'i feel it in my fingers, i feel it in my toes, christmas is all around me, just like the saying goes!'
A few days ago I watched "Love Actually" for the first time and I haven't been able to get that 'one too many syllable' gingle out of my head. I definitely feel the christmas spirit is all around me...but, proverbially, maybe just one syllable off.
I've been pretty active over the past month not only during the week with the school year in full swing, but it seems like every weekend I have a full schedule. The Second weekend in November, I traveled with 4 other teachers and two of our classes from Geo Milev High School to a town in central Bulgaria: Gabrovo. Although it was raining litereally the whole time and the temperature was hovering right around freezing, we made the best of it. We went to the planetareum in Gabrovo where disappointingly the presentation failed to mention the recent renumeration of planets to exclude Pluto. I thought that was a rather blatant ommission of facts considering none of my students knew what I was talking about when I brought the subject to their attention. Also, Gabrovo is known throughout the country as the 'capital of humor.' Because of that, they have a Home of Humor with different famous Bulgarian Cartoonists and Satirists work on display as well as an exhibition of interesting Bulgarian sayings/adages. The one I liked the most was: "No matter what you produce, when you go to market you must sell yourself." Ambiguous maybe, but I liked it. On our excursion, we stayed in a Hotel with our students. Fortunately the night was rather uneventful (at least no one got hurt or drank too much according to my knowledge) but being so close to their age, I felt a little awkward for sure.
On our way back to Ruse, we stopped at an open air museum that was set up like an eighteenth century bulgarian village would be. This time in Bulgarian history is very popular/nostalgic for Bulgarians because this is the time immediately following their Rebirth from the Ottoman Empire. Once again, although it was miserable weather-wise, I enjoyed it as much as I could.
Next weekend was Thanksgiving weekend. I really began to feel homesick as the days began to end around 5pm and I yearned for the feeling of returning home from Blacksburg to experience the sights and sounds of The Bridge for a week. But I got over this the best way I knew how. I invited some of the teachers from my school over from my school for a thanksgiving dinner. I made a pumpkin pie, roasted a turkey, and made some delicious stuffing. Surprisingly the food was delicious! My friends loved it and we had a great night at my apartment. This was also the first weekend of the Ruse Teachers 3v3 Co-ed Basketball Tournament organized by the Municipality. Many factors led to Geo Milev absolutely dominating the tournament and winning first place. Among them being: I was about 10 years younger than the next youngest player, the other man on my team is about 6'5", and apparently not many of the teachers in Ruse have a thorough background in Basketball. We won a pretty nice-sized trophy that was awarded to us at an Awards Banquet/Holiday party.
That night was a lot of fun filled with folk dancing (horo), good food (a 3 course traditional bulgarian style dinner), and good drink (rakia).
One weekend, along with a couple of the men that work at the Youth Center in Ruse, I took some students to a nearby lake that is (or at least was) absolutely filthy. We spent the morning filling about 70 bags of trash and spent the afternoon playing football. One of the kids had a football that his mom brought him back from the states when she went on vacation this summer to Miami. It was a great time throwing the football. When I think about it, going a whole summer and fall without touching a football is a tragedy. But it was pretty fun tossing it around after all. It was also cool how everyone was seemingly dumbfounded how I could throw a spiral.
On Thursday, some of my students will perform a Christmas play that I wrote. Well, I didn't exactly write it. I adopted 'A Christmas Carole' by Charles Dickens into play form and shortened it while also making the English very easy. Either way, I'm definitely excited to see my students perform it on Thursday.
But my excitement for that doesn't come close to how excited I am for Ill nana to come. Will is coming to visit me for my Christmas break. I am going to meet him at the Sofia Airport on Xmas day and we are gonna travel from Sofia to Kyustendil to Plovdiv to Istanbul...in effect traveling across Bulgaria. I've heard nothing but great things about the sights in Istanbul so I can't wait to experience it with Will and some of the other PCVs who will be traveling with us.
I hope everyone is having a great holiday season...MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
what a month!
he's ba-aaaaaaaack! Hello everyone! As of Tuesday, November 5th, 2007 the public school year began all across Bulgaria. Nearly, 2 months after the originally scheduled first day of school (September 15th) I am teaching in a high school full of the teachers holding class everyday and students (some energetically, some begrudgingly) coming to class everyday. I am continuing to teach my 8th and 9th grade classes and next week I will begin hosting an after school group with older students who would like to get more practice with their English and who would like to get more realistic English exposure (discussions of real world issues, films, music, current events, etc.)
Although I am assured whenever I make the comment (mnogo e studeno neska...its really cold today) that this winter will get much colder, the weather has gotten pretty damn cold already here in Ruse. I have a space heater in my apartment that I keep on 24/7 because it has recently been brought to my attention that my apartment block has no working central heating this winter. Awesome! But really I can't complain. The cold winter will balance out the extremely hot temperatures we got here during the summer. There has yet to be any substancial snowstorms but it has flurried a couple times.
So what else have I been up to since the last time I entered Blogworld? Other than teaching, frankly, not a whole lot....
