Awaking from Hibernation - an epic winter in Bulgaria

After 4 months of no postings, hibernating within blankets curled by the radiator and venturing out only for work and sustenance, winter's end can finally be seen. Regretfully, I wanted to post more over the winter but in all honestly, like many Bulgarians, all I did was work like crazy and stay inside trying to keep warm by any means necessary. By even native standards, this winter was an extremely cold one let alone for someone like me from Seattle, where generally the temperature is pretty great - not too cold in the winter and not too hot in the summer. To all back home, I will NEVER complain about the cold in winter again when I return home. It's got nothing on this place. By comparison, I would say the weather was very similar to the northern mid-west of the U.S. - Very cold and dry through the winter months.

Other than working at my school here in Shumen, I was fortunate enough to return to America for a brief trip for the holidays and it was great to see everyone. I f I didn't have time to see you(and I know there are many of you) I apologize. Unfortunately my time, spread over three different cities was quite limited. To get home, I travelled to Bucharest, Romania instead of Sofia, the capitol of Bulgaria because Shumen(my home away from home) is actually closer to the Romanian capitol. It was an adventure getting there, first by bus to the border and then in a man's car filled with another 4-5 people crossing the border into Romania. It was strange to say the least by American standards, especially because there are no signs in Bulgarian or English to tell you where to get into what car to get across the border but I managed to figure it out. Getting back into Bulgaria after my trip was even crazier as I had to find a specific hotel in Bucharest and then stand on a random curb for an unknown time where a man would pull up to take people back across into Bulgaria...all of this without being able to use English or Bulgarian. In short, Sofia would have been easier on a few levels but Bucharest was a pretty cool looking place. I'd like to go back there when the weather is better.
Yet now, as the snow has begun to thaw and spring is around the corner, I am looking forward to the amazing weather again, sitting outside under the trees and enjoying a coffee or a drink for hours watching people go by-true European style. These people can kill hours just people watching over a drink or two. It's one of my new favorite past times. Below, check out some pics of the winter in Shumen (a few are from the news or internet) and as things thaw, so shall I with hopes to post more frequently with warmer fingers.

The view from my windows

My glassed in porch covered in a sheet of ice. Ice can be very beautiful  given the time and extreme cold.

View from my windows the opposite direction.

The central walking street

The greenbelt park and the central walking street during the height of the snowfall

The Mosque and surrounding block apartments

An awesome panorama shot I found online...I walk up that street every day to school.

The central walking street again

An artist's painting of the Shumen winter and the monument on the plateau. Once again, I walk up this street to school everyday and my counterpart Stella lives in that block in the foreground.

A picture I took of some of my students before leaving for America.

My fellow English teachers (from left to right) Galia, Marin, Sevda and Stella my counterpart the day before I left for America. They were great to cover for me for 2-3 days while I was travelling.

My School and Work in Bulgaria....

After a few months more in Shumen, I am truly settling in and finding my place both in my new home as well as in my job as a Peace Corps volunteer. Being from the Education Program, I work as a secondary (high school) teacher at a technical school for Construction, Architecture and Surveying. Most of the students are boys and accordingly, class can get a little difficult at times when it comes to discipline but I'm taking it in stride. The students here are the same in some ways to students in the States but in others very different. For example, they dress and act similar to American students-perhaps a bit more rowdy and unfocused. On the different side of things, they very infrequently bring things to class (no paper, books or pens sometimes) and have the propencity to cheat like you wouldn't believe. During tests they will literally ask out loud "Как е ________ в Английски?" or "What is _________ in English?" to their friends with total disregard for the school rules. Most will also simply work with their neighbor who in turn is working with thier other neighbor, etc, etc. You can tell them to work alone - "Работете сами!" but they will usually stop for 30 seconds before starting again. I often want to reprimand them or give them a zero on the test but what I try to remind myself is that this is simply normal here in Bulgaria. That doesn't mean it's O.K. or a good practice, but it does mean you have to be understanding of the culture they grew up in and discourage them from cheating and punish them more accordingly.
So, while there are some negative things I deal with in the classroom, there are also many positives. I have students that are quite good at English and actively want and try to learn more to better their future situation in life. Teaching these students who truly care makes each day worthwhile. I teach 18 or so classroom hours a week (a full load for Bulgarian teachers) with 6 different language groups: 9А, 9В, 10Д, 11А, 12А and 12В. Three of my groups are more focussed and committed to learning English than the others and they are of course, more enjoyable to teach. Hopefully, in the coming months my duties at the school will change a bit and I will have less official classes and more extra-curricular classes for the better students and the teachers who want to learn/perfect their English. This is what the school wanted me for originally but for now I am covering for a teacher who is on leave.
In any event, work continues and I am learning how to speak Bulgarian and teach English more everyday. My counterpart Stella and my fellow collegues are very supportive and welcoming. I look forward to getting to know them better and working with them over the next year and a half. I have included some pictures of my school for you all to see where I work and spend my days. Now that things are settling down, I would really like to start posting here more often so stay tuned. I will also send a mass email out everytime i make a post, but if you are seeing this and not recieving the email notifications, please let me know at pgordon33@gmail.com and I will add you to the list. Thanks all and as usual don't hesitate sending an email from time to time. They brighten my days.  

