meals

I think by now everyone realizes that everyone over feeds me here.  Try as I might, sometimes it's easier than other times, sometimes it's just easier to give in than to argue.  However I don't think I've blogged on this aspect yet.  For lunch there's always soup...FOLLOWED BY  the main dish.  Now for me, soup would be enough.  The soup I'm talking about is what I think of as  broth with veggies or meat.  We have soup with spinach in it, soup with mushrooms in it, soup with peas in it, soup with other kinda of veggies in it, and then there's soup with meat in it like chicken.  Since I have my meals in the Stol, sometimes there's leftover soup for dinner and sometimes not.  But when I say there's always soup, I mean ALWAYS.  And I think I said before how there are a lot of beans eaten here.  Something else a tad different I just thought of now is that, between bites or whenever you put your utensil down it gets turned over with the utensil part on the "lip" of your plate or bowl and the handle on the table.  And I've noticed when given a napkin, which is rare, no one else but me puts it on their lap.  When given a napkin usually your bread goes on it.  Also kinda rare is having something to drink with your meals.  I do because I carry my water bottle wherever I go but to be given something to drink doesn't happen that often.  Drinking period, other than rakea and alcohol, doesn't seem to be too usual and water especially.  I walk around with my water bottle and get asked all the time what's inside.  I even told my counterpart that part of the reason she gets sick all the time is because she doesn't drink enough water and she told me the Doctor told her that too.  But you know who can blame them?  I wouldn't want to have to go to the bathroom all the time either if my bathroom were outside!!  It's cold out there!  Anyway here are a few things I had in the back of my mind to blog about.  3 days till I leave for ITALY!!!!!  I can't wait!  Tomorrow I have to go back to Pyce to the eye Dr to see if she thinks my eyes are any better.  I also have to get a new phone and go to the bank.  Love and hugs!!

grading

I may have mentioned this before but am not sure, and it's something different from how we do it in the States, so choose to blog about it.  Whereas in the States we use a letter grading scale, I don't even know what it is anymore it's changed lots since I've been out of school,  as our grading system, here they use numbers.  Each student has a little book and they can keep track of their own grades.  I guess you can too in the States but we don't have a little book given to us.  At least when I was in school we didn't.  Here a 6 (excellent)  is the "top grade" a student can get and a 2 (poor) is a "failing grade."  A 5 is "very good," a 4 is "good," and a 3 is "fair."  The students stay in the same room all day and the teachers move which is also different from the States.  Testing is not only written it is also oral and is done regularly.  I wonder if that's what I saw this morning.  I went to the 8th class (grade) Bulgarian class.  I figure the 8th class is the closest to where I am right now.  There's much I don't understand but I figure being lost in the B language is still being surrounded by the language and that is what I need.  I've seen the teacher, my tutor, call 2 students up front and she has them write on the blackboard certain words and then she goes over them with the class.  When she tells them to sit down I see them hand her their little grade books andshe writes in them so I'm thinking these are oral tests.  I'll have to ask her more about this.   Of course the teachers have a master grade book and they keep track too.  With it getting colder out and since there's no central heating every room has a wood burning stove and a daily supply of wood.   I think having a warm school is something we take for granted too, I know I did!  It snowed again last night, just a dusting.  My thoughts and warm feelings go to friends and family in the States who are being/have been hit by snow storms.  My friend told me South Bend was expecting 15+ ins. of snow!!  And the Metrodome???!!!  Now THAT'S some snow and I hope everyone is ok and takes the proper precautions!  Love and hugs!!

names #2

Ok, here we go.  sorry this is late but I just had to blog about the snow!!  I think most of you know that I worked with kids in the States.  More specifically ages 6wks-kindergarten, however I didn't get a lot of time with the newborns.  I worked as a floater which meant I was in all the rooms and not just one.  I had stints when I was in a certain room for a length of time but overall I went anywhere needed.  Because of that I had to know names, EVERYONE'S name.  I kinda took pride in the fact that I knew every child's name at my previous employment.  Here I work in a kindergarten 2 days a week for an hour a day.  I can tell you I will not know all the kids names even though, between both my jobs here there are probably about the same # of kids as I had in the States!   Over here they have beautiful names just like in the States.  However I have been saying names from the States since I started talking.  Names like Connor, John, Charlie, Laura, Emma, Sarah, and other names are easy for me to remember.  Over here the name Nadjaea is common, I can think of 3 off the top of my head.  I know a Nurye, Fatma, Cevelie, Nedjme to name a few.  Gunai is also common, I know 2.  Some other examples of names in Bulgaria include:  Emer, Ersan, Berkan, and Serkan.  These are beautiful names and it's not like I don't want to learn them, it's just when you're grown up around John, Matthew, Claire, and Jessica's it's hard to train your tongue and brain to learn different names.  Each child and young person here is unique and has a unique name that is part of who they are.  I'm trying to learn them but have to say if I have them all down bu the time I come home it'll be good!  I'm willing to write these names in Bulgarian but don't think that will help you all any!  Love and hugs!

little things!

Ok I apologize again but "names" is going to have to wait until next week.  I woke up this morning to snow!  .  Now I kinda have been a little nervous since the nice weather has lasted a long time.  yeah, we've had weeks of cold where I have had to use my hat (thanks mom and ron) but over all I have to say it's been nice.  Just yesterday I'll bet it got to about 70* F in the afternoon.  Of course everyone said snow was coming and lots of it.  So generally I haven't been looking forward to the snow.  HOWEVER...when I walked outside this morning, I had a letter at the post office from Aunt Sue:):):) and saw the snow falling a big smile crossed my face!  So my idea for this blog came from that and how we never know what will transpire and make us think of home.  Now I'm not homesick, of course I miss my family and look forward to talking to them on weekends and am missing my nieces grow up, but I want to be here and this is the life I want right now and am loving it.  BUT, sometimes when I get home late, or just when it's dark, and can see the stars sooo clearly I think this is the same sky my family and friends in the states are under.  I had a great time at our Tgiving celebration, it was better after all the food was served and people were actually eating it and not getting sick, but it wasn't Thanksgiving for me until I took that first bite of turkey!  THAT made it Thanksgiving.  Things like hearing my nieces song that she sings on my ipod before going to sleep, i accidenly deleated it and it really makes me mad, help take my thoughts "home."  The Colts blanket my Aunts sent me and the Pacer headband that my working group from church sent.  The snow.  Yes, even the snow.  THe picture I got the other day of "my kids" from my previous job in the states holding a mini chalkboard that said "Hi Ms. Lisa" and sitting at a table with "Lisa" and a heart made out of the plastic bugs they play with and I remember having to pick up several times and not liking it!  THe wishbone I found at Tgiving.  I have no idea why that was a special moment for me because I have never found one before and certainly can't associate that with family!  So I guess today what I'm writing about is being aware of the little things like snow or a song or just anything little.  THose things may not seem important but when you go without for awhile and then suddenly there it is, that memory is priceless and can really be something sustainable.  THe Corps is all about sustainability and doing things that will last after we're gone and and no one is around or wants to carry on with a certain project we started.  I understand that and realize that is very important!  However I just now thought about the fact that memories can be just as sustainable and I'd never really thought about that before.  So appreciate the little things and, as the cliche goes, take time to smell the roses.  Appreciate what you have and celebrate that because, as I had to be reminded last night, it's the memories that will last, the appreciation of the little things- like the stars being the same here and in the states-not how well we taught English or how well I spoke Bulgarian.  And don't forget to hug...especially children!  Love and hugs from snowy Bulgaria! (after I reread this I realize it might be kinda sad and depressing.  Sorry and it's really not supposed to be!!  It started about how the snow made me smile and just evolved from there.  It's really not supposed to have a gloomy or sad tone AT ALL!!! Oh, I know how to make it better!  I'm leaving for Italy in less than 2 wks for xmas!  A volunteer  friend of mine invited me to go along with her to visit her sister and I jumped at the chance!  Ok, my mom and sister know better but there really wasn't much hesitation on my part.  Did that help the tone of this blog any???  lisa

names

look for this next week because I just lost it all and it's time to do other things, like take a shower!  love and hugs to all!

