Cultural Learning Interactions

Visiting the home of a citizen other than my host family:

This past weekend, Mike, Zala and I spent an evening at a friends house--Sanja (pronounced Sahnya). Sanja made us a dinner that was the BOMB! She made two kinds of pasta--totolini with a gorgonzola cream sauce, and elbow macaroni with olives and zucchini. There was also carrots and an awesome onion dip before dinner, two kinds of salads and, of course, dessert. The dessert was very simple--just strawberries, bananas and Slovenian dark chocolate. Slovenes entertain with food and conversation which I am all about! It was a really nice evening. Oh--I would be remissed if I did not mention the old and very freightening lady who is a neigbor to Sanja. She is a peeping-tom (or tonya?) in the wierdest way imaginable--I mean pathologically-cinematic-freakish. She is so old and just stares out of the window at you with this peircing gaze that feels like it might suck the soul out of you. Creepy, right? It was all good, though. We ate inside and actually weren't even sure if this lune that Sanja had been talking about would surface during our short visit. Sher did and poor Zala got so creeped out and startled by her stare that she belted out an enormous scream! It was hilarious!

Shared a meal with a citizen other than your host family:

I went for Easter weekend with my home-stay family. It was so nice! They were extremely happy to have Americans visit. It was funny. I think a lot of people in small villages around Slovenia only see Americans on television and in movies, so they get excited to meet Americans face-to-face. For example, Mike and I went to this really nice Slovene restaurant (called a gostilna here) in Ljubljana called Šestica (pronounced shestitsa--which means little 6) and the server was this older Bosnian man who asked isf we were real Americans--whatever that means. It was sort-of like this when we went to Razonec (the small village where my homestay family has their family). Istok's (my homestay dad) brother, his name is Borut, was so exited to talk to us about American war films. He invited us over to his house and force-fed us wine from his vinyard. There is no such thing as an empty wine glass in this culture, especially if you are a guest! In any case, this long weekend in the southern part of Slovenia was EXTREMEMLY nice--even though it rained quite a lot while we were there.

So--the food we had over this weekend! Praise Jesus for potica (potitsa)! It is a national treasure here! Every grandmother has her own recipe for this amazingly dense and sweet bundt cake! Potica has walnuts, dough, sugar, rum and loads of other amazing ingredients like spices and stuff. We also had this large loaf of bread that was stuffed with a chunk of ham. They wrap the dough around ham and bake it with herbs. Also amazing! Of course the wine! The family owns a vinyard that is run by the younger of the two brothers. They also had home made apple juice which was unlike any apple juice I've ever had. So fresh! What else--plenty of bread and decorated eggs to go around! Very simple food--but really great company and a warm homey environment.

Had an in-depth conversation with a young adult your age other than host family or mentor:

I have had loads of in-depth conversations with Zala and her sister Tjaša. They is very smart and are invested in their studies of languages and culture. The Jerman Kuželički family also has an impressive grasp of European history (like most Central Europeans I am learning)! So I have been asking a lot about Yugoslavian history and general European history. Also--Zala's friends are all college aged people, so I am constantly interacting with people my age who are interested in hearing the American perspective as much as I am interested in sharing it, and inquiring about their persepctives! Honestly, the conversation here is of high caliber. Everyone is chill and open and they are willing to take the time to discuss absolutely anything –especially over a cup of kava (coffee).

Visited cultural centers or historic sites:

I have seen more castles than I ever thought I would! Medievil castles, modern castles, palaces--they are on every hill-top it seems. I think my favorite castle to date was in a small village very close to Ljubljana (in a village I cannot remember the name of--did I mention that I am TERRIBLE with names here!?). It was an 11th centtury castle with a view of this lake and the Alps that I will never forget (thank you, camera!). Also, one of the arches that was once a window has a collection of stilactites growing. That is how old this castle is! Full dobro!

Other sites: Over Spring Holidays, I managed to travel about in 5 different countries:

First stop was Vienna, Austria. Holy Moly--I love Vienna! I am so glad we decided to stay for three days! We did and saw so much! We went to the museum of modern art where there was the most kickin´Andy Warhol exhibit. We went to Belvedere Palace, the summer home of Prince Eugene. One of my favorite things was going to this electronic music club called Elektronic Gronner--it was an intense euro-electronic experience for sure. Oh!--I also have pictures with Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms and Strauss! We went to the national cemetery!

