It is common to shop for groceries more frequently here. There are a variety of reasons for this. One is that many people walk or ride a bike to one of the local shops so they only buy what they can carry home. It only takes one trip home from the grocery store with too many items to teach you to limit your buying. (Not that I would know!). Another reason is that the freezers and refrigerators are smaller here. Some are much smaller. The freezer on our refrigerator is what you would expect to see in a hotel frig. A third reason is that products don't have as long of a shelf life here. And I actually love this reason! Although we have had to throw some things out because they have spoiled sooner than we could use them, we have learned to buy less or buy fresh. There definitely aren't as many preservatives in the food here, which is completely fine by me!
Sidewalks come in all different conditions. The newer ones are pretty nice, but the older ones have definitely seen better days. As a result, many moms push their strollers down the street because the sidewalks are too damaged or bumpy. The boys have to be really careful when they ride their scooters to piano lessons and now that it's dark when we go, I've stopped letting them ride them for that very reason. I think we've all learned to be more aware of where our fee are stepping after a few trips and/or falls.
Everyone has a fence and a gate. Everyone. It takes some getting used to, but I think we're pretty accustomed to it now. It is nice to have the privacy (our gate is made of slats of wood and is probably 7 or 8 feet high), but sometimes you do feel like everyone is hiding behind their gate - both figuratively and literally. Some of the newer fences and gates seem to be more see through and not as high, but it all depends on the house and the family who built it.
There are definite rules about when you say hello and/or good-bye to someone and when you don't. I've heard that when this village was smaller, everyone said hello to each other. Now that many people from the capital are moving to the "suburbs" it is less likely for people to greet someone they don't know. This does take some getting used to after living in a small town where you could say hello or start up a conversation with just about anyone. The exception to the lack of greeting is if you are both in the same place doing the same thing. Here's an example: If I pass a mom and her son walking in town, she probably won't say hello to me. BUT, if she passes me with her son as she is leaving the school and as I am going into the school to get my boys, she will probably say hello, even if she doesn't know me. Another example would be if you are waiting in an area for the same thing. When someone enters they will say a general hello to everyone and most likely a general good-bye as well. You never go to a familiar place and "sneak" in. You should always say hello to everyone and possibly even shake hands or give "kisses" on both cheeks. This is normally true even if you are late for an event. If you walk by someone on your way into or out of church, you must say hello or good-bye.
In general, I would say it is safer here. The biggest threat is petty theft and so far we haven't had any problems with that. Children walk, bike, or scooter (is that a word?) to school, music lessons, or to the park all by themselves. People even walk and bike when it is dark. The streets are well lit and since there are others out and about it doesn't seem quite as intimidating. I don't particularly like walking in the dark, but I have done it several times. Of course we aren't always aware of the news here, but overall violent crime is lower.
You don't mail letters from your home. You actually have to take them to the post office or to a mailbox to send them. I've only seen one mailbox and it was in Bratislava, so there aren't many of these around.
Road signs are much more detailed here. Deer crossing signs include large antlers. Crosswalk signs may have a man in a suit and hat or a man with a little girl and a hair bow. Train signs include smoke coming up from the train.
Most vehicles are stick shift, not automatic. There are also many diesel cars here. They tend to sound a little louder and the smell of the exhaust is different. They are cheaper to run, so we have one. Cars have "grown" a lot over the past 10 years or so. When we were in western Europe for our internships, there were still a lot of small cars. We see more mini vans, SUV's and larger cars now. I wouldn't say that larger cars are the rule, but they are more common than before. This can be a problem on some roads and when parking, though! Car theft (or breaking in to get contents) is a problem here. Sometimes they'll even take them right out of a store parking lot. We are very careful to never leave bags where they can be seen and we always put all GPS equipment, chargers, etc. in the glove compartment. Also, cars tend to be more like wagons here. It is rare to see a car with a separate trunk area, though this would probably cut down on people getting into cars for contents. Typically the "trunk" is just an area behind the seats and you pull a rolling piece of material over top so no one can see what is inside.
Remember those heavy, bulky metal garbage cans of the 80's/90's? Yep, those are here. We have one. I have seen some plastic ones with wheels and boy would I love one. But, this is what our landlord gave us and it already has the yearly garbage sticker on it, so we'll keep using it. The best way to get it to the curb is by spinning it, but you have to do this very carefully so you don't wrench your wrist. Obviously not my favorite task, so I'm excited when J does it before he leaves for school.
You can put anything in mailboxes here. It is not against the law (as it is in the US) to put flyers or invitations into boxes. This is great for church events, so often a lady in the church will mark maps and hand out packets to be passed out.
There are loud speakers installed on light poles around the village. At various times during the day we will suddenly hear music of varying sorts. It will then stop and a lady's voice can be heard making various announcements. It can be about water or utility repairs, village events, school events, and things different groups would like to have announced. This is a hold-over from Comm*unism when they used this for communicating quickly with the people. The larger cities have stopped using it, but many smaller villages still do. It took me by surprise when we first moved here, but now I'm used to it. I very rarely understand what is being said, but part of it is our location. I had someone who does speak Slovak listen to it when she was visiting and she couldn't understand it at our house either. I think it may be that we're between two speakers and we get an echoing type sound. Thankfully there is someone in the church who will call me if she hears something urgent, such as a water repair last week.
Public transportation is very common here. We have multiple bus stops in the village that can get you to other villages or even into Bratislava. We also have a train stop here, as do all the villages or towns that are along the train route. J takes the train into Bratislava each day, then takes other public transportation from there. He has said the train and buses are usually very full in the mornings, so although it seems more people own their own vehicle now, many people do still depend on or choose to use public transportation.
Villages and towns are in clusters. In more remote areas there may be a lone farmer or sheep herder, but typically all the houses are together in the town. There will be sign with the name of the town on the road at the edge and then another on the opposite edge as you leave, but this time the name will have a red cross through it so you know you are leaving. Normally there is one main road through the town village that connects it to others. As I have been asked about where we lived before, it is virtually impossible for them to visualize that we lived 2 miles outside of the main part of town with neighbors' houses scattered here and there. Often they think that means we lived on a farm. Related to this, it is hard for them to comprehend that you could live in a town with no bus or train stop. Even small villages here will have at least one bus stop.
It is much more common to see people walking and/or riding their bikes here. This may be why they tend to be thinner than we are! Young, old, and in-between, people of all ages get around the village on foot or by bike. Gas costs between seven and eight American dollars per gallon, so if a destination is close, they will walk. Also for consideration is the fact that by the time you get in your car, pull it up to gate, open the gate, pull out, lock the gate while heavily supervising your running car, and then leaving, you may have gotten there already if you had walked. I have adopted this lifestyle as well and have yet to drive here. There are many reasons why I don't drive here, but two of them are the accessibility of locations and the good exercise that walking provides! I can get to the train station, post office, store, church, school, and after school club in less than 10 minutes. It takes us about 15 min. (1 km) to walk to the music school. The boys are getting more accustomed to this as well since they have to walk from their school to the after school club every day (yes, imagine being those teachers!) and even D has gotten faster at walking and is not as apt to complain as before. This brings to mind an experience we had back in May. We attended a one-night family retreat just north of here. One of the activities was visiting a nearby castle and the group decided to walk rather than drive. We walked 45 minutes one way with a LOT of children. I was not aware of any children who complained. They marched along counting, doing a marching chant, laughing, and talking. I was astounded.
Well, that's all I can think of for now, though I know there must be other things. I want to get this posted, though, so if you're interested in more cultural differences, check back later for updates.
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