I Drink Coffee

Yes, you read the title correctly. I now drink coffee and actually enjoy it immensely. The coffee here is quite strong and drank in small quantities similar to espresso. It’s delicious with a sugar or sometimes two. On a relatable note, Veneta (my host grandma) gives me tea and coffee every morning. It’s great because she also likes to sweeten up her own drinks so I don’t feel so guilty adding the sugar. A spoonful of honey with the tea and a spoonful of sugar for the coffee. Our breakfasts tend to include one or more of the following:

Princessa – Bread with spiced meat on top that is broiled
Cheese Bread – Bread with cheese on top (Kashkaval, one of the two types of cheese here) that is broiled
Fried egg
Mekitsa – I do not know how to spell that but it is fried dough which has a lighter consistency than a doughnut but the same idea. Sometimes there is cheese inside (cirene, similar to feta) but I prefer without. You then dip the mekitsa in honey or sugar. It’s very delicious.
Yogurt – The stuff here does not taste the same as yogurt in the United States. I can’t quite explain it, I guess you’ll have to visit to find out. I add honey to the yogurt if we have it.
Bread
Apple and or Banana (An apple in the morning keeps you beautiful, an apple in the evening is good for your health. Or so says my baba.)

That’s about all I’ve got for breakfast at the moment but if you’re looking for a delicious summer salad I have just the thing for you. We have this with almost every dinner and it is incredibly delicious.

Recipe:
Chop 3 tomatoes to every 1 cucumber into medium or large pieces.
Sprinkle a small spoonful of salt on top
Add vinegar to your liking, I tend to include slightly more to twice as much as the quantity of salt.
Mix

And that’s it, easiest summer salad. We also add chives or turnips if we’ve picked them. Dill and or parsley can be added though I prefer without. These are very common spices in Bulgaria.

One of the best food things from this week was picking potatoes with Veneta and then eating them about an hour later. I don’t think they’ve ever tasted better. She fried them up in some oil and that was it. She uses Sunflower oil in case anyone was wondering.

This week, an assignment we had was to cook a Bulgarian meal. This happened Wednesday at our trainer’s house. I made the salad above and Banitsa (it’s a bread, egg, and cheese dish). Everything turned out well. Some of it tasted better than other things but it all turned out well and was edible.

Moving on, the baby cow was born Monday. I was not able to see the birth as I was at language class though she was beautiful. She was born healthy and the family is selling her because they simply have no room for more than 10 cows. I’m loving all the baby animals. I even saw 24 baby turkeys will a mother the other day. Never knew what they looked like. Oh, this week my neighbor slaughtered a sheep from a tree in his yard. It smelled horrible near his house. He’s an interesting character. Overall, I’m pleased with the city I’m in for our Pre-service Training.

Another thing about my small city in Bulgaria. What I know about church thus far is from my Eastern Orthodox family. All of the women in my family here where a cross necklace of some type. They attend church for major holiday though not on a weekly basis. There is an old church in my community which is beautiful and has a memorial in the front for soldiers. That’s about it thus far.

This week I taught three 8^th grade English lessons. The lessons went well. I was observed by a Peace Corps technical trainer Friday as well. It’s going to be an interesting 2 years teaching British English. I found out this week we are planning on joining the eighth graders on their excursion. We are heading to a city in the mountains next Friday overnight. It will be fun, they are excited for us to join them and I am interested to see how much English they know in a non-formal setting. Most Eighth graders in Bulgaria have some sort of end of year trip so this is the one for the students in my town.

This week we were also able to have a different language trainer come to our training site. We switched with another town and it was a nice change of pace for a day. We also were able to read through some potential site descriptions. We have some interviews next week and soon enough I’ll find out where I will be placed for the next two years! I can’t wait to find out.

I went to one of my baba's friends to get my fortune read from my cup of coffee this week. It was quite interesting, more hits than misses!

I’m missing Minnesota but loving Bulgaria!

Keegan – I wish you could see the squirrels here. They’re priceless.

Dad, Dave, and Todd – It is very difficult to explain what you do.

Sonya – I was thinking of your delicious cooking the other day.

Rowan – Saw some girls dancing for a holiday this week.

Braden – I don’t see many video games but I met a few puzzle loving boys.

Kathy – Saw some interesting road-kill (squirrels, frogs, and a hedgehog)

Brodie – Motorcycle racing was on TV the other night.

Calder and Quinn - Most of the flowers smell wonderful. Especially the huge red roses!

Most beautiful thing this week: Rainbow. It’s the brightest one I’ve ever seen to my recollection.

The lovely rainbow this week:

The lovely rainbow this week:

A beautiful white rose, Alice in Wonderland fans?

