After our 4th of July activities, Charity and I travelled to Tryavna for our Mid-Service Conference. It is the first time since November the entire group of volunteers that arrived and trained with me have been together. It is also the last time we will meet before our Close of Service Conference next year. Strange to think that my time in Bulgaria is already more than halfway over.
Tryavna is a beautiful town in the mountains of central Bulgaria. With a population of about 9,000, it has quite a few restaurants and guest houses. All the food I had was amazing. The town center looks like a postcard and the hotel we stayed at was huge. Even with 80 of us, we hardly filled half of the dining room.
A lot of the conference was spent discussing abstract topics related to our service (usually we spend more time talking about current projects and challenges). I liked the change of themes. It’s easy to get caught up in action plans and deadlines and, after more than year, sessions on what it means to be a volunteer and integrity were helpful to renew a sense of purpose.
Some volunteers also presented legacy projects, like the tourism database we began in April. One of the projects that really impressed me was ‘Camp in a Box.’ Camp in a Box will be a resource for Bulgarians who want to plan camps. It will include day and sleep away varieties with environmental and arts/crafts activities. Each activity/camp will have step-by-step instructions, time estimations, budgets, etc. It will be divided by age groups and translated into Bulgarian. Each volunteer who contributes one or more activity for its creation will receive a copy for their host organization.
The last night of MSC was a talent show and karaoke. Many of the volunteers participated in various songs/dances. Even I sang and played a musical instrument (at the same time!). For anyone who knows me well, this is quite impressive. Granted it was just a maracas and a few lyrics during an ensemble performance of the awful song “Friday,” but still… The show stealer was our staff, which flawlessly rapped an original song.
The last night of MSC was a talent show and karaoke. Many of the volunteers participated in various songs/dances. Even I sang and played a musical instrument (at the same time!). For anyone who knows me well, this is quite impressive. Granted it was just a maracas and a few lyrics during an ensemble performance of the awful song “Friday,” but still… The show stealer was our staff, which flawlessly rapped an original song.
No comments:
Post a Comment