I've been on a bus before

nothing special

2010-04-02T04:36:00.002+03:00

Nothing special in this post. I'm sitting in class where another movie is playing in the background. I don't mind movies but I can only watch so many. Almost every week we have a movie in class and I only get antsier. I have a difficult time sitting through movies because I feel like there is always something else I should be doing. Movies are enjoyable but they make me feel like I'm wasting time. So here I am in class, semi-watching "V for Vendetta" but also working on other homework. I suppose movies aren't that terrible, they give me time to work on other assignments.

In other news, wedding plans have changed. We were planning for about 2 weeks, reserved a B&B in SLC, got in contact with a caterer, but the stress of planning is too much and I don't want to do it. I want our wedding to fun but the planning aspect takes away from that. Planning stresses me to the point that I cannot sleep at night, but that is normal for me. I'm a worrier. I stress over every little thing.

So after a couple of sleepless nights and worrying we decided, or I proposed and Jeremy agreed, to get married in Vegas. We've found a place we like and they do all the planning. All we have to do is show up! That's what I want. To just show up, marry Jeremy, and have fun.

2 second break

2010-02-26T23:33:00.003+02:00

School is hectic, work is busy, and I don't know how we're going to plan a wedding! We've set a tentative wedding date for August 6th, but that may change in a month or so. We want to get married this summer but we haven't been able to set anything in stone yet because I'm still waiting to find out if I'll be accepted for the summer internship I've applied for. If I get the job I want then it will go until the end of August... which means no time to plan or have a wedding! If that's the case we'll get married next May. But if I don't get the job I want and we end up going to UT so I can work with my old city govt., then we will get married in August.

So we're in limbo for a while. Even though nothing is set we've still started the baby steps of planning our wedding. We mostly do this at lunch time between classes or at midnight before we got to bed... that's the only spare time we both have. Sigh. So far we've figured out that we want our colors to be dark blue and ivory, and our dogs will be our flower girls. That's it. That's the most of our "planning."

I do have an appointment at my sister-in-law's bridal shop so I can start looking at dresses and we also have appointments set up to look at venues in and around SLC. We've talked about a theme and I just don't think we need one. We have colors, that's enough right? Besides, Jeremy wants the theme to be either "cowboys and ninjas" or "pirates from space" and I want "puppies and fluffy bunnies." So I think we'll do without a theme.

Also, we want a small wedding; 50 people tops. But my parents, and mostly my dad in this, want something a little bigger. My dad said he wants a big party to invite all of his friends. Well if that's the case dad, just throw your own party! For now we've compromised: small wedding and reception in SLC and large reception later in Helper with whomever the rents want to invite.

leave the iMachine at home

2010-01-29T23:02:00.002+02:00

Classes as a graduate student are more challenging, more thought provoking, and much more time consuming. This semester I'm taking three classes and each class meets once a week for three hours. I don't mind the once a week part but the three hour part can be difficult at times... mostly for my attention span. I enjoy my classes, I truly do! They're interesting and make me think about the world and politics the way I've never thought before. But I am, and always have been, a doodler. I cannot sit and listen without doing something. In undergraduate classes I could sit and take notes, but these classes aren't really the note-taking kind. They're lecture and discussion. When I don't have a comment to make about the subject I find myself doodling or in this modern age of technology I find myself playing on my iPhone. Usually it's scrabble or paper-toss, and sometimes it's just surfing the web or facebook. My phone is the equivalent of doodling. I do all this "playing" discreetly, usually by keeping my phone in my lap or hidden by a book. And I take breaks. I turn the phone off and sit and look at the professor and attempt to be a part of the discussion... when I can get a word in. But then it's back to doodling and just listening to the discourse around me. I don't this as a problem, I see it as a tool to help me pay attention. But today while sitting with my fellow students and professors one of my classmates mentioned that he saw a post on facebook and realized it was posted while we were in class. I said "yes, and I played scrabble too during that time." And it was right after that statement that I realized the professor, who's class we were in when I was facebooking and playing scrabble, was sitting right next to me. I'm sure that he overheard our conversation but he didn't make any comment. I just quietly gathered my books, said my goodbyes, and then went and buried my head in the snow. I don't think it's a problem that I doodle or play on my phone, but I don't like to advertise to my professors that I do it... while I'm in their classes! I may have to leave the iMachine home while I go to classes, at least for a week or two, so I can show that "yes" I am paying attention and "no" I'm not always playing on my phone. But with the lack of iPhone there's sure to be a resurgence in actual doodling.

turn signals must be illegal

2009-12-21T01:05:00.003+02:00

So we're back in Arkansas for the holiday and I must have missed something. I thought that in driver's ed classes across the states drivers are taught that whenever switching lanes or turning a driver must their turn signal. Apparently not in Arkansas. I've been driving around the Little Rock area for a week now and NO ONE uses their turn signals. I guess it's illegal here? I don't know what the deal is but it drives me crazy! This is not my first visit but this is the first time that I'm really noticing how horrible drivers are here. I'm starting to understand why Jeremy is such a horrible driver... because he learned to drive here and normal road rules and driving procedures don't apply. I've got to go into the city tomorrow and I dread the free-way and the non-turn signal using people who rule the roads.

a.l.m.o.s.t....there

2009-12-11T06:58:00.002+02:00

Whew. Almost there. One last 10 page paper to write and this semester is over. All of my finals are finished, this is just my book review (I gave the presentation on this 3 weeks ago). I've been staring at a blank screen for almost an hour and nothing is coming to me. I think the best option right now is to just go to bed and sleep on it. I'll come back to it tomorrow afternoon. Hey, it's not due until tomorrow night at 9, I've still got time. It'll be nice to have almost a month break, and we'll be in Arkansas for two of those weeks. Still haven't figured out what we'll do with the dogs. Jeremy's mom is not a fan of dogs and won't let them past the laundry room. That will be tough since both of them sleep right near our bed every night and get pretty anxious if they can't be near us. We'll have to figure something out or nobody will get any sleep. My poor girls.

family research

2009-12-07T02:31:00.002+02:00

I've always been interested in my family's history, especially on my dad's side. I love hearing stories about the old Italians in Helper and learning where my family came from. Eight years ago I traveled to Italy and met some of my grandpa's cousins that still live in the house where my great-grandpa was born and raised. It was amazing to meet relatives (even 3rd and 4th cousins) still living in the same area. When I met and spoke with them about our families and shared stories I discovered that we have some of the same photographs! Pictures that my great-grandparents had sent to them and pictures they had sent to America. Recently we found an obituary of my great-great-grandpa. When I went to Italy I met with my Giacoletto relatives but could not find records of my Carrera and Pessetto relatives. We had no idea where they came from in Italy. But now, it turns out, they came from a small village called Pratiglione, in the same region and no more than 20 miles where the Giacolettos came from! Now I'm on a new search... to find my great-great-grandpa's birth place and any living relatives that may exist.

two more weeks

2009-11-20T05:49:00.003+02:00

Hallelujah! Two more weeks and this semester is O.V.E.R. 15-page book review to write and two final papers and I'm done. This semester has been grueling and I'll be so happy to have a break. Jeremy will have his surgery a week before Christmas (having the hardware removed in his right knee) so it's back to Arkansas for a week or two. My fellow grad-student Josh may come along with us for the ride to Arkansas since he's from near Fayetteville. And we may have the dogs too. So it will be a car load on an 18 hour drive! My only wish is that Arkansas gets a little bit of snow for Christmas, even a skiff will do. But before all that comes Thanksgiving and we're going home to see my family. Whoot Whoot!

me and the girls

2009-11-19T02:08:00.000+02:00

my life sucks

2009-11-01T03:42:00.003+02:00

I just spent three hours in the library typing a 6 page paper, one that I've been working on since Tuesday, and it's gone!!!! MOTHER F! I talked to the IT guy in the library and he said that my program must have been corrupt because it didn't save one freakin' word to my desktop. I'm so angry I could scream! I wanted to get this paper done today because tomorrow I have a 5 page paper to write and also a 2 page memo. Somebody hates me, or hated my paper. My life sucks. The End.

more surgery?!

2009-10-16T07:11:00.002+03:00

OMG! Jeremy went to the doctor today for his final check-up before he flies home tomorrow and the news was not good. His knees have been hurting him, and that's to be expected after he shattered both of them! But they're really been hurting so the doctor did a CT scan today and it looks like the right knee may need more surgery. :( The plates that are just under the right knee are up too high and keep hitting the knee joint whenever he walks. So they may have to remove those plates. I don't know if they means remove them completely or just move and re-attach. He'll find out in 2 weeks if he'll need surgery for sure. Oh man, I so don't want him to have another surgery!!! He went through 6 surgeries in May and another one in August. Please, no more!! If it turns out he does need surgery then we'd be flying back to Little Rock the first of December, since that's where the doctor is that he's been seeing since July. He'd have surgery, recoup for a week or so and then fly back here. Or we could drive... but since it's an 18 hour drive from here I think flying would be the best option. Ugh. I'm hoping for no surgery! He's been through enough for one year!

papers, coffee, and my baby back

2009-10-13T18:46:00.003+03:00

It's true that there is no motivation like a deadline! Yesterday I had a four page paper due... one that I had two weeks to write. But of course I didn't write it until an hour before class started. Today, two three-page papers due. Are they done yet? Hahaha... NO! I have until this afternoon, so I'll get them done. Thusday, a 10 page paper, that one I plan on working on tomorrow. I'll at least get it done a day before class. Most of these assignments I've had one to two weeks to work on them. But that doesn't mean much because I still have to work my part-time job in the mornings 20 hrs a week. I'm still a teaching assistant and put in 10 to 20 hours a week, and I still have uber amounts of reading along with the papers. So sure, I get a week to write these papers but I don't actually have a weeks worth of time. I load up on coffee as much as I can and I do as much as I can each day and night before I crash... but there still isn't enough time. I don't think there ever will be. Oh yeah, and there's the take-home mid-term that I got last night that's due next Monday. I will get that written on Sunday.

Jeremy finally comes home on Friday!!! YAY!!!! We've been apart since the first of August and it will be so nice to have him back... mostly to cook me dinner. ;) It's been difficult being apart from him and living alone again. I've had the puppies, Bella and Sky, but it's not the same. I have friends at work and school, but I spend most of my time when not working or in class sitting home reading and when necessary writing. Jeremy and I talk every day on the phone no less than 3 times a day, but it's not the same. I can't wait for him to get back. I enjoy the little moments of cooking together, cuddling, and going to the coffee shop to study. I want my baby back... just three more days!

2010 - the year for weddings!

2009-10-08T06:49:00.003+03:00

It seems as though a number of my fellow pcv's are getting married next summer. Gina's getting married in July, and Kathy will be marring the Brewer in October, Nikola is engaged but not sure if she has a date yet, and I know miss Melody wants to get married next summer (that's a hint for Nick to propose), and Jeremy and I "might" be getting married next summer? Lots of weddings going on for sure! Jeremy and I haven't chosen a date yet. I'd like to get married next summer but there may not be time, I'll be doing an internship.. somewhere.. for my master's program and that probably won't leave much time for planning a wedding and the honeymoon! The big day may have to wait until the next summer, after we both graduate. Or we can do what Jeremy suggests and just go to Vegas! Booo. No, I'd rather wait than get married at a cheesy chapel in Vegas. On top of choosing the date we can't even decide where the wedding will be! I'd love to have it in my home-town but Jeremy's grandpa can't do that high of an elevation. So then there's the possibility of Denver, which pawpa should be able to do. Or we even talked about meeting in the middle for both sides of our families and having it in Kansas. Yuck. That's worse than Vegas! Unless of course it was in the middle of a sunflower field, now that I could go for. Wedding planning stuff is stressful... and we're not even in the thick of it!

motivation.... can I get some?

2009-09-14T17:04:00.002+03:00

Grad school... yay? No, not really. Ridiculous amounts of reading and papers to write? For sure! Trying to keep on top of homework is a feat, one that requires an enormous amount of self-motivation. College professors don't care if you do your work or even come to class. They're not there to motivate you, to urge you on, you do that yourself. I haven't fallen behind on studies, nor am I ahead, I'm doing great to get things done just before class starts. And it's not that I wait until the last minute. I start days ahead of time but because each class requires 200 page readings plus a paper every week it's not an easy task staying on top of things. I know graduate school isn't supposed to be easy, but I didn't realize it would be this time consuming.

strapped for cash.... don't sign up for google ATM

2009-08-29T01:07:00.003+03:00

I'm in grad school now. And I'm trying to make ends meet with a part-time morning grocery store job and my Graduate Assistantship stipend... so far it's not really working. I can't take on more hours at the part-time job because that will only leave less time for my school work. And I'm going to school to get my Master's degree ... to pass my classes, not to fail them by spending so much time at a dead-end job that I'm trying to get out of! I've seen ads for Google's work at home. A friend of mine even wrote about it on her blog. So I though "if so-and-so said that she's making money from it then I may as well try it." I googled :) "Google work at home" and was taken to site about working from home and how simple it is and just put in your name, phone number and address, and see if I qualify. So I did. And just as I pushed enter I saw the fine print at the bottom that this site was in no way affiliated with google. Great. Then next page asked how would I like to pay for the start up cost of 1.99? That's when I closed all windows and said "I'm a dumb ass." This was Wednesday night. Then bright and early Thursday morning I get a phone call from a women barely speaking any English calling about Google ATM that I'd signed up for and is all my information correct and how would I like to pay. And I said I'm not interested anymore but thank you. Two hours later... another phone call. And then another call two hours after that. All these calls coming in while I'm at work and then while I'm in class. Once I got out of class and saw that this place had just called again, an 800 number, I called them back and spoke to another woman. I asked please take my name off the calling list I'm REALLY NOT interested. She said "yes ma'am I'll do that right now." But she, of course, did not do that because it's 4:00 the next day and already this place has tried calling four times. I answered once and said again "take my name off of your calling list" and today's person, a man barely speaking English, was very rude and also didn't take my name off the list because calls are still coming in.

This is so aggravating. I've seen online where other people have also fallen for the get money quick scheme and some of those you've even entered their credit card information and are being charged up to $70.00, even after calling and trying to cancel. What is this place? And how do they get away with it? And why in the Hell won't they just please remove me from their system???

religious

2009-07-23T05:05:00.003+03:00

Jeremy and I were having an interesting conversation today about who is more religious: Mormons or Southern Baptists. Both are religious but in different ways. I've noticed being here in the Bible belt that people are much more vocal about their religious views. I went to the beauty parlor and a woman in the chair spoke for a good 20 minutes about God and how we need to follow God and Jesus and she'd pray for all of us. Whenever I meet Jeremy's family or friends and sometimes strangers somewhere in almost all of these conversations God, Jesus, and praying is mentioned. That makes me think that Southern Baptists are more religious, but Jeremy says not so. He said people here just go to church on Sunday and that's the extent of their religion... but they sure talk about it a lot... and pray a lot. Growing up in Utah, where 60% of the population is Mormon, I know that Mormons are religious too... but in a different way. Of course there are a lot of Mormons, like Southern Baptists, who just do the Sunday thing. But I think that there are a lot more who make their religion a way of life. I can recall only one or two times in life being somewhere in Utah where people talked in public about following God or Jesus. Mormons are religious in that religion is how they live their lives... mostly very conservatively (the way they dress, what they drink or don't drink). Mormons just aren't as vocal as Southern Baptists. So Mormons live their religion where Southern Baptists speak their religion. They're religious in different ways.

I'm drowning

2009-07-11T21:38:00.005+03:00

Jeremy and I came to Arkansas about two weeks ago and I'm certain that I can not live in a place with humidity! I've visited the Little Rock area before, I loved coming here for Thanksgiving because the weather was perfect. The summers though...horrible. I cannot even stand to go outside during the day. I tried to go for a walk to the other evening, at about 8:00, but could walk for about 20 minutes. It wasn't because I was tired or out of breath, it was because I couldn't breathe through all the humidity. I really felt like I was trying to breathe under water. I was drowning. I don't know how people live in places with any more than 10% humidity.

Life can change in a heart beat

2009-06-22T01:21:00.003+03:00

A month ago, on Memorial Day, Jeremy and I were visiting my parents in Utah and Jeremy had a paramotoring accident. While I was helping out at the grocery store Jeremy went to the family farm to try out his motor for paragliding. He launched inside of a canyon with calm winds but as he climbed higher he came in contact with some crazy winds coming off of the plateaus. Those winds caused his wing to collapse. He recovered from that collapse but took a few more. The last collapse he didn't recover from and fell close to 100 feet to the ground. I wasn't there with him but luckily a neighbor kid saw it happen. The kid got his dad and together they ran to Jeremy who was laying face down on a dirt road. The dad called 911 with Jeremy's phone and then called me. He was rushed to the hospital in Price where it was immediately apparent that his injuries were far too complicated for a small-town hospital. So Jeremy was flown in a life flight helicopter to Provo, UT. The first week was the most intense and most stressful for everyone. My boy had to have surgery on his left ankle that was completely dislocated, surgery on both knees that were shattered, surgery to repair his pelvis that was split in two, and surgery on the L4 vertebrae in his lower back that was ruptured. He spent 2 weeks in the ICU unit and then another week in the IMC unit. A week ago he was transferred to the University of Utah in-patient therapy unit where he's been learning to transfer in and out of a wheelchair and learning to be as independent as possible. He'll need to be in a wheelchair for 3 to 4 months while his legs, pelvis, and back are healing. His in-patient therapy won't last much longer. He's just about ready to go home and rest, but still continue with daily leg exercises.

