Dimitrovden

Bulgarians celebrated Dimtrovden on October 26th. Dimitrovden, besides being a big nameday holiday for anyone named Dimitar or Dimitrina (the third most common Bulgarian name) is also celebrated as the holiday that marks the start of winter. St. Dimitar, legend has it, rides a red horse and brings frost alongside, snow falling from his white beard. St. Dimitar is also the patron saint of builders and carpenters. Houses and construction projects should be finished by this date and the fieldwork brought to an end. A traditional gift for a Dimitar or Dimitrina are white flowers bound by a red thread—the white flowers symbolize a mellow winter, the red thread the health of the recipient in the coming year. If there is a full moon on Dimitrovden, it is believed, the winter will be mild, spring will come early, and the bees will fill the beehives. Graves are cleaned and fresh bread is brought to the graveyard.

St. Dimitar was born to a Christian family in Saloniki in the late 200s. His family’s beliefs, however, were not public and upon inheriting wealth from his parents, he was made a town chief by Emperor Diocletian. As town chief, Dimitar was supposed to persecute Christians. He did not do this and was caught preaching to townspeople. He was thrown in to prison, tortured, and, on 26 October 306, killed. His remains were transferred to a small church and are believed to be responsible for curing ill people and saving Saloniki from conquest.

St. George and St. Dimitar are popularly portrayed in folklore as twins or brothers. Georgovden (St. George’s Day) in May marks the start of summer, Dimitrovden the start of winter.  Below is a popular legend about them I found on  http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/Folklore/Pages/2610Dimitrovden.aspx

There was once a poor man who used to go finishing every day. Once he caught a small fish. It spoke to him with a human voice and begged him to let it go. The man was merciful and went back home that day with nothing to eat. Some time later, he caught the same fish but it was now bigger. He let it go again. The same thing happened a third time. The man decided to release the fish again but the it spoke to him: “Poor man, don’t let me go this time. Take me back to your house and cook a meal for you and your wife. Then, bury the bones under the mangers of your mare”. 

The poor man was feeling sad for the fish but obeyed its words. Soon, his wife gave birth to two boys, and the mare to two foals. One boy was named Dimitar, and the other George. The boys grew and became strong and handsome lads. One day, they saddled their horses and set off to travel around the world. They reached a crossroads. Georgi took the left road and Dimitar - the right. Some time passed and Dimitar received a sign that his brother was in danger. He headed to look for him but all he could find was his horse – Georgi had been eaten by dragons. Dimitar managed to make the dragons return the soul of his brother. The twins mounted their horses and became saints. Thus they soared to heaven and started helping ordinary people on earth. 

School Work

Along with cold weather and first snow last weekend, I came down with my first cold of the season. But, thanks to nightly election gatherings and concerts I had three whole nights without scheduled activities this week to recover during. I winterized my apartment and made some much needed progress on law school applications.

Work at the Municipality was understandably slow this week. Elections are on Sunday. There are nine candidates for mayor. That is a lot for such a small community and it seems like everyone is somehow personally involved. I’m interested to see what changes occur after the election results. I helped make a powerpoint of nature reserves and eco-paths in the area for some visitors from Macedonia. But, on a much more exciting note, I SUBSTITUTE TAUGHT for a teacher’s 5th, 7th, and 8th grade classes! I loved it. The 7th grade English class was the toughest: it’s the biggest class at school (18 kids) and a lot come from other villages so I don’t know them real well. Even so, it wasn’t bad. We reviewed homework and I introduced the present perfect tense.

I can’t believe how much I enjoyed substitute teaching. I’ve taught adults and I’ve taught kids in non-classroom settings, but this was my first time as a ‘real teacher,’ even if it was just as a substitute. Before I became a Peace Corps volunteer, I never really spent time with kids-I didn’t babysit or family members nearby with children younger than me. I never thought I would enjoy being around kids, but they’re great and I look forward to my activities at the school. It helps that the teachers and school director are fantastic, but beyond that, I love the general happiness and enthusiasm of the kids. It never fails to put me in a better mood when I walk to the school and hear a student call my name from the windows or run across the yard to meet me.

 I’m sure if I taught every day, it’d be a lot more difficult, but the kids behaved quite well.  Teaching them isn’t too different from teaching the adults, except the kids are  a lot easier to discipline. With older adults, it’s sort of awkward when they behave poorly and they are way worse about speaking out of turn or interrupting a struggling classmate.

