letter11

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope this letter finds all of you in good spirits. Things are great here
in Bulgaria and Model School has kept me incredibly busy already! Believe
it or not, the 7th grade class has been my favorite so far. All three
classes have been wonderful and I have to tell myself that I am in Bulgaria,
not in America, so I need to leave all of my teaching expectations behind.
Kids here are going to chat in class more and copy from one another or from
me. Bulgarian children are pros at regurgitating information since that is
what they have been taught and what they are being taught. So, I am
learning to just roll with the punches! My Classroom Management classes
really didn't teach me how to manage a class in Bulgaria! Sorry, Don Maas,
your videos don't cut it in Bulgaria!

Anyway, we had a Peace Corps field trip to a Monastery in the mountains on
Saturday, one of 4 PC trips to this Monastery. And, yes, Jennifer, the
monks were kinda cute! :-) We began at this fortress which was situated in
the mountains and we climbed this thing until we were perfectly level with
the highest mountains, as a cool breeze whipped through our hair, it was
amazing. Then, on to the Monastery. First, we had a pleasant lunch at a
restaurant that sported a small waterfall and large canopy trees. After we
ate, as we waited for our bill, a Roma woman and her little girl begged for
food and money from outside the gate that surrounded the restaurant, their
frail arms grasping at us as they begged in Bulgarian for even the tiniest
morsel. We literaly scraped the leftover food, which wasn't much, from our
plates to hand to the pair, cold sausages, crusty bread, and soggy french
fries. And, even after we gave, they still begged for the crumbs and the
crust that we negelected to notice. The Roma situation in Bulgaria is very
sad.

After we left the restaurant, my host dad and I, we headed up the hill,
through the green tresses, to the Monastery, which set nestled amongst
towering green hills and mountains. We drank of the fresh mountain spring
water and entered the courtyard, which monks with full gray beards and black
gowns patroled with serenity. The inside of the Monastery's chapel was a
haven for religious display, with intricate murals, delicate paintings,
majestic chandeliers, and precise carvings and icons. I don't know if I've
ever seen such a blatant display of religion as devout orthodox waited in
line to touch and kiss an encased carving of the Virgin and Christ-child as
if it radiated energy, stood under beams of light to prayer as if they found
power in such a ritual, and filled endless bottles with holy water that was
blessed by the monks. It was an amazing experience.

And now, I am tired after a day of Model School and language learning. Yet,
tomorrow is another day so full of promise! We had our first trainee
medivaced today, so please keep her in your prayers. She was an older lady
who was very sweet and wouldn't go home until they sent her home. Over the
weekend, she was in a car accident with her host mom when their hired driver
fell asleep at the wheel and she got a compound fracture in a couple of
different places. She was medivaced to London and, thank God she is okay,
but she won't be able to come back. So, pray for her, pray for me
(especially concerning the site God chooses for me since that will be chosen
soon!), and write soon!

I love and miss all of you!
Chantel

P.S. Karen, are you on vacation? I'm just surprised because I haven't heard
from you in so long, which is odd!