Bulgaria Blog

Last Days in Bulgaria

2010-06-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

The last days of my Peace Corps service are rapidly passing. I am a little overwhelmed and extremely grateful for all the people I've met, the things I've learned and the time that I had here. I have a few days to clean, pack, wrap up, give away, reminisce, and plan the next steps in my journey home.

In order to give you a balanced look at what I'm taking away with me, here's a list of things I'll miss and things I won't. Since we always remember the first and last things we hear, I'll save the best for last.

Things I won't miss: Going to the post office (always an ordeal), cockroaches cockroaches and cockroaches in the shower (it was really quite a pleasure to drown those!), fleas, hungry homeless animals, gray, peeling bloc apartments, handwashing my clothes, being encouraged to overeat and overdrink, everyday apathy, my stove, not being able to contact family or get paperwork to the US, dodging puddles, holes in the street, sheets of ice, arguing with teenagers, corruption on the local level, being told what to do by nosy babas, train travel, excessive chalga, macho dudes in tiny t-shirts, the burn of rakia.

Things I will miss: Svetla's laugh, fresh cherries from the tree, joking with students, going na gosti to Elena and Emil's apartment, Elitsa's and Milka's voices, positive reinforcement for a good attitude, "Bastoons", volunteers who understand everything I've experienced, riding with Nancy and Slavi in the bread truck, surviving the ride from Sunny Beach with Stella's support, sharing tales and advice with my sisters, the mountains, the sea, brutal volleyball tournaments that shame the volunteers, the baseball boys and their (sometimes overboard) honesty, the way the sun sets on my terrace, sharing music, dancing (playing) horo, being challenged by Jason, tea with the ladies, Fornetti, Tutku, spinach banitsa, Targovishte wine, stopping and talking on the street, Fani's inflections in Turkish, milk with instant coffee, 3v1, having real discussions and being surprised by the points that my students bring up, learning how little I know, successful home repairs, Bulgarian slang, being well connected in town, knowing that I can always ask for help, my English ladies who make me laugh so much!, hospitality hospitality hospitality, English t-shirts that make absolutely no sense, the Americans who have chosen to make Bulgaria their home, stepping into the bathroom and already being in the shower, Galya's style, Sevgyul's bright greeting each day, Maria's sense of adventure, tiny toy animals that punch or fall down, the weird stuff that David and Rob send me, seeing the US through other people's eyes, random usage of Turkish in town, our "company", purple leopard print, broken conversations at the school for the deaf, Razgrad where everything is just better, life improvers-Shaun, Kari, Radka, Sonia, seeing goats on a daily basis, strong women who carry the world on their shoulders and can manage anything, being told what to do by nosy babas, being encouraged to overeat and overdrink, train travel, excessive chalga, macho dudes in tiny t-shirts, the burn of rakia.

This is just a short list. I'm sure that when I'm back in the US I'll be going on and on and on about my experience here...you've been warned and I'll try to dial it down. Here are some pictures of the ball, and since I "graduate" at the same time as my students, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, WOOOO!!!!!

Задушница

2010-04-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Задушница

Bending over, she shades the small candle from the wind. She rocks gently and grief pours from her as steadily as her young daughter stands by her side. She makes the sign of the cross and the candle flickers. We watch, silently allowing the song of the priest to fill the heavy silence. Despite the sunlight and the blooms that surround us, we are all chilled by the wind that snuffs the little candle.

Since chance and propriety didn't allow a real one, this is my mental picture of the Zadushnitsa ceremony that I attended yesterday for the musician and father we remember, Nikolay Karalanov. Always smiling and teasing someone, quick with a joke and eager to share how proud he was of his daughter Raya, he will be sorely missed. Thoughts and prayers go out to Raya, and his muse, his lovely wife Orfeta.

Multiethnic Camp- We need your help!

2010-04-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years one of the things that I've mentioned in my e-mails and informal conversations and chats has been the segregation of the Roma (gypsies) and the tension between the ethnic Turks and ethnic Bulgarians due to the Ottoman Empire's 500 year occupation. Racism and intolerance is a really big problem for both youth and adults. One of my most eye-opening experiences has been my participation with the Roma and Multiethnic Camps. The organizers are young Bulgarian, Turkish, Roma and Bulgarian Muslim leaders, and the exchange experience is invaluable to the participants, high school youth from all over Bulgaria.

