Looking Back on Another Year in Bulgaria

This year has been exciting. After the snowfall, everything looks clean and bright. At school, I was busy with classes and trying new things to try to keep the students in the mood to study, but that was a losing battle as the holiday vacation drew near. I've been to lots of celebrations with the club where I study Turkish, my school, and the town choir that I sing in. Basically, I've eaten so much and danced in circles for so long, I'm more than a little dizzy. I celebrated Christmas Eve with my friend Radka and her family, and I've gotten the chance to rest and catch up with friends in town.

Top Five Most Memorable Things This Year:

5)Working the Group "Forward Together"-This is the name of the organization for the advancement of Roma youth. In many ways in Bulgaria, the Roma are marginalized (even self-marginalized) from fully participating in society. A lot of youth get stuck in a cycle of low expectations, illiteracy, and unemployment. This summer I worked with other volunteers at a camp run by energetic Roma leaders and other Peace Corps Volunteers to promote youth that show motivation, leadership, and success in their studies. I am helping them to keep their efforts going by working on the logistics with the organizers for next year and to bring in a new group of volunteers to work at the camp. This is a project that I feel really lucky to be a part of.

4) Celebrations at School- This year I organized a group of my students to act in plays for Halloween and Christmas (here, most people celebrate Christmas with presents and parties, even though it doesn't carry the same religious importance since it was forbidden during Communism and because there is such a large Muslim population here). Still, we put on a comedy show about Santa, an overworked Mrs. Claus, a depressed Rudolph, and the return of Grandpa Frost (the Communist Santa) with help from a special guest, Al Capone. I was so proud of the final product and I think that the kids were really happy too. I also made American Christmas cookies for ALL of my students (over 100..) and we listened to the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in classes (if you haven't heard that song recently, it's worth a listen!)

3) My Friend's Wedding- My friend Nancy got married on November 30 in the town of my training site. She and Radoslav will live here for the next couple of years, and then maybe move to America. It was a beautiful event, and I got to see the people that were with me for the first part of my journey here. Nancy, an American volunteer, and Radoslav met when Nancy started going to the traditional Bulgarian dance group, and after almost two years as friends, they started dating. Six months later they tied the knot. As a gift, the dance group came dressed in traditional Bulgarian costumes and performed for all of us. It was amazing!

2) Marathon Training- The race itself was unforgettable, but I learned about the difference between American and Bulgarian expectations in fitness. Basically, women don't do it in public, so I stood out a lot. I also got a lot of support from my friends and colleagues because most people had never met anyone who had run a marathon before. My favorite memory was running around the track during a football (soccer) practice and hearing kids yell out in surprise, "Hey, she's really fast!" (Now, whether that was true or not doesn't matter, it was a great confidence booster!)

1) My Family's Visit- I met Erin in Spain and we traveled back together through Portugal to Bulgaria. I have now found a best traveling buddy, and I hope we can have a lot more adventures together in the future. My mom and dad joined us in Sofia and together we saw my town and the mountains and seaside of Bulgaria. I missed them so much and saying goodbye was really difficult, but I came to appreciate this country even more after seeing it again for the first time with them.

Being around the ones you love is what makes this time of year special. I wish health, luck, happiness and love to everyone this holiday season, and I wish that the coming year might be even better than the last!

Fall, fall autumn

"All three witches together now... Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble..." Petko realizes a few seconds later that he was a witch also. I wonder if he rides the short broom to school.

We did Macbeth today in my literature class, and I had fun. I don't know where the energy came that allowed me to jump around the room explaining the story in as physical a way possible (to aid in their comprehension) at 7:45am, but it was there. Maybe it's because of my more relaxed schedule this week compared to the last two months.

