27 March 2011

Roman forts & Sheep yogurt


A few from the villa. The white church in the background is in Zhelzna.
Chiprovtsi is unseen, but several kilometers to the right. 
This weekend was fantastic. So happy Spring is here! I didn’t think the winter in Bulgaria was as awful as I had expected, but it was still pretty tough: the days were short, it was cold everywhere, and I caught pretty much every cold that came around. This weekend was a reminder of how great things can be. On Saturday I walked to Zhelezna (its name means ‘iron’ in Bulgarian), a village down the road from Chiprovtsi. There, I met with Palma, a teacher from Petar Parchevich, and the school director. We spent the day walking, picnicking at the director’s villa, and hiking up a mountain to an old Roman lookout post.


Roman wall

According to Director Trencheva, there are six such Roman ruins on mountain tops in the municipality and it took 7 minutes for a message from Belogradchik to reach Rome via smoke signals-a distance of about 1000 miles by foot on today’s roads or 550 miles by air. The ruins we hiked to are not reachable by path, announced by sign, or maintained by any park service, they just exist in the woods.  It’s incredible: after 2000 years, these rocks still stand in the places where they were set so long ago. Roman coins were found near one of the old walls a few years back, but it looked like the only recent visitors were some wild boars digging for food.


We grilled sausages, fetched water from a shallow well with a gourd, drank yellow rakia aged in hollowed wood, and her dog ate a bar of soap. It was lovely.


On Sunday, after the market (which was finally busy again!) I went over to Didi’s to make yogurt from sheep’s milk. First, we heated the fresh milk, then mixed it with some old yogurt (3.6% Бор Чвор is also acceptable to use as a starter), and poured the warm mix into clean jars. We wrapped them in towels to slow the cooling and after 3 or so hours—sheep yogurt. In the meantime, we ate mekitzi with cream from the boiled milk and I helped make devilled eggs. In the afternoon, I went with Jordanka on a long hike to discuss the million different ideas floating around for projects with kids and the environment and to see some different trails I might use for running. The eating cream on fried dough must end soon so the marathon training can begin! 


24 March 2011

World Water Day/Compost Kick-off/Carnival!



1st Day of 20 Days of Service Event: Petar Parchevich School, Chiprovtsi

A prep session with the 7th grade over coffee. They helped during the event and were awesome.

For me, not speaking or having too much of a role during the event is part of what made it successful; and, I'm sure, easier on everyone else as well not having to listen closely to decipher my Bulgarian.

Palma, the English teacher emceed during the Q&A on water facts, the 7th graders asked questions and kept score, the Deputy Mayor helped with crowd control when the enthusiasm of the competing teams got to be a bit wild, Tsetska oversaw the race to sort trash, and Neda, Tsetska, and Raf judged the Carnivale costumes. 
Ben, PCV from Svishtov demonstrating how to use a plastic jug to make a mask
During a prep day at the school. Foreground:Palma and Dani in masks; Background: Tsetska and I reviewing World Water Day quiz questions. 
Check out the awesome wooden composter. Thanks Stevie and Bombata! 
The students of Petar Parchevich School were divided into 5 teams made up of 1st-8th grade.  There were about 110 students. 
Participation and enthusiasm was amazing. They had fantastic answers-especially to the open ended questions like: how many ways can you save water in your daily routines? 
Timed race to sort trash: plastic, glass, paper, or compost? The winning team received Mardi Gras beads. At school today, some of the kids were still wearing them. 
Awards for best costumes
Clean up.
Ryan, PCV from Trigrad, Ben PCV from Svishtov, me, School Director Trencheva, PCV Tom from Nikopol, PCV Raf from Bregovo, English teacher Palma, Petar Parchevich Admin Tsveti, Neda from the Municipality

17 March 2011

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!


Instead of celebrating, I am sitting on a bus heading back to Chiprovtsi from Sofia (again!). So absurd. The service project is 5 days away and I’ve spent the last two in Sofia-horrible timing. A friend drove me to Sofia in the Tuesday evening after my right hand swelled up huge in a couple hours time for no reason. I felt like I had one of those foam fingers seen at sports games on my hand. It wasn’t clear what the cause was initially and PC med staff wanted to make sure it wasn’t something awful.

