I've recently come across a blog (actually, I was sought out; I am one of the website administrators for the Colorado Slovaks yahoo group -- not to be mistaken with the official Colorado Slovak Society website) that I'd like to make mention of here. While the topic matter of the blog is not about my family's experiences living near London or observations about England, it is relevant in that it is written from the point of view of an American living abroad. And the location, Slovakia, scores points for me with respect to my own Slovak family heritage.
52 Weeks In Slovakia is by Allan Stevo, a writer from Chicago living in Bratislava. He chronicles traditions taking place in Slovak culture, giving a bit of history, color and commentary to the oft under-appreciated region. Much is said on the topics of Christmas, food, dancing and music, just to name a few. I fancy him an aspiring Bill Bryson-esque character. Below is an excerpt from his "about the blog" page.
But first, let me wish everyone out there, especially family and friends, a very happy and healthy new year. Can you believe it? We're well into a new decade already. I'm happy to be out of the "naughties".
Each time I read an un-insightful and tiring article about Slovakia with dateline Prague or Vienna, or each time I read an article by an overly critical “expert” who was “just passing through,” my desire to put together a weekly column like this was strengthened. In that respect, this website is the realization of a mutli-year dream.
Each week, something fantastic happens with a regularity in Bratislava and in many cases throughout Slovakia. On this website, I will spend 52 weeks highlighting some of those regular traditions that take place in Slovak culture. I will try to avoid the cheap joke – they’re always easy to make, especially after a person has had a bad day in a foreign culture. Instead I will try my best to approach this topic with a desire to understand.
Please make your way through some of the topics that might be interesting to you, and let me know what you think. I welcome you to sign up for the email newsletter on the right to learn more or to visit my own homepage www.allanstevo.com to read more of my writing. ...
Lastly, a few books on the topic of Slovakia that you might enjoy:
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