Knock Knock!

Today I had my English lesson in Slovak Pub. My students wanted to get out of the classroom into a more relaxed atmosphere, and I told them that it was important for them to learn how to order food and beverages in an English speaking place. I think I may have been rationalizing that decision as a direct benefit to myself. I'm not mad about it. Besides, they have menus in English there, so we could do comparisons.

I actually had to teach the full 2 hours this time because Mirka, their grammar teacher, had to attend a meeting about a field trip that her students are taking to London. Initially I was nervous, because talking for 2 hours with people whose English is broken can be difficult. However, my students surprised me and we were able to fill the entire time with good topics. The wine/beer may have helped to loosen them up.

I've really started to develop a good relationship with my class, and they are incredibly complimentary when it comes to my teaching style. Jana told me that she loves coming to English class because I always being a lot of energy into the classroom, and organize discussion topics that are fun and useful. Plus, I teach them all the slang they could ever want to know. They use it too! When Peter ordered his dinner, Rudo said "Good call". My smile was pretty big at that point.

After around 6:45 we decided it was about time that we all went home. I got on the tram to change to the main bus station, Mlynske Nivy, so I could catch my 70 all the way back to Vlcie hrdlo. When I got off the tram to wait, a really tall woman approached me. She said "Hello, I heard you speaking English, and I wanted to get your opinion on something" (her English was a bit more broken than that, but for the sake of comprehension, I'm keeping it simple) I still had a couple minutes of time, so I said that I would offer whatever answer I could to her question.

You'll never believe what she asked.

"I want to know, what is your opinion of the world today? Do you think that if there is a God, that there should be no war or suffering?" (that is a paraphrased version...I'm finishing this post a week after the fact because my life is a whirlwind of work, visitors, and legal issues)

I was completely unprepared for that question. I quickly thought up my answer, knowing that I was under time constraints, and replied something like this:

"Well, I believe that in order for human kind to fully appreciate the blessings that we receive each day, it is important for us to have a comparison of emotions. We would not be able to comprehend real joy if we did not know suffering. I think that the world is in a balance of these two extremes, and that every person experiences both in their lifetime, and thus forms their own belief system based on their experience"

I think she understood what I meant.

She then went on to comment on what I said, and I noticed that my bus was rounding the corner. "I would like to give you something" she said, and whipped out a pamphlet, much like the Jehovah's Witnesses give you when they knock on your door at inopportune times. She was trying to save me by inviting me to her church! This was quite funny to me because Slovak people are not the most outwardly friendly. Socialism had some severe effects on this population that are still being felt, even by my generation. It was also amusing because most of the Slovak population is Catholic.

I haven't read the pamphlet yet, but I'm sure it will give me something to joke about with friends.