After heading back to Ljubljana, we made a stop in Bratislava, Slovakia--not as chill and artsy as Vienna, but still very nice (and only an hour away from Vienna). The people in Bratislava were not the most warm and welcoming, but it was really nice to poke around the city, check out the castle and feel the spirit of Slovakia for a few hours.

Zagreb, Croatia was the next stop! I think I will always associate Zagreb with čevapčiči!--the most amazing (Balkan?) sausage-like meat. It reminded me of hamburgers. We ate it on this soft toasted bread that reminded me of ciabatta, but it was not exactly ciabatta. It was served with onions on the side and this red pepper sauce that was amazing! I really like Croatia. The people are pretty religious it seems, but the atmosphere and pace of Zagreb was perfect after visiting Vienna and Bratislava.

So naturally after these excursions we took a break (laundry day!). But by the next day it was off to Piran, Portorož and Lucja, Slovania. This is what the natives call the ˝seaside˝--aptly named given that it is on the Adriatic. Piran was probobaly the highlight of my intensive week of travel. The weather was perfect and the Medievil city was not so crowded. The buildings, the ally ways and the views of Croatia and Italy from the castle were amazing!

SO! The last destination in this crazy week was Venice! Honestly (and I know this might sound weird to Americans) Venice was just alright. It was gorgeous--the weather was perfect, the buildings, church, central square and canals were amazing, but it was a bit of a touristś haven. By this I mean that the city was incredibly crowded, a bit dirtier than I got accustomed to in Ljubljana and sort-of catered to a touristy travelers eye. The way we got there, though, was full noro (completely awesome). We traveled on the Prince of Venice, this catameran, jet powered vessel that traversed the Adriatic to Venice in only 3 hours. I think this is the fastest way to travel to Venice from Slovenia (car, bus and train would have taken longer than 3 hours or something). I love the Adriatic! The water is so much cleaner than what I am used to in the States!

All-in-all, I have to say that it was the most amazing and exhausting week of travel!

If you are interested in my pictures from these places, check out my facebook page!

Participated in an 'after school' activity to learn more about the lives of your students:

So I have played tennis with the older sister of one of my students. She is an amazing athlete who plans to go to an American university to play before eventually going pro (I mean this girl can PLAY!). I have really enjoyed playing tennis because I miss it and becuase I play exculsively on clay in this country (amazing!). Even though I lose horribly every time I play against this future tennis super-star, I have a great time and laugh a lot (usually at myself. . .). The last time I played, Mike and I attended a dinner we were invited to by the family. They are Čeck. It turns out that I have the little brother as my student, and Mike has the older sister as his student. Slovenia is small! In any case, the dinner was amazing and we had a great time talking with the family about a varity of topics--European history, tennis, figure skating, food, you name it! It was really nice.

Burek:

I learned how to make burek! And I have made it twice now! It is this awesome cheese pastry dish that is made in many Slavic nations. All it is is pastry, cottage cheese, sour cream, salt and oil. Of course, I added black pepper to balance out the flavor to my American tongue, but I cannot wait to share this recipe with my friends and family! Also, every country has there own version of this dish. In Slovenia, there are various meats and fruits that are put in it. Sometimes the pastery is very thin and other times it is fluffy—like stromboli or something. There is so much to be experimented with for this dish! I´m thinking artichokes, people! Next: potica! (if that is even possible to make out of Slovenia--the world might implode!).

Week 3: My Mentor Teacher and Instruction

My mentor, Ms. Tina, is a Slovene local. She travels from Bled every day to Ljubljana (only about a 45 minute drive). Ms. Tina has a background in primary / intermediate education and has been teaching for 12 years. She also has quite a bit of experience in educational administration. I wonder if she plans to become a headmaster of a school one day. I will ask!

