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Budzludza

I was at a restaurant with other volunteers during MSC, when Neysa comes over and tells me she just met a British woman in the bathroom who will take us to the spaceship on Friday. I nearly fell over laughing. I’ve heard some strange things, but this was an easy top 5. The spaceship she was referring to is actually Buzludzha, an old communist meeting place off the Shipka pass. 


Sitting above tree line on a peak (4,728 ft) in the middle of a nature reserve and shaped like a flying saucer with an unconnected tower, Buzludzha resembles a spaceship. It is not open for visitors, but is also not fenced in nor are there signs forbidding entry. This website has history of the building and more pictures.

Construction of Buzludzha was completed in 1981. It was unveiled on the 1300th anniversary of the creation of the first Bulgarian state. 90 years after the secret meeting that started organized socialist movement in Bulgaria was held on the mountain.

After our last MSC breakfast, we met the British woman and her husband under the clock tower in Tryavna. Buzludzha is about an hour’s drive away. We didn’t realize a road leads directly to it and parked in a turn-off beneath a large monument down the mountain. Then hiked the steep stone path up the mountain.


When we reached the building, there was a herd of horses, blocking the main entrance. We walked around looking for another way in. Not finding one, we returned to the building’s front and tried to think of ways to make the horses move.

Very large herd of horses. The graffiti above the door reads "FORGET YOUR PAST."

We’d been staring and making noises at the horses for about 20 minutes when a car drove up. A young Bulgarian couple with their dog got out. The man had been inside before and told us the entrance was actually through a dark creepy room on one side we’d passed by. He must have though us quite a site, sweating from our hike up the mountain, attempting to move a 40 wild horses from a locked door by clapping and whistling, stumbling back whenever one of the horses turned too look at us. We followed them through a dark room with metal door that had been bent backwards leaving just enough space for a person to climb through.

The passageway we stepped down into led to the downstairs hall of Buzludzha. Red felt hung sporadically from the walls and broken concrete was everywhere. 

Despite being in a pretty sorry state of destruction, the acoustics of the room were perfect. Standing in the middle, you could feel your voice reverberate around the room when speaking.

 The ceiling reads: “Proletariat of every country, unite!”

 The windows are blown out and the exterior murals destroyed.

The interior walls are also covered with murals, many of which have been destroyed. The face of Todor Zhivkov, the communist leader in Bulgaria for 35 year's, has been completely removed in the one below. 

What it used to look like: 

I took the pictures of the old Buzludzha from www.Budludja.com.

Mid Service Conference

After our 4^th 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. 

Independence Day: Volunteer Assistance

The next day, I took a bus across the country to meet a PCV on the coast. The weather here has been crazy lately-going from proper summer to winter-ish overnight When I arrived for my first view of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, it was FREEZING, super windy, and pouring rain.

C, my friend from training, lives in the far southeast of country, just a few kilometers from the Turkish border. We had dinner in Burgas before the hour ride to her town. It was my first time visiting her site—we live about as far apart as is possible. She works in a culture center in a small border town.  

For the 4^th, she had planned American games and trivia with local youth (I brought patriotic beach balls and paddleballs for prizes—thanks Mom) and a women’s group meeting. Although the rules of capture the flag were never quite followed and we ended up playing Bulgarian dodge ball for last hour, the kids seemed to enjoy it and it was nice to see her community. 

Fireworks for the Fourth on the Second

To celebrate, I met some other volunteers for the AmCham Independence Day Party on July 2nd. Held at the American University in Sofia, ticket price included drinks, concert admission, and random free things, like kites. There was tons of food, way more than anyone could ever eat in a day. For example: from McDonald’s each person received a muffin, a coffee, a cheeseburger, fries, chicken nuggets, and a salad—and that was only one vendor. Jack Daniel’s Whiskey sponsored a BBQ contest emceed by a Bulgarian TV chef, Uti Bachavrov, who let us try amazing grilled eggplant pizzas afterwards. There were also kiddie rides, raffles, Ronald McDonald, and fireworks.

Most of the attendees were Bulgarian families. I hope they don’t think Americans typically eat that much McDonald’s on holidays! There were only 4 of us PCVs who attended, but I’m glad I went. I was surprised by the nostalgia and patriotism I felt during the fireworks. I’ve never been that into fireworks or 4th of July celebrations, but after more than a year without being in the states, it was great way to celebrate. 

PCPP and other updates

Returned to site to some great news: 

PCPP project ‘Camp Forest Kingdom’ has been fully financed! 

