Last Day of School

It's had it's highs and it's lows but overall this school year has been wonderful. Today was my last day of school for the elementary students so it was time to say goodbye and celebrate a bit. Yesterday I celebrated with two of the classes and today it was time for the others. It was a fun day filled with smiles, hugs, flowers, games, and gifts which I will remember. I received some amazing things from students, teachers, and a few parents that I will cherish back in the US. We celebrated with Bingo and Kool-Aid, thanks mom and dad for sending it! After school some of the teachers and I went to lunch and they even treated me, thanks!

I don't quite know how to put in words my exact feelings about leaving in just 24 days since as much as I'm excited to see friends and family, this has been my home for the last two years. It'll definitely be a transition, with a few tears along the way, but I've known it's coming so I'm appreciating what time I have left. Now it's all about seeing everyone I want to see and going the places I've been wanting to before I leave Bulgaria. I also found out today that one of the teachers I work with will be starting a handcrafts class that I'm able to help with which will be a nice use of my time and good way to see some of the 3rd graders a bit more before I go :)

Tomorrow is Children's Day here in Bulgaria so I'll be attending a concert a few of my students are in. Also, I went to one of my students birthday parties yesterday which was fun. Always nice to see students outside of school :)

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Prom

Yesterday I was able to attend the 12th grader's prom/ball. After students graduate 12th grade most students have a ball to celebrate with their classmates, dates, and teachers. The students invite whichever teachers they want to attend the ball (just under 1/4 of my colleagues attended). Since there aren't a great deal of students in the upper grades at my school they are close to one another. It was great to see them all having a wonderful time together before they start their post-high school life. I didn't stay until the end but I'm sure they partied until morning.

After meeting up in the city garden everyone walked to the biggest square in town to take photos and gather. Then we all went to the hotel/restaurant they had chosen. There was dinner, drinks (they can all legally drink since the age here is 18), and dancing. They also brought fireworks which they lit off after the main course of dinner was served.

Random Fact: The national Bulgarian radio station plays the national anthem at midnight every night, I heard it in my taxi ride home.

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

May 24th

May 24th was a national holiday here in remembrance of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They are attributed with the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet which is the oldest known Slavic alphabet and was the precursor to the Cyrillic alphabet. This day coincides with Sliven's annual International Children's Dance Festival in which different nations come to Sliven to share their traditional dances. Our school hosted Romania this year so they were a part of the school's morning festivities. Things started around 9am with songs, dances, and handing out academic awards as well as "student of the year" and "teacher of the year". It was a nice ceremony and it was fun to watch many of my 3rd grade students participate in one of the traditional dances.

 

After things wrapped up at our school, I headed to the city garden with some of the 7th grade class where all the different dance groups were meeting. We then all walked in parade form to the main city square where there was an official ceremony. This year they split the performances to two stages so after the ceremony I headed to the stage which showcases several local dance groups, Macadonia, Romania, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. They were all wonderful to watch and you can see all the photos I took by clicking HERE. My favorite of the groups abroad were the students from Bosnia-Herzegovina. They had a great opening and the best word I can think of to describe the dance was sprightly. There was also some great live music to accompany the dancers.

Tomorrow is my school's prom (only for seniors) which I will be attending. I didn't go last year so this one should be a good time :) Now for a few videos from yesterday's festivities :) The videos include the groups from Macedonia and Serbia along with a feature of the musical accompaniment to one of the Bulgarian groups (can you hear all the instruments?). Just leave me a message if you'd like to see part of the Bosnia-Herzegovina performance as the video got a bit too long to upload but it was a wonderful performance. Also, all the videos are much better quality if I email them rather than uploading them here :)

I hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Busy Busy

I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend as things have been so busy lately. I'll start with last week. I traveled to Vratsa on Wednesday to have my 4th teaching workshop which was held Thursday, May 10th. Along with the teachers who attended, there were 3 Peace Corps Volunteers, 1 Fulbright, and one person from the TEFL Program Staff. The workshop went very well and I received lots of great feedback. To get you all up to date on numbers thus far, here are the statistics:

There are 32 Bulgarian TEFLs (Teachers of English as a Foreign Language), 1 Fulbright Scholar, 1 Peace Corps TEFL Program Staff, and 9 PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) who have attended the workshops. These teachers are responsible for teaching over 3,5000 students. These numbers along with all the positive feedback has proved these workshops to be well worth their time and effort. Plus, there's one left!

