Oh what a beautiful day

I had to post a blog since today was really wonderful for a variety of reasons. I had 1st hour which meant I had to be up by 6:00 but all was good when I got to school and had a coffee. The fifth grade class I had for two hours today, who are normally extremely loud, were actually listening and participating well today so that was great. Secondly, my 6th grade class all worked so quickly and correctly with review that we got to play games at the end of class. It was one of the few times we got through the lesson with time to spare so we played Telephone and Hang man. Hang man is great for students here as they have to practice saying the letters. Bulgarian letters are all phonetic so it is difficult for a lot of kids to pronounce the letter without just saying the sound (if that makes sense). I sat in on my 6th grade class's Class Hour which consisted of their class teacher announcing semester grades and talking about discipline at school. Then there was also time to spare so we did some stretching and yoga poses which was extremely entertaining. I took photos, some are below. After school I had Bulgarian tutoring which was nice because I learned about some more holidays. Learning the language is hard for me and honestly, I don't speak as much Bulgarian as a I do English during the day since I'm always teaching English. Therefore, I enjoy learning about cultural aspects quite a bit.

After I got back to my apartment I made some delicious mushroom and mozzarella sandwiches and watched a little online TV. Then I was able to skype with my mom as well as a 4th grade class back in MN. It was great to talk with them about what I'm doing here in Bulgaria and answer their questions. Also, it happened to be "opposite day" at their school which was only fitting when I told them Bulgarians nod for no and shake their head for yes. Finally, what topped the day off was getting a great email from a future Bulgaria PCV.

Tonight I am working on a poster about the Zodiac signs which will include the old and the new dates as well as their Earth, Wind, Water, Sky alignment. It's not only for my classroom but for my teacher English class tomorrow.

Oh yeah, she's doing the splits.

6th graders

More 6th graders

And more 6th graders

Elementary students making a snowman when it was snowing yesterday.

Oh how I love great days in Bulgaria.

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Who knew?

Definitely not me. Today I went to the Post office to pick up not one but TWO packages! Thank you so much to my wonderful aunt and uncle and a great friend in Minnesota! They are greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!

It turns out if a package is in the post office for more than a week they charge me a higher tax to pick it up. It's not like it was an outrageous amount but it was more than double the usual tax. I ended up paying 4 leva (regular) for one package and 9.70 for the other. Now I know that I must pick up things in a very timely matter which is slightly unfortunate as Wednesday is the only day I don't teaching in the morning and can make it to the 9:00 - 10:00 office hours for international packages here in Sliven.

But on to more important things. I read today about the death of Sargent Shriver who was the first Peace Corps Director back in 1961 when the Peace Corps started. He remained the Director until 1966. There is a tribute at the link below with photos and a nice history.


A Tribute from from the Peace Corps


Today I simply wanted to say how thankful I am to Sargent Shriver for his great assistance in the creation of the Peace Corps. I am honored to be a part of the Peace Corps legacy here in Bulgaria. It is strange to think that if these great minds had not existed I may have never been able to live here in Bulgaria meeting new people, teaching English, and attempting to promote "world peace and friendship". Thank you Sargent Shriver, you will be missed. 

http://www.sargentshriver.org/

Safety and Security

I just finished watching yesterday's 20/20 special on the safety, security, and responsibility of the Peace Corps to its volunteers. I knew this story was going to come out dealing with rape and security however I did not know the information that was going to be presented until viewing it. If you haven't seen the story and would like to I have included a link to the story:

20/20 News Story

I want to highlight once again that nothing I am writing is the opinion or thoughts of anyone but myself as I comment on Peace Corps. First off, here in Bulgaria I feel we have an excellent Safety and Security Coordinator. Every time we (volunteers) get together as a group she always has information and statistics related to volunteers here in Bulgaria and she is happy to answer any and all questions. She is also available via email or phone if volunteers want or need to contact her for any reason. She is an enjoyable person and I feel represents the Peace Corps extremely well. I also feel that the rest of our staff here in Bulgaria is quick in responding to questions I have had and information I have requested. Yes, this is a governmental organization and has its bureaucracy however I feel the staff attempts to be as personable as possible. Here is the link to Peace Corps Bulgaria:

Peace Corps Bulgaria

Furthermore, I feel no more unsafe here in Sliven than I did back in Minneapolis, MN. My apartment has not one, but two entry doors; I live higher than the 1st floor of the building; and, I have introduced myself to my neighbors so I am recognizable to them. Though I do not live in the same neighborhood as my school, I generally feel safe walking to and from my apartment. I follow the same safety guidelines here as I would back at home. I'm not out late at night and if I am out I am with other people or I am taking a taxi to wherever I am headed. If I am walking and it's dark I use more heavily traveled paths such as major roads rather than walking my shortcut through neighborhoods as I do during the day. It basically all comes down to:

Common Sense

I'm not saying that doing these things will prohibit all bad things from happening, but they are easy ways to prevent myself from being in an unsafe situation. I am living in an Eastern European country and therefore do not stick as much as I would living in a place such as Ghana or Peru so I have some benefits in safety simply for physical reasons. Also, my apartment has been lived in by at least 2 previous Peace Corps volunteers so many people are familiar with a foreigner living here. I have never had any problem with harassment thus far here in Bulgaria. Living here or anywhere has a lot to do with being aware of my surroundings and aware of my feelings and emotions. If I feel like something isn't right, it probably isn't and it's best that I remove myself from the situation. It is unfortunate that simply because I am a woman I am at a higher risk for safely concerns however I try my best to ensure that I am safe.

On that note, my reaction to the 20/20 special are mixed. From the special, it does seem as though poor choices were made on behalf of Peace Corps in response to the safety of Kate Puzey and the other women who have been raped while serving as volunteers in relation to preventive measures and aftercare. It surprised me that Peace Corps did not provide more than three sessions with a psychologist for one of the volunteers who commented on being raped. I say this because here in Bulgaria there is frequently information on mental health in our all volunteer emails and conferences. The staff here has also commented that mental health is just as important if not more important than physical health and they are available if we want to seek help. I can only say how deeply sorry I am for the Puzey family and that they can find some peace in knowing that Kate's situation is definitely not mine (and I hope not the situation for most volunteers past, present, and future).

It is unfortunate this news story is happening on the eve of the Peace Corps celebrating 50 years as I feel this is one of the few U.S. governmental organizations whose main goal is to promote world peace and friendship. The events discussed in the 20/20 special most definitely did not highlight any elements of peace or friendship though did highlight the major problem in our world of rape. Far too many women are being raped, assaulted, or harassed in far too many places and there are no easy answers. I can only hope that with more education and an emphasis on critical thinking more people will demand that this needs to end. Yes, raping women is an easy way to exert power over them, their families, and their communities but it is no way ethical or humane. One of the most basic human rights is safety and I can only hope that when a victim or someone feeling threatened speaks out, another person is there to bring them to safety, prevent harm, or lead them to places they can get help. Again, I can't comment on many of the issues relating to Peace Corps brought up in the special as I have personally experienced none of them. However, it made me extremely sad to hear the woman with 2 children say she would never let her daughters be a part of the Peace Corps.

With 2011 being the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps I hope more stories will come out featuring the good Peace Corps has done, is doing, and will do. Thanks for reading.

Peace, love, literacy, and reckless curiosity.

Can you spot the D?

And, here's one last link to the annual report of activities here in Bulgaria.

Annual Report

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I can't believe today was January 14th and the weather was nice enough to walk around in a long sleeved shirt. I was sweating on my walk back from school in my jacket. When I left my apartment to take out the trash I just wore a hooded shirt and felt great. The babas and diados (grandmas and grandpas) were even sitting outside enjoying the day. I'm loving this wintertime weather. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Minnesota winter with tons of snow but with us having no snow, I'll take the 10 C (50 F) days. 

After school today I headed to Kaufland with the purpose of buying cat litter and cat food. I got the cat supplies and of course left with more for myself. Kaufland here is a lot like Super Walmart though ours in Sliven has a larger food than home goods section. It's the cheapest place in the city to buy pet supplies so I tend to go there about once a month to stock up because I of course have to take a taxi home as I have too many things to make it back to my place (it's about a 35 minute walk). 

Once I got home I made a delicious lunch of mushroom and mozzarella sandwiches. They were delicious. First I cooked some onions and mushrooms in garlic. Then I put a few rings of fresh onions on a bun, put the mushrooms on top of that, lutenitsa (a tradtional Bulgarian specialty of canned peppers and onions) on top of the mushrooms like a marina sauce, then a thick slice of mozzarella, and I put them open faced into the oven to get them nice and toasty. I ended up eating three sandwiches. They were small and SO delicious. I even took photos:

After I finished lunch I took up Rowan and Braden's (my cousin's children) suggestion and watched Despicable Me (while knitting). I can definitely see why kids would like the film. I enjoyed the movie and loved the 3 little girls. Such a cute storybook ending, literally.

That's about all for today. Just thought I'd comment on the lovely weather we're having here in Bulgaria. I'll try to post something related to education here this weekend as a lot of things came up this week but for now enjoy the photos of Tumnina and Popitsa!

Peace, love, literacy, and reckless curiosity. 

There are days

There are DEFINITELY days here in Bulgaria where I feel like I have done nothing and ask myself what I am doing here. However, today was not one of those days!