One of their doctors took me to have tests and been seen by specialists in Tokuda Hospital-a new Japanese hospital in Sofia. Wow, such a nice hospital. Weird thing to notice, but the toilets there even have temperature settings for the seats and the bidet water. Anyways, my hand continued swelling and turning colors until midday Wednesday and then started to shrink. The tests came back normal and it was concluded to be an allergic reaction to something like a bug or plant. I’m so grateful to be heading back to site…though I did enjoy going out for sushi and falafel while in Sofia…still, really terrible timing for something like this to happen.

I’m so nervous about Tuesday. I began working on the composting idea in the fall, but it was put on hold through the winter as different projects took priority. The idea of a kick-off party combined with a Mardi Gras celebration seemed like a good idea to re-energize the project and put the holiday décor care packages to good use. My colleagues agreed and I signed us up for the first event in Peace Corps Bulgaria’s 20 Days of Service. [The 20 Days of Service are 20 different events organized by PC volunteers around Bulgaria from now to the end of the year to highlight 20 years of service].

Well…since signing us up, a few things have changed. The date was shifted to the 22nd to better accommodate partner organizations; then, because the 22nd is also World Water Day and the school usually has a spring carnivale around this time-it was decided these should all be combined. For me, this sounds great, the more people and groups involved the better the outcome. But I’m struggling with my very American desire to have a finished action plan with itinerary, task list, activity owners, etc. There will be 100 kids from 1st-8th grade, expecting a composting-carnivale-world water-environment-spring day and I am so worried about letting them down.

I know I shouldn’t be too concerned, my colleagues in the Municipality are fantastic – they organized the summer camp in August, the kids are patient good kids, and the school has enthusiastic, involved teachers, but still. What if my plan takes 15 minutes and then nothing? I don’t have any clue what to do? Tsetska and I went to the school on Tuesday morning (before the foam finger weirdness) and presented composting to all of the classes. I had hoped to spend the past few days in the school, helping with the student’s preparation and encouraging involvement, but this, clearly did not occur.

I have to keep reminding myself of the analogy presented during one of our training sessions about the general working styles in America and Bulgaria. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but even if I did, I think it’s worthwhile, at least for my own peace of mind, to write about again. The American approach to project planning is like the approach to preparing an orchestra for a symphony whereas the Bulgarian approach is like preparing for a live jazz concert. In getting ready for a symphony, the outcome is already known, a conductor leads, musicians have specific roles in the composition and are provided with practice material to perfect. The result comes from practiced instruments playing the correct notes at the correct moment, thus fulfilling a composer’s intent. In the same way, Americans tend to approach project planning with an expected outcome, assigned tasks, deadlines, and success measured by how well the predetermined objectives were achieved.  

In contrast, a jazz concert, equally as beautiful comes about organically. There are instruments and a general idea of what will come about, but the beauty of jazz comes from the way the musicians respond to each other and the audience in the moment. Growing, reacting, and adjusting to the environment as it changes. In this way, our presenter said, Bulgarian project planning tends to produce results, but with much less emphasis on the ‘planning.’ We worry because we’ve only played in  symphonies before, where practice and a sheet music are indispensable. The Bulgarians already know how to play their instruments and, like with live jazz, you can’t prepare for where the music will take you, but should be confident that the outcome will still be beautiful. 

14 March 2011

Brochures and Meetings

Today was busy-in a very good way. Lots of meetings and activity towards next week. Tsetska made some final edits on my translated brochures and we printed and folded a 200. Meetings with school and a journalist were encouraging that next weeks project will come together.

13 March 2011

Spring is coming...


The weather this weekend was unbelievable: sunny, clear, warm. Amazing that a week ago there was more than a foot of snow on the ground and now I have the doors open and no fire. My first thought when I saw how great the weather was how perfect the day looked for doing laundry...I know this coming week will be crazy busy with Compost/Carnivale prep; spending the weekend cleaning and getting things in order was nice. 