The first week in October, I took a weekend trip to see my host family from Kyuestendil (the town close to the Macedonian border where I lived for my first 3 months in Bulgaria during my training). It was a great weekend. I felt a bit proud of myself when I could communicate with all of them leaps and bounds above the level I communicated with them when I lived with them during the summer. My host brother and sister, Velisar and Velislava, live in Sofia because they attend University there. After I saw my host parents in Kyuestendil on Friday night and Saturday, I traveled to Sofia (about a 2hour bus ride) to hang out with Velisar and Velislava. We had a great time painting 'Student City' - the section of Sofia where all of the students live - red. We met up with a bunch of their friends and ate, drank, and danced the HORO all night. The HORO is a style of traditional Bulgarian folk dance where everyone dances in a line side-by-side and follows the line around the room in a random pattern (in this case, it was the entire restaurant where we were). Its really a good time. But after many trips around restaurant, the DJ started playing more modern music and taking requests. At this point I took it upon myself to request classic American folk music....Michael Bolton. haha I laugh, but it happened.
Back in Ruse, I sometimes feel like a bit of a needle in a haystack. When I decided to join the Peace Corps I really didn't picture myself living in a city with 120,000-plus people, but that is the reality of it. I suffer sometimes from feeling like I'm not doing enough, not because I lack the desire, but because I lack the power/connections/know-how. At first, and even sometimes still, this lack of efficaciousness weighs heavily. But it really has helped me gain a more humble sense of serenity. Which is a good thing when coupled with the opportunities I do have...
After all, I get to meet with over 100 kids everyday who clearly express that they think the world of me. With this respect (well-deserved or not) that I get from my students, I have the chance to teach them the skill of the world's most international language that can do nothing but help improve their lives in the near future and in the long run. Whether it be translating a claimer from a travel website, or helping revise Motivational Letters for students that aspire to attend Univerisities that use English as the the language of discourse; I have learned to focus on the task at hand so that even if I may be only a 'needle' in the proverbial haystack, I am a hard-working and thoroughly-giving needle.
*****************************
I turned 23 on the 28th of October! This is the first of two birthdays that I will celebrate over here in Bulgaria. It just so happened that my birthday coincided with the nationwide celebration of Halloween by many of the PCVs in the town of Veliko Turnovo. We all had a great time dressing up and acting blatantly and obnoxiously American for a weekend in a guest house that we rented for 2 nights. I was a ninja. Ladies, don't get too excited when I say this, but was wearing tights. See the pictures on snapfish.com or facebook.com....
The next weekend, I ran in my first marathon. I ran it in Athens, Greece where the first marathon was ran 2500 years ago. Or at least this is according to the legend that was first recorded 1900 years ago. Sunday, November 4th, 2007 was and most assuredly will be one of the coolest days of my life. Marathons are such great experiences. The energy and excitement is almost tangible in a city that is hosting a marathon of over 7,000 participants. 8 other PCVs ran in the marathon as well and we all ran at different paces but with similar outcomes...great memories, promises that the next time we'll train harder, and inexplicable pain shooting through muscles we didn't know we had. Additionally, in my case, I hurt my left ankle during the race and could hardly walk from my hostel to the bus to catch the airport the next morning. But with that said, I have and always will have great memories of november 4th.
I believe thats all for now...I hope all of my friends/family/loved ones don't regret the time they took out to read the preceding randomness that is my life nowadays, and I thank you for thinking of me. In one way or another, I have thought of you and used our friendship and memories to help me in times of homesickness over the past 7 months. :)
god bless you all!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The school year is underway...
It is now the middle of my third week of teaching classes at Geo Milev 'High School' in Ruse, Bulgaria. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the classroom with my students, but the first few weeks of school have been anything but uneventful.
First of all, just like in America, the teachers of public schools are poorly underpaid. Although very few people (if any) are willing to justify this reality, it remains a fact of life; not only in the U.S. but in Bulgaria and - I would guess - the world over. Because of this, the teachers of Bulgaria have mobilized and have enacted a 'stachka' (bulgarian for STRIKE) to protest these unjustifiably low wages. But since I am paid by Peace Corps Bulgaria and as an organization we do not take any political stances, I continue to have classes (along with all of the other PCVs at their respective schools around the country).
There are a few teachers still holding classes along with me at school but for the most part, the teachers have told their students not to come to school because they will not be teaching anything. In protest, the striking teachers simply show up to school at 8am and 'sit in' until 4pm. This strike has now been underway for 12 days. That is 12 days worth of pay that the teachers will not receive. But most importantly, that is 12 days worth of school that the students have not received. Instead they will have to make up the lessons they have missed with extended days, on weekends, or worst of all, on holidays. So with all of this political turmoil...who wins? Well that remains to be seen if the Ministry of Education will increase the salaries of the teachers. But certainly, the losers are clearly the ones who have no control of the situation: the students.