One of the big differences is that I am no longer training for a marathon. That's right. On November 8, I ran a marathon. 4:58 is not record time by any means, but I finished it in spite of all the challenges of training in the fall as an English teacher in a small town in Bulgaria. There were many days when I didn't have the energy after teaching, or the earlier lack of sunlight was restricting the amount of time that I could run. I also fell. Twice. It was as hard on my pride as my body, as I fell in front of groups of people and have the scars to prove it. Some children taunted me and I can't tell you how many people asked me "Why are you running? No one's chasing you!"

It was all worth it though in the end. My teacher friends call me "our hero" and I have a shiny new medal to try not to lose. The trip itself was great. Seven of the volunteers travelled together and we had time to explore Athens (did I forget to mention that the marathon was in Athens?!?) and met a lot of nice runners along the way. We had a very supportive group and along the route I saw some of the other volunteers. I finished right in the middle of the group, and it was really nice to see their faces when I ran across the finish line. I even got a bit weepy.

Along with the beginning of the school year, I have started taking Turkish lessons on a regular basis to understand the large Turkish minority in my town. It has been moving slowly, but I recently passed through a Bulgarian Turkish village where my friend James volunteers and was able to understand some basic conversations that took place. Proud points! Now if only I could actually express myself...These things take time.

My goodness gracious! There are a lot of festivities to plan for this year. We just celebrated Halloween by trick or treating in the halls at school and throwing a Halloween party for the school. In my adult English language lesson, we made a Jack'o lantern. During the day I dressed up as the math teacher at our school, Mr. Nutsolov, who was a good sport. Nothing is scarier than a math sometimes and Mr. N has a way of intimidating students with his strict demeanor. At the party, my students passed pumpkins quickly, bobbed for apples, wrapped mummies out of toilet paper, and put on a play that they had written under my direction. The play was a modern adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood, complete with Lil' Red and her friend Mary going to a disco, a birthday party, a dancing baba (grandmother-me!) and a big bad wolf with a secret twin sister. When I find the recording, i'll post it online.

The next festival is Thanksgiving, so I'll probably make stuffing and pumpkin and apple pie for the teachers. Does anyone have a good homemade stuffing recipe? StoveTop Stuffing is pretty much nonexistant here. I was successful in making pumpkin curry soup from scratch and I used this recipe http://www.soupsong.com/rpumpki7.html. On Thanksgiving weekend, however, I have something even bigger to plan on. My friend Nancy who just finished volunteering in the town of my training site is going to tie the knot with a Bulgarian friend from her dance group. There should be lots of dancing, and it'll be good to see my host family again.

I found this online and it made me chuckle-kids answering questions about marriage.

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

1. There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there>Kelvin, age 8

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

1. Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.>Ricky, age 10

Kids can be so wise.

On another note, we are full-fledged flu season here. Because of the H1N1, or as one of my students called it the pork virus, many students were absent and we just got back from a mandatory week long vacation. The vacation allowed for me to have a week to contract the flu and combat it before my marathon and to have some recovery days after the marathon. Thank you, swine flu. I am now facing an ear infection, but things are relatively back to normal.

I posted some pretty pictures from Halloween, the marathon in Athens, and my neighbor Elena and I making pickled vegetables called Turshia. An interesting part- they put aspirin in the jars before they fill them with water! I hope you find it as eye-catching as I did. Also there are pictures from James's village.

Keep on writing/commenting/and recipe sharing!

Emily

Back to Bulgaria

I have been very fortunate. This summer was a whirlwind of activities, travel, planning, and meetings. I started out by attending my Mid Service Conference in the beginning of July where we discussed our experience so far and lessons we've learned. Even though the answers to our problems seem so clear in these meetings, the application is often still a challenge and escapes me at times.

I was fortunate to help out at a leadership camp for Roma youth. It was one of the most rewarding experiences that I have had so far as a volunteer. Maybe it's because something magical happens in a week at camp, friendships are made, games are played, discussions are had, and we learn a little about ourselves in the new environment. My favorite discussion was the one about problems facing Roma youth. In small groups, the students came up with a list of the problems and possible solutions in their communities. The solution for most of the problems was continuing education even though it is traditional for Roma families to start young, with wives giving birth as young as 12 or 13 years old. We also discussed prejudice and why it exists and how to overcome it. I learned a lot by helping out at this camp, and I this year I will be working with the facilitator to plan for the next camp.

