Late Summer at the Black Sea Coast

Last weekend I was lucky enough to have a four-day weekend (in celebration of Bulgaria's independence day) and decided to take the train out to Varna and visit another Fulbrighter there. Another Fulbright friend came along, too, and we met about ten of the new Fulbrighters this year who were in town, which was a pleasant surprise. This year the number of English Teaching Assistants has doubled from 10 to 20, so there are a lot more people to get acquainted with. One of the things I loved most about last year was the network of ETAs with whom I could discuss problems and minor annoyances along with positive developments and overall impressions of teaching English as a Second Language in Bulgaria. So it will be great to have an even larger network and hear some new perspectives from the different placements. I'll meet everyone officially this Friday at orientation here in Sofia.

But, getting back to the weekend, Varna was gorgeous. The weather was perfect, nice and warm with the fresh sea breeze. I got a little sunburned on the beach one day but it was worth it. I felt very relaxed just walking through the Sea Gardens and chatting over coffee with new friends. We also visited the Archaeological Museum, which was very interesting and included many of the famous golden treasures found in the ancient ruins along the sea coast. There were lots of wide, tree-lined streets, plenty of shops and cafes to keep tourists entertained, and lovely parks to take a stroll in. Varna is a beautiful city, and I definitely plan to return soon.

Eсен -Fall

Even though it's still technically summer, it definitely felt more like autumn in Sofia today. It's been overcast and drizzling all day, and the footpaths between the block buildings in my neighborhood have all become muddy with fallen leaves that get stuck to your shoes. Walking through the halls at school I was struck by the long-forgotten but familiar aroma of soggy leaves and pencil shavings that brought back (probably repressed) memories of grade school. Just kidding! But really, grade school, or high school for that matter, is not somewhere I would ever want to return to as a student. Watching students in their social interactions in the halls and in class reminds me of how much I wanted to get out of school and why it was such a relief when it was all finally over. I imagine that's the way some of my students feel now.

I just finished my first official week of classes, and I think that things are looking pretty good at my new school. My students already seem eager to speak up and want to know about schools in the United States, and it's interesting to hear their perspectives about the school because it is a very unique one in many respects.   Living in Sofia has already presented some exciting opportunities, like an embassy event I'm attending next week. There are a lot of gallery openings and film screenings in the coming weeks and several organizations I'm interested in partnering with as a side-project.

This weekend is Bulgaria's independence holiday, so we have two free days off of work. And I'm headed to the seaside to visit another Fulbrighter and hopefully soak up some sun before this nasty weather heads east!

From Where I Sit

This is the view from my apartment. No ugly socialist-era block buildings in sight, which is a rarity in this city. My neighborhood is called Zapaden Park (Western Park) and, as you can see, it is full of gorgeous trees and walking paths to enjoy. It's also connected to a much bigger park by the same name where there are fountains, bike paths, playgrounds and the like. It's not that close to the center but I do live on a metro line which makes commuting a snap.

Not much to report now, it was a pretty quiet weekend for me, not at work, meeting a few friends and catching up on TV shows and sleep. I think I might still be jet-lagged, if that's even possible. I've only been back about a week now, and there are only three working days this week because it's independence day this Thursday (four-day weekend, sweet!). Which means I've pretty much done nothing but have vacation for the last three months... but hey, I'm not complaining.

Another School Year Begins...

Today was the first official day of the school year in Bulgaria. This is a huge event, as you can tell in Sofia from the jam-packed metro cars, hordes of small children bearing flowers to give to their teachers, and later, flower-laden teachers walking home from school. There is usually an opening ceremony to welcome new students, introduce guest speakers and kick off the new year. My school is definitely one of the more unique ones in Bulgaria and because of that our speakers came from diverse backgrounds. I work at 134-то СОУ "Dimcho Debelyanov," also known as the Jewish School in Sofia, as it offers both Hebrew and English language instruction. This is one of the more elite language schools in the country, and it has a prestigious reputation. Representatives from the U.S. Embassy, the Israeli Embassy, the Bulgarian Shalom organization, the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation and the Bulgarian Ministry of Education all gave short speeches at the event. The Vice President of the Lauder Foundation told me that along with another school in Berlin, our school serves as a model for integrated multicultural education in Europe. They also have a very high-tech multimedia center with video-editing equipment, a school radio station and photography studio. Many graduating seniors go on to universities in the United States or the United Kingdom. And I am the first Fulbright ETA they have ever had. So I'm definitely feeling a bit intimidated by all that, but I'm also happy to be a part of what seems to be a very energetic and well-integrated school community. Luckily for me, I have the day off tomorrow, but Saturday is a school day due to the upcoming four-day weekend. Yeah, we have to come in on Saturdays when we miss a day of school for public holidays. But Saturday is also a special day for another reason: my name day, or imen den in Bulgarian, which is the day celebrated for people named after St. Sofia of the Orthodox church. It's sort of like having a second birthday, and I'm planning to get some friends together  and celebrate!

