Welcome, new ETAs!

Last week I was back again at the orientation for Fulbright English Teaching Assistants. I am a former ETA (2010-2012) and presented one of the topics last year at the same orientation, which was two days long. This year, however, the program has changed; it is longer, more detailed and designed to provide a more comprehensive preparation for the new teachers. Working closely with other English teachers as well as the Department for English and American Studies at Sofia University, I helped carry out a five-day training for the majority of the 28 American Fulbright Fellows who will be teaching in Foreign Language Schools across the country for the next ten months. My sessions included lesson planning, online resources, classroom management, teaching multilevel students and cultural adjustment. I also presented information about some of the extracurricular activities and projects some ETAs have become involved with in the past, including my own (Learning Through Our Differences).

When Iliana at the Fulbright Commission emailed me to invite me as a lecturer at the ETA orientation this year, I was more than thrilled. I've had the pleasure to meet more than 70 American Fulbrighters in Bulgaria during the time I've lived here; I've also met many Bulgarian alumni who have studied in the United States and have since returned home. All of them have very different backgrounds, lifestyles, beliefs and interests but the one thing they do have in common is the desire to build bridges across nations, mountains and oceans, or perhaps more importantly, between people. As U.S. Ambassador Ries said in her welcoming remarks to the new grantees, the core of the Fulbright program is people-to-people diplomacy. I am proud to be a part of the Fulbright legacy in Bulgaria and a continuing supporter of the activities carried out by the Commission.

Now that I have had some more time and experience between my former role as an ETA and my current one as an elementary school teacher, it was easier for me to reflect on the early days of my teaching career. Three years ago I really had no clue what I was getting myself into; the first day of classes I just sort of showed up at school and hoped for the best because I had no idea how or what to prepare. Eventually I settled into a routine (at least until the second semester) and figured out what worked best in each of my classes. But in hindsight there are many things I would have done differently had I had the experience and knowledge I have now. I don't think that any experiences we have can be labeled as bad, really, because we always learn something from them. And it was through reading about (and observing) good teaching practices that I realized just how many mistakes I made that I didn't even know I was making at the time. I have just a few quick tips, most of which are based off some mistakes I definitely made, and a couple of which I continuously need to work on:

1. Don't sweat the small stuff. When an unexpected problem arises, find a way to diffuse the situation or simply move on. It's not worth it to over-dramatize trivial things, like a broken printer or last-minute schedule change.

2. Be an enthusiastic leader for your students. Accept the responsibilities of being a role model with grace, and listen to their needs. Give them whatever support you can to help them achieve their learning goals.

3. Be over-prepared. That means planning for lessons to take less time than you think they will, and having a back-up lesson or activity in place. Plan for technology to fail. This will happen, but you don't have to let it ruin your day.

4. Spend more time in Bulgaria. Yes, the opportunities for traveling abroad are enticing, and this may be your first time living in Europe. But don't overlook the amazing places to see here, or underestimate the importance of learning the language. See #5.

5. Learn Bulgarian! To the best of your abilities, even if that means hiring a tutor or spending some time online with a program like LiveMocha. Tell your friends and colleagues to correct your mistakes so you can be sure that others will understand you. Even if you can't roll your Rs, people will warm to you immediately if you start a conversation in their own language.

I hope that all of the new ETAs, researchers, lecturers, students and scholars will enjoy their time in Bulgaria. And I look forward to meeting all of you again (or for the first time) in Sofia. 

Добре дошли!

Demanding a better future

For more than three weeks now, tens of thousands of protesters have been marching through central Sofia, each day at 6:30 P.M. Their demands include the dismantling of the current government, which did not win the snap elections in May but barely managed to piece together enough members of parliament for a 51% majority. 

The political situation here has been ignored and under-reported not only in the foreign press but also at home. Many local media networks, most notably newspapers, omit any information about the protests from the headlines. Some television reporters have begun masking their identities and choosing not to display their network logos out of fear of retribution from angry protesters who resent the lack of accurate news coverage on the protests. However, the protests here have been largely peaceful, with no violent clashes with police as in Egypt and Turkey. 

