you will learn to eat new food

you will learn to eat new food
and find refuge in new places.

you will learn to eat new food

all too true. though i finally figured out how to share some food from home (brownies and then sugar cookies now that monika has a cup measure), i have definitely learned to eat new food, and am still enjoying it :)

here in slovakia, one of the biggest changes (aside from lunch being a bigger meal than dinner) was that after soup (the typical first course for lunch) the second course can easily be something sweet! buchti na pare (a type of steamed bread, oftentimes with jelly in the middle, and melted butter and cocoa or poppyseed powder on top) was one of my first discoveries. there's also the many different versions of pancakes/crepes (which i've actually succeeded in making!!! ...under monika's supervision and with her guidance), and spaghetti with chocolate!! that was probably the most surprising.

bryndzové halušky, from a dinner with stef in the czech republic (they called it slovak halušky)

in addition to sweet foods, one of my new favorite foods is bryndzové halušky (apparently a national slovak dish). bryndza is a type of cheese made from sheep's milk and halušky are like noodles (can be made using potatoes or just flour, water, and an egg), but are more like gnocchi. there's a special strainer-type thing that you use to get from the halušky badder to halušky noodles. after making the noodles, you combine them with bryndza, sour cream, and if you want you can put some bacon (usually homemade and with way more fat than in the usa) with it, too. it is výborne!!! (slovak for basically incredible, amazing and fantastic all rolled into one word) there are also other kinds of halušky, but bryndzové halušky's my favorite :)

typical "rodinky" (family group) food, chlebíčky in the front, coffee, kecy (snacks), and koláč (cakes) in the back

the final food is chlebíčky. chlieb is bread in slovak. whenever we go over to someone's house in the evening, or have our family groups, or celebrate a birthday, there are always chlebíčky. chlebíčky are made like so:

slice of bread + butter/spreadable cheese/some sort of spread + meat (usually ham or salami) + egg (a slice or wedge of a hard boiled egg) + some sort of veggies (slices or wedges of the following: cucumber, tomato, pepper, radish, pickle, etc) + cheese on the top (either a small slice or a bit of shredded cheese)

they are delicious and make up my dinner whenever i have them :)

and find refuge in new places.

i have also found refuge in new places. i have found refuge in holding hands and hugging andrea, conversations in englak/slovish with katka, d-rom (roma dorast-youth group), the girls' bible study group and mládež, rodinky (family group). i have found refuge in monika's hugs and card games with my family. i have found refuge in time spent singing songs with kids in náboženstvo and besiedka (religion class and "sunday" school).

i have found refuge in weekend skype calls home to friends and family. i have found a lot of refuge in writing each day in my journal (i'm now on journal number 2!!!) and on my blog. i have found refuge in drawing - whether it's drawing worksheets for náboženstvo or drawing the view outside. i have found refuge in the books i read and the conversations that i have. i have found refuge in prayer; my time to talk with god.

now, as i look forward to the next 2-3 months, i wonder where i will find refuge when i get back. will it, too be in skype calls with friends and family, but now those in slovakia? will i find a new community within which i can find refuge? how will that refuge be different when i'm at seminary in chicago? will i still write in my journal each day? how will i bring the refuges i have found here in slovakia with me home?

you will learn to eat new food
and find refuge in new places