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!   

sept 22

Sept 22nd was the Bulgarian Independence Day.  B got their indep from the ottoman rule in 1908.  now i must confess to not knowing lots about B history, besides some names, even though we had speakers and were given tons of information during pst.  the principal of our school asked nargis and i to plan something; he said go on a picnic but i kinda was thinking of something else.  i'm not really sure how right she is but n told me the students really don't have that much of an idea why they didn't have school, why they celebrate.  im not the most patriotic person around and not the best when it comes to my own country's history but i can tell you why i celebrate July 4th!  regardless of your personal thoughts about war and all that comes with that i think we all need to be grateful for those who came before us that gave us our freedom.  to not understand that i think is a travesty!  we came up with some great ideas i think and then didn't get the chance to do anything and to tell the truth i was kinda glad!  just like in the states, for holidays, the teachers were off and i didn't want to have them have to come on their day off.  and if some of them did, what about the teachers who commute?  and i really didn't want to do the program with 50 kids by myself!   i could've gotten help from some pc friends if i would've known a little more ahead of time.  something i've noticed that kinda goes along with this subject is the number of people who want to leave b. kinda like in indiana when all the graduates were leaving for better jobs.  lots of people i have talked to say there's no money here and they want to go somewhere else.  lots of the hs graduates go to universities in other, bigger, towns.  whereas i understand wanting a better life for your familywhat i don't hear a lot of is pride in this town.  i sound like my step-dad but everything is relative.  there's never going to be more money here until people are here and build it up but people can't stay b/c of trying to make a better life for their families.  now granted i've been in b for 5 months and in this town for 2 and have the pc behind me, but instead of hearing "it's too small and there's nothing to do and no money" i'd kinda like to hear "the people are super friendly and welcoming and all our friends are there and that's our home!  the more i think about it the more i tell myself that's part of our job and some of the reason we are here, to help the pessimistic attitude.  now a little about b.  the colors of the flag are white, green, and red and the colors go horizontally and in that order.  the white stands for peace, the green for environmental concerns and issues, and the red is for blood.   i do have to say they have the right idea with the environment!  the motivation is here, for the most part, we just need to use that motivation to help our planet!  those are my deep words for this rainy, gloomy day. 

kids

well today i started teaching at the kindergarten, 30 minutes with the 5-6 yr. olds and 30 mins with the 6-7 yr olds.  kids are cute all over the world and these kiddos were no exception!  and the names!  im bad with names anyway but i have to say it's gonna take me forever!  and i butchered them so bad when they introduced themselves!  then about an hour after i left the kindergarten i saw one of the kids in a class i had.  funny, i've probably seen him lots of times but didn't know him.  i'm really impressed by the kindergarten here!  since i've worked with kids all my working life i'm kinda attuned to kids activities.  they nap just like we do although not on cots, they get mini beds!  they have snack, and were waiting for me to finish so i wanted to hurry-milk with rice or basically rice pudding.  they have a dramatic play area where the kids can play, they have a pretty cool car "model" in there where the kids can sit and drive.  they have scissors, crayons/markers, and stuff like that.  they have decorated the rooms with murals on the walls and have fairy tale and other characters up.  just from what i've observed the teachers do a good job!  i'm going to have to do lots more planning for them!  it's about time for dinner so i will quit.  do utre! (until tomorrow)