So that is one thing that has made my fledgeling weeks very interesting. Other than that, I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with the level of my students' English. Although they have only been taking english lessons (in school) for a couple of years in primary school, I am able to explain things in simple English and they understand most of what I say. (Part of my instructions from my colleagues is to speak only in English during class. If the students really do not understand something when I explain it in English, they can ask me after class and I can try to explain it in Bulgarian)
As a whole the students are extremely enthusiastic about learning English in my class and are very curious about life in America? (i.e. Is everyone rich? Is high school like AMERICAN PIE? Do you like 50 cent?) by the way, Curtis Jackson did all of us teaching English a disservice by using that name. Students find it very confusing to say, The cookie costs 50 CENTS while also saying, I like to listen to 50 CENT. My mom and I are setting up a classroom exchange program where my 9th grade students in Bulgaria can communicate with her students at Woodbridge Middle. They are definitely excited about that. Although I hope they keep their curious minds somewhat censored when asking questions to her students.
For the most part, my life has been spent at school. After school, I go jogging (31 days until the Athens Marathon!!!) http://www.athensclassicmarathon.gr/default.1.asp And I try to cook different things using the amazingly delicious fruit and vegetables from the market that is just next to my apartment. I have cooked a couple of meals for friends and colleagues on the weekends and they seem to enjoy my cooking. For those of you all that are wondering...my cuisine has congealed into a somewhat more ordinary array of dishes. (I have yet to serve ramen/milk/mustard/chicken/chocolate sauce delight to anyone in Bulgaria like we used to do it at the PRC)
also....With the help of slingbox (and my brother despite the fact that he still hasn't bought an audio splitter or had the cable guy come fix his DVR), I have been able watch the beginning of the VT and redskin seasons. (I think I woke my neighbors up due to my yelp similar to that of an 8 year old child being spanked when Betts was stopped at the 1)
This weekend I am going to take the bus back to Kyuestendil to visit my host family and hopefully see my old language teacher Anni. (see my first blog entry; I heart Anni)
Thats about all for now...although I do not get to talk to you often, it really makes me feel great when you shoot me an email and tell me something funny/nice/new/cool/interesting about what you are up to or about life in general.
God Bless!
First of all, just like in America, the teachers of public schools are poorly underpaid. Although very few people (if any) are willing to justify this reality, it remains a fact of life; not only in the U.S. but in Bulgaria and - I would guess - the world over. Because of this, the teachers of Bulgaria have mobilized and have enacted a 'stachka' (bulgarian for STRIKE) to protest these unjustifiably low wages. But since I am paid by Peace Corps Bulgaria and as an organization we do not take any political stances, I continue to have classes (along with all of the other PCVs at their respective schools around the country).
There are a few teachers still holding classes along with me at school but for the most part, the teachers have told their students not to come to school because they will not be teaching anything. In protest, the striking teachers simply show up to school at 8am and 'sit in' until 4pm. This strike has now been underway for 12 days. That is 12 days worth of pay that the teachers will not receive. But most importantly, that is 12 days worth of school that the students have not received. Instead they will have to make up the lessons they have missed with extended days, on weekends, or worst of all, on holidays. So with all of this political turmoil...who wins? Well that remains to be seen if the Ministry of Education will increase the salaries of the teachers. But certainly, the losers are clearly the ones who have no control of the situation: the students.
So that is one thing that has made my fledgeling weeks very interesting. Other than that, I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with the level of my students' English. Although they have only been taking english lessons (in school) for a couple of years in primary school, I am able to explain things in simple English and they understand most of what I say. (Part of my instructions from my colleagues is to speak only in English during class. If the students really do not understand something when I explain it in English, they can ask me after class and I can try to explain it in Bulgarian)
As a whole the students are extremely enthusiastic about learning English in my class and are very curious about life in America? (i.e. Is everyone rich? Is high school like AMERICAN PIE? Do you like 50 cent?) by the way, Curtis Jackson did all of us teaching English a disservice by using that name. Students find it very confusing to say, The cookie costs 50 CENTS while also saying, I like to listen to 50 CENT. My mom and I are setting up a classroom exchange program where my 9th grade students in Bulgaria can communicate with her students at Woodbridge Middle. They are definitely excited about that. Although I hope they keep their curious minds somewhat censored when asking questions to her students.
For the most part, my life has been spent at school. After school, I go jogging (31 days until the Athens Marathon!!!) http://www.athensclassicmarathon.gr/default.1.asp And I try to cook different things using the amazingly delicious fruit and vegetables from the market that is just next to my apartment. I have cooked a couple of meals for friends and colleagues on the weekends and they seem to enjoy my cooking. For those of you all that are wondering...my cuisine has congealed into a somewhat more ordinary array of dishes. (I have yet to serve ramen/milk/mustard/chicken/chocolate sauce delight to anyone in Bulgaria like we used to do it at the PRC)
also....With the help of slingbox (and my brother despite the fact that he still hasn't bought an audio splitter or had the cable guy come fix his DVR), I have been able watch the beginning of the VT and redskin seasons. (I think I woke my neighbors up due to my yelp similar to that of an 8 year old child being spanked when Betts was stopped at the 1)
This weekend I am going to take the bus back to Kyuestendil to visit my host family and hopefully see my old language teacher Anni. (see my first blog entry; I heart Anni)
Thats about all for now...although I do not get to talk to you often, it really makes me feel great when you shoot me an email and tell me something funny/nice/new/cool/interesting about what you are up to or about life in general.