The limited international news coverage of the situation in Bulgaria begs the question: "Is the world watching?" and if not, what happens next? The current government seems satisfied enough to carry on with business as usual while further protesters assemble outside the National Assembly during the workweek, and denies or plays down the protests' influence. The leader of the ultra-nationalist right wing "Ataka" party, whose neo-fascist, xenophobic and racist ideology is an ugly smear on Bulgaria's image within the European Union, began carrying a gun with him and declared his plans to make protesting "illegal." His inflammatory statements have already merited the creation of a new Facebook and Twitter hashtag, encouraging protesters to ignore him completely.

What could a long-term solution to this deep-rooted public anger be? 

"Bulgaria’s best hope is a technocratic government that reforms the judiciary, changes the electoral code, fights organised crime and corruption, and ends the opaque dealings of the government so that young, untainted and talented people find it attractive to enter politics." 
- The Economist

The people currently protesting down Tsarigradsko Shose, past Sofia University and towards the National Assembly are the future of this country. They are not only young people, but the majority of them are. Many of them want to stay here and raise their families here, despite the lure of better conditions abroad. They deserve the attention and support of the whole world, just like so many peaceful demonstrations before them.

Bulgarian Road Tripping with Dad

As you may be aware, I recently had to cancel a trip to Seattle (where I had hoped to catch up with my family and friends after a year and a half away) because of a serious medical condition. Although I have been out of the hospital for several weeks now and I am feeling much better, it's still dangerous for me to travel for long periods of time. That's why I won't be visiting my family for a while. :(

Dad's first Bulgarian meal

Luckily, my Dad was able to come visit me and also see Bulgaria for the first time. It was so great having him here, and really brightened my mood. During his two weeks here we were mostly at home, as I find myself getting tired easily and needing more rest. But we were also able to take him on a short trip around the country, our final destination being the Black Sea. With Kiril driving and Dad in the front seat, I was able to stretch out across the back seat and keep my leg elevated while on the road.

The southern highway to the Black Sea (Sofia-Burgas, or Thrakia Highway) passes close to Plovdiv, one of Bulgaria's oldest and largest cities. We spend a little time walking up to the Roman amphitheater and then having lunch in a former Dervish monastery that was constructed atop one of the old city's Roman walls (visible downstairs and from the patio outside).

Me and Dad in the center of Plovdiv

Our next stop was a Thracian temple and royal tomb, recently discovered near the village of Starosel. The temple, which dates back to the 4th century B.C., is the largest one found so far on the Balkan peninsula. A tour guide explained that the temple was used for worshiping the three dimensions of sky, earth and underworld. Three natural colors were painted in a repeating pattern around the walls and are still visible today. After that we stopped in nearby Hisarya, a town famous for its mineral water and Roman history. There are many resorts there where you can try out the healing properties of the famous water for yourself. It took us longer to find the southern gate of the late Roman wall, nicknamed "The Camels" than we spent looking at it, but it was getting very hot so we kept driving to our next destination.

In front of "The Camels" southern fortress wall in Hisarya

We spent the night in Veliko Turnovo, but on the way passed through the Shipka Pass. This landmark is an important part of Bulgaria's independence period, and a fierce battle was fought there between Bulgarian rebels and Ottoman soldiers. Last year I visited the monument and museum on top of the peak, but this time we just drove through on our way to Bulgaria's medieval capital. Our hotel was located right next to the Tsarevets fortress in the old town, which would have been perfect for watching an evening light show on the fortress walls. However, after a long day of driving and waiting a long time to eat, we had dinner in the hotel restaurant and went to bed early before starting another day of sightseeing.