gosti

 the words "otevam na gosti" literally mean "to pay a visit."  Now I'm sure I've blogged about this before but I think I neglected to talk about one aspect that is kinda interesting to me and that is the leaving part.  The longer I'm here the more I think there is skill involved in knowing when to leave.  I don't have it and it doesn't bother me because I'm still integrating and getting to know people and it gives me a chance to use my B.  However I will say that when someone leaves it is usually what I would call suddenly.  Ok granted my B isn't the best, and usually unless I tell someone to repeat what they said I don't follow anyway because they speak so fast I get lost, and lots of people here also speak Turkish, and I don't, so it's quite understandable why it might come as a total surprise to me when someone gets up to leave.  But usually there are signs that can be recognized in any language.  I can't even tell you what they are but usually it's kinda obvious when someone is about ready to leave in the states.  I had gosti's over the weekend(yea me!) and was totally absorbed in the conversation, you can be absorbed in the conversation even when you have no idea what they're saying, and then everyone got up to leave.  Now there are words that talk about leaving or going that I can recognize but I don't hear them being said.  Like I said before it's quite possible that because of the language barrier there's a lot I'm missing but it still seems like I could see some of the signs and think "oh this person is getting ready to leave" or whatever but I have yet to!  when you're a gosti there's always something to drink and several different things to eat.  Chocolates are big over here and little cake type things, kinda like little debbie cakes.  sometimes you have banitsa but I think that's not usual for "just a regular" gosti.  then again I'm not from here and I don't cook so I can't really say.  Maybe it is more usual I just tell myself that so I won't feel bad when I don't make it for my gosti's!    love and hugs!

to my readers

So I was talking to my mom the other night and she was telling me about a party she and my step-dad had.  She was telling me how she had just read my blog and was talking about it to their friends when one of their friends said something about my blog!  She had no idea her friend even knew about my blog and here she reads it!  I'm sure I have more readers I don't know than those I do know, ok maybe.  To those of you I don't know, a big thank you from me.  To me this blog is an important part of my experience and why I'm here.  The third goal of the Peace Corps states "Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans."   I believe.we all need to learn from each other and can only better ourselves and our world if we do so.  My blog is my little way of letting each one of you, back in the States or wherever you are reading this blog,  experience Bulgaria with me without actually being here.  Of course there's nothing better than experiencing it first hand but unless you want to come over and visit me, which anyone can do-I welcome gosti's, you'll have to settle for this!  And all the people who leave comments on my blog?  THANK YOU!  I love going in everyday and seeing if there are comments! And please ask questions if there's something that you don't quite understand because I've been here now just about 7 months, wow times flies!, and things that are unique and starting to become routine to me and I forget they're different that in the states.  On that note I'm going to close and try to think of something for the xmas program here among other things I have on my list of things to do.  I promise I'll start writing about other things and not just about the day, ets soon!  I have a list of subjects for my blogs I just haven't gotten to them yet.  Sorry!  Love and hugs to all!

tgiving pics

ok, this is me being the narrator and
wrapping up the skit. The guy in the
white shirt was our "Governor
Bradford" and called for a Day
or Thanksgiving.  All the students
memorized their lines and did a
very nice job!!  I gave them each a flower
as my thanks to them for a job well done.
Just 1 flower, or another odd number, b/c
an even number is bad luck and usually
reserved for funerals. 

this is in the stol, the kitchen for the
hostel where the whole process took
place!

and again with the stuffing!!  I have a feeling
this picture could come back to
haunt me!

stuffing the turkey was soooo much
fun!  we used onions, garlic, and 1/2
an apple

before our skit in English, a student
read abou the history in Bulgarian
that way EVERYONE understood! 

this is the part of the skit when Squanto and
Samoset enter...I think 

there was a group that did a dance.
I tell you, these women can shake
their hips like nothing I've seen before.

all in all Tgiving was very nice!  my first turkeys turned out pretty good and I found myself, after I took the first bite of my serving of turkey at probably around 8pm, declaring, to myself, that "now it's really Thanksgiving!"  I can't begin to tell everyone how much it helps me being away from my American family for the holidays that my new family here wants to celebrate American holidays!  they probably have no idea how much they are helping even tho I try to tell them.  whereas I'm not really homesick, it isn't the easiest thing to be away from your loved ones during special times.   they really do help me and for this i thank them!  the students did an awesome job doing their performances!!  AND i forgot probably the best part!  i found 2 of the 4 wishbones!!  i didn't get to make a wish tho but the fact that i found them excited me!  i would really try to  move the pictures so they make sense but i trust you all can figure them out!  love to all!

tgiving recap

I must say everything went suprisingly well on the 25th!  All the prayers were answered!  The turkeys may have been a tad overdone but I'd rather that than the alternative!!  I do have to say when I found out there is no way to know how hot, or at least there is no dial telling the temperature, the oven was my blood pressure increased a bit and I was sure I was going to put someone in the hospital!!  But that didn't happen and while carving, which is a whole other task itself, I even found a wishbone...a couple actually but did not get to make a wish.  Next year maybe!!My students did a wonderful job with the skit and the dances were very nice.  I even got a special certificate from my Principal!!  Total there were probably between 65 and 70 people there.  Then the next day I traveled to have another tgiving with some volunteer friends and that was nice as well!!!  I was surprised how the mushroom mixture we  made looked exactly like mushroom soup for the green bean casserole!!  WplaysnI kindaisre had stuffing, rolls, pumpsin pie, leftover turkey and cranberry salad I snagged before I left, mashed potatoes, and xmas music!!  Now it's back to work planning something for xmas!  I haven't figured that one out yet.  I just wanted everyone to know that both tgivings turned out beautifully and a nice time was had by all!  I'll get some pictures up soon but right now it's dinner time!  Love to all!

thanksgiving

i'm going to have to apologize again, i'll have to take about a week off my blog.  i know since i haven't written much if at all this week it will be longer than a week by the time i pick back up!!   the thanksgiving day preparations are underway and it should be a nice day!  i just heard one of the teachers will stay the night on thurs so she can see the students perform.  how exciting!!  she commutes and usually has to leave after lunch but is going to stay with me tomorrow night!!  YEA!!  cranberry salad is chilling in my refrigerator and the students helped me wrap the potatoes in foil after school.  stuffing the turkeys, all 4 of them between 3.4 and 4.2 kilograms, tomorrow and then we wait...and baste.   after that i'm leaving to have a little tgiving of my own with some volunteer friends.  a very happy thanksgiving to all of you and even though i'm not there with you all to celebrate i'm always with you in spirit and if someone says something totally off the wall you  KNOW  I'm there!!  i am so very thankful for each one of you back in the states or wherever you are!!  the thoughts and prayers and words of reassurance and letters and packages and everything else just is more than i can say thank you for and they all mean so much!!!  knowing that i have a family and friends that are supportive of my living here and all that i'm doing gives me comfort.  once again i will say i couldn't do this without you!!  you are my rock!!  love and kisses to all!!

friday post ##2

i need to apologize for the earlier post again.  well not the whole post just the when i said "...i hate money" part.  what i really dislike about money is that some people have it and some don't.  the people here is B. i want to be able to visit me in the states don't have it.  THAT is what i hate.  however without money i would not be where i am today and am very grateful to be here!!  i just want everybody to have an equal share.  but i guess if that were the case the things i love about B, some of them anyway, wouldn't be here!  it's a vicious cycle but i do have t apologize for "hating" money earlier!  so I'm sorry.