He's decided that Arkansas is where he wants to be while recovering and for the second part of rehab (learning to walk again). We're trying to find a flight from UT to AR but it's not quite that easy. He cannot put any weight on his legs at all for at least 2 more months. All airplanes that I've seen aren't wide enough for a person to be wheeled on in a wheelchair and I don't know about carrying him in. We've looked at medical flights but those are anywhere from 15 to 30 thousand dollars that we just don't have. We're looking into Angel Flight and Grace Flight too, but both of those insist that passengers be ambulatory, or able to walk onto the plane. A road trip isn't really an option either because it will take 3 days to drive there. Jeremy can only sit up for at most 3 hours at a time so being in a car won't work. There's the possibility of renting an RV, but again the long drive there. It hasn't been easy figuring out all of these details. And there are so many that I haven't even dared to think about.

I've spent everyday but one in the last month in the hospital rooms with Jeremy. A lot of people ask me how I'm doing and really I'm doing okay. I feel tired and sluggish a lot because I haven't been taking any time to exercise or go for walks because I want to be with Jeremy all day. I like going to his physical therapy sessions because I learn a lot of information and ways that I'll be able to help Jeremy out once we go home. He'll need continuous exercise in his legs and that I can help with. Jeremy has had to tell me a couple of times in the last couple of days to back off just a little bit. That makes me laugh a bit because maybe I've turned into a bit of a mother hen trying to help with everything and take care of him. I love that he's starting to do more things on his own but at the same time it makes me feel a bit useless. We talked today and came to the agreement that I wouldn't help unless he asked me to. He's at rehab to learn to be as independent as possible so I need to let him do that. He can get in and out of a wheelchair on his own now so I just make sure to hold the wheelchair steady (in case the breaks slip...gives me something to do :)). It's hard being a caregiver and learning to back off when your care giving isn't need as much.

However we get Jeremy to Arkansas (he's going there to stay with his mom and be with all of his family) I will be going with him and staying at least until mid-August. I really want to stay longer and be there with him when he stars out-patient rehab in the fall but I have school to think about. I passed up grad-school last year in Illinois so I could move to Laramie with Jeremy, but I can't afford to pass it up again. So for now the plan is to stay in Arkansas until August and then head back to Wyoming to start school. When this accident happened we were in the process of moving into a studio. Now when I return to Laramie I'll be in the studio by myself. My parents are going to go there with me in August to help me arrange things in the place. All of our stuff is just strewn about and we don't even have a bedroom yet! So we're going to build a partition and set up my bed and hopefully get a fridge and cupboards too! This accident really put a monkey-wrench in things, but there's nothing to do but go on and do the best I can.

This post seems to be everywhere at once, my apologies.

Going back to school.....finally!

2009-03-17T05:44:00.002+02:00

A year ago I was accepted to the University of Illinois and was all set to move to Normal, IL, but then I met Jeremy, the love of my life, and decided that school could wait a little bit. So I moved to the windy state of Wyoming and have been enjoying life with my boy. But I haven't forgotten about school, it's still my goal to get my masters degree. And I should be earning that degree in about 2 years from now! I'll be starting school at the University of Wyoming in the Masters of Public Administration program. I applied to a couple of other programs, American Studies at UW and the MPA program in Oregon, but this one is the one I'm taking. With this I hope to learn more about local and national government and also gain the knowledge to some day be a great mayor for Helper, UT.

twittering

2009-01-17T23:00:00.002+02:00

I've been going to basketball games lately with Jeremy. He's the photographer and shoots the game. I photographed a couple of games with him. It was okay. I'm not much of a sports photographer so my shots really weren't that great, but it was still fun. But the last few games I've been sitting on the side-lines twittering the games for the school's online newspaper. Now this I enjoy. I like this more because I'm actually watching the game rather than my just looking through my camera at the players. I like this job, though I must say I'm really NOT qualified for it! I like basketball, understand the rules, and object of the game but what I don't know is the terminology. So my twitter posts look kinda like this "girls gets ball and scores" "player gets a foul." So that's no too bad. But I'm always confused when it comes to fouls. How do I write that exactly? Team A fouls team B? Team B gets fouled by Team? Team A fouls team B and player from team B goes to foul line? This makes sense in my head but I'm pretty certain that I'm not correctly conveying what's happening in the game. I need to find a hand book on sports reporting, or maybe just ask a real sports fan to describe the goings on of a game for me.

New Shoes

2008-04-25T07:40:00.002+03:00

I've got some new shoes! Thought I'd post a song to go with this event. :)

getting closer...

2008-04-04T07:06:00.003+03:00

Okay, looks like I'm getting closer to moving. I'm pretty sure that I've got an apartment and roommate now in Illinois. Still gotta work out the lease stuff, but I'll be on my way in a couple of months. I've still got some prerequisites to work out before I start my program and I'll most likely end up taking a class here this summer before moving in July and taking more classes there. I'm not sure how I feel about moving again. Of course I'm excited but I'm anxious too. I dunno, just nervous about moving again and resettling somewhere else. Typical jitters I guess. :-/ But here is the cool thing, the assistant director of my grad-school program is a former Peace Corps volunteer from Bulgaria! She's told me about some places near by the school where I'll be able to get some cirine and even kiselo milako!

I got in!

2008-03-19T03:39:00.001+02:00

Rock! I've been accepted to the Peace Corps Fellows program at Illinois State University! I'm so excited...to be going back to school, to be getting one step closer to what I want to do for a living, to be moving to IL. Yay!

Chistita Baba Marta...in America!

2008-03-02T06:17:00.002+02:00

It's that time again. Time for my favorite Bulgarian holiday! The first of March...or Baba Marta! It's not quite the same in America because well...I don't know any Bulgarians here and there's nobody who even knows about the holiday. It's definitely not like the past two March 1st where I got a million and one martenitsti! I at least got one martenitsta from my mom and I gave her one in return. I also got sung the "Bulgarska Rosa" song by Melody. That is what truly made my day! :)

And because today was a holiday, and my day off, Melissa, Logan, Nathan, and I took a day trip to Moab! We drove a couple hours South to check out the city and just make a day of it. We ate lunch at a local dive....hamburgers, hot-dogs, and HUGE milk shakes, then we went to a local park filled with musical instruments and played around. Then we did some window shopping and even some real shopping at a Rock Shop where we saw lots of dinosaur fossils (who knows how real they are =p) and finally we climbed a mountain of sand that we thoroughly enjoyed sliding down! :) What a lovely day.

Eeeeeeeeeeee!

2008-02-28T00:10:00.002+02:00

I just a got a phone call from the assistant director of the grad school program I'm applying for in Illinois!!!! I have a phone interview tomorrow with the school. Crap! I'm so nervous! I've had interviews before...but I don't ever remember being this nervous! I'm afraid that I'll just freeze up or sound like a complete dumby. :( I guess there is one upside to this being a phone interview though, the people on the other end won't be able to tell if I pee my pants from nervousness. :D

Whoa!...seriously

2008-02-22T06:41:00.002+02:00

I'd almost forgotten about this little blog of mine! You know how things go...you leave the peace corps, you travel, you get home, start a new life and pretty much forget about all the old things you did. Let's see now, what has happened since I last posted... SO MUCH!!! I've been back about 7 months now and it would probably take pages upon pages upon pages to write about what's happened, so I'll just give the highlights of my life so far back in America for anyone who cares. :)

Okay, so I got home on July 18th. At the end of July I got hired on to be a 2nd grade teacher in a low income school about 40 miles from my hometown. I lasted as a teacher for a whole month and a half!!!! Teaching in America, especially as a full-time and first year teacher is no easy task! But even though it was difficult and I was working 14 hour days...I enjoyed it. I had some of the cutest kids ever. I ended up leaving because of difficulties with my principal. Just one of those long sad stories where in the end it was best for me to leave. Two days after ending my teaching career I took off on a three week road trip. Awesome! I was able to meet up with some of my bestest friends that I had made during the Peace Corps. And I saw some of the highlights in North America: Omaha, Nebraska :-), Detroit, Michigan, The CN Tower in Toronto, Pittsburgh, PA, Gettysburg, Washington DC and the highlights there, Nags Head Beach, North Carolina (where I went horseback riding on the beach!), the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, Little Rock, AR, the dust bowl of Oklahoma, and deserts of New Mexico! An amazing trip to be sure!

Ah, and after the road trip....I decided to work for my parents until I figured out what came next. I'm still working for them, at the family grocery store and for the most part I'm enjoying it. I've been given free reign to make changes and improvements and that has given me a sense of responsibility and makes me feel needed for a change. I guess the highlight has been re-vamping our produce department! I know, boring stuff to most of you out there, but for me and our little small-town market it's big stuff! :-) There's been other things to happen in the last few months but I don't need to write the sob story on them. I'll just summarize by saying my dad was injured, out of commission for almost 4 months, and now is almost back to normal! Also in the mix was a couple of brief, but emotionally draining, relationships. Lessons learned. The latest news is that I'm applying for grad school. I'm looking at a few Peace Corps Fellows programs in the states and my applications are on the way out the door. Here's hoping for my first choice...Illinois!!! It's a bit farther than home than I'd like, but hey...it's a lot closer than Bulgaria!

And that my friends is the news as of today! Happy February to you all and here's hoping that Spring is soon on it's way!

2007-07-08T17:22:00.001+03:00

Train car entrance at Auschwitz-Berkenau

New Jewish cemetery near Jewish quarter - Krakow

Me in "Hero's Square" - Budapest

trying to open the secret door - Budapest

The Fishermen's Bastion - Budapest

a new me

2007-07-07T18:11:00.000+03:00

*ahem* This is Stephanie, the no-longer-a-Peace-Corps-Volunteer but instead a back-packer-through-Europe, just updating this lil ole blog of mine. Yep, I left Bulgaria 5 days ago and am now off on my great adventure! Okay, it's not huge as I'm only traveling for 2 1/2 weeks..but it's still pretty big to me. Instead of heading straight back to the states I decided to take a little detour by way of Hungary, Poland, Ireland, and even North Carolina. But no worries, I'll make it home eventually.

I have to say that it was weird leaving Bulgaria last Monday. I was sitting at the airport thinking "wow, this could be the last time that I'm in BG." Odd to leave a place that I started to consider my second home. It's going to take a while to get used to being gone. I've still got a lot of Bulgarian in me, but it's only been 5 days so I think I'm allowed to still have pieces of Bulgaria...like still nodding and shaking my head in the wrong direction and Bulgarian words popping out of my mouth. I'm sure that stuff will disappear once I'm back in the states and with my family again.

So, already in my travels I've been to Budapest, Hungary, and currently in Krakow, Poland. Budapest was pretty - a big and bustling city with tons to see! But where Budapest was extravagant Krakow is quaint...and I love that! This city is absolutely adorable. So cute. I did go to Auschwitz today and that was not cute. It was heart-wrenching. The compounds - 3 camps: Auschwitz I, II, and II, were unbelievable in size. I don't even know how to put into writing what I felt in being there...in seeing the piles of children's clothes and shoes, the room filled with combs and hair-brushes, the underground cells, the horse-stalls turned barracks for all of the prisoners, the photos of all prisoners who entered the camps between 1940 and 1943, and the unloading docks where all people who were shipped in by cattle cars were forced to leave all of their belongings before being sent to either a work camp or gas chamber. There just aren't words to describe the gut wrenching saddness of being in a place where 1.5 million people were murdered.

Mush

2007-06-09T10:47:00.000+03:00

Yes, it has been forever since I've updated this. It seems as time goes by and I get closer to leaving my desire to write is less...almost non-existent. I will only be a Peace Corps Volunteer for 11 more days, but after that I will forever be a RPCV (returned Peace Corps Volunteer). RPCV for life!!! I'm in the winding down process now. Packing my bags, cleaning my apartment, saying "good-bye".....all in all just preparing to leave. It's funny though, I don't feel like I'm leaving. It doesn't seem real that I'll be going "home" and that I most likely won't see this place again. Basically I'm in denial that this going-away process is even happening. Which is exactly how I was when Mickie left last week. I spent her last two days with her in Sofia, checking out the tourist sites that we'd never gotten around to see and just hanging out. I KNEW that she would be leaving but it didn't sink in...not until I watched her go through the security point at the airport and disappear behind security screening. Then it hit! Mickie was gone! Soon Melody and Kathy will be gone! Then E! Then me! I know of course that I will always be friends with these people and will make a point to see them once we're all back in the states. But it won't ever ever be the same. We will all be living states apart....maybe even countries apart. There will be no taking an 8 hour train ride to go visit for the weekend, no meeting up in Sofia or another middle city just for the day. Seeing each other in the states, where will all have jobs, school, families, and lives to tie us down will make meeting up so much more difficult. Added to that is the fact that it won't take a 5 hour bus ride to visit, but more like a 5 hour plane ride! And then there are my Bulgarian friends! Most of them I'm almost certain I may never see again. There are a couple whom I just might see...especially if I succeed in bringing my dance group back to the states next year. But for most of them this is it. This will be my last time to go to coffee with the teachers at school. The last time to sit and talk for an hour with Tstetska at the copy-center. Of course there are my kids too!!! :( As much as a pain in the butt they were at times I'm really going to miss my students. They are the reason I was here. I'm going to miss their crazy antics and inappropriate questions like, "Miss Steph, do you have a lover?" I'll miss playing games with them. Miss watching when that light bulb switched on and they got what I was saying.

I never felt this way when I left home. I never thought "this will probably be the last time that I ever see these people" because I knew that it wasn't. I knew coming here was only 27 months of my life and that I'd see my family and friends again. There have been a few elderly people that have passed away since I've been here; I'm sad for that. Sad that I didn't get to say good-bye or attend their funerals. But for the most part I knew my being gone was temporary and I wasn't too broken up. But here, this time, it's really hard. Even if was only 2 years, it was a lifetime. This has became my "home." I'm used to being here and at times cannot even imagine anything different. I don't even want to say "good-bye" to folks here because by saying good-bye it means that's it. Na krai. The End. I'd rather sneak away quietly and not say those two words. By not saying them that means that it's not really happening. In my mind it means that I'm not really leaving for good. I know that it would be lying to myself and I'd wouldn't really have closure on my life here...not the healthiest thing. But the thought of "good-bye" hurts. Again, when I left home two years ago it was not like this. I had a big "going away" party with 90 people there to send me on my way. But it wasn't "good-bye," it was "be safe, have fun, do good work, stay outta trouble, and see you in two years." Here, not so. I want no send off, no going away gathering, no nothing. Because this time it's permanent.

2 years is a lifetime

2007-04-24T16:34:00.000+03:00

Two years? What? Already? Seriously? Yeah, that's what I was thinking earlier when I looked at my calender and realized that I've been in Bulgaria for two years now. Where does the time go? Well, a few places that time is spent is in school, on long bus or train rides, and the rest of the time at a cafe or in my apartment. It's weird to think back to when I first arrived here. I can barely remember my first impressions. I look back now at my journal entries from two years ago and laugh at how so many things were so strange to me and how I just couldn't understand. Now, I can't imagine things being anyway but how they are. What was so weird is now commonplace. It's nothing but normal for it to take 3 hours to drive 60 miles. I don't know what I'd do if I went to restaurant and ordered a coke and it came to me with ice in the cup. Ice? What's that? How can pizza be pizza without corn, pickles, eggs, and ketchup? And it's not even possible to spend less than 3 hours at a dinner party. And nobody can eat a salad in under 45 minutes. Nobody. I don't know what I'll do when I get home in a few months and I can't just hop on a train to visit a friend for less than 24 hours before taking that train right back to my place. And what's to become of me if I can't get caught in the daily goat crossing?

Sure, it may seem that I'm being facetious...and maybe I am. But then I'm not. These things that for so long irritated me and were the cause of many a head-ache, like having to force myself to make one cup of coffee last 2 hours, have become part of my every day life. I really will miss seeing the goat crossing. I will miss being able to sit at a cafe for hours without having to worry about being kicked out. I will miss the long bus/train rides through the country. I'll miss this relaxed way of doing things. But then again, I sooooo look forward to the rush of American life. And to the "can do" attitude. I yearn for the moment when I say "lets organize.....for....." and the people I talk to say "okay. let's do it," rather than the sceptic and often pessimistic responses that I meet here.

