Farewells and St. George's Day

I was going to blog last night but it just got late so now I get to add today's events into the mix of things. Today was the 12th graders' farewell concert at my school. This is the first year in some time that all of the seniors are graduating so there was a lot to celebrate. Basically, the concert hall was decorated and at about a quarter to 2:00 some of the older students and teachers came into the hall and things got started a little after two. There were speeches, awards for teachers, skits, and several dances. The 11th graders all gave the 12th graders balloons with a message on them. It was a nice concert and it even ended in the 12th graders opening a few bottles of champagne. No worries, they actually are old enough to drink as the age here is 18 but it still kind of funny to be watching as they are students and everything, at least for a few more days. I have an entire album of the day linked on the side as "May 9th, 2011" however here are a few of my favorite photos of the day:

It is tradition for the 12th graders to cheer by counting from 1 to 12 over and over again:

Other than today having a bit more happening than usual, last Friday was St. George's Day which is a national holiday here in Bulgaria. This meant no school and since we had a three day weekend I decided to go visit my host family. Along with a great time, there were quite a few firsts for me.

1. I ate lamb. Most Bulgarians eat lamb or goat on St. George's Day and my family had plenty of lamb. While it was tolerable it definitely wasn't my favorite thing to eat. Since my baba (grandma) had cooked an entire lamb for essentially her, the new trainee who is living with her, and me....we ate it all weekend. I also ended up eating some at another trainee's house when we went and visited which then made me realize seasoning made it quite a bit better. All in all, it's not something I would ever order or choose to eat but I now know it's edible.

2. I saw turkeys hatching. Last time I visited my host family they were giving on of the hens turkey eggs instead of chicken eggs to hatch and this time I visited they were actually coming out of their shells. To me they looked pretty much the same a chicks from a chicken however they seem to have slightly bigger feet and a beak. They were quite adorable and I enjoyed seeing them.

3. I drank homemade quince juice. A quince is a fruit that tastes like a hybrid between an apple and a pear, to me. The juice as well as the fruit in the juice was very good, all thanks to a new trainee's host family.

4. I went to the Popitsa graveyard. Two of the trainees and I walked over to the village's graveyard and along the way we not only saw some type of animal bone but there was also a dismembered doll along the way. I loved it.

5. I saw rapeseed. I don't believe I've ever seen this plant up close but the fields are a beautiful shade of yellow this time of year. The two trainees I was with along with myself also had a little photo shoot there. Here's a link in case you've never heard of it: rapeseed

6. The train car I sat in for the 1st of the three legs was me, a university student I know from my training site, and a volleyball team. This was a new and exciting experience because the Bulgarian who was with me was able to translate in case I didn't understand (which frequently happens) the amazing jokes and humor of our car. The volleyball team who was on the train was a group of 6th-8th grade boys. For all of you who maybe aren't around this age group very often, they can be quite hilarious and their humor was just funny. They were from Pernik and were traveling to Isperih for a competition. It made those 2 hours of my trip back to Sliven very interesting, plus some of them were trying out their English. All in all, it was a good time.

7. I helped plant Bulgarian tomatoes. I mean I have helped with gardening in the past however last year when I arrived everything was already in the soil (to my knowledge) so this year I helped my baba a bit on Saturday afternoon. The way she grows the tomatoes from seeds are putting them in soil in yogurt containers indoors until they're ready to be outside. The genius part of it is that she cuts a few holes in the bottom of the inner yogurt container and leaves the outer yogurt container alone so the plant won't dry out or attempt to grow in soil that is too wet. It was a good time and I was glad to help on a beautiful, sunny day. Plus, I ate tons of those tomatoes fresh last summer and canned this winter.

Here are a few of my favorite photos however again, there is an album of the photos on the side of the blog under links titled "St. George's Day Weekend". 

Tomorrow marks one year of me being out of Minnesota. That's so strange. 

Peace, love, literacy, and reckless curiosity.