This week I arrived in a country that, I'll be honest, up until about a year ago, I couldn't find on the map. Slovakia is by no means a popular tourist destination, but it is the country from which my ancestors immigrated to the US several generations ago. Primarily for this reason, I chose to travel to Slovakia for the second half of my sabbatical year. As I wrote in my sabbatical application, "As a fourth-generation Slovak-American with little knowledge of Slovak culture, traditions and language, I feel it is important for me to be knowledgeable about my own cultural heritage in order to encourage my students to be interested in and proud of their biculturalism." But all mumbo jumbo aside, isn't it important to know where you're from and where those traditions that you don't even recognize as traditions may have originated? It seems important to me, so here I arrived, a little discombobulated, but excited to soak it all in and learn.
To give you a bit of context for my adventures, here's some basic Slovakia info:
Where is Slovakia? Is it the same as Czechoslovakia?
Slovakia is a small country in central Europe. Its neighbors are the Czech Republic (to the northwest), Austria(to the west), Hungary (to the south), Ukraine (to the east), and Poland (to the north). Its capital is Bratislava (pop. 420,000), where I'm living. Trivia buffs take note: Bratislava is a mere 40 miles from Vienna, making them the two closest capital cities in the world.
From 1945 to 1993, Czechoslovakia existed as a singular nation. In 1993, the peaceful "Velvet Divorce" took place, in which it divided in two: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
What language do they speak there?
Slovak. It is most closely related to Czech and Polish, and I am told that Slovak and Czech are mutually intelligible, although intelligible isn't necessarily the adjective I would choose to describe any of the language I've heard since my arrival. Luckily (for me), English is pretty widely spoken in downtown Bratislava, but it will be a different story once outside of the city.
What's there to do and see in Slovakia?
Castles and natural beauty, mainly. Bratislava has its own castle, and Spis castle in the east is supposed to be quite stunning. The High and Low Tatras are mountain ranges that cover a good portion of north-central Slovakia, and I can't wait for Spring in order to do some hiking!
Stay tuned: Christiane Amanpour (ha, ha, ha)
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