With the scout groups, we worked more on Halloween. The older group discussed fundraiser ideas, made a poster for counting bottles, and talked about ideas for the Halloween party. They saw the half finished piñatas the younger group made and wanted to do the same, so that’s what we’ll work on next Tuesday.  I never would have guessed I’d be doing this much paper mache… While making decorations, the younger group went wild over the sequins and plastic googly eyes I received in a care package.

Once a week, I help lead an elective geography/ecology class for 5^th and 6^th graders (CIP class). This week, I tried teaching compass use. I’d observed another volunteer teaching it during a summer camp. He made it look so easy! My efforts sort of worked. I should have probably gone over it with the teacher ahead of time, because when I finished explaining and showing everyone how to use them and started asking them different directions to practice with; she re-explained and showed a different way.  They mostly ended up confused and lost interest. I’ll try again with the older scout group at a later time and see if it will work better, then maybe attempt again with the CIP.

After collecting the compasses, I passed out sidewalk chalk and a list of items that can be found in nature (something scary, something young, something without purpose, etc.).  The students selected three items to draw and then presented how they chose the images and discussed similarities/differences among the drawings. I think being outside and enjoying the mild weather made this activity a lot more popular than orienteering.

Scouts and Halloween prep

 The rest of this week flew by. The only night I don’t have scheduled activities is Thursday, and this week I spent it testing recipes for paper mache and silly putty recipes in advance of the littler scout group’s (1st-4th graders) meeting.  [Lessons: For paper mache-use white flour, not grainy whole wheat flour, and hot water works 10,000 times better. For silly putty, epsom salt is not a substitute for corn starch, but pudding mix is.] 

Future bat pinata.

The director at the school here is great. Yesterday, she decided the scout groups need their own room and gave me the key to an unused classroom. We wasted no time in putting it to use. The little group started making Halloween-themed piñatas. For Halloween, the scout groups are helping with preparation for a party at the school and brainstorming ideas for a coinciding fundraiser (no ready-made cookie/magazine subscription infrastructure in place here). This coming week, the big scouts (5-8th graders) will be working on collages and we’ve already posted scout laws and mottos. Having a classroom is also way more convenient for me, now I don’t have to haul two bags of activity materials to and from the school each time I visit.  

Nine new adults showed up to my beginner English class this week. I love having new students and am impressed by their interest, most are well over 40 years old. I hadn’t expected it, since the week before no one new attended. Like last year’s beginner group, there is a wide range of levels: some know a handful of words and simple present tense grammar, others need the alphabet. It's fun, and a lot easier after a year of practice; plus, my old students were super helpful. 

I brought home my half of the jars! So far, no indication of spoiling (no puffed lids).

East of the West: A Country in Stories, by Miroslav Penkov

East of the West: A Country in Stories is a collection of short stories by Miroslav Penkov, a Bulgarian expat living in America. It came out this summer, and was recommended to me by a new Fulbrighter-thank you Marty! East of West is a good selection of stories - one was previously published in The Best American Short Stories of 2008, edited by Salman Rushdie; but, the relevance of Penkov's characters, conversations, and lives to those with a connection to Bulgaria make it an especially worthwhile read. 

The last few weeks

Summer to Winter: Canning and Hiking in Chiprovtsi
September and the beginning of October went by in a blur. It wasn’t until the shock of cold weather over the weekend that I realized the second month of fall is almost half over. Now the signs are everywhere. Bright reds, yellows, and oranges cover the mountains, the tops of which received their first snow last night. I’ve moved my basil, cilantro, and jalapeno plants indoors where they will die slightly more slowly than on my balcony. Pumpkins, potatoes, and apples from neighbors are filling my spare room and the smoke from roasting peppers has come and gone. The days are noticeably shorter and my fingers are dyed a dark brown from shelling walnuts. I know I’ll probably be wishing for a hot, sunny day in a few months, but this weekend I was grateful for a few days of dreary rain. It felt like it was about time. We haven’t had hardly any rain these past few months and these were the first rainy days in months.

Besides the weather update, what else is new? Well, as you can see in the awesome slideshow, I canned and pickled vegetables for the first time. One of my personal discoveries in Bulgaria is that I love the pickled carrots, cauliflower, and red peppers. I’m happy I learned how easy it is to make since a suitcase full of it probably won’t make it through customs. 

With friends from Chiprovtsi, I went on a fantastic day hike in the mountains nearby. I’ve been hiking around here a lot of the past year, but this was my first time going to the mountains with a jeep-an adventure in itself. Our hike didn’t even begin until we passed the tree line. It is easily one of the top 5 most beautiful places I’ve ever been. They’re relatively unknown in tourist world, few visitors even from Bulgaria come to see them. The two pictures below are from Plamen Petkov. 

