Projects and the Weather

First off, for all the spelling kids. Print the list of words from the link below and read the rules!

Rules
2012 Words

Now onto what's been happening lately. Yesterday I got home from a weekend in Sofia as I ended up staying an extra day due to the Peace Corps imposing a travel ban due to the amount of snow. It was a good weekend of catching up with other volunteers, enjoying some delicious food, and meeting with my program staff about what I've been up to.

It's definitely winter as the temperature has been low and we've had quite a bit of snow within the last week and a half. Today there are 54 mph winds here in Sliven with a temperature of 25 degrees F though it feels like 4 degrees F. One to three inches of snow is expected tomorrow and the temperature is expected to drop to 7 degrees F. The wind will also continue. What all that says to me is it's time to stay inside working on my side projects, knitting, and of course a bit of movies or TV. The mayor here in Sliven even declared tomorrow a no study day.


I’m definitely staying busy with a plethora of teaching, after school spelling practice, and side projects. I’m currently working on planning and logistics for my PCPP (thanks again to everyone who helped to fund the project). The English Enrichment workshops will happen in April and May. As of now, three cities are set and I’m still waiting on a few schools to respond whether they will be able to partner or not. It’s a lot of getting materials together and organizing computer files in a logical and efficient way.

Another project I’m working on is a lesson plan for an American Culture Club. I’m creating 27 lessons aimed at advanced middle school students here in Bulgaria who want to learn about the United States through English. Here in Bulgaria students occasionally have an extra class each week based on a topic of interest. With this lesson plan an English teacher will be able to facilitate lesson plans in a fun and interactive manner. It will help the English skills of the students as well as their knowledge of American culture. Every state will be covered as well as topics such as currency, national parks, Michael Jackson, Presidents, and so on.

The third main project I’m working on is an “All About Bulgaria” small group/individual unit for American middle school students. These lessons have no need to be sequential and are designed for students to be able to read and complete with minimal adult assistance. Students can work individually or in a group and are able to turn in answers and projects to their teacher or parent. It’s a great way to get more social studies topics into students’ daily lives. Topics range from the Bulgarian alphabet to roses to creating a 3D map of Bulgaria. My goal is for the lessons to be fun and also make students think critically about a country they may not even know exists.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week, now for a few photos...

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

2012 Spelling Bee Pretest and Words

It's time again for the Bulgarian National English Spelling Bee, or BNES. Only 25 students are able to participate in our local school spelling bee this year so the numbers need to be narrowed down, therefore the pretest. All 5th through 7th graders who are interested will be taking a test this week to determine if their English skills are good enough to participate (4th grade students will also participate however a different teacher is helping them practice). From this week on I will meet with the students once a week to practice from the local words for the 2012 BNES.

For all students who will be in the Spelling Bee (or if you're just interested), please go to the links below.

Read this: 2012 Spelling Bee Rules
Print this: 2012 BNES Local Word List (This list is what you need to begin studying from!)

Here are some optional spelling games to play:
Spelling City
Spelling Bowl

This year I am organizing an additional spelling bee for the 3rd grade students. This will give them a taste of what the spelling bee is and allow me to answer questions for them and their teachers so they are ready to participate next year. I have created a word list for them to study and we will have our 3rd Grade Bee in March. I will have a date for the 3rd grade bee and the 2012 BNES when it gets closer to March.

-And again, a BIG THANKS to everyone who helped to fund my PCPP, planning for the EFL Enrichment workshops has begun. I'm currently in the process of getting 4 schools (other than mine) to host, purchasing materials, and creating games. So far, Plovidiv is set!

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Tolerance

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this post is dedicated to tolerance (specifically within the US). The amount of violence and disrespectful behavior related to hatred and intolerance in the U.S. astounds me. The only thing I can attribute this behavior to is a lack of education and interactions with diverse groups of people. In my personal experience and in the news I read about the U.S. I see some of the biggest problems with people’s view toward minority communities, specifically Muslims and people who identify themselves within the LGBT community.