Giant THANK YOU!!! to everyone who donated or thought good thoughts about donating! 

I’m also feeling good about my English and fitness classes. I'm still teaching beginner and advanced English groups for 90 minutes twice a week when I'm at site. Attendance is lower--summer is really nice here--but those coming are dedicated to learning. The beginner group asked for more homework and independent study to work on together between lessons. 

The fitness group, despite being relatively new, has some serious adherents. It quickly morphed from a pilates class to a more general fitness class, to include some cardio kickboxing and yoga as well. While I was on vacation, the ladies took turns leading the group with the notes and music I left behind. On Monday, they were ready for a new routine and psyched about their progress. They also told me we'd be meeting three days a week from here out! 

On a personal note, I was able to walk all over Italy with few ankle problems. The first two days in Rome I wore flip flops, this was not a good idea. But after I bought a pair of sneakers, everything was fine. Today, I went for my first run in six weeks. It was slow and short, but didn’t hurt. Success for Athens in November is still looking good. 

Божe, so much to do!

Returning to site feeling slightly overwhelmed with the amount of work that lay ahead. WiFi in Italy was never free and it was nice to have a break from the technology grip for a while. But my to do list now is pretty daunting. With Peace Corps mid-service conference next week, volunteer assistance at summer camps coming up, regular commitments at site, a tourism project, and the need for prep on grad school applications looming, it seems inevitable that the next few months will fly by in a flurry of sweaty train rides, laundry days, and desk time. 

Italia!

Spent the last week and a half on a whirlwind Italy tour with friends. More to come soon-ish. 


Summary: Sights were amazing, wine was excellent, people were beautiful, weather was perfect. 

Congrats to B27s!

The Peace Corps trainees took their official oath on June 10th, becoming to 27th group of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in Bulgaria! 

Браво на тях!

Kiril and Emi with the three generations of PCVs they hosted.

Host families, current volunteers, and PC staff attended the swearing in ceremony for the 38 volunteers in the Vratsa Municipal building. It was much more enjoyable as an observer; at last year’s ceremony, the July heat, my nervousness towards going to site, and the goodbyes, made it seem like a sweaty, stressful blur.

Darik News Article

The night before the ceremony, I arrived in Kravoder (my host village) with Neysa and Charity. Volunteers from the group before me were also in the village, seeing their host families one last time before returning to the U.S. in a few weeks. This was the third year Kravoder served as a training village, and all three volunteers from my host family were present, as were host family friends and other volunteers. It was a great evening. Emi, my host mom, recently returned from abroad and it was the first time I’d seen her since Christmas. 

After the ceremony, I spent some time with other volunteers, purchased bomba fake raybans for about $7 USD, and had coffee with my host family aunt and uncle in Vratsa.

Pilates/Пилатес

Today I held my first pilates class for women and girls. I was super worried, of course, but it turned out wonderfully. I knew pretty much everyone that showed up and, although I'd practiced all the verbs ahead of time (I don't use "stretch, tighten, еtc. in their plural imperative forms real often...), I was also able to demonstrate and say "okay, like this." This is sooo much easier than explaining grammar or trying to come up with answers to questions like: how do you pronounce "the?" Does it rhyme with 'tea' or 'duh?'

Ever since I arrived at site, having a gym or fitness center for women has been brought up in conversations. Although this isn't quite the same as that, the school has a multi purpose room that is the perfect size for classes, and pilates, yoga, and kickboxing are pretty easy for me to teach. I've been wanting to have a women's fitness group for a while, but hadn't felt comfortable enough to start one until now. I'm glad I did, after class they asked about when we could meet again! We decided, from now on, Chiprovtsi will have a ladies fitness group every Monday and Thursday evening.

Mushroom Hunting

Hizha Yavor

This weekend I went with my friend to Hizha Yavor (Yavor means Sycamore in English). Her family is redoing the mountain ‘hut,’ which has been left unused for the last 10 or so years.  It was built in 1975 with a bar, two floors of sleeping rooms, eating area, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. And, Hizha Yavor has a great location—only a 15 minute walk from Gushovski Monastery, on the way to the Chiprovtsi Waterfall, accessible by two dirt roads, 6 km on foot from the Three Chuki (border peaks).

My friend, her husband, and her father worked all day- replacing glass, cleaning, hooking up water, etc. There is a lot left to do-someone has torn out all the wiring and the interior paint has some damage, but it’s very easy to imagine it functioning similar to the Hizha in Belasitsa. After they finished working for the day, J and I went in search of mushrooms. We spent a good 90 minutes wandering the forest, but only found one edible mushroom, a Manatarka (Boletus).