day recap

i'm finding i have to hurry my blogs so that means i have to find another time to do them when i don't have to hurry!   i was going to give you all a recap of my day since i can't think of anything else creative.  i wrote a skit, with help from a writeup from another vol, for our tgiving celebration so hopefully things won't be so boring.  we rehearsed it after school and i think the students did very well !!  of course it was in english and they did super!!  then i had to leave while writing an email at home and run an errand quick.  since it was going to be quick, i just had to run across the center to the hostel and grab 2 students, i just left dressed the way i was.  i was talking on the phone so didn't tie my shoes.  i showed up at the hostel and one of the students stopped me and tied my shoes.  ok i tied 1 and she tied 1 but still i thought it was very thouhtful of her...and funny that she would think to do that.  then ass i was walking to my apt i passed the kindergarten and heard a "lisa" scream.  i looked around and here was one of my kids runnign towards me.  he spotted me from quite a distance.  it was cute!  i don't think they're used to or maybe as into hugs as i am and i will have to work on them!  those of you who know me from my previous jobs with kids know that hugs are one part of the job i love!  when he came running down the sidewalk all i could thing about was how hard it is going to be for me to leave after my time here is up.  as much as i want everyone here to visit the usa and me i know it's not  possible and won't happen!!  that makes me sad and that makes me hate money!  i wish i could charter an airplane and load all my coworkers and students and friends up and fly them to america to visit me and to have the opportunity to go to america like is a dream for so many people here but won't happen, so they don't even think about it.  if only.........short and sweet, sorry about that!!  love to all!!

hodgepodge

this is going to be very short b/c i'm very tired and it's bed time for me!  first of all i have to clarify.  BiRam isn't a turkish holiday it's a muslim holiday.  since the 2 go hand in hand here is guess i forgot that's not always the case.  sorry about that.  the preparations are underway for our tgiving meal, or after dinner meal.  i never thought the first time i made a turkey would not be with my mom looking over my shoulder telling me what to do, let alone in B!  what's more is we'r preparing for about 65 people.  what an undertaking.  i looked at the ovens today and am a bit nervous to tell the truth.  i told the ladies in the stol, the cafeteria, next week i will be stressed and not to take it personally.  one of the ladies said "you don't look stressed."  I said "b/c we're not doing anything yet!  wait till next wed!"  this will fall into the category of something i'll never forget.   kinda like when steph, sister, and i spent xmas eve in the train station in switzerland b/c we forgot things might not be open and the train station was the only place we could find!  we also went to church and sang silent night in english and not dutch!!  i can hear it now.  i'll have steph's kids over t my house when i'm older and tell them about the first time i made a turkey.  "it was in Bulgaria of all places!"   love to all and you might want to double those thoughts and prayers next week!

let's talk weather!

i'm not exactly sure what to write about so i'll talk about the weather.  in the states when we have inian summers they last for a couple days, maybe a week if we're lucky.  we have nice warmer weather for a couple days and then the bottom drops out and it goes back to being cold again.  i like the gypsy summers over here much better!!  our gypsy summer has lasted a couple weeks now.  yes, it's still cooler in the mornings, sometimes, but gets into the 70's (F) in the afternoons!  in fact i have been having a hard time figuring out what to wear because all my  summer stuff is clean and i don't want to have to wash it again. it's such a hard life!!! (i hope you all heard the sarcasm in my voice!)   BUT this nice weather just makes me more nervous about the winter!!  up until now i always thought the temperature B's talk about isn't so bad.  if i can go through winters in northern Indiana where we have lake effect weather then i can certainly handle what they're saying!  now tho I'm not so sure!  if it's this nice when it's supposed to be colder then i can only imagine the payback from mother nature!  we shall   see!  thinking of and praying for family in france and hoping all is well!!  love to all!!

BiRam 2

i was just gosti at a household that celebrates BiRam and asked all kinds of questions and have more information to share with all of you.  first i should qualify this might not be the best blog for kids.  it's exposure to another culture which is important but this one is more graphic.  BiRam is a 4 day turskish holiday that includes Ramazan which already passed.   on Biram the killing of a big, male animal symbolizes the passage to the "other side."  muslims believe there is a passage between this world and the other world, i'm assuming where you go when you die, and killing a male animal assures passage to the other world.  now there are rules, ways to do it like in everything.  you are supposed to do it nicely so the animal doesn't feel anything.  at first i questioned this too but after watching some of the BiRam happenings on the television tonight with a person who knows how it's supposed to be done i can understand more.  there are humane ways to kill an animal and there are inhumane ways to kill an animal.  you are supposed to cut the throat.  if you kill it another way it might not "count" and by this i mean the animal may not be waiting for you on the other side.  thats another thing too.  you can kill an animal for someone, like a son or daughter, and then that animal will be with them on the other side.  and women can't kill the animals; if they  do you have to kill another animal if you want to celebrate the right way.  sorry this is all over the place but i keep remembering other things.  there are places reserved for this and you can't just kill your animal in the street or in your garden.  if you do you will get a ticket and have to pay a fine.  i thought it would be impossile to enforce too until i saw it on the news.  sure enough, there was a helecopter looking for people doing it wrong and a cop also writing tickets.  as with just about anything you have people who take advantage of the tradition, do it just for the sake of doing it or "just for the meat" as my friend said.  this is why i rarely give things up for lent even tho i'm not catholic.  i believe that comittment requires some thought as to why i'm doing it and not just a haphazzard "oh it's lent!  i think i'll give up___!"  for me i seldomly put that much thought into the reason behind why i'm choosing to give up something and i don't think it's fair of me to take part.  Jesus certainly put more thought into giving up things for me and i feel like i owe the same.  all that to say that i certainly learned lots tonight and really enjoyed myself!  there's meaning behind this religious celebration and i'm glad to be part of it!  if this blog offends anyone i am certainly sorry!  words and i don't always agree and i'm not turkish.  this might not be applicable to all muslims so i can't generalize.  i will say this is what i, being a WASP, learned about a turkish holiday from someone turkish.

integration-kinda

ok, i'm going to get this done early b/c #1. i can.  i have the next couple days "off" and #2 i have lots i want to get done today and don't want to have to do this later and #3 have an idea in my head and it can't wait to get out!  today's blog is about integration and a lesson i was taught and, i think, learned this past weekend.  and if there are any Bulgarians reading this if you're anything like Americans on this issue you'll just brush it off and say no big deal.  but to me it is a big deal and part of what i need to learn to live here.  a little history, sorry if you've heard this and get bored-you can skip this part.  part of the reason i joined the corps was to "help", that's not the word i want but i'm having trouble thinking of the right word at 9:30 in the am, the image of Americans, especially women in other parts of the world.  this goes back to when i was in the Dominican Republic and all women were "Marilyn Monroe" and when i walked down the street i was hissed at.  that i didn't like and wanted in my own little way to show that not all Americans are what you see on t.v.  flash forward to this past wknd.  integration to me is living in a cultrue, imursing yourself in that culture, and adapting aspects of that culture.  gosti is a aspect of this culture that i love.  visiting another person and drinking coffee until it gets cold is a great part of this culture.  just dropping by and having the host drop whatever they were doing to sit and chat is what it's all about!  because after all aren't people more important??  anyway, i'm here, integrated as well as i can be i think, and ready.  or so i thought.  as my parents will attest my place in the states wasn't always keep spick-n-span and i can say the same thing about my apt here.  i woke up this past weekend and was being lazy.  i watched a bit of english tv, i let myself on the wknds, and puttered around until 11 when i was ready to get ready for the day.  my apt was not ready for guests, my work things were scatered all over the couch and there was really only room for me to sit.  am i ready to have a gosti??? NO!  But what happened?  i had one, actually 2.  and was i ready-no!  here i am in B and all excited about gosti's, being one and having them.  and i was being a lazy American.  here i talk about integration but wasn't ready when a chance came my way!  and the thought of me being American and i can get by with not being ready?  i have to say that's one of the stereotypes i came here to rectify!  now i'm sure this whole thing doesn't sound like a big deal and in the grand sceme of things really isn't, but it's a big deal to me.  if i talk the talk, i'm working on it, i have to walk the walk.  so everytime i leave the apt i'm going to try to ask myself if i can host gosti's.  if the answer is no that means i have to work harder.  and to my friend Brad who was with me on skype last night helping me download software i should have had but lost, a huge thank you and i love you for it!!! love to all!

