| My Reflections |
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| Saturday, September 1, 2001 |
| I moved into my new life yesterday . . . I, a volunteer of the United States Peace Corps, suddenly took a giant LEAP into self-reliance, independence, and endless change. And, to top it off, my counterpart went on vacation my first week in my brand new environment! So, here I am. I discovered a large rat in one of my closets, the silence and lonliness is enveloping me, I am wondering how I am going to ever adjust to this life. I am living in a huge cluster of communist block apartments that half the town muct live in and I approached it quite nervously when I saw my block for the first time. After I sidestepped an obstacle course of litter, cigarrette butts, stray dogs, cracked cement, and dirty children, I saw my new home for the next two years. It won't be so bad . . . really, it won't . . . |
| Monday, September 17, 2001 *THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! |
| I have come to the conclusion that American schools don't know how to celebrate the first day of school. Today, was a first day of school like no other! We didn't actually have classes, we had a huge ceremony, which began with the Bulgarian National Anthem and the raising of the Bulgarian flag to ring in the new school year. I gawked in pure amazement as kids sang, various people (including the Samokov mayor) spoke, and local priests prayed blessings over the new school year, annointing the teachers and students with holy water which they flung into the crowd. It was an amazing first day! In Bulgaria, it is the tradition to give your teacher a flower on the first and last day of school and I was amazed that I even got a few today! And then, to top it off, the teachers met at a nearby restaurant and ate heartily with plenty of rakiya (plum brandy) and one, "Nazdrave!" after another! And now, I feel ready to start what I came here to do!!! |
| Monday, September 24, 2001 |
| So far, everything has been wonderful. I love what I am doing. Sure, I will have my good and my bad days, but I feel so comfortable and full of vibrance and energy when I get up in front of my fifth and sixth graders and open their eyes to the English language. My college classes prepared me for this adventure, yet they also left me to explore on my own as I work without resources and with children who do not understand discipline. It can be a struggle to maintain my sanity at times! I do have one complaint . . . class periods aren't long enough! We have 40, sometimes 30, minutes for each lesson and, just when things start to get good, class is over! Oh, well, such is school in Bulgaria, I guess. It's hard when you have to keep a slower pace in order for the kids to learn anything, yet time passes so fast and there is such little productivity in 40 minutes. But, I am enjoying teaching nonetheless. Truly, my adventure is just beginning . . . . what an adventure it will be!! |
| Sunday, September 30, 2001 |
| My 24th birthday was celebrated this weekend. We celebrated a week early because many of my friends were in Sofia for various reasons. We had a great time too! Four of us girls even rented an apartment for the night, which was very cheap and incredibly nice. We celebrated at this place called, "The Swingin' Hall," which is a great club with awesome music. "The Swingin' Hall" has two live bands playing in two different rooms and they play American music, a lot of great oldies. I really missed celebrating my birthday with friends like Michelle, Jennifer, and Casey, who have all made my birthdays so SPECIAL in the past, but it was still fun and I have made some pretty good new friends. I can't believe I'll be 24 in just one week! It's unbelieavable! I'm getting old. But, it was a good birthday because how many people get to say they turned a year older in BULGARIA?!!? Next weekend, on my actual birthday, I may just have my Bulgarian family, the Kostovis, over to help me celebrate! |
| Monday, October 1, 2001 |
| I have a HORRIBLE, very painful ear infection! I saw the Peace Corps Doctor on Friday and he gave me some antibiotics. It appeared to be getting better, but now it's worse than ever! It HURTS!!! So, I'm actually going to miss school tomorrow to see the doctor again. I was in pain when we celebrated my birthday over the weekend, but I still managed to celebrate with an ear full of cotton. But, now, it's all downhill agian! It's keeping me up at night, I've been in tears because it hurts so bad, and nothing has been able to soothe it! I WANT MY MOMMY!!! So, I'll get to Sofia as soon as possible tomorrow, even if I have to get up at the crack of dawn. Hopefully, I'll get better soon and hopefully I won't have to miss too much school this early in the game!!! Ouch!!!!! |