There's another great group of organizers working on the camp this year, including my friend, Matt Piscitelli, who has taken over my role as the volunteer organizer. However, they need funding. If you can find it in your hearts and pockets to help us fund the camp this year, there's a link on the Peace Corps website with further information and a way to easily donate online. Donations can be as little or big as your budget can spare. Click here for more information:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=313-138

Here's the description of the camp:

The camp “Zaedno Napred” (Forward Together) will unite 40 high school students, eight youth leaders who participated in last year’s camp, and influential community members to share experiences, exchange ideas and debate issues in an open forum. The camp will be eight days long with a two day pre-seminar in preparation for the camp. This camp will give youth the tools to understand their dynamic role in society and how to deal effectively with the challenges that they and their communities face. The camp will equip promising youth with information, leadership skills, debating skills, and motivation to develop and improve their lives and their communities. Session topics will include human rights, ethnic integration, history and identity of ethnic groups in Bulgaria, leadership skills, community responsibility, sexual education, discrimination and human trafficking. Social and governmental leaders will be brought in to discuss these topics, share their own experiences and talk about the role of youth in society. Knowledge of self and cultural identity will help participants define their roles as future leaders and productive citizens, and help their communities find an effective voice in Bulgaria’s democracy. Participants will be encouraged to put their newly acquired skills into practice immediately as they return to their communities and start youth groups, work on community projects, and participate in national youth networks. Through the involvement of organizations and community members from other cities, Multiethnic Youth Organization Forward Together (MYOFT) will build upon their pre-existing network of valuable contacts, thus increasing progress toward ethnic tolerance in Bulgaria.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Thanks for your support!
Emily

Bulgarific, Bulgarad, Bulgaridiculous

2010-04-15T06:14:00.001-07:00

So the last time I posted the weather was still pretty miserable, in fact, one day in March, I slipped on the ice and hit my head on the tiles outside. Yow. But things have gotten much better since then.

I've recently been hanging out with some sweet young people in my town who have moved back home from the bigger cities where they studied in the university. One of them, Elitza, is an award-winning folk music vocalist, and she wowed the socks off me at a na gosti dinner at our friend's house. Here's some photos of the cooks and the singer. I'm going to send along a clip (if technology doesn't fail me) so you can hear it, because it is really unique.

I also started training recently for something I never thought I'd do. A couple of my students run with a group in town, so I joined in. This is an orienteering group. Basically we run around according to maps and find hidden flags. Scavenger hunt, only think harder and more getting lost. At least that's how it went down for me. On Easter weekend, I attended my first event, and luckily my friend Kari went along for moral (and directional) support. Well, the coordinators hearing that this was our first event signed us up for the 14 year old division. Glad they did, because a 2km course took us not one...but two hours! Yowsers. Yup we were grimy after slipping and sliding and scratching our heads and dashing around for so long, but in the end we found all 12 points and didn't fall off the side of the mountain (heave huge sigh of relief here).

That night, all the participants went out to eat and we scurried off to the church for the Easter Vigil. I sang with the choir and then we all went out and circled the church three times for the Holy Trinity, father, son, holy spirit. Also it's a great opportunity for socializing, and I'm pretty sure I saw some of my students who had already begun the festivities with a bit of rakia.

The next day I began the arduous task of packing up some of my things. I will be doing that until I leave here, and it's intimidating. Kind of scary the amount you can amass in two years. Earlier last month, we had our Close of Service (COS) Conference in a beautiful town in central Bulgaria. It was a time for reflection and panic mostly, as we talked about the dire economic situation waiting for us in the States. It was also a good chance to say goodbye to the volunteers we won't see as much before we head back.

I got in the travel frame of mind lately with a spring break trip to Istanbul with some volunteers and their friends and family from the States. It was a great opportunity to practice the Turkish that I've been studying here (and even though they were mostly tourist phrases and simple sentences, I got a kick out of it). Also, here's some big news that maybe I haven't shared yet..I got accepted to a small private university in New York for my Master's in International Political Economy and Development. Some of the folks on the trip to Istanbul were from New York, so they prepped me on some of the differences (for example, wear whatever you want because no one is surprised by anything....cross the street more aggressively, Emily!...you'll want to live by these train lines....and everything everything everything is expensive). If anyone has any more advice to help me deal with the culture shock, it would be greatly appreciated!

It was a little difficult getting back into teaching, but this week I'm working on a volleyball game volunteers v. students like last year, and we're planting some trees and doing a cleanup for Earth Day. I'd like to hear what everyone is doing for Earth Day and how everyone is in general!

On one last odd note, I just stopped at the post office (a frustrating experience every time) and picked up a box to ship some things home. On the way I saw the man who grazes his goats outside my apartment. Partially because I'm still in a tourist frame of mind and partially because I want to have proof that people really did graze their animals in my yard when I go home, I chatted up the man (Ivan) and took a picture of him and his goat (who was really really hungry). The little boys nearby who were taunting him by calling him a villager drew closer when I left, so I'm hoping they now saw that it was acceptable to have a conversation with Ivan (I hope they didn't decide to harass him further!).

I hope you and yours are healthy wealthy and wise, or at least healthy and happy!

Peace!
Emily

Baba Marta

2010-03-03T08:16:00.000-08:00

Spring Holiday Season Begins!