The Holy Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Turnovo

The next morning, after exploring the ramparts of Veliko Turnovo's medieval fortress walls and church (I opted to wait on a shady bench while Kiril and Dad made the hike), we drove down to the Holy Forty Martyrs Church on the banks of the Maritsa River. This church has an interesting history, and has also borne witness to some of Bulgaria's historical milestones. Tsar Kaloyan, one of Bulgaria's most legendary rulers, is buried in the church. Under Ottoman rule, the church was refashioned into a mosque, and many of its paintings and murals were destroyed. In 1908, Tsar Ferdinand declared the independence of the whole territory of Bulgaria inside the church. There is one remaining section of the church with original foundations and the rest has been restored. The newer interior is bright with white painted walls, which is uncommon for Bulgarian churches but has a very airy and calming feel.

Foundations of a pagan temple and first Christian Basilica at Pliska

After leaving Veliko Turnovo, we headed east towards Shumen and eventually got to Pliska, the capital of the first Bulgarian Empire from the year 681. It was founded by Khan Asparuh, who established the first Bulgarian Empire. Not a lot is left of the original buildings in the complex, as many of them were made from wood, but the stone foundations of a pagan temple, two basilicas, the royal palace, a bath house and several outlying buildings remain. A small museum describes the site's history and provides reconstructions of all the original structures.

On the Black Sea in Sozopol

Finally, we reached our end destination and checked into our hotel in Sozopol, just a half hour south of Burgas. Incidentally, we stayed at the same hotel as the first time I visited the Black Sea almost three years ago. I love staying in the old town because it is so charming and peaceful. And Sozopol is easily my favorite town on the coast, as it boasts small, charming cobblestone streets, two beaches, ancient walls and ongoing archaeological investigations. A recent one was the reported discovery of some relics of St. John the Baptist, which were probably transferred to the island of St. Ivan (St. John in English), just a kilometer from Sozopol's public marina, by a Christian monk in the 5th or 6th century. The relics are on display in the restored Church of Saints Kiril and Metodi, and the waterproof container likely used to transport them is in the regional historical museum. That museum also currently houses one vampire skeleton, part of another exciting and fascinating recent find near the town.

Medieval ruins of a monastery on the island of St. John the Baptist

We were able to visit the island by boat, and the roundtrip only cost us 40 leva, or roughly $9 per person. Our captain Dimitar told us that he has worked with the archaeologists working on the island, and that his boat actually transported the relics to the mainland. The island is small, and today mostly a nature preserve. We saw lots of young seagulls getting ready to take their first flight. A lighthouse built in the late 19th century still stands there, and the ruins of two churches can be viewed easily by tourists. The older one is where the relics of St. John were found, buried under the altar, in the summer of 2010.

Me and Kiril, on the boat ride back to Sozopol

We didn't make any more stops on our return trip to Sofia, so it was much faster, and Dad had just enough time to get his bags packed up before heading home to Seattle the next day. He was very happy at the end of our trip that he got to see so many parts of Bulgaria. But still, there are many more to see so I hope that he will come back again soon!

"The world is on fire"

In case you haven't seen Bulgaria in the news headlines lately (which is usually the case, unfortunately) there have been massive protests all over the country, much like what is happening on now on the streets of Istanbul and Brasilia. You can follow the protests on Twitter with the hashtag #ДАНСwithme. 

For more information on the background of the current protests, and how they are different from the earlier ones that led to the resignation of the previous government back in February, read this blog post. An imploring and heartfelt open letter asking Europeans and others to help publicize the current situation can be read here. After a brief web search I came up mostly empty with current articles from the major international news agencies. Following the Twitter page and reading the English-language sites in Bulgaria (or better yet- Google translated versions of sites like Dnevnik) will probably remain the best ways to keep up with events until they get more international coverage.

Hence this blog post. If you are reading this outside of Bulgaria, please share information about the protests in Bulgaria with your friends or find a photo of the protests to share on Twitter. While I am in no way informed enough to make speculations about Bulgaria's political future, I do believe that the only way for Bulgarians to make their voices heard is by exercising their right to protest against the corrupt practices of the current government. And others can help support them by speaking out against political corruption and abuse everywhere. So please spread the word about Bulgaria and help the protesters make their voices even louder to the rest of the world.

