New Volunteer Training Sessions

The new group of volunteers arrived in Bulgaria at the end of March. There are about 40 of them (my group had 80) and they will be in training until mid-June. My second time meeting was on Wednesday this week. It was strange being at a pre-service training event as a speaker. My arrival doesn’t seem that long ago, but, at the same time, I feel so different than I did then. The first session I participated in was on PACA tools and Bulgarian municipalities. PACA – participatory analysis for community action – tools are what the Peace Corps uses in training us for development work and the government stuff I shared was mostly anecdotal. This time I talked about tourism development.

Afterwards, I rode the old, green bus with the mildewy seats and heavy gasoline odor to Kravoder to visit my host family. I feel bad, they are so wonderful, but I don’t get to visit nearly often enough. I had these illusions that I’d have all sorts of free time in the Peace Corps during which I’d knit gifts for friends, visit my host family, write essays, and perfect the conditional mood cases of Bulgarian grammar. This, alas, has not come to pass and I hardly feel that I have time to keep up with my normal tasks at site. Kravoder was great, of course.

On Thursday, some of the volunteers from my group who work on tourism related activities held a tourism workshop in Vratsa. Our goal was to try to define what our role would be with the new group and as a volunteer ‘taskforce’ in the year to come. I think it was productive. We came away with a few really good ideas and plans on how to combine and streamline our efforts to make tourism development at our various sites more effective and collaborative: sharing brochure templates, creating a database for online tour vendors, combining eco-trail maps for a hiking book, etc. Hopefully some of these will work out. 

Easter weekend: 22-25 April

Egg painting at Tsetka's

It was a great weekend! Friday and Monday were official holidays so Chiprovtsi was full of visiting family and friends visiting. I exchanged a lot of eggs, ate a lot of Kozunak (special Easter sweetbread), and danced horo, a lot.

I dyed eggs with Tsetska and her kids on Saturday. To prepare, she woke up early and hard boiled 75 eggs! According to tradition, she dyed the first egg red then touched the wet egg on the foreheads and cheeks of Mitko, Eli, and I, leaving dye marks on our skin. Cracking of eggs against each other is another tradition. Whoever has the egg that lasts the longest will be the healthiest in the coming year. 

Kozunak picture from: The Mini Food Blog

On Monday, I went on a hike and picnic with friends to a place in the mountains near Zhelezna. There is a fire pit, water spring, and a few tables-everything we needed. We grilled sausages, ate leftover lamb offal casserole, and made s'mores. 

View from Bunara: Zhelezna is the village in the foreground, then Chiprovtsi, then the mountains that border Serbia.

Building a fire and s'mores

Holy Thursday

Egg Painting at Katerina House

What a crazy busy day! After running-love love love that spring is here and I can run again- I went to work, then to Elsa’s for piano lessons and lunch, then to the school for an Easter Recital, then egg painting at Katerina Kushta (the Ethnographic Museum), then tree planting near the Cultural Center, then home for a skype meeting about law school, then church with Yulka. And, the holidays haven’t even really begun. 

Easter Recital at Petar Parchevich...they look so happy :)

Attending church Thursday evening was interesting. The services aren’t like the Catholic or ecumenical Christian services I’ve attended before. It is much more mystical and enchanting. I entered church with Yulka and her friend; people were already standing inside and appeared to have been there for a while. There are no pews, but some chairs had been placed near the sides for the elderly.  The smell of flowers and incense is strong. In the front, is a gold trimmed screen that acts as a sort of room divider between the church and the altar. It is decorated with elaborate icons: Jesus, angels, saints, demons, dragons, etc. Dozens of beeswax candles (you purchase these when you enter) are placed on stands near the screen. The effect is very beautiful.

Following Yulka’s example, I bought two candles, lit them, placed one in a stand, and held the other until it burned down. We stood to one side and faced forward. The priest chanted prayers nearly the whole time, occasionally with replies, sometimes not. It seemed to be a very private sort of affair, not like a sermon. People came and went throughout. Some made large displays of placing candles in the front, bowing and crossing themselves repeatedly, others just stood holding their candles and listening. After about an hour, we left and sat on a bench outside church to people watch and gossip. 

Month of Cleaning

April is the month of cleanup events: the Mayor published an announcement requesting residents clean the streets in front of their homes prior to town holidays, my coworkers in the municipality cleaned the center of town last Friday, Bulgaria declared the 9th as a national clean up day, Earth Day is this Friday, and other various clean up campaigns are going on throughout the country. Today, I helped a the 6th graders from Petar Parchevich School collect litter from a mountainside east of town. 

Church bells

The church bells of Vaznesenie Hristov Orthodox Church can be heard all over town and act as a sort of announcement system when someone dies. People hear them and then ask around to find out who has died. This week, they’ve been ringing a lot. Demographically, there are going to be quite a few funerals in Chiprovtsi, but we’ve had one every day this week, with two on Wednesday.

