Hija Buzludja

Hija Buzludja

I am finally getting a moment to write about my great hike to the Hija and monument of Buzludja in the ‘Stara Planina’ (old mountains). We really lucked out with the weather.. It was 65-70 degrees for both days of the hike, and this was in the mountains, in November.

Another great surprise was seeing Daisy, an old Bulgarian friend from a nearby city, who I haven’t seen since the 4th of July. Yeah..I was waiting for the tourism group (as we were travelling by train to our hike), and out of nowhere comes Daisy. It turns out she’s taking the same train. She’s also an avid hiker, and decides to join our group for an upcoming hike. And you know how I like to say ‘everything happens for a reason’..well, I learned a lot about my hiking group through Daisy, as she speaks English fluently. I learned that a much anticipated hike date had been changed to Thanksgiving weekend..a weekend I am unavailable  We also talked about Mt. Olympus in Greece..a place I think I want to climb.

One of the best things about these hikes, other than the outdoors and the magnificent views is the people. Everyone hikes at their own pace..so, when I feel like pushing myself, I stay at the front of the pack with the leader Stancho (he ran a BG mountain race; 100km in 24 hours)..and when I feel like taking it easy, there’s always people to fall back with and chat with. They were all a little intrigued by my camelpack.

Mitko and I were talking..and he’s trying to tell me these jokes..but they didn’t quite sound like jokes. I heard ‘baby’, ‘baby carriage’, ‘thumbtacks’, and another time ‘teacher’, ‘students’, and thumbtacks’..you have to remember, I don’t always understand every word of Bulgarian..but I can usually figure out the context with key words..finally he sees my confused look and says ‘черно хумор’, black humor, and things start to make a little more sense.

So, the last 2 hours of the hike on our first day, our leader decides not to stop and wait for all the groups to catch up anymore..and there was a turn where I figured others might not be aware of..like me. So, Mitko and I wait for everyone to more or less catch up..and none of us are all that sure where the Hija is, which led to a very interesting hike with two others going down the side of the mountain. I asked him if he was sure if there was a path..because I didn’t see it..and eventually neither did he..after a couple tumbles down the mountain on all the leaves, we eventually did find a pretty neat path, and finally the hija as well.

It turned out to be Stella’s birthday as well..so that evening was very festive. After the DJ tired of dedicating songs to Stella, he decided to start in with dedications to me ‘the American’..every English speaking song was dedicated to ‘the American’..but, as always, I had fun.

There’s more information that I wrote on the pics about the hike. Follow the link at the bottom of the page labeled Tricia’s new pics – then Buzludja.

Училищни Хроники – The School Chronicles

Училищни Хроники – The School Chronicles

It feels so good to get the first issue of our new online school newspaper out. I know the school editors worked hard (after school in the computer lab, and Skype meetings in the evening)..and we will continue improving the website with future editions. If you haven’s seen the newspaper yet, you can view it at the following link.


http://my.hsj.org/it/lyaskovets,bulgaria/mr_507

Because it is primarily in Bulgarian..these are the links I believe will be of the most interest to the English speakers reading: The English corner (from me); Галерия (pictures..click on them once to make them bigger..and click again to make it smaller); Репортерите питат (video clips of interviews with the first graders).

8th grade girls

My camera broke on my last hike to Buzludja..I had been thinking, what a great camera I have..it’s lasted so long, even with me being the klutz that I am and dropping it often..and then it just quit working..so, you won’t see any pictures for a while

So last week, I was given the opportunity to meet with the 8th grade girls in the school I work with. I had this crazy idea that maybe they would be interested in an exchange of ideas with some American girls. It was a bit disappointing from the start..my translator didn’t show up..and after finding another student to help, the girls were interested in hearing the Americans responses..but not so interested in answering the questions themselves.

There were a few discussions, and difference of opinions – as to how old they want to be when they get married. A few said ‘in their early 20’s’, the majority said ‘mid 20’s’, and 2 said ‘in their 30’s’.

They quickly indicated that their lives wold be different from their mother’s lives..and they all wanted to get married and have kids. The majority didn’t think men and women paid equal in Bulgaria..but they think that girls their age in Bulgaria have no problems.

So..what I did learn, was when I meet with the 9th grade girls I need to use methods other than only a discussion to work with the girls.

