Jonas Ivanoc - Exchange Student from Slovakia

Our exchange student, Jonas took some time today to give us some information about his home country of Slovakia. Jonas is from the city of Prešov, centrally located in the eastern part of the country. It is the third largest city in Slovakia, with a population of 91,000. Prešov is about 40 km north of Košice, the city whose Rotary Club sponsored him.

Slovakia’s capital city is Bratislava; it is located on the border with Austria. Slovakia also shares borders with the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary. The Tatra mountains, the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains, are the country’s geographic glory. Jonas told us his country has “too many caves, like 4,000.” Some of these caves and caverns are open to the public. Five of these caves are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Jonas showed us some photos of his hometown and its sights, including the Fountain of Neptune and Church of Saint Nicholas. The fountain was commissioned by a Jewish merchant in 1789. He had earned an exception to the law forbidding Jews to trade in the city, and the fountain was his gift of thanks. The Church of Saint Nicholas dates back to the 13th century.

We asked Jonas about his family at home and learned that his mother is a housewife, his father is a bank manager, and his sister attends college studying pharmacology. His sister was also an exchange student, traveling to Seattle 5 years ago. When Jonas’ time with us is done, he will return to Prešov for another year of school. When asked what he’d like to do after school, he told us he’d like to be a bank manager, or a documentary filmmaker.