The morning did not start out well with me waking up at the exact time I am suppose to leave my apartment however I got to school by the time my class started so everything was just fine (thanks to a taxi). Nothing too exciting happened with the 12th graders though they were happy to be in the computer room today so they would have time to be on the internet.

Then, the cleaning lady stopped by our room to give me package! I received some wonderful People magazines from my lovely cousin Rebecca! Thanks babe. Not only will I enjoy looking at and reading them but the eleventh graders had a great time looking through them and my counterpart was excited to have the magazines in person and not online (because you know the magazine has more information).

With 6A, 5A, and 5V we worked on parts for the video we are making for students back in Minnesota. Today we did short school tours and one student talked about the weather in Bulgaria. They are always excited to work on things outside of the English book so it was a good day. We will hopefully be able to finish filming next week so I can edit and have the video sent by the last week in January!

When school was finished, I headed to the center with a fellow English teacher to attend a seminar put on by a publishing company. It was a mixture of training and endorsements of their English curriculum. It was actually fairly interesting and was heavily attended. It was also great to be in a place with all the English teachers in the area as I was able to promote the Bulgarian National English Spelling Bee. This year the Peace Corps, along with the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, are putting on a spelling bee. I am getting students together at my school because we will start practicing next semester. And, I even won a DVD for our school at the end of the seminar!

On the walk out of the High School where the seminar was, I met another English teacher who is a friend of my counterpart. My counterpart was so thoughtful as she said "we got lucky with her" in reference to having a Peace Corps volunteer. It really made my day.

Then I paid my internet bill, bought a new battery for my watch, and got some groceries. The walk home was nice as I didn't buy too many things. Once I was back to my place, I made some dinner and watched some online TV.

I could go on to tell all the other things of this week but I'll keep this entry a bit more positive and optimistic. Yesterday was the 8 month anniversary of me being in Bulgaria. I can't believe I've already been here for so long and at the end of the month I will have been a Peace Corps Volunteer for 6 months.

The sunset from my apartment building yesterday:

A few of my crazy first graders:

Long but great day! Tomorrow is Friday and then it's the weekend!

New Years and Name Days

I wanted to share a few things as this week was an exciting week culturally here in Bulgaria.

New Years:

честита нова година!

This is the greeting people wish you after seeing you the first time during the New Year. You simply wish them back the same thing and it's a very happy time of year. Many people also wish you things along the lines of health, happiness, and love throughout the year. 

Name Days:

Here in Bulgaria, Name Days are a BIG deal. They are just as important as Birthdays, if not more important. I love name days as it means my students whose name is on that day bring chocolates to school and I wish them a happy name day. My students are also more upbeat on their days. Many of them seem to be genuinely proud of themselves which is great to see. Everyone celebrates and has a good time. The reason I'm mentioning this all this week is that two common names recently had name days. Wintertime is truly the season of name days as many names fill the days of December through March. 

Thursday, January 6th, was the name day for Yordon (Jordon) which held even more importance in the Eastern Orthodox Church. On St. Jordon's day, priests all over Bulgaria go to a river and devote time to celebrating the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordon River. The water is blessed and then the priest throws a cross into the water. People then run into the cold water for the cross and whoever finds it is said to have great blessings throughout the year. I did not witness any of these events though several other volunteers filmed some great videos 

Then on Friday, January 7th, was the name day for Ivan, Yoan, and Yoana which was a great day. Ivan is an extremely common name here in Bulgaria which meant I received about 8-10 chocolate from just three classes of students. Plus, two of the teachers at my school were celebrating their day which meant food and drinks in the teacher's lounge during the big break. It's just nice to see people in good spirits and enjoying one another's company. I had a good time sitting with the other teachers between my classes, sharing greetings, and giving cheers to the Ivans.

Here's a link if you're interested when name days are (maybe yours) and simply what names are popular here in Bulgaria.  

When are Name Days?

"I'm rooting for you"

First of all, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to mom and dad for the Christmas packages. I received them the day before I left for Christmas with my host family which was great since their gift was in the package. I gave my host family a photo book of our time together during training which they enjoyed. It was a must see for all the neighbors who visited while I was in town. But it's been a while since I posted, so to get you up to present day, here it is:

The last week of school before Christmas break included quite a bit. Monday there was the Christmas program for the elementary students and Tuesday there was one for the 5-12 graders (essentially practices for the real thing Wednesday night).

Then on Tuesday night was the big Christmas teachers' banquet. Thirty-two of us were there of about 65 and we had a delicious meal at a restaurant near the school of drinks, food, dancing, and dessert. I was a bit nervous about it but it was actually really great. I had a wonderful time and one of the teachers even brought a homemade liquor (made of cherries) that was very delicious. We did some traditional Bulgarian dancing and just popular music as well.