Finally, after surviving a long and especially snowy winter, Bulgaria rewards us with a series of spring holidays. The first, and my favorite, is the tradition of Baba Marta (Grandma Marta). Like spring, Grandma Marta is a capricious old gal and since she will change about the weather a bit in the next month, she gives us something to hang on (to). On the first of March, we buy little red and white bracelets called Martenitzi and give them to our friends and family. As we give and receive the Martenitza, we wish each other luck, happiness, health, love and success. You can sometimes spot a teacher from far away because of her massive, bright red arm with a wild assortment of beads and even action figures attached to the Martenizi from her students (little wonder why this is my favorite of the spring holidays!). The white is a symbol of peace and fertility and the red is symbolic of the blood that Bulgarian soldiers have shed fighting wars. There's a legend that a dove carrying a piece of white thread was injured and when Khan Asparuh saw it, the red and white thread looked like a Martenizta (please correct me on the historical accuracy there, if you have more specifics). Nowadays we wear these bracelets and pins (sometimes the Martenitzi are pins made out of thread in the shape of a boy Pijou and a girl Penda) until we see the first bud of spring on a tree or a stork. We then place the Martenitza on the tree or under a stone. I only saw one stork last year (since they're harder to come by in town), but soon my town will be covered in red, white, and green as things begin blooming (what's not to love about this holiday!).

The next major holiday we celebrated was the Bulgarian Independence Day on March 3rd, 1878. This was the day that the treaty was signed that liberated Bulgaria from the Turkish Empire. For a better explanation, try my friend Jason's blog, www.thoughtexperimentsgonewrong.blogspot.com/2010/03/freedom-or-death.html. On March 3rd, we generally have a flag raising ceremony in the center and people go to leave flowers and wreaths at the Russian monument in our town. My day consisted of lots of walking around town and drinking too much coffee in the café.

I've included some pictures of a show that recently came through my town, The Pirin Ensemble, a vocal and dance folklore ensemble. It was really impressive, and one of my friends that sings Bulgarian folklore explained to me how the dancers were wearing traditional Bulgarian costumes for different aspects of rural life, for example one woman was sowing seeds, another group of girls were pinning flowers to the hats of their young men, and the men were wearing handkerchiefs on their heads to protect their heads from the sun while they reaped wheat. They did all this while rapidly dancing to the haunting music of a women's choir and a folk orchestra, strings, clarinet, bagpipe and all. It's one thing to watch typical Bulgarian dance on television and quite another to see it live.

This month I had a mini celebration of my own. Instead of having a test in my literature classes, we played Jeopardy. The winning teams got to come 'na gosti' to my apartment and we ate Mexican (ok, Tex-Mex with Bulgarian ingredients) food, something that was new to my students, although a little too spicy for some. We also made S'mores by candlelight and hilarity ensued, including a séance, scary stories, and swing dancing. See for yourself in the attached pictures.

There are many holidays to come and I was quite surprised last year by all the days off in May last year. The burst of cheer in March has us off to a nice start.

Looking Back on Another Year in Bulgaria

2009-12-25T00:31:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-18T02:57:00.000-08:00

"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

2009-09-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-09T11:42:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-30T08:40:00.001-07:00

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...?

2009-05-27T06:53:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-01-13T05:29:00.000-08:00

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.

Holidays in Bulgaria/Romania

2008-12-02T00:45:00.000-08:00

Hi All!

I say this every time I write, but seriously so much has been going on that I can hardly keep up in writing :) I've got a routine down at the school now, and things are going a little more smoothly. By teaching literature, I spend a lot of time re-reading the classics, which sometimes is a pain and other times a great pleasure (I just listened to The Scarlet Letter by streaming it from a website called LibriVox.org- by doing so, I was able to crochet a scarf and hat at the same time).

The month of October really blew by quickly. Some memorable moments were my participation in an exchange project with my school. On Halloween I went to Romania to meet with other teachers from Spain, Portugal, Poland, Romania, and Turkey. It was a good opportunity to bond with my fellow teachers and to help improve the other teachers' English skills. Romania seemed a lot like Bulgaria, but slightly warmer, and listening to others was a real trip. Romanians and Bulgarians share a common Communist history, and thus a lot of Soviet architecture and city planning, but linguistically, there are great differences. Romanians maintain more of the Roman language, Latin, and so it sounded closer to Italian or Spanish only with an Eastern European twist and some shared vocabulary with its neighbors. I met another Peace Corps volunteer working in the town and helped to teach a class with her, and the students' behavior didn't seem too different from my Bulgarian students. I guess teenagers will be teenagers the world over. While in Romania we went to an old salt mine that was open for visitors and tourists. Inside the salt mine is a beautiful little church (for the miners since they would spend so much time down there) and playground equiptment, chessboards, souveneirs, and other games (for the tourists that come to spend time in the salty air for many an afternoon). The next day we went to Bran Castle, the former home of Count Vlad the Impaler, or the inspiration for Dracula. The exhibition was beautiful, and we toured the entire castle, but it wasn't very scary as most Romanians look at Count Vlad as a hero, not a bloodthirsty ruler. We also went to a beautiful town in Transylvania called Brasov, and it had all the characterists of Romanian achitecture on the Hungarian side, with high turrets and large churches and state buildings. It was quite beautiful.