Comparing the boletus (in J.'s hand) with a non-edible mushroom.

We returned to the hizha, played some ping-pong, and hiked down to the car. On the way down, her husband briefly walked to the edge of the forest returning with a small bags worth of Boletus and Chanterelles. It’s unfortunate that I am such a bad mushroom hunter, but I am very happy to have friends that share. They tasted fantastic.

Boletus and Chanterelles

Kestini Magic

A few weeks ago I hurt my ankle while running. One of my friend’s mothers made this for me to spray on it and accelerate the healing. It’s made from the chestnut tree (kestini in Bulgarian), rakia, and I’m not sure what else. It smells good though and when I googled chestnuts/traditional medicine I found that they are used for a variety of things including increasing blood flow and decreasing swelling. They’re also used for enlarged prostates and hemorrhoids, but these aren’t relevant to me. 

Tourism Website

This is something I've been working on when I have extra time. It still needs more work and to be translated into Bulgarian. I have zero experience with webdesign and would love feedback/advice.

Visit Chiprovtsi

Sustainable Practices: Camp Forest Kingdom

The Peace Corps Partnership Program Project I've been working on with my colleagues is online! 


Camp Forest Kingdom, a three-day camp for 35-40 children ages 7-14 in the Balkan Mountains, encourages children to respect the environment and to use their imagination and creative arts for positive self-discovery. Organized by the municipality and community partners in 2009 and 2010, the camp is a highly anticipated local event. This project will ensure its sustainability for years to come and establish it as a regional leader in outdoor youth activities.

To remove dependency on external sources and raise the camp's environmental and safety standards, project funds will be used to acquire lasting equipment such as an outdoor kitchen and camp toilets. Between camps, the municipality will manage a transparent equipment rental system, using proceeds for camp improvements and scholarships.

Prior to this year's Camp Forest Kingdom, 5-10 older children will be selected to participate in a three-day leadership work camp. They will learn campsite construction and outdoor safety skills from local volunteers and gain hands-on experience marking trails, building a compost bin, and constructing an eco-friendly campsite. During Camp Forest Kingdom, youth leaders will set positive examples for younger children and share their knowledge with peers.

Camp Forest Kingdom is especially important to the community. The camp provides an affordable and safe environment for youth to interact with nature and build outdoor skills while strengthening their special connection with the mountains of their home.


Visit the Peace Corps website to get involved! 

1 year in Bulgaria!!

13 May 2010----13 May 2011

Pamukkale, Hieropolis, and Ephesus

After a flight to Izmir, we drove to Kusadasi, our base for visits to the ancient cities nearby.

Pamukkale and Hieropolis

The ancient city of Hieropolis and the natural mineral formations of Pamukkale, ‘cotton castle,’ are in the Denizli Province, about 3 hours from our hotel in Kusadasi. Created by hot springs that continue to fill warm pools on its surface, Pamukkale is a popular attraction for Russian and Polish tourists who believe its waters have healing and fortifying properties. They are not the first to believe this; it has been used as a spa since the 2nd century BC.

Hieropolis, an ancient city built next to the top of Pamukkale, was a Greek spa town turned into Roman city of a 100,000. Thousands of people visited for the medicinal properties of its hots springs; although, as the tour book I had wittily pointed out, the extensive walkway through sarcophagi makes one wonder how effective these waters were.

I wish these pictures could better show how huge Hieropolis was. The path through the ruins was several kilometers with very few people on them. Most of the tourists seemed more interested in soaking in the pools on Pamukkale and adding to their sunburns. 

Ephesus

Ephesus an ancient city during the Greek and Roman Empires had a population of 250, 000 people in the 1st century BC making it the world’s second biggest city at the time. The area around Ephesus was inhabited as early as 6000BC, but didn’t become a proper city until the Bronze Age.

 

After being attacked by the Goths in 263 AD, the city began declining though it wasn’t fully abandoned until the 15th century. Once a port city on the Aegean Sea, Ephesus now lies 5 kilometers from the coast. The river Küçük Menderes deposited tons of silt in the harbor each year. Despite efforts to dredge the harbor, even as far back as Roman times, the coast continued to retreat from Ephesus. Decline was further hastened by an earthquake in 614 and further attacks by Arabs in 654-655, 700, and 716 AD. 

Unlike Pamukkale, there were tons of tourists at Ephesus.