Again, I think back to my first few days in country and barely recognise that girl. These two years have changed who I am. I can't say "jaded", but rather less naive and not as optimistic as I used to be. No, the Peace Corps has not made me pessimistic. But being in another part of the world. Being in a culture that often gives up too easy and thinks the world is against them has hardened be a bit to the world. I see and recognise the changes in me. Some changes I like, others I don't. I know that we all grow and change as people, but there are times that I miss the younger more naive girl that came here two years ago.

Has this job been hard? Absolutely. Do I regret doing it? Never. Will I miss Bulgaria? Yes and No. Is the Peace Corps "the toughest job I'll ever love?" Probably.

Just two more months to go now. And because I forgot to update sooner let me say that the Ethnos Folklore Dance Ensemble (my dancers) and I had a wonderful trip to Utah! The performances were fantastic and everything went off without almost no hitches at all. The kids had a great time, and for me that's all that counts. It was worth all the head-ache of preparation just to take them to America and see their reactions and give them a little piece of America.

so exhausted

2007-03-15T03:12:00.000+02:00

I've been so exhausted lately from all this running around and trying to get things together. Run here to meet with the dancers. Run here to meet with the mayor. Run to get this...and run to get that. And then once I get home I have a box full of emails asking me out the dance performances and then I send out 20 emails with questions of my own to make sure that everything is set up. I'm so tired that I can't even sleep! As evidenced by the fact that I just woke up at 3:00 this morning! Woke up with more stuff to add to my "things to do" list before the dancers and I head out. Oh....still so much to be done and no time to do it.

The wrongness of it all

2007-03-10T19:46:00.000+02:00

Sometimes I'm still surprised by the little cultural differences that I find here. There still seem to be events that happen that make me say "WHAT?" Things that just seem so innately wrong to me. For example: Yesterday I made a batch of cup cake to take to a party last night that my dance group was throwing. I made the cup cakes from scratch (top that Betty Crocker from a box!) and used my precious cup cake liners that I'd been hoarding for months. When I got to the dance studio last night I gave the cup cakes to Annie, one of the dance teachers, and she said that she'd put them out on the tables. Well, a little later in the night as Mickie and I were seated at a long table filled with all sorts of Bulgarian treats we saw girls carrying trays piled high with little brown squares. As the girls started placing the trays on the table and I could see the cake like consistency of the little chunks I realized that those were my cup cakes! My precious cup cakes had been removed from their precious wrappers and cut into little one inch squares. Ahhh...that's not how you eat cup cakes! Oh, the wrongness of it all. This was a case where I should have demonstrated first how it is that a person eats a cup cake since I'm certain that most of the people at the party last night had never before seen such a wondrous treat.

International Women's Day!

2007-03-08T17:44:00.001+02:00

Awww, today is one of my favorite holidays here in Bulgaria. Yes, it is an international holiday but here it is actually celebrated (it's kind of like Mother's Day in the states). This may be the one day where women here get some what of a break. Perhaps moms and grandmas won't have to cook today or sweep the walk or feed all the animals. Today is their day to take a break. And the day where they get tons of flowers! I think that's what I like most about this holiday...that I get flowers from my students and colleagues. I've saved every flower given to me in the last 2 years - all the flowers from when I first arrived in Bulgaria, from the first day of school, and from Women's Day. I don't know what I'll do with all of the flowers when it comes time for me to head back to the states. But for now it's just nice having them...even if 80% of them are dried up and covered in dust. :-)

Can you say frustrated?

2007-02-28T14:08:00.000+02:00

The closer this project gets to it's actual realization; the closer we get to going to Utah, the more frustrating and stressful things get. I'm sure my blood pressure is going through the roof today and there are no possibilities of it coming down until after the dancers and I return from Utah. Today the dance teachers, my principal, Nelly and I all met with a man who works for the mayor at city hall. This man came to school to meet with all of us and to tell us some "important" things about traveling to the U.S. Like: the size and weight of luggage, what can and cannot be taken into the states, the process of flying and going through airports, and some cultural differences between Americans and Bulgarians. My principal, dance teachers, and Nelly all asked these questions to the city hall guy and paid rapt attention to everything he said. Sure...that's fine that the guy was telling all of these things...but I've told the Bulgarians the exact same things a dozen times already!!! I've thoroughly gone over every detail about traveling, passports, visas, going through customs, size and weight of baggage, how long traveling will be, what to expect at the airport, the process of changing planes, effects of jet-lag, as well as key cultural differences between Americans and Bulgarians. I don't know why they had to bring this other guy in to say the exact same thing! This seems to happen quite often. It's like they don't trust or believe anything that I tell them. They have to hear it from a Bulgarian who has traveled ONCE to America, where as I have traveled internationally half a dozen times and know the ins and outs of the major international airports. I know about traveling, about customs forms, about what can and cannot be taken over borders, and I know about American culture...I'm and AMERICAN! Grrrrrrr. I hate that they make me feel like they don't believe me. I know that this is a major event for all of them. None of the group has ever been to America, and none of them has ever traveled by plane before. So I can understand that they're nervous and want to know as much as they can about traveling. But why must they bring in another man to talk for an hour about the same things I've already told them and then act like they had never heard it before? Oy! This traveling is going to be a pain. I'll have to hold the hands of 19 nervous first time flyers. I can't wait to get to Utah. I just want to get there and see my family and sleep in my own bed...and then have the performances and show the group around my home-town area.

I've said a few times or more that I want to become mayor of my home-town sometime later in my life. But I'm not sure that I can do it. I have no diplomatic skills. You'd think after growing up working with the public I would have some pretty good people skills and now how to to put on the "happy" face. You know..."the customer is always right"? But I don't think I can do that. I was continually scolded by my poppie who'd tell me that you can't show irritation or anger when working with the public. You gotta let them think that they're right. Gotta keep things smooth, Well...sorry pop. I still haven't learned to do that. I've learned to control my irritation and anger a little bit, but not enough to hide it...not enough to be a public figure. Perhaps I will be able to work behind the scenes for my town, but I don't know that I'm cut out to be the figure head...because I've yet to learn not to rip faces off when people are being dumb and irritating me.

Going to America....in a month!

2007-02-19T08:35:00.000+02:00

I went roaming about the city on Saturday morning. I thought it was the perfect time to get out and take some pictures of the city. Because, well, my time here is coming to a close (in 4 months!) and I still didn't have any pictures of the "hot-spots" in my city. So I strolled about and got pictures of all of the monuments in town (remnants of the Communist past), of the churches, and of the Roman ruins that are strewn about the city. To view pictures go to: http://www.snapshotmemories.blogspot.com or click on the "my photos" link on the side bar.

And it's just dawned on me this morning that I will be home...as in good ole Utah home...in a month with my dancers!!! Where does the time go? Actually, I guess we'll be leaving in less than a months time! Dance rehearsals are well under way and the performance is coming together really well...except for maybe my part because I'm the world's worst dancer! But hey, I've still got about a month to perfect my 4 minute part of the performance! And I think that things are about all set on the home front. My momma and poppie have been working really hard to get things set up locally, so I'm sure all will turn out well.

It's strange to think that I'll be going home again. But I'm well aware that this trip home is in no way about me. This won't be a vacation. This will be a business trip...but one that will allow me to sleep in my own comfy bed again and will let me eat American food. :-) This trip is about my Bulgarian students, colleagues, and friends. I'm so excited for them to go to America and experience a different culture...my culture. While we're in Utah I'm going to make sure that my group gets a chance to eat lots of American food, go to a mall, and go hiking in at least one of Utah's five national parks. There is just so much that I want them to see and do! Why didn't I make this a 2 week trip instead of only 1?

Oh, and it seems that I may have to give an interview with the local TV news station here. Dimov, the dance teacher, told me that the news station wants to interview me and a few of the dance students to learn more about our project: where we're going, for how long, what we'll be doing there, and why - questions of that sort. I don't know when this interview is supposed to take place. Like every other event that takes place here in Bulgaria I'll probably find out the day of. So maybe I should start thinking now about what I want to say and how to say it so I don't sound like a complete moron in my broken Bulgarian.

Another PCV going home

2007-02-04T18:48:00.000+02:00

Not every Peace Corps Volunteer completes his/her 27 months of service. There are many people who early terminate (in Peace Corps lingo "ET"). And everyone's reasons are different and personal and often very difficult. Some people come to find that the Peace Corps isn't for them, some find other opportunities to pursue, and some go home for medical reasons...whether they want to or not. I just found out that my pal Matt will be leaving the Peace Corps next week. He was just offered his dream job in the states and he'd be silly to pass it up. He said in some ways he feels like he's giving up or going back on his word for not completing the Peace Corps. But he's not giving up or going back on his word. He is a phenomenal volunteer and has made a world of difference in the people around him - both Bulgarians and Americans. There is no shame in leaving early. Life has presented Matt with his dream job so he'd better take it! Sometimes opportunities come when we least expect them...but they come for a reason. I'm gonna miss Matt...but I'm so happy for him to be heading home and to a job that he's meant to have.

Sickies are gone!

2007-02-02T14:22:00.000+02:00

January is finally gone...and so are my sickies!!! Well, most of the sickies anyway. There is still a lingering cough and I'm not 100% sure that all of the Giardia is gone, but I'm doing much better and feel about back to normal. I wanna say "thanks" to all of my friends and family who have been writing to check up on me. Makes a girl feel pretty loved when people write to make sure that I'm still alive. :-)

Now that February is here it's dance repetition time! My dancers are getting their performance together and tonight will be my first night going to check it out and participate. Dimov, the dance teacher, tells me that I will have a small role in the beginning of their performance so I'll go tonight and find out what my part is. I hope it doesn't require any fancy foot work dancing because I'm probably one of the worst dancers out there. I'll find out tonight what I get to do! Oh, and I'll also get to wear a folk costume for the performances! Yay! That, to me, is the most exciting part...my very own Bulgarian Folk Costume!!!

The performance schedule is still in the working. But it looks like we'll get to perform for almost all of the schools in Carbon County, and have performances in both Helper and Price. I'm still working on setting something up in Salt Lake City. I'd like the dancers to be able to see a big city in the states, rather just stay in my rural area the entire time. I had hoped to set something up at my alma mater, the University of Utah, but they don't seem to be interested. :-( That makes me sad. When I was a student there I loved watching the different performances set up by the presenter's office. There would often be folk music groups or dancers out side the student building and I'd sit on the lawn and watch. I really wanted to bring my Bulgarian dancers to the U of U and share with the current students the coolness of Bulgarian Folk Dancing! Oh well, time to look somewhere else. There's still a month and a half to go so I'll figure something out in the big city.

Ok, so besides dancers related stuff all I can tell about is school and travel. The first semester is about over and I'll get a little break next Thursday to Sunday - an in-between semester break. I hadn't planned on going anywhere. Mostly I was planning on Melody coming here to visit. But I've been feeling a little restless lately - that may be due to the fact that I've been sick and haven't been able to go anywhere. So with this restlessness I've decided that I need to go...somewhere...anywhere. I was talking to John and I told him that I'd like to go to Prague for my little break and he said that he'd like to go there too. So now it's settled. I will meet John-John in Prague next week and we'll spend 4 days together roaming around the beautiful old city! Yay!!!!! I love these last-minute vacations! It will be nice to see John (who will be bringing me some Kraft Mac&Cheese that I've been craving lately...and not the powdered cheese kind either!) and it will be good to take a little break from school.

Oh yeah, Happy Groundhog Day!!! Anyone know if the groundhog has seen his shadow or not?

sick sick sick

2007-01-22T16:50:00.001+02:00

*Ahem* So I think that this January in this year of 2007 is quite possibly the worst month of my life. As far as health problems go anyway. The new year started out with me having a mild case of food poisoning from some village pork that a colleague gave me. The stomach pains were so horrible that it felt as though something was ripping my stomach in two. Then came the news that I had Giardias. Oh Joy...I'd always wanted an intestinal parasite. But I think that lil guy is gone now. Also, the day I found out that I had Giardia was the day that I picked up another case of fleas! How it's possible to get fleas as much as I do I really don't know. I'm guessing that I picked them up on one of the many bus rides that I'd made back and forth to Sofia this month for all my running around for visas. I believe that those external parasites are gone now too as I haven't had any new bites in a few days. And lastly comes a viral infection - something akin to the flu - that hit me on Friday. It started out with a little sniffle and little cough. Then it turned into my whole body aching and feeling weak and having chills. Then the earache came and worse coughing and enough snot being blown out of my nose to fill a bucket. Next came a fever that got up to 102 degrees. Now all that is gone and I'm left with an ear infection where my right ear is in pain and I have swelling around my ear and on my right cheek, jaw, and neck. I was going to go to the doctor in Sofia today but then I hadn't slept in 24 hours and fell asleep at 6 this morning just before I should have gotten on a bus. So the doc said to stay home from school today and tomorrow; and if the swelling isn't down in the morning and my ear doesn't feel better then I'd better take that bus ride and go to the office. Oh the joys of living in a foreign country in the winter time where the only person to take care of me...is me. It's times like this that I miss my momma.

my newest friend....

2007-01-16T21:22:00.000+02:00

Giardia lamblia

After a visit with my Peace Corps medical doctor today I learned that this little guy, Giardia lamblia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardia_lamblia , has been living in my intestine for quite sometime and wreaking havoc upon my digestive tract. He has made these last few months quite unpleasant for me. With bloating, gas, diarrhea, and nausea having been playing a part of my every day life I'll be quite happy to get rid of him. I've just now taken 4 horse pills that Dr. Rob gave me so this little parasite should be gone in 1 to 2 weeks. Good-bye Giardia!!!

A warm winter's day

2007-01-13T18:46:00.000+02:00

I took the day off today from worrying. Actually I took yesterday off too...today was just an extension of that. This project with the dancers is getting more and more stressful. Don't get me wrong...things are moving along quite nicely. It's just that I feel like I put more on my plate than I can possibly handle. But with the help of my rents and other folks back home (as well as my pal Jon - former PCV) things are starting to pull together. It just makes it a little more difficult to try and organize things when I'm here...and everyone else is there. But I said that I was taking the day off from worrying...so I'll stick with that.

I hopped a bus over to Berkovitsa today to go on a little hike with Mr. Brooke. We ended up hiking for about 3 hours up into the Balkan Mountains. It was a gorgeous walk/hike...albeit a bit muddy. And the weather today was fantastic!!! This has been an unseasonably warm winter and today it was about 50 degrees! We didn't even need our jackets for the hike. And after our hike we settled down to a lovely meal of steamed veggies, Mexican Rice (courtesy of Lipton's rice mix), and a home-made Apple Pie for dessert (made by Mr. Brooke himself)!!! Top the day off with an episode of Grey's Anatomy and I can't think of a more perfect winter's day!

An Interesting Combination

2007-01-08T11:42:00.000+02:00

In the past year and a half or so that I've been here I've gotten pretty used to the different foods that Bulgarians eat. I thought that I was to the point where nothing really surprises me...but I was wrong. Today's lunch threw me for a loop and made me realize that "yes...I can still be surprised" when it comes to Bulgarian food. I got a little pizza today from the cafe near school. I've come to expect that any pizza I order will most likely not have pizza sauce, but will have ketchup or mayonnaise...or both, and that it will also probably have corn or pickles on it and some unidentifiable meat. ("Is that chicken or pork?") Today's pizza had no ketchup or mayo (yay!), but it did have my usual corn and pickles. But the thing that I've never seen before, and never imagined could be on a pizza, was peas and shredded carrots! I think that this is taking the "vegetarian" pizza thing a bit too far. And it wasn't even a vegetarian pizza because it was still covered with shredded mystery meat! I guess that I will continually be surprised by what Bulgarians can do with food. (Just a FYI - the pizza wasn't half bad)

Holidays

2007-01-06T00:56:00.000+02:00

I just spent my first Christmas and New Year's in Bulgaria! And the first Christmas and New Year's away from my family :-( But even though I couldn't be with my family and friends back home...I was able to be with my friends and Peace Corps family here :-) I spent Christmas in Koprivshtitsa with Mickie. Her town and new apartment are just adorable. Really...it's the cutest little village. I loved walking around and looking at all the old traditional style houses. I also loved that Mickie has a wood-burner stove and I got to play with fire the whole time at was at her place.

After Christmas in Koprivshtitsa Mickie and I came back to my place for New Year's. Nikola and her cousin Mariela also came over on New Year's Eve and we all watched the city ignite from my balcony. I've never seen so many fireworks or heard so many gun shots in my life! It was an insane way to ring in the New Year. I do wonder if every New Year's Eve celebration is that crazy or if it was exceptionally crazy this year because on January 1st Bulgaria became a part of the European Union. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accession_of_Bulgaria_to_the_European_Union

It's been great having a break from school. I was really ready for one. But now vacation is almost over and I'll be headed back to school on Monday. It's time to start finishing up the first semester so I've got to work on grades this weekend and finish correcting papers that I had assigned before the holiday. What kind of teacher am I? Why did I have kids turn in work just before the break? That only means work for me during my vacation! And it's also time that I get real serious with my dancers project. We've got interviews at the U.S. embassy coming up and hopefully all of the dancers will get their visiting Visas to the states. Now I need to start getting the travel agenda lined up. I know when we'll be getting into the states and when we'll be leaving...but I need to set up all of the performance dates at the schools and other community centers where the dancers will be performing. And I need to start going to the dance rehearsals since I'll have some part in the performances! Woo Hoo! Just two and a half more months and my Bulgarian Folk Dancers and I will be state side! Man...it's gonna be a lot of work. But so worth it!