In the second half of the month, I held a teachers English course and had a great time. The atmosphere was less hectic and we were able to hang out after the course together. During this time I also planned for my family's visit to Bulgaria.

I met my sister, Erin, in Spain (thanks to you, discount airlines!) and we spent about a week in Barcelona and Madrid before flying to Lisbon for a few days. I felt guilty about the excursion because it's something that I was able to save up for with my money from the U.S., and my colleagues wouldn't have had the same ability to pay for such a trip. However, the time that I spent with my twin was priceless. She was the perfect person to travel with, not to mention that she is a Spanish teacher and had studied near Madrid. We stayed with friends, and their hospitality was unforgettable. Some of my Spanish knowledge came back as I listened to them speak, and I was even able to communicate again (although I tended to mix in some Bulgarian).

All of the places we went were beautiful, but I felt truly lucky to go to Lisbon, because it is something that I dreamed of when I studied Portuguese in college. A lot of Portuguese people understand English well, especially youth, because they don't dub Portuguese over English television shows and movies. I did have to find our way around a couple times in broken Portuguese with older people and it was a trick. We finally met up with some project partners from Lisbon, and they were such sweet hosts and shared the culture in a way we couldn't have experienced on our own. If you want to know where the polite Portuguese hold their passion, listen to a fado like some of these, http://www.deolinda.com.pt/.

Erin and I returned to Bulgaria, and we picked up our parents at the Sofia airport. We made a rookie mistake and got into a cab right in front of the exit, who proceeded to charge us 40 leva instead of the 7 leva that it normally would cost to get to our hotel from the airport. I gave that cabbie a piece of my mind, though. I showed my parents Veliko Tarnovo, my town, Varna, a historic town on a peninsula in the Black Sea, Nessebur, and a small town in the mountains (with the help of some very knowledgeable volunteers-you know who you are!). There were things that I was sure they would love that they didn't, there were things that they loved that surprised me. Overall, I think they feel more comfortable that I've introduced them to my friends that care for me here. It was so good to see them again that I miss them even more.

The following week, a group of adult students took me hiking to the seven lakes at the top of the Rila Mountains and the next day we climbed the tallest peak in Bulgaria, Moussala. It was good to get back in the practice of speaking Bulgarian again, and I acclimated, feeling like I was back home.

Once I returned from the trip, I began planning for the school year. Two odd anecdotes to relate on that front. Every day I walk by a woman who has clearly lost her memory. It is the highlight of my day because she never fails to repeat the same thing. Who are you? Where do you live? I used to be young too, you know, and you're going to be old like me someday. We were the first people in our neighborhood to get a toilet. The first!

I love that woman. On the other hand, returning home from school can be problematic. I live in a Soviet apartment building (that might've scared my folks a little when they visited) that is always under repairs. One fateful day as I stepped into my elevator and pressed the button, it rose about two inches and stopped. I tried again. Same thing. I tried to open the door to get out, but I was locked inside the elevator. I knew this was a bad thing, so I called for help. Luckily a neighbor came by and as I banged on the door, he explained how to open the door by opening a panel and turning a knob. Once out, I resolved to always take the stairs, but seven floors to my apartment is a lot sometimes. Maybe I like tempting fate with my occasional laziness.

Attached are pictures from the camp, the mountains, and the trip with my family.

Dre's Survey

Diminutive of your name: Emi

Favorite Bulgarian word: oozhus, or oozhasno

Strangest thing ever seen in your bathroom: my landlady, yeah that was awkward

Best duner (falafel) place you’ve discovered: I like the one in Dupnitsa, my first time. I was a little hesitant to try it, but it provided me with satisfaction and a hunger that is now hard to fill.

Craziest thing that’s ever happened in class: Halloween. Toilet paper everywhere, half the class in their pajamas, and laughing and screaming galore.