Halloween in Bulgaria

Halloween for me in Bulgaria is officially finished!! There were times when I thought it would never be done with..but the 5th-7th grade students really seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, like all well planned activities in Bulgaria, there was a challenging, very challenging (for me) catch. I pretty much expected around 50 or so kids; but, upon arriving, there is a hall full of even younger kids. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade teachers seemed to think it would be a good idea to bring their students also..fun, right..NOOOO

But anyways, the 2 hours passed by so fast..all of the teachers that never showed up to help the prior week (after they had specifically mentioned they would be there)..miraculously appeared, thinking that I would desert the kids to chat with them and try to explain what was going on.. Sorry, no more venting.

Here are the highlights from last Friday and today. Last week we decorated the gym. The students worked hard at making masks, decorations, spiders, spiderwebs, posters, and giant crossword puzzles for a competition between the classes. They also learned the password to enter the party – Trick or Treat. Later, we went to the school’s home ec kitchen and made the dough for chocolate chip cookies (this was a first for everyone but me :) Then..do to a lack of teachers helping, the day ended badly..I will leave it at that.

Today..we had no music, since everyone I asked indicated that they, and the school, have no speakers we could use..and let’s face it..with as many kids as there were, we wouldn’t have been able to hear it anyways. However, to continue..we did have many wonderfully carved pumpkins. I was really impressed. We also had a Halloween crossword puzzle competition (in English of course) between each of the classes. The 5th graders won!! I’m pretty sure the 7th graders were a little more into taking pictures of all the fabulous costumes. We had a fun time at apple bobbing..in which I took part of :)

We also decorated pumpkins that were not carved, with pieces of vegetables to make funny faces. We had a box to vote for everyone’s favorite mask (we had made masks the prior week, and they were labeled and posted on the wall)..we had a costume contest..but my favorite part was the scary story contest. At first, all but one girl said they didn’t have a scary story to tell..but we still went to a dark corner with a lit jack-o-lantern..and, it went so well, that after the party, we went back to the corner to tell more scary stories.

So..what did I learn from this Halloween..well, I guess one factor never changes here..it’s hard to find dependable adults. Without fail, the children showed up. I can only hope they continue in this pattern as they grow up..to be dependable. Also, I learned a lot about the students themselves. I saw their creative sides come out. Just check out some of my newly posted pics on the link at the bottom of this page. They were creative in making their masks, and all the decorations. They stayed after to help clean up..many even stayed to help calm me of my little melt-down on Friday.

It’s good to have Halloween done..now it’s just that deadline looming for the online paper. It’s definitely getting there. The student writers really liked the press passes I made up and laminated for them.

I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned that two days a week I work in villages, and on those mornings I have to be at the bus stop by 7am..this is the hardest thing for me, being on time for these busses. But the hospitality in these villages make up for having to get up so early. At my Tuesday village there are two café’s..only one is open this early..so I’ve been getting to know the villagers since I drink coffee there every Tuesday while waiting for the cultural center secretary. It’s funny, if one of them dares to start talking to me, the others will pipe in with questions every time..and I put up posters to recruit students for English classes..so of course, I’m gonna talk about it at the café. When I suggested English classes there, they all said no one would come..well, we started this week with enough students for at least 3 groups..older and younger..now let’s see if I can retain them :)

So..this morning, when Veselina arrives, I’m thinking we’re going to the cultural center..but, surprise for me..this is a holiday for St. Ivan Rilski (he is remembered as a miracle worker..and founded the well-known Rila Monastery in Bulgaria). There is a small monastery in this village, and many of the villagers celebrate...so, that means me and Veselina, and the mayor, and assistant mayor as well. And then..I had a great surprise this evening as well. A bunch of my friends were getting together to see a dance production by Neshka Robeva..I was not quite sure what to expect. In a way, it kinda reminded me of my favorite dance show I ever saw in Boston ‘Burn the floor’It was good..it had some really cute parts that I wish I had video of..i loved the music. I wish it was like in the USA..where they market everything..I really want the music. So, as we’re getting ready to leave, I hear ‘Tricia’ behind me..and as luck would have it, a friend from Lyaskovets had been directly behind me..no need to pay 10 BGN for a cab..Sometimes Bulgaria is sooo very small..but in a good way

I heard from one of my colleagues in school (since I wasn’t there today)..that the school is overflowing with pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns brought in by students for the big Halloween party Monday!