School starts, activities around town

School started on September 15^th with opening ceremonies and flowers for teachers at schools nationwide. I’ve been spending a lot more time at the school this fall. With the teachers, I’ve organized two youth/scout groups. I’m lucky how great the kids here are: they listen and are eager to participate in everything. With the older group, we’re working on a couple of projects and discussion themes. Now, we’re talking about communities (how we define them, which ones they belong to, etc.) and collecting bottles to make a greenhouse. 


The younger group is making paper mache this week. The women and girl’s fitness group is going strong, still meeting 3 times a week. Participation has also grown and some of the women stay late to help teach gymnastics to the younger girls. Adult English classes have restarted after a few week hiatus. Attendance fell during the summer and when garden work picked up, it made the most sense. Before Bulgaria, I’d never taught a language, organized youth activities, or led a fitness group. Now, I do at least one of these things almost everyday and absolutely love them. 

15 September is an important day, especially for 1st graders. 

In the news...
Bulgaria is in full campaign mode for the elections at the end of this month. It’s interesting working in a municipal office during a local election year, there are constantly things coming up. There are so many candidates, it seems everyone is somehow personally involved. With the America’s election season beginning more than a year in advance, I don’t know how anything gets accomplished.

Tension with Bulgaria's Roma communities have been in the news lately. Though rhetoric and recent drama has been unpleasant, it has drawn attention to an important issue that will have to be addressed, not just in Bulgaria, but across Central and Eastern Europe.
Scores Arrested in Roma Protests 
The Return of the Gypsies - Transitions Online

Bulgaria: Attractive Tourist Destination
On Monday, my counterpart and I went to the Sofia airport for the opening of a photo exhibition. Last winter, I sent in pictures to an online contest for “Bulgaria—Attractive Tourist Destination.” Two of my pictures were selected to be among the top 30 displayed in the exhibition. The exhibition will be in the airport until the end of the month. It moves to Sofia University in November, and then to Pleven in December. 

A friend of mine from Chiprovtsi also submitted photos that made the final cut. I’m thrilled that of the 30 photos chosen to represent attractive tourist destinations in Bulgaria, FOUR are from Chiprovtsi. Put another way, 13% of the images of tourist destinations in Bulgaria show Chiprovtsi. 10,000 people pass through the terminal each day, which is pretty good free advertising. I received an award, gave an awkward tv interview, and enjoyed free snacks with my counterpart and the driver. The pictures can be found at: http://phototourismbg.com/


On the way to Sofia, we came across an accident. A semi truck full of beer had spilled cases of beer all over the highway. No one was hurt at the scene, but a highway full of free beer could lead to lots of things. 

Back to the topic of weather...
The unusual hot weather that persisted until Friday is referred to locally as a “gypsy summer,” similar to how “Indian summer” is used in the states. I had never given much thought to it before, just assumed it wasn’t a nice term. After hearing its parallel in another language, I need to let you know: it’s offensive and it should not be used. Think about it: the term originated from the colonial belief that the Native Americans (Indians) were deceptive and untrustworthy. We no longer use leaches to bleed sick people or burn witches at the stake, so please, don’t use Indian summer. It’s a linguistic example of how racial prejudices once permeated American culture, affecting even the names of weather patterns. If you want a replacement phrase to describe unseasonably hot weather in the fall, I recommend: “Golden October” (Germany/Austria) or “a tiger in autumn” (China).

Canning and Pickling

This past weekend Palma and I made five types of turshia (pickled vegetables) plus lutenitsa (tomatoes and roasted peppers)—40 jars in total! It took all day, but will be completely worth it this winter. Here are a few pictures and recipes from our super productive day: 

Sirene: Behind the scenes

Pictures are from Didi Ignatova.

Bulgarian Cuisine

Great information, reflections, and experiences related to Bulgarian food. Hoppin John's Blog 

Stamboliski Dam Camp

I travelled this past week to Stamboliski Reservoir for a summer camp organized by two PCVs from towns along the Danube. The 20 or so kids that participated camp were older (middle-high school aged), and had lots of responsibilities. I was so impressed: they cooked, cleaned, and cut firewood. 

The location was perfect. Our tents were set up right by the reservoir and I was got to go swimming for the first time in over a year! It felt amazing to be in the water. The kids also boated and fished. One day we hiked to the top of the cliffs overlooking the reservoir. The views were spectacular.