Bi Ram

so i'm getting ready to be on vacation until next thurs.  if i would've planned ahead these next days would have been perfect to go somewhere but i didn't think about it before hand.  besides there's plenty of work for me to do!!  monday isn't really a holiday but Bi Ram, the spelling is questionable, is and it falls on tues and wed during the week.  since the majority of our students commute we have mon off as well and will make up that day later.   haven't done a lot of research or talked a lot about Bi Ram but what i know now is that it is a Turkish holiday, not bulgarian, where a female animal is killed and eaten.  before it is eaten some of it is given away to people, either 3,6, or 9 people.    i get the feeling that this is one of the older traditions and, like Ramazan and American holidays for that matter, some people celebrate and some don't.  just today after lunch i was talking with my counterpart about Bi Ram and i asked her whose house i should go ghosti to for Bi Ram b/c i want to see what goes on and just like that, i'm invited to Bi Ram.  a little side note here; i will never get used to knowing people are talking about you in front of you and not being able to add anything to the conversation or being clueless it's about you!   i don't mind but i feel a little silly when, for instance, someone says "ok you can do this" or "you can go there" or something like that and i didn't even know I was the subject of the conversation!  or when i meet someone for the first time and am with someone i know and after the new person says something to me and i ask them to repeat it so i can understand, they start talking to my friend who knows me about me.  then of course i can't add anything b/c the new person is talking to a native speaker and i'm lost!  i really don't mind it's just hard to get used to!  anyway the next several days should give me a great chance to get caught up on my work and get prepared for new things.  'm interested to learn more about these couple days and will write more about this tradition later.  for now i'm going to go enjoy a peanut butte cup from my dad and step-mom!  love to all and enjoy the weekend!  this past week it was in the mid 70s and very nice!  

Halloween pics

the stories were read again in B but that
was kinda anti-climatic

we started off reading some spooky stories
in english. they didn't work very well!

some of the costumes were very creative!

here we have some of the male students  dressed up like
babas.  they were very funny

mixed in here are some of the teachers
that i work with at the English school.  this couldn't
have been possible without their help!.  

another one of the jangley skirts women wear.  you should
see these young women go!  it's amazing!

the red skirt you see has little almost like coins that
jangle when women dance and move their hips.  it is really something to see!  

Halloween

time to talk about the halloween celebration even tho it's about time for tgiving.  since hall fell on a sun we had our parties, at the english school and the kindergarten, on the 28th, the day after i arrived back here after visiting my families.  ths students were excited about what we were going to do, the teachers kept telling me how excited they were, and even brought some pumpkins with them to school from their homes.  i had found some templates online for different kinds of bats, ghosts, and pumpkins, and even a witch and made patterns and used them to decorate the school, the stol where we were to have the party, and the kindergarten.  all the teachers helped me cut out and color the decorations and put them up so it was really a team effort!  the 28th i went in to school to carve the first pumpkin and then the students did the rest during the school day.  (next year i want to have carving tools and diffferent patterns for the pumpkins.)  the i went to the apt ao prepare for the kindergarten.  i also made comies of various hall creatures for them to color, cut out if they anted to and either tke them home or leave them to decorate their classroom.  the students at the eng school said they wanted food for our party so after the kindergarten i went back home and finished making some finger sandwiches, i had help from one of our teachers not from here who stayed behind to see the celebration.  it was going to be her first American "praznuvic" or tradition, celebration and she wanted to stay for it and she helped me with the finger sandwiches.   then at 6 pm, after a little "real" dinner we started to decorate and prepare the stol.  my coworkers really helped out by bringing food and with the decorations.  i had found some more chilling stories i was going to read and try to scare the students.  it worked but the only problem we had with this was i was to read them in english.  while most of the students know english enough to follow along it was hard and lots "got lost in the translation."  the man who drives for our school hid in the kitchen and at certain times made noises and some of the students jumped.  then we read the stories in B too but it was kinda anti-climatic.  we had a hall quiz and then the dancing started!  tom i will post some pics but the students really got the whole costume idea!  we had a mummy to young men dressed up and babas, grandmas!  it was really funny and a good time was had by all.  my mom and step-dad found my pacer shorts, believe it or not i didn't ask them to look for them, and a friend of mine from the fieldhouse got me a pacer jersey with my name on it that i brought along with me so for the eng school party i was a pacer.  at the kindergarten i wore the tigger mask, tail, and bowtie that my parents brought over for me.  i figured the tigger costume was a little young for high school kids!  i think they had a good time with the American halloween!  about 2/3 days after hall my counterpart started asking me about tgiving and said that she explained to the students that was the next holiday and how we could do something then too.  oh i have to tell you!  whenever i talked about hall i always said it was that next sunday.  i explained to the kindergartners about getting candy and all and going from house to house.  the director's son, of the kindergarten, is in my older group and the week after hall when i went to the kindergarten i ran into her and she tol me that over the hall weekend her son asked her if they could go to American on sunday for halloween.  how cute is that!!!  tom...piccs of hall but right now it's bedtime.  sorry this was so long but lots to explain!  love to all!

fall and papa johns

well i found out that when people here told me there would be a display of leaves with all diferents colors during fall they were not joking around!  it had been fall here for quite awhile and the leaves have been changing for quite some time now i just haven't gotten around to blogging about it yet.  one thing B is proud of is their many forests and greenry.  now with all the different colors on the trees and on the ground, we're had such strong winds the past 2 days I'm sure there aren't any leaves left of the trees, it looks just georgeous!   and the view driving thru the mountains to pick up my parents at the airport was more than i can describe in words!   the word beautiful just doesn't fit!  it was like looking out into the (i know i'm going to spell this wrong so please excuse me)Shanandoahs Valley is Virginia during the fall!  We literally drove up one side and down the other side of the mountain!  looking out into the valley was one of those things you just can't take a picture of, it will always be prettier in my mind!  i tell people all the time about how in the states we rake up the leaves and jump in them and if my knee would let me, better but i still need to pamper it so jumping is the last thing i want to do right now, i would do just that and show everyone here what they are missing!  and i have to say the next time i complain about raking my leaves in my yard i'm going to think back to the brooms and 3 pronged "rakes" that are used over here!!!  t's time for me to do some of my other work; big preparations for the "den na blagodarnost", thanksgiving.  however i'm going to leave you with this thought.  i love it here, the people, the food, the laid back atmoshere, my jobs (the ones i have actually started), among other things...however...someone please have a ham and pineapple and peppers papa john's pizza for me with a huge bowl of cookies and cream ice cream, or yogurt, for me and i want essays on how they taste!!!  that's YOUR homework!!  love to all!! steph, you can totally be all over the ice cream for me!  remember how i stir it up first??!!??