Before leaving on this trip however, we had a mini Halloween celebration at my school. I made spiced applesauce and pumpkin pie for the teachers (which they loved and made me give them the recipe), and in my 8th grade class we played Halloween games and had a costume contest. I was really impressed with some of the costumes, including Spring, a skeleton, fairies, and a China doll. I myself dressed up as a Bulgarian grandmother, or baba. I definitely got some strange looks walking around school that day! A few days before, I carved a pumpkin, and prepared Haunted Boxes with different food items to simulate brains, a dead man's thumb, eyeballs, etc. The kids all gave away what they were but the look on some of the other students' faces were pretty priceless when they reached into the boxes. The students also bobbed for apples and had a contest in teams to make the best mummy by wrapping each other in toilet paper. It was hilarious and although we didn't always speak English, it was one of my most festive Halloweens in quite some time.

The next holiday, Thanksgiving, was a little more low-key. I made cornbread, apple cobbler, and stuffing for the teachers, but somehow I got hungry and accidentally ate all the stuffing before it made it to school :( I went hiking with some new Bulgarian friends from the English class that I teach and hit the gym after all the holiday food. It's starting to get cold here and there was already snow on the mountains. I still occasionally go to my dance class on the weekends although I'm not really a morning person on Saturdays. On the weekend after Thanksgiving I met with a group of volunteers from a nearby town and we celebrated by eating too much and playing board games. It was really comfortable and we were able to swap stories and advice for teaching and working in our communities.

Just yesterday was another holiday that marked a big milestone for me. On World AIDS Day, I went with some of my students to the Riokos, or health services center in my town and made a presentation for the students from the school for the deaf children in our region. In my classes we had made HIV/AIDS awareness posters and some of my students from the language school where I work came and presented theirs. A teacher from the deaf school translated and some of my colleagues came to watch as we showed a film with subtitles and a dramatic discussion group called "8+" came and did a scene showing risky behavior. "8+" was made up of Bulgarian students and it was a good opportunity for them to integrate with some of the students from the school for deaf children. I was relieved that everything went well and that my first real project to address a need in the community worked without a lot of hiccups. The students had a little discussion afterwards (using translators) and it was a good opportunity to remind them of the importance of protecting themselves because most of the students had only learned about HIV/AIDS from reading cartoons.

Besides the issue of HIV/AIDS, now is a serious time for most Bulgarians with the effects of the international financial crisis, stemming from the U.S.'s recession. Bulgaria as a developing nation is extremely dependent on foreign aid and funds from the European Union (since 2007 when Bulgaria was admitted). Hundreds of millions of Euros have been suspended by the EU because of Bulgaria's lack of transparency and failure to act against organized crime. Bulgaria also has a tiny stock market that has been subject to financial vulnerability, with the stock index falling 80% this year. Bulgaria shares the same level of financial risk as other small, vulnerable economies (such as Iceland that actually went bankrupt due to the international financial crisis) and is rapidly losing foreign investment. This manifests itself in everyday lives as I speak with my friends that work in upper management and project up to a 30% decrease in production next year and the loss of many jobs in American and other international factories in Bulgaria. This will be a difficult year. I don't know when things will change, but for now in some Bulgarian cities it is not too uncommon to see a Mercedes share the road with pedestrians and a donkey cart. More anti-corruption action needs to happen to encourage investor confidence to ride out the recession.

I missed everyone during the holidays (and have never been more grateful for Skype!). I hope you're all staying warm and taking care of yourselves. What has everyone been up to? Write me back!

To life and health,
Emily

Baseball, Hizha, and a Wedding

2008-10-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

I have lots to share this time around.

First of all, two weeks ago was the regional baseball championship. My team was short of a couple of players, so we joined with a team from a village nearby. Luckily that village had an amazing pitcher, so we won the first two games with a good lead. The second team has a lot of sportsmanship issues, so after the game some of my boys had to climb the fence and search for our equipment that their opponents threw over. The last game our team was pretty tired and we played against one of the best teams in the country. We lost miserably, but overall it was a good day for boosting our players' confidence in themselves. I later got to watch the vice presidential debate (Thank you Youtube!) and sent off my absentee ballot.

During the week I've been teaching literature and beginning English to the 8th graders at my school. I feel like I'm falling into my routine finally. The only hiccup along the way has been the amount of cheating in some of my classes. Apparently cheating is looked at more as helping by some students and teachers. I will be working to change that as much as I can.

The next weekend was action-packed. I went to a mountain lodge on a lake with some of David's collegues. The homemade rakia (grape brandy) flowed liberally all night, and I got to practice a lot of my horo dancing. Again people were a little confused about what do with me as a vegetarian, but overall we had a great time. Early the next morning I barely caught a ride down the mountain to catch my bus back to Turgovishte for a wedding. I was late for the legal ceremony, but made it in time for the church ceremony of my friend and student, Joro. I got to meet his beautiful wife and the daughter of my collegue at the school.