God Bless!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
What a Difference a Year Makes!
As far back as I can remember, the fall has felt like the REAL beginning of the year. Primarily because of the start of a new school year. Whether it be new school supplies, cool new shoes, or as is now the case, my new (Teachers Editions) English Language Textbooks for my 8th and 9th grade students; there is always something new and exciting to look forward to as the temperature starts to cool down and the days become just a bit shorter.
This year, I will be teaching 2 periods/week for each of the 5 different 8th grade classes and the 4 different 9th grade classes at Geo Milev English Language Lyceum. (A lyceum being a high school with grades 8-12 where students not only receive a traditional education but also focus on a specific skill: in Geo Milev's case, English). In addition, I will have an after-school class each day which will be a more relaxed environment for my students to practice their English and hopefully to help me practise my Bulgarian. I have been working on my lesson plans and meeting the teachers this past week as we all prepare for the start of the school year on September 15th. Yes, that is a Saturday. Every year, Bulgarian schools start on the 15th regardless what day it is. This first day of 'classes' is full of performances, ceremonies, music, and meet/greets to serve as the celebration of a new school year.
Last week I bought a 'SLINGBOX' off of a guy on eBay. Basically, a SLINGBOX is a new technology where you can hook up this patented device to a digital cable box on one end and an internet router on another end and you can broadcast local digital cable worldwide through the internet to a private network. Pretty insane, huh? So Mark set it up for me at his house in D.C. and I have been able to watch Washington area T.V. on my computer. Obviously, the reason why I got this thing was to watch the hokies and the skins this fall. I stayed up all night last night (the game started at 4:15am local time sunday morning) to watch tech/lsu. Although we got our asses handed to us on a stick, it was really exciting to be able to watch the game. <> Also, I will be able to watch the skins-dolphins game (8pm sunday local time)
I am so excited to have the capability to stay in touch with sports back home; but the whole situation is kinda odd for me.
First of all, watching the hokies play in the middle of the night while drinking Glenn Dorsey-knows-how-many cups of coffee does not begin to compare to watching it at the Delta Chi house with a keg, or in Lane Stadium with a bourbon and coke (wait, i mean, just plain coke ;) ) or at 503 with great people and great aristocrat.
Also, when I decided to serve in the Peace Corps, I did not picture this sort of set-up would be possible. I was willing and ready to go anywhere in the world where I could serve my 27 months without the ammenities of life at home in the states. So to have the capability to watch local television almost makes me feel like I'm cheating. As long as I just use the slingbox to watch my teams when they are on and not let it be a distraction from the purpose that I am here, I think it will be all good.
anyways...
Last Thursday was Unification Day in Bulgaria. On September 6, 1885 the recently liberated Bulgarian state acquired the region of eastern Rumelia from the Ottoman-Turks which still maintained control of this region as a principality to its fastly decreasing empire. Eastern Rumelia is the area of modern Bulgaria that stretches from southeast of Sofia all the way to the Black Sea to the east and Greece to the south. Because everyone had a day off of work, I went over to one of my colleague's houses and had lunch with her family. On Friday, I went to a celo (Bulgarian for a small village) with a couple of friends. Tabachka, the small village about 25 km south of Ruse is such a quaint little place like so many other small villages throughout Bulgaria. With only a small store to buy bread, beer, and select few other necessities, people grow all of their own fresh vegetables and get their fresh water from natural springs. After some hours of exploring the surrounding riverbeds and valleys, one of my friends grandmas prepared a delicious fresh lunch of fresh vegetables, home-grown walnuts, sausage, and home-made plum brandy. The brandy is known as Rakia in Bulgaria and it is somewhat of a write of passage for people from the villages to grow their own and argue about how it is far more superior (both in taste and alcohol proof) than any other rakia ever distilled before. That was a great, relaxing day that I will not soon forget!
So, I have been having some great experiences and meeting some great people lately. I am definitely ready for the start of my first school year in Bulgaria. Like every other fall, this year surely will bring new experiences, new knowledge, new challenges...and an early season loss for the hokies.
This year, I will be teaching 2 periods/week for each of the 5 different 8th grade classes and the 4 different 9th grade classes at Geo Milev English Language Lyceum. (A lyceum being a high school with grades 8-12 where students not only receive a traditional education but also focus on a specific skill: in Geo Milev's case, English). In addition, I will have an after-school class each day which will be a more relaxed environment for my students to practice their English and hopefully to help me practise my Bulgarian. I have been working on my lesson plans and meeting the teachers this past week as we all prepare for the start of the school year on September 15th. Yes, that is a Saturday. Every year, Bulgarian schools start on the 15th regardless what day it is. This first day of 'classes' is full of performances, ceremonies, music, and meet/greets to serve as the celebration of a new school year.