my families

first of all let me apologize for the long absence!  second of all let me welcome my aunt to my blog.  where to start!!  i have so many things to write about it's hard to know whick one to do first!  i had a wonderful time with my parents, both my American and my "Bulgarian" parents.  my B parents are really like siblings since we're the same age but they are the parents of the family i stayed with during pst and so they are like parents.  once again the B hospitality came out, for me but really for my mom and stepfather.  my host father drove 2 hrs both ways to pick up and drop off my parents at the airport in sofia.  we went to my gma and gpa's house and  were treated wonderfully!  AND i have to say i think the best part of that visit was when my gma let me help clean the table, my mom couldn't, b/c i was "family."  later on that same day she even called me a "Bulgarka."  it looks kinda strange in english but in bulgarian it means a  Bulgarian woman.  that was it for me!!!  and when my sister went to translate something to me, my B family is much better with their english too, my aunt said "she knows Bulgarian!"  i have to say both were kinda strokes to my ego!!  WOWWOW!!  they did give me a run for my money with the translations tho and now i understand when my counterpart says it's kinda hard going from eng to bulg.   i agree!!  i will say tho it made me feel kinda good that i was able to understand and translate.  people ask me if i can tell my lang is getting better or not and i really can't tell b/c it's me being the judge.  however visiting my pst family i really could tell a difference!!  in the past when i was in pst and i went to my gparents house i went where they told me to and spoke when spoken to.  this time i wasn't so quiet.  i still have a very long way to go, by B teacher says that i am in the 5th grade level with my b!!  my parents were introduces to banitza and rakeya and very much enjoyed both!  in fact they were given a bottle to take home and i'm really not sure it they have any left!!  i can't say enough about either family!!  my Am family carted an extra duffle bag around italy, trip b4 b, just for me with tons of food, sweets, clothes, and even some halloween costumes.  my B family rolled out the red, white, and green carpet for my Am family, put several hundred miles on their car, and showed my parents bulgaria, the spirit of the people i have grown to love and some of the countryside.  from the bottom of my heart thank you to both families!!  I LOVE YOU ALL!!  love to all, lisa     oh yeah!  catching the bus back was an experience i'll never forget!!  let's just say i got on!

my weekend part 2

brad can you believe i lost this too?!?!  second time's the charm!  on saturday we had breakfast and then one of our students came over and we went to her house, her aunt and uncle came over, and then went back to my collegues house when we were done visiting.   we had lunch and studied more english.  we took a "pochievka"(break) and then went walking and na ghosti again that afternoon.  i will repeat again: everywhere i went i was fed and fed some more!  on sunday we had breakfast and then my collegue said we were going to go outside and work with the flowers a little but i was just going to watch.   one thing i have learned since coming here is that the B women work very hard.  now i'm not saying the men don't I'm just saying i noticed how hard women work since i'm a woman.  everytime i tried to do even the littlest thing i was told no and i didn't have gloves on.  i told my collegue i work like this all the time at my house in the states and that didn't seem to matter; if you're a guest you don't help.  so here i am standing (i felt very funny!) watching 2 women slave away, one of which was the age of my mom-in her mid 60s probably, in the garden and all i can do is watch!  i'd feel uncomfortable doing that in the states let alone here!  anyway they finished after a little, we had lunch, and then went na ghosti again.  most places i go i run into someone who can at least say a few words in english and they are eager to share their knowledge with me and i am more than happy to ablidge them!  most places i go i also run into people who want to teach me bulgarian or turkish and i am to teach them english.  i would so love to help everyone with english but it's impossible!  but i can try and that's why i'm here...that and for youth development!  when we got home it was time for me to catch the microbus back here with the students.  i have to say it was very enlightening going to one of my students homes.  in the states they would be below poverty level.  but they make do and it's life for them.   they drop what they are doing when someone comes to visit and welcome them with coffee and food, and spend hours, sometimes, talking.  dropping in on someone is not done in the states or at least very much.  we're scheduled to a T and plan things to the n'th degree.  it's kinda refreshing just "dropping in."  i'm going to quit and get this published before i lose it again.  how did the Pacers start their season???  love to all!

familiar faces!

 i must apologize for not blogging the past couple days and for the next couple.  i've been busy trying to bring a little bit of Halloween to B.  i found some ghost stories online that, believe it or not, i think i remember from when i was younger.  the 28th, yes it's the night after i get back so it will be a busy day, i've recruited the teachers that live here to help me and we're having a party in the stol, where the students eat their meals,  after supper.  i'm going to read the stories in, of course, a spooky and scary voice and at just the right moments the other teachers are going to make noises and scare the students.  the teachers helped me cut out some ghosts and bats and pumpkins and other halloween things and i had them with me tonight at dinner,planning on starting to decorate the stol.  some of the students who were still eating asked me about them and if they could help.  they did everything!  that was really cool how they wanted to help.   all this o say i've been busy trying to prepare for halloween that i haven't even packed to leave tomorrow morning to leave to see my parents and to see my B family.  i plan on being back here the 27th in the afternoon/early evening if all goes as planned.  so i will catch you all in about a week!  thoughts and prayers are with my family at this time.  love to all!  

my weekend

well i can tell you i had way too much to eat this past weedend!  everywhere i went, with my collegue, i was fed.  on fri afternoon i took the minibus with the students who lived in the same villege.  it was about a half an hour ride.  i got there and dropped my stuff in the room where i was to sleep, we rested for awhile, and then went and took a tour of the village.  we went to the mayor's office and everything.  of course while at the mayor's office we had coffee and talked for awhile.  then we headed back to the house and got ready for dinner.  lots of women here sew, including my collegue, and she showed me her "goblins" (framed finished needlepoint or crosstitch pictures) and they were all really beautiful.  she also showed me an outfit she made for a turkish wedding that was also beautiful and very intricately stitched.  we talked a little and studied english a little and then it was time for bed.  saturday morning one of our students came over and visited with us a little and then took us back to her house to visit.  her aunt and uncle came over and we had a housefull.  her uncle spoke english and so i spoke with him, but also used my B.   since i only speak english with the studnts many of them, ok most of them, don't know i speak B too or at least very well.(I'm not saying i speak very well but i can say more than hello and i'm good in B) so speaking in front of one of the students was kinda interesting for me!  on course more food and when we left we went home only to have more guests come over.  everytime i tried to lift a finger i was told no and that i was a "ghostinka.  Sejada!"  i know i'm spelling that wrong but basically i was a guest and to sit.  i finally broke into helping when i washed my glass and silverware after dinner.  everywhere i went the people i met wanted to teach me B, or turkish, and i was going to teach them english.  I've got my work cut out for me!!  sorry but i'm going to sign off here,  dinner's here and MY WASHER IS HOOKED UP!!!!  not sure if i trust myself enough to use it yet tonight.  maybe i'll wait till tom.  will wrie more about this past weekend later!  love to all!

the people behind the scenes

so before i tell you all about my weekend in another village i have to tell you about my morning.  i recieved a phone call letting me know there was something for me at the post office on fri but couldn't do anything about it because i wasn't in town.  so today i arrived at school only to be told by nargis that i had a package waiting for me at the post office.  thinking they might want to have it gone i headed over to the post office to get my package, i didn't know from whom.  imagine my surprise when i saw the big box sitting there for me!!  everytime i get a package i want to share a few things so i took it to school and opened it there.  i couldn't believe what i saw!!  yes, several smiles and big time grins crossed my face!!  i can't thank my aunts enough for this!!  however what i want to share is this.  yes i'm here in B and this has been a dream of mine and, ok, maybe i'm doing what other people think of doing but don't.  HOWEVER!!!  for everyone who does something a little hard or different or what have you there are tons more people behind the scenes who really make it happen!!  i was an instructional assistant for special education at an elementary school for 7 yrs and i know how hard i worked.  i'm not saying this right i know.without the example of service set by my grandparents who spent 2 years in africa with heifer project i wouldn't be here.  without all the encouragement and support of and from my family i wouldn't be here.  without people who believe all countries and peoples need to work together i wouldn't be here.  without people praying for me on a daily basis, yes i feel it, i wouldn't be here.  without friends who support what i'm doing i wouldn't be here.  and how can i forget without B being open to me i wouldn't be here.  what i'm trying to say is, ok maybe i do rock if you must call it that...but...YOU ROCK MORE!!!  the people behind the scenes really do the work.  without all you i couldn't focus on my job here.  you are the ones who make me happy.  when i'm happy i'm more focused on what i need to do.  so, from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU FAMILY, steffens and millers that i know of.  like my earlier blog, the word thank you just doesn't come close to expressing my feelings!!!  a big hug to all!!!  i love you all so very much and i'm only carrying out the tradition of service in our family!!  and happy birthday a day late mom!  love to all!