When I was at Yulka’s on Saturday for Lazarovden, I sat wither her mother for quite some time and listened to her describe her Lazarovden memories from childhood. She didn’t make complete sense all of the time, but also didn’t seem of particularly bad health. She told me how excited she had been for the holiday and was so happy the weather was nice enough for her to sit outside and watch. On Tuesday, I attended her funeral. It was such a surprise. My condolences to her family and friends. 

Lazarovden: 16 April

On the Saturday before Easter, Bulgarians celebrate Lazarovden (St. Lazarus Day). On this day, young girls (Lazarki), wearing traditional costume, go from house to house carrying baskets decorated with flowers and sing the traditional ‘Lazarki’ song. In return, they are given eggs, coins, and candy. I spent the morning of Lazarovden with Yulka, handing out eggs to the Lazarki. 

Belasitsa

I spent this past weekend helping at a camp organized by PCVs from Bansko and Kolarova. The camp was at Hizha (hut) Belasitsa in the far southwest corner of Bulgaria—about 8 hours by bus from Chiprovtsi (if a direct one existed).

Learning about their national parks

There were about 40 kids, aged 8-12, at the camp, half from the ski-resort town of Bankso, the other half from a village near Petrich; plus, a group of 11th grade students from the Eko Club in Razlog, adults from Bansko, National Park Pirin, and Koloravo, and 6 PCVs. Everyone except for the PCVs slept in the “Hut.” We slept in tents a couple hundred yards away. Although much warmer than Chiprovtsi and comfortable during the day, it became very cold at night. I slept in all of the clothes I’d packed, plus two sleeping bags and a liner.

With some of the kids from the village near Petrich

Matt and Grant did a great job with the camp. We helped start things off the first day with an America parks and outdoor activity presentation. Each of the PCVs had prepared a few slides on a national park and an activity we enjoy to do outdoors: Atchafalaya Swamp, Appalachian Trail and Grand Canyon, ultimate Frisbee, rock climbing, and fishing.

Риболов was my unorganized outdoor activity

The first night was  “American night.” Held around a campfire near our tents, we made s’mores for all the kids and then made our best attempt at singing with Ben on the guitar. The next night was “Bulgarian night,” where the kids sang traditional songs—two even had costumes—followed by Horo dancing around the restaurant. 

Huts & Villas

Mountain Hut "Belasitsa"

The commonly accepted translations for mountain accommodations in Bulgaria are, in my opinion, seriously misleading. The mountain “huts” have little in common with what I think of when I hear “hut.” The one in Belasitsa had an outdoor play area, bus parking, rooms with in suite bathroom/showers, a restaurant/café open all day with plenty of presentation space for 40 kids, and wireless internet. Villas, on the other hand, are typically small, family owned, rustic, cabins used for storing supplies for summer picnics or garden work, especially if cultivated land is located a distance from town. They might have tables, chairs, cutlery, etc and space for a few people to sleep in case of rain, a long day of work, or an especially draining na gosti. 

Villa

This past weekend I went to Tsetska’s villa for a day of eating, chatting, and playing with Mitko and Ellie. It was great. I introduced them to the awesomeness of piggy back rides and spinning (where you take their hands and spin so they are lifted off the ground) and they kept me busy most of the afternoon

Salads and Rakia

During the day, the men grilled a ton of different types of meat-not just the kebabches and kyufteti. There were also several types of salad dishes and sides. I brought a wheatberry-chickpea salad. I was pretty pleased with myself about it.  I’d been looking for chickpeas for a while, but had been unsuccessful in any of the grocery stores. I found them by chance for 4 lev/kilo at the bazaar near the bus stop in Montana. FYI: 1 kilo of dried chickpeas=A LOT of chickpeas.

Visitors during lunch

After soaking and cooking, I had plenty for a huge salad as well as about 4 cups of hummus. I discovered that if I put them through a juicer, they won’t turn to juice, but be ground up super fine. Twice makes store quality hummus. It was the first time Tsetska and her friends had eaten chickpeas (except for the one who worked in Spain for several years, he immediately recognized garbanzo beans). 

Svrachi Dol and Degeneration

Illian, Palma, 11 kids from Petar Parchevich, and I hiked to Svrachi Dol, a rest area of covered picnic tables, drinkable spring, and stone fireplaces built by a group of volunteers from Chiprovtsi—a very cool example of local initiative and volunteerism. Along the way we picked up trash and chatted about plans for Earth Day.