Last week I bought a 'SLINGBOX' off of a guy on eBay. Basically, a SLINGBOX is a new technology where you can hook up this patented device to a digital cable box on one end and an internet router on another end and you can broadcast local digital cable worldwide through the internet to a private network. Pretty insane, huh? So Mark set it up for me at his house in D.C. and I have been able to watch Washington area T.V. on my computer. Obviously, the reason why I got this thing was to watch the hokies and the skins this fall. I stayed up all night last night (the game started at 4:15am local time sunday morning) to watch tech/lsu. Although we got our asses handed to us on a stick, it was really exciting to be able to watch the game. <
I am so excited to have the capability to stay in touch with sports back home; but the whole situation is kinda odd for me.
First of all, watching the hokies play in the middle of the night while drinking Glenn Dorsey-knows-how-many cups of coffee does not begin to compare to watching it at the Delta Chi house with a keg, or in Lane Stadium with a bourbon and coke (wait, i mean, just plain coke ;) ) or at 503 with great people and great aristocrat.
Also, when I decided to serve in the Peace Corps, I did not picture this sort of set-up would be possible. I was willing and ready to go anywhere in the world where I could serve my 27 months without the ammenities of life at home in the states. So to have the capability to watch local television almost makes me feel like I'm cheating. As long as I just use the slingbox to watch my teams when they are on and not let it be a distraction from the purpose that I am here, I think it will be all good.
anyways...
Last Thursday was Unification Day in Bulgaria. On September 6, 1885 the recently liberated Bulgarian state acquired the region of eastern Rumelia from the Ottoman-Turks which still maintained control of this region as a principality to its fastly decreasing empire. Eastern Rumelia is the area of modern Bulgaria that stretches from southeast of Sofia all the way to the Black Sea to the east and Greece to the south. Because everyone had a day off of work, I went over to one of my colleague's houses and had lunch with her family. On Friday, I went to a celo (Bulgarian for a small village) with a couple of friends. Tabachka, the small village about 25 km south of Ruse is such a quaint little place like so many other small villages throughout Bulgaria. With only a small store to buy bread, beer, and select few other necessities, people grow all of their own fresh vegetables and get their fresh water from natural springs. After some hours of exploring the surrounding riverbeds and valleys, one of my friends grandmas prepared a delicious fresh lunch of fresh vegetables, home-grown walnuts, sausage, and home-made plum brandy. The brandy is known as Rakia in Bulgaria and it is somewhat of a write of passage for people from the villages to grow their own and argue about how it is far more superior (both in taste and alcohol proof) than any other rakia ever distilled before. That was a great, relaxing day that I will not soon forget!
So, I have been having some great experiences and meeting some great people lately. I am definitely ready for the start of my first school year in Bulgaria. Like every other fall, this year surely will bring new experiences, new knowledge, new challenges...and an early season loss for the hokies.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
A Weekend of Good Clean American Fun (in bulgaria)
Well, its 6:45ish here on Monday morning and my house guests have all taken their respective trains/buses back to their sites. On Friday, my friends Ali, Craig, Josh, and Mindy came to stay with me and celebrate Josh and Craig's 24th Birthdays. Craig let us all know that he and Josh have both officially lived 1/3 of their expected life span. How's that for perspective?
We had a great time together. Because my guests don't live in urban centers like Ruse, they were excited to come enjoy some of the ammenities the big city has to offer. Friday afternoon we went to one of the pools here in Ruse. Not only was the pool refreshing, the scenery was 'attention-grabbing' to say the least. Thong bathing suits for women and the Euro-speedo for men are somewhat the norm here. Its a classic example of taking the good with the bad. Friday night we enjoyed a great dinner at a local restaurant with some great Ruse Chardonnay from the local vineyard.
After dinner, I had some of my friends that I have met here in Ruse come over to my house and meet my American guests. Giorgi and Silvia (my friends from Ruse) left this Sunday for The American University in Blagoevgrad. They are really cool people and am excited for their return to Ruse for college breaks.
Saturday night Mindy cooked some absolutely amazing Chicken Curry. After we all ate way too much. After this we heeded the lifestyle of the greatest character in movie cinema history: we went bowling. [if you don't understand that reference, smack yourself and watch Big Lebowski at least 7 times] Yes, Ruse does have a bowling alley. A pretty nice one at that. Josh and Craig beat Ali, Mindy, and I. As punishment, we must lead a HORO dance at a discotec of their choosing the next time we all meet up. The HORO is a bulgarian folk dance that generally looks like a line dance with a lot of fancy footwork.
Sunday, the rains finally came to Ruse and cooled the temperatures down to the point where we could no longer boil water in a pot on my balcony. We cooked a beef stew that made my apartment smell pretty amazing. (It tasted unbelievably delicious also)
All in all it was a great weekend celebration.
Tomorrow I will be heading to the town of Shumen for a regional meeting with other PCVs. The purpose of the meeting is to share our summer experiences and most importantly, get some materials for the upcoming school year (textbooks, workbooks, language exercises, etc.) My school year starts September the 17th and I will have to go to school everday starting the beginning of September in order to prepare for the upcoming school year.