it's the small things

just this morning i had the idea for this blog.  every day i deal with this difference but just now thought to write about it.  over here the temperature is given in *C instead of *F.  so yes, while 5*C is cold it's not as cold as one might think.  there are more correct ways to compute *C to *F, including on my phone-"there's an app for that"-but a quick, give or take 2 or 3 * is multiply by 2 and add 30.  so 5*C is around 40*F, and yes the other morning when i woke up and was watching the news Pyce, which is about 45 minutes NW was 5*C at about 7:15/7:30.  sure enough!  i just checked on my phone and 5*C is 41*F.  that took some getting used to!  one on the guys in my pst group got me a termometer for my birthday and it has *C and *F and that sure has been helpful!  another thing, in addition to the temperature being different, is distance isn't in miles, it's in kilometers.  over here it's all liters and grams, not cups or teasoons.  before i left the states my cousin printed out and had laminated a conversion chart for cooking.  now i really don't cook that much but have to say i've used it several times already and converting all the quantities when making choc chip cookies took longer than the actual baking process.  i never was very good at math!  now to my day.  tom afternoon i'm leaving for the weekend to go ha ghosti to one of my collegues villages.  that will be fun and i have to say it will be a real test for my B language!  and it could be that my collegue is the only person who speaks and B at all.  we'll see and i am looking forward to it although will have to work on a few things for next week.  halloween is coming and both the kdgn and english school want me to do something and i need to plan!  but i'm going to another place in B and that will be nice and a new experience for me!  that being said i'm not sure if i'll get to blog tom or not.  if not have a great weekend everyone and i'll talk to you on mon!  oh yeah!  this is the day, oct 14th, 50 yrs ago when JFK stood on the steps of the MSU campus and challenged the students to serve their country by going abroad  and the idea of the Peace Corps was planted.  next yr, 2011, is the big 50 yr anniv celebration and also 20 yrs in B!  what a time to be in the corps!  and in B too!  love to all!

some random thoughts

ok first of all SOPHIE QUIT LAUGHING!!  so i went to see the police man in G this am, don't worry-nothing's wrong, and was quite pleased when he told me that i speak faster than i used to.  that's always nice to hear!and if i might brag for just a bit i will add that i didn't have my dictionary OR nargis, counterpart and translater, with me and got along fine.  yest was my groups 5 month mark in Bulgaria.  today, this is going to  random so either put up with it or close the blog, my B. teacher told me she was going to give me 3 books in B. to read, and retell back to her, before my stint in G is over.  pretty heavy stuff but i told her to "bring it on" and when i said that everyone that was in the "teacher's lounge" looked at me like "what in the heck is she saying?"  of course i may get one page read a day...if even that!   i told her i was going to give her 3 english books to read but i don't quite think that would be fair since i have had 5 months of B and she doesn't know english very well, but she continues to surprise me.  tomorrow a rep from the yd program will come to G and check on how i'm doing (which means to clean my apt! it's not bad at all mom!).  i've also been put in charge, american person for an american holiday, of planning something for halloween.  i've got some great plans!  now they just have to work which may be the problem!  now, to be even more random, i got a letter from my aunt and thought i'd address some of her questions.  i'm doing well although right now my foot hurts and i'm thinking the 15k i was going to do with another volunteer next oct isn't going to happen.  more than you wanted to know i realize.  i'm still at the english school 2 days a week and helping with an english class for 5-7 yr. olds at the kindergarten 2 days a week.  the adult english class i'm going to have hasn't started yet b/c i can't find a place to have it and, as of the information  i got this morning-no one knows, is on hold for awhile.  this is all the better for me b/c i can plan lessons and be more prepared!   i have to say the only time i have physically spent with other volunteers is for the mandatory meetings the corps has.  weekends would be my chance to travel but weekends are my chance to catch up on the next week as well as do necessary things around my apartment.  and i have to say i really don't feel the need to leave, i like it here!  as far as integration goes, i feel pretty integrated.  i say hi, in either B or Turkish-if an older person, to everyone on the streets and they always answer.  of course integration has more to do with being visable but i have to say i think i've done a pretty good job of this so far.   the people i workwith are all ages but the english school is from 8th-12th grade.  alcohol???  it's a problem but it's also a way of life.  for instance, there are drunk guys every night in the center, which is close to my apartment.  i know they're drunk, or at least i assume and i don't think i'm wrong but i could be, because i can hear the smashing of the beer bottles.  over here that's kinda what people do.  you go to a kafe with friends and drink and smoke.  so when i'm asked if it's a problem of course i think it's a problem because i don't drink to excess but it's tolerated.  in the states we have a big problem with drinking a driving.  over here few have cars and if they do don't drive more than a mile, if that, after they've had a drink.  in G you're not stopped by the police for drunk driving.  if there's violence that occurs when someone is drunk i haven't heard about it.  it's just different.  compared to the states with the violence, theft, and other things that are associated with alcohol i would have to say it's not a problem.  however.......like i said before, it's just different.  Love to all!

being gratefuli

today is all about being grateful for what i(we) have.  i haven't been the best at that here recently.  now mind you i haven't been the worst and most people would think nothing of it but since i'm who i am i think i need to stop and think about all the things i HAVE.  i have my belief in God and that's all i need i believe.  i am grateful for the opportunity to travel to another country, not on my dime i might add, and experience another way of life, help others (which is what i love to do), all while traveling different places in the world!  that's pretty lucky if you ask me!  i have a wonderful family who sends me things and friends who back me up in this venture.  included in with the family are the children in my family who are decorating my wall so i have pretty pictures to look at, and also to remind me to be a kid too!  i havea place to live over here and am surrounded with very nice people who look out for me, help me in any way they can(include give me food), and teach me about Bulgaria, including the language!  i have a job for which i am grateful.  now granted it's not a job per say in the fact that there is no paycheck but i'm taken care of.  this totally sounds cheesy and if i could think of another way to say it i would but i get paid with other things.  i was in the kindergarten today and we were working with forming the letters on the floor.  the kids would lay down and i would move their bodies to the shape of a letter.  when the kids chuckled, i had to make sound effects you know while moving them, or the fact that THEY noticed i left my notebook behind in their class and gave it to the teacher to give to me, or when they all raise their hands to help me and wanted to make the letters,THAT'S my payment.  yes it's corny and cheesy but that's what i do.  i am grateful for a netbook with skype so i can talk and see my family every weekend and keep in touch with emails.  i don't have to worry about from where my next meal is coming like some people here.  i am grateful to be given the chance to represent My Country to people around the world.  i am grateful to all of you who want to learn about different lifestyles and give me the opportunity to share my knowledge of B.  there are tons more things i could type but i think probably most of all, after God, i am humbled and very grateful to all of you who pray for me daily, send loving thoughts my way, and support what i'm doing.  i've said it before and i'll say it again.  if every one of you weren't behind me and supportive of my decision to move to B for 2.5 yrs it would be so much harder for me to be here!!  the moral of the blog is count your many blessings and be grateful for what you have!  you never know when you could be like the person i saw eating from a dumpster this morning!  love to all!

