This past weekend I went with Svetolube, a history and geography teacher at my school, to his village about an hour to the east of Ruse. **The village, Цар Самуил, is named after the last ruler of the 1st Bulgarian Kingdom (around the end of the tenth century).**
We went out to Svetolube's (Tsetso for short) village to take in all of the sights of the annual village festival. Pretty much every village and town in Bulgaria has one. Honestly, there wasn't much to see.
The village has certainly seen its better times with the festival serving as a microcosm of that trend. Currently, there is only one functioning school in the village. The primary school stands in the center of a huge field. The school is wedged in between the old schoolhouse one one side (destroyed by arsonists according to Tsetso) and what is left of the initial construction of an extension of the school on the other side. The add-on was started in the twilight of the communist years (late 80s) and has simply been left standing. These defunct, half-built structures serve as unofficial memorials to the brilliant state planners of the Communist era. In this field behind the school, a small bazaar was set up where one could buy anything from candy to rugs to tracksuits (kinda like the one you have Will). After making the trek through the path where all of these goods are hawked, you found yourself in a mini-carnival of sorts. It fell a few steps short of par with EuroDisney.
But for all that the village lacked in aesthetic beauty, the people were amazing. Everywhere we went and everyone Tsetso introduced me to was very kind. It was difficult to understand most of them but judging them by their facial expressions and the words and phrases I did understand, they were very happy to meet me and share time with me.
Saturday night, Tsetso's niece and nephew came to visit with a group of their friends. They are from a medium-sized city called Dobrich (Добрич) about an hour to the east of the village. They are about my age and the differences in conversation, interests, and expressions between them and the older Bulgarian population is astounding. We all had a great time Saturday night and enjoyed the delicious food and apricot brandy that Tsetso's mother prepared for us.
Being in a rural Bulgarian village highlights the huge divide between the younger generation and the one which came of age during the mid-twentieth century. Whereas an older Bulgarian (especially someone who grew up in rural Bulgaria) will gladly point out the finer points of the Communist Party and scoff at the corrupt nature of the current political and social scene; younger Bulgarians are [almost unanimously] interested and unbelievably informed with the attractions of 'the West.' (e.g. cars, NBA, higher education, pop music) *Last spring a guy I met while playing streetball told me he thought the Wizards would be a lot better if they played stronger defense. And nearly everyday a student asks me some crazy question about the engineering involved in a 1960s muscle car engine.*
When talking with people from villages, nostalgia directs almost every conversation. When talking with younger Bulgarians from the city, their level of interest in all things western (regardless if their opinions are formed soundly or not) is remarkable.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
food for thought...
* www.udothedishes.com <-peep the blog
I got a decent amount of reading done this summer. The following are some of my selections and a few adjoining footnotes from EJC...
HOMICIDE: A YEAR ON THE KILLING STREETS(1991) by David Simon.
In a word, Simon is thorough. He's the executive producer of Homicide; Life on the Streets and The Wire. As hard as it might be to grasp, this book tops them both. He followed a Baltimore Homicide Unit during 1988 in order to write this book. It reads like a crime novel with Tom Clancy-like depth but, in fact, it is non-fictional. Must read!
AMERICAN PSYCHO(1991) by Bret Easton Ellis
Ellis tries to convey to his audience just how vulgar a life devoted to chasing the proverbial 'Paper' and labels by personifying the mentality with Patrick Bateman. The only thing that can get Bateman's mind off of the Armani suit his colleague is rockin is his indiscriminate bloodlust. One minute he is begrudgingly listening to his girlfriend's tribulations about the right Mikasa crystal set to buy; the next he is picturing how he could feed the cadaver stashed away in his apartment to a rabid street rat. It's an interesting way to convey the absurdity of the fast-money/fast-track life of the stereotypical YUP; but both the violence (surreptitiously gutting a child in the Central Park Zoo) and the materialism (spending pages at a time simply describing the brands and fashions adorning the bourgeious strolling by Bateman outside of Saks 5th Avenue) are beyond overkill.
Read it if you really want to be disturbed; although some people find it humorous, i didn't. Synopsis courteous of the Talking Heads line preceding the first chapter..."And as things fell apart, no one payed much attention."
UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE (1871) by Thomas Hardy
After reading this novela, I was surprised to hear of the dark cynicism that drives his other books. As I read the story - driven by funny-sounding old English village vernacular - I kept thinking of the presience. More than 200 years later, the humanistic conflict in the book is so easy to relate to.
Team Greentree! how amazing is it that this random word/phrase pops up everywhere! i love you guys farealdo!
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS (2007) by Khaled Hosseini
The definition of a summertime page-turner. I for one, had to keep a supply of tissues nearby. Both this and THE KITE RUNNER are amazing books even if the movie is crap.
