It's almost September!

It's hard to believe it will be September in just 2 days. September 1st is also the first day of work for teachers here in Bulgaria for the new school year. I have to be at work at 8:00 and there is a meeting for all the staff at my school. It should be interesting as it will be my first glimpse into the upcoming school year. I think my counterpart and I have my schedule worked out for what classes I will be teaching however I have no idea when those classes will take place along with quite a few other pieces of logisitical information. Since I can't quite give any of you any other information about the school year, I'll give you what's been happening since my last post.

My summer English classes ended well. We played Bingo and memory the last day which the kids really seemed to enjoy. After classes were done I received a package from my parents! Thank you again!

Then came the weeklong training academy in Blagoevgrad for all the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) volunteers. I began traveling Saturday, August 21st and stayed overnight with another volunteer. I then traveled with her to Blagoevgrad Sunday and we began the training at 3 pm Sunday afternoon. We started with some logistics and then began lesson planning for our classes Monday morning. Our week consisted of teaching in the mornings and then attending sessions in the afternoons. I taught the same group of 2nd/3rd grade kids all week with two other volunteers. Here's a glimpse:

Monday - Friday

7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Bus to School
9:00 - 9:40 I taught
9:50 - 10:30 Deanna taught
10:40 - 11:20 Caran taught
11:30 - 12:10 We all taught (stations usually)
12:30 Bus to the Hotel
1:00 Lunch
2:00 Debrief of the morning session
3:00 Session or sessions related to teaching (management, songs, games, vocab, etc..)
4:30 Lesson planning
7:00 Dinner
Free Time (hotel, cafe, restaurant, movie, something or another)

Friday I was also able to visit Rila Monastery which was beautiful and Saturday was HIV/AIDS training all day. It was a busy week but it was well worth the time not only for the training that took place but for the ability to be with the other TEFL and COD volunteers here in Bulgaria. It was great to get to know some of the volunteers better and hang out with friends from training as well.

Sunday I traveled back to my site of Sliven and on the way stopped in Plovdiv to have McDonald's and a movie with some other volunteers. I'd have to say the McDonald's was delicious and what better way to get a piece of home. Anyways, though the trip home turned into a long day I got back before dark. Once I was back I got my cat back from my neighbor. Yes, my neighbor ended up watching my cat instead of my counterpart as my cat would not quit meowing in my apartment. She lost her voice and her meows sound quite terrible. Now I know to bring her to someone else instead of having someone come to my place to check on her. She's great though and now I know my neighbor likes cats and is glad to help out. One more plus to my apartment building!

What else? I got to skype with a few people from home today which was great! I'm hoping my computer arrives by Friday since I'll already be in Sofia (the capital). Plus, I can upload my mass of photos and share a few with you all.

Until next time, love from Bulgaria!