SLOVAKIA BY : JUSTIN MENDOZA

Picture of Slovakia Map When we arrived at the airport, my family and I saw the map of Slovakia on a huge wall near the entrance.

Flag of Slovakia My mom bought me a small souvenir, it is the flag of Slovakia, it is very different from the one in the United States.

Slovakia vs Italy soccer game The soccer is one of the best sports played in Slovakia. I played soccer for one year and I did not like it, but Slovakia people loves it.

Day 1 Velke Hincovo Peso Vah River Danube River It's the first day in Slovakia. I am taking a four day trip to see the natural sites. I first visited Tretas Mountain, this mountain's forms a border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the highest mountains in Slovakia. It was so big I think I can not crossed them. When we passed Velke Hincovo Peso, it is the largest and most deepest natural lake. I saw a glimpse of Vah River, it is the longest river in Slovakia, it runs 252 miles long. We were about to land until I saw the Danube River, it is the second largest river in Slovakia. I was happy to find out that we arrived on the special holiday "The Children's Day" June 1st. Tetras Mountai's Vah River It's the first day in Slovakia. I am taking a four day trip to see the natural sites. I first visited Tretas Mountain, this mountain's forms a border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the highest mountains in Slovakia. It was so big I think I can not crossed them. When we passed Velke Hincovo Peso, it is the largest and most deepest natural lake. I saw a glimpse of Vah River, it is the longest river in Slovakia, it runs 252 miles long. We were about to land until I saw the Danube River, it is the second largest river in Slovakia. I was happy to find out that we arrived on the special holiday "The Children's Day" June 1st. Danube River Tetras Mountai's

Day 2 We made it to my cousin's house and we saw eggs with paint next it, ready to be used. We got ready to start breakfast, and I thought it was different to have bread with slices of meat and soup. For lunch we ate soup, meat and potatoes and for dinner we ate roast duck with kapusta stew cabbage and side dish of lokse potatos crepes. After we eat lunch we began to paint the traditional pin art eggs. It took a long time to do this but by 8:00 pm my cousin showed us on t.v the traditional folk dancing, he tried teaching us but it was hard for me. We don't speak the same language, they speak Slovak, it was hard to understand my other relatives.

Day 3 My family made a stop to the bank where we exchanged some U.S currency to Euro's. The bank had pictures of the President with his name on it "Ivan Gasparovic". Afterwards we went for a tour, the weather was pretty warm, I heard we were lucky we didn't come during the snowy cold winter time. Some of the natural resources of Slovakia are: copper, zinc, and timber. But they mainly export machinery and electrical equipment. the U.S drives some of the most expensive car's that Slovakia manufactures such as Porsch and AudiQ7, they also make the LCD screen T.V

Day 4 On my last day, my cousin drove me to the airport, he gave me a small present. His present was a movie that he suggested I watch while flying back home. He saw how interested I was about Slovakia's history. After watching the movie I learned that Slovakia was ruled under Nazi Germany. Then it was called Slovakia Republic. Hitler had no interest in Slovakia and left it to the claims of Hungary and of Poland on July 17th, 1992 it gained its independence.

Additional Facts and Statistics Location: Central Europe, south of Poland and sharing borders with Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine Capital: Bratislava Climate: temperate; generally warm summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters Ethnic Make-up: Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Additional Facts and statistics Religions: Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census) Government: parliamentary democracy Language in Slovakiais Slovak