Bulgarian weddings seem a lot like American weddings, but there were some differences. The bride and groom make their entrance in the reception by walking over a white cloth that has been arranged with Zdravets leaves (for health), coins (wealth), seeds (fertility), and candy (I don't remember). Guests at the wedding pick up each of the articles after they pass so that they can have health, wealth, etc. A young woman who keeps the white cloth is the next to be married. The bride and groom also pass under 3 ribbons, white for youth/innocence, blue for their children to be, and red for love. The best man makes a toast, and thebride and groom begin the night with a lively horo joined by the best man and maid of honor. There is even a similar tradition to make the bride (Bulka) and groom (Mladozhenets) kiss; instead of clinking their glasses with spoons however, people yell out GOR-CHI-VO!, which means bitter. Later there is something similar to a dollar dance, but instead the people donate money into a basket that the bride holds and join hands with her in a horo and people keep adding to the chain. Later in the night, the bride and groom open a champagne bottle. If the champagne explodes forcefully, they will have a son, if only a little, a daughter, and if not at all, twins. Fortunately (or unfortunatly) Joro and Nadia will be having twins (according to the champagne)! Like American weddings, the bouquet and the garter belt are tossed and the cake is cut, and dancing continues late into the night. Ooh, one thing I forgot to mention, though, they drink wine and then throw the glasses on the ground, and the more broken shards there are, the more love between them :)

I've attached some pictures of the baseball game, the mountain lodge, and the wedding. Enjoy! Also, please write me and let me know what is new and exciting with you!

Thanks,
Emily

More Misadventures!

2008-09-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've written the mass e-mail/blog. I've been busy attempting to coach my baseball team, teaching adult English to a couple of my friends in town and trying to get to know the movers and shakers in my community before school starts. I also wallpapered my kitchen with the help of my collegue, Svetla. She is basically superwoman. Later I survived my first Bulgarian haircut with great results. :)

I spent almost a week in a beautiful city on the other side of the mountain from my town for an HIV-AIDS Training Seminar. I invited one of the teachers from the School for Deaf Children in my town since there currently isn't any HIV-AIDS training there. While tiring at times, the seminar left me with lots of ideas for working with students and gave my partner teacher and I a good basis for starting our project together.

It snuck up on me quickly. I was just about to think that summer would never end when the weather turned dramatically much colder and my next door neighbor knocked on my door. She gave me flowers and threw a bucket of water on the ground before me to wish me good luck for the first day of school.

School's going to be a challenge for me because I have to catch up on a lot of the literature that I'll be teaching for my lit classes, and for my other classes I won't have a textbook to work out of, so I will have to be creative with lesson planning. I also must learn to say no. When it comes to volunteering, I usually jump on any opportunity that comes up.

Case in point: A weekend or so ago, I started going to a horo dance class. It's very fun and a pleasant release of my tension. Later, one gentleman from the class contacted the director of my school to see if I could attend the Bulgarian Independence Day Festival in the former capital of Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo. I accepted and went along with his group. It ended up being interesting but way over my language abilities. Bulgarians at the festival all held post-graduate degrees and discussed the theory of independence and historical inaccuracies. I was way over my head. Later that day, the gentleman that invited me told me about his plan to start a project with all the schools in my region. I thought that it sounded like a good idea to have a better parent, teacher, student connection and told him so. Later during the meeting, he announced that I would be a partner on the project. Suprise! I will have to make sure to keep my head above water with this one, so wish me luck!

The pictures attached are as follows: My lunch (in the summer), Svetla the superwoman wallpaperer, me modeling a new haircut and chocolate ice cream and raspberries as Matt, another volunteer looks jealous, a giant chess set in the park in Stara Zagora, the first day of school presentation, teachers with way too many flowers, Veliko Tarnovo independence day festival.

2008-08-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

It's been again about a month since my last e-mail, and I have had another lifetime of experiences since then. After working at a summer camp in town for 2nd graders, my Bulgarian skills have improved because of the necessity to know commands like "repeat!" "sit down" "be quiet" and other ways to keep their attention. At the same time, I helped coach my first Bulgarian baseball game in excruciating noon heat, so I think my team will be eager to play again (but at a more reasonable time of day).

A few weeks after that I helped out at an international English camp in a city on the Black Sea, which was an exhausting great time. The students were very enthusiastic, and I gained experience teaching the oldest students. I got to know my collegues better and I know that I can count on them for Bulgarian questions and intercultural support.

I've seen a lot of Bulgaria in the past few days because from the Black Sea I went to the capital city where I had to have my yearly check-up. I miss the rolling hills and the mountains in the center and west, and there's still so much of this country that I want to get to know.