Rest time at Svrachi Dol

While taking a break in one of the shelters we played Degeneration, an awesome game Raf, a volunteer in Bregovo, introduced me to after the 20 Day of Service Project. I’ve played it in Bulgarian with a group of 6th grade girls, in English with my very mixed (in ages and abilities) adult advanced class, and in a funny English/Bulgarian mix during a na gosti with volunteers and Bulgarians.

The rules of play are super easy. To play, you need to have medium sized group of people (even numbers are best), scrap paper, a pen, and something to watch time on. The best number is 6 or 8 participants partnered into three or four teams of two. If there is an odd number, pair people up to make 3 teams. Each person should write different words or phrases on three scraps of paper. Without showing anyone, these should be folded and placed in a hat or bag in the middle.  

There are three rounds. In the first round, a player draws a slip of paper and tries to describe the word to his teammate/s to guess without using the word itself (kind of like Taboo). Each team has 90 seconds to guess as many words as they can. Each word successfully guessed is worth 1 point and the paper on which it is written is left out of the hat until the end of the round.

Then, the paper slips are placed back and the second round begins. The second round proceeds in the same fashion except each turn lasts only 60 seconds and now NO words are allowed, only actions, like charades. The third round is also 60 seconds, and allows only one word explanations.  During each turn, a player can ‘pass’ if they don’t know a word or don’t have faith in their partner’s ability to guess. This is placed back into the hat for the next player’s turn.

For example, if my word is airplane, in the first round I might say, “I flew in this to Bulgaria;” in the second round I might put my arms out and make flying motions; in the third round, I might say “Lufthansa.” 

Instead of kissing babies...

Local elections will be held in municipalities and villages around Bulgaria this autumn. The ‘all politics is local’ phrase seems to apply quite well here. Chiprovtsi is politically active and I’ve found many people ready to talk politics, already analyzing who the potential candidates will be and giving me summaries of past mud-slinging election seasons.

The super-affordable (3 Leva—about $1.70) Veselin Marinov concert held in the auditorium of the cultural center last Friday was one of what I’m told will become many sponsored events in the lead up to the elections.

Whatever the reason or sponsor, it was great to see the auditorium in use (the last time was during the 5-6 September celebrations); and, of course, to go to a concert in Chiprovtsi! Between songs, one of his dancers brought him a basket of flowers. He read the attached card to the audience: well wishes from a political party in town…

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! 

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

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 22^nd to better accommodate partner organizations; then, because the 22^nd 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 1^st-8^th 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. 

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.

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. 

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 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 22^nd. 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. 

Peace Corps Reception at Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry

March 2^nd

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.

Standart Article on the reception (Eng)

PC Bulgaria

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.

Tourism Expo, Sofia

21 February

A B25 volunteer (B25s arrived in  ’09) organized a tourism development conference for PCVs. Held at the American Corner of the Sofia Library, guest speakers shared experiences of working for state run tour promoters, private tour operators, environmental NGOs, etc. They discussed topics relevant for PCVs and answered our questions on trail marking, government programs, and marketing. The conference was concluded by a meet and greet networking session. There were even snacks and name tags! I was super impressed, it was all very professional. Another B26 and I volunteered to organize the next session. I hope бонбони and leftover Christmas candy will be okay… The conference also coincided with a giant tourism and spa expo at the National Palace of Culture.

Since then, I’ve finished making 80 % of a tourism map using Inkscape and have been working on a wikitravel page. If you feel inspired to assist the spread of world peace and friendship feel free to fix the pixel size of .png map (?) and figure out something to do with the .svg version-I’ll get back to the maps and tourism after next week, but the past few weeks and next several days have been/are set to be crazy.

Besides work, it was really nice to have a few days in Sofia with other PCVs. I caught up with friends, went out for sushi and Moroccan food, and saw a movie in a theatre. I haven’t seen Charity, Grant, and Ben from Kravoder forever (December/Christmas)! I even went running!!! So exciting! I haven’t been able to run at all in Chiprovtsi this winter-too much snow, too short of days, too cold-so this felt great. Plus, the anonymity was nice.

Dad and I are planning on running the Athens marathon together in November and I don’t want to die during it. Dad will be fine-he won his age group in the Galveston Mardi Gras Half Marathon in February.

With the brilliant students and their teacher. Evropa School, Vratsa

On my way back from Sofia, I stopped in Vratsa and spent the day at the Evropa School, helping the students prep for the Cambridge Exams. They are such good kids and it’s nice to see the director, my host mom’s sister. Finally, late bus home. 

2nd half February/1st half March

Had a bus ride to catch up on posts. So here they are! Beginning with some random things from the last month. 

The past month has had the coldest and snowiest days all winter as well as days in the 60s.

Improvised waterproofing during a day of snowmen and sledding.

I received a care package with alligator meat for my counterpart. Despite pictures and stories, she didn't  believe people in Louisiana actually eat such food.