a "weighty" issue

ok sophie!  this one's for you!  i asked for more information about why everyone is so eager to weigh themselves and put other people on their scales.  everyone having a bathroom scale in their house is relatively new and still there are people who don't have one.  a while ago in bigger cities people would sit in the middle of the street with a scale and charge a small amt of money if you wanted to use the scale.   so, when people come across a scale no matter where it is, as long as it's free they'll use it.  that's it and nothing more.  i have one b/c with the way everyone feeds me over here i can't imagine i won't gain weight and feel like i need to have some control over that.  it's really the same with age.  people over here ask ow old a person is and they don't think twice.  in the states it's considered rude to ask someone their age.  i should clarify that.  it's considered rude to ask women, especially older women, how old they are.  i don't mind giving out my age b/c i figure i've earned every single one of these grey hairs on this 39 yr old head and quite frankly have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of!  now i don't need all my friends and family to comment back and remind me of the little "mistakes" i've made along the way; i'm quite aware!  anyway i do have to say i was taken aback a little when i first got asked that question over here; i'm really not used to being asked how old i am.  now that that's taken care of i can tell you all about the wonderful"gypsy" summer we're having right now!!  the only thing i could think of after school was going for a run which is kinda odd b/c i really don't run.  but i'm trying to however!  if i'm going to make 15k i better start.  L if you're reading this you're incrediably strong and have so many loved ones with you on this!  you're in my thoughts and prayers!  love to all!

hands

i found out last night that the right hand is considered rude.  i took dinner from the stol over to nargis' house.  i asked her where her other ring was that she used to wear and she told me she wears the one she had on more as a wedding ring.  then i noticed it was on her right hand.  now i've never been married but i know married women in the states wear their wedding ring on their left hand.  this kinda confused me so i started asking more questions.  there is an engagement ring too but it goes on your left hand not with your wedding ring like we do in the states.  she told me to hold out my hands and she told me "see.  your left hand is smoother  then the right" b/c we do all our work with our right hand.  (sorry lefties we were talking about the right hand; not trying to shut you out)  then she told me the right hand is considered rude but the right hand is also the stronger and more flexible of the 2.   now if you happen 2 be a leftie like my mom i'm not so sure if this is still true.  i'll get more info about this.   she was watching the turkish program she likes and right then it was about a woman who was going to get married but was walking alone one night and came upon some men.  these men were not very nice and b/c of that the man she was going to marry didn't want to get married anymore b/c, well i think you know where i'm going with this.  in the Muslim, and generally speaking here-not ALL Muslims, society every man must marry a lady who has not been with another man.   i think on some level i knew this but never heard it to be true, at least not a Muslim woman.  this is something that's different  from the states too. i 'll just leave it at that and if anyone wants  me to ellaborate i will.  i think we skipped fall and jumped right to winter b/c it's cold outside but nothing i haven't experienced before!  however i hear we're in for a "gypsy" summer next week which means a slight warm-up.  have a great weekend and i'll catch you all next week!  love to all!

nonsense words

you can't believe how hard it is to talk w/o all those little nonsense words we always use!  now that i think about it they are more like self talk than nonsense.  (those of you who know me know i do a lot of self talk!  sometimes i even answer myself.  sophie, i hear you laughing) they do serve a purpose amazingly.  they're kinda like a bridge btwn thoughts.  it's like they enable us to continue thinking while taking a break.  i'm talking about the "man i had it" or "where is it!" when looking for something or "i know i know that."  things like that.  the other day during my tutoring lesson when i got frustrated at myself it was b/c i don't think in B.  when my tutor said i needed to start trying to think in B i tried...and do you know i couldn't finish a thought w/o uttering some of those phrases!  when i was in maybe 7th gr my stepdad was helping em practice a speech or something along those lines.  my choice nonsense word then was "well."  ron challenged me to say 1 sentence w/o saying that and do you know it was almost impossible?  i couldn't do it! it's kinda like a crutch when you think about it.  all those little "oh man"'s or "where is it...i can't find it"  are like little crutches that we depend on and we don't even realize it!  now of course i realize it b/c it has been brought to my attention.  so i've started replacing oh man” with “o boshe” and i think “a me” is kinda like “well, let me see.”  it’s harder than one might think, getting rid of those little crutches!  when i’m looking for something and can’t find it i try and remember to say “kude (where)” instead of the actual “where is it”  it’s kind of an interesting relavation when you figure it out.  so i challenge each one of you to become more aware of the words you use.  try and make it through a day, an hour, a sentence without using meaningless words.   and L. (D too) my thoughts and prayers are with you!!

birthdays

i can't remember if i have written about this or not so will share again.  in B it's custom to give chocolate on your birthday and very rude if you don't take the chocolate offered to you.  this i may have mentioned but did i mention its customary for the bday person to buy dinner??  yes that's right, the bday girl/boy buys the dinner if you happen to go out to eat to celebrate your bday.  in addition to birthdays, which are kind of a recent celebration for B, there are also name days.  name days are days of certain saints and if your name is the same as the various saints then you get to celebrate on that day too.  name days are a little bit more popular than bdays.  o if you happen to have a bday and invite all your friends out to dinner you better be prepared to pick up the tab!  as you can imagine this could pose quite a sticky predicament for an unknowing birthday person!  now on to some revalations ive had without even thinking twice or stopping to think about what was happening.  just this afternoon i realized i can hold a conversation with people AND THEY CAN UNDERSTAND ME!!  excuse me while i take a moment to celebrate.  YEA FOR ME!!  anyway i realized today, it just kinda hit me and i'm not sure why now, that people for the most part, maybe even more than that but i'm not holding my breath, know and understand what i'm saying!  now i still run into those turkish speakers who have no idea, and vise versa, what i'm saying but for the most part i can hold a conversation and be understood.  i guess i'm mainly talking about the people i deal with on a daily basis and talk to regularly.  for example just this afternoon i had 2 meetings, well one was a phone conversation, by myself and was understood by them and also i understood.  ivan, with the corps and one of the yd trainers, is coming for a visit and so i told the principal of the eng school.  i then realized that i work for the kindergarten and mayor too and maybe shoul let hem know as well about the visit.  i had a meeting with the principal of the kindergarten, by myself i might add, AND called the mayor to let them both know.  y bulg-eng dictionary is still with me the majority of the time but i'm relying on it less and less.   just this afternoon after work i was having a conversation, that alone i think is incrediable, with some teachers in the eng school and they were asking about the corps, the process, and other things like that and i think i got my point across.  if i didn't and you are reading this Tadzhenur, don't tell me they didn't understand; just let me have this one  woke up this am with what i thought was pink eye.   emailed the pc dr and asked about what to do.  thru the course of the day it got better and now i think i'm suffering from a very bad mosquito bits!   don't know where they come from but they find their way into my house and those kinds of ghostis i don't like!  love to all!

day of volunteering

i knew they would love it!  at least the young women had fun.  i can't say what the young men did and i'm going to have to ask the principal of the kindergarten if they need to come with me on thurs.  the y.w. with me jumped right in and i fell in the background, which is actually what is supposed to happen for sustainable development, i just didn't realize it would happen with the classes!  it actually came in very handy b/c they know B better than i do and could translate for me.  i think we even stayed a little longer than we were scheduled to but hey, as long as it is working!  one of the teachers went with me to take pictures and i think she had a nice time too and it also helped for translation too.  i have to say tho it was kinda tiring afterwards.  i offered to take those who wanted to out for kafe for a t-you and one of the y.w. and the teacher who came to take pics came with me.  one spoke B and i speak english with the student and it was hard going back and forth!  i usually try to speak B if one person knows only B but there were times when i was just talking to the student, can you believe i don't know all their names and i spent 1.5 hrs with them, and i had to switch back to my native tongue.  not gonna lie it was kinda hard.  well maybe i planted a seed but either way it was kinda interesting having someone volunteer, help, me since i'm used to being the volunteer!  there's a lot more i have to and want to do but all i need is time!  i almost forgot!  today while having tutoring my tutor told me my language was at 5th gr level.  i'm 39 yrs old and in the 5th grade!  anyway...tonight i have to think about how to tell the story of pinnochio in B!  Today i listened to a fairytale in Bulgarian and for homework i have to think of one in english to translate into B.  why is it that when she said that the only story that jumped into my head was that one!  and i really don't know it that well.  i'll have to sleep on it!  i'm going to help the y.w. in the hostel tonight after dinner which i'm kinda looking forward to.  that's all for today.  it's raining outside right now and is only going to get colder!  do utre!  all my love!