The front entrance to the school

To the right of the 1st picture, you can see this building. It has classrooms and a cafeteria but also houses a dormitory for students who live there Sunday night through Friday after classes. The students who stay here are usually from villages to far from Shumen to get to school everyday. The cafeteria serves them a light breakfast of banitsa and iyran(a yogurt drink) or boza(a thick wheat based drink). For lunch and dinner it is usually the same items but rotates every day. Many teachers bring tuperware to school and buy food to take home to their families because it is so cheap. For example, this week i took home a big bowl of soup called tarator, potatoes similar to au gratin and two kebabche(seasoned and ground meat skewers) for about 2.20 leva or $1.50. It's a great bonus to working at my school because the others schools in town don't have food services.  

My collegues...can you find me?

The director at my school. She is a very nice and respected professional amongst the staff.

The teachers lounge. The cabinet in the back houses all of the important books involving every class group, their grades, what the teachers teach each class, etc.

One of my collegues teaching her biology class.

An average classroom - the furniture in the back was all build by students in the furniture building classes. They even built some furniture in my apartment.

The first day of school at ПГСАГ. This picture is actually from the year before I arrived but the same ceremony occured this year. Three students are the school color guard and parade the flag around the semi-circle of all of the class groups and their class teachers(like homeroom teachers).

Some of the 12th graders dacing 'horo' after a ceremony for the Day of Construction two weeks ago. We were supposed to have classes after the ceremonies but all of the students went home. It's almost as if all 650 students secretly planned that they would skip classes that day. In any event, the teachers all stayed and we had a party ourselves downstairs.

Some of the students in the surveying class group.

Lastly, here are some collegues dancing horo at the Villa we rented for the party on the Day of Construction. One part collegues + one part alcohol and Bulgarian folk music + late at night = horo dancing.

Leaving Iskar, Swearing In and the move to Shumen (Шумен)!

It has been many, many weeks since my last blog but it has been a busy and exciting transition to my permanent site in Shumen. I have tons of pictures to share so instead of writing about the transition to Shumen, my job, counterpart and friends here, I have instead sent an email to many of you with all of this info. So take a look at the pictures and in the future, I will likely blog more frequently about everyday occurances and cultural experiences rather than sending emails and blogs. When a new blog posts, I will be sure to send an email simply stating a post has been added. Enjoy!

The Last of Iskar and Swearing In Ceremony....

Ah, Iskar...how I miss you. There is just something about these old towns and villages.

The deserted but once bustling bus station in Iskar. I waited for many a bus outside this building.

The Iskar square one final time after a cultural day presentation from the students. Truly a beautiful and relaxing place.

A necessity in the villages is knowing how to can fruits and vegetables for winter. Many Americans could learn a thing or two from Bulgarians about growing their own foods and preserving them for when times are tough.

 

A sight common in rural Bulgaria, deserted houses are from what many would concider 'better times'.

 

I saw this awesome, old cummunist era car in the city center every day and I wanted to take it with me. Although it had seen many years, the paint was spotless and the chrome always polished. They are Russian made but look sort of like an old BMW 2002.

Here is a video of our Swearing In Ceremony, presided over by U.S. ambassador James Warlick where we all officially became employees of the U.S. Government. This is the oath of office we had to read:

I,  (name) do solemly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, domestic or foreign, that I take this obligation freely,  without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps, so help me God.

Due to the non-religious affiliation of our government, they were required to tell us that we did not have to say 'God' at the end so that everyone can feel comfortable taking thier oath.

My Peace Corps group, the B27s after the ceremony.



My buddy Abtin and I with Danielle from Kansas.