Favorite Bulgarian beer: Ariana dark for the winter 

Favorite Bulgarian town/city/village: tough to say

Ever ridden on a donkey cart?: It made my day after falling down a mountain four times and ripping the crotch of my pants. A lift home was in order.

Best thing you have purchased in Bulgaria: a fan. Boss ice cream

New hobby/pastime you have discovered since being here: I crocheted a hat, and I now can make crème caramel. Also I now have more of an appreciation for yoga.

Favorite type of rakia: The kind Radka’s dad made, I think it was plum.

You are granted power to rid Bulgaria of one type of pest that constantly tortures you.
What do you choose?: a tie cockroaches/locusts/grasshoppers.

Best English t-shirt you’ve ever seen: Bright yellow "Start Seky"

Which do you hate more–dumpy pants or clear bra straps?: Why are the pants dumpy? I don’t understand…

Favorite Bulgarian salad: I like snezhana with lots of crushed walnuts

First thing you think of when you wake up on a school day: Just five more minutes, please…

Last thing you cooked: Rice, heated up some purlenka

Do you like chalga?: Only with dancing and fellow chalga enthusiasts.

Would you rather spend a week without water or power?: Hands down water for the fan/heater and of course, my laptop.

If you could choose one amenity to have, which would it be–washing machine or air conditioning?: Washing Machine. I have come to hate the bucket.

You have a free day–no classes, no engagements of any sort. How do you spend it?: A good book, coffee or drinks with friends. A walk around the center, maybe. Also if I’m in the mood, cooking.

Ima Crisa

WARNING: I got introspective on a train ride, so this is an analysis of my experience of the economic crisis in Bulgaria, so if you only want funny anecdotes feel free to skim or skip this blog entry.

I'm on a train. I'm returning from the Mid-Service Conference in a town in the mountains. Red-roofed cottages dot the hills and occasionally a vibrant blue swimming pool catches my eye. A home swimming pool is an anomaly for Bulgarian families, but it makes sens. Even though the brain drain is taking place and the best and brightest Bulgarian youth and English-speaking professionals make their homes in Western Europe and the U.S., there are also many (older) laborers who work menial jobs abroad and improve their homes with the money they've saved when they return. The life of an immigrant is difficult, so one must feel enormous satisfaction when he or she can return home and be the only villager with a pool.

According to experts on the news, Bulgaria is deep in the economic crisis. When my friend explains that his factory will stay open during the usual vacation weeks in August, he sighs and I hear the familiar line "Ima crisa." Even my next door neighbors, who have an improved standard of living as pensioners because of the money their daughters send them from Italy, are concerned because of the rising cost of utilities. Most Bulgarian budgets can cover just enough for utilities, food, and the occasional clothing and entertainment purchase, so when factories shut down or have layoffs, there are little savings to fall back on. Fragile household budgets can also explain the popularity of homemade rakia, or brandy, and wine, and it they are great sources of pride for the home-brewer.

In the government sector, there haven't been as many layoffs, but the pay for public service jobs has always been very low. Before the beginning of my service, I heard about the teacher strikes that interrupted school for two months, only bringing about a nominal raise in salaries. I recently visited a school for disabled children just outside my town. My impression of the school was that it was a warm, inclusive environment and that it managed to serve the needs of its students with wide ranges of abilities and behaviors. The school may be shut down soon because of the Ministry of Education's integration initiative, which would place these students in general high schools and have one more teacher in classes with a special needs student, a very similar practice to the American school system. The teachers at this school were fiercely opposed to the policy, insisting that their students would fall even futher behind when attending an ordinary school. Their concern was personal too, however, as lately more and more schools have been shut down as a result of the reduced enrollment due to lower birthrates since the fall of Communism. These teachers feared for their livelihoods in a country where schools compete for the money they recieve for teaching each student, and only the schools that please the students survive, as students can change schools as they wish.