Vratsa Attendees

Friday, May 11th I had my exit interview with one of the staff in the office which was mainly just about how I feel my service has gone, things I will take away from Peace Corps, and memories. It went well and then I spent the day with other volunteers.

Saturday, May 12th was the Bulgarian National English Spelling Bee which I had a student competing in. He ended up getting 5th place, congratulations Danny! There were over 4,000 spellers competing to get to the national competition so that was quite the accomplishment. Plus, he's only in 6th grade so he's got another year to compete and I hope he continues to do well. After the bee I had lunch with a group of volunteers at a fabulous Chinese restaurant and then later in the evening most of us attended a fundraiser at a restaurant for a girls' summer camp called GLOW.

Sunday there wasn't anything I had to do so I mainly just hung out at the hostel since Monday I had my eye exam, physical, and dental appointment. All went well and then I came back to sliven on an evening bus.

The reason I had all my appointments on one day and headed back late instead of staying another day was because all of the 3rd graders at my school went on an excursion yesterday that I was able to attend as well. We traveled to Kalofer which is the birthplace of Hristo Botev who was a poet and revolutionary. Then to Kalofer which is the birthplace of Vasil Levski who was a revolutionary and continues to be a national hero. Then we stopped in Sopot which is the birthplace of Ivan Vasov who was a poet, novelist, and playwright. Finally, we went to Kazanluk to see the Tomb of Seuthus III which was uncovered in just 2004 and also at the museum which contains the authentic items found inside the tomb (there are only replicas inside the actual location). It was a long day as we left the school at 8:30 and didn't get back to Sliven until about 7:30 but it was fun and good to see lots of historical places. You'll find all my photos by clicking on the link below:

Excursion

Today is back to a regular school day and since I only have two more weeks with the 3rd graders I'm going to try and appreciate every minute of them. The last day for elementary students is the end of this month. I hope you're all having a wonderful day!

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

EFL Enrichment Workshops Update

I realized my last post was about a week and a half ago so here's an update since then...

I had my 2nd and 3rd EFL Enrichment Workshops in Kazanluk and Plovdiv. Though they were small groups things were great and the teachers all had positive feedback to share which was a major plus. A BIG THANKS yet again to everyone who donated to these workshops, the teachers have been thrilled to actually receive materials along with information. I have not publicized what materials I'm giving away as my experience going to teaching seminars has shown me that many people show up just for the potential gift rather than for the information. I want teachers who want to be better teachers to receive quality items and materials so they can be even more effective. So far it's been working quite well :) It was a busy few days of travel and presenting but also very enjoyable as I not only was about to see more of my PCPP realized however was able to spend time with some wonderful volunteers along the way. Thanks so much for the hospitality Naomi Brooks, Joy Mason, and Randall Mason!

My next workshop is May 10th and it will be in Vratsa. It will be my largest workshop as there are already about 20 people expected to come. Every time I present I learn a little bit more and work to make each presentation that much better.

We had a break Monday and Tuesday of this week from school which was nice to rest and to catch up with things back here in Sliven after a few days away. Otherwise the rest of the week went well with the students being happy to see me and they were pleased to end the week with some Alphabet Bingo :) I also found out the entire 3rd grade will be going on a one day excursion in just over a week. So, I rescheduled some things and am now about to go with them! I'm excited to hang out with them for the day, see some new places, and takes lots of photos.

About the rescheduling...the day after my next workshop I have my exit interview with PC staff in Sofia. Then Saturday is the national spelling bee, which one of my students qualified for! Saturday night there is a fundraiser for Camp GLOW. Sunday is a day off but I'll still be in Sofia as I have all of my close of service medical appointments Monday - a physical, dental appointment, and an eye exam. I'm looking forward to a weekend at my place as time just keeps flying by.

I hope you're all having a wonderful Friday!

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

It's gonna be emotional...in 2 months that is.