It was a longer camp and there were quite a few learning sessions for participants including ones on compasses and orienteering, knot-tying, starting fires and safety, and peer pressure. It was great to see how some of the topics were taught so I can share them with the kids in Chiprovtsi. I also learned to juggle. Seriously. With three tennis balls in the air at the same time. I’m up to 6 throws without dropping. So, if the whole law/grad school plan doesn’t work out… 

Holiday of the Balkan Mountains

The celebrations began on September 1st with the opening of an exhibition for local artisans. Wood carvings, books, metalwork, and woven tapestries and carpets were displayed in the exhibit hall of the municipality.

September 4th was the “Three Chuki” bike race, organized by Adventura Ltd. and the municipality.  The race is an annual event, with elite and children's categories. More information on the course and how to participate next year can be found here: Bike Race

 For me, the real celebrations began on Monday, September 5th, with the Banitsa Festival held in the town center. Despite super hot weather, tons of people showed up to try traditional foods from Chiprovtsi, surrounding villages, and Acenovo. The center was so full of people!

In addition to the various local cuisines, there was a table dedicated to Chiprovtsi-style banitsa, homemade jams, yogurt, and cheeses for sale, and an area for kids to learn about birds and make their own toy from Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB).

The Banitsa and food was followed by a children’s presentation and folk festival in the center. Visiting dancers and singers, decendants of Chiprovtsi’s pre-1688 uprising, performed to traditional Banat-Bulgarian, and Romanian songs. This was followed by a commemoration of the 410 anniversary of Peter Bogdan. Bogdan, a Catholic Bishop and important National Revival figure, is one of Chiprovtsi’s major historical heroes. In the evening, a concert by the “Bulgare” was held in the Cultural Center.

On Tuesday, I went with Jordanka and her family to celebrate the Festival of the Gushovski Monastery on the mountains. The carpets were displayed on top of the mountain like last year and the weather was gorgeous. 

First we lit candles at the stone crosses at the foot and top of the monastery hill. Then the Bishop from Vidin gave his blessings. 

 Next came the shkembe chorba, or tripe soup. We picniked at Jordanka's family's hizha nearby. 

After xoro dancing, we hiked back to town. 

September 6th is celebrated nationwide in Bulgaria as Unification Day. This article gives a good explanation of the holiday. http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=131825

Dragodonovo Birthday and Gurkovo Donkeys

Getting ready for the donkey races in Gurkovo

I travelled to Dragodonovo on Friday to celebrate Neysa’s birthday with her village.  We chatted with friends in the village center and she cherpi-ed drinks and snacks for everyone. She showed me the building where she and colleagues are working on a PCPP project to create a rec/fitness center for the community. It looks fantastic. Later in the evening we went na gosti with friends for her birthday dinner, practicing our xoro dancing skills in the garden until late.

Gurkovo Biorali

The next day, we departed for the Gurkovo Donkey Races. Way more than just donkey races, the annual Biorali included donkey soccer, donkey tug of war, and theme decorated donkey carts. The Peace Corps volunteer in Gurkovo arranged volunteer accommodations and decorated a Peace Corps donkey cart. The Peace Corps donkey, Pencho, didn’t participate in most of the events (he’s 18 years old-a very old donkey). He did, however, receive lots of cheers during his introduction and loop around the racetrack.

Donkey Tug-of-War

Twenty-four donkeys participated in the events. Awards were given for best decoration, rapid harness/un-harness, cart race, strength (tug-of-war), and naked riding (without a harness). The winner, champion of the biorali for the 6th time, took home 500 BGN cash, a baby cow, bio-fuel (alfalfa, hay, etc.), and wooden boards. Several thousand spectators attended and there was a large vendor area with cotton candy, BBQ, and other bazaar-type items. Gurkovo began the Biorali in 1971 and is also home to a donkey museum.

 

Donkey Futbol

Celebrations Begin: 25th Birthday

Celebrating my 25^th birthday in Bulgaria was fantastic.

I was super excited about the cake that Palma and Vladi made. It was awesome. The candles read "2-5"     

The day before, I prepped two family size pans of brownies for cherpi-ing* at work and made banitsa and tarator for my cousin’s arrival. My cousin, Brett, was in town for a few days during his epic trip around the world. Unfortunately for him, all my cooking skills were used on adding oil and eggs to the brownie mixes--the brownies were excellent. The banitsa (way too salty) and tarator (way too much garlic and dill) were awful. I also prepared bags of drinks, snacks, and more brownies to bring for my birthday party in the neighboring village. 