Tina is a great mentor to have because she has both experience and relevance. Anyone who knows a bit about teaching will know what I mean by this. For those of you who do not, well TOO BAD!! Ha. Just kidding. What I am refering to is this general lack of accessbility to new teachers when the mentor is a bit older. Different styles of teaching are taught to budding teachers depending on when it was that they completed their teacher education. These ideas evolve and even resurface after a given amount of time. I like to call teachers who are too old to know anything about PowerPoint (or even the internet for that matter) "old school" teachers. Tina is not "old school!"
Tina handles content and stress like a seasoned pro. She is well versed in the IB 5th grade curriculum and she knows exactly how to facilitate learning to accomplish academic goals (standards). The IB program works quite differently than public education in Maryland. Teachers in IB schools have strict guidlines to ensure that students are learning through exploration and dicovery. The means by which this happens and even the specific content are open for much improvisation. The major six transdisciplinary themese include: Who we are, Where we are in place and time, How we express ourselves, How the world works, How we organize ourselves, and Sharing the planet.
This is where the job of the PYP coordinator comes in (refer to previous post for more information on PYP and other acronyms). This coordinator organizes content that teachers are interested in teaching into a grid that is followed for the entire year. This is very much similar to the Maryland State Curriculum (MSC). For obvious reasons, however, this method of creating a curriculum that students are interested in and that teachers can make engaging is much more effective than the MSC. Teachers have much more freedom in their pedagogy.

This is, though, a double-edged sword. While there is no high-stakes test at the end of the school year, there is an exhibition (student project presentation). In addition to the exhibition, Tina is responsible for collecting evidence of student learning. This process is tedious to a degree becasue it requires an extensive paper trail and pictures of students in action. Many files are kept to chronicle student progress in this way.

As far as classroom management strategies are concerned, it is hard to say how Tina routinized her procedures. Because I am here so late in the school year, the students are very used to the way that the classrom runs. Tina operates her class without a hitch--students are never left guessing what to expect. In conjunction with this routinized classroom operation is a relaxed learning environment. Tina keeps things very mellow. I find that the students are much more at ease and comofrtable in this environnmet. I am realizing that quick routinization of procedures in the beginning of the year fueled or allowed for this now relaxed learning environment, but I wish I was around to see how this happenned exactly. It is really quite impressive. I hope to create a classroom energy similar to this!

I have a few responsibilities in Tinaś classroom. I am the walking English dictionary, for one. Students ask me how to spell and phrase things in English constantly. Also, I teach a bit of math each week. The third subject that is stressed in the classroom currently is called "Unit of Inquiry." This class is dedicated to the PYP exhibition--the 5th grade project that requires that students find ways to better the local commmunity (here is the link for more information on the exhibition: http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/occ/tsm/pyp_exhibition_2005/index.cfm?language=ENGLISH.) I am not exactly sure what inquiry entailed in the beginning of the year, but I really like that there is a class dedicated solely to student investigation. I need to ask Tina more about this!

Danila Kumarś IB program and my Students

Danila Kumar Primary School (DK) has an excellent International Baccalaureate (IB) program. This is my first experience in an interantional school of any kind or any school other than an American public school. The IB program at DK works as a department independent from the rest of the school (which operates as a mainstream Slovene school). The program is split into two parts: primary years program (PYP) and middle years program (MYP). The PYP covers grades 1-5 and the MYP covers grades 6-8. So it is like having a small elementary and middle school operating separate (but amongst, in a way) from a regular school. There is a headmistress for the entire school, and a principal for the international department of the school.

I work with the PYP coordinator (Ms. Tina) who is essentially the IB program’s administrative chair. Ms. Tina is also the PYP’s 5th grade teacher. Ms. Tina currently has two mentees, me and Anna (who is a PYP coordinator from Bratislava, Slovakia). Anna will be here for a total of three months, shadowing Ms. Tina and learning how to better run the PYP at her school in Bratislava. I, on the other hand, am shadowing Ms. Tina while she is in the classroom. I do not know how Ms. Tina handles all of the stresses of being a coordinator, teacher, and mentor to two people! She stays very busy!

