Last Friday, life at the Hurbanova Street Foster Home in Košice was busy. St. Nicholas visited the children, and even agreed to act as a member of the jury in a talent contest. Younger and older children alike performed in different contest disciplines, mainly singing or ballroom dancing, and of course little witches were present as well. And the fact that children are cute was proved once again, not only by the jury's performance assessments, but also by plenty of gifts.  

Mrs. Silvia Komorová, director of the Foster Home, did not hide her joyfulness and pride in the talented children. She organizes such a meeting to which she invites friends of the Foster Home, sponsors and partners every year. 

This year Anne Daling, a Norwegian student studying at the Veterinary University in Košice, also accepted the invitation. However, her invitation was not accidental; the Norwegian students have been friends of the Foster Home since this spring. At that time, the Association of Norwegian Students (ANSA) decided to donate the money obtained from a collection organized among the students just to this Foster Home. The children enjoyed special jungle gyms and kiddies' rides for more than 600 euros. Besides, the students also joined in the volunteering activity of U. S. Steel Košice, and almost twenty of them worked on festooning the garden jointly with our volunteers.  

Nor did she come to the meeting with St. Nicholas with empty hands. As a “girl friend”of Julenissen, the gnome who brings gifts to the children in Norway, she brought two beautiful, new bicycles. The Foster Home children were very pleased with the bicycles. They surely are not going to wait until the spring to test them, at least in the grounds of the Foster Home. 

And how will the Norwegian students spend Christmas away from their homes? “Mostly I go home for Christmas, but I also like holidays in Košice – the markets, special fried dough („langoše“), mead drinks, but also the beautiful illuminations and Christmas music on the Main Street,” said Ann.