I'm establishing a good relationship with my next-door neighbor, whose husband is sick. She's always going back and forth to the hospital to visit him. It makes all of the little challenges that we go through seem much less serious when keeping health in perspective. I hope everyone back home is doing well and I think about you often.

The pictures above are from the camp that I worked at, and the activities are as follows:
Me with the director after the talent show, my students presenting about the greenhouse effect at the eco night, the Mr. and Miss Camp competition talent section where contestants had to dance on a piece of paper and fold it in half and dance again and again-a hilarious Romanian game, the make-up contest, and the sunrise on the Black Sea.

Write me back!
Thanks,
Emily

E Taka...

2008-06-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hi all!
Sorry I haven't written again in oh, say over a month, but I just went
through the transition from training to site, so now I live on the
other side of Bulgaria in a medium town just waiting to get to know
people. My apartment is roomy (plenty of room for me, my landlady who
occasionally stays there, the mold in the kitchen and the couple of
cockroaches that live with us) in a great location-just across the
street from the police station! Other highlights are the picture of
Abba in my closet and the beautiful view of town (if you look just to
the left and right of the apartment next door).

Seriously though, I know that I will like it here. I've made friends
with the teachers at my school and I inherited some of the
contacts/friends of the previous volunteer. I will have to get his
baseball team up and running again, but so far so good. Many people
know me already because I was interviewed on the day of our swearing
in ceremony (speaking in Bulgarian-eek!) and it made the Bulgarian
national news. Everyone in my town perked up when they heard that I
was coming here.

Luckily before I left, I had the chance to visit a few more amazing
mountains on that side of the state and see the Rila Monastery, which
is the largest, most beautiful monastery in the country. I also
visited the waterfall in a nearby village where some volunteers were
staying and had time to learn to cook some important Bulgarian dishes
before leaving. When I tried to cook since coming here I've only
kinda burned things a little and managed to make some of the things my
baba made with much more experience and skill. I have begun tutoring
and I realized (although I tested above the required level) that my
Bulgarian could still use quite a bit of work. I will keep you posted
as more exciting things happen, but I wanted to let you know that I'm
alive and loving it.

Also, these are pictures of me with my host mom in the mountains and the Kukeri Festival, which is a pagan holiday that ancient
Bulgarians celebrated by wearing scary masks to bring good luck and
ward off the evil spirits that made people sick when the weather
changes. Then there's the very elaborate festival that the
kindergarten in my training site presented. It was so cute, and very
impressive. Finally, there's a picture from our horo dance group
(traditional Bulgarian dancing).

Please write me back!
Emily
These views do not reflect the views of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Wooden Spoons, Why Not?

2008-06-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

This blog does not reflect the views of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Zdrasti! I feel like a lifetime has passed since coming to Bulgaria because of how much has been going on. I found out my permanent site after training and had a visit last week. I will be an English literature teacher ( I have a lot of reading to do) at a language school in a medium sized town in Bulgaria. I will miss the beautiful mountains of my training site and of course my host family, but it seems there will be no shortage of things to do in my future site. I will soon have an address for you to send mail to, and since my birthday is coming up in July (cough: hint: cough) you will be able to send packages at that point.

I alluded to my site being busy earlier, and I think this deserves some clarification. I will inherit a baseball team. No joke. The current volunteer taught the 8th grade students how to play baseball and they've been a traveling team under his coaching for the past two years. I have no special talent for baseball and I don't even know how baseball stats work, but I guess that's what Peace Corps is about-stretching yourself to try new things. P.S. Eric, Ryan, Craig, anybody who can give me advice, that would be great. I also have received a lot of interest from the girls in my classes to help them start a dance camp. It was cute and actually hilarious when one girl came up and asked me to teach her hip hop. I think I would have to learn first.

So we were gone for about a week traveling to the permanent sites and returned to our host families just in time for May 24 and high school graduation. May 24 is Bulgarian language and culture day, otherwise known as Cyril and Methodius Day, the creators of the Cyrillic/Bulgarian alphabet and language. Students had a parade and there were a lot of events for the graduates, such as a procession and a prom-like dance. It's also a tradition that the graduates drive through town counting 1,2,3, up to twelve and cheering. They've been doing that pretty much all week long. Tomorrow we will have a lesson in a nearby town, so I have to get ready for it.

Oh I almost forgot to tell you about my strangest day hiking in the countryside yet. Everything was great on the way up, but you know me, afraid of heights and all, so on the way down it was more tricky, there were a lot of dead leaves on the ground and we didn't really have a path, so I fell four times at the end where all the 50+ Bulgarians were waiting, laughing hysterically. Don't worry I didn't bruise more than my pride, but I did manage to rip a giant hole in the crotch of my jeans. After that we went to a village looking for cold water when a woman invited us into her home. She basically had a museum of a traditional Bulgarian home-complete with scary mannequin. I was feeling better and she was incredibly friendly when we left, especially when she gave me a set of wooden spoons because I said I was moving further away. We then got a ride to the bus stop in a horse-drawn cart. I love Bulgaria.