We had a great time together. Because my guests don't live in urban centers like Ruse, they were excited to come enjoy some of the ammenities the big city has to offer. Friday afternoon we went to one of the pools here in Ruse. Not only was the pool refreshing, the scenery was 'attention-grabbing' to say the least. Thong bathing suits for women and the Euro-speedo for men are somewhat the norm here. Its a classic example of taking the good with the bad. Friday night we enjoyed a great dinner at a local restaurant with some great Ruse Chardonnay from the local vineyard.
After dinner, I had some of my friends that I have met here in Ruse come over to my house and meet my American guests. Giorgi and Silvia (my friends from Ruse) left this Sunday for The American University in Blagoevgrad. They are really cool people and am excited for their return to Ruse for college breaks.
Saturday night Mindy cooked some absolutely amazing Chicken Curry. After we all ate way too much. After this we heeded the lifestyle of the greatest character in movie cinema history: we went bowling. [if you don't understand that reference, smack yourself and watch Big Lebowski at least 7 times] Yes, Ruse does have a bowling alley. A pretty nice one at that. Josh and Craig beat Ali, Mindy, and I. As punishment, we must lead a HORO dance at a discotec of their choosing the next time we all meet up. The HORO is a bulgarian folk dance that generally looks like a line dance with a lot of fancy footwork.
Sunday, the rains finally came to Ruse and cooled the temperatures down to the point where we could no longer boil water in a pot on my balcony. We cooked a beef stew that made my apartment smell pretty amazing. (It tasted unbelievably delicious also)
All in all it was a great weekend celebration.
Tomorrow I will be heading to the town of Shumen for a regional meeting with other PCVs. The purpose of the meeting is to share our summer experiences and most importantly, get some materials for the upcoming school year (textbooks, workbooks, language exercises, etc.) My school year starts September the 17th and I will have to go to school everday starting the beginning of September in order to prepare for the upcoming school year.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
My trip to the Rock Churches of Ivanovo
On Tuesday, I went on a day trip with some of my students from the summer English course that I have been teaching since I arrived in Ruse. Also, my new friend and hopefully someone who I will do a lot of work with over the next two years, Emo, came with us. He works at the Youth Center in Ruse and is an amazingly friendly and good man.
We took a train to the village of Ivanovo and hiked to the Rusenski Lom (Ruse Valley). It is a breath-taking plush river valley sandwiched between huge rock faces that have numerous caves carved into them that served as monasteries during Medeival times. The 'Rock Churches of Ivanovo' are one of the landmarks in Bulgaria protected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31064&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Besides the beautiful views and challenging hiking trails the trip provided, we also met a very interesting man who collected the admission fee to enter the Rock Church that is still open to tourists. When we first entered into the church, he told us it would be 50 stotinki (roughly cents) for the four students we were with and 1 lev (roughly dollar) for Emo and I. We began talking, and it was clear to him that I was American and soon enough, I provided that I was in Bulgaria to teach English and work with young people here in different sorts of capacities. His reaction was one of skepticism to say the least. He believed that this situation was backwards. Bulgarians should be traveling to America and other 'new countries' and teach Bulgarian language and culture to these countries. After all, Bulgaria is thousands of years old and this area of the world cradled some of the first pre-modern civilizations 1000s of years ago during the Neolithic Period. American Nationals with a country who's life can be measured in half the time that the Ottoman Empire spent occupying Bulgaria (to put things into perspective), according to this man, have very little to offer Bulgarians.
A very interesting perspective indeed. I could have responded simply by bashing this ethnocentric, idealistic paradigm so frankly expressed by this man. But instead, I thanked him for the chat. (Hey, at least he eventually let me enter the rock church for free) A wiser man than me once said something to the effect, "It is better to live humbly for a cause than to die nobly for one." If I argued with this very proud man with the limited Bulgarian that I have at my disposal, I couldn't guarantee that I would have the chance to live much longer (humbly or otherwise).
So instead, I let his thoughts marinate. I let this conversation serve as an example of the national pride that is ubiquitious in the Balkans. Sometimes this quality of culture can be evinced in such awesome ways (i.e. the folk festivals where countries show off their pasttimes to a excited and jovial crowd). Other times it can rear its ugly head in awful conflicts (i.e. the all too current debates over malleable borders and the Roma minority).
I guess for now, any sort of conclusion would be made in haste but that man surely served as an example of how ethnocentricity is very real to some people here in Bulgaria even during a time of political progession into the E.U. and cultural progression (not necessarily a good thing) into the globalized western world.
