As for work, I like it so far. I'm doing a lot of the things that I did when I was working in the non-profit sector in Ohio, so things are familiar. Livia listens to an American music station at work :)...it's cute. Apparently pop and R&B fit her tastes! It also gives me a little taste of home. Plus, the office is up 3 flights of stairs, so I should be able to stay in shape!

On my first day I met the Lord Mayor of Bratislava, Andrej Durkovsky. He is a very humble man, and made a presentation of the charm of the city and the projects that his governement is trying to initiate. I also shook hands with the British Ambassador to Slovakia, Michael Roberts. Two brushes with greatness in just 2 hours! I was asked to take notes during the course of the discussion, so I will be typing those up later. The whole experience was overwhelming. I obviously didn't know anyone so I had to kind of ad-lib my way around the room trying to figure out where I was supposed to be. Tempus Fugit, the restaurant, was really pretty, and the owner gave me his business card and told me that if I need anything to call him. It seems that everyone understands my situation and wants to help me the best they can. (apparently i look perpetually frightened, so they want to make sure i don't have a seizure or something)

There is a "lunch crew" that has initiated me. All of the trainees seem to be obsessed with pizza! I've been to lots of italian places over the past couple of days because of that. Of course I'm not complaining, but its entertaining.

There are a lot of interesting things that I've noticed about Bratislava so far. There is graffiti EVERYWHERE. literally. People who have their own mother tongue swear in English. It's hilarious. They even have young men attempting to be ghetto, who have have no business in that category! When we went dancing for my welcome party, there were guys trying to break dance (badly) and one even had on a Sponge Bob Squarepants t-shirt that depicted the cartoon with baggy pants and a grill. Ridiculous. Good luck trying to build street cred in the US after something like that. However, people party pretty hard here. I'm pretty used to going out with my boyfriend (i love you matt), having one or two drinks, and going home to go to sleep all before 2am. Here? The party really gets started around 2! I don't know if I have the endurance for that.

In general I've been sleeping well. Anyone who knows me knows that I sleep light, and have a hard time transitioning from on place to another. The bed leaves a bit to be desired, but I think that's because my mattress at home is a little slice of heaven. Right now my two roommates are in their own countries for exams and what not, so I get privacy when I need it. Who knows how things will go once they are back. I know that they are nice girls, but having 3 women in a small room is always a test of resourcefulness and resiliency.

The group wants to take a trip to Vienna this weekend. I want to go, but I have to make sure that all of my affairs are in order. Besides, the early weekends are the ones I want to spend getting acquainted with Bratislava. I still need to take pictures, but I feel weird being a tourist when all I really want to do is blend as much as possible. That is not to say that Slovakians dislike Americans, that's not the case at all. I've had very nice receptions actually. Everyone comments that my English is much easier to understand because I lack the British accent and are eager to know about the US if they haven't had the chance to travel there.

Today will hopefully be spent working out my phone and travel pass situation.

Don't forget to email me!!!

Also, if you are trying to call me:

You will need to dial 011 followed by the country code 421 and then my Slovakia cell phone number, omitting the first 0 (zero).

My Slovakia Phone Number is: 0910 363 094

At work:

British Chamber of Commerce SR
Sedlarska 5
811 01 Bratislava
Slovak Republic


I LOVE YOU ALL.