Ephesus played a big role in the early development of Christianity. The Apostle Paul lived there in the 50s and a house nearby is believed to have been where Mary lived until her death.  It also the site of the story of the Seven Sleepers, considered saints in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. The Seven Sleepers, a story also found in the Quran, describes a group of Christian youths who hid in an Ephesian cave to escape Roman persecution around 250 AD. While praying in the cave, they fell asleep, awaking 150-200 years later and finding Ephesus a Christian city. In the Quranic version, a dog accompanied them to the cave and kept watch while the slept.

House of the Virgin Mary

House of the Virgin Mary, 4 kilometers from the Ephesus ruins, is where people believe Jesus’ mother came to live with John. The Third Ecumenical Council and Second Council of Ephesus were held there in 431 and 449. Today, people write wishes on cloth or napkins and tie them to a prayer wall, light candles, and drink water from the three natural springs which are supposed to help with health, wealth, etc.

Peace and Friendship Square, Kusadasi

Cappadocia

I recently returned from a fantastic trip to Turkey with my parents, aunt, and cousin. After arriving at Sirkeci Station, the last stop of the Orient Express, we embarked on a whirlwind tour of Istanbul, the cave cities of Cappadocia, and the ancient cities near Izmir. 

Our time in Cappadocia was my favorite, it wasn't very crowded, the weather was nice, and the things we saw were incredible. Cappodocia is located in the center of the country, a few hours away by plane.  

Göreme

We stayed in a hotel with rooms built into the rock like a cave. It was a very nice hotel. Though the weather was pleasant during our visit, apparently the summers heat and winter cold can be very extreme. By building homes (or hotels) inside of rocks, as has been done there for centuries, people are able to keep indoor temperatures reasonable without absurd heating/cooling bills. 

Rose Valley

Cave churches and once inhabited homes, now high up on the cliffsides, are scattered along the 4 kilometer hike through the valley.  Later in the day, we visited the Göreme Open Air Museum, a walk through park with frescoed churches from the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries.

Rock Castles: Üchişar & Ortisar

When the caves were no longer used for human inhabitation, they were transformed into pigeon homes. The pigeons provided farmers with fertilizer.

Pigeon Homes

Can you guess? This was Pigeon Valley. 

Kaymakli Underground City

The Kaymakli Underground City was created by the Hittites and expanded thereafter. The Underground Cities, of which there are 36 in Cappadocia, were not intended for permanent habitation, but were used to escape marauding armies that passed through. They fell into disuse and was forgotten until its rediscovery in the 1900s.

Kaymakli is believed to have been able to sustain between 3,500-5,000 people for an extended period of time. It extends 8 floors down, about 360 feet into the earth. The nature of the rock allowed for kitchen fires to burn without windows, much of the smoke being absorbed by the soft stone.

-       Entrances to the underground were scattered throughout the surface city, often in the back of barns or cellars. Several layers of doors, sealable by large stones that could only be rolled from one side provided additional security. Water was brought up by a well and ventilation was provided by several shafts. There were rooms for food storage, religious worship, ill or infirm people, the dead, in addition to sleeping and living rooms.

Inside the Kaymakli

Here you can see where tools were used to cut into the rocks.
The depression I'm sitting in was used to store pottery-probably with food.

Avanos 

Avanos was the center of pottery making for the Hittites. The Hittites lived in what is modern day Turkey during the Bronze Age from the 18th to 11th century BC. They recorded information from their daily lives on clay tablets and some of the techniques they developed for pottery making are still used today. 

The pitcher with the large hole in the center was used for wine drinking during parties. Men would carry it around by sliding an arm through the hole and tilting it to pour. 

Pasabag, or Monks Valley, contains some of the most famous fairy chimney rocks in the region. Churches are built into the rocks and St. Simeon, it is believed, lived here in seclusion in the 5th century

Dervent Rock Formations-can you see the camel on the left? 

Carpet Industry
Despite looking forward to a break from anything to do with carpets or weaving, we visited a carpet weaving co-op in Cappadocia. It is organized by the government and private industry. It was really impressive work they're doing: they preserve traditional skills, provide training, create jobs, make a profit, and educate tourists. The facility is excellent, with all sorts of demonstrations. I would love something like this in Chiprovtsi!

Evil Eyes
The tree below is decorated with nazars, trinkets that are believed to protect against the evil eye. The evil eye curse is attracted to and absorbed by the nazar before it can cause harm. I've seen nazars everywhere during my time in Turkey-on jewelry, airplanes, walls, etc.

I also rode a camel.