What I believe may be snap-dragons, let me know:

Boriana, the other baba at our house. I just loved this photo of her:
The delicious cherries at my house:

A stork:

One of the many snails here:
One of our pigs who loves the snails above as a special treat:

Barn swallow babies:

The chicks are growing up:
Our baby cow that we sold:

Babas singing for a celebration, my baba Veneta is in the middle:

The church in my town:
Another view of the church in my town:

The Children's Day Celebration:

Dancing:

Eating Competition:

Photos, Photos, and More Photos

This blog is quite random and loaded with photos. Enjoy!

The amazing remote-control car track in Vratsa when we were at our hub. Some kids were having a great time.

Our roses and Boriana's bike.

Johnny following Veneta.

Veneta working in the grapes.

Yordan Milking.

This girl is rapping for the alphabet day celebration. She was very good.

Here's the rainbow I saw.

Margarita's Puppies

Here's a playground in a larger town near us.

Pansies.

My PST (pre-service training) group. Megan, Nikki, Me, and Kristin

The neighbor's sheep coming home.

The view from my window (I'm on the second story).

This is Mitko. He's a budding scientist. He's kind of a brother figure.

Me in the garden.
The cat next door.
Johnny chewing on a chicken bone.

What I believe is a hummingbird moth.

Our hen and her chicks.

Dimitar milking a cow.
Our cows.
The chicks.

Baba Veneta in the chicken's area with the two dogs (Tinka and Johnny).

Our Bee Houses.

Part of the Band from the celebration of the Cyrillic alphabet.

The grandparents who live on the same land as us (Boriana and Dimitar).

The beautiful garden of vegetables and fruits.

The bees love this type of flower.

The clematis.

Our two pigs. pig = prace

Just for Calder and Quinn, Hello!

Have you got a rubber?

The photos below are in no apparent order. I could not see what I was uploading until it was already on the screen. Thanks for visiting. Miss you all at home!

Beautiful orientation week!

The photo goes with one below. It is yet another song to celebrate the Cyrillic alphabet which was created by two Bulgarian men.

One of the bees at our house on yet another beautiful flower.

This is one of the many beautiful roses at our house!

Margarita's black cat.

Here are a group of students singing to celebrate the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet. This holiday took place on Monday. There was a celebration in the morning at the school and in the afternoon in the town square.

Here's my favorite cow.

Yummy dessert at our "formal" dinner during orientation week.

Here is my with my baba Veneta (on the left) and her friend, Margarita. We are holding the chicks Margarita gave us.
The photo above is from our Orientation when we first arrived in Bulgaria. Beautiful. No?

Well, that was the title of my first whole English lesson in the 2nd grade. The class I was in had 16 students (a rubber is an eraser in British English in case you’re still wondering). I’ve only spent time in one city thus far but so far the school is quite different. The school I am at is 1-8. Students are only mandated to attend school until the age of 16 here in Bulgaria. Every year 7th graders take a test to determine what path they may take in furthering their studies which happens this week. When children start school at age 6 (in 1st grade), each student is randomly assigned to a class. Depending on the town size there may only be one class for each grade. There is one class teacher who is responsible for this group of students involving attendance, discipline, and logistical information. This class stays together throughout each year of school. Also, absences are counted per individual class rather than by day (each student is allotted a certain number per year). Students tend to stay in the same room and teachers change throughout the day. One great thing I have noticed is that since there is at least a 10 minute break between each class (and it tends to be a free for all) the students are able to get out extra energy and focus easier during class. Also, the students at the school I am at sit in 2 person desks; therefore, they are automatically with a partner. Teachers also only come to school during the hours they need to teach. They do most all of their lesson planning, grading, and other things at home. Please let me know if you have any specific questions about school and I will try and answer them. I’m sure I’ll be able to sometime within the next 2 years!

This week I was able to visit a neighbor with my Bulgarian grandma (who is wonderful). It was great. We sat outside near the enormous garden (beautiful bleeding hearts nearby) and had strawberries, cookies, and soda. The woman (and her husband) had a nice house, garden, 2 cats, sheep, pigeons, chickens, a dog, and puppies (4 of them)! The woman was very sweet. We took home 3 chicks her chicken had to add to our 12, making our chicks up to 15!