Still alive :-)

2006-12-06T21:24:00.000+02:00

I think that this may be the longest I've gone without updating my blog! Almost an entire month. Does anyone still read this thing??? So the latest is that my dancers project is a GO!!!! Well, we're still short a few thousand dollars but I'm confident that in three months time I will be able to pull the money from somewhere. I went to Sofia yesterday and put down a deposit in order to reserve our plane tickets for March. The group is down from 22 people to 20. 2 Roma dancers had to drop out because they aren't able to find any funds. I hate that! I hate that these two kids can't come, and I hate even more that I'm not able to help them! It would have been phenomenal if they could come and do some traditional Roma dances. Could've been so cool to show a different side of Bulgarian culture. But hey, this project is working! After 10 months of up and down, up and down, will we go or will we not...we will go! At least right now it's a 90% chance that we'll go. Once we have all the money in and the plane tickets in our hands then I'll give it the 100% "go."

Oh yeah, and I'm still teaching. School is still there, the kids are still pains, and I've taken to flicking kids in the ear when they won't be quiet. All is well in my little corner of Bulgaria.

Drrrrrrt Drrrrrrt

2006-11-08T18:01:00.000+02:00

You know what's funny in any language?...Talking about cutting the cheese, or passing gas, or letting one rip, or just plain old farting. Yes, that is always funny. Today with my 6th graders we were learning about Hawaii and volcanoes and one of my students, Nencho, said "Volcanoes go drrrrt drrrrrt." And I was like "huh?" And then all the kids started laughing. I asked "what is drrrt drrrt" (no "drrrt" is not a word - it's just that sound). And Loretta said, "it's when air comes out of your guss" - and she pointed at her butt. Aha! Then I got what she was talking about and what Nencho was saying. As soon as the kids saw my look of understanding they all started laughing. And then they asked me how you say that in English and what is it called when air comes out of a person's butt. Well, being that I'm here to teach English, I couldn't very well deny them their thirst for knowledge...so I told them that the verb is "to fart" and the noun is "fart." Oh...and guss is "butt." Yeah, after that the rest of the lesson just went to pot and all the kids could do was say "so-and-so is farting" or "so-and-so likes to fart." The teacher in me frowned...for a second, but then the kid in me took over and I was laughing along with the kids. Oh, what a great day in English class!

Halloween and other things

2006-11-01T19:00:00.000+02:00

I love holidays, but Halloween has always been one of my favorites. I'm not sure if I like it so much because I get to dress up in some silly costume or because I get to eat tons of candy without feeling guilty. Regardless...I love Halloween! This last weekend I partied it up in VT with my fellow volunteers and had some good ole Halloween fun :-) Then at school my kids and I had our own classroom parties - complete with candy, costumes, and games. I'm all about any excuse to eat candy and play.

Now that November is here the cold weather is really starting to set in. It's supposed to get down to the 20s tomorrow. I thought that I was ready for the cold....in fact I've been looking forward to it for some time...but I've changed my mind. I don't think that I'm really ready for the the next 5 months of cold. :( Can't it just stay October forever?

For an update on my project with the folk dancers....it looks like we're gonna make it!!! We still need to find about $5,000.00 more, but we've got 4 months to do it. I think it's really gonna work! Which means about 20 Bulgarians and I will be state side come next March. I will be traveling with 15 dancers, a musician, the mayor, a translator, and the two dance teachers. 15 people is a pretty small amount for a dance troupe, so the dance director is working up something special that will include everyone in the performances....including me! I told him that I'm not a dancer. Sure, I can do the "horo"...but that's it. I'm a little scared to see what he comes up. I just hope that my part is really small. I guess we'll start practicing soon. And we'll also start our English classes again...gotta teach the dancers a little bit more English so they don't feel too lost in America.

Today Amy came to town bringing some diapers for the orphanage in town. A group from Spain had left some diapers for the orphanage in her city, but there aren't any babies at her orphanage so she brought them to mine. I haven't been to the orphanage here in over a year. I don't really have a good excuse for not going...it's just too hard - emotionally. Maybe I'm not as giving a person as I thought I was because I just have rough time going to the orphanage and seeing all the babies and toddlers. I know that they need love and attention, but I can't seem to give it to them without balling. Today Amy and I went in to see the babies. The youngest was just 3 weeks old and the oldest in that room was about 7 months. We each got to hold the babies and even feed them. But after awhile of just seeing all those cuties lying there crying and not getting enough attention - no matter how much Amy and I gave - I started to cry and had to leave. It's just so heart breaking. I'd like to stay longer and hold 'em and just love 'em but maybe I'm not strong enough to do that. :(

America...We LOVE You!!!!!!

2006-10-19T17:45:00.000+03:00

That's what one of my 6th grade girls said last week when I told the class that this year we would be exchanging letters with a 6th grade class in America (One of my old teachers, Mrs. Rudman, and her class of 6th graders will be our pen-pals this year.) My students started writing their letters on Monday and today we finally finished, so the letters will be in the mail tomorrow! My kids are way excited to do this project...as am I. I think that it's fun having a pen-pal and getting to know someone in another part of the world.

Ma Leeeeeeee!

2006-10-12T22:21:00.000+03:00

Ok, so remember that post from last week? That one about it having been such a beautiful, hopeful, fabulous day...blah blah blah? That one that was so totally sappy and sentimental that it was disgusting? Yeah, you know which one I'm talking about. Well, forget that I ever posted that. In fact, maybe I should erase it all together. The way things have been this week I'm not even sure that that day really happened. Ok, maybe you can guess I'm a little bit...uhh...grumpy. Yes, grumpy is a nice way of putting it. You can just call me "Miss Cranky." My 7th graders are making me crazy...actually they're making me sick, literally. I get head-aches when I go to their class, stomach aches when I just think about going to their class, and I can't sleep for dread of having to even get near them. Last night I lay in bed for 2 hours just thinking about how horrible they are and trying to come up with any way possible to work with them. I even came up with a whole speech that I was going to say to them...all in Bulgarian so that there wouldn't be any miscommunication! And well....maybe I was even thinking about ways to torture them too. ;) Jeeze, school has only been in session a month and I'm already to the point of not wanting to teach them. They're just that horrible. So far the things that I've done to try and remedy the situation include: talking to the principal, talking to the class teacher, writing notes to parents, writing notes in the official school register, giving bad participation grades, making kids go out in the hall, and I may have even thrown a piece of chalk at a student....but not hard....it was more like I tossed it at him to get his attention. Yes, that's it, I tossed it at him. "Him" being Michel, my worst nightmare. And you better believe that I sing that song "Michelle, ma bell" to him just to embarrass him.

Today, as usual, they were rowdy and running around and fighting with each other - and I had a killer head-ache. So I did the only thing left that I could do...I gave them enough class work to keep them busy for a week. I wrote 30 new vocabulary words on the board, that they had to copy into their notebooks, then I had them write a sentence for every word...in the past tense of course. And along with that they had to answer the daily question. (I write a question on the board everyday that they have to answer with at least 3 sentences. Today's was, "What is your favorite holiday?" and "Why?" These aren't brain surgery questions. They're just things to get them thinking and writing in English.) With all of this "busy" work to do they were fairly well behaved, but I still had to kick 2 kids out of class and give bad participation marks...and I told Mitko that I was disappointed in him. That got his attention. I think having someone be disappointed in you in much worse than having them be mad at you. (I looked that word up in Bulgarian so that I could use it especially on Mitko - it had the desired effect)

I hate being a mean and grumpy teacher. I'd love to be able to play games with my 7th graders like I can with my 4th, 6th, and even 8th graders, but they just won't allow it. They can't seem to be able to handle playing a game or doing a fun assignment without bouncing off the walls. The thing that kills me about these kids is that I had them last year and they were great! Something went terribly wrong over the summer break...I think it's called puberty. Ugh. I'm wasting too much time as is worrying about these kids and how they make me want to pull my hair out. I only have 8 and a half months left and I don't want to spend it stressing over a bunch of 13 year olds. I'll just have to learn to deal with them....and give them so much class work and homework that it starts coming out their ears.

Grrrrrrr

2006-10-08T21:57:00.000+03:00

I have fleas again! Ugh. I'm blaming this latest outbreak on E....since I didn't have these little devils until I visited him this weekend. It doesn't matter that I could have picked them up on one of the many trains or buses that I was on. Nope, it's all E's fault.

One of those days...

2006-10-04T16:27:00.000+03:00

Do you ever have one of those days? One of those no good, very bad, terrible, rotten, horrible days? Yes? Well...me too. All of the time in fact. A lot of days I dread getting up in the morning and marching my butt to school to be placed in front of 20 adolescent pubescent kids that no matter how many times I say "be quiet" nothing ever happens. But you know what? Today was not one of those days. The only way to describe today is....beautiful. Today is just a beautiful, magical, hopeful day! And why is it so? Because today I made a difference. Today I taught something and saw the change. I saw the light go on in someone's eyes (Natalia now understands why when you add "er" to a short word like "hot" you get "hotter"). And today I sang. I sang my heart out with my 6th graders to "All Together Now" by the Beatles. And today I enjoyed my time with my 7th graders! We wrote about our pets and how to take care of them (today is World Animal Day) and Stefan actually did work for a change - he participated!!! Oh man, I feel like all the shitty days I've had have been erased by this one truly beautiful day! ВСИЧКО Е НАРЕД!

This is my success story. My work here is done. It's now time for me to go home. - I'll be on the next plane with Mickie, who too made her difference with her 8th graders.

Little Guy

2006-10-02T06:34:00.000+03:00

Yesterday as Eric and I were inside my apartment we heard something out on my balcony, so we peeked out the door and saw this little guy just chillin' out on the railing.

He hung out there for about a half an hour and it even looked as though he might come in at one point. Eric and I had decided that if he did come in then we would keep him...but he never crossed the door-way. Oh well, the little guy probably already had a home, but it was nice of him to come and visit.

B-17s

2006-09-30T13:15:00.000+03:00

Check out these t-shirts that I had made for my group. Two groups of volunteers come into Bulgaria every year - one in the spring and one in the fall. Every group is given a number and with my group we are the B-17s - or the 17th group of Peace Corps volunteers to come into Bulgaria. Most all of the groups have had t-shirts made for them, so I took the job of making the t-shirts for my group. My sister-in-law Melissa helped me make the front logo and I designed the rest. I'm happy with the way that these shirts turned out. They're just what I wanted, thanks to Milen at the print shop in Sofia.

Wake up call.

2006-09-30T12:37:00.000+03:00

After leaving my apartment at 6:00 yesterday morning and finally returning at 11:00 at night I was so exhausted that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. My goal was to sleep until noon today, but the donkey down the street had other plans for me. At 8:00 this morning I was jarred awake by the hee-hawing sound of that bothersome ass. He was braying so loud that he caused 2 car alarms to go off, which only added to my irritation. I was really looking forward to the 11 hrs of sleep that I had planned, but my neighbor down the block just wouldn't let me have it. This is the second time in a week that he's woken me up from a sound sleep, if he does it again I'm going to throw a rotten tomato at him.

No, I wouldn't really throw anything at the donkey. I'll just start sleeping with ear plugs.

What's going on here?

2006-09-23T17:39:00.000+03:00

I've been having issues lately with my water. It keeps going out. :( About every other day for the past couple of weeks my water has stopped working for anywhere between 2 and 6 hours. What's up with that? I'm used to not being able to flush my toilet paper...but not being able to flush my toilet at all is a bit too much. (That may have been a little but too much information, but there it is.)

Well, at least I don't have rats coming up my toilet like another person I know ;)

Back at it.

2006-09-20T16:39:00.000+03:00

Ok, school is now back in session and it's back to the grinding stone for me. I'd like to tell you my school schedule but that's just not possible at the moment as everyday that I've gone to school this week my schedule has changed. I keep getting more classes and having others taken away. The only things that I know for sure are that I'll have the 6th graders to myself - I'll be their sole English teacher - and the kids are even more crazy than I remember. I'm actually really happy to be back to school, but the long summer break caused me to forget what a headache teaching can be - the lesson planning, preparation, and attempts at disciplining. Here's to another school year in Bulgaria!

In other news, my fantastic dance students are going to Macedonia this week and when they return we'll start our English lessons again. The plan to go to Utah this August didn't pan out so now we're shooting for March or April. It's time to start my grant researching again and get those proposals in. I do think that we're gonna make it!

My first real barter

2006-09-02T02:19:00.000+03:00

So yesterday I went to the copy center that's on my way to school to make a few copies of curriculum plans to show my principal. This is the copy center that I use most often, as the woman (who's name I don't know) that works there is always really nice to me and lets me cut in line. I just happened to have a baggy full of chocolate chip cookies that I had made the night before for Eric and I and I decided to give them to the lady. (The original plan was to give them to my principal but I decided that I've give them to the copy lady instead) When I went into her little shop, which is a 10 ft. by 10 ft. building, I told her that I wanted four double sided copies. Then when she gave me the copies I handed over the home made cookies. She was so surprised by this that she couldn't even speak. The look on her face was pure bewilderment, like "why is this girl giving me food?" I told her that these were American style cookies and that I made them and wanted her to try them. She just couldn't believe it. She told me thank you, thank you, thank you, and asked if I could give her the recipe and I said "of course." Then I left the shop with photo copies in hand a huge smile on my face (Eric too had a big smile). We were just so happy to make the lady's day. But then about 20 ft. from the store I realized that I didn't pay the woman for my copies! I totally forgot to hand over my money! So we went to the shop and I told the lady that I forgot to pay and started handing over my money but she wouldn't take it. She said that the cookies were payment enough. Now it was my turn to be shocked! Who would have thought that I could pay for photo copies with cookies? Now all that needs to be done is for me to take in the recipe for the cookies. Ohhhh bartering, what a wonderful system.

Baseball Camp 2

2006-08-24T08:50:00.000+03:00

Ok, Baseball camps are now over with. They were so much fun! I truly suck at Baseball, but I had a blast at these camps! You know...missing grounders, running into people, and getting all sweaty and dirty? Awww...Baseball, how I have missed thee.

Here are the latest batch of photos from Amy's Baseball camp - of course, there are even more photos on my flickr page.

A little batting instruction before the game.

Swing batter batter! Our last game. Final score: 20 - 14

Ilian at 3rd base and Mr. Horse in the outfield.

Warm up with Coach Tony.

Baseball Camp 1 - pictures

2006-08-18T17:56:00.000+03:00

Mark, our resident Baseball coach. This guy knows his stuff!

First morning of camp: Lincoln, Mark, Carin, Rallie and Stefie

Stefie, Rich, and Rallie learning how to bat.

The American Pastime

2006-08-13T10:17:00.000+03:00

I'm headed out today to help at Carin's baseball camp for about 4 days. Then I'll come back here just long enough to sleep and do laundry before I head out to help at Amy's baseball camp for 5 days! These camps will consist of about 4 to 5 volunteers attempting to teach that great American pastime to a bunch of Bulgarian teenagers. I hope I'm ready for this! I've never tried to teach anyone how to play Baseball before. I just always took it for granted that people just "know" how to play. But here, most people don't know what Baseball is. I'm not even that good at the sport...I know how to play and I know the rules, but that's about it. Maybe I'll be a better teacher than player. - "Those who cannot do, teach."

I'll lug my camera with me and try to remember to take photos at Baseball Camp.

Lets Play Ball!

Another hole (or two) in my head

2006-08-07T18:09:00.000+03:00

I needed another hole in my ear. Actually, I needed two more holes so that I could have a bar going across the top of my ear. Yes, it was necessary.

The first stab through my ear.

Adventures in Berkovitsa

2006-07-31T13:58:00.000+03:00

I made my way to Berkovitsa this past weekend to visit Eric B (not to be confused with Eric A or "E" as I call him) to enjoy the sounds of the local rock music festival known as "Berkstock." I didn't make it to the festival last summer so I thought it necessary to go this time. I'm a fan of rock music, particularly Alternative Rock, and was excited to go to this three day concert. However, I was sorely disappointed to discover that the majority of the bands were 80's big-hair cover bands playing atrocious 80's big-hair metal rock. (Krissy, you would have loved it) I am in no way a fan of 80's music, and especially not the long-haired metal kind. Oh well, Eric and I dutifully listened to the music for about 20 minutes in the early evening before moving on to explore the largest cemetery that I've every seen in Bulgaria! We walked for a good 1/2 hour and never reached the end of the cemetery - we were forced by the fading day light to turn around and high-tail it out of there before being stuck in the dark place of the dead. However, after eating dinner we did go back to the concert grounds in hopes of there being something other than big-hair metal music to listen to, and there was! Our second trip to the concert was more enjoyable. We were able to listen to some genuine Bulgarian Ska music! It was truly entertaining. I like some good ole Ska music now and then and I was pleasantly surprised that Ska music in Bulgarian is just as fun as Ska in English. The trumpet and trombone players really knew how to get down!