So—Ms. Tina’s students are pretty much amazing! There are 15 students whom hale from 10 different countries. All classes in the school are conducted exclusively in English, except for the language classes. Students in my class take Slovene and chose between either French or German as their third studied language (English is also studied intensively) Here are my classroom demographics:

Gender:
11 females, 4 males

Nationalities:
Bosnian: 1; Croatian: 1; Czech: 2; Italian/Greek: 1; American: 3; Serbian: 2; French: 1; English: 1; Slovene: 1; German: 2

All of the students come from families that are pretty ˝well off,˝ you could say. Parents are typically very involved in the student’s education. All of these students, given there international life-styles, speak at least two languages, English, their native languages and/or Slovene. Often, I feel that there is a lack of things that I can help with given that the academic energy has been established so solidly by Ms. Tina, and because the students are hugely interested in their learning and are typically not in need of very much attention. Where I help the most is in the English class (because I am one of few, if not the only, adult native speakers in the building) and also in math (which I have a special affinity for teaching). Otherwise, students are incredibly ‘‘on the ball,’’ so-to-speak.

This 5th grade IB classroom is quite different from my 5th grade American class. I feel that if I was in a mainstream Slovenian classroom, there would be many more similarities. Here is how they compare:

Slovene IB program:
1) Parent involvement is very high for all students
2) All students come from high socio-economic status
3) All students are multilingual
4) 15 students in the classroom
5) Teacher knows and executes constructivist learning theory
6) Students are multi-national but not multi-racial
7) School operates in an urban setting
8) 5th grade has a large exhibition (or project) that is completed and presented in the last months of the school year
9) Students will stay in the same school and building for their middle years

Both:
1) Parent involvement
2) Comparatively large class size for school/program
3) Predominantly Caucasian population
4) Feed into transient populations (American school: close military base; Slovene: parents with international occupations that require moving)
5) High parent governmental career rate

American Public 5th:
1) Parent involvement is patchy (some intense involvement, some with no involvement)
2) Wide range of student socio-economic status
3) No students are multilingual
4) 27 students in the classroom
5) Teacher knows but lacks the resources and time to execute constructivist learning theory
6) Students are multi-ethnic, but not multi-national
7) School operates in a rural setting
8) Students spend their last year in a primary education setting before moving on to a new school for the middle years

Culture Shock: Continuous Participation

Location, Location, Location. . .

The only things that I have had to get used to with regard to geography is using public transportation in Ljubljana and getting used to the small size of . . . well everything. It is a small country, afterall. This has been a very simple transition into regular public transpo use which is saying something given that I have very little experience in this area (hooray Southern Maryland!). I travel on the number 6, 8 and/or 11 bus lines in the Northern and Southern directions daily to travel to and from school. The road that these bus lines travel on are called Dunajska (sp?) cesta which means ˝the road that travels to Austria.˝ In the Northern direction are the large mountains (Alps, baby!). To the South are only hills, which makes it really easy to remember which direction I am traveling in. Just on the other side of the large Alpine peaks is Austria which is also where the name of the street (Dunajska) that runs north and south comes from. Ljubljana is so easily navigated because of so many landmarks, the small size of the buildings and the easy to understand signs and bus routes. It is really unlike any city in America because of how small, safe and clean it is. I think I have gotten used to city life given how often I travel to Baltimore.

Another huge and AWESOME difference in Ljubljana is the pace. People, for the most part, do NOT j-walk. . .at all. It can be 11pm with no traffic coming and people will just stand at the cross-walk waiting for it to turn green. There is simply no rush to be places. Maybe this is because things are so close. In the city, there is either a 15 minute walk or 5 minute bus ride to anywhere you might need to go. Also, people love to sit in really nice coffee shops and just chill, talk and sip on the very inexpensive but amazingly aromatic kava. I think the quality of things here, in general, are better--coffee, food, converstation, even the tap water is boasted as one of the claenest and fresh in all of Europe.

Also--almost everything shuts down on Sundays. ˝Itś a post-communism thing˝is what I hear. In the entire city on a Sunday evening, only the McDonalds and a random kebab place will be open for food. Everywhere else is silent.

Oh! One thing--because of the sea level and Alpine atmosphere here, there is very low pressure. This is one thing that I have had to get used to while here. I frequently get headaches due to the pressure (or lack thereof). Only one cup of kava (coffee) is needed to pop my capalaries open and relieve the pressure, though. No wonder the kava is so strong here! It really is the best medicine!