bathroom talk

ok this is not glamorous but again it's different from the states and so,upon encouragement from mom again, thought i'd share.  over here if you ask to go to the bathroom you might not get a toilet.  there are 2 rooms in most houses, if you're lucky just one, and if you're really lucky it's inside!  there's the bathroom where the mirror, shower, and the sink are.  then there's the toiletna or what we call the toilet.  if you have to use the bathroom, doing the "pee pee" dance, you have to ask for the toiletna.  and lots of times you have to be prepared with toilet paper; that's what they sell the little packs of kleenex for.  some places give you toilet paper when you pay.  yes that's right.  a little aside here...  when i was in MYF at church for part of a fundraiser we made people pay to use the bathroom.  we put up a little box on the doors and collected our "pee fee."  well here there is a "pee fee."  and it's more expensive than ours was, 40-50 stutinkie, or cents.    like other parts of the world, in the Dominican Republic at least, the toilet paper doesn't go in the toiletna.  there's a small waste basket for that.  the toilet paper doesn't go into the toiletna b/c the drainage system can't handle paper too and we don't want to clog the system.  also, and i'll leave this up to your imaginations to finish this thought, there's really no suction either, it's kinda like when you flush the toilet new water drains in and that's really all.  i think that's all you would want me to say on that but if you need me to spell it ot putting th etoilet paper in the toilet out i will.  think about the other number and that's all i'm going to say.  now i'm lucky!  i have a toilet and a sink/mirror/shower in the same room but not everyone is so lucky.  part of the reason, i think, why some bulgarians don't shower everyday is b/c the shower is outside the house along with the toiletna.  nargis, my counterpart, has a bathroom and toiletna outside.  i really gotta say i don't know how they do it!  i don't think i'd shower everyday either!  another kinda unique thing about showering and bathrooms over here is that your shower IS the bathroom which means when i shower in the mornings my whole bathroom gets wet, there's no curtain or divider, but on the other hand i don't have to worry if i make a mess or spill water everywhere!  and my bathroom floor is cement or concrete which is great for drying, as opposed to carpet or a rug, but will be seriously cold when winter gets here!   it's different i gotta say but i got used to not putting the toilet paper in the toilet when in was in the DR so that wasnt so new for me.  what will be hard is, when i get back to the states after 2 yrs or whenever, remembering to put the toilet paper in the toilet and not in the trashcan!   love to all!

school part 2

students start school at the age of 7 and have to continue until the age of 16 but there are many children who drop out before then, especially in the roma communities and other underserved communities.  you'll find it surprising, maybe not, to know that the roma girls, yes-note i said girls, drop out to get married.  the primary schools go from grades 1 to 8.  after that a child can either enroll in a regular high school or apply to a special school.  students graduate from gr 12, if they choose to continue, at age 19.  if after gr 7/8, usually 7 b/c special schools start with gr 8,  you want to apply to a special school(language, math, or science) you have to take a special exam and it is a very competitive process!  the first year at a special school is an intensive english insruction, the # of english classes get smaller as the grade level gets higher , and at graduation they have english proficiency.  upon graduation time there is a test, kinda like the SAT but not really, that covers Bulgarian language and literature, and another subject of the students choice.  also there is a test students have to take after their first year if they're in a special school.  the grading system is unlike in the states, well some places, and uses the number system instead of our letter grades with a "6" being the top grade, excellent, and "2" being a failing grade, poor.  english is intoduced in the 2nd gr with 2 hrs/week and in gr 3 there is 3 hrs/wk.  a second foreign language is introduced in gr. 5.  Bulgaria provides books in grades 1-4 but after that the families have to pay and extra materials for teachers????  what's that???  there just isn't money for that.  and now the part i know teachers will like!  teachers usually only come to school for their classes.  however most of the teachers at my school commute and use the school's transportation so they really can't leave.    did i leave anything out???  these kids will probably know more english grammer than i do when they graduate!!  grammer was never my strong suit growing up, mom got me through, and to tell the truth i had to ask for help from nargis when i had to review some grammer points with a couple classes today!!  well i have to close for now.  i have a meeting with the kindergarten parents in about an hour and have to go get ready.  my blogs may be a little shorter from now on but still let me know if you're curious about anything in the Bulgarian culture!  I plan on introducing smores sometime this wknd to my neighbors!!  i got graham crackers and marshmallows yest from mom and ron and will put them to good use! love to all!  lisa

school

the school system here in B is a little different than in the states and I know would be more liked.  the students here go to school 1/2 day, maybe 12-1 pm, and then go home to study and do homework or other things.  bigger schools have the school day in 2 shifts and the students are split btwn am and pm shifts.  (since i'm at a private school this is a little different.  we also have special extra mandatory classes from 2:20-3:45).  the school day starts at 7:30 and there are 6-7 40-45 min classes per day in high school.  there is a break, or what's called a passing pe riod in the states, btwn classes or about 10 min's and longer after the 2nd or 3rd class.  the school i work at has maybe 6-7 classrooms and everytime i hear the bell i always think of how much i needed that "break" at north central to go from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor, only to do it in reverse order after my class!  i could literally be late for class just going from class to class!  so i have to say it's kinda hard for me to catch on to this break btwn classes when there are only 7 rooms, ok 12 if you count 2 turkish bathrooms, 1 room for handwashing, 1 that's not used, and 1 for the director!  but B, other places too, are all about their "pochevkas!"  since the school system is so different i think i'll split it into 2 blogs and end here for this one.  thank you to L, if you read this, for helping me out with some questions and i'll try to get more info about the "weighty" issue S!  next week i start with my schedule: m/w at the english school, t/r at the kindergarten from 3-4 and with my adult english classes from 5-6, and fri is unscheduled and perhaps the busiest day for me!  i will use this day to plan for the next week and do additional projects.  i'm going to be busy but i'm here to help and if that's what it takes than so be it!  a shout out goes to my mom and stepdad for the package!  love to all!  lisa