There, I've written a lot, complete with pictures of the Roman ruins behind my house (for Joni!) and I expect a snippet back. That's all I ask.

I wish you health, happiness, and luck
желая ви здраве щастие и късмет
Емили
Emily

Burzo, burzo Nyama Vreme! Hurry, hurry no time!

2008-05-11T10:28:00.001-07:00

I believe I haven't written in a while, so I'll try to catch you up to speed. First of all, we got internet in my house! Very exciting, and I don't know if it takes away from the Peace Corps experience or not, but it will certainly help me keep in touch.

Second, there was Easter holiday in Bulgaria at the end of April. It was kind of strange because most Bulgarians aren't very religious, except maybe the older generations, yet many people celebrate Easter quite seriously. Part of the tradition is to go to church the night before Easter and circle the church three times with a candle and a priest. If it goes out, you will have bad luck/bad health/bad something. I went but didn't circle anything. It was very historic, almost mystical inside. The more important part of the holiday for most Bulgarians is the food. Bulgarians dye Easter eggs, like Americans do, and later on Easter morning they have competitions by knocking two eggs together. Whoever's egg isn't cracked wins. Almost all families eat Kozunak, which is a fluffy sweet bread that my Baba made at home. It was pretty amazing, and she made six loaves for five people (me, Baba, my host mom, and her son, Sasho, and daughter, Rali, who came home from Sofia for the vacation), so we were eating it like it was going out of style. It is also typical to eat lamb. I had previous enjoyed lamb, but this time it was more symbolic since they slaughtered the lamb in our yard on Easter. I don't eat meat anymore for various reasons.

So after Easter weekend, the citizens of Bulgarian had much of the week off, but we went back to lessons. I went hiking in this amazing park behind my house where Roman ruins still stand. Yup, in my backyard practically. It's kinda nuts. I also took a day trip to see other volunteers in a smaller site where I was able to have more of the Peace Corps experience, and I got to see a young calf, lots of sheep, chickens, rabbits, and of course the stray dogs that are everywhere. On my way back home, we stumbled upon a men's volleyball game that was mnogo (very) random and fun. The home team won and sent Sofia packing.

This week has been pretty busy with getting back to teaching and preparing for interviews. We had our site placement interviews this week, along with an oral language proficiency exam. It's hard to believe, but we are almost halfway through our training and will be moving to our permanent sites in a little over a month. Tonight was the 35th anniversary of the school where I'm training to teach, so there was a concert with a short film about the school and it's legacy, lots of musical acts (from Horo to techno) and mini-interviews with teachers on stage. Afterward, the teachers had a celebration at a local hotel. We had a great time, eating and dancing and eating and dancing. The teachers plotted to find me a boyfriend by Monday so that I could stay at their school. It's funny, but at the same time, not too uncommon to be set up once people find out that you are single. Even some of my American friends who have been here long enough start to try.

Tomorrow we will be having a cultural day with the Roma children in my town, so there's pickup basketball, football (soccer), and frisbee in store. On Sunday (weather permitting) I'm going to head out of the town for a day to help out at a friend's farm. It'll be a good way for me to stay occupied until we find out our placements on Monday. I'm also reading an interesting book called "Voices from the Gulag" about the concentration camps in Communist Bulgaria. It's interesting because it tells the story through accounts on all sides of the camp, prisoners, guards, doctors, and the director of the camps. It's also sad to see how the blame never really finds a home.

Okay, so now that I've written a small novel, write me back! Or I'll Fed-Ex stray dogs to you (we have plenty!)!!

Adventures

2008-04-28T04:40:00.000-07:00

These views are my own and do not reflect the Peace Corps.

I knew that when I signed up for the Peace Corps I would try new things and learn more about myself as I struggled and adapted. I learned one very important thing about myself this weekend.

I should not be left alone in a kitchen, and especially not in a Bulgarian kitchen.

I am challenged in the cooking department. There, I admit it. This is not one of my strengths. I also made things worse by trying to prepare an American meal for my host family using Bulgarian ingredients and recipes that I’ve only “sort of” tried. It got to the point where my host mom put something back in the oven and I felt like I could never try it again. Not everything bombed, however. Aunt Claire, your recipe for deviled eggs is foolproof because it worked for me (aside from the fact that we have unnaturally large eggs in the U.S., which threw off the proportions a smidgen). However, my potato salad and lemon pepper chicken were disgusting, and the lack of baking chocolate turned my cake into toffee (not bad, but I’m glad I didn’t know how to tell them what I’d been trying to make for lack of a stronger vocabulary). I followed up the meal by nearly flooding the kitchen and calling it a day (since it took me about four hours to prepare the garbage that I served). My host mom and Baba were such troopers, though, I am incredibly lucky to have such supportive women living with me. They are also amazing cooks, so make some of it will brush off on me (fingers crossed).

