A New Beginning

This week has turned out to be an interesting introduction to Lučenec. Since I don't know exactly what I will be doing at the center, yet, my schedule is quite random. Today and Monday, I had almost the entire day free, while I spent 12 hours at the center or moving about on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday, we visited Cinobaňa and I had my first experience in a Roma community. Pavel (my supervisor), a local pastor, and myself met with about 20 or so Romani in Cinobaňa at four (so, naturally we started at five) and had a bible study and discussion. It is quite difficult for me to listen to Slovak, since the speech is very quick and my vocabulary is quite limited, but the conversation lasted for hours.

Wednesday was a holiday for Mary, the Patron Saint of Slovakia, so I went on a hike with a local youth group to Pol'ana, a skiing village nearby. (Left: Signs pointing toward various hiking routes, marked in hours, not distance.).We went to another gypsy village that night and experienced a similar discussion to Tuesday's, albeit with a smaller crowd.

I also helped out at the Klub mamičiek (mother's club) on Tuesday and Thursday, where women are invited to come to the center with their children (aged 3 or younger) and play or leave their kids to run errands. Throughout the year, I may end up being involved in the mother's club, teaching English, or just helping out, in addition to working with the Roma population.