In reference to the Muslim community of the United States, they have such a long history of living in America that I find it incredibly unfortunate there is currently so much Islamophobia. September 11th, 2001, affected all Americans but this event greatly affected our American Muslims. Personally, I find most religions to have far more similarities than differences therefore the amount of violent acts toward American Muslims are astounding to me. I’m grateful for Muslims who are able to put themselves into the public eye in the attempt of educating other Americans. I believe shows like All-American Muslim on TLC are great ways to get people who many have never interacted with someone of a different religion to see what their lives are like. I have enjoyed watching every episode of this show and was saddened to hear of the behavior of companies like Lowe's and Kayak who pulled their advertisements from the episodes. You can read more about these events HERE. Suhailia, who is a part of All-American Muslim wrote a wonderful blog recently about 9/11. You can read that post here, and a short video can be found here. Media projects and films such as My Fellow American are also excellent ways of educating Americans and uniting communities. I say this because there is a lot of power in education and I feel most people simply are afraid of what they don’t know. It’s this fear that can cause unacceptable behavior and violence toward “other” groups of people. I also find the intolerance many Americans hold toward Muslims to be somewhat ironic because among other reasons, didn't Europeans come to North America for religious freedom?

Furthermore, the amount of violence not only physically but emotionally toward the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community is worrying. We as Americans need to unite in educating each other in order to end the amount of  bullying LGBT youth face. LGBT Americans should not be the only ones working toward the goals of tolerance and acceptance. Straight Americans also need to stand up, homophobic jokes and slurs are not okay. I don't know how many times I heard people use the phrase "that's so gay" or "don't be gay" when what they meant was "that's so stupid" or "don't be stupid" growing up; but, it was far too many. What is okay is standing up to this type of behavior and not allowing it to occur anymore. Our suicide rate in the U.S. is outrageous and it can only be decreased through empowering one another and teaching each other the power of words. There are some amazing organizations in the states including The Trevor Project, We Give a Damn, and countless others. Please commit to making our community a better place for everyone by choosing to be kind and supporting a tolerant community.

Finally, though these words may have been spoken in 1968, I feel they still ring true today. Please take a few minutes to listen to the words of Robert F. Kennedy. 

The Mindless Menace of Violence

What will you do to spread peace and tolerance?


If you're looking for materials on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or the Day of Service connected with him. Here's a great site: MLK Day.


Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity :)

Nothing like a little M.J. to spice up the day :)

Today was a nice, easy day of 3rd grade. All the kids were pretty well behaved and the lessons weren't too challenging for them (for the most part). Best of all though in one of the classes not only did a kid ask me what the word "stunt" meant but recently learned what the phrase "roger that" means and used it off and on throughout class. Also, in their homework for today they were to write the word snake and bridge (among others) 10 times. I never realized how close the words "shake" and "bride" were. The kids had a nice laugh when they realized the mistakes they made and what words they were actually writing.

Best of all for the day though and the reason I wanted to put up a quick post...

During one of the classes, a student's phone went off not once, not twice, but three times in one class period and his ring tone was none other than...thriller! Nothing like a little M.J. to spice up the day :)

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

On Holiday in Poland

I was able to travel to Poland for a week's vacation with a friend which turned out to be a fabulous trip. If you enjoy history, especially related to WW2, Poland is a great place to visit. Every day was packed with plenty to do and I enjoyed all of it. There is a link at the end of this post to all of the photos. But first, I'll fill you in on the day by day. I've tried to include links so you can learn more about things if something sounds interesting to you.

Tuesday, December 27th

We traveled to Warsaw via LOT Polish Air in the afternoon. Even though the flight was less than 2 hours there they gave us beverages and two delicious snacks. After we picked up our bags we took a bus to find our hostel. We dropped off or things at Oki Doki Hostel and then walked to "Frida" where we had a delicious dinner of Mexican food. After dinner we walked around the city a bit and then we were back at Oki Doki to get some rest.

Wednesday, December 28th

In the morning we headed out to see some of the sights of Warsaw. We walked to several churches and then headed to the Old Town where we had a brunch of coffee and toasted sandwiches which were delicious. The Old Town was destroyed during WW2 however was reconstructed and now looks almost as it did before the war. The morning light made for beautiful light and highlighted the wonderful scenery.