*Cherpi-ing basically means ‘treating.’ As in, it’s my birthday, so I’m treating my friends and colleagues to chocolate, cola, chips, or whatever you choose (chocolate is more or less mandatory though). In return, they shake your hand and wish you a happy birthday, with health, happiness, good luck, love, lots of babies, etc. It’s tradition to ‘cherpi’ not only on your birthday, but also your nameday, or whenever something wonderful happens to you (new grandchild or winning the lottery). 

My dear friend, Didi, wove this bag to give to me for my birthday. It's too beautiful to use. I'll keep it forever to remember friends from my time here. 

My brownies were a hit at work and I spent some time googling and translating recipes for colleagues. Between handshakes and cherp-ing, preparations for the celebrations on the 5th and 6th of September kept me super busy. I was able to get away for lunch with Brett at Torlacite (not wanting to attempt cooking again) and to take him to the Historical Musuem. After I finished work, we hiked to Velin Del, a mountaintop overlooking the border peaks with Serbia, then carried supplies to the neighboring village for the birthday party one of my friends organized.

Brett and I eating with friends before the party. 

It meant a lot to me how many people remembered that it was my birthday (even if Facebook is to thank). The birthday flowers, presents, and wishes from my friends in Chiprovtsi were very special. And I’d never imagined someone would throw me a party. It was a day when I truly felt that this is real life, my real friends, real experiences. A great birthday. 

Relay Races/Team Building/Icebreakers

Icebreaker Activities:

In a circle…

Introductions and Favorite Things:

In a circle, each person stands, states their name, age, hometown, and three things they like (nature, ice cream, tennis).

Pass the ball/hula hoops

Stand, hold hands, introduce a ball or hula hoop to be passed around the circle without hands letting go. Add another ball the other direction.

Run to the center if…

A leader reads phrases (you have brown eyes/you like Fanta better than Coca Cola, etc.). If it’s true, participants run to the center. They return to the circle for the next phrase.

Birthday Lineup

Participants line up according to birthdays. Leader points out January and December, then lets the participants figure it out.

Molecules

This game was new to me and was my favorite Icebreaker from the camp. It begins with the leader calling out a number, for example “4,” and everyone forms groups with 4 people. The number should divide the group evenly to begin. Once groups are formed, the leader calls out: “Molecules, molecules, now we’re in groups of 7.” Everyone must run around and find people to make their group 7. Whoever doesn’t find a group in time, is out. The game continues until there are just a few people left. It is an excellent icebreaker and requires no materials. 

Teambuilding Games:

Square Puzzle

Needed: 2 pieces of construction paper/team

I made these puzzles by cutting construction paper into large squares, then cutting the squares into 10 pieces. Each member of the team was given at least one piece and the team worked together to fit the pieces back into a square shape. This worked very well.

Trolley Walk with Ropes only

Needed: 2 long pieces of rope/team

Because we didn’t have the long boards typically used in team building retreats for the trolley walk, I thought that just tying the kids legs together with rope would work. It sort of did except for when the first person on a team took off at full speed and nearly took off the legs of their teammates. Using only ropes would be fine, but the method of tying the legs together needs to be such that the rope won’t tighten on their ankles if pulled.

Lift the Bucket

Needed: 1 bucket filled with water/team

The idea is that the teams lift the bucket with their feet together—their hands must stay on the ground—and the team that can hold their bucket in the air the longest wins. In practice, this activity was much more tortuous than anticipated. I’d modify this activity by adding different instructions “lift, move as a group to the left, set down, lift;” adding more water; and placing the emphasis on spilling not endurance.

Straw Tower

Needed: 1 pack of straws/team, 1 roll of tape/team

Teams have 10 minutes to build a tower from the straws and tape as high as possible. When time is called, the team must not touch the towers. 30 seconds are called out. The highest tower that stays standing for at least 30 seconds wins. This worked very well.

Relay Races:

Balloon Pop

Lots of balloons, supplies for whatever is written on the instructions. We used 1 apple, 1 spoon, 1 coin, 1 bucket, and 10 balloons per team.

Way more complicated than necessary. Children raced to the bucket, popped a balloon, and followed instructions written on a slip of paper inside. There were 5 variations: walk on your hands and feet like a crab, hop on one foot, spin 5 times and sing the alphabet, balance a coin on your nose, and balance an apple on a spoon. It would have been easier to just choose one of these tasks and have a traditional race, the different instructions made it difficult to monitor and confused the smaller children.