Kambanite: International Children's Monument and Park in Sofia

This was only a two-day workweek because of several holidays that got mashed together the first weekend in May: the 1st of May (for everyone outside the United States, this is labor day), the Bulgarian Orthodox Easter holidays (which happened to fall very late this year, about a month after the Roman Catholic ones) and St. George's Day (a religious feast day and national holiday, as St. George is the patron of Bulgaria's military). Anyway, all this celebrating means a six-day weekend and I have already done quite a bit of sightseeing in my time off.

On May 1st Kiril and I went to Kambanite (The Bells) monument and park, dedicated to children all over the world. The monument was erected by Lyudmila Zhivkova, the daughter of the former Communist leader Todor Zhivkov, who was deposed in 1989. Zhivkova was a controversial figure but also a respected patron of the arts, and she established the monument through the "Banner of Peace" organization with support from UNESCO.

The park is made up of a circular pattern of bells donated by different countries built around a concrete tower holding seven more bells, meant to represent the seven continents. Having been created during the Communist period, the monument and park were neglected for many years until Zhivkova's daughter (also a fashion designer) started a campaign to restore it. Today many of the original bells are missing, but there are still signs of a bygone era there: a bell from Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, the USSR and both the German Deomocratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany. The are also bells from North and South Korea, Syria, Angola, China, Thailand, Nicaragua, Zimbabwe and many other countries around the globe. The United States' bell is quite small compared to Bulgaria's whopping 1300 kg one (commemorating 1300 years of Bulgarian history in 1981). But there are also some new additions, including bells donated by NATO and the Rotary club. I found Poland's bell, too...

  
On one side of the park there is a wall with plaques acknowledging the accomplishments of young Bulgarian athletes, artists and scientists. One of them is Ivet Lalova, Bulgaria' famous record-breaking sprinter. Read more about her in my post for International Women's Day last year.

These bells represent all the Bulgarian children living abroad. During the Communist period many families were forced to flee the country because of political differences. This was the case for my grandfather, who left Poland when it was invaded by Nazi Germany and could not return after the war when his country had joined the socialist bloc. As a result, there are many Bulgarian, Polish and other Eastern European families living abroad, especially in the United States. Unfortunately, there are still large numbers of young people who have to move abroad for economic opportunities. This is a growing concern within Bulgaria and many other European countries with struggling economies and limited options for employment.

And finally, behind the central tower (which reads "Unity, Creativity, Beauty" in Bulgarian and English) there is a small sign asking visitors not to ring the bells loudly. It also states that only children are allowed to ring the bells. :)

Project Update and New Website!

*This post re-posted from the new "Learning Through Our Differences" website.

After a long trip from Sofia, Irena, Kalin and I arrived in Shumen very late the night before our training. With just four hours of sleep, we showed up bright and early at Nikola Ionkov Vaptsarov Foreign Language High School to meet our colleagues Kremena, Dimo and Tsveta. The Language School in Shumen is lucky to have such dedicated and enthusiastic teachers as them.

The day got off to a good start with all 26 participants actively engaged in the workshop. We started with some "getting to know you" activities and then moved onto more thought-provoking ones intended to break down social barriers and challenge traditional stereotypes. The 9th and 10th grade students were so enthusiastic, we didn't even notice the lack of sleep. Towards the end of the day, small groups began working on their "Community Action Plans," which are proposals addressing local problems like pollution, library accessibility, disadvantaged children and out-of-date athletic facilities. 

Once we had finished handing out certificates and taking our final photos, we received extremely positive feedback from both students and teachers. They were impressed with the project and excited to get started on their community action plans. We look forward to seeing the results of their hard work in the near future. A big, heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended!

Finally Spring

This post has been a long time coming, but I've felt less inclined to blog this year for some reason. It has been a long, although mild, winter here in Sofia and yesterday was supposedly the first day of spring. Accordingly, the weather was beautiful and sunny, even hot for March! Then today it just rained for most of the afternoon. Oh, well...

Summer cannot come soon enough. Kiril and I are going to be visiting Seattle for about a month, and I will stay a couple of weeks longer to spend some quality time with the family. I am really looking forward to it is as it seems like forever since I've had a real vacation!