After seeing the old town and doing some shopping we headed to see one of the Palaces and large parks of Warsaw. It was a beautiful place filled with lots of birds and beauty. We even saw an extremely friendly squirrel being fed by a sweet old lady.

After seeing the park we headed back to Oki Doki to pick up our bags and then took a train to Krakow. The train ride was wonderful. We ended up having our own cabin and our ticket price even included coffee, tea, and/or water and a biscuit which we weren't expecting. I spent the ride writing postcards and listening to music. After arriving in Warsaw we headed out to find our hostel, Globtrotter. It was a nice evening and found our hostel pretty easily. Our hostel was wonderful and I would highly recommend it to anyone heading to Krakow. It was quiet, the staff were friendly and we had our own room complete with bathroom. After dropping off our things we walked down the street to have our first Polish food. I had three types of perogies and Jenn had some potato pancakes. Everything was delicious. Then it was time for bed to get ready for the next day.

Thursday, December 29th

In the morning we had a light breakfast and took the city bus over to the Wieliczka Salt Mine (Vee-leech-ka). The Salt Mine is included on UNESCO's World Heritage List and was well worth the time. Our guide was fabulous, teaching us many things about the mine and it's history. It was beautiful inside and we were able to tour the first three levels, there are nine levels in total. The mine contained beautiful rock salt sculptures and several chapels. There are even areas which can be rented for weddings, parties, or eventy.

After touring the mine we had a late lunch of delicious pizza at a nearby restaurant. Then we headed back to Krakow, stopped by the hostel, had some coffee, and then walked around the main market square. There were many tents with food, crafts, and other gifts which were fun to look at. We ended up eating Indian food for dinner which was a nice change in pace.

Friday, December 30th

This was one of the most meaningful days of the trip as we planned a tour to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. We picked up breakfast at a delicious bakery and then got on the bus. On the way to the museum we watched a documentary about Auschwitz. We had a big tour group however the museum gave us headsets to use which was much better as we were always able to hear even if we weren't very close to the guide. It was a very cold, dreary day with rain on and off. It was fitting weather for the place we were visiting and learning about. It's a hard experience to put into words as it is such a tragic place if misery. There was so much I didn't know and so many moving displays and exhibits. I'm very happy we were able to visit and witness a place that was once filled with so much hate now filled with empathy and compassion.

After our tour we headed back to Krakow and stopped by the hostel before heading out for a dinner of Polish food followed by a walk around the city and then cheesecake and hot chocolate.

Saturday, December 31st

We had a delicious breakfast of coffee drinks and paninis. Then we walked around, stopped at the post office, and went to the National Museum. There were two temporary exhibits and three permanent exhibits. Though we had checked online and thought the museum was open until 4 pm, it turned out it was going to close at 1pm so we only had an hour. I managed to get to 4 of the galleries and greatly enjoyed what I was able to see. The museum was also child friendly as many of the galleries had pieces that were able to be tried on like military items or swords that were able to be held and so forth.

After the museum we headed to the Jewish district where we had some delicious traditionally Jewish snacks and a coffee. Since it was New Years Eve we then went back to the hostel and hung out a bit before going to dinner.

After dinner we hung out at a hookah bar before going to the main market square for fireworks. There was a great mix of popular music playing and countdown was projected onto one of the buildings. The show was great and afterward we got a snack of chocolate covered marshmallows and chocolate covered bananas and then went back to our hostel. It was a great night.

Sunday, January 1st

Not much was open in the morning but we found a cafe were I had a gingerbread latte and a bagel sandwich. Then we walked to Wawel (Vaw-vel) Castle. The castle was beautiful and holds a great legend about a dragon who was causing havoc before the people of Krakow killed him. After the castle we went to the Jewish district to go to Galicia Jewish Museum. The museum held a nice history through photos of Polish Jews pre-WW2, during WW2, and present day. There was also a temporary photo exhibit of Ze'ev Aleksandrowicz which was well worth the time. I learned a great deal about Polish Jews and their treatment as well as perspective.