So, our concert experience turned out to be pretty fun in the end. But before all of this Berkstock watching took place Eric and I were witness to another Berkovian event...one of the criminal kind. For lunch Eric and I went to a restaurant in the town square where we saw a man get chased down by the police and his bloody self be put into a patrol car.

The story goes like this: As we were sitting at our table two police officers pulled up to the restaurant and went to a table where a slightly chubby man dressed in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals, who was holding a black briefcase, was sitting alone. The officers told the man that he needed to go with them to the police station to answer some questions. The man got up willingly and walked with the officers in the direction of the patrol car but he stopped within 10 feet of the car and told the officers that he would just meet them at the station. The officers, who were about to get in the car, said "no" and that the man must go with them in the car. That's when all hell broke loose! The man made a fake move towards the police car but then spun away quickly and took off on the run! He ran up some steps onto a platform and the two officers immediately ran after him(one officer going up the platform and another along the side of the platform on ground level). Then the man made a flying leap off the platform and ran right past the officer who was on the ground. He kept on running towards the edge of the square with one officer right behind him and another coming from the other direction as to block his escape. The trailing officer managed to step on the guys sandals which caused the guy to stumble a bit and lose both his shoes...but he kept on running barefooted. But because the other officer was coming head on at him he turned and pretty much ran in a circle, while trying to dupe the officers by faking going one direction but then turning to go another way. Finally as he was running he tripped over a patch of lawn and fell to the ground, with the trailing officer (who was only an arms length away) falling over him onto the ground. Then the other officer, the one who did not trip, immediately put his knees on the guys back and got out his hand-cuffs to cuff the guy. But the guy was laying on his belly with his arms underneath him...still holding his black briefcase!

The officers tried for about five minutes to get the guy's hands but they couldn't. They tried punching him in the side and banging his head on the ground, but the guy just wouldn't give up. Then, an older man (maybe 60 or so) who was passing by decided to try and help. He grabbed the man by his ankles and took a pair of hand cuffs from one officer and tried to cuff the guys ankles together. But the guys ankles were too fat, so the old guy just held the mans legs down while the two officers were still trying to get the guys arms. Finally, another officer came and between him, the original two officers, and the old man they were able to cuff the guy on the ground. It must have taken about 7 or 8 minutes for them to put the hand cuffs on the guy. And during this whole event Eric and I could not stop staring...and laughing. It was really entertaining in the beginning to watch this short stubby guy in sandals out-run two police officers. But then when the officers got the guy up off the ground and led him over to the patrol car with blood dripping down his face - he most likely had a broken nose due to his face being smashed into concrete - it wasn't so funny anymore. It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Not that I feel sorry for the guy for getting hurt. I think that he got what he deserved for trying to run from the cops. The whole spectacle could have been avoided if he'd just gone willingly with the police in the beginning.

Later, as Eric and I were reliving the craziness of what we had witnessed, Eric summed it up correctly when he equated watching the event to watching a wild animal being captured. The sheer desperation of the man was so pronounced that for a moment I almost felt sorry for him. It does make me wonder why the man was so desperate to run. Did he really think that he had a chance of getting away? And, what was in his little black briefcase?

Preslava - "Dyvolsko Jelanie"

2006-07-31T00:53:00.000+03:00

It seems as though I've failed in one of the most important duties of a Peace Corps volunteer - I've not shared with the American public the intricacies of Bulgarian culture. One of the most important aspects of any culture is it's music. So, uh hum...I present to you...Chalga Music. The pop-folk music of Bulgaria. The inescapable music found on every bus, in every restaurant, and in every discoteka in Bulgaria.

Look! A rainbow in Montana!

2006-07-26T16:07:00.000+03:00

Aww...isn't it pretty?

My many names

2006-07-26T12:59:00.000+03:00

I've never really noticed it until today but I go by quite a few different names here. Not just names per se, but titles as well. Here are some of the names/titles by which I'm called...and I answer to.

* "Giacoletti" - Notice that it ends with an "i" and not "o." I'm frequently called this my the janitors and secretary at my school.

* "Miss Steph" - This is the name by which most of my students address me - and what I told them to call me.

* "Miss" - A few kids leave off the "Steph" and just call me Miss.

* "Gosposhitsa" - meaning "miss" in Bulgarian. My principal and a few teachers address me this way.

* "Gosposhitsa Giacoletto" - simply "Miss Giacoletto" - A few other teachers call me this.

* "Gosposho" - meaning "Ma'am," which I hate being called. Only a few of my students address me as this - and I normally hit them with my book when they do :)

* "Teacher" - another way in which I hate being addressed. Again, only a few students call me this...and when they do I usually give them the evil eye and remind them that I'm "Miss Steph" not "teacher".

* "Stephie" - I don't mind being called this. It's what my family calls me and what a few of the teachers at my school call me.

* "The Mom," "Momma Chocolate," "Momma C" or "MC" - I'm called any one of these names by a few of my fellow volunteers.

* And lastly...my least favorite thing to be called here...by which I'm only called by older people or people who I don't know that want to get my attention for some thing or another -
"Momiche" - which means "girl." And I really really really hate it when people call me "girl."

So yeah, I answer to quite a few different names and titles here. Of course there are other no-so-nice terms by which a woman can be called, but I don't answer to those so I'm not going to write them.

This is soooo Bulgaria

2006-07-24T00:02:00.000+03:00

Found this short story about a woman who lived and worked in Bulgaria. It's interesting and fun to read.

http://www.talesmag.com/tales/postcards/neh.shtml

Random Day

2006-07-18T15:55:00.000+03:00

I don't have anything in particular to write about today...just thought that I'd write a post. Hmm...I spent last Thursday to Monday afternoon in Blagoevgrad helping Mickie, Ted, Gina, Matt, John and Alana at an international summer English camp. I didn't have to do too much, as I was only a guest. But I did get to speak in Mickie's and Ted's classes and I even got to teach Gina's classes for a day. The kids at this camp are great! I mean, they actually want to be there and they want to learn English! It makes all the difference in the world when you have students who actually want to learn. I'm glad that I got to go and help out for a few days. I liked being a guest teacher/counselor and meeting different kids from Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Georgia and Azerbaijan...as well as kids from around Bulgaria.

So, this morning Jeff (my site-mate) and I got to meet a new volunteer that will be moving to Montana. The new volunteer's name is Seichay (I really don't know how to spell her name) and she's from Japan and is with the JICA program (similar to the US Peace Corps program). She will be teaching Art and Japanese culture here in Montana to elementary school kids. I'm excited to be getting another site-mate.

Umm...another thing that happened today was that when I was walking through the park after having checked out my first book (Lolita) from my local library I saw a little boy, maybe 4 years old, squatting by a tree in the park taking a poo. And his mother was standing next to him holding some toilet paper. I still can't figure out why he was taking a poo in the park when he was only 10 feet away from the municipality building...which has free public toilets. I know that it's common (even in the states) for parents to let their little boys pee behind a tree or bush...but I've never heard of letting a little kid take a poo in a public park. Ewwww.

cow flavored ice cream :(

2006-07-12T20:45:00.000+03:00

I bought some ice cream the other day...chocolate ice cream with chocolate swirls that Eric B. highly recommended. Eric said that this ice cream is premium quality and the best you'll find in Bulgaria. Well...Eric, you lied...again! I ate some of this so called "premium" ice cream today after lunch and it just tasted like cow milk!!! Ok, to most of you that sounds kind of strange...like "isn't ice cream made from cows milk?" Well...yes it is. But the ice cream here tastes like cow! I've discerned a distinct difference in taste between dairy products made from cow's milk, goat's milk, and sheep's milk. They all have a unique flavor but, in my opinion, dairy products made from sheeps milk are the best tasting. Where as products made from cows milk just tastes like...well...like cow. That's the only way to describe it. Or another way of putting it is that things made from cows milk are just disgusting. Now, I love milk! I mean, I LOVE milk back home in the states! I could drink a half a gallon of milk a day! But our milk doesn't taste like a cow...and for that I'm thankful. I thank the milk processing plants that take out the "cow" flavor and only leave the wholesome (non-cow flavored) goodness that is American milk.

Heat, Summer, Cobbler

2006-07-08T14:00:00.000+03:00

My brother John has come and gone and now it's back to normal...or as normal as it can be. It was so great having John John here...just good to see him again. But, just as it was after Christmas, I'm sad again at not having my family. You'd think that after a years time I would be well accustomed to being alone and to not having my family with me...but it's just not so. I will always miss my family...maybe a little less on some days and a little more on other days...but I'll always miss being with them.

So, it's summer time now and man is it hot!!! Did I ever mention how much I hate the heat? Well, I HATE THE HEAT!!! And I hate the heat even more when it's humid!!! Coming from the high dry mountains of Utah with it's 10% humidity to this low elevation muggy land with 80% humidity is killing me!!! Sometimes I go outside and it's like I can't even breathe! I've complained fully to Mickie about my hatred of hot muggy weather and she doesn't seem to have any sympathy for me. I guess with her being from North Carolina and spending her childhood summers in Georgia she knows all about humidity...and she says that Bulgaria is nothing compared to the South. Hmm...maybe I'll get some sympathy from my family back in lovely dry-aired Utah?

Well, since school is out and I no longer have a regular "day" job it's time for the "summer projects." This summer's projects for me include spending a week helping at the English Language camp in Blagoevgrad, helping at a Roma camp for a week in my region, doing some one-0n-one tutoring with about 5 girls from my soon to be 7th grade class, and my continuing work with the folk dancers. Yep, I'm still working with the folk dancers from my school to get them to Utah this summer or fall. Things are coming along...but slowly...ever so slowly. Umm...on top of those camps and English lessons I'm throwing in a healthy dose of traveling and hanging out with friends...after all, it is summer time. Time to play and make a trek to the Black sea! Oh yeah, and time for Bulgarian lessons...I've finally mustered up some motivation to learn some more Bulgarian.

I would also like take this time to announce my fall from grace as a "great" cook. It happened on Thursday...oh that fateful day when my world came crashing down and my cheeks burned bright red with embarrassment. My friend Eric came over for a visit - in fact he's still here...one of those visits that lasts 3 days! Anyway, I thought that I would show off my culinary skills and bake a Cherry cobbler for Mr. Brooke. Now, I've made cobblers a few dozen times and practically have the recipe memorized so I was confident that this cobbler would turn out to be nothing less than delicious. I followed my recipe, using only the best ingredients on hand and only the ripest sweetest cherries, and placed my creation into the oven. When the time was right I pulled my golden crusted cobbler from the oven and set it on the window seal to cool. Eric oohed and awwed over the site of my master piece but as he leaned over the dessert to inhale the sweet aroma of cherries his head snapped back and his eyes began to water and he had a look of sheer horror on his face. "What is that smell?" he asked. "What smell?" I asked. He said "it smells like vinegar or something." So I leaned over and smelled my creation and then my eyes too began to water. "It smells like some sort of cleaner" I said. But how could that be? How could my glorious creation smell like a cleaning agent? What's going here? We thought that maybe the smell was the result of the less-than-delicious Bulgarian butter that was used in making the cobbler. So we decided that we'd better taste the cobbler...it may smell icky but surely it wouldn't taste bad! Oh, but we were wrong...it tasted just as bad as it smelt...like ammonia!!! After carefully tracing my steps I finally found the culprit...the thing that had ruined my oh-so-carefully crafted cobbler...it was ammonia bicarbonate powder!!! Oh me, I had accidentally substituted baking ammonia bicarbonate for baking powder!!!! Oh the shame! How could I have done such a thing? Normally a mistake like this wouldn't have been so terrible and I would have laughed about it... and never tell a single person. But because I was trying to show off for Eric, trying to show off my culinary skills, I was embarrassed beyond belief. And now Eric won't stop making fun of me.

Visitor!!!

2006-06-27T22:06:00.000+03:00

Yay!!! John is here visiting me! He came for my birthday and will be staying 10 days total. I just can't express how happy I am to have him here. He was the best birthday present ever. I'm going to take him on a whirl-wind trip of Bulgaria and even throw in a little bit of Greece.

Karma

2006-06-12T12:00:00.000+03:00

My past behavior is coming back to bite me in the ass...literally. You know when you're a little kid in school and there's always that boy or girl who has fleas? And you and all the other mean-spirited little kids won't sit by, stand next to, or even be seen with said boy/girl because then you would get fleas and you would be "un-cool." Well, I was one of those mean-spirited kids that said Ricky and Sarah had fleas and I wouldn't stand by them in the lunch line nor would I play with them during recess. Now that's all come back to me...some 15 years later...in the form of little black jumping biting devils we call FLEAS!!! Yep, I've got fleas....again. This is my third out-break of fleas since I've been in Bulgaria. And the little devils' bites inch like a son-of-a-bitch! This is my public apology to Sarah and Ricky for ever having teased and shunned you in elementary school...and said that you had fleas.

Long Overdue

2006-06-08T19:20:00.000+03:00

It's been so long since I've posted and actually told about what's been going on here in good ole Montana, Bulgaria, that I don't know where to start. It would just be too much to tell everything that's happened in the last couple of months (plus I can't even remember what all has happened) so I'll just fill ya'll in on the latest goings on.

First of all, school is almost over. Hallelujah and praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will finish teaching on June 15th. Just one more week! (I feel sorry for all my fellow volunteers that must continue teaching until the 30th) The Bulgarian school schedule is a bit crazy to follow...even for Bulgarians. It goes like this: School started on September 15th. The 12th graders finished school on May 22nd. The 1st graders finished on May 24th. The 2nd though 4th graders finished on May 31st. The 5th through 8th graders will finish on June 15th. And the 9th through 11th graders will finish on June 30th. Confusing isn't it?

So as the school year comes to a close my students are less and less inclined to study or to even come to class. They are just ready to be done...as am I. So these last two weeks of school are game time! This week we've been playing a lot of Bingo, Pictionary, Hokie Pokie, Simon Says, and even Duck Duck Goose...and next week will be the same. I've finished testing my students and have their grades completed so now it's time for a little fun. Bingo has been the biggest success. First I taught my kids "Bingo" the song... you know..."there was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-oh!" And then we played the game Bingo. But rather than playing regular Bingo with numbers I made the kids make Bingo cards with their vocabulary words - various words that they've learned throughout the year. Really, it's been a lot of fun.

Hmmm, next. Well...last weekend I went to visit Mickie in Karlovo for the Rose Festival. Though, we didn't actually see or take part in any of the festivities. We just hung out and went to Plovdiv for a day to get some good ole McDonald's food and to watch "X-Men 3." Yep, it was a great time at the Rose Festival. We were going to go to Ivalovgrad and visit Liz for the surprize party that Melody threw for her but...well...we just didn't want to travel that far. We were all set to go. We had our bags packed. We took an early bus to Plovdiv in order to catch a bus to Stara Zagora in order to catch the last bus to Ivalovgrad. But once we got to Plovdiv we'd already had enough bus travel and decided to bum around Plovdiv. (Sorry Liz)

Uhh...the weekend before last Eric, Melody, Melody's friend Steve, and I all went to the Rila Monastery. That was fantastic! Though the bus ride there was less than ideal. What should have only been a 4 1/2 to 5 hour trip turned into 10 hours! It wasn't anyone's fault. Well, actually I'm going to blame it on the Bulgarian transportation system and lack of posted information. It was just mass confusion. But hey, after having left my apartment at 6:30 in the morning and changing buses 4 times I did make it to the largest monastery in Bulgaria and had a great time hiking in the woods and just spending time with my friends.

After leaving the Rila Monastery that Sunday Eric, Melody and I went to visit the new group of teacher volunteers in their training sites for four days. The three of us were chosen to be Resource Volunteers which meant we each went to a training site, observed the new volunteers at school, and just answered any questions that they had about school and life in general in Bulgaria. It may sound cheesy but I felt honored and special to have been chosen to be a resource volunteer. I went to Boboshevo to visit Steve, Brad, Abby, Amy, and Kyla. They're all great folks and I had a good time observing their classes, sitting in on their Bulgarian lessons, and just hanging out with them. While I was in Boboshevo (small village of about 800) I stayed with the Bulgarian language trainer for the group, Yulia. We had a good time too just hanging out. Though, in the house that she's staying in I was a bit puzzled when we she showed me where the bathroom is - on the balcony. Strange. I get the impression that the bathroom used to be out side, maybe an out-house in the backyard. Probably the family that owns the house decided later on that they didn't want to have to go the backyard to go potty, and since they didn't have room in the house, they just put the toilet on the balcony. (It is in its own enclosed room and it is a flush toilet - but it's still strange.)