weight

most of the people i run into are of average weight.  i haven't quite figured out how they maintain a healthy weight yet b/c exercise doesn't seem to be too popular.  i have figured out that futbal takes a lot out of a person!  that's one thing i learned while away for the past 2 wks; to embrace my age! i'm 39 darn it and  if i get winded during a game of keep away w/ the soccer ball i'm going to pass the torch onto a younger person and go and sit down!  i think one of the privledges that comes with age is being able to blame getting winded on age!  anyway, there's dancing too which is exercise enough!  but i really don't know how they do it!  the portions for meals they serve are so big i know i could get 2 meals out of them and maybe even 3!  just about everyone over here, ok maybe that's not fair, is obsessed with weight though.  every house has a scale and it's not considered rude, like it is in the states, for someone to ask how much you weigh or even to ask you to get on their scale.  one of the times i went "ha ghosti" after i had only been in G. a couple wks. the first thing i had to do when i got in their house was step on the scale.  then when you tell people you can't eat anymore and leave half, i do have to say this isn't true for every cook, they think you don't like it! b/c of how the school works here bfast-dinner is served in the hostel kitchen.  i did manage to tell our cooks, nadje and zolfea-i know i misspelled their names badly but only "cooks" seemed wrong, w/o hurting any feelings, i hope, to always give me a half portion b/c that's all i'll eat.  and even after that i had to explain that yes i did like the food, i really did, i just can't eat any more!  ater i explained all that she asked me if i knew what happens to the leftover food as i watched her dump it in the garbage.  i told her i knew and again she thought i didn't like it.  but today when i went to have lunch, which really was awesome, she made a special point to tell me she only gave me a half portion.  YEA.  it's ironic though, other bulgarian women (my host mother in PST for one) can get away with saying "i can't eat any more b/c i'll gain weight"  or" my stomach will grow", while patting their bellies and it's fine for them, no one questions them of forces them to eat more.  but when i do the very same thing it doesn't work,  i can't get away with it.  if they want to see me gain weight to "prove" how good the food is i don't think they'll have a problem.  one of the other english teachers at the school where i work sometimes came to my house the other day and the first thing she did was get on my scale.  yes, i do have a scale but that's for me and i don't intent on calling anyone out on their weight and certainly not have anyone step on the scale as part of being in my house.  so, shen you come to visit me just be ready to step on the scale and have people look!!  it's a bulgarian thing!  f i forget to blog about it wed is the bulgarian independence day and a holiday, but the students will be here so my principal wants me to do something about this day.  not only will i learn more about B's indep. i will have to brush up on my own knowledge on my home countries indep!  leka nosht

the last 2 wks in pictures

with Semah right after i got done eating
my burger king...with heinz ketchup!

look at these starting at the bottom of the post.

they kinda go in order if you start at the bottom!

APPLE PIE!!!!!  i shared a piece with another volunteer and
was very happy!  katie said you should have seen the smile on my face!

the restaurant had mashed potatoes!  and...

we all went to dinner the last night,
minus a volunteer who had left already,
and really had lots of fun!

more 4 square

we had ice cream one day for the kids that
came to our camp.

then onto the next location in the mountains!

i did do a fairly good job of capturing
the sunset if i do say so myself!

looking to the right from the hotel. 

directly across from our hotel. it was hard being in
the mountains. YEAH RIGHT!

and again!

more volunteers!

with some volunteers that first night
at dinner.

the trip started in pyce.this is me holding my litchna
carta, the document proving i'm a legal Bulgarian resident!

we played lots of 4 square. the kids
really liked it!

i'm back!