Afterward we had something to eat and then headed back to the hostel. We had a delicious Polish dinner followed by some dessert and then called it a night. It was a wonderful trip. We left Krakow on the morning of January 2nd and I arrived back in Sliven last night. Finally for a few videos showing random footage of our time in Poland. It's a place I would definitely go back to and would recommend to anyone interested in history or may be in a neighboring country and has some time to stop by.

I wish you all a fabulous 2012! Thanks for reading. Here are the rest of the photos: On Holiday in Poland

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Last Bulgarian Christmas

This weekend I was able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with another volunteer, Amy, in her village of Byala. We spent time with the family of a teacher Amy works with. We had lots of delicious food and drinks alongside playing with her kids and having a few spontaneous dance parties. It was a good time. Christmas day we had breakfast and just hung out at Amy's place knitting and watching a movie. I unfortunately have had a cold since Friday so I'm hoping it is almost fully cleared up by tomorrow as I'm heading to Poland! Woo hoo. However, as promised, I would like to share some photos and videos of all the Christmas festivities last week. I hope you enjoy them :)

There are links to the albums of most of my photos under the "Links of Interest" section. On to the videos:

Just let me know if you'd like to see the 11th/12th grade dance as I must email it to you since it is too long to be uploaded here. It's quite amazing. Leave a comment on this post with your email if you want to view it. 

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! See you in 2012 :)

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Winter Break Has Begun :)

This week was filled with Christmas festivities including making Christmas cards, going to a few concerts, and attending the teacher's banquet. In order to celebrate but still work on a bit of English the students made Christmas cards for their families and then we played Christmas Bingo. They all had a good time and I even got to watch one of the classes perform a Christmas skit. With my 5th grade spelling group we also played Christmas Bingo after having a mock spelling bee for me to see what they can do. We've got a lot of work but they have definite potential. I brought Christmas cookies, candy canes, and gifts for some of my colleagues this week for Christmas and I also received many wonderful presents. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Wednesday and Thursday evening there were Christmas concerts at the school. I went both nights which was good because it was not the same show. The oldest students blew me away with their performance Thursday evening. Their dancing was amazing! Look for videos in my next post as I have not edited them quite yet. After the concert Thursday evening it was time for the teacher's banquet which was at a nice restaurant. The evening was filled with food, drinks, and dancing. Today school was shortened and I went with 3 classes of students to a restaurant near the school for their Christmas party. It was a good time however I'm exhausted and ready to relax a bit before Christmas Eve tomorrow. I'm so happy for the school break, both the students and the teachers were in need of some time away.

I'll be heading to Byala (a village nearby) in the morning to spend time with another volunteer and people she knows. I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May it be filled with happiness, joy, and people you love. Look for another post Sunday or Monday as I'll put something up before I head to Poland for vacation :)

The photos from the week can be found under the "Links of Interest" section titled "Christmas 2011 at SOU 11" a bit later.

Also, a big shout out to my uncle Tom and aunt Doris who sent me a lovely package of Christmas candies this week. Thank you to everyone else who has sent me a package, card, or wishes this month!

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Killing a Pig

Oh what a day. Starting around 7:30 this morning I was picked up by Vlady (my counterpart, colleague, friend) and her family to head to their village house. Since next Saturday is Christmas Eve, today was pig killing day for them as well as many other people here in Bulgaria. I will explain a bit by saying pork is a traditional Christmas item here in Bulgaria. Years ago people killed the pig on the actual day of Christmas as Christmas Eve was reserved for a vegetarian feast. However now most people kill their pigs beforehand so they can relax on Christmas Day. The pig killing I was a part of today was for an entire family of grandpa and grandpa followed by their son, his wife, their son and daughter and their families. So this pig was for about 11 people plus all the food we ate today (the extra 5-6 people who were a part of things).