Sponge Race

Needed: 1 bucket/team, 1 sponge/team; 1 “fill” bucket of water

This was super easy and worked very well. Each team was given a sponge and a bucket. At the opposite end of the field was a bucket with water. Like a traditional relay race, team members took turns racing to the fill bucket, filling their sponge with water, racing back and squeezing into their teams bucket. The game ends when there is no more water in the fill bucket. The team bucket with the most water wins.






Useful Websites: 
Herb identification in Bulgaria
Fire Safety for kids in Bulgarian
Games and activities for kids in Bulgarian

Camp Forest Kingdom III

Hiking to the camp

The summer camp in Chiprovtsi--the big project I've been working on with colleagues this summer--was great! 43 children, 5 PCVs, and 10 adults from the local community participated in the camp.

The Day Before…

T. and I went shopping in Sofia for last minute supplies the day before the camp while N. managed the set up of tents and tables at Pilatovets (the name of the camp area). Everything pictured in the garage (2 grills, 39 sleeping bags, sleeping mats, 50 t-shirts, etc.) we managed to fit in a 5 person Skoda…along with three people wearing seatbelts. It was impressive.

Aerial View from Tower

After unloading supplies, I met Neysa, Ben, Amy, and Joe at the bus stop. We made tofu pad thai and salad. It was great to have them here to help with the camp. Though there were lots of local volunteers and colleagues, they helped keep me not crazy. 

At 7 am, we headed to the Municipality to load the laska for its first trip to the camp site. Neysa and Joe stayed up at the top to help unload baggage and assemble the grills. Ben, Amy, and I hiked up with the 43 kids  and two colleagues. The rest of my colleagues and local volunteers were already at the camp. For breaks, we stopped to hang the new signs for the camp.

The kids were divided into 5 teams, each with a leader and assistant leader. Different colored bracelets identified teams. Leaders were chosen from participants in the 3-day leadership camp during the first week of August. In theory, leaders were responsible for keeping track of their teams, especially when it was their turn to serve a meal or gather everyone for a hike.  

After lunch, the teams competed in relay races. We tried to balance traditional relay races with ones geared for teambuilding. Different icebreakers, teambuilding, and relay race activities we used are here.

Narodna Topka, Jump Rope, Tug of war, and Frisbee Drunken Carrot worked best for free time games. So did French braiding, yoga, and variations on Charades. This website as a lot of play-acting games and other group activities for kids in Bulgarian:

Sessions on emergency first aid and camp fire safety were also held on the first day. Here is a link for fire safety in Bulgarian. 

After dinner, we made s’mores, assembly line style with the kids. Yulka, the chef of the camp, taught the kids folk songs and traditional games. At the end of the night, Ben brought out his guitar and sang. It was a very long, but lovely first day.

Hike to Gushovski Monastery. The kids took turns with 3 binoculars and I'd prepared a nature scavenger hunt (the one we used at Matt and Grant's camp in Belasitsa) and mountain herb identification cards. We didn't get to the scavenger hunt, but the herb identification activity worked well. 

The nurse who came on the hike turned out to be something of an expert on the plants and herbs in the Balkan mountains. She helped us find examples of pretty much everything in bloom. I used this website to find some of the common mountain herbs in Bulgaria and information on when they're in bloom, how to find them, and what to use them for. 

Seeing what we found on the herb list. The yellow flowers in the foreground are St. John's Wort. We also gathered Stinging Nettle, Wild Thyme,  Chicory, Coltsfoot, Yarrow, Blackberries, and some I can't translate. 

Other activities: Viktorina: 15 questions about Bulgaria—geography, history, etc.—with small prizes for the first correct answer. Swim in the river. Yoga using sleeping mats as yoga mats. This turned out to be way more popular than I'd expected. 

Treasure Hunt: Ben made 5 maps leading to the treasure. We hid them early in the morning. We had them staggered on opposite ends of the camp so with each map they had to run to the opposite end of the site. It worked okay except that the sheep dogs were out and some of the maps were hidden a little ways from camp. We ran ahead to make sure there weren’t any problems. There weren’t. 

The treasure was hidden at the end of the rock wall on the far end of camp. The rock wall is part of 2nd/3rd century ruins that are around the camp from Roman times. Hence the name: Children’s Forest Kingdom.

Campers with certificates

The mayor of the municipality handed out certificates to the kids and the local press took pictures and video. After lunch we hiked back to Chiprovtsi.

On the community forum, Tsveti posted some great pictures from day 2. I used a few in these posts. Here's the link to the  website.