One week into things...

Well, I´ve officially been traveling for one week. It feels so much longer and so much shorter. I have experienced so much in such a short period of time, yet there aren´t enough hours in the day.

I am still in my little village of Pribelce and loving village life. My host family is amazing and making my stay here amazing. I wake up in the morning for a hearty breakfast to start the day and then it is nothing but fun for us kids. We play all day, come home for dinner (which is waiting for us). Kids eat first, then the parents. We eat as much as we can, hand over our dirty clothes so mom can do the laundry, then head out to play again. It is awesome! I feel like a 13 year old boy. I am pitching in though. I have taken on the dishes as my chore as it is the only thing I know how to do the European way. I tried to help peel the potatoes for dinner, which only brought great laughter from everyone. So it was decided, I am good at dishes and should stick with that.

I did not get to go on my tour of the region´s "underground cellars". Dad got in trouble with mom, so our trip was squashed. He has been bringing home wine from work each day so that I can still taste the different varieties...so I am satisfied.

A couple of days ago we went on a nice hike...I would consider it rigorous for this 30 year old...but I was able to keep up. We had a beautiful view looking over the hills and vineyards and watched the sun set behind the hills (some might consider them mountains). We went to a site that was once a pre-historic ocean, where we searched for "shark teeth." They are the teeth of pre-historic fish dating back 16.5 million years! I did not find any, but my host was able to find one for me. Yesterday, we went to an old castle from the 12th century...it was still standing, but barely. It was still cool to see something with so much history. Then we went fishing to catch small fish to use as bait for the "real" fishing. Then after the sun set, "the guys" and I headed out for a night of fishing. We didn´t catch anything, but the experience was great. I have gained so much insight into the Slovak culture, which, as you all know, is my favorite part of traveling. I feel so blessed that I have been able to experience Slovakia beyond the tourist path.

With only 600 residents, they are all quite interested in the American visitor. We went for an evening walk yesterday, and with every house we passed, a couple of people would step outside to join us and say hi (although I can only understand about a dozen words). We had about 20 people walking with us, which just brought more and more people out into the streets...we had our own little parade. I learned yesterday that the house numbers begin at 1 and end at 252. Yes, that´s right, there are only 252 homes in this town. To put that in perspective, my building in Chicago had about 200 units!

I am planning on heading off to Budapest tomorrow where I will stay for one night and one day, then take the 11 hour train ride up to Krakow. I didn´t really have a schedule, but do realize I am a little behind. I have a lot of sights to cram into the coming week.

As for weather, I don´t think I could have planned this better. It is sunny and in the upper 70´s during the day, with no humidity. But it does get quite cold at night, which I find refreshing. For as active as we are, I am so thankful for the mild weather. Hanging out with younger guys has definitely made me realize how out of shape I have gotten!

Well, it is time for me to sign off so I don´t waste this beautiful day. Hope all is well with you! I´ll be in touch!