How Strange

How strange it is that I'm leaving Sliven in less than 48 hours. This last year has definitely flown by. I'm so grateful for the amazing students and colleagues I was able to work with over the last few years. They have helped to make my experiences here ones I will look back on fondly. Today I left school for the last time, said goodbye to colleagues, received lots of hugs from my lovely students, and my cats were picked up for their new life with a Bulgarian family. Plus, I received some incredibly thoughtful gifts. I'm incredibly thankful my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer has been a positive one. It's fitting the rose is the flower that represents Bulgaria as though I have had many thorns along my journey, it's been overwhelmingly beautiful.

All I can say about closing my service on Monday, July 25th, 2012 is bittersweet, bittersweet.

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Smiles, good memories, and lots of tears

Last weekend I was able to visit the host family I lived with during my pre-service training here in Bulgaria. This had been the longest I've gone without seeing them as it hadn't been since last fall so I was really looking forward to seeing them. I don't think I would have believed someone if they told me before I came here I would have become so close with them but it definitely happened. This is a family I truly love and consider my own. Veneta (my baba) is a true grandma in every sense of the word. She's been there whenever I've needed her, remembers what foods I like and cooks them for me, I'm always welcome to visit her, and she's given me extremely thoughtful gifts along the way. I don't have enough words to represent how much I love her. Thus, I was pretty quiet and started crying as soon as I walked through the gate to the street (this crying continued on and off all day and has started again now that I'm writing). To me, acts of kindness and showing love through actions are worth more than any words and stick in my mind. I'm so happy to have been placed in Veneta's home and I have appreciated becoming part of her family. It was an awesome weekend as Veneta had all 3 of her granddaughters there - her biological one Vicky (who is 2 1/2), me, and Johanna, the volunteer who lived with her last year during training. We had a great time hanging out, playing, and taking tons of photos. Vicky even knows some English words and songs from her parents and BabyTV, needless to say we did a lot of dancing. I'm so happy for Veneta that she's able to have Vicky for a long visit, I hope it becomes an annual summer thing.

I truly hope I'm able to visit sometime down the road and see them all again. I never knew how hard it would be to say goodbye to people that I honestly have no idea if I will ever see again.

So yeah, it was an emotional weekend which led to a tired Monday. I've only got a week left so I'm trying to appreciate it all, it's hard to believe I'll be in MN a week from tomorrow.

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Blossoming Basswoods

It seems everywhere I walked today I smelled the blooming basswood trees. I can even smell them in my apartment as I write this. Before coming to Bulgaria I had no idea the use of this tree however I now know the long, thin leaves can be used to make tea. Go ahead and try it if you've got one around where you live :)

Moving on though to a few other things that happened today which made my Monday absolutely lovely...I went to school in the morning and was surprised to learn some of the students had put together a small farewell concert for me in one of the classrooms. They ask me to come to the room and they presented me with a bouquet of roses one of the 6th grade girls had arranged along with several singing performances. It was very sweet and yet another reason I'm so happy I was placed here in Sliven at SOU 11 as I've had a good few years and will definitely miss the school community.

During the afternoon I was able to help a fellow teacher with her summer class that started today. For the next 3 weeks she will meet every afternoon with a group of 12 students who just finished 3rd grade to make a variety of handcrafts. Today we made bookmarks from ribbon and paper and then wreathes from recycled cardboard and egg cartons. We turned the egg cartons into flowers. The kids had an excellent time doing it with some of them getting very creative. I also made a few which was fun. I'll be helping with this group of students for my last weeks here in Bulgaria :)

It's so strange that I leave 2 weeks from tomorrow. Time is flying by.

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

School Excursion

I was able to go on a two-day excursion with about 40 students, 2 teachers, the school nurse, and another volunteer this past weekend. We left Friday morning at 7am to go to Veliko Tarnovo where we went to Tsarevets castle. It's a popular attraction as it was the royal palace and primary fortress from 1185 to 1393. After touring the castle we went to the center of the city, had lunch, and walked around. Then we got back on the bus to go to Aprilsti where we were spending the night. We got there mid-afternoon which gave the students plenty of free time to rest, hang out, play cards, etc. Plus, I had brought with a bunch of small balls and flashlights that were a big hit (thanks to my dad for sending them and the donation of them from Medica). We ended up staying in a boarding school that has been transformed into a camp-like setting for school groups. At first appearance it didn't even look like it was inhabited but everything turned out well as we had a good dinner and a nice time.

Day two we had breakfast, then rode the bus into the small town near where we stayed to take a group picture and buy snacks. Then we drove to Etar which was awesome, definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. This architectural-ethnographic complex was filled with lots of fun shops, demonstrations, and performances which I enjoyed. Plus, I got some great souvenirs :)

After Etar, we went to the Shipka Memorial which was constructed to commemorate those who died for the Liberation of Bulgaria from 1877-78. It's 1000 steps to get to the top of the memorial and since it was a warm summer day it was quite the hike. We definitely stopped along the way more than once. From the top there is a beautiful view of the Stara Planina Mountain range as well as many cities and the longest lake in Bulgaria.

After hiking up to the memorial and back we got back on the bus for our last stop which was Shipka Memorial Church. This church, like the monument, is dedicated to the soldiers who fought for Bulgaria's Liberation. Along with Bulgarians, there were many Russian soldiers, therefore this church is unlike many churches within the country as it was designed by a Russian architect.

After all of that it was time to come back to Sliven. It was a nice trip and excellent way for me to see many important places I hadn't been to yet. All my photos can be viewed HERE.

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Roses and Goodbyes

This last weekend I was able to go to Kazanluk for the Rose Festival. I went last year so I knew what to expect but this year was equally as good if not better. I went Saturday morning and was with a nice, small group of volunteers. Saturday we first went to Buzludja, then had lunch, then hung out a bit and at night watched fireworks and saw some traditional dance and singing performances. Sunday morning we headed out to the rose fields were there were many community groups set up in traditional attire. We also were able to pick roses and take lots of photos. Afterward a nice man even gave us a ride back to the city in the horse cart he was driving, great fun! Then was the the parade which was good but very hot since it was full sun yesterday. Afterward we walked around a bit, got something to eat and then I headed back to Sliven. It was a bit strange leaving as I have no real idea if I'll see those volunteers again since we'll all be in different places after leaving Bulgaria. This whole month is filled with goodbyes which just makes for a strange set of emotions. Up until this point in my life goodbye has usually meant goodbye for a while but many of my goodbyes right now may mean forever. I don't quite know any other way to put it right now, it's just strange. Anyway, onto a few photos to highlight the weekend :)

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.