We got to the village house, unloaded the things and hung out for a bit. Once everyone was there it was time to get things in motion so all the men got everything ready. Now, before we got to the village I was planning to help actually kill it however looking at how large this pig was (the grandpa guessed about 200 kilos) I figured it would probably be best to watch this first time. Plus, I didn’t know all the people involved and taking a side role was just fine with me. So I was ready with my camera and video camera to catch all the day’s events. They actually didn’t kill it how I would have expected so it was a good thing I watched. I guessed they would slit its throat however one man stabbed it on the side of its neck and then made a small cut. It took 6 men to hold the pig, and it was definitely something to see. I’m glad I was able to be a part of things. The really strange part was as they were killing the pig there were definitely 4 or 5 pigs also being killed at the same time as I seemed to be hearing squeals from every direction. After the pig was dead it took 6 or 7 men to drag it out of the pen and onto a wooden slab which was then hoisted onto two sawhorses. The first thing we did was drink some hot Rakia (Bulgarian homemade whiskey) mixed with honey. Then they cleaned it off with some water and started blowtorching all the hair and skin until it was charcoal black. They did this to both sides of the pig. After this process they scraped all the black off with the dull side of knives and then rubbed it with salt and vinegar. Then it was time to start butchering. They use most all of the meat for something or another including minced meat mixed with onions and rice stuffed inside the intestines for sausage. During all of this we had not only coffee but also red and white wine and snacks of fire grilled pork. There are plenty of photos linked to this blog so look there for more on this part. I wanted to spare all of you who either don’t want to see the butchering or have a very weak stomach. It was a very interesting process and though I didn’t help much I did as many little things as I could. After the pig was completely butchered came the cooking of the pig and then we all ate together. I had a good time hanging out and playing with the 3 girls who were there. Plus, I got lots of homemade delicious food and got to know my Vlady’s family a bit more. Here is a video and a link to all the photos from the day. I will warn you; in the videos you will see and hear a pig being killed, prepped, and butchered. There is no reason for 2 separate videos except for the fact that together it is too long to be uploaded in one shot. 

PHOTOS

 I got back to my place at about 5:00 pm and I still smell like a campfire. They were heating water for the preparation and butchering of the pig all day long and then cooking on the same fire. Smells like the cabin.

In the days leading up to today I kept questioning whether I would personally be able to be the one to kill the pig and I had decided going into today that I would do it if given the chance. To me, killing anything is a big deal so I had to really think about it. I figure, who am I to eat meat if I am unable to kill an animal? Since I do eat meat here in Bulgaria I thought about this seriously. While I was not the one to kill the pig today I do feel I am capable of doing it in the future. I currently only eat meat occasionally and will continue to do this throughout my time in Bulgaria. However I do not have a problem eating vegetarian. In the future one of my hopes it to have a house with enough outside space to have a chicken/turkey coop where I can raise them not only for eggs but for meat as well. I think there’s a great amount of power in pride in raising and butchering your own food. I also plan to eat only local meats and keep it to a special occasion or once a week basis. I simply do not feel eating meat regularly is a sustainable or healthy diet which is why I choose to limit my intake. Well enough of me going on.

Now it’s time to relax and go to bed, I’m exhausted. I hope you’re all having a great weekend and everyone is having a wonderful time at my Grandpa Bob's 80th birthday party!

Oh, by the way. The game we call “monkey in the middle” back in Minnesota where everyone is trying to keep the ball away from one person in the middle, they call that “drunk carrot” here in Bulgaria. I found that quite hilarious today. I also laughed out loud when, as I was going to hit the shuttlecock with my Badminton racquet, the handle stayed in my hand while the rest of it flew above the fence and into the neighbor’s property. Oh what fun it is to play with crappy equipment :)

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

T.G.I.F.