In other news, I took the written exam for the Foreign Service again (for the third time, in case you haven't been reading for long). I am happy to report that I passed and completed my essay responses for the second stage of the selection procedure. I will find out sometime in May whether or not I am invited to an interview in Washington, D.C. this summer.

There have also been some very difficult times for my family over the last few months. My aunt, who had been battling cancer for two years, passed away in early Feburary. Since I went back to Seattle in December 2011 for Christmas, we said our more personal goodbyes then. It was heartfelt and deep, and I don't think I realized how much I would miss her until she was gone. Then my uncle unexpectedly died of a heart attack just three weeks later. It was a huge blow to my Mom and her siblings, and everyone is still reeling from the shock. These moments are when I feel very far away and helpless against the things I cannot control. I want to be home but I am here, and the distance seems to magnify as time goes by.

But still, there are good reasons for me to be where I am now. My project, Learning Through Our Differences, is finally taking off and we will visit the first high school on our workshop list this weekend in Shumen. I haven't been there before, but I know that it is a medium-sized town not far from the sea, and still remote enough to suffer from the same regional underdevelopment that exists in so much of the country. The workshop will focus on individual and group identities, breaking down stereotypes and bridging cultural barriers. There is also a component that will require participants to create their own "community action plans," which are projects aimed at addressing specific local problems related to intolerance. I have a lot of nervous energy about it, but I am really excited to see my ideas, and those I've collaborated on with others, finally put into action.

Stay tuned for Shumen pictures and another big project update, including a soon-to-be-live website, soon!

коледа в българия (Christmas in Bulgaria)

This year I stayed in Sofia for the winter holidays. We have two weeks off from school (yay!) and, lucky for me, I got to spend Christmas with my Bulgarian family. Kiril's folks are absolutely amazing and have welcomed me into their lives in every way.

For Christmas Eve (Budni Vecher in Bulgarian) we arrived early to help his mother, Mimi, prepare the meal. This mostly entailed making two large banitsas (homemade layered pastry filled with cheese and eggs) with fortunes wrapped in foil inside. These fortunes are a very special part of the tradition, as they tell you what kind of luck you will have in the coming tear. Kiril and I also made desserts ahead of time, which was my American contribution to the meal. We made one of my holiday favorites, peanut brittle, and toffee-nut blondies, which were a big hit.

In the Bulgarian Orthodox tradition, very much like the Catholic one I grew up with, Christmas Eve is the bigger event and is always spent with the family. Unlike the Christmases I know from my childhood, however, in Bulgaria the meal is always vegetarian. There must also be an odd number of dishes on the table, and at least 7. I think we had 11 dishes total (more dishes are supposed to bring more good luck). Usually, the dishes are fairly simple with a few traditional meatless favorites making an appearance. We ate stuffed peppers with sultanas, lutenitsa (roasted red pepper spread), fresh sheep and goat cheese, banitsa, pickled vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, and a special bread called pogacha which Kiril's brother Kalin prepared. The bread also had fortunes inside, as well as a hidden coin. When the meal begins, the oldest member of the household breaks the bread and gives it to the youngest member. And of course, the meal wouldn't be complete without a glass of delicious homemade wine.

From left to right: Kiril, me, Mimi and Kalin

On Christmas day we went over to Kiril's father's apartment for lunch. He had prepared a very hearty dish called kapama, which is made in a big clay pot and slow-cooked for at least 8 hours. Inside of the pot were layers of sauerkraut, pork, beef, chicken, two kinds of sausage, red wine, bay leaves and other seasonings. We ate this with another big pogacha, more cheese and a dried sausage called lukanka. I was the person to find the coin in the bread that time, so I should be very lucky this year. After two days of eating so much delicious food (and drinking spectacular homemade wine), I was exhausted! The rest of the week was rather a blur, and I'm happy to report that I've caught up on some very much-needed rest and relaxation. 

Photos I found online of the food- this is pogacha (bread)

And kapama, cooked in a clay pot