BALKAN GHOSTS (1999) by Robert Kaplan
A travel book put together from his journeys through the Balkans after the Bosnian War and before the latest conflict in Kosovo (i.e. systemic killing of ethnic Albanians). The contemporary aspect of it has grown a bit outdated; but its definitely worth a gander if you are traveling through this part of the world. But living in Bulgaria, the conclusions he draws of their culture from only being here a handful of days is nothing short of comical.
OK...if you care to hear/discuss further about these books or life or how the redskins are gonna give it to the Kurt Warner-guffaw-led Cardinals; simply hit me up!
I got a decent amount of reading done this summer. The following are some of my selections and a few adjoining footnotes from EJC...
HOMICIDE: A YEAR ON THE KILLING STREETS(1991) by David Simon.
In a word, Simon is thorough. He's the executive producer of Homicide; Life on the Streets and The Wire. As hard as it might be to grasp, this book tops them both. He followed a Baltimore Homicide Unit during 1988 in order to write this book. It reads like a crime novel with Tom Clancy-like depth but, in fact, it is non-fictional. Must read!
AMERICAN PSYCHO(1991) by Bret Easton Ellis
Ellis tries to convey to his audience just how vulgar a life devoted to chasing the proverbial 'Paper' and labels by personifying the mentality with Patrick Bateman. The only thing that can get Bateman's mind off of the Armani suit his colleague is rockin is his indiscriminate bloodlust. One minute he is begrudgingly listening to his girlfriend's tribulations about the right Mikasa crystal set to buy; the next he is picturing how he could feed the cadaver stashed away in his apartment to a rabid street rat. It's an interesting way to convey the absurdity of the fast-money/fast-track life of the stereotypical YUP; but both the violence (surreptitiously gutting a child in the Central Park Zoo) and the materialism (spending pages at a time simply describing the brands and fashions adorning the bourgeious strolling by Bateman outside of Saks 5th Avenue) are beyond overkill.
Read it if you really want to be disturbed; although some people find it humorous, i didn't. Synopsis courteous of the Talking Heads line preceding the first chapter..."And as things fell apart, no one payed much attention."
UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE (1871) by Thomas Hardy
After reading this novela, I was surprised to hear of the dark cynicism that drives his other books. As I read the story - driven by funny-sounding old English village vernacular - I kept thinking of the presience. More than 200 years later, the humanistic conflict in the book is so easy to relate to.
Team Greentree! how amazing is it that this random word/phrase pops up everywhere! i love you guys farealdo!
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS (2007) by Khaled Hosseini
The definition of a summertime page-turner. I for one, had to keep a supply of tissues nearby. Both this and THE KITE RUNNER are amazing books even if the movie is crap.
BALKAN GHOSTS (1999) by Robert Kaplan
A travel book put together from his journeys through the Balkans after the Bosnian War and before the latest conflict in Kosovo (i.e. systemic killing of ethnic Albanians). The contemporary aspect of it has grown a bit outdated; but its definitely worth a gander if you are traveling through this part of the world. But living in Bulgaria, the conclusions he draws of their culture from only being here a handful of days is nothing short of comical.
OK...if you care to hear/discuss further about these books or life or how the redskins are gonna give it to the Kurt Warner-guffaw-led Cardinals; simply hit me up!
Second go-around
Monday marked the first day of my second school year teaching at the English Language High School in Ruse. Unlike last year, the weather was really crappy and the brisk fall wind caused the opening ceremonies in the school yard to be rushed so people wouldn't get soaked from the approaching thunderstorm.
After the opening ceremonies, the older students feed dirty carrots and spicy peppers to the incoming 8th graders (this stems from everyone referring to 8th graders as 'bunnies'). It really gets out of hand and makes me want to do something about it. But with all the other teachers laughing about it, i only got involved with the most egregious 'feedings.'
I will be teaching 8th grade students and 9th grade students this year. I know the 10th graders from my classes with them last year; so I know about 60% of the students at the school from my classes and others who have taken it upon themselves to introduce themselves to me.
Also, I am starting a baseball team at my school. I got a hold of some gloves, balls, and a couple bats. Friday is our first practice. If the students show some interest we're gonna try to make a regular thing out of it.
That's about it for now. I really feel at-ease for this second year and I think my experience in the classroom last year will help me with controlling the environment in the classroom this year.
much love->
After the opening ceremonies, the older students feed dirty carrots and spicy peppers to the incoming 8th graders (this stems from everyone referring to 8th graders as 'bunnies'). It really gets out of hand and makes me want to do something about it. But with all the other teachers laughing about it, i only got involved with the most egregious 'feedings.'
I will be teaching 8th grade students and 9th grade students this year. I know the 10th graders from my classes with them last year; so I know about 60% of the students at the school from my classes and others who have taken it upon themselves to introduce themselves to me.
Also, I am starting a baseball team at my school. I got a hold of some gloves, balls, and a couple bats. Friday is our first practice. If the students show some interest we're gonna try to make a regular thing out of it.
That's about it for now. I really feel at-ease for this second year and I think my experience in the classroom last year will help me with controlling the environment in the classroom this year.
much love->
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