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Erik is a university graduate from Slovakia who is currently living in London. In the third and final part of a mini-series, (see part one and part two) he reacts to an article about the differences between Slovakian and 'Western' life. Each quote is a reference to Slovakian life:

Bread & Soup

Quote: "Always start a meal with soup, but make sure you have bread with it."

I had a friend back in London. He worked as a chef at one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants in Knightsbridge, so he had some background in cooking. He would run me down every time I started to heat a cup of soup, telling me that soup is only for cold, winter days. It is enough to eat something small, like fruit or salad to kick-start your digestion. Some people, however, classify soup as only the starter, which then as gives them the excuse to cram it with bread, pasta, cream and any other excess calories.

"Brake" the Alcohol

Quote: "Most Slovak bartenders couldn't make a decent cocktail to save their lives, but that's just because Slovaks take their alcohol straight up."

Erik is a university graduate from Slovakia who is currently living in London. In the second part of a mini-series, (part one is here) he reacts to an article about the differences between Slovakian and 'Western' life:

Family Lunch in Slovakia

Quote: "In Slovakia a nicer meal is often eaten for Sunday lunch than what would be eaten during the rest of the week. The family might even all sit together at one time at the table."

Slovakia is a predominantly Christian country, and keeping the family together is still entrenched in the subconscious of the society. Although the old-school church goers are slowly dying out, or are being institutionalised in the retirement homes, it is not too bad to join our loved ones for a couple of hours, enjoy a meal and discuss the things we can't get down to during the busy week. As the five star chef Gordon Ramsay says in one of his books I recently came across; the gathering at a joint meal can actually take place on any day. Just make sure that you spend some with your family and that no one leaves until everyone has finished their meat.

Last week an article on the education section of the Guardian website questioned the suitability of the current English language tests for international students coming to study in the UK. Here, Erik- a Slovakian student living in London, gives his response to the article and the issue as a whole.

"It is very difficult, I would say impossible, to find an objective language test. Some phonetic and cultural aspects of a language can be learned only through extended interaction with the target community. Therefore, I think the best way would be to allow the students into the target community and evaluate their performance after several weeks. If it turns out that they cannot keep up with the workload because of the communication gap- they failed the language test. Regardless of their potential, they also have to prove a certain level of English proficiency.

However, such authentic testing is simply infeasible. The standardized tests were created, to offer equal conditions for everyone and they should make sure that the successful candidates are able to use English to a certain level. But no test can replace real life.

Erik is a university graduate from Slovakia who is currently living in London. Here he reacts to an article about the differences between Slovakian and 'Western' life:

"A few months ago, I came across an article entitled ‘Is Slovakia Stuck in the 1950´s?'. It was written by Allan Stevo- an American who has been living in Slovakia for several years and has a good understanding about the everyday life. His article was a collection of interesting, though anecdotal, facts about Slovak customs and common practices that have become part and parcel of our daily routines. The article contains a healthy dose of criticism, much of which Slovaks were asking for. Yet in general, it seems that he likes Slovakia the way it is.

The article attempts to draw parallels with the American or Western way of life, and often comes out with something that may be interesting to the foreign reader, but rather commonplace for the majority of the Slovak population.

Erik Redli is a university graduate from Slovakia who is currently living in London. In the second of a two-part article, he looks at the things he initially found most unusual and different about London. You can read part one here.

On Weekdays the City Belongs to Tourists

Once I went for a night out on a Monday. Together with my Mexican roommate, we headed for the local Walkabout (a chain of bars in London). We did not expect many people there, it was a Monday. However, we had to wait in a queue for 45 minutes, such was the crowd.

At the weekend this multiplies as the tourists are joined by the local residents. On a Friday, locals seem to call it a day around 4pm and in the evening you can see them hanging around the pubs and bars. I like the way they rest their glasses of beer on the street lamps while immersed in lively discussions. Some of them blow a lot of money, and once I even found £10 on the street.