Oh well, for the downs there are the ups. I’ve been able to use Skype (whohoo!) to communicate with my immediate family, so if anyone’s interested in getting it too, shoot me a message. I also had an amazing time last weekend hiking near the Struma River, where the day was long and temperate and there was no shortage of foliage, mountain views, and random animals to take pictures of (at one point we a boar following us). This week was busy with a prep class of teaching Bulgarian students and lots of Bulgarian lessons. This weekend we’ve done a tour of the city (all six of its museums), and I’ve had more time to interact with Bulgarians at Horo class (Bulgaria’s national dance: think Riverdance but slightly less intense). Once I get past introductions, I don’t have too much to say at this point but malko po malko (little by little) I’ll get there. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I didn’t know the Bulgarian alphabet two weeks ago.

Next week I teach my own class, yikes! 8^th grade English, wish me luck! Keep me posted on your whereabouts and wellbeing. Oh yeah, the pictures are from hiking and the tour around town. I particularly like the one where one of the hikers uses what looks like a machete to cut hard boiled eggs. That’s talent!

Staging/Orientation Fun

2008-04-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

Again this blog does not reflect any of the views of the Peace Corps organization, purely my own.

We just finished up orientation/staging at a small mountain lodge with an amazing view. After some late night ping pong with the locals at the hotel and lots of late night cramming, we survived. We had an intense week of learning the policy ropes, studying some of the cultural differences between Bulgaria and the U.S., and briefly taking in some language lessons (Bulgarski is definitely more challenging than the romance languages for an English speaker, so this will be quite a trip).

I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The trip from D.C. to Bulgaria itself was quite a trip. We flew Lufthansa, so everything was in German with English translation. This isn’t the first time my 1001 Deutsche Klasse came in handy though, just wait and see. After 7 ½ or 8 hours when we landed in Frankfurt, they were experiencing some inclement weather. We had expected to go from sunny sixty degree DC to sunny sixty degree Sofia, Bulgaria. Surprise, less than 30 degree, snowy Frankfurt! If they didn’t have the best service and show Juno on the flight, I might have been disappointed with Lufthansa for taking us there.

You might be wondering about the pictures I’ve posted. Well, they are photos of the celebration that we enjoyed on Thursday night. We saw a dance troupe dance the Horo, which is a traditional Bulgarian dance that people do at weddings, family events, and in their homes. Although most people don’t dress that way; those are traditional costumes. Everyone got up and tried it later, and some of us tried the more challenging ones. Later over ping pong, I met one of the Bulgarian girls who worked at the hotel bar and found out that she worked at the Wisconsin Dells for a summer before returning to Bulgaria. Small world, eh?

Anywho, so after the more sheltered experience of learning Bulgarian amongst Americans, we went to our training site where we met our host families. My host mother is Emilia. Her sister in law that lives upstairs is also Emilia. Yup, there’s three of us with (almost the same name). Since Emilia and her brother Rumen, who helped pick me up from the training site, don’t speak any English, we relied on gestures and my very little Bulgarian to entertain ourselves on the ride. Oh yeah, and that 1001 German helped also since Rumen spoke about as much German as I did.

Not being able to express oneself can be frustrating and at times scary. Like the first night when I locked myself in my room on accident and Emilia told me instructions on the other side to help me get out. Only they were in Bulgaria. It was confusing, but I think it makes for a good metaphor. A lack of a way to communicate can make you feel trapped (and for the clumsy ones among us, literally may keep you that way). Luckily for us, we can get by more and more each day, and there will be many, many hours of classes to help us prepare.
I miss everyone very much, and I hope everything is going well!

Staging/Orientation

2008-04-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

The views expressed in this blog do not represent the Peace Corps.

Also Staging went well in DC. I appreciate all of your supportive messages and will do my best to keep in touch. I had the opportunity to see my friends in the DC area yesterday and am becoming closer with the 38 others with which I'll be traveling. I'm learning a lot and keeping busy. I won't have internet access for the next couple of weeks and I have to condense my packing a bit before the international flight, so sorry if this is brief. I'm happy, healthy, and ready to start the adventure of a lifetime!

Also this is what it looks like here now. Yea for cherry blossoms.

My First Bulgaria Blog

2008-03-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I’ve never done a blog before, but here goes. I am leaving on Friday for Washington DC where I will do my orientation for the Peace Corps in Bulgaria. After that, I don’t know when I’ll have internet access, but I’ll try to keep you guys up to speed on my adventures. I take the GRE (grad school admission test) the day after tomorrow, so this’ll be brief. I’m going to send out e-mails to people who are interested, so please write me with your e-mail address if so (I’m EmilyGroene@gmail.com). I just said goodbye to three Erins in two days, so it’s been pretty busy here already. It feels weird, like something I just talk about a lot that isn’t ever going to happen, but I guess it’s starting to hit me now for real. Whew! Here we go!