We took a train to the village of Ivanovo and hiked to the Rusenski Lom (Ruse Valley). It is a breath-taking plush river valley sandwiched between huge rock faces that have numerous caves carved into them that served as monasteries during Medeival times. The 'Rock Churches of Ivanovo' are one of the landmarks in Bulgaria protected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31064&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Besides the beautiful views and challenging hiking trails the trip provided, we also met a very interesting man who collected the admission fee to enter the Rock Church that is still open to tourists. When we first entered into the church, he told us it would be 50 stotinki (roughly cents) for the four students we were with and 1 lev (roughly dollar) for Emo and I. We began talking, and it was clear to him that I was American and soon enough, I provided that I was in Bulgaria to teach English and work with young people here in different sorts of capacities. His reaction was one of skepticism to say the least. He believed that this situation was backwards. Bulgarians should be traveling to America and other 'new countries' and teach Bulgarian language and culture to these countries. After all, Bulgaria is thousands of years old and this area of the world cradled some of the first pre-modern civilizations 1000s of years ago during the Neolithic Period. American Nationals with a country who's life can be measured in half the time that the Ottoman Empire spent occupying Bulgaria (to put things into perspective), according to this man, have very little to offer Bulgarians.
A very interesting perspective indeed. I could have responded simply by bashing this ethnocentric, idealistic paradigm so frankly expressed by this man. But instead, I thanked him for the chat. (Hey, at least he eventually let me enter the rock church for free) A wiser man than me once said something to the effect, "It is better to live humbly for a cause than to die nobly for one." If I argued with this very proud man with the limited Bulgarian that I have at my disposal, I couldn't guarantee that I would have the chance to live much longer (humbly or otherwise).
So instead, I let his thoughts marinate. I let this conversation serve as an example of the national pride that is ubiquitious in the Balkans. Sometimes this quality of culture can be evinced in such awesome ways (i.e. the folk festivals where countries show off their pasttimes to a excited and jovial crowd). Other times it can rear its ugly head in awful conflicts (i.e. the all too current debates over malleable borders and the Roma minority).
I guess for now, any sort of conclusion would be made in haste but that man surely served as an example of how ethnocentricity is very real to some people here in Bulgaria even during a time of political progession into the E.U. and cultural progression (not necessarily a good thing) into the globalized western world.
Monday, August 13, 2007
A Few Thoughts...
As I sit here in my apartment in an 8-story concrete apartment block in true soviet-era style in the city center of "the aristocratic city" of Bulgaria, I feel the past 4 months since I left the Crowder house in Woodbridge, VA have gone as-expected in some ways; in other ways, they have been so extraordinarily outside the realm of any of my expectations. I digress...
First off for those of yall who I haven't had the chance to tell...I am living in Rousse, Bulgaria as a member of the 21st group of volunteers to serve in the country since the fall of the Communist regime in 1989. Presently, there are 4 Peace Corps programs here. Youth Development, Community/Organizational Development, Primary Education, and last but not least Secondary Education. I am with the Secondary Education program. Starting September 15th, I will teach 8th and 9th grade students at one of the many high schools in Rousse (the 5th biggest city in Bulgaria with approx. 160,000 people here). That is my 'primary assignment.' Additionally I will work with a local NGO that has ties with YMCA and the Rousse Youth Center subsidized by the Ministry of Youth and Sport.
That is what I have in store for me in the near future. Now, what the hell have I been doing with myself for the past 4 months while all of you have been: enjoying the beach, graduating college, celebrating the 4th of July and numerous birthdays without me, mourning/grieving the events of 4/16, starting new jobs, and playing golf, and most recently speculating if [insert 'guaranteeing that' if you choose] Jason Campbell is going to take us to the promised land. Well, actually I have tried to do stay as much in contact with it all over here in Bulgaria, but inevitably, as my service over here has evolved into what it has over the past 4 months, I feel increasingly detached from you all (tear).
Since arriving at the Sofia International Airport on April 16th, 2007, I have had the honor to meet some pretty damn awesome volunteers who I'll be in Bulgaria with (There are over 100 total but only 40 B21s[see above]). I lived in Kyustendil, a small town relatively close to the Macedonian border at the foot of the Rila Mountains, with my host family the Stoyanovs for my 3 month training period. Mariana, Alexander, and their twin son/daughter Velisar and Velislava (21 years old) were the kaleidescope through which I first looked into the Bulgarian culture. Slowly but surely, as I began learning more and more of the language I established one of the coolest bonds one could ever experience with Mariana. As we would sit at the dinner table late into the night studying my new language (no one in my host family speaks English) and smoking Victory Brand cigarettes, we began to know each other in a way that any language would insufficiently express.
During the week in Kyuestendil, 4 of the other volunteers from the B21 group and I would have language training and teaching training until the evening. Anni, our language trainer is one of the most fun, intelligent, and funny women I will ever meet. It is because of her (and the fact that I'm a straight ballllllller) that I can speak Bulgarian at the level I can at the moment. As we grew into our new role as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) Amanda, Josh, Mindy, and Nancy became true friends as the sometimes odd and undeniably foreign culture would push my patience and sanity. (for this you guys, I kick you!)
I visited so many amazing places during my stay in Kyustendil (e.g. The Rila Monastery, Sofia to visit Velisar and Velislava at University http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/travel/01surfacing.html?ex=1184126400&en=b3db05d314597df3&ei=5070&emc=eta1 , The 7 Lakes in the Rila Mountains, many different small villages where it seems like the clocks are turned back decades compared to the fast-paced electronic life in which I grew up).