Culture Shock?

Otherwise, I really haven´t needed to wrestle at all with this new location. I have had absolutley not issues with the locals, with getting around, or ven with culture shock. I was seriously expecting more culture shock. It turns out that Slovenia is really quite Western in their way of doing things. There are many more likenesses with America here than there are differences. Almost everyone speaks Enlgish here, so even in public, there are little to no problems. hen I speak the very few Slovene words that I know, people get really excited and compliment me. I am not so sure what is up with that. Slovenes are extremely humble people I think.

I have really enjoyed being submerged into the Slovene language. I know I said that people speak English, but of course, they don´t star their conversations in English. Even on the bus, I have stopped listening to my Ipod so I can evesdrop on close conversations, only picking up random words here and there.

I still find that small things are different--like the sounds of things (toilette, car horns, rivers, etc.) Otherwise, things are very much similar to what I am used to. I will be visiting this city anytime I am in /near central Europe in the future I think.

Living Conditions: Week 1

Living almost in the dead center of Ljubljana is head-and-shoulders superior to living in that rented shack I've called home these past 8 months! I'm living the central European high life! I LOVE the slippers custom here. In both homes and schools, slippers are an absolute must! "No shoes, no bare feet" seems to be the Slovenian way of living and learning. The slippers are quite different here. They are much lighter and rarely have backs--in a sandals-y kind of way. And talk about cheap! You can get a pair for only 2 euro.

Otherwise, there really aren't any more huge differences here. People do, however, have highly trained ears for accents and languages in general. In America, there is a lack of linguistic diversity, though physical appearances are abundantly diverse. Slovenians seem to identify most with native tongue and country of familial origin (or village even). They is a bunch 'o white folks over in dese parts!

My Americaness is readily welcomed here. Slovenes seem to like Americans, especially village folk. Mike and I were actually thanked for attending the Jerman Kuzelicki family Easter events in south country (Rozanec). People assume we are British at first, but I suppose that isn't too huge an insult.

WALKING! I love it. It happens soo much more here. If the distance is slightly too long, the bus system is splendid. Perhaps this is indicative of my general ignorance of city living. In any case, public transportation in Slovenia is easy to use, clean and inexpensive.

There are many similarities to American culture. This is very much a Western place. The quality of things here are much nicer--as in the food and conversation. There are little to no processed foods--almost all fresh and chemical free. People are very friendly and not rushed. There is little to no "j-walking" in the city. The service at cafes and restaurants (gostilnas as they are called here) is much slower because of this general lack of hurriedness. Ljubljana is like a chilled, more relaxed version of America. I love it.

Departure

Within the first two days of arriving, please let us know:
1. What unexpected glitches arose?

There really haven't been glitches of any kind. Should I be worried about that there are none to report? I've described it this way: everything in Slovenia is different. . .but only by a little bit. What I mean is that there are subtle differences in the way things are built, the way things sound, smell, etc. But these aren't the shocking contrasts one might expect in Gambia, for example. The point is, it is incredibly comfortable here because of the amount of English that everyone speaks and because, for the most part, people are really excited to be meeting/hanging out with Americans.

2. What made the arrival work well?

The fact that everyone has been on point has been really nice. Our liaison to University of Ljubljana, Prof. Urska Sesek has been nothing but hugely warm and accommodating. Mike and I have seriously lucked out with our home stay family. There is a perfect match in personality and sentiments between me and the Jerman Kugelickis. All parties have been incredibly willing and excited to partake in this experience.

3. What did you leave behind that would be handy now?

I think the airport security screening took my shaving cream and razor. I need to shave SO badly. Looks like I am making a trip to the Mercator (market). I suppose I could have packed more clothing. I did have some extra room in my bags. The way laundry works here is a bit different. There is only a washing machine and it is tiny with many buttons. My loads will be small and numerous. There is a special room in the building used to air dry all clothing. One load of laundry takes a whole day (versus only about an hour in America if you stay on top of things). Otherwise, I think I have everything I need: cell phone (which I actually don't really need), clothing, power adapter, laptop, etc. Anything I don't have, I can definitely find in Ljubljana--except, perhaps, American deodorants and teriyaki sauce.