I'm so happy it's Friday and I have the weekend to spend relaxing and getting ready for Christmas. It's been a bit of a crazy week for random reasons. First of all I found out that some of the 3rd grade parents think me pulling them out of English class is actually weakening their English rather than strengthening it. Let me explain, this year I work will all the four sections of 3rd grade team teaching with three different teachers. A few times a week I've been pulling kids into a resource room to work 2 on 1 and strengthen their English. We are not out of the room the entire lesson and we work on material they "should know" by this point. It's essentially an easy way for me to check their abilities not only with how much vocabulary or grammar they know but their pronunciation and listening abilities. Since some of the parents are not happy I have stopped for the time being and after we start again in January I will be asking parents to "sign their child up" if they want them to work with me. They only end up getting to be outside the classroom about one time a month as there are 20-25 students in each classroom. At this point I have gotten through all the students except one class. Each time I write a few sentences about what we did, where their strengths were, and what was most difficult. For the next round I will be actually checking skills off a list I have created so their teachers and parents know what they are capable of. Other than that the kids and teachers are obviously ready for winter break, there haven't been any no school days in over a month and it's showing. People are more restless and the kids have more energy.

Secondly one of the teachers I work with was ill this week and I had no idea she would not be coming until I walked into that section of 3rd grade and the teacher said we weren't going to have English the rest of the week due to the other teachers illness. Oh well I guess as I couldn't really do much about it. In the other sections we learned a winter song this week (thanks mom for creating it). For all of you who may be looking for something this song is to the tune of "I'm a little teapot" and the lyrics are:

I'm a little snowman,

short and fat.

Here are my buttons.

Here is my hat. 

In the summertime, 

I cannot stay.

I, just simply melt away. 

And to show you how it's done. Here are the students from 3Б and 3B. 

Today's after school English group went very well. We worked on some Christmas Cards and then played games. Below you'll find photos and a few videos of the day. We did the Hokey Pokey, played "Cat and Mouse", and danced some Horo. 

A few more details on "Cat and Mouse' since it was a fun group game. One person is the mouse and one person is the cat. The rest of the people form a group surrounding the mouse and the cat goes outside the circle. The group members must hold hands as the object of the game is for the cat to tag the mouse by getting into the circle. The mouse can come and go as it pleases and the group members attempt to keep the cat outside the circle by moving their arms. However, the group members could form a bridge to let the cat in or the mouse out so everyone must be on the alert. It was very fun and a game almost any age could play. 

Tonight I'm watching TV and knitting. Thanks again for the AMAZING package this week Mom and Dad! Tomorrow it's off to my counterpart's village to help kill the Christmas pig! 

Also, a BIG Happy Birthday to my Grandpa Bob as he is celebrating his 80th birthday with family and friends this weekend. Also, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all the Martens who will be getting together to celebrate :)

And if any of you are looking for something great to finish of your week. Here you are:

30 Things To Stop Doing To Yourself

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Time's moving quickly

Goodness, the past few weeks have flown by and not for any particular reason. Plus, there's only about 7 months of my service left, so strange. The weather has been beautiful for the most part, definitely has felt more like fall than winter. Last week I was subbing for an English teacher who was ill and this week I had to travel to Sofia. I was in Sofia to get my flu shot which is a required part of being a Peace Corps Volunteer. I never get them but I didn't really have much of a choice this time. It was actually a good time to be in Sofia since there is a lot of protesting going on in the country. There were over 150 tractors which were driven into the city to advocate for farmer's rights. Pensioners were also protesting against the new age requirements the government wants to place on retirement. I was also able to have lunch while I was at the capital with two of the volunteers I spent my time with during training which was nice. Here's a little clip of one of the protests and some photos from my day. 

For what's going on with teaching 3rd grade we're moving right along with the book material. Here's the song we sang for the lesson today:

I'm looking forward to having some Christmas lessons soon and the Christmas concerts my school will put on. Things around the school and the city are decorated well for the holidays :) For another great video, here's the dance a group of girls made up for our "Days of the Week" song. 

A BIG thanks to my wonderful family who sent me Christmas packages this week. Aunt Chris, Uncle Andy, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Bob, Amber, Jason, Rowan, and Braden, thank you!

Also, Happy Birthday to Miss Amy Eastin on the 13th!

Finally, if you know of anyone who can help fund a Peace Corps Project. Please visit my project which can be found here (every little bit helps and it's tax deductible):  English Enrichment Workshop

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.