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| Singing |
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| Dancing |
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| Karaoke |
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| 2 week old goats |
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Leap Year 2012
There was a local foreigners and friends get together in the nearby village of Trustikovo on February 29th. Many people from that area, down the hill, had birthdays around that time so they decided to just do everything together and go all out. A very extensive and tasty Indian food array; traditional singing and dancing from the local youth dance group; isle music with guitar, banjo and Irish flute; and karaoke. It was a good evening and a good mix of local and foreign cultures.
The next day was Баба марта, grandmother March, the day when everyone passes out red and white bracelets and pins for health, happiness and a good harvest. The idea is that the grandma of March is an old and slightly bitter woman whose temper varies drastically and quickly, therefore explaining the crazy temperature changes and weather patterns of March. For instance there was snow this March, which is almost unheard of, but then it will be sunny and few days later and you can play with baby goats outside.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
News
Our weekend in Chernomorets was covered in the local news 'Burgas 24'. Translation:
A new initiative "Home for elderly people - Faithful Steward"
There is a new initiative of the NGO "Faithful Steward" - "Home for the elderly, faithful steward" in the town of Chernomorets. The initiative was joined by 12 volunteers from the Peace Corps for the renovation of a three storey house which will be adapted into a home for elderly people. This joint initiative was supported by volunteers from the Peace Corps, led by chief volunteer Kathleen James, who organized another 11 volunteers.
The association expresses its gratitude to Kathleen James, and all the volunteers who took part in the new project of the Association "Faithful Steward." The home for elderly people will be located in the town of Chernomorets, Municipality Sozopol.
As for me, I have been working at the school doing spelling bee practice everyday, except Friday, to get the kids ready for the local spelling bee, and the regional spelling bee to be held in Varna. Its seems that winter has finally broken, which means no more snow weeks off school and no more frozen water pipes. Spring is a very happy and welcomed season here.
This weekend my dance group will be dancing in the village of Priceltsi, also in the Avren Municipality, for the local Eastern Orthodox start to lent. After this Sunday locals do not eat meat until Easter. I guess its a good thing I dont really eat much meat anymore, it will make this much easier then last year.
A new initiative "Home for elderly people - Faithful Steward"
There is a new initiative of the NGO "Faithful Steward" - "Home for the elderly, faithful steward" in the town of Chernomorets. The initiative was joined by 12 volunteers from the Peace Corps for the renovation of a three storey house which will be adapted into a home for elderly people. This joint initiative was supported by volunteers from the Peace Corps, led by chief volunteer Kathleen James, who organized another 11 volunteers.
The association expresses its gratitude to Kathleen James, and all the volunteers who took part in the new project of the Association "Faithful Steward." The home for elderly people will be located in the town of Chernomorets, Municipality Sozopol.
As for me, I have been working at the school doing spelling bee practice everyday, except Friday, to get the kids ready for the local spelling bee, and the regional spelling bee to be held in Varna. Its seems that winter has finally broken, which means no more snow weeks off school and no more frozen water pipes. Spring is a very happy and welcomed season here.
This weekend my dance group will be dancing in the village of Priceltsi, also in the Avren Municipality, for the local Eastern Orthodox start to lent. After this Sunday locals do not eat meat until Easter. I guess its a good thing I dont really eat much meat anymore, it will make this much easier then last year.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Chernomorets Work Weekend
January 20-22 we worked on a guest house in the sea town of Chernomorets, a small town outside Varna's rival, the Black Sea coastal city of Brugas. The house was the home of one of Kathleen's colleagues growing up, it was then turned into a bed and breakfast, and this past weekend we helped in the process of turning it into a nursing home.
A total of 12 volunteers gathered to help, and we all stayed in the house over the weekend. Since there are so many beds we had free accommodations and rein of the kitchen and fireplaces. Saturday and Sunday we did a full sorting and cleaning; painted hallways, bedrooms, and the living room. We moved some furniture around too. Hospital beds are really heavy. There is still some work to be done before opening day, but we at least helped get it one step closer.
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| shared sleeping quarters |
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| moving furniture |
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| doing the trimming |
MLK Day
For MLK Day this year I went into the school and gave a presentation to 1-4 grade about who Dr. King was, what he stood for and what he accomplished. Some of the teachers recognized the name but for the kids it was completely new. Since my village and school have a high population of the racial minority, the Roma, I think this was an important holiday to share with them.
I also shared with them the famous "I have a dream" quote. Then I gave them all a piece of paper and asked them to draw their dreams for the future. I collected all of them and then put them together in a sort of "I have a dream" quilt. I'm going to hang it up in the school for everyone to see. With them all mixed up you can't tell which drawing comes from who, and they can see how many of them are similar and that everyone wants something for the future.
I also shared with them the famous "I have a dream" quote. Then I gave them all a piece of paper and asked them to draw their dreams for the future. I collected all of them and then put them together in a sort of "I have a dream" quilt. I'm going to hang it up in the school for everyone to see. With them all mixed up you can't tell which drawing comes from who, and they can see how many of them are similar and that everyone wants something for the future.
