Well, you decided to volunteer in Slovakia?! When moving to or visiting a different country, it’s most likely you will have to adjust to local culture, customs, and language of course. So, are you ready to dive into the wacky and wonderful world of the Slovak language? How hard could it be, right? Well, you will need to buckle up before going on a linguistic adventure through Slovakia.
Imagine this: you’re in the heart of Slovakia, surrounded by breathtaking mountains, charming villages, and incredibly friendly locals. Wouldn’t it be awesome to impress them with your Slovak skills? Here’s why you should give it a shot:
It would be an instant Icebreaker: Knowing a few Slovak phrases will make you the life of the party, you can navigate the country easier, ask for directions, order food without any awkward moments, and actually understand what the cashier at the supermarket wants from you. And, from my experience, Slovaks actually love it when foreigners try to speak their language.
To go over basic facts, Slovak is part of the West Slavic group, so if you know some Czech or Polish, you’re already halfway there! Alphabet’s got 46 letters, and, most importantly the letters actually sound like they look – what a relief! However, there are still some funky ones with hats like č, š, and ž. They look like they’ve dressed up for a party, but sometimes it could be tricky to pronounce them:
- Č (ch as in "chocolate")
- Š (sh as in "sheesh")
- Ž (su as in "treasure")
- Ť and Ď (like a soft t and d, almost like you’re about to sneeze – just go with it!)
To get you sounding like a local in no time, here are some phrases to sprinkle into your conversations:
- Hello: Ahoj (casual, like “Hey!”), Dobrý deň (formal, like “Good day!”)
- Goodbye: Dovidenia
- Please: Prosím (use it to get what you want – like “please”)
- Thank you: Ďakujem
- Yes/No: Áno/Nie
- Excuse me/Sorry: Prepáčte (useful for when you accidentally bump into someone)
- How are you?: Ako sa máš? (casual), Ako sa máte? (formal)
- My name is...: Volám sa…
- And my personal favorites V pohode - it’s cool; and Taky je život - that’s life
P.S for ESC volunteers BDC is really helpful with learning the language, volunteers are getting group or individual lessons for Slovak language, you are also provided with needed materials (textbooks) for studying. You will be able to practice speaking and conversations with your mentor. And from my personal experience being around local people and youngsters at the club is one of the best tools for better understanding the language.
Text a fotka: Ani Datashvili
Ani je dobrovoľníčkou programu Európskej komisie Európsky zbor solidarity na dobrovoľníckom projekte v organizácii Mládež ulice pod koordináciou Bratislavského dobrovoľníckeho centra. Projekt bol podporený z programu Európsky zbor solidarity.
Let's imagine you've just arrived in Slovakia to start your volunteer project. You are now in a new country and everything feels fresh and unfamiliar. You're ready to explore new places, connect with people, and learn from this experience.
In the beginning, you might feel a bit disoriented about new things, including food. Every one of us needs to eat, and if it's your first time in a Slovak supermarket, you will probably be clueless about what to buy, especially if you are used to mediterranean gastronomy as I am. So, here are my recommendations.
First of all you have to know where to buy, there is a good variety of supermarkets so I recommend you to visit each of them that's close to you, because there can be a big difference in products between them. But before going, it is a good idea to get their “discount cards’’, most of the supermarkets have one, and you can save a good amount of money with discounts. You can get it easily for free by registering on their website or app.
Something I found out from Slovak supermarkets is that they use to have a big variety of some specific products. They can have an entire alley full of different brands and flavors of yogurts, but then you are unable to find what you are looking for. If you like cooking and you have time, it will not be a problem for you to find ingredients, but if you want to cook the same dishes as you did in your home country, you will see that some ingredients may be more expensive, so I recommend you to give a try, and get some Slovak food like Halušky, but don't quit yourself to buy important things like olive oil just because of the price.
In summary, if you don’t want to be eating the same dish of pasta everyday, just be curious, visit different supermarkets, take something that you haven’t eaten before, inform yourself about Slovak food culture, and most importantly, keep calm and enjoy it.
Text: Manuel López
Manuel je dobrovoľníkom programu Európskej komisie Európsky zbor solidarity na dobrovoľníckom projekte v Bratislavskom dobrovoľníckom centre. Projekt bol podporený z programu Európsky zbor solidarity.
When I’m thinking about my hobbies or what I genuinely like in life, one of the things that always comes up is music. Unfortunately, I was not gifted with the ability to play an instrument or a beautiful singing voice, however, a funny thing about music is that you don’t need to have a talent to listen and enjoy its beauty. And that’s exactly what I am doing, listening to my favorite artists from headphones while walking outside, cooking, showering, etc., but it’s so much better when you hear these songs performed live, in front of your eyes and ears. So, this is the exact reason why I started to explore the music scene in Bratislava and I want to share some recommendations with my fellow volunteers.
If you’re like me and your music taste mostly consists of alternative and underground genres, one of the first places to check out should be Pink Whale. You can find a pretty diverse line up here, from punk to hardcore metal. However, the thing I like the most about Pink Whale is the venue itself, don’t expect an actual whale, but do expect a boat on the Danube river!
Sticking with the underground theme, if you want to experience authentic punk or post-punk vibes definitely a place to check out is under the Pristavny Most, ‘Koncerty na garážach’, which translates to Concerts in Garages and that’s exactly what you’re getting.
After boats and garages, why not attend a concert in a tram?! Yes, in a tram. I would suggest following T3 - Kulturny Postriedok on Instagram, as they’re the ones responsible for these tram concerts and not only.
For more traditional venues, i would keep an eye out for Randal Club and Majestic Music Club, as they usually host both local and international artists.
If you’re considering traveling outside of Bratislava, Slovakia has pretty cool festivals to offer. The most popular one, of course, would be the Pohoda Festival, in Trenčín. It’s an open-air festival and features pretty much all the genres, with a lot of international acts. However, the festival I’m looking forward to more is Hradby Samoty, this festival focuses more on experimental audiovisual arts, ambient, folk, and industrial music, which will definitely be an experience for me.
I hope this blog sparks inspiration or motivation for you to check out these places and enjoy the sounds of music.
Text a fotka: Ani Datashvili
Ani je dobrovoľníčkou programu Európskej komisie Európsky zbor solidarity na dobrovoľníckom projekte v organizácii Mládež ulice pod koordináciou Bratislavského dobrovoľníckeho centra. Projekt bol podporený z programu Európsky zbor solidarity.