Then on Wednesday night came the big Christmas program for parents and to raise money for the school. I took tons of photos as usual and lots of video. I got to sit in the front row and had a great time watching the students sing, dance, and speak. The first two photos are of the 12th grade boys getting dressed, it is definitely a process but looks like fun.

And a few videos:

Thursday came with one of the men from my school coming to fix my front door and then I stopped at the post office to pick up my Christmas package! When I eventually got to school I was greeted by treats in the teachers' lounge and a celebration for one of the PE teacher's birthday. I then finally got upstairs to attend 6A's Christmas party and to say hello to the 5th and 11th graders. At 6A's party we played Christmas Bingo (the English of the day), talked, and had a lot of snacks. It was a day of shortened classes and lots of fun. I also got a ride home by one of the PE teachers which was nice as I had so much stuff to carry.

Thursday afternoon I came home in time to skype with my mom and cousin's kids (nice to see you Rowan and Braden). Then I packed for my trip back to my host family's house for Christmas. I hadn't seen them since our swearing in ceremony in the end of July. Hard to believe it had already been so long. Friday morning (the 24th) I got up to get on a late morning train heading toward northwestern Bulgaria. After my train arrived in Pleven, I took a bus to Byala Slatina where Yordan (member of my host family) picked me up at the bus station to head to the village. It was a long but beautiful trip taking the train through the mountains. I can't wait to go hiking there when the weather is nicer.

Christmas Eve was nice w/ Kristin (another volunteer) and I spending time with my host family. My host baba was in Sophia celebrating with her son and his family so I didn't see her until Christmas Day. Christmas Eve in Bulgaria is all vegetarian and there are always an odd number of dishes on the table. There is also a special type of bread made (photo below) with a coin hidden in one of the parts. The person who gets the coin is said to have good luck and money to last throughout the year. Kristin got the coin! It was a nice meal and I had a good time just hanging out. And of course, it wasn't a night without Mitko doing an experiment for us.

Christmas Day came with Kristin and I going to visit her host baba on the other side of the village. We walked over in the fog with puddles everywhere, good thing I brought my boots. After her Baba's house, we then went and visited with one of the other volunteer's host families. It was a nice day and was nice to put my Bulgarian to the test as I don't speak it a whole lot at my site.

After a day of visiting it was finally time to come back home and see my baba. Oh how I love Veneta. She is one fabulous Bulgarian grandma! We had a nice meal together that night and it was just nice to finally see each other. She gave me the sweater I'm wearing in the photo below and I brought along the beautiful quilt my cousin's daughter made for me to show my baba.

After a great Saturday night, Sunday morning came with me sleeping in and having Mekitsa (Bulgarian version of a doughnut that you dip in sugar or honey) for breakfast. Oh how I miss Veneta's cooking. I then went on a little farm visit to see all the animals in the winter. I had to visit my favorite cow and the new pigs as we ate the two from the summertime for Christmas.

Sunday was very chill which was nice and then on Monday, it snowed! It was beautiful and I shoveled all the walks. It was a nice feeling to help with some sort of outside chore as I haven't since the summer when I actually had an outside to be in. And Veneta made bread on top of the wood stove that heats her house, delicious!

Then on Tuesday Kristin, Mary, and I held a Christmas celebration at the Chitalishte (community center) in town with the help of the town's librarian. It was fun to see some of the kids from our time in Popitsa over the summer. We played bingo, made ourselves into reindeer, colored, danced, watched a little performance by the local kids, and had a snow fight!

Then it was time for me to say my goodbyes to my host family once again and head back to Sliven. It was a great trip and I was happy to see my Bulgarian family.

When I got back my cats were definitely happy to see me though my neighbors did a great job taking care of them while I was away. I was in Sliven until New Years Even when I traveled to Shumen to celebrate the New Year with some other volunteers. We had a good time celebrating. Plus, I was able to bring the homemade white wine that a neighbor from my host village had given me for Christmas which was delicious!

Then it was back to Sliven after an all-too-short break. I so wanted a few more days but after all it was back to school. This week has been fairly uneventful this far so not much to report on the school side of things. Though I will share this one video of what Popitsa is able to do (so much for keeping the cats in one room, if it only had a lock):

Finally, today I was was feeling extremely homesick after talking to my mom as I miss people back home so much sometimes. It all just comes in a big rush sometimes and I just need a pick me up. Things can get extremely frustrating sometimes. Yet I was talking to a friend online who made it all worth it with:

"good luck with everything - feel free to chat or email if you need to vent more - I really don't mind...I'm rooting for you."

You know who you are and I couldn't appreciate my friends more. Some people just get it and I so need those people in my life. Words are powerful and the little things truly count. I love you!

Peace, love, literacy, and reckless curiosity.

I love comments so feel free to post below, I don't think I can make this post much longer but we can sure try.