Rain, Podcasts, and a Trip to Maribor: May 11-17
- kristineturko
- May 17
- 2 min read
This week felt a little quieter than some of the previous ones, which was not necessarily a bad thing. There was plenty of work to do, but also time for good conversations, new experiences, and reminders of how welcoming people have been throughout my time in Slovenia.
The week started with one of those classic Ljubljana weather moments. I headed up to the castle on what seemed like a perfectly reasonable morning for a walk and spent the last part of the trip racing home as the skies opened up. What struck me most was the number of school groups still making their way through the woods around the castle in the pouring rain. I am still not entirely sure how teachers successfully navigate muddy hills with groups of five year olds, but apparently it can be done.
I also had the opportunity to meet with Aleksandra, a psychologist who works with autistic adults in Ljubljana. Our conversation gave me a much better understanding of how Slovenia supports university students and the educational opportunities available to citizens here.
The rainy weather continued for much of the week, which made it feel perfectly acceptable to spend extra time working from Stow Coffee in the City Museum of Ljubljana. It may be my favorite coffee shop in the city, partly because of the coffee and partly because it is apparently possible to work while sitting next to the oldest wooden wheel with a wooden axle ever discovered, dating back more than 5,000 years.
This week also marked the final formal seminar with the graduate students at the Faculty of Education. It was hard to believe that twelve weeks had passed so quickly. Somewhere between the seminars, supervision, and work at the Institute, we had all become very comfortable with our routine together.
Another first for the week was recording my first podcast. I was invited to speak on PEFcast, the Faculty of Education podcast, about evidence based practices in education and autism intervention. It will not be released until September, so now I get to spend several months wondering what I actually said and whether I sounded intelligent while saying it.
The weather never fully cooperated. Open Kitchen was cancelled again, there was snow in Kranjska Gora, and the Vršič Pass was closed, which seemed difficult to believe while standing in Ljubljana in the middle of May. Eurovision, however, arrived right on schedule and was treated with exactly the level of importance that Eurovision deserves in Europe.
The week ended with a visit to Martina and Tihomir at their home outside Maribor. It was one of those days that makes you appreciate how generous people can be. I got a tour of the gardens, bee hives, and future chicken housing, enjoyed an amazing homemade lunch, visited downtown Maribor, and somehow left with enough food in a care package to feed myself for days. I continue to be amazed by the kindness and hospitality I have experienced here and feel incredibly fortunate to have met my family in Slovenia.
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