Some interesting information about Bulgaria thus far:
If you have an indoor toilet (which I do), you throw the toilet paper in a garbage nearby. Also, you ALWAYS remove your shoes outside of the house. Socks or slippers are worn inside to keep it clean. You never know what is on your shoes with so many animals around town. The dogs at my house are given table scraps and random extra food. I have a friend who is a cow. She now recognizes me and lets me pet her (she licked me the other day). One of our cows should have her baby in about 5 days! The clothes dryer is a clothes line (this time of year at least). The weather reminds me of Minnesota. Rakia is a strong alcohol which is said to keep you healthy, many men drink it. Many people smoke cigarettes, including in the teacher’s lounge. There are community donkeys in my city. To further explain, several people may share in the caring of a donkey so they are all able to use it. Old scraps of fabric and clothing is used in our garden to help the grapevines climb and attach the tomatoes to wooden stakes. Bulgaria knows how to reuse! Fruit is a common dessert item and most everything is fresh! One of the most common meal items at my house is a salad of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, sometimes onions, sometimes radishes, parsley, dill, a bit of salt, and some vinegar. It is delicious. There are very strong traditions and holidays are meant to be celebrated. It is a beautiful place.

Dad, I got your note. Thanks.

Please send any questions you have my way and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Mission for the next few weeks:
Study Bulgarian. Learn to knit. Take a hike outside of town.

Loving Bulgaria

I am loving my PST (pre-service training) thus far in Northwestern Bulgaria. My host family couldn't be better. They consist of my grandma (Veneta), another set of grandpartents, a set of parents, and their son. They are caring, considerate, patient, and are quite relaxed. Veneta has already given me some traditional Bulgarian socks, a dress, and a handkerchief (I love them all). I am extremely happy. The 10 cows are milked each morning and evening around 7 and the garden is well-kept. One of the cows is going to have a baby soon! The garden is huge, we have tons of flowers, carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, strawberries, grapes, lettuce, parsley, dill, turnips, and apples. We also have 5 hives of bees for honey. For animals we have cows, pigs, and chickens (who just had chicks). The list goes on and on. Everything is very fresh and feels very naturals. We eat a salad of tomato, cucumber, radish, onion, dill, and parsley quite often. I have also had fried potatoes, ham, meatballs, soup, bread, banista (philo with white cheese like feta, eggs, and butter), a fried bread thing you dip in honey which is great, and much more!

Many of my neighbors have stopped by to chat. I do not remember all of their names. I have taken a lot of photos though do not have the time on the internet to put them up here yet. I also have some videos ready when I have time to upload them. My time is very full here so I'm going to shoot for blogging once a week.

Bulgarian is difficult but I'm confident in the program, my language trainer, and my lovely group. I'm excited to get into the classroom more. I was in an eighth grade English class (11 students) for a bit last week and will be in 2nd this week to do a lesson. I'll be reading and studying a lot!

A few notes for people. Things that remind me of you:

Matt- There are hummingbird moths that live in our flowers (I think that's what they're called)
Krista P - We have bees!
Krista R - You'd love how wonderful my family is!
Elyn - I wear your turtle every day.
Amanda - I love your journal!
Sarah - We have a turkey that lives by us that reminds me of you hunting.
Mom and Kathy - You might just like the red wine.
Dad - They drink some pretty strong liquor here.
Aunt Christi - They were studying your socks
Quinn - I was given a beautiful dress I think you would love.
Brodie - I'm waving at most everyone.
Rebecca - I'm going to learn how to knit

Oh, and I saw a hedgehog the other night which was quite amazing. Loving it here and missing everyone at home!

My New Family

My host family is made up of 2 grandmothers, 1 grandfather, a mother, a father, and a son. They have a large house and garden. It is very beautiful. We eat wonderful fresh food straight from outside. They also have bees who make delicious honey. It has been great being here. We start our lessons with my Bulgarian teacher Radi in 2 days. I only know a little bit of Bulgarian so I need to learn a lot more. We will also have technical training in teaching English so we can be successful when we are placed after PST. So far I am having a wonderful time. I will blog when I have more time.

Orientation

Today is our last full day of orientation activities up in the Rila Mountains. We have learned a great deal of information and began quite a bit of Bulgarian. I'm working on it but it has some difficult sounds so I'll be glad when we have class every and I have lots of practice. I was impressed with some of the volunteers' Bulgarian who visited last night (who have only been here a year). Therefore, I'm hoping for the best! We have our "official" dinner tonight which will most likely include some dancing. We learned 2 dances and they are quite fun.

We get to meet our host family tomorrow! And most likely be fed a great deal of food. I will be living in a small town for our PST (Pre-service Training). It is a village of about 2,100 people and we'll see what it's like. I won't know when the next time I will blog will be. Have a great week!

Photos

I just came up to my room after our official dinner and dancing. It was great dancing some traditional Bulgarian dances and hanging out with the other trainees. A long but fun night!

The photo is of me in front of the hotel we were at for our orientation. Very nice! I promise to upload more photos later on! The connection simply isn't great to upload at the moment, took me forever just to get this one. I also have video of the traditional dancing we were able to watch tonight after dinner. It was wonderful.