Embassy events

The U.S. Embassy is in the left front of this image. In the center back is Bratislava Castle and the tower at St. Michael's gate, entrance to the restored medieval city. To the right of the Embassy is Hviezdoslavovo námestie, the public square named after the 19th-century Slovak poet. The web site for the Embassy: http://bratislava.usembassy.gov/

I have just gotten my first invitation to an event at the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava, a reception for a photography exhibit in honor of 9/11. We had been told that Fulbrighters are often invited to such things in the host country, and it's nice that something has already arrived.

The invitation was entirely in Slovak. It's a relief to realize how understandable it is, even before checking some words in my Slovak-English dictionary. My RVSP acceptance will be in English, however. It's one thing to read something in a foreign language, but something else entirely to compose a remotely credible communication, and my phrasebook for tourists has nothing relevant.

Money matters

This is the 500 SKK note, with a beautiful image of Bratislava Castle (Hrad) overlooking the Danube. 500 SKK is worth about $20.

U.S. currency features images of presidents, going back to George Washington in the 18th century. The Slovak currency features images of important historic figures and sites, going back to the 9th century: http://www.slovensko.com/about/banknotes-coins/

Although Slovakia joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, it has not yet converted to the Euro, which requires stringent economic tests (such as a low inflation rate and national deficit). According to The Slovak Spectator, the on-line English-language newspaper (http://www.slovakspectator.sk/), they hope to convert in early 2009. The government has contracted with a public relations agency to educate the public next year about the conversion, and government officials have been speaking out to squelch rumors and to report that the target inflation rate appears to have been reached.

The neighboring states of Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary also joined the EU in 2004, but seem to be having second thoughts about the Euro, at least according to some news reports, e.g.: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/14/business/euro.php

That means that I will be surrounded by countries with five different currencies, all within an hour or two by train. In addition to those above, Vienna, Austria (which is on the Euro) is about 40 miles west of Bratislava, a short one-hour train ride.

Thanks to credit cards and ATM machines, all these different currencies should be manageable. Still, this is a reminder of the transitions all these former Soviet satellite states are still addressing.

The tourist books typically advise you to have some local currency when you land in another country. But I discovered that the American Express Travel Service, a major local bank that trades numerous currencies, and a major currency exchange here do not trade the Slovak Koruna. I wondered if that was simply because it was a small country and there wasn't much call for their currency, so I called customer service at American Express to inquire. His explanation: the Koruna is too easy to counterfeit, so nobody here will carry it. I don't know if that's true, but trading for some Slovak currency will have to wait until I can get to a bank in Bratislava.

In the meantime, as the dollar continues to sink, putting some money into Euros seemed like a good idea and might even turn out to be a wise currency investment. The dollar has been sinking against the Euro, the British Pound, and, yes, the Slovak Koruna. Americans used to benefit from weak European currency, so I suppose it's fair that the tables are turned. I just hope things don't get much worse with the sinking dollar!

Books, books, books...

"After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books." -Albert Camus

The Fulbright Lecturing awards come with a $1500 book allowance. As the Fulbright Commission instructs us, "The purpose of this money is to foster the development of educational institutions in the region. . . These materials should be selected primarily for use in teaching and must be left at the host institution for the ongoing benefit of the students." What a nice idea!

One of my many projects this summer was deciding which books to order. I had a list of things I want to have available for my students, but I also wanted to be sure I ordered things that would be welcome in the collection of my host department. It was fun trading "wish lists" this summer, until we used up the money.

I ended up with a wonderful collection of material in philosophy of art, aesthetic education, the role of the arts in a democracy, and work by and about by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill (one of my heroes), whose On Liberty has been enormously influential in shaping our understanding of the importance of free speech in a democracy.

I shipped everything to the State Department in Washington, DC, which will send it on to Bratislava via diplomatic pouch, saving a fortune in postage and customs -- also a nice idea!

Monolingualism

The Fulbright guidelines for lecturing awards in Slovakia stipulate that all lecturing will be in English. (Whew!) I gather from many Slovak web sites for tourists that the younger generations are especially eager to learn and improve their English. Judging from my correspondence with Slovak University faculty, they also are very fluent in English.

Even so, in preparing for my teaching this fall, I am assuming widely varying fluency in English, and I have been thinking about ways to ensure that no students are disadvantaged. At my home campus in southern California, I understand that as many as a third of our students are not native English speakers, and I have adapted in my teaching here. E.g., I routinely paraphrase myself so students don't have to ask me to explain unusual language. I like PowerPoint (or old-fashioned overhead transparencies) as the visual language helps underscore key points I am discussing orally. Americans enunciate much more clearly than the English (a practice reportedly encouraged by Daniel Webster centuries ago to help a nation of immigrants understand each other), and I hope that also will help my students understand me.

Last spring, I looked without success for an introductory course in Slovak at an area college. Heavily advertised programs to learn foreign languages (like Rosetta Stone) do not offer Slovak. I have two Slovak-English pocketsize dictionaries and phrasebooks which I expect to carry at all times. And I understand that our three-day orientation in September at the Fulbright Commission in Bratislava will include a crash course in essential conversational Slovak. It is fairly easy to decipher maps and Slovak web pages with a little common sense, but the pronunciations escape me.

Americans are notoriously monolingual. Rick Steeves almost brags in his travel guides to Europe that he only speaks English, as he can always find people there who understand him. I wonder if Europeans consider that arrogant -- or perhaps I should say, just how arrogant do that find that attitude. Yet I discovered years ago when visiting Paris that I almost never used the college French I had worked hard to dust off -- as soon as a waiter or clerk realized that I was American, they said they would love to practice their English with me. It's easy to become very lazy in learning other languages, although that's not a good excuse.

The dust has gathered again on my college French -- never mind my high school Spanish -- but I understand those languages don't help much in Slovakia anyway. German reportedly can help with older generations, but I possess only rudimentary reading ability (enough for the Ph.D. many years ago). I read that the Soviets required everybody to learn Russian, but their domination ended in 1989 and now few will admit to even knowing Russian, if the Slovak web sites are to be believed (as I assume they are).

I am hopeful that my students in Bratislava will help me out with their language. I would love to come home to the U.S. with some basic conversational Slovak. And if anyone wants to polish and refine their English, I will be only too happy to help.