On that day, the minute I entered the schoolyard, an orphan girl introduced herself by staring at me and took my hand. When it came time for her to go to class and for me to leave, she wouldn't let go. I think that some students, especially orphans and institutionalized youth could benefit from integration policies, and Bulgaria is a place where institutions for the marginalized have been socially and financially neglected to an alarming degree. Ima crisa.

During that visit, I spoke to the gym teacher about life in Bulgaria. He works two jobs, as do many of the teachers there. He also owns a bar in town and explained how most Bulgarians don't have time and can't afford to travel to the beautiful parts of their own country that tourists usually see, especially the Black Sea during the summer. I asked him if he knew who he was planning to vote for in the upcoming election. He laughed and told me that it made no difference, and that the political parties were made up of Todor Zhivkov's (Bulgarian leader under Communism) cronies. He said the future of Bulgarian politics with then fall into the hands of the cronies' children. He then explained how high the taxes are for small business owners and how no one can make a profit. Before leaving for Bulgaria, I had heard the same sentiment from U.S. small business owners about the unfair taxation in a democratic context, and the Bush legacy can make one question when the best and brightest actually rise to the top, or whether money, family and connections really conquer all.

The gym teacher gave me a ride home-in his convertible. So maybe my earlier skepticism wasn't holding water. He later invited me to his house that he described as a mess because they were doing repairs and installing-wait for it- a swimming pool. Ima crisa. So people are getting by here. Life is getting tougher, but some Bulgarians have met the balance between over-working and improving their standard of living.

The elections just took place, and in a strange concurrence, the democratic group GERB, which means heraldic or emblem, won. Their slogan? To Prove that Bulgaria Can! (ie Obama's Yes We Can). Some of my friends here were cynical, citing the fact that the new Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, was Todor Zhivkov's bodyguard, and predicted that he would be a figurehead for the same policies. Others were more hopeful. They noted his successful work in Sofia and the larger voting turning (some of my colleagues had to wait in a long line to vote for the first time this year). The next year will tell, and as my language abilities improve, I think my consciousness of politics and economics will improve.

I have one year to go, and going to that conference was a reminder of how fast the time passes and how precious an opportunity I have. My goal is to limit the time that I spend with volunteers (while it's necessary to have a break from time to time) and limit my time online chatting in order to make myself more aware of the world around me and to do what I came here to do.

Keep posting comments, and if any of you can share your experience of the crisis back home, I would really appreciate knowing what I've missed and what to expect when I return.

Just a Day

Няма ток. I hear this twice on my way up the stairs. My first and third floor neighbors warn me that there’s no electricity as I trudge up to the seventh floor. I thank them for letting me know and it doesn’t even make me wonder anymore why that is the first thing out of their mouth. When you’re about to get stuck in an elevator or sick in a sticky apartment without the relief of a fan, there’s no time for pleasantries. You need the information on your electricity status.

I’m feeling each step on the way up- in my calves. Not to mention the wooziness from my sugar coma brought on by the chocolate wafer, cake, more cake and two coffees that I enjoyed this morning, followed by the cake I had this afternoon. I need to learn how to say no, but today’s a holiday.

Today was my last day of school, and I think we all had been ready for it for a long time. The weather was fit for the beach since early May (keep in mind I’m from Wisconsin) and today is the 30^th of June. May and June went by quickly because of tests, and additional practices of the folk choir that I sing in. It’s been difficult because we have a group of about 40 singers with only 5 tenors, and there’s never more than two tenors at each practice. Practices were tense for a while, and it made me feel like a student again. I liked the fact that I just did what I was told, sang my part, let someone else decide who was off-key, make announcements, and ask us to please stop talking while we were waiting for our part. I also got to laugh at the lewd jokes that the baritones and basses would make under their breath. I will miss it. I’ve posted some pictures of the final concert (and the after-party) and the stunning red velvet costumes. Enjoy. Заповядайте.