10 March 2011

Пак на София: Peace Corps Photo Exhibition at the National palace for Culture


3/5ths of group Kravoder
“20 years of Peace Corps in Bulgaria” photo exhibition opened today in front of the National Palace for Culture in Sofia. The U.S. Ambassador, Mayor of Sofia and Peace Corps Director said a few words inside. The volunteer who followed them, speaking on behalf of all of us did an excellent job-very funny and touching. Then champagne and cake and it was time to go back to Chiprovtsi. Here is a video of from the event. It shows Nat's speech (in Bulgarian) and Cory sings Happy Birthday at the end. 
Picture from PST 

09 March 2011

Mladentsi Day/Feast of the Forty Martyrs


Today, again, was a holiday. This one didn’t affect work-I finally caught up on a few emails-but I did receive a pair of bread rolls from Tsetska and Elsa. Elsa explained that the bread was for Mladentsi Day. Mladentsi Day, aka Feast of the Forty Martyrs is a holy day celebrated more frequently in eastern orthodox churches than in the west. The holiday recognizes 40 Christians that froze to death for their faith on an Armenian pond in 320AD. 

In Bulgaria, the holiday is closely connected with a variety of other folk beliefs. The 40 small loaves are baked to represent infants with smallpox and are given to children to protect them from catching the disease. The day also plays a role in traditional pre-nuptial rituals for young girls of marrying age. I found this information by researching online, the students in the advanced English class didn't know. This website had some other interesting traditions associated with Mladentsi Day. 

I also received bread for Mladentsi Day on 22 March. This is day it was celebrated according to the old calendar. 1968, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, shifting the dates for holy days by about two weeks. The Gregorian calendar is more common in the west. There is still debate between ‘old’ and ‘new’ calendarists in Bulgaria. Many of the older generation grew up with the old calendar, and celebrate some holidays on the old day and the new day-especially if it’s a fun holiday like wine drinking and singing for Trifon Zarezan Day (which was celebrated on 1 February and 14 February. The previous date of Mladentsi Day also connected it more closely with the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. 

08 March 2011

International Women’s Day

I figured that International Women's Day would be sort of celebrated like Teacher's Day or Secretary's Day-perhaps and e-card or flower, but not a big deal. And, I was hoping to get some serious work done planning for the the compost kick-off on the 22nd....well... International Women's Day is a big deal and definitely celebrated. Colored paper to make cards from and sweet foods greeted me when I arrived at work. At 1, a banquet in the municipality began. Tables were set up in a horseshoe in the cafeteria (no idea this existed) with cups, juice, wine, salads plates already on the table. The mayor handed every woman a card (made from the colored paper of this morning) and individual potted hyacinths were passed out.  Toasts were made, followed by meat and potatoes (served by men), more toasts, and dancing. I called it a day around 4:30. Trying to be productive... Not that I’m complaining about all the celebrating. I love it, but most of last week was spent on other things, in Sofia, Baba Marta Day, translating carpet weaving instructions, and traveling to Lom for a package. Meanwhile, the date of the big service project I signed us up for is quickly approaching. 

International Women’s Day originated as a Socialist political event, but has since evolved into sort of a mix of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day-a day for women to be appreciated and thanked. It’s considered pretty important here-the municipality more or less took an afternoon off and paid for a banquet and gifts. I was talking about it with a friend afterwards and asked if there was an international men’s day as well. She answered no, this is a day just for women, everyday is man’s day. It makes me happy to see women celebrated. The women I know work incredibly hard-they take care of the housework, the cooking, children, grandchildren, and are often the primary breadwinners. 

05 March 2011

Weaving weekend III


My friend Didi invited us to see the 'snow bear' she had built with her grandson.
It is one of the coolest things I've ever seen made from snow. 

Held another weaving weekend at Yulka’s. It went well. This time, instead of Peace Corps volunteers, it was attended by Fulbrighters from some of the bigger towns in Bulgaria. The Fulbright Program in Bulgaria supports researchers and teachers. The teachers typically work in English language high schools in larger cities for about a year. The researchers, of whom there are fewer, are on much more flexible timelines. One of the girls, here on a research grant, is living in Sofia and working on a study of the relationship between waste collection and minority issues. Another researcher from a previous weekend is studying the role of the Orthodox Church in post-communist Bulgaria. It’s interesting to hear the different perspectives their experiences of Bulgaria, its culture and people, have given them. Even though there are HUGE variances among the sites and experiences of PC volunteers, we still shared general commonality in our training, goals, etc. It gave me a new appreciation for some of the relationships and activities in my daily life to see them through different eyes. 

