Note To Readers: The Next few blog posts are from my Slovakia backlog. I am posting them quite a few months after the fact.
Stary Tekov is a proper village. There is no possible way it can be confused with a town–not with a population of less than fifteen hundred people, where the only restaurant serves nothing but ham and potatoes on Sunday evenings (or fried cheese upon special request), and the only grocery is a Co-op the size of my rented room, which closes by five in the afternoon.
Needless to say, there is not much to do here. At first, I wondered how I’d survive the week, but it’s turned out to be a wonderfully relaxing break from the usual SIDAS Active English Weeks craziness.
I’ve taken to haunting the pension dining hall in the evenings, writing, sipping Kofola (a Slovak version of cola that is somehow far tastier) and eating more fried cheese and potatoes than can perhaps be considered healthy. Eleven-year-old Sara, whose family owns the pension, and her little sister Ales join me sometimes. We exchange sketches, and Sara also insists on teaching me a little more Slovak, so that I’ll at least be able to ask for food properly in the next village I end up in. All in all, it’s ridiculously pleasant, and I almost wonder if I really want to leave at all.
The Venture 