So I have given you a bit of an idea of what I will be doing during the next two years, and what I have done in the past 4 months. Now I can attempt to answer the question that I ask myself sometimes after I ask for 250 grams of Bulgarian cheese at a supermarket, or finish a glass of beer at dinner with the very real monogram showing at the bottom of the glass: Made in the USSR....WHAT/HOW AM I NOW?
I am happy. I am lonely. I am overjoyed with the decision I made to join the Peace Corps. I am overwhelmed. I am learning. I am meeting people and starting friendships with people in a language that is not my own. I am training for the Athens Marathon in November. And one thing is for sure...I'm livin my life.
First off for those of yall who I haven't had the chance to tell...I am living in Rousse, Bulgaria as a member of the 21st group of volunteers to serve in the country since the fall of the Communist regime in 1989. Presently, there are 4 Peace Corps programs here. Youth Development, Community/Organizational Development, Primary Education, and last but not least Secondary Education. I am with the Secondary Education program. Starting September 15th, I will teach 8th and 9th grade students at one of the many high schools in Rousse (the 5th biggest city in Bulgaria with approx. 160,000 people here). That is my 'primary assignment.' Additionally I will work with a local NGO that has ties with YMCA and the Rousse Youth Center subsidized by the Ministry of Youth and Sport.
That is what I have in store for me in the near future. Now, what the hell have I been doing with myself for the past 4 months while all of you have been: enjoying the beach, graduating college, celebrating the 4th of July and numerous birthdays without me, mourning/grieving the events of 4/16, starting new jobs, and playing golf, and most recently speculating if [insert 'guaranteeing that' if you choose] Jason Campbell is going to take us to the promised land. Well, actually I have tried to do stay as much in contact with it all over here in Bulgaria, but inevitably, as my service over here has evolved into what it has over the past 4 months, I feel increasingly detached from you all (tear).
Since arriving at the Sofia International Airport on April 16th, 2007, I have had the honor to meet some pretty damn awesome volunteers who I'll be in Bulgaria with (There are over 100 total but only 40 B21s[see above]). I lived in Kyustendil, a small town relatively close to the Macedonian border at the foot of the Rila Mountains, with my host family the Stoyanovs for my 3 month training period. Mariana, Alexander, and their twin son/daughter Velisar and Velislava (21 years old) were the kaleidescope through which I first looked into the Bulgarian culture. Slowly but surely, as I began learning more and more of the language I established one of the coolest bonds one could ever experience with Mariana. As we would sit at the dinner table late into the night studying my new language (no one in my host family speaks English) and smoking Victory Brand cigarettes, we began to know each other in a way that any language would insufficiently express.
During the week in Kyuestendil, 4 of the other volunteers from the B21 group and I would have language training and teaching training until the evening. Anni, our language trainer is one of the most fun, intelligent, and funny women I will ever meet. It is because of her (and the fact that I'm a straight ballllllller) that I can speak Bulgarian at the level I can at the moment. As we grew into our new role as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) Amanda, Josh, Mindy, and Nancy became true friends as the sometimes odd and undeniably foreign culture would push my patience and sanity. (for this you guys, I kick you!)
I visited so many amazing places during my stay in Kyustendil (e.g. The Rila Monastery, Sofia to visit Velisar and Velislava at University http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/travel/01surfacing.html?ex=1184126400&en=b3db05d314597df3&ei=5070&emc=eta1 , The 7 Lakes in the Rila Mountains, many different small villages where it seems like the clocks are turned back decades compared to the fast-paced electronic life in which I grew up).
So I have given you a bit of an idea of what I will be doing during the next two years, and what I have done in the past 4 months. Now I can attempt to answer the question that I ask myself sometimes after I ask for 250 grams of Bulgarian cheese at a supermarket, or finish a glass of beer at dinner with the very real monogram showing at the bottom of the glass: Made in the USSR....WHAT/HOW AM I NOW?
I am happy. I am lonely. I am overjoyed with the decision I made to join the Peace Corps. I am overwhelmed. I am learning. I am meeting people and starting friendships with people in a language that is not my own. I am training for the Athens Marathon in November. And one thing is for sure...I'm livin my life.
Finally, my blogging commences
A wide variety of feelings have finally caused me to go where so many other peace corps volunteers have so boldly gone before: to the land of Blog. Before I enter into this world (I guess more importantly before any of my friends and family enter into MY blog world) I would like to provide you with my Blog's waiver: As you read on you will probably find out some new cool things about Bulgaria, me, and my adventures here in Bulgaria. But if at any time you feel like you want to call me out on something I say that you think is bogus in any way (i.e. I sound like an idiot that has stolen your beloved Eric and replaced him with an out-of-touch Eastern-Euroland ex-pat) please do so and we will settle it in a way the two parties deem appropriate. Anyways...thanks for taking your time to see what's going on in my life; and you can be certain that I would love to hear what's goin on in yours!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)