REGGIE

just had to let everyone know!  i just went to a magazine here to talk to someone and while looking around i found a notebook WITH A LITTLE PICTURE OF REGGIE (miller for those of you who don't follow) ON THE BOTTOM!!!  of course i bought it right away.  what can i say??  reggie is reggie.

babies #2

clarification time.   i asked about the baby gifts thing and found out that indeed the parents to be don't go w/o pre-baby but only the family gives gifts before the birth and then after that's when shower the family with gifts!  now today's blog entry.  tomorrow is the day for volunteering and also my day at the kindergarten.  i had an idea that maybe some of the students from the english school could help out at the kindergarten.  i asked the director of the kindergarten and also the principal of the eng school and now have 5 students at my disposal to help tom!  i kinda thought they'd get into helping little kids and when N and i told 1 of the girls her face just lit up and she was so happy!  when i asked the director of the kindergarten earlier in the day, by myself i might add with notes, she told me it was a good idea.  in the states we do that kinda thing all the time, big helping little, 1st gr students reading books to young children to practice their reading, things like that.  maybe tom will lead somewhere for one of the 5!  also, 3 boys are going to see if they can help put a shelf together or build a door or something.   think if the students really like helping out this could become a partnership btwn the 2 institutions!  i'm pretty excited about it and glad i get the opportunity to "use" some students!  it turned chilly over the weekend and i might actually have to use a blanket tonight in addition to a sheet!  i got some pictures of my nieces today and that was a very welcomed surprise!  thanks mom!   love to all and happy birthday krista!  

babies

now i don't have lots of info on this subject but apparently in B when someone has a baby you don't get them presents or give them things before the baby's born.  one of the teachers at the english school is pregnant and today was her last day with us.  i stopped off at a magazine before i went to school and got a few things, not much but a small stuffed heart, baby powder, and a spoon and fork set.  after i gave it to her one of the teachers pointed out that in b it's not customary to give gifts before the birth.  this is something different b/c i can't say how many baby showere i've been to in my 39 yrs!  i really can't see this either b/c the reason we have showers pre-baby is b/c of all the things needed once the baby arrives and it's not like you can run out and get them!  i'll have to get more info on this; maybe she was just talking clothes.  even then tho the baby's going to need something those first days!   after eating lunch i was going home and left n, she and her family go to her apt in another town, and happened upon some students outside the hostel waiting to go home.  they are so eager to use their english and show me that they can talk in english!!  and i have to say some of the students are better than i thought they would be!  they yelled the common "have a good weekend" or "hello" and then started laughing when i stopped walking home and went over to talk to them.  i do have to say when nargis told me it's tiring translating, going from bulgarian to english and back,  i now understand that she is right!  there are coworkers at the english school who speak english and i speak english with them (i figured they'd want to exercise their english but i guess i could ask them which they prefer) and there are coworkers  who speak bulgarian and i speak b with them, or at least try to.  BUT...with the students i'm here to speak english with them so they can hear the native tongue and to help them learn.  sometimes i forget who i'm speaking to!  like when a student is leaving the stol, cafeteria, and says "cao" to my other collegues sometimes i forget to answer in english!  opa!   then there are people who i run into, like the other day in a magazine, shop, i like, that speak english and it takes awhile for me to switch to english and realize i can speak in english to that person.  or another thing i've run into, and this happens often, is someone has a friend or a relative visiting and wants to speak english with me.  the other day i was at the eng school with my class of 1 student and the door opened and the principal walked in.  the head of the muslims, who finances our school, was here and came to see me; i had missed him on the first day of school b/c i was traveling for the corps.  he motioned for me to follow him and we went into the principals office and then he left and another man came in.  he was from saudia arabia and spoke english and the principal wanted me to speak to him...in english.  you know, when i was in the dominican republic i looked at the American things and saw the dominican people wanting to be like us and got a little mad.  i saw them trying to stifle their culture and replaace it with ours b/c i thought they thought ours was better and i didn't necessarily agree!  it really kinda frustrated me b/c i didn't want them to stifle their culture!  now i have a little different view.     regardless of my thoughts on the subject english is becoming increasingly more popular.  to get anywhere you kinda have a need for english- i'm learning that now.  if you travel to another country and don't speak their language but know english, chances are you'll get by b/c someone will know english.  nargis asked me the other day, it's been awhile ago, if i was proud that everyone else wanted to learn my language.  i told her it depends on why they want to learn it.  if they want to learn english so they can move to an english speaking country and leave their native country b/c they don't like it or think the grass is greener than i'm not proud that you want to learn.  however, if someone wants to learn english b/c the world is gravitating towards english and knowing english will help you make a better life for your family or just like learning new things than yes, that i can get behind.  i just see lots of good and different things in this culture, and in the hispanic culture, and hate(d) the thought of someone wanting to lose that!   this is a long and i have to say pretty confusing entry based on the title.  i'm going to try to get lots done today for next week so i can concentrate on cleaning and other things this wknd!  preatin yekend!  

fall

ok this is the 2nd time this has been erased and again it's really ticking me off!  thankfully i wasn't very far along though.  it's fall and that means camping, bonfires, and...SMORES!!  thanks to my mom and stepdad I had a smore the other night.  nargis and i kinda cheated tho b/c we did them inside with the oven burners instead of over a fire outside but we had all the necessary ingredients! they don't have marshmallows or graham crackers here and when i took some mmallows to school it was funny to see the reaction of my coworkers as they squeezed the mallow and then found that it stayed the same shape!  anyway...my wonderful sister and her family made me a calendar for me to use while i'm over here so i can know, and see, them thinking of me.  certain days have special reminders, birthdays, anniversaries (speaking of happy anniversary dad and ronni and mom and ron!) and other little special words.  the other day she had written "are the leaves turning there?"  well, no. and yes it's fall i checked.  i have to say that's one thing i'm going to miss, seeing all the different colors!  i'm going to have to go to the brown county website and see for myself!!  've been told that the leaves here will change too and there will be a colorful display but it hasn't happened yet.  i'll have to wait and see;  guess i've got time!  the weather here hasn't been too cold and i hesitate to say it's fall b/c  don't think it's cold, certainly not fall type weather.  and of course how can you mention fall w/o the word "football" in the same sentence??!!  football over here is a whole different sport and that would be soccer.  someone told me the other day, at least i think this is what they said, we were experiencing an indian summer.  i thought indian summers happened after it had been cold for a long while and then there was a bit of a warmup.  to me it hasn't been that cold to even qualify as fall let alone have an indian summer!  and when i say cold i mean it still gets up into the mid-upper 70s.  enough of that and it's time for me to get ready for dinner.  tomorrow!