I’m hoping for more productive days, like the one where another volunteer, Greg, and I arranged for his orphanage to come visit my city to see an educational theater production. I’m hoping for more mellow days like in Kamchia, a peaceful beach town where the sleepy river empties out into the Black Sea, where I slept in a tent with a shared blanket and my sunburn to keep me warm. My calves are screaming at me now, and as I make it to my door, I decide to postpone my marathon training. Some days are like this one. Just a day.

The Busiest Months Yet...?

So by crazy, I mean unusual and busy. Things have been sailing past me in the last month.

I made a new friend who wanted to practice her English before her adult English course's final exam and was whisked away to a restaurant by a lake one evening and later a day-long excursion to a historic town called Arbanassi, just outside Veliko Tarnovo, a former capital of Bulgaria, with a huge castle remaining. She also later had me over for her name day (On each Saint's Day people with the same or similar name celebrate- for example, Galya celebrated on Gergiovden, St. George's Day).

Not too much later, we held our first successful fund raiser for my school's science department. We held a student v. volunteers volleyball match, and even though the kids did ruin us with their honed volleyball skills (volleyball is a sport for men more than women here, and most of the girls at my school stopped playing sports long ago) we managed to raise more money than I expected we would.

I later attended a conference hosted by the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking. I listened to numerous lecturers including Ambassadors from Austria, the Netherlands, and Norway, experts from the UN and Bulgaria's national commission against human trafficking and leaders of NGO's, It was a two day conference and a lot of material was covered, but basically all the governmental and non-governmental agencies that deal with trafficking are trying to step up their efforts in protecting the victims and prosecuting the offenders by reconciling differences between current laws and practices. As the Co-chair of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Committee, my job is to try to help get TEFL volunteers more involved in prevention activities like lesson plans and plays.

After the conference, I hosted a family friend in my town and showed him the seaside and the sights in my town. It was interesting to see his reaction to the things I have found so commonplace, like abandoned factories left over from the Communist Era, the tendency for everyone to push to the front of the line instead of waiting his/her turn, and the appropriate receptacle for toilet paper. However, we had a lot of time to interact with my students and Bulgaria partners and friends, and I think he had a pretty positive and balanced view of life here.

Just after that, I went to Sofia for our quarterly ATIP meeting and to do my annual checkup and dentist appointment. The most unusual part was the dentist's sandblasting to clean our teeth. It wasn't too painful (unless your lip gets in the way, which mine did!). I have never had to wash my face after going to the dentist before. I am proud to say that after my blood test, my recent change to a vegetarian diet has not been affecting my iron intake (sorry Dad, no steaks for me...).

That same weekend we had the matriculation exam at school and I came early to help print and arrange the tests. To avoid advanced preparation, we were given a password protected file with three versions of the test and that morning with fifteen minutes before the test, we found out on the radio which test it was. Then we scrambled, some printers working, others not, papers flying everywhere to get the tests ready and to pass them out. I was surprised by the level of secrecy and asked if the students were going to be able to cheat during the test, after which I was informed that they probably could still cheat anyway :( They are very хитри (hee-tree) which means cunning or sly.

The following week we had a send-off for the seniors. For my school this means a show featuring Bulgarian pop soloists, our school's hip-hop group (they're really really good), a magician and his bouncy assistant, a lip-synch/dance to YMCA dressed the Village People, and the award ceremony. Teachers chose award for students in the 12th grade, like Mr. Muscles, Best Babe, and Best Dude. The seniors chose awards like Best Teacher, Most Chatty, and The Scariest. Well, since our math teacher (who really IS scary) didn't teach the senior class, I won The Scariest Teacher Award. I was pretty nervous when I had to go up and give my speech, but it went like this. "It really was scary, however, it was a great pleasure." Later I found out that to win this award is a compliment and that only the teachers that push them get awarded it. Also, one of my collegues that I respect a lot has won the award every other year and at least this year she got a break.