Bookends

Because I had a few extra days before school started, after arriving in Sofia last weekend I decided to make the trip out to Pleven and Lovech to visit some friends. Although it's been several months, I have to say that it felt like I had never even left. However, time had passed and there was a lot of catching up to do with people who I have come to feel very close to in the last year. There's my friend Dessy, who I hope comes to Sofia often to visit (as I've promised to do as well), my mentor teacher, who was a lifesaver in helping me move and transferring all my luggage back to Sofia this week, a family I absolutely adore that I met through a friend in Lovech, and my new counterpart in Pleven, who will be taking over my role as ETA at the Foreign Language School.

I also visited my "old" school the day before classes started to see my former colleagues (teachers have to report back to school two weeks beforehand). A lot of them were happily surprised to see me and told me that I definitely should come back and visit whenever I can. It was a lot more Bulgarian than I'm used to speaking right now, not having used it all summer, but a few words came back to me and luckily I had someone to translate if I needed it. Going back to school made me miss the routine I had back in Pleven, and the comfort of knowing my coworkers and having a friend to talk to at school. I also ran into a couple of students walking around town, and I forgot how nice it is to see familiar faces, which is something that will happen less often here. I know I'll be starting all over again at the new school, which makes me a little nervous. At least I know that I can always go back and it will still feel, in a way, like home.

This song is on my "back to school mix." I definitely listened to it a lot on my walks to school last year.

This Transient Life

When I was a little girl my parents had a very old globe that I would play with. If you've seen the movie Doctor Doolittle (the Rex Harrison version, not the one with Eddie Murphy) you might remember the musical scene where the cast is at sea and use a hatpin to randomly select a destination in an atlas. Apparently I was interested in travel from an early age, because I used to do the same thing by spinning the globe and stopping at a random place with my finger. I would discover new and exciting destinations and imagine what it would be like to one day visit them. On one occasion I landed on or nearby a place called Sofia. How excited I was to discover a city named after me! There is that slight spelling difference but the idea is the same. Of course I didn't know anything about Bulgaria back then, had never met anyone from Bulgaria or anyone who had traveled there. But since then I was always vaguely aware of Sofia's existence, and thought wouldn't it be cool go there when I grow up?

As of last Friday, I am a resident of the city of Sofia, with which I share a name. After two months of traveling from Pleven to Burgas to Warsaw to Seattle to San Francisco (and back!) I am definitely glad to be settling into my new home. Looking around my apartment, I have boxes and suitcases of things to unpack and I get very tired just thinking of where to put them right now. Jet-lagged or not, I am excited to finally visit my new school, meet my colleagues and students, and start off another year of my Fulbright grant. I already feel very good about it, and incredibly lucky to be here. I want to thank you for reading and promise to update often about things, now that I am going to be in one place (hopefully) for a while.

And to everyone starting a new school year, good luck and best wishes!

California Wine Tour

In the two weeks I've spent back in the City by the Bay I have caught up with many of my wonderful friends and gotten to relive fond memories from the four years I lived here. I have also come to realize just how much San Francisco truly feels like home to me, and that returning one day (hopefully soon!) is definitely on my priority list for the future. Many of the things I love about this city involve food and/or drinking: Mission burritos, tapas and sangria, sushi, the most delicious coffee in the world, Ghiradelli chocolate, local beers such as Lagunitas and Anchor Steam, burgers, going out for brunch, mimosas, great cocktails and, of course, the close proximity to one of the most famous wine-producing regions in the world. Until this past weekend I had never ventured up to Napa Valley for the full wine-tasting experience, but a little internet research revealed a bike shop in Calistoga that organizes biking tours for the adventurous wino. With some luck I was able to get this amazing group of people together and we drove up for the day to check it out.

While the biking itself wasn't very difficult, I have to say that after several glasses of wine and being out in the hot sun all day, I was exhausted after this day trip. We arrived around noon and left at six, having visited four wineries. Labor Day weekend is a busy one in wine country, so we were lucky to find room at some of these places that tend to get packed with tourists. My favorite one was a small vineyard owned by an Italian family who had brought over traditional methods of wine production from the old country. It was interesting to learn something about the process and then to taste the results! 

  

All in all it was a perfect, relaxing way to spend the holiday weekend and I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to share it with. It's been so great to see everyone and catch up about the past year. I even had a special visit from my friend Jolie who flew all the way from New Orleans the first weekend I arrived. I miss everyone and it's hard to say goodbye, especially when I'm not sure when I'll be coming back, but I know that this is the perfect time in our lives to take some risks and just enjoy while we can the opportunities that come our way. I leave for Bulgaria the day after tomorrow for another year of teaching and I am looking forward to getting settled in my new city!