Oh yeah, before taking our long treck to Rila and then to the training villages Eric and I went to Belogradchik - a town about 60 klms. north of Montana. There was only was bus to Belogradchik...at 7:30 in the morning. And only one bus back to Montana at 4:00 in the afternoon. Again, the transport system at its best. So Eric and I spent almost the whole day checking out the rock fortress and just goofing around the city. Probably the most exciting thing that day, besides the natural rock fortress, were the cool ARMY sachle bags that E and I found for only 1 lev!!!!!!!!

Well...I guess that covers the most recent events. I may post again next week (or I may not) once school is out and tell all about the things I've learned during my first year of teaching...yadia yadia yadia and so on. We'll see what happens.

Smoking Kills!!

2006-05-09T15:49:00.000+03:00

No, I don't smoke. But I found this empty pack in the street. Yes, I am picking up garbage and taking it home with me.

You know, we should put warning labels like this on the cigarette packs in America. I mean...it would make more sense to put these labels in America where people can actually read the language that it's written in.

Condi!

2006-05-09T15:36:00.000+03:00

So, the Secretary of State, Miss Condoleezza Rice, came to Bulgaria a week and a half ago. This was just after her surprise visit to Iraq. She came for some informal NATO talks and to talk with the Bulgarian government about the 3 U.S. Military bases that will be built in Bulgaria in the up-coming years. Miss Rice had a short meet and greet at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia and we Peace Corps volunteers were invited to attend. I him-hawed about going, but in the end I went. I'm not a particular fan of Miss Rice or her policies. However, I do think that she's an out-standing role model for women. Plus, when would I have ever had the opportunity to meet the Secretary of State? The meet and greet was short and sweet (15 min.). Miss Rice did the pretty...shook hands and posed for pictures. I myself shook her hand and even joined in on the group photo with all of the other volunteers and Peace Corps staff.

That's my face peeking out in the back right-hand corner

честита нова прическа

2006-04-17T15:19:00.000+03:00

Why did you touch me? That was the question I asked a little girl on Saturday. Melody, Eric, and I were sitting in a restaurant on Saturday waiting for our lunch when a little girl (maybe 5 yrs old), who was standing with her mom and dad, tip-toed over to me and poked my arm and then ran back to her parents. I didn't know what to think. I was surprised that she snuck over just to touch my arm and then run away. I have no idea why she did it. Maybe she just wanted to touch me and see if I was real? Weird...and kinda funny. Then she stood with her parents the rest of the time and stared at Mel, E, and me until she left. Strange little bulgarka.

Got a new hair style! I hadn't planned on cutting my hair until I finished my Peace Corps service but it was just getting too long and shaggy to manage. So, I trusted my pal E to chop off it off and he did a great job. Check it out!

Istanbul was Constantinople, now it's Istanbul not Constantinople

2006-04-13T15:43:00.000+03:00

ISTANBUL!!!!! That's where Mickie and I went last week for spring break. We booked it out of Bulgaria Saturday night, taking a 9 hr. bus ride, and arrived bright and early in what used to be called Constantinople. As always I can't take any sort of public transportation without there being some sort of incident. Nothing too dramatic happened, we just got stuck at the Turkish border for about 4 1/2 hrs. because some people on our bus were over their limit on the "duty free" cigarettes and alcohol. Ahhh, nothing like being stuck from 2:00 to 6:30 in the morning between countries. Anyway, that was the only traveling incident that Mickie and I encountered and the rest of our vacation was FANTASTIC! Really, Istanbul has got to be one of the nicest cities that I've ever been to. Everywhere we walked there were beautiful historical sites: the Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace, a Byzantine Cistern, ancient tombs, other Byzantine ruins etc. Just so much to see and do. And of course the food was delicious - ain't nothing better than a Turkish duner and some Turkish Delight....yummy.

Mickie and I walked all over the city and did as much as we possibly could in 4 days, including going to a Turkish bath!!!!! I was a little nervous about going to the bath because I didn't know what to expect. But for sure I didn't expect to get naked in a room with about 20 other women!! (well....we did get to keep our bottoms on) It was a bit uncomfortable getting scrubbed down by a complete stranger, who was also naked. But it was a fun experience and all in all pretty relaxing...I'd do it again.

We also met up one day with Melody, Liz, Eric, and Liz's friend Heather. We walked to Asia that day....sort of. We all met up in the morning and walked to the newer part of Istanbul checking out the main drag and looking in shops. Then we took a ferry ride over to the Asian continent. (Istanbul is the only city that I know of that is on two continents - Europe and Asia). We only stayed about 1/2 an hour and then caught the next boat back to old part of the city where we were all staying.

That was by far one of the best vacations that I've ever had. It was great to get out of Bulgaria for a while and see a different country and meet new people. And of course it was great not having to go to school.

Songs of my life

2006-03-28T19:45:00.000+03:00

Ok, here's a little something that I "borrowed" from Liz's blog. Thanks Liz. All you gotta do is go to your music player of choice and push shuffle. Press play and say the following questions out loud for each song. Use the song title for the answer to the question.

How does the world see me? "Where would you be" - Martina McBride (true enough)

Will I have a happy life? "Sweat" - Tool (that's not a good sign)

What do my friends really think of me? "Fat Bottomed Girls" - Queen (that's reassuring)

Do people secretly lust after me? "So Complicated" - Carolyn Dawn Johnson

How can I make myself happy? "Everything's Changed" - Lonestar (huh?)

What should I do with my life? "Make A Move" - Lostprophets (I've already done that)

Will I ever have children? "The Boys are Back in Town" - Thin Lizzy (oh no!)

What is some good advice for me? "You're Beautiful" - James Blunt (thanks i-pod shuffle)

How will I be remembered? "You Can't Hurry Love" - Diana Ross & The Supremes (what does that mean?)

What is my signature dancing song? "Nights in White Satin" - Moody Blues (yeah, i'm a slow dancer)

What do I think my current theme song is? "1 Thing" - Amerie

What does everyone else think my current theme song is? "I Melt" - Rascal Flats (really?)

What song will play at my funeral? "Meet in the Middle" - Diamond Rio (meet who in the middle?)

What type of men/women do I like? "Nowhere Man" - The Beatles (that's not true)

What is my day going to be like? "Take a Letter Maria" - New Riders Of the Purple Sage

Spring is here!

2006-03-26T20:42:00.000+03:00

Yay!!! Spring is finally here! The weather has been so nice this last week and I think that this time it's here to stay. I just had to go out and go for a walk today....as did everyone else in my city. I think that all of Montana was suffering from cabin fever, but now with this warm weather and bright clear sky everyone is getting outdoors. Yeah, all of that just sounded corny...but hey, it's true. During the Winter I never saw people outdoors. When I'd walk down to the center of town the most people I'd see was maybe a hundred or so - the city was dead. But today when I walked down town there were hundreds if not a thousand people out. All of the cafes had their chairs and tables set up out side - and every seat was occupied. Kids were riding their bikes and playing in the park. The babas (grandmas) were occupying their benches. And the birds were even singing! Awww. This warm weather has really brightened my mood. I almost felt like skipping today!

Yes, I know...that is the cheesiest stuff that I've ever written.

In other news I must say that there ain't nothin' like a home-cooked meal! Especially when I don't have to do all of the cooking. I spent yesterday with Nelly (my friend/co-worker/tutor) learning how to make some traditional Bulgarian dishes. We spent half the day in the kitchen cooking...but all that time and effort produced some of the best damn food I've had since I was home for Christmas! I learned how to make Bulgarian stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, carrot salad, and banitsa. Oh man, the food was just delicious. And the best part of the day was that after dinner (with Nelly's family) Nelly sent the left-overs home with me! Now I won't be needin' to cook for at least two days - I'm all set.

*Just a note: My photos are updated on my flickr account.* This picture here was taken last weekend when my friends and I went to Shumen for a St. Paddy's Day party. My pal Jon arranged for us to stay at a boarding school (in actuality it's an orphanage) and it was the creepiest place that I've ever stayed. I've taken to calling it "The Shining."

Честита Баба Марта (Chestita Baba Marta)

2006-03-01T22:26:00.000+02:00

A Bulgarian Tradition: Today was Baba Marta (Grandma Marta day). On this day, the first of March, people give friends and family red and white pin-on tassels or bracelets (called martenitzas) to wear - symbolizing health, happiness, luck, good wishes etc. A lot of my students and colleagues gave me bracelets and tassels today. As a rule, a person is supposed to wear these until they see a stork or swallow or a budding tree. Then they take the bracelet or tassel (just one) and tie it to a budding tree. I've got 16 bracelets and 18 tassels, so I'll be decorating a lot of trees. I thought that having this many bracelets and tassels put me at the head of the class. But not compared to my friend Mickie who came away from school today with 42 bracelets and 2 pin-on tassels!!! How many martenitzas did you get? Hmmm?

Here's a copy of a text off the net about this Bulgarian tradition:

"Before the beginning of March each year Bulgarians present to relatives and friends martenitsa (also known in some Bulgarian regions as martenka) - a double red and white tassel - to bring health and happiness.
On the first day of March, people in Bulgaria put the martenitsa-s on their clothes or wrists and wish each other health and happiness with "Chestita baba Marta" - (in English, "Happy Grandma Marta"). "Marta" comes from the word for March (Mart) in Bulgarian.
This is an ancient Bulgarian (pagan) tradition (well - nobody knows how old but most probably it's more than one thousand years old) and symbolizes the end of the cold winter and the coming of the spring.
Martenitsa-s are supposed to be worn until the person sees the first stork (supposedly returning from the South and not the one in the Zoo). Then martenitsa-s are thrown onto a tree. The red and white colors symbolize the snow and the blood from an old story where, a stork brings the blessing for health to a small child from its parents, who are far away. The giving of the martenitsa makes you feel to expect the Spring very soon. The "arrival" of the stork indicates that this has happened. " http://www.b-info.com/places/Bulgaria/BabaMarta/

Catch-up

2006-02-26T16:06:00.000+02:00

Ok, I'm finally taking the time to update this here blog and let you all know that I'm still alive; and to fill you in on what's been going on in the "fabulous life of Stephanie." :-)

First, let me say a big THANK YOU to my mama, Janet and Leigh from my local Key Bank, and to my good friend Krysta for the packages! Thank You so much! Receiving those packages full of goodies totally rocked my world! I shared all of the Valentine's candy with my students, colleagues, and friends, and gave pencils out to folks too. But the pop-tarts are just for me - I'm not sharing those.

Things have been going pretty good. Actually, the best that they have been since I've been here. I've got a full schedule of teaching and am keeping pretty busy trying to get my project rolling. (The project where I'm trying to bring a group of Bulgarian folk dancers to Utah this summer). I am now teaching an adult English class for the teachers at my school four days a week. It's going better than I imagined it would, because I was really nervous to teach my colleagues. I didn't really know any of the teachers well and I had never taught adults before; so I was pretty intimidated. But the class has turned out to be a lot of fun. I get to be my regular goofy self - acting out both parts in two part dialogues and drawing pictures on the board. I'm trying to make the class just as fun for the adults as I try to for the kids. The best part about teaching my colleagues though, is that the only people there are the ones who really want to learn English. So, I'm not having to spend half of my time saying "be quiet," like I do with the kids.

This project that I've taken on is a lot bigger than I had thought. It's a monstrous task! Especially trying to find the funds to get the dancers to America. Thank goodness I've got my mom and others back home to help me out and to get things rolling on that end while I'm here taking care of passports, visas, and fundraising. I have just learned that the mayor of Montana also wants to come with the group of dancers to Utah. He plans on helping to fund this little adventure, so he's more than welcome to come along.

Other than teaching and project work things are pretty much the same. I thought that Spring was in the air because it had started to warm up and all the snow had melted. But it was all a lie. It's been raining and snowing the last three days. Winter isn't quite gone yet.

We did have a fire drill at school last week. That was an experience. The day before the drill all of the teachers were told that there would be a drill at 10:00 the next day. So my counterpart explained to me that all I had to do was gather my kids (the sixth graders that I would have at that hour) and take them out on the playground. I asked her "where exactly do I take them?" and Zlatka just pointed out the window in the general direction of the playground. I thought, "Ok, whatever. It should be easy enough. I'll just follow the others." Well, the next day, the day of the big fire drill, at precisely 10:00 all hell broke loose! It was insane! In America when there's a fire drill the kids wait for the teacher, then walk out into the hall and out of the building in an orderly manner - some what; each kid usually has a buddy and they follow the teacher outside to their designated waiting point. Not so here. Before I could even grab my coat the whole class had rushed out the door and was barreling down the hall - along with the rest of the school. It didn't matter that I told them to wait for me, to follow me, and to stay together. (This was all said in Bulgarian so that there would be no confusion) So, I put on my coat, grabbed the class diary and headed out after my students. Once out on the playground I only spotted about 10 of my 20 kids. Great. So I had to look around for the others and eventually I was able to herd them all to the other end of the playground, as far from the building as possible. But then the vice-principal came around and told us that we needed to move closer to the school and line up with the other kids. Ok, so I moved my kids closer. We were supposed to stand by the other 6th grade classes but there was no room for us. So I managed to squeeze my class in between the 8th and 9th grade classes. My kids were nervous about standing next to the other kids, but I made them stay there anyway. At least with my kids being a bit nervous they stayed right with me and didn't even talk - I should take them around the older kids more often. So, there we were, all 600 kids and 45 teachers, lined up on the playground looking at the school and waiting. What we were waiting for I had no clue. I'm not always informed as to what exactly is going on. But after about 5 minutes of waiting a fire engine and police car came racing on to the playground and pulled up to the school. The fire men got out (in full gear) and ran into the school with their fire hose. Then, they all came walking out of the school two seconds later peeling off their fire gear. They got into their truck and drove away. Ok, I guess that's what we were all waiting for. As I was watching the fire truck drive away one of my kids tapped me on the arm and said "Miss Steph, all of the teachers are over there (as she points to the other end of the play ground where EVERY single teacher and employee at the school is standing around the principal obviously listening to something important)." "Maybe you should go over there" my student says. "Yeah, I think that I should" I said. So I told kids to wait there and that I'd be back in a minute. But just as I was half way to where all of the teachers were standing they broke their huddle and hurried back to their students and then started urging their students back into the school. AHHHHHH. So I turned around to hurry back to my own students, who were already walking towards the school. Jeeze! Don't these kids ever listen to me? And why am I always so in the dark about what's going on? After seeing my students already heading back into the school I figured that there was no point in even trying to gather them up and have them stay with me. So I just took my time and strolled back to class. Once I got there I just got the kids going with their lesson again. Nothing was said about the fire drill, their lack of listening and following directions, or of my confusion. Good God, I hope to never have to do a fire drill again!

Irritating and Embarrassed

2006-02-02T21:36:00.000+02:00

I think that the electrician/handy man, Bouyan, from my school really hates me. Ok, maybe hate is too strong of a word. But, he's definitely irritated by me. First, in August, he had to come to my apartment to check out my windows because rain was coming in from around the sides of them. Then he had to come back a few days later to seal the windows. Next, he had to come over in October to bring me a couple of heaters. And then he had to come back a week later to fix one of the heaters because it just stopped working. Finally, he had to come to my place today to fix my oven - which hasn't been working for the last month and a half. I know that he wasn't happy about having to come to my apartment today because I tried talking to him but he just gave me monosyllable answers and dirty looks. It's not like I seek him out to come and fix things. I tell my counterpart when something is not right, then she tells my principal, and then my principal tells Bouyan. I don't necessarily like having to have someone come over and fix things all of the time - it's just as big of a pain to me as it is to them. If I could, I'd just buy new things rather than having a cranky old guy come and fix them!

I think part of Bouyan's crankiness today was that he didn't believe anything was wrong. But after he got to looking at my stove/oven he found out that it REALLY was broken and that I wasn't making it up. It took him about and hour to find out what the problem was, go to the store and get a new part, and then replace the broken part with the new one. He was in a much better mood once he fixed the oven. I think the feeling of accomplishment cheered him up. So, now that I've got a working oven again, I baked a loaf of banana bread. I'll be taking that to Bouyan tomorrow as "thank you" for being my Mr. Fix-it. He really is an ingenious man, but a little cranky. (I've watched him take apart my radiator and oven, fix them, and them put them back together in no time at all.)

My oven.....exposed

This morning, before the whole getting my oven repaired adventure, I succeeded in completely embarrassing myself in front of my 7th graders. Today's lesson was about hostels and traveling around and my students had to translate a text about the Youth Hostel Association. Whenever I have my kids translate texts I always make a list of words that I anticipate them asking about - this saves time - so I'm not looking in the dictionary during class. One of the words in today's text was "member," as in a "member of the hostel association." I assumed that this would be a word that my students didn't know so I looked it up last night. But it turns out that the Bulgarian word for member, член (chlen), that I looked up has a different meaning. Apparently this word refers to the "member" on a human male's body - I'm not saying anymore than that. You can only imagine how hard my students were laughing and how red my face got when my kid's said that this was a bad word. Jeeze, I must be really slow to not have made that connection when I was writing the word. I'm pretty sure that I've heard that term in the past when someone was referring to well...you know. Ahhh, the joys of learning a new language.