That weekend we had our first baseball game of the season in Razgrad. Unfortunately my town did not represent themselves well. The "Vandals" had only four players show up, so by combining with other teams and their extra players, we were able to play two games. Later that afternoon when we were gathering equiptment and our belongings, it became apparent that my wallet and all of our baseballs were missing (the boys later found one of our bats hidden under a bush far away from where we had been playing). I had to file a police report (and if I hadn't met a Bulgarian friend along the way, it would've been much more difficult) I guess I thought that because we are giving our free time and effort that they would respect all the teams in return. Unfortunately, this is a lesson about teenagers that I learned the hard way.

On a positive note, the following day was the holiday of Bulgarian Language and Culture, Kiril and Methodius Day, named after the creators of the Cyrillic alphabet. We marched in the town center with our school and were annnounced by the town hall, to the cheers of the enormous crowd. Later that evening was the Abiturenti Ball, like our prom, but it is only celebrated by the graduating seniors. The students gathered again in the center in their evening gowns and suits and gave flowers to their teachers and took pictures. This was then followed by a procession through the center (again that day) and a ball at a nearby restaurant. Unlike American prom, all teachers that taught the seniors are invited to attend and get down with the seniors that night. There were games, food, dancing, and the celebration lasted until 6:30 in the morning. As an old lady myself, I quit early at 2 am.

I tried to select the best pictures from all this madness, so enjoy! Sorry this was so long!

Emily

Hi again, and happy spring!

I can tell that spring is in the air at school because the students have started "twitterpatering." For those of you who aren't great Bambi aficionados, that's when animals begin their mating dance in the spring. I've noticed it with my eighth graders, who were segregated by gender a month ago, but as of late have been "fighting" more and chasing each other around the room. One boy was brave enough to ask to be placed in the girls' group during an in-class exercise.

This month has so far been busy with a conference to plan a project proposal and try to secure funding for more science materials at my school. You'll see a photo of me with my Bulgarian counterpart who has been very helpful to me so far in the process of integrating and managing the everyday life in Bulgaria. She went with me to the conference and on our way home, we passed through a historic city, Plovdiv, and stumbled upon a casting for the Bulgarian version of American Idol, Music Idol. If you get the chance, you should YouTube Ken Lee, a Music Idol favorite and international sensation. The singer was trying to sing "Can't Live, if living is without you", by Mariah Carey, but it came out "Ken Lee, di bu di bu dout yu..."

February was an interesting month because I had the opportunity to play the host for the first time in Bulgaria. My school is involved in a Comenius Project, an exchange with schools from Poland, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and Romania. The schools all came to visit us this time and I got to host a Romanian student. She was very polite, beautiful, and kind, and it was a pleasure hosting her. My house became the hangout for her, her Romanian friend, and the Bulgarian teen hosting him. We worked on the ecumenical calendar between all the groups, went on a tour of some museums in town, learned how to make Turkish water paintings, and went to Varna, the town on the seaside to see the plantarium, mall, and dolphinarium. At the dolphinarium show they asked for a volunteer, and wouldn't you know it- they picked me! I got to play the lost American who floats in the middle of the tank in a rubber raft, but here's the shocking end- the dolphins come to my rescue and push me to safety!

All in all the exchange is great for my students English skills and interesting for all of us. I directed our school choir (ok only 5 girls) and we recorded the project hymn. We were all pretty nervous, but it was overall a success. The only minor hiccup along the way was that the Bulgarian students were giving their presentation about holidays and mentioned a holiday when Bulgarians were freed from Turkish slavery. Now this really upset the Turkish teacher who claimed that Bulgarians had never been slaves to the Turks. The tense moment passed, but later my collegues pointed out to me at the museum numerous captions reading "while under Turkish slavery..."

History is a funny thing. I had a conversation with my students the other day while reading Huck Finn about the word "nigger" and why so many rappers use it and why it is still considered a bad word in America. I wish that some of the people who use the word could come to Bulgaria to see what it leads people to think here. It also made me think about American race sensitivity. How we talk to each other and what we believe about one another can be very contradictory. I guess that shows that every country still has to work on the issue, but America still seems like a beacon of racial tolerance (especially this year after the elections) in the world to me.