A strange set of a emotions have started to set in as I’m realizing just how close I am to finishing my service here in Bulgaria. My COS (close of service) is two months from tomorrow. I’m extremely satisfied with my site and am glad for all the wonderful students and teachers I’ve been able to work with. I’ve been so busy with getting projects done and completing things for the teaching workshops I’m facilitating that I haven’t really taken the time to truly think about how I feel. While I’m excited to go back to the states, see my family and friends, and start graduate school, I’m also sad to be leaving the life I’ve known for the last two years. Plus, while I may travel back to Bulgaria to visit sometime in the future, I have no idea right now if that will actually happen. It will be hard to say goodbye to so many people who have become part of my life. Everyone at my school gives me such great feedback and the students are so kind (usually) that I’m guessing the end of the school year (end of May) will involve quite a bit of tears.

While I agree that service is what you put into it, my experiences here in Bulgaria have succeeded anything I imagined when I first set foot in country. I’ve had my ups and downs but there has been much more good than bad and many more positive experiences than negative ones. I’m truly happy and am trying to enjoying every day I’ve got left J

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

EFL Enrichment Workshop Sliven

Today was the first of the five EFL Enrichment Workshops I am facilitating which happened right here in Sliven! I was very excited to finally get to see all of my work go into action. Everything went very well and I got a lot of great feedback. I only hope I get full attendance for the other workshops as I do believe it is helpful, useful information for any 2nd-6th EFL teacher here in Bulgaria.

Thanks again to everyone who donated to my PCPP as those are the funds paying for the materials and books the teachers received. The next four workshops will happen by the end of May and I'll make sure to post about each of them and give more statistics and information once I've received feedback from all participants. For now, I will mention that 13 Bulgarian teachers attended today and in total they teach over 1000 students. That's an awesome impact the teaching of English here in Bulgaria and it's only the first workshop :)

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

It's Spring Break :)

Well it's officially spring break for me and I'm having a nice time staying here in Sliven and getting things done. A few things on my to-do list include:

-Finish purchasing materials and making teaching resources for my upcoming EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Enrichment Workshops
-Write a few cover letters and revise my resume for a few teaching/project assistant positions at Madison for my move in August
-Spring clean my apartment and get the walls ready for paint :)

My week before break ended well with a few Easter related activities in English class. One of the teachers I work with was ill so it was just me for two of the sections. Though their class teachers were a bit worried about the students' behavior with only me around things went very well. One of the students who is very good at initiating problems was actually on his best behavior, it was nice to see. Plus, the kids were so excited I didn't give them any homework and we all played Bingo Friday. In my Friday after school group we played hangman and drew some Easter and Spring themed pictures. Here's a few photos:

Easter is not today here in Bulgaria as we follow the Orthodox calendar, therefore we are off of school until April 16th. April 17th is the first day back and also my first EFL Enrichment workshop! Lots to do but it's a good kind of busy that I'm definitely enjoying :)

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Surprisingly Satisfying Day

I just wanted to put up a quick post since today was surprisingly satisfying. The first 2 sections of 3rd grade went as planned however surprise to me the teacher I usually teach with fir the second 2 sections was ill. The Director of the elementary portion of our school had talked with the teachers that they wouldn't have English however I was unaware of this. After the 1st classroom teacher checked she said it was fine for us to have English so even though we started a bit late things went okay. Generally the kids don't listen or follow directions as quickly with just me in the room because they know I'm not going to yell at them but things were good. However the surprise came with my last section. The class was more calm than normal and were very good listeners and also got everything done. I had to stop and just stare at them once they started working on the Easter related activity I had planned because it was going so smoothly. Needless to say, I look forward to Friday as I'm going to try to start class the same way as today since it worked so well.

After school the day continued to go well as four boys from the 6th grade came to help me with some activities I needed to get done for the upcoming teacher workshops I will be facilitating. We just hung out coloring, writing, and putting things together for almost 2 hours and the time seemed to fly by. I love kids willing to help out with nothing but satisfaction in return :)

I hope you're all having a wonderful day! I'll post photos this weekend when our Easter crafts are complete :)

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.