Good News

2006-02-01T13:29:00.000+02:00

Since I finished with school early today I thought that I'd take this opportunity to write a little bit about my good news.

First, I need to say (and Melody will agree with me) how much I LOVE birthdays and name days in Bulgaria! They just make my school days a little bit brighter. When a Bulgarian has a birthday or name day (the day of the saint that a person is named after) it's customary for them to bring loads of chocolates and goodies to school/work/gatherings and treat everybody else. So, unlike in America when we expect people to treat us on our birthdays, the birthday boy/girl treats his/her friends and colleagues. This means that whenever there is a birthday or name day (which there have been a lot of lately in my school) I get treated with all sorts of goodies. Oh, how I love that! But, not only do Bulgarians treat others on birth/name days, they also treat when there's some sort of big event like: a child is born, a child's first day of school, a child gets accepted into a new school, a graduation, a wedding, or any sort of good news. There are so many reasons. Which means, that the teacher's room at school is almost always filled with chocolates and cookies. (I never have to bring my lunch to school.)

Now, the good news.... I just got a phone call from my momma this morning telling me that I'll be an Auntie again. My brother and sister-in-law are going to have their first baby! Yay!!!!! I'm so excited! Since I got this news before going to school I had to tell all of my students and the other teachers that I was going to get a new niece or nephew. They all congratulated me and said that's "great." And then I realized something....this was GREAT news to share.....did that mean that I should have brought chocolates and goodies to treat my colleagues? Oh no! Maybe I just totally screwed up! If I did, then I hope that they forgive me for not realizing that I should have brought treats to school. I'll be sure to bring plenty of treats when the baby is born. That ought to make up for it. I love this whole "cherpi" (treating others) business, except when I have to do it.

I also got some more great news from mom (news that doesn't require me treating others); there are a few packages with my name on them and they're headed this way as we speak!!!! Woo Hoo! I wasn't really expecting people to send me anything. That "reminder" post was kind of a joke.....but not really. But anyway, THANK YOU ladies at Key Bank, and thank you mom!!! I'll be sure to let everyone know when I receive the packages.

And the last great news that I have to share is that this is the last week of the first semester and we have a short vacation break before the second semester starts. Now, this is news worth celebrating! Bring out the goodies and the rakia!

"Love for Miss Stef" Awww, isn't that the cutest thing? Emilia, one of the 5th graders, gave me this drawing. Too cute.

This painting on the right is something that Boshidara, one of my 8th graders, gave to me a while back. I love it!

Mummer's Festival

2006-01-29T16:09:00.000+02:00

I spent another weekend checking out the unique folk traditions of Bulgaria. This time, Nikola and I went to Pernik (near the capital city of Sofia) to check out the XVI International Mummers Festival. This was a pretty big event, involving dancers from seven different countries - including my family's "old country" of Italy! It really was amazing to see all of the unique costumes and dances of the people involved in the parade/competition.

Because I don't want to try and explain the mummer's festival or Koukeri dancers in my own words, here's a copy of a text that I got off of a Bulgarian news web-site.

"The event, full of dance, songs, rituals and customs, has become a tradition in the past 35 years and aims to preserve, develop and popularise the authentic masquerade rituals, the Bulgarian game-playing and customs involving masks, as unique, original variants of the European tradition of masked carnivals. In Bulgarian folklore tradition, masked games serve as ritual blessings for good health, fertility and well-being. The festival has a competitive element and represents a meeting place of the bearers of the traditions of the traditional bachelor masquerade rituals, most popularly known as survakari or koukeri. These are the people whose symbolism targets driving away evil forces, and making good wishes for a plentiful harvest, health and fertility of people and livestock. Kouker's dances are performed by the so called kuks, old men, old women and camel drivers. Some of them dress in furs or in traditional women's costumes. Clusters of bells hang down from the waist of each dancer.

The tradition dates back to distant pagan times and the culture of the ancient Thracian population of the Balkans. All the kouker dances also have Slavic features and are bound to the transition from one year to another. Their names in separate regions of Bulgaria are different - "survakare", "nevesta" (maid), "vasilchare", "mechkare", "starzi". The animal masks are characteristic of the survakar's customs. They are connected to the eternal circle of nature - birth, flourishing, death and resurrection, as well as to the daily routine and social life, and the approaching awakening of Nature, sets the time of the koukeri and survakari.
The pre-spring customs have a Thracian basis and are connected with seeing the New Year in the first Sunday before Lent or the first week of Lent. The so-called "gugli" (hoods) are typical for the mummer's masks. They are usually decorated with beads, ribbons, woolen braids, pieces of mirror and flowers. These practices are found mostly in Thrace, Southeast and Northeast Bulgaria.

The central square in Pernik will be filled with survakari and koukeri's dances and varied personages, wearing unique masks, costumes, and bells of multiple tones will all combine dancing and music in a show of original theatre. These are an illustration of the most vital and deep-rooted traditions in bachelor fancy-dress rites, which were started in the remote past and have been preserved to the present day. The event is an original performance of winter and early spring fancy-dress rites, which are still popular. With their fur clothes, mixture of national costumes and animal masks and horrifying masks, and the bells, the masquerade games and customs - with their lively dancing ritual steps - reflect the eternal fight between light and darkness, good and evil.These traditions exist and are preserved in almost all regions of Bulgaria."

Baby it's cold outside

2006-01-26T06:30:00.000+02:00

I can't ever remember being this cold! Of course, I probably say that every winter. This week there has been a horrific cold front that came in from Russia and settled right over Bulgaria. Temperatures have been so low that half of the schools in Bulgaria have closed. Most teacher Peace Corps volunteers have had the week off to stay home in their warm apartments. But not me. Noooo, my school had to have central heating. Which means that it's plenty warm inside for the students to go to school. It doesn't matter that it's between 5 and 10 degrees outside and kids have to walk in that weather! Ah, I'm not really complaining. If I'd have had to stay home from school I would have been bored. I am, however, complaining about the freezing cold weather that I have to walk 40 minutes in to get to school!

Oh, last weekend I went with my friend Nancy to a nearby village to watch their Babin Den celebration. This was a day to celebrate the oldest midwife in the village. Traditionally it's a ceremony only for women, but there were a few men present. This day was about honoring the oldest midwife, blessing the children and mothers of the village, and asking God for more babies so the village can stay alive. (But really, it was all about dancing the horo and eating lots of home-made foods!) It was a fun event to watch. Even if it was freezing cold!

A Reminder

2006-01-19T17:50:00.000+02:00

Just a friendly reminder to all of you fantastic people in America. I am currently accepting care packages, and will continue to do so for the duration of my service in Bulgaria (until July 2007). Packages may include (but are not limited to): strawberry (or cherry) pop-tarts, cheetos, cheddar cheese, hamburger helper, Kraft mac and cheese (please, not the powdered cheese kind), any kind of Italian or Mexican food, fruit snacks, chewy granola bars, suckers, Jiffy corn bread mix, tortilla chips, tortillas (tired of making my own), peanut butter, pesto, jerky, graham crackers, gold fish crackers, chai tea, no-bake cheesecake mix, pancake mix, and any other food that you'd like to include. Packages may also contain: stickers, pencils, construction paper, zip-lock bags, music CDs, DVDs, and again, any thing else that you would like to send to me.

Thank you for your contribution. I look forward to receiving your packages.

Have A Nice Day,
Stephanie Giacoletto
5 SOU "Hristo Botev"
Dimitar Podvarzachov, 1
3400 Montana
BULGARIA

Hmmm?

2006-01-19T12:11:00.000+02:00

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to good manners and elegance.

In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you.

You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is high. You can't resist desire and lust.

You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage.

In this moment, you think of love as something you don't need. You just feel like flirting around and playing right now.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

I will survive

2006-01-17T17:39:00.000+02:00

I think that I just might make it here afterall. After about a two week period of absolute depression (the lowest that I've ever been in my life), things are starting to look up. For starters, I will begin teaching two after school extra curricular English classes for 5th and 6th graders starting next week; with a class for my colleagues starting the following week. This will put me at school till about 3:30 almost everyday, which I'm perfectly "ok" with...since I really don't enjoy sitting on my butt half of the day. Another thing that will truly make my life here a little bit brighter is that I no longer have to teach the dreaded 5th "A" class. Yep, the principal has taken that class off of my schedule and replaced it with classes for the 6th grade (which I greatly appreciate). This change came about due to me walking out of the monster's class last Wednesday and telling them that I was NEVER going back to their class. And I'm not. I went to the principal and told her that the class was unteachable and that I was wasting my time and that I'd like to trade classes with another teacher - which is what I did.

Now, I know that if I was a regular Bulgarian teacher or even a regular teacher in the states the principal would just say "tough luck" or "deal with it." But here, I'm some what of a "prize" to my school (beats me why). It's like I'm their "American." And being that I'm their American they're totally catering to me and trying hard not to upset my delicate feelings. This is absolutely unfair to the Bulgarian teachers who have to deal with the monsters everyday and who aren't able to trade classes. But, if getting rid of that class is going to make my life here just a little bit easier, then go ahead and treat me like a princess - I don't mind at all.

And another thing that has succeeded in cheering me up is that my lessons for the 8th grade this week and next week are all about music and movies. Fantastic! Yesterday I did a lesson on the history of rock-n-roll. So I took music to school and let my students listen to music from the last 5 decades that showed the development of rock-n-roll music of the 1950's to rock music today - I totally loved it (and the kids enjoyed it to)! And on Thursday I'm going to show part of a movie to go with our lessons about movies. Maybe I'll show a Mr. Bean clip - that has easy enough English, so they'll be able to understand. Just being able to have fun in school makes everything so much better.

2006-01-13T13:18:00.000+02:00

Your Inner Blood Type is AB!

Your personality is hard to define - you're very unconventional.
And even if your personality could be defined, it would be completely different next week!
Outgoing and shy, sensitive and thoughtless, you tend to have a very split personality.
This makes you unpredictable. You can be a total angel - and a total devil.

You are most compatible with: everyone!

Famous Type AB's: Jackie Chan and Marilyn Monroe

What's Your Inner Blood Type?

Restless...

2006-01-13T11:57:00.000+02:00

I'm feeling restless and lost and confused and lazy. It's hard to explain really. Just a feeling of utter hopelessness. I haven't come out of the funk that I've been in since coming back to Bulgaria. As the days go by it seems to be getting worse. I'm wondering if I'm really making a difference here. Am I making a positive impact on my community? Are my students actually learning English? Does anyone here care that I'm here? As of right now I think that the answer to those questions is "no." It's difficult to make a positive and noticeable impact on a community of 50,000 when I'm just another face in the crowd. I don't know that my students are learning any more English than they would from a Bulgarian teacher. And I don't think that my students or anyone else really cares that I'm here. I'm feeling useless.

I go to school at 7:00 and I get home by 1:30 or 2:00. And you know what I do with the rest of the day? NOTHING. I don't go anywhere, I don't see anybody, and I don't do anything but read or make up useless lesson plans. I hate being lazy. I wasn't brought up to be lazy. This schedule was nice is the beginning because it felt so relaxing. Now, after having gone home and gotten a glimpse into my old life and how I was constantly on the move (like Americans are), I feel sluggish and gross. I'm attempting to change this. I spoke with my principal yesterday and asked if I can set up after school English classes or clubs for students who want to learn more English. She said "yes." So, that's one step in the right direction. That will put me at school until at least 3:00 or 4:00 and give me less down time. Maybe I will feel like I'm actually doing something...maybe. (Who would have thought that joining the Peace Corps would make me feel lazy?) It's hard to shake the American ideal that you should be busy all day long.

I should go back to the orphanage and play with the kids more...but I can't bring myself to go anymore. It's so heart-wrenching and emotional draining. It's great for the kids to be able to play with someone and for someone to hold and cuddle them, but it's hard on me. Yeah, call me a coward or insensitive jerk for not wanting to give comfort to little kids...but it just hurts my heart when I leave and they latch onto me or cry. And I've yet to make any Bulgarian friends. It's hard to break through that language and culture barrier. I talk to my counterpart, my tutor, other teachers, and Olga at the house wares shop. But those are all people in their late 30's and mid 40's. I've yet to meet people my age who are not married and who have the patience to try and talk to me. I do have great Peace Corps friends, but they're all so far away from me - the only way to see them is to travel for hours on a bus or a train. This is turning into a rambling "woe with me" mess of a post - feeling quite sorry for myself. So, I'll direct you to Melody's latest Jan. 12th post (http://harm1020.livejournal.com/), and to Lucia's latest Jan. 13th post (http://www.xanga.com/syannelevovna/). They're able to put into words much better than I some of the feelings that I (and many volunteers) are going through at this cold time of year.

Christmas vacation

2006-01-10T16:22:00.000+02:00

Ok, I've been putting off writing a post for long enough...so here goes; but where do I start? Well...I guess that I'll start at the beginning and finish at the end.

Christmas vacation was great, but not nearly long enough. I went home for Christmas. Yep, home as in good-old Helper, Utah, home. Don't feel bad if you feel like I've kept a secret from you...because I kept the secret from everyone. My mom, my Uncle Hank, and my Aunt Janneke were the only ones who knew that I was going home for Christmas. I wanted to surprise my family and friends, and I did. By far my dad's reaction was the best! When my mom and I got to my parents house I waited outside around the corner of the house (in the dark) while my mom hollered at my dad to come outside and see the "package" that she had picked up while in Salt Lake City. When my dad came outside and walked around the corner I walked up behind him and said "dad!" My dad turned around and jumped about a foot in the air and said "Ahhhhhhhh!" Then I reached out to him to give him a hug, but he just walked away from me. I was stunned. I asked him "Where are going? Why won't you give me a hug?" But he didn't say anything and just kept on walking toward the inside of our car-port. Finally, after he turned on the light so he could see me, he came back to me and gave me a big hug and a kiss. He just couldn't believe that it was me and thought that someone was playing a joke on him. After he hugged and kissed me he asked me what I was doing home, how long I was home for, why I wasn't in Greece for vacation like I said I would be, and then he called me and my mom liars for keeping the secret from him. Awww...it was a great home coming. My brothers and sisters-in-law also had great reactions upon seeing me. I can't recall ever getting so many hugs from my brothers.

So while I was at home I tried to see as many people as I could, and do as many things as I could in the 10 days that I had. Some things that I did were: hugged all of my family members and just spent time with them, played with my nephews, went shopping with my mom and my Aunt Janneke (which I desperately needed to do - can't find clothes in Bulgaria that fit me), spent time with my bestest friend (cousin too) Krissy, hung out with other cousins and family members, hung out with old friends, rode my horse and spent hours grooming her, rode a 4-wheeler, took the dog (Misty) for a long walk up Spring Canyon, DROVE a car/truck, slept in my own comfy bed, put my clothes into a dryer, drank a double-chocolate shake (thanks Bill), and ate fabulous food: ham, turkey, STEAK, shrimp, biscuits and country gravy (my favorite), hash browns, my mom's lamb stew, parmesan cheese, CHEDDAR cheese, lettuce, a delicious pear, Frito's corn chips, and Mrs. Cavenaugh's chocolate!

I also ran into, and met, so many people who were interested in what I'm doing here in Bulgaria and who wanted to help out. Now, I've got people who are going to send me toys and games for my students (learning/behavior incentives), stickers and pencils, teaching materials, kids books, decorations for the classroom, and other things to help me out in the classroom. THANK YOU to all you wonderful people back home!!! I wouldn't trade my small town, or the people in it, for the world! Also, a special thanks to Father Rock from St. Francis University (IL) for being one the most genuinely kind and giving persons that I've ever met.

So yeah, being home was excellent. But it was hard too; because I knew that I'd just have to turn around and leave again to come back to Bulgaria. In a way I wasn't home long enough and in another I was home too long. I wasn't home long enough to see everyone that I wanted to, nor to do all that I wanted. But I was home long enough to start to fall back into my old routine and to do most of the things that I've been missing so much. A blessing and a curse. I do know, however, that if I'd stayed home longer then I wouldn't have wanted to come back to Bulgaria. As much as I enjoy being here, I really miss home. I guess that I'm suffering from a little set back. It will just take a little while to get back into the swing of Bulgaria.

I have found a project to do. Something to help me along and to keep me motivated when homesickness and rotten students are getting me down. I'd like to do a folk festival of sorts and take about 15 of my students (who are phenomenal folk dancers) to Utah in the summer time. I think that I'd like to bring them for a week so they can do a few folk dancing performances around the state, and so they can see some of the beauty that is Utah (like this picture). I know that this is a huge project, one that will require major funding (hint hint), but I think that with grants and fundraising from my school I should be able to pull it off. And if it happens, well then...that means that I'd be going home again in about 7 months! We'll just have to wait and see if I can pull it off.