Happy Valentines Day, Martin Luther King Day, St. Patricks Day, and beginning of Spring!!!
Emily

Attached are photos from a semester break trip to Plovdiv, a city in southcentral Bulgaria, and pictures with my Romanian guests. Oh and the dolphins.

Happy Belated Holidays!

Hello again!
What a winter it's been already. I have become a pro at taking the overnight train, let me tell you. We began the holiday season here in my town with lots of holiday treats, a student directed Christmas concert, and a school banquet filled with dancing, food, rakia, and homemade wine. After the banquet I hopped a night train to my host family's town on the other side of the country. All in all, the trip was about 13 hours, but I managed to make it there for Christmas Eve, or Budni Vecher. It was great to see my host mother, grandmother, and host sister and brother again. Although I missed everyone dearly back home, a Bulgarian Christmas is not all that different from my American Christmas. There is lots of eating, Christmas music, drinking, dancing, and Christmas specials on television to be enjoyed. The tradition for most Bulgarians that celebrate Christmas is to eat a vegan dinner on Christmas Eve with an odd number of dishes (7 or more). Each year there is a bread called a pitka with a coin baked inside. Each person rips off a piece of the bread and the one that finds the coin inside will have lots of luck and success in the year to come. Also, little slips of paper are baked inside banitsa, or a filo dough and feta cheese breakfast dish (delicious and dangerous because of how much it causes new volunteers to gain weight) and these little slips of paper will have fortunes or 'kusmetche'- 'little luck' inside. My kusmetche said that I will have a big beautiful house with a terrace and a pool....I'll keep you updated on that.

I went with a group of volunteers around New Years by train to Athens. It was a great trip. Although it was more than a little more expensive than Bulgaria, we did our best not to break the bank. The scenery couldn't be beat and it was nice to see palm and orange trees in January. We walked all around the city, shopping, viewing Greek ruins, and sampling the cuisine. Overall it was a well-needed break and a little therapeutic for those of us that missed cosmopolitan areas. The people we met along the way were interesting too. One of the men who worked at the hotel, named Hristos, was just like the father from the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." His delivery was perfect and he even explained the way international words came from Greek. Cosmopolitan comes from Cosmos-world and politan-citizen, citizen of the world. Makes sense, right? We met another very charming old man who had worked in American and called himself George the Greek. A retired sailor, waitor and businessman, he promised us he would write down his life story.

When we first wanted to go to Athens, we weren't sure about the security situation because there had been riots, looting, and property damage (like hanging a banner on the Acropolis and burning down the city Christmas tree) after a Greek policeman fired a warning shot and accidentally killed a student. The riots had continued and the rioters had promised to do something on New Years Eve (according to some reports). When we got there, we were able to travel safely and didn't notice any suspicious behavior or anything more threatening than graffiti.

However, an unexpected situation was waiting for us when we got back to Bulgaria. Russia, because of its allegations that the Ukraine had been stealing gas from the pipeline that brings gas to Europe, decided to cut off the gas supply. Unfortunately, approximately 80% of Bulgaria's gas comes from Russia. This translated into a very cold school week for my gas-heated school and even though many people use electric heat, it's more expensive and we have to be careful of overloading the circuit. However, my work week has been decreased quite a bit since the school's schedule keeps changing and classes are shortened (not a bad idea since we teach in coats and mittens). Russian and the Ukraine have finally come to an agreement (with the help of the European Union in negotiations) to begin resupplying the pipeline, and we should have heat by Friday at the latest.

So that's a lot. Tell me your Christmas stories! Let me know if you're still alive in the Western Hemisphere.

Wishing you lots of health, luck, happiness and love this holiday season,
Emily

P.S. Attached are the pictures of me and my host sister, the town center during Christmas, the Parthenon, and a couple more random ones from Greece.