My new home in Shumen (Шумен)!....

Topographic Map od Bulgaria. Shumen is in the N.E. quadrant only about 80 km or 50 miles from the 'sea capitol' of Varna (Варна). In the late spring through early fall, there are flights directly to Varna from London and Paris...just throwing that out there. 

The first meal I cooked in my new home and in 12 weeks! It was basically a shopska salad (Шопска салада) of tomato, cucumber, onion, peppers, cirene cheeese, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper with the non traditional addition of meat. That and a glass of good juice...man did it feel good to be on my own again and cook for myself. I do miss my host family and the great food now though!

I've posted this before I believe but here is Shumen from the air. See below for details of where things are...

Like all Bulgarian cities, there is usually a center area where no cars are allowed and it is filled with shops, cafes, restaurants, businesses, etc. Here in Shumen, it is a long long 'walking street' with all businesses on one side and a terraced greenbelt on the other side. In the summer months, the cafes from the business side set up tables under the trees on the opposite side so you can enjoy your coffee, meal or drinks sitting outside under the beautiful trees, out of the scorching sun. The servers run back and forth across the walkway so you have to keep your eyes open to not run into them. All in all it is one of the most relaxing places I have ever been and incredibly beautiful. The following 5 or so pictures are all from this walking street:

They have the big path out in front of the shops, between them and the trees and then they also have this path under trees to avoid the sun on really hot days.

Here you can see how the cafes set up tables under the tree side of the street.

Shumen is also the home of the largest Mosque in Bulgaria and the second largest on the whole Balkan Penninsula. I was fortunate enough to visit and go inside by myself and see this beautiful sight. The following 3 pics are of the Tombul Mosque here in Shumen, the first being from the web because when I was there it was covered in skaffolding like the interior picture below. It is barely able to stand on its own and they unfortunately don't have the money to fix it, so it sits there being held up by modern methods until some unforseen date of repair.

Other than the Mosque, I have also had the opportunity on a few occasions to go to the amazing Shumen Monument or 'Monument to 1300 years of the Bulgarian State'. It was build during communism in 1981 and never in my life have I seen something so amazingly large and impressive. Washington D.C. in the states is the only place with anything comporable to the size of this monument in Shumen. To get there you can drive or walk from the city center taking some 1300+ steps to the top of the plateau where it sits looming over the city. In one of the below pics you can see the end of the stairs we took to get there my second time.

The monument sits over the city and can be seen from anywhere, including up to 20 km away as you approach Shumen.

An airial picture with the end of the staircase in the center.

Some of the historical sculptures inside the pavillion of the monument...for a size comparison, that is a 5'10" girl approaching the statue of Khan Asspurah.

Some frescoes of historical moments in Bulgaria's history-arrival of Christianity, the crusades, etc.

A depiction of Bulgarian knights/leaders with old Cyrillic script is seen throughout the monument.

Friends and colleagues....


This was my counterparts birthday party at her parents house in Shumen. A true на гости (na gosti), we had salads and rakia for 3+ hours, then various meats and potato dishes and dessert for another 3 hours. It was a great night and I think I left for home around 4:30 am after much merriment and great discussions in Bulgarian and English. Truly a great memory for me!

Here is my counterpart Stella at her party, smilling for the camera.

Here is my housewarming party in Shumen with some of my new friends. there are three other volunteers in Shumen-Jessica, Brittney and Vinnie. From left to right: Andrea (another volunteer visiting Shumen that night), Jessica, Chuckie (a Bulgarian teacher from Vinnie's school), Victor crouched below(a university student here in Shumen), Brittany and Vinnie. It was a great night and everyone enjoyed hanging out at my apartment for the first time. Later that night, we went to the disco as a group and danced to Bulgarian Chalga music...look it up, ha.  

Well folks, that's it for now...it has been a crazy month and a half travelling and getting settled here in Shumen but things are becoming stable so I look forward to posting here more frequently and not as long. Sorry for the length and if you made it this far, thanks for looking. Don't be afraid to post a comment on a pic and let me know what you think, I love hearing from everyone. If you are interested in more details of my school, counterpart and fellow PCVs here in Shumen, be sure to read the last long email sent covering some of what I've been experiencing. In the future, look for more blogs and less emails as I plan to cover both in this format with email notifications. Coming up in the next blogs-my apartment, my school and more crazy cultural experiences here in Bulgaria. Take care and enjoy your summer!