Hello supermarket

2005-12-15T20:22:00.000+02:00

This here is the latest addition to my city...a Billa supermarket. Billa is a German owned supermarket chain with stores all over Bulgaria and Eastern Europe. It truly is a special place. A place where I can find novelty items or things that I haven't seen since I've been in Bulgaria. Things like: parmesan cheese, pesto, whole-wheat bread and even lettuce. Such a magical store. Though, I can't help but liken it to a Super Wal-Mart. A place that comes in and sucks the life out of the smaller businesses. The Billa just opened today and I've yet to talk to any of the small shop owners about how they think Billa will affect their businesses. But in my own jaded view I don't think that it will have a good effect. I foresee struggles for the little corner shops. I don't think that all the small shops will close, but I'm sure that they will suffer the effects of the supermarket. If the little shops can last the first 6 months of the Billa, then they will probably make it. They just have to stick it out and wait till the newness wears off. Of course, this is my own hardened opinion based on the fact that my family's small town grocery store (family owned and operated for almost 83 years!) has withstood the Super Wal-Mart plague, while many other businesses did not. I know that Bulgaria is trying hard to become more westernized and strives to be like America, but it's sad when becoming "westernized" means embracing huge supermarket chains that monopolize all the business and kill the "little men."

Here's one of the small neighborhood
markets that I frequent - they're
all about this size (maybe a bit bigger).
These are the folks that will be
effected by the Billa.

And as against these huge grocery store chains as I am...I will be going to the Billa. Because, well....it's as close to America as I'll get while I'm in Bulgaria. And I love parmesan cheese!!

The Sickest Thing

2005-12-15T15:57:00.000+02:00

This post is dedicated to Jadyn (Melody's niece) who asked Melody a month or so ago "what is the grossest thing in Bulgaria?" I think Melody's answer was something like having to sit next to smelly old men on the busses...which truly is gross.

As I was walking through the halls of school today I stepped in something that caused my foot to slip. I looked down to see what I had stepped in and it turns out that it was a loogy. Yep, a loogy. It seems that it's perfectly normal for men and boys to hock up loogies no matter where they are - walking in school, in other buildings, in the street - doesn't matter (I've even seen old women doing it). But why stop at loogies? Sure, why not blow snot-rockets too? Ooops, they already do. Well, as far as I've seen they'll only do snot-rockets in the street or on the side walk - I haven't actually seen any boys doing this in school; and I'm sure that they don't do it their homes. This thing with boys/men, and even women, spitting up loogies wherever they are and blowing snot-rockets is, in my opinion, the grossest thing in Bulgaria! (really, it's the grossest thing anywhere)

So....the sickest thing; this post.

I Wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas!

2005-12-15T12:58:00.000+02:00

I still haven't figured out how to play music on my blog :-( So, just click on this link and you'll hear what I wanted to have playing on my blog.

http://soe.hyperchat.com/newchat/u/yummy/~soe/Hippo2.mp3

Christmas spirit

2005-12-14T16:02:00.000+02:00

What happens when half of my 5th grade monsters don't come to class? The answer: I have the best class ever!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even question why half of my class didn't show up today...I was just grateful that they didn't. Seriously, all of my hellions (12 students in all) were gone today. This was just the break that I needed because lately I've felt like beating some of these kids. Occasionally I will flick a kid's ear or maybe bonk them on the head with my book, but a beating is what they really need. And now that I've had a break from them that urge to strangle them has waned...some what.

So, Christmas will be here soon and I'm so excited to have a 2 week break. Though, it doesn't really "feel" like Christmas. I don't know, maybe it's the lack of Christmas songs on the radio or the fact that there are absolutely NO Christmas movies on T.V. I'm just not feeling the Christmas "spirit." Sure, my city has some trees in the city center decorated with lights and I have decorations up in my apartment, but it just doesn't seem like Christmas. Sigh

I think that Bulgaria has ruined my taste in music. You know all that "pop" music and such that I'd never be caught dead listening too? Well, that's the stuff that I listen to now. It's not like I really have a choice though, because that's all that is played here. Yep, my new favorite songs are now "Push the Button" by the Sugarbabes and "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls. It's just a sick sad world.

I must give a big "Thank You" to my brother's teacher Mrs. Carrillo who helped me with a dilemma that I was having. You see, for my lessons about Christmas I'm teaching my students the song "Jingle Bells." And the word "bobtail" has caused much confusion - in that I had absolutely no idea what a bobtail was. I scoured the internet and found that a bobtail is either a type of cat, a type of dog, or even a type of truck for transporting propane. In short, I had no clue what to tell my students. Finally, Mrs. Carrillo cleared things up for me, and this is what a bob-tail is (in the Jingle Bells song): A bobtail is a shorted tail of a horse, dog or sheep. When a sleigh is normally driven by a horse, the driver ties up its tail with a ribbon and then puts bells on it so they ring as you are going for your ride. The tail is tied up so that it doesn't get caught anywhere. Why did it take coming to Bulgaria to finally learn what a bobtail is? These Bulgarian kids are going to have more knowledge about American Christmas songs than Americans do.

2005-12-08T14:05:00.000+02:00

You Are "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
You would even say it glows.

For you, Christmas is a mix of tradition and fun.
You're not above strapping on a red blinking nose for a laugh.

What Christmas Carol Are You?

grocery shopping horror

2005-12-06T19:30:00.000+02:00

Two posts in one day! I'm on a roll.

Ok, so I should not go shopping for food anymore...unless of course I have my dictionary with me! I went to the store today and bought my regular apples, bananas, bread, and eggs. But while I was there I saw some yummy looking pudding. I didn't really pay attention to what was written on the package because, well... I'm lazy and I didn't want to have to try and translate it. I just saw the words "delicious" and "yogurt" and the picture of a grandma eating some creamy pudding. Well, turns out that it's not pudding. The words that I chose not to pay attention to were the words "thick and buttery." So it seems that I've bought myself some thick and buttery yogurt. Fantastic! (Just an FYI, the only reason I would have bought pudding with yogurt in it is because Bulgarians put yogurt in everything - you can't escape it.)

Here's another shopping mishap. On Saturday I went to the store and bought some frozen chicken breasts for dinner. When I got home I set the package in the sink to thaw out and when it was time for dinner I opened up the package and took out a chicken breast. The breast had the skin on it so I started peeling that off right away. But under that skin was more skin...and then more skin. Turns out that I bought a package of chicken skins. Again, another instance where actually trying to read the words would have saved me time and money.

Oh, then the very next day I went back to the store and thought that I'd buy some fish for dinner. I saw some halibut in the frozen foods and snagged that right up. It wasn't until I got home and actually read the package that I learned that I bought shark meat. Shark meat! I wasn't about to go back to the store and try my luck again. So I just baked my shark fillet and put some lemon and pepper on it. And you know what? It tasted just like halibut! Some of these shopping adventures do have happy endings...and some don't.

Making students cry

2005-12-06T18:42:00.000+02:00

First of all let me say that I'm not even going to pretend to update on a regular basis anymore. I'll just update when I get the time.

So, I made one of my 7th graders cry today. It wasn't even on purpose! The story goes like this: Last time in class I gave my students a vocabulary pop quiz. I told the students that it was just like a test in that there was to be no talking and no cheating. - I laid down the rules from the start. - Well, half way into the quiz this girl, Bibi, tried to ask the students around her for some of the answers. I told her to be quiet and to keep her eyes on her own paper. That was her warning. Then, just one minute later she started talking again and asking for the answers. So I took her quiz from her and wrote a big 2 on it. (the Bulgarian equivalent of an F) She was a little surprised but didn't seem to perturbed. But today I gave the quizzes back to the class - after I recorded the scores in my grade book. As soon as Bibi got her quiz and saw the 2 still on it she started to cry. I mean, really cry....big fat tears and runny nose kind of cry. She asked my why she got the 2 and I told here it was because she was cheating and talking during the test. So she said "I'm sorry gosposhitsa. I'm sorry. Can I have a 3." I was like "what?" Just because she says that she's sorry doesn't mean that I'm going to change her grade - and I told her that. So she started crying even more. I chose to ignore her and tried to move on with the lesson. But she kept crying. Finally I told her to leave the class, and she said that she "didn't want to." And I told her that I didn't care what she wanted and told her to leave again. But she didn't. So, I went and got my counterpart and the principal. They both came to my class and talked with Bibi and the other students. Basically they told the kids that I am the teacher and what I say goes; oh, and that the students shouldn't cheat. After Zlatka (my counterpart) and my principal left the students were still in an uproar. They all wanted me to give Bibi a higher grade but I told them that I wasn't changing it. Then they asked if maybe Bibi could take a new test. I also said "no" to that. But I did say that they could all take the test again. I assumed that they would say "no" but they were all for it. Unbelievable! They all wanted to take a new test, even if it meant getting a lower grade. They just wanted to make Bibi happy and give her a chance to get a better grade - even if their grades got worse. - That is an example of a collectivist society. "All for one"

* Oh, Happy Late Thanksgiving! This was my first Thanksgiving away from home, but it wasn't all that bad. I had to work Thanksgiving day but was able to have a big dinner on Saturday with all of my great Peace Corps friends.

2005-11-09T16:32:00.000+02:00

kathy, melody, olivia, mickie and I in Veliko Tarnovo

2005-11-09T16:30:00.001+02:00

the rents and I at Klisurski monastery

Update.....finally

2005-11-09T16:30:00.000+02:00

Forgive me. It's been a month and four days since my last post. My only excuse is that I'm lazy. Well, I've been busy too. But also, I'm a procrastinator - always have been. It seems that every time I sit down to write a post I lose the motivation to do so and just tell myself that I'll do it tomorrow. Well, today is finally tomorrow. A lot has happened in the last month so I'll just try and summarize things for you all. Better yet, I'll just make a list of the high lights and the goings on. Here it is.

* First things first. My parents came to visit last month and it was fantastic!!! It was so great seeing the rents. They were only here for about 4 days - a short visit; but a visit none the less. I can't say that we went all over Bulgaria and saw all the wondrous things are "Bulgaria," because some of their bags were lost and we had to wait in my city for 2 days before the bags were delivered to us. But in that waiting the rents and I walked all over Montana and even visited a nearby monastery. We also spent an afternoon touring Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria) - we did that the evening before they had to fly back home. It was also discovered in that evening that the rents had left their plane tickets in my apartment - a 2 1/2 hr. drive away. So we got a car and a driver, at 9:00 at night, to take us to Montana and back. We made it to my apartment by 11:00, got the tickets, and were back in Sofia by 1:30 am. And then we got up at 5:00 and went to the airport where I watched my rents leave. :( Despite the lost luggage, the misplaced tickets and the somewhat dreary weather, we had a great time.

* After the rents left I visited Mickie for a night and went back to Sofia with her on the train. What is normally a 2 hr. train ride turned into a 4 hr. ordeal because our train was exceptionally slow, stopped numerous times, and eventually stopped for good just 15 min. from our final destination. Mickie and I really don't know what caused our train to stop and for us to sit and wait an hour for another train to come and get us. (hopping trains is quite an adventure) We are assuming that our train must have hit someone because when it stopped a swarm of policemen came rushing through the train and on both sides of it. The policemen outside the train were looking for something and a whole slew of them were crowded around the front of the train. We didn't really ask what was going on because we wouldn't have been able to understand any of it anyway. So, we just waited until a conductor told us that another train was coming and for us to get out of the train and wait outside. So, I got off the train - not an easy thing to do w/out a train platform. And then it was Mickie's turn to get off. But just and she was starting to descend two policemen came out of nowhere telling us to hurry so we could get the next train. One man kept saying "hurry hurry, leave." But while he was saying this he was holding onto Mickie's arms - while she was trying to get down. How was she supposed to hurry and leave with him holding onto her? He finally realized that he was stopping our progress and let go of Mickie just as the new train was arriving. So we hopped on the new train and found us a seat in a pee smelling compartment and counted the minutes until we'd finally get into Sofia.

* Ok, after that adventure with Mickie, Melody and I made our way to Oresh to visit Elena for her birthday. It only took about 4 hours and 4 different freezing cold trains, but we got there. And when we arrived at the Oresh train station there were a few people standing around and they heard Melody and I talking. They realized that we were Americans and they asked us if we were friends of Elena's. We said "yes." Then they asked if we were there for Elena's birthday. Again, we said "yes." And then they asked if we wanted a ride to Elena's house. Umm. We weren't sure about taking rides from strangers but since these people knew Elena, and knew that it was her birthday, we again said "yes." So we got in one of the guy's cars and he took us right into town - which was 2 klms. from the train station - and dropped us off right near Elena's house. Sometimes the hospitality is overwhelming. People can be so nice that it's a little alarming. I'm glad though that Elena lives in such a nice village - about 2,000 people. There truly are advantages to living in a small town - which is why I miss my own small town.

* Hmm. My next adventure was Halloween where myself and about 30 to 40 other volunteers got together in Veliko Tarnovo for a fantastic party filled with loads of food, dancing, and uhhh.... refreshing beverages. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. I even ended up going to bed with four other people! Ok, that didn't sound to good. What I mean to say is that the place where the party was was so packed that there weren't enough beds for everyone, so people had to share. So I fell asleep in a bed (actually two twin beds that were side by side) with Melody, Mickie, Jeremy, and Tia - all parties involved were fully dressed.

* Montana also has a new peace corps volunteer - a community development worker whose name is Jeffrey. He's an older gentleman (maybe 40 or so) who has just retired from the airforce and who has been a peace corps volunteer before - in Africa some 20 years ago. He's a nice guy, but pretty quiet. Olivia and I have had dinner with him a couple of times. I don't know that we'll be seeing that much because he's already told us that he likes to do his own thing. Oh well.

* I'm surely turning into an old lady. I've taken up knitting! Well...I'm crocheting too - something that I learned to do when I was about 11 or 12. I've already crocheted a scarf and am working on knitting another scarf. I've taught Mickie and Olivia how to crochet too. But my tutor is the one teaching Olivia and I how to knit. I think that I like crocheting more than knitting. It's kind of sad saying that I like these things at all - just shows what an only lady I'm becoming. But at least I'll have some nice warm scarves and maybe even a blanket.

* School is going well. I have some good days and some bad days and a lot of just "ok" days. The students are still monsters - especially my 5th "A" class. They are heathens. But most all of the other classes are good. I must say though, that whoever made up the "Hokey Pokey" is my hero. The kids love it! (even the vile 5th A class) It's funny that they love the Hokey Pokey so much. The 5th and 6th graders beg me to play it. It's a fun song and also a fun way for the kids to learn body parts and "left" and "right." It gives them something other than "head, shoulders, knees and toes" do to - which is the warm-up activity that we normally do.

* I've also started taking ballroom dance lessons with Olivia, Nancy, and Nikola in Nancy's town. Last night was our first night and it was a blast! I never thought that I'd come to Bulgaria and learn ballroom dancing! Last night we learned the Tango, the Rumba, and the Samba. Lessons will be every Tuesday night and we're all committed to going - it's so fun.

* Hmm. I guess the last thing to mention is the weather. It's freezing!!! Really though, it's only down to about 40 degrees during the day, but that's still cold. I wasn't ready for the cold weather just yet. I started wearing my long-underwear about a month ago and now I'm layering. For example, today I have on my long-johns (top and bottom), jeans, tube socks, a long sleeve T-shirt, two zip-up sweaters, and my coat, scarf and gloves. I can't imagine what I'll be wearing when it's actually "winter."

I tried to make this post as short and to the point as possible, but after a month's time there was quite a bit to write - and I did leave things out. I'll try and get back to my regular weekly updates so we won't have to go through long posts like this again.

2005-10-06T13:05:00.000+03:00

Your Hidden Talent

You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system.
And while this may not seem big, it can be.
It's people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes.
You're just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

2005-10-06T12:53:00.000+03:00

You Are Apple Cider

Smooth and comforting. But downright nasty when cold.

What Part of Fall Are You?

A not so brilliant idea..

2005-10-05T14:16:00.000+03:00

My grip on the reins is slipping. I thought that I had instilled a healthy dose of fear and respect into my 5th grade class, but it turns out that I didn't - they were just pretending. They're absolutely horrible and I don't know what to do. This week I've spent more time telling them to be quiet than actually teaching them. So today I had a brilliant idea. I'd do a sort of points reward system. I start the class out with 10 points on the board. I tell them that when they're behaving well I will give them points, but when they misbehave I will take points away. And when they get a total of 50 points they will have a free day - or a day in which we play games like: BINGO and Heads Up 7-up. I guess you could say that it's sort of a bully system. So if one or two kids are bad then the others tell them to behave or be quiet so they don't ruin everything for the rest of the class. I thought that this would be the answer to nightmare class. Well, it wasn't. Today, I started the class by putting the 10 points on the board and explaining why they were there; and by time the class was finished there were no points on the board and I had sent two kids out of the class. I know that it's not allowed to send students out of the class, but I did it anyway. Now I know that a point system won't work. Ok, so what next? I'm definitely making a new seating chart - which I should have done in the first place. And I think that I'll try making a behavior chart so individuals are rewarded for good behavior. All of the girls in my class (12 of them) and maybe two out of the ten boys are really well behaved and deserve to be rewarded. It's those other eight boys that I'd just like to throw out the window.