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| Some of the drawings |
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Весели Празници
December was a fulfilled month of Christmas cheer. In early December I spent a few days in the village of Zavet at the truancy boarding school. The boys there are from about 10 to 18. In the morning we watched a concert that they had prepared for us and passed out new shoes and winter socks that we bought with funds raised.
Then we held an intense ping pong tournament, brackets and all. This is when I met Emil, my new favorite, I accidentally beat him in round one.
After ping pong we broke for lunch. When we returned we split into two groups, me and Suzie were with the younger kids doing crafts while everyone else was with th elder kids in the gym doing HIV/AIDS awareness.
After that everyone played volleyball. I did for a few serves, but this was a group of competitive adolescent boys, I was not good enough. They were kind to me about it though, they never asked me to leave the game, I subbed out on my own. We shared dinner with them in their dinning hall and then Raf, another PC Volunteer who had been on Bulgarian X-Factor over the summer, sang with his guitar in English and Bulgarian. Some of the boys sang and danced and they all had big smiles. It was a good day for all of us.
In Varna, we had a Christmas mall day full of Black Sea Pirate fun with Santa. There was an outdoor Christmas village too, with rides for the children, hot food stalls, and mulled wine.
In my village for Christmas, I was also really busy. I taught the 5-8 graders "12 Day of Christmas" for the school Christmas concert, and had a lot of dance practice myself for the concert we had on the 23rd for Christmas and the 110 year anniversary of the community center. Also, in the midst of all this, I had a visitor.
New Years Eve I spent in Shumen, a city about an hour west of Varna. I have some good friends there who were hosting a party. We made party food and bought champagne.
Shumen is a university town so there are a lot of young Bulgarians who speak pretty good English. I was a good mixture of people and a very good way to kick off 2012.
Currently I'm working on a presentation and artwork piece for the kids about MLK Day which is next Monday. We also have English spelling bee practice which starts soon. We will have a school wide bee, then a regional one, and then if one of my kids makes it nationals in Sofia.
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| Preparing to watch the concert |
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| Singing |
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| passing out presents |
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| watching ping pong |
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| coloring |
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| Raf singing |
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| Merry Christmas from the Black Sea Pirate |
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| Zachary!!! |
So I had to go pick him up from Sofia. Luckily he got in the day before the concert and he got to see me dance! When mom and dad were here they only got to see me practice, so I was excited about that. There were several performances and a bake sale of traditional Bulgarian Christmas food.
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| Celebrating 110 Years |
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| Bake Sale |
We, according to Hilbers tradition, made sugar cookies; which we passed out around town on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day we spent in Varna. We went to the Cathedrale and the Black Sea before a dinner of two turkeys. Kerri made a turkey in the oven while the boys, Tim and Z, grilled one. It was a show down men vs woman.
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| Black Sea in Varna |
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| Turkey 1 going into the oven |
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| food spread |
Currently I'm working on a presentation and artwork piece for the kids about MLK Day which is next Monday. We also have English spelling bee practice which starts soon. We will have a school wide bee, then a regional one, and then if one of my kids makes it nationals in Sofia.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Thanksgiving Round 2
This year I celebrated Thanksgiving Week with the students at the school by making a 'Thankful Turkey' and showing Pocahontas. While Disney's Pocahontas is very unlike what really took place its a good, kid friendly, film to illustrate the voyage over to the New World and the differences between the native culture and the settlers once they arrived. I managed to find it in Bulgarian, dubbed and not with subtitles, so the little kids could watch it without falling behind in reading. They seemed to enjoy it, the Meeko and Percy antics are universaly funny and they were laughing quite a bit.
The 'Thankful Turkey' was a group craft project that we put together. I cut out paper feathers and had the kids write down things that they were thankful for. I collected them all back and made them into turkeys. With all the feathers from 2nd-8th grade we had enough to make two turkeys and put them up in the hallway for everyone to read.
On actual Thanksgiving day I cooked a small dinner for myself and my landlady Stoika. I have been trying to explain what stuffing is since its one of my favorite holiday dishes and I thought it would be easier if I just made it. I had difficulty locating a turkey this year so we had roasted chicken, but everything else was traditional; stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
Over the weekend I traveled to a friend's village to help with an event at her state run boarding school. We had different activities set up in different rooms/areas for them in the morning. We made hand turkeys and headdresses, silly putty, chocolate chip cookies and played sports ranging from football and American football to baseball. In the afternoon we all split up into four groups and had a scavenger hunt around the village. My team won.
That night we all had a festive dinner in a closed down restaurant space in the center of the village. They let people use it for birthdays and celebrations and they let us have it for Thanksgiving. There was a ping pong table, darts and a very large area to set up a table; and dance later too. I brought a pumpkin pie, mulled wine and some cranberry sauce; everything else was supplied by the group. I helped with preparations; slicing and all that fun sou chef stuff when needed. We cooked three fresh turkeys purchased and dried in the village, mashed potatoes, zucchini casserole, carrot and orange salad, two types of stuffing, deviled eggs, baked pumpkin, root beer cookies, apple crumble and of course gravy.