03 March 2011

Bulgarian Liberation Day/Field Trip to a Farm


Today was an official holiday and the municipality was closed. Bulgarian Liberation Day celebrates the end of the Turkish Yoke in Bulgaria. The Treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire at the end of the Russo-Turkish War 1877-8 established an autonomous Bulgaria for the first time in 500 years.  Different towns and regions celebrate the holiday differently. In Chiprovtsi, it was snowing like crazy and I think any celebrations were somewhat dampened by the blizzard. I left town early-ish to meet up with a friend who is helping me acquire a compost bin in Montana.

He manages a large farm in northern Bulgaria and thought he might be able to find some old wooden pallets we could use. Looking around for the wood ended up a bit like a field trip to a farm for me. It was awesome.  The machines were all inside a giant hangar-type building to protect them from the winter weather. He explained all their uses and I even sat in a few tractors.

I’ve been starting to get a bit concerned about the big composting project kickoff I’ve scheduled for the 22nd. I registered it as one of the 20 days of service, celebrating 20 years of Peace Corps in Bulgaria, but following a brief flurry of activity immediately after registration last week, every day since then seems to have been a holiday or something else that keeps work from happening. 

02 March 2011

Peace Corps Reception at Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry

March 2nd
Happy 50th Anniversary Peace Corps! Happy 20th Anniversary Peace Corps Bulgaria!
Tsetska and I travelled to Sofia for a cocktail reception hosted by Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry to celebrate PC Bulgaria. 


Tsetska and I with Amb. Warlick
Since 1991, around 1,270 Peace Corps volunteers have worked with 130,000 children, taught in 850 schools, and partnered with 1600 organizations in Bulgaria. In Bulgaria, 120 Peace Corps volunteers, from Community and Organizational Development, Youth Development, and Education programs, serve in Bulgarian towns and villages nationwide. In a country of 7 million people, that is a significant presence.

Worldwide since its establishment in 1961, Peace Corps has sent over 200,000 volunteers to 139 countries. Currently, more than 8,600 volunteers serve in 77 countries worldwide.  In addition to the programs in Bulgaria, PCVs work in agriculture development, health education, and conservation.

01 March 2011

Baba Marta Day

1 March 2011

Happy Baba Marta Day! Today I received wishes of health and good luck and a wristful of bracelets, photographed the decoration of a tree in the center, chatted about holidays in English class, and had a lovely dinner with the folk singing group. Bulgarians celebrate Baba Marta (Grandma March) Day on March 1st. The holiday marks the transition between spring and winter. Finally, winter is ending, spring is beginning. It was explained to me as a woman's month, unpredictable and varied, like she's experiences the 'changes.'

On Baba Marta Day friends and colleagues exchange martenitsi—charms and bracelets made from red and white thread. Martinitsi are worn around wrists, pinned on clothes, pets, etc. until the first sign of spring-either a stork or a blooming tree. This means the wait is over, spring is here, and you can tie the martenitsa to something nearby, usually a tree. Everyone participates: men, women, children, adults, professionals, homemakers – no difference martenitsi are everywhere. However, Tsetska informed I would look silly if I wore all of them and should choose one or two. Advice taken.
Elsa made personalized martenitsi for some of my family...We'd been practicing family trees in English class.
Martenitsi are made from red and white thread. They are meant to be worn until you see a stork, a sign of the coming of spring, then they are tied on nearby tree. For the holiday, a presentation was planned at the school, but another flu vacation cancelled it. Instead, a small group of students gathered in front of the cultural center and tied decorated a tree. All day everyone exchanged martinitsis-at work, school, during English class, at dinner with the folk singing group. By the time I returned home, late after dinner with the ladies, I had bracelets on half my arm, plus necklaces, pins, and this awesome broom witch. There are different stories about Baba Marta, but one that I like is that the month of March is unpredictable, sometimes warm and pleasant, other times cold and stormy-like an old woman.