Hello again family and friends! I apologize (again!) for it taking so long for me to update. It turns out that being a high school teacher is quite the time suck. On most days I'm pretty exhausted after school so I take a little nap. That little nap usually turns into a longer-than-I-intended nap. By the time I wake up it's around dinner time, so I fix myself some dinner (usually a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich thanks to Mom and Dad) and eat while watching TV or talking to Lexi on Skype. After dinner I search through the deepest, darkest corners of my mind and the Internet to come up with new and interesting ways to make the next day's lesson fun. Sometimes I'm successful and other times I just decide that we'll play UNO. Why UNO? Because, for whatever reason, kids here LOVE UNO. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a great game. But they never ever EVER tire of it. However, I've made the mistake of introducing all of my classes to this game and now it's all they want to do. Everyday I walk into the classroom and I have ten to fifteen voices shouting "Gospozha! Moje li igrya na karti?!" Which roughly translates to "Teacher! Can we play cards!?" I'll admit, I give in more often than I should, but this week I'm turning over a new leaf. Now that I have books for all of my classes, learning English will now be taking place in all of my classes. Sorry kids.
However, it hasn't been all work work work. I still manage to have fun. When I can I travel around to other volunteers' sites and hang out. Last weekend I went back to Byala Slatina to visit the three volunteers that live there and my host family. Friday night Kristin, Mary, Rob, James and myself all went to the always-wonderful LPB for dinner and drinks. It was just like the good ol' days of PST. We ate, drank, laughed and compared teaching notes and ideas. It was nice to be back there. Everything was still fresh and familiar. The next day Mary went back to Knezha but I stayed. Kristin took on the task of coloring my hair and, I must say, she did a very good job. Then we went into the town and did a little shopping. Around 6 o'clock we made the trek all the way to my host family's house on the outskirts of town. It was great to see them again! I could tell that they were excited that I had come back to visit. I was also happy when they told me that my Bulgarian had gotten better. We had my favorite Bulgarian meal (musaka, pronounced "moosaka"), shopska salada, stuffed peppers, and rakia. For dessert we had ice cream. It was delicious. I really enjoyed being able to actually have a conversation with them as well. I could finally say more than just "Az sum ot America." (I am from America) or "Az obichum tanzoovum." (I love to dance). I plan on going back pretty often. I felt like it was also good for Kristin to meet them so that she could make some more contacts in Byala Slatina.
This past weekend, some of the volunteers who live close to me and I all made a trip to Pleven to do some shopping. The goal was to find some winter clothes. I came out with a lot of food that I can't get in Koynare and a new pair of super cute brown boots. Conclusion: success. It was nice to get to hang out with all the girls and hear the stories from their schools. I feel like I have it really easy. My main complaint was that my students don't speak as much English as theirs. But, overall, I think I have it the best. There was a mix up with some of the bus times so when it came time for everyone to go back to their respective towns, my bus never came. I waited and waited and the spot remained empty. Katelyn was the last one to wait with me and once she had boarded her bus I decided that it wasn't a big deal and I would just take a train. So I walked across the street to the train station and bought a ticket for the next train to Cherven Bryag (the bigger town about 10 minutes away from Koynare) which happened to be arriving in five minutes. I board the train and find a seat without any problem. I have all of my groceries which are completely thawed out by now and I'm staying alert to find the stop for Cherven Bryag in the darkness that was slowly taking over. We were finally slowing down to my stop so I began to gather my things and move toward the door. We arrived at the station and I waited for the train to stop. But it didn't. It just kept moving (slowly, but still). I didn't know what to do. I was hanging halfway out of the door and the men working at the train station were motioning something to me and yelling words in Bulgarian that I didn't know (or I knew but I was in too much of a panic to understand). I didn't know what was happening or what to do, so I jumped, with all of my groceries and my purse, off of the moving train. I landed easier than I expected and walked past the workers very calmly as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. They all stared at me with mouths gaping open as I made my way across the tracks and up the stairs to get myself a taxi. I secretly felt like Indiana Jones or someone cool and adventurous like that. I got in a taxi and made it back home safe and sound. The next day, I barely moved off of my fouton and it was glorious.
These next two weeks should be good, though. Rory and I are putting together a Halloween party for all the kids. Rory has a group of a few students who have been helping him with his projects and they are all in on this one too. Flyers have been made, materials have been bought, costumes are being thought of, and candy is being purchased. The party will be on the Friday before Halloween, after school. Kids will be encouraged to wear costumes for a costume contest, play games, get their faces painted, make masks, and hopefully watch a Halloween movie. Saturday afternoon, some of the cafes and magazines have agreed to give out candy to little kids who are dressed up so that they can experience Trick or Treating. It's exciting how the whole town is getting involved and how they are all excited for it. I have a feeling that there will be a great turn out at the party. I will be sure to let you guys know how it goes. I'll also try to be better at updating in general. Have a good week!