The 'Thankful Turkey' was a group craft project that we put together. I cut out paper feathers and had the kids write down things that they were thankful for. I collected them all back and made them into turkeys. With all the feathers from 2nd-8th grade we had enough to make two turkeys and put them up in the hallway for everyone to read.
On actual Thanksgiving day I cooked a small dinner for myself and my landlady Stoika. I have been trying to explain what stuffing is since its one of my favorite holiday dishes and I thought it would be easier if I just made it. I had difficulty locating a turkey this year so we had roasted chicken, but everything else was traditional; stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
Over the weekend I traveled to a friend's village to help with an event at her state run boarding school. We had different activities set up in different rooms/areas for them in the morning. We made hand turkeys and headdresses, silly putty, chocolate chip cookies and played sports ranging from football and American football to baseball. In the afternoon we all split up into four groups and had a scavenger hunt around the village. My team won.
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| This guy caught on quite well with football |
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| Joe showing kids how to throw a football |
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| making silly putty |
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| making chocolate chip cookies |
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| making chocolate chip cookies |
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| headdress table |
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| completed cookies |
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| monkey in the middle in front of the school |
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| Nichole before the Scavenger Hunt |
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| The winning team before we were assigned our kids |
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| scavenging |
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| hunting |
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| scavenger hunt fun |
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| returning from the scavenger hunt |
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| baseball |
That night we all had a festive dinner in a closed down restaurant space in the center of the village. They let people use it for birthdays and celebrations and they let us have it for Thanksgiving. There was a ping pong table, darts and a very large area to set up a table; and dance later too. I brought a pumpkin pie, mulled wine and some cranberry sauce; everything else was supplied by the group. I helped with preparations; slicing and all that fun sou chef stuff when needed. We cooked three fresh turkeys purchased and dried in the village, mashed potatoes, zucchini casserole, carrot and orange salad, two types of stuffing, deviled eggs, baked pumpkin, root beer cookies, apple crumble and of course gravy.
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| Dinner Group Shot |
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Belgrade Serbia: Border Country
A few weeks ago I went to Belgrade to meet up with Stine for a long weekend. We didn't really know what to expect from the capital of Serbia but it surprised us. The people were friendly and I understood Serbian for the most part because of its similarity to Bulgarian. They city was clean and well kept. There was plenty of stuff to do and see, and for the most part the food was good.
We saw the old fortress of Belgrade, which lies at the very defensible junction of the Danube and Sava rivers on the top of the hill.
We walked down the old bohemian quarter full of windy cobble stone streets and cafes as well as large wide pedestrian shopping zones full of stores I miss here in Bulgaria. There is also a student square and some new 'concept' stores/restaurants in the area of old town. Our favorite was 'Supermarket Concept Store' and we spent a lot of time there.
The churches in Belgrade are many and of the orthodox variety, but they're different then most of the ones I've seen. There was a tiny chapel near the fortress that had some of the best mosaics I've ever seen. The big cathedral, however, was barren on the inside. It had unfinished floors and no paintings on the walls or ceilings. Its beautiful on the outside, but very much so unfinished.
We went to the Nikola Tesla Museum, which was one of the best I've been to because it was so interactive, yet small and personal. There was guide that takes you through in English and some of Tesla's old machines from the World's Fair in Chicago are there and still operational as well as some models of the Niagara Falls Power Plant he helped design.
It was a great trip, and not just to see Stine again even though that was the whole point. I did enjoy Belgrade and I recommend it to anyone.
Now I am back in Avren busy with Thanksgiving preparations and celebrations. I've been spending quite a bit of time at the school this week and last. I found Disney's Pocahontas in Bulgarian and I've had showings of it at the school, its a good way to introduce Native America Culture. We're also making a 'Thankful Turkey'. I cut out paper feathers and had the kids write down things that they're thankful for on them, and then I made them into a turkey. I still have more sessions tomorrow, and then we're going to hang up the turkeys in the corridors for everyone to see/read.
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| Stine's Chocolate Lava Cake at one of our tea breaks |
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| Walking around the fortress |
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| hiding in a watch tower |
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| the view over the rivers on a foggy day |
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| together in a watch tower |
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| Zebra Crossing. So clever. |
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| a small church with autumn leaves |
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| Cathedral of Saint Sava |
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| Stine at the Nikola Tesla Museum, in her Tesla Motors sweatshirt. She Works for Tesla Motors. |
Now I am back in Avren busy with Thanksgiving preparations and celebrations. I've been spending quite a bit of time at the school this week and last. I found Disney's Pocahontas in Bulgarian and I've had showings of it at the school, its a good way to introduce Native America Culture. We're also making a 'Thankful Turkey'. I cut out paper feathers and had the kids write down things that they're thankful for on them, and then I made them into a turkey. I still have more sessions tomorrow, and then we're going to hang up the turkeys in the corridors for everyone to see/read.
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