ALRIGHT ALL, i'm back from my travels and ready to start work...well sort of.  at our pdm workshop for the corps we learned how to start projects.  like i said before i found myself wanting more hours in the day!  there's so much i want to do and by the time my actual "job" gets done i have very little time left for anything extra.  we shall see!!  then myself and 5 other volunteers put on a camp for roma children in the mountains.   i got to see the mountains again and it was very refreshing!  we played games like 4 square and water bottle bowling, had the kids outline themselves on paper, draw different characteristic of themselves, and then show their picture to the group and describe it.  we also played a lot of basketball, soccer, and some frisbee.  the last day we had ice cream.   anything organized is pretty much a big hit.  i have to say probably the best part of the camp and our time in the mountains was getting to kno my fellow volunteers better.  that and apple pie.  we went to dinner the last night and katie, our experienced volunteer, told us beforehand the restaurant had apple pie but it was important we take it forwhat it was and not compare it to our mom's apple pie.  I WAS ON CLOUD NINE!!! i shared a piece with another volunteer but we both agreed afterwards we both could've had our own pieces!  then, the next am, it was time to return to our homes.  i had looked at the bus schedules, the first part of the journey i traveled with another volunteer, and gotten the times for a town close to me and was all set to catch the bus at 4pm.  when i asked the lady at the bus station where the ticket counter was for where i was going she replied "nama"" which means "there isn't one" or "no bus."  i really surprised myself when i didn't freak out and instead casually asked if there was a bus to another bigger town close to me.  as luck would have it ther was a bus leaving about 20 minutes from then and so i hurried and bought a ticket and started the 5 hr journey close to home.  come to find out that there was no bus from where i was going to home.  Oops!!  everything turned out fine though b/c nargis and her husband came and picked me up.  they even brought me a little dinner!  how nice of them!  i really can't believe i didn't freak out! God must've been with me and helped me to act so calm!!  anyway i'm back and nw gearing up to teach myself how to teach English so i can start my classes.  i know a little more Bulgarian than i did Spanish when i tried to teach English before, not sure if that will help me though!  i'll try to remember to post some pics tom of the last 2 wks.   leka nosht!

the last days

sorry about not blogging the past about week.  i've been traveling with the corps.  now i'm in the mountains and it's really beautiful but since it's kinda overcast the view is kinda obscured.  the past several days we've been talking about projects and how to get them started.  i find myself wishing there were more hours in the day!  there are so many things i want to do, people in my organization want me to do...and then theres my actual "job."   when i get back to site my life is going to be soo different from up until now at site.  chool will have started the previous day, i will be working at the detsa gardina, kindergarten, and will be full into work.  or at least i will be starting to be full into work!  just wanted to let you know i'm doing fine!  i've been kinda busy and my comp has been acting funny so i haven't been blogging.  thanks for the baby update and love to all!

tv

i don't watch very much b/c there are so many other things to do. when i do it's more work than pleasure! i got pretty frustrated with my language, or what i saw as regression, skills a couple wks ago and vented to Nargis. after she set me straight he told me some things i can do to help myself everyday. in addition to going out and exercising my B i can watch tv and listen to the radio in B, which i had not been doing. i was going to give myself a break and when i got the time to watch tv it was going to be in english darn it! but i can't do that; i already speak english with nargis too much as it is! so i made myself a deal. during the week when i'm working, nothing but B. when i watch tv. i had to laugh when i was channel surfing and found "Scooby Doo" in B! now that's pretty funny! i also have found "Criminal Minds" and last night, while searching for the FIBA USA basketball game that i thought was on- of course the days for the games are in turkish so a screwup on my part is highly possible, i found "BONES"! they are on during the week, of course this would be my luck, so i don't know what's going on, i catch words here and there, so i have to rely on the pictures. i allow myself to take a break and watch english tv during the weekends. "Cheers!" is on most days when i'm eating lunch so i watch that and "How imet your mother" is on usually when i'm eating dinner. i just got done with lunch and during lunch saw a commercial for the movie "3 men and a little lady" in B and have seen "Conair" in B, at least i think it was that movie. "Judging Amy" is on here a lot, hallmark-the english channel, and i also get "Crossing Jordan." neither one of those are shows i watched ever in the states but here since they're 2 of the few things i can find in english, on tv at least, i find myself seriously disappointed when i find them on during the week! if i forget or don't have time tom, tom may be my last blog for awhile. i leave on the 7th and won't be back in G till the 15th, the first day of school. i get to see other volunteers which will be exciting, not to mention travel more in B! the school year is starting and i have to say i'm kinda feeling, from myself, to get something started so i'm going to sign off. love!