So this entire time we've been in Byala Slatina, Vinny has told us about his dad. He was described to us as a huge guy who always has a cigarette and beer in his hand. He always says inappropriate things, but in a loving way. He's called Vinny gay numerous times (especially when he dresses up with a tie for school) and says obcenities to Vinny, but never never never in a serious way. We always crack up at these stories and kind of assumed that Vinny was embellishing a little bit about the extreme personality of his father. Yesterday, however, we found out that Vinny was not exaggerating in the least bit. Our group (minus Mary) went over to Vinny's house to see the kittens that were finally old enough to be away from their mother. We walked up and there was Vinny's dad, this bear of a man. He stands at about 6'8" and weighs very close to 300 lbs and, true to form, had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Vinny introduced us and he waved and said "Ahllo" and then went over to Vinny and put his arm around him and goes "Vincent...malko gay." Which translates into Vincent is a little gay. Everyone busted out laughing, including Vinny. I knew at that point what this entry would be named.
This week has been SO busy that it's not even funny. Tuesday we had our first Cluster in a town called Knezha. Knezha is another satellite site and is about 15 minutes away by bus, which may not seem bad, but if that's how you feel about it then you have never been on a Bulgarian bus. The roads here are destroyed from all the winter weather craziness and they can't afford to fix them so there are potholes everywhere. The drivers try their best to drive around all of the potholes, which sometimes means driving on the other side of the road...even if there is oncoming traffic. We were also prepared for a bus...we got a 15 passenger van, with about 25 passengers. I was squeezed in the back between a window and Kevin, who I thought was going to throw up at any given moment. This was either because of the insane driving, no air, or the three couples that were making out around us. I believe it was a combination of all three. Once we got to Knezha we went to the training center there. The town is bigger and nicer than Byala Slatina, but the room we were in was microscopic campared to ours. We had to fit about 20 people in a room made for ten. It was hot and cramped. My feelings on the Cluster were mixed because I was glad to see the people that I hadn't seen since orientation, but I think that a lot of the stuff that we went over could've been condensed into a pamphlet. I will say that some of the stuff was helpful. We talked about lesson planning and went over some teaching strategies. The only thing that I really want to complain about was one of the trainees that was there. I won't say her name because it really doesn't make a difference, but just know that she might be the most annoying person that I've ever met in my entire life. She's the girl who ALWAYS has something to say...about EVERYTHING. Example: We had to pretend that we were teaching a class of Bulgarians a vocabulary lesson. So we were doing our thing and she was asking what everything meant, as in a translation. Really? If you were a Bulgarian student, you wouldn't ask us to define everything, you would just sit there and nod your head like you understand everything we're saying. She also is the girl that has to correct everyone, but then when she corrects them...she's wrong. Pretty much what I'm saying is, she's a mess.
Wedneday we had to teach a period of 80 minutes. By ourselves. Georgi wasn't there, he was on vacation. Kevin, Vinny and I freaked out a little, at first, because we thought we were going to have to teach a different class than the one that we've been working with so far. But we sucked it up and came up with a lesson to get them writing and speaking English. The first class went by amazingly well, except that we finished too quickly, but we gave them some free time (which they were obviously not used to) and it was fine. We went around the room and said what our plans for summer vacation were and everyone went, except me. When we gave them free time, one little girl raised her hand and said "Ms. Evan, what will you be doing for summer vacation?" It was so cute, I almost died. I also didn't have a very interesting answer. I told her I had to learn Bulgarian all summer. Just because of that one experience, she's my favorite student. The boys brought an American football and tried to get some kids interested in that. A couple were slightly interested but most of them are diehard soccer fans. I tried to tell them that they would think American football was ridiculous, but Kevin is convinced that by the time he leaves, all Bulgarians will love American football as much as he does.
Thursday we met with the police inspector to go over safety stuff. The groups from Popitza and Turnova (nearby villages) were there too. Nothing really exciting happened that day. Bulgarian was brutal and I left the Center with the biggest headache. I went home and talked to some people until Ifell asleep for a little nap. Nadka came in, saw that I was asleep and assumed that I was sick. She felt my head and asked me if I felt OK. I told her I was fine, but she freaks out every time she comes in my room and I'm laying down. I need to find out how to tell her "Sometimes...I'm just tired." I might have to ask Tanya how to say that during our next class.
Friday we had our first HUB in Vratsa, which is the big city around this area. It's about an hour southwest of our town and we stopped on the way there to pick up another group of trainees. This day was insane. We had to be at the bus stop at 7:10am to make sure we could get a bus. I had to wake up at 5:30am to get there on time. We got there and the two groups nearby were there too. Because they were there and they lived further away, they got first dibs on the bus at 7:10. The bus was full so we had to wait for the next one. The next one came at 7:20am...ish. We boarded and were ready to go. We sat in the parking lot for 30 minutes. Once we finally got going the ride wasn't as bad as the one to Knezha, but it was still impossible to fall asleep. We got to Vratsa and we still had about an hour before the HUB started. We all ran to the nearest coffee shop and downed some espresso. The HUB was pretty much like the Cluster. It was nice to see everyone and see how their families and groups are, but I could've done without a 2 hour Bulgarian history lesson. Bulgaria has a lot of history and I was dozing off through most of it. Lunch was welcomed with open arms and Vaune, Kelsey, Jeff and I went into downtown Vratsa for some delicious Bulgarian cuisine. We got back to the HUB site to talk about more stuff that isn't helpful at this point in our training. Soon it was time for us to head back to Byala Slatina. We got a private bus this time and we were with trainees from surrounding areas. This bus ride was way more fun.
We got back to Byala Slatina and decided that we deserved a drink after our stressful week. Rob (the volunteer who lives here) had said something to Tanya about getting a drink with us, so we decided to take him up on that offer. We went to the nice resteraunt and had dinner and drinks. Tanya stayed and ate, but she didn't drink because it's against the rules. It was nice to just sit and hang out with everyone. We all realized how lucky we are in terms of the people in our group. We all like each other and we haven't had any problems with cliques or anything like that. It was also good to talk to Rob about things other than the Peace Corps. After we had some drinks, it was time to go home. Rob walked with Jackie and myself since we're kind of in the same direction. I, actually, live on the outskirts of town so Rob had to walk a long way back, which I felt bad about.
The next day we were invited to some sports thing. We thought it was at the stadium, so that's where we went, but apparently it was at the park. We didn't know this until way later that day. We ended up spending that majority of our day at the cafe. I felt like a real Bulgarian. We did go to Vinny's house to see the kittens and we ended up staying there for a while because his dad is hilarious. Kevin and I went to the supermarket to see if we could find anything to eat that was recognizable. We found some LAYS barbeque chips and were so excited. We took them to the Center (so that Kevin could get on the Internet) and opened the bag. We shoved them in our mouths. Different. Really different. We took another look at the bag and although it said barbeque, there was a picture of a kabob in the corner. You could literally taste the meat and tomato flavoring. I'm not going to say they were bad, I'm going to say they were different and I'm not sure if I'll be getting them again. After that saddening experience, we all met Rob for coffee (I owed him one from a bet we made the night before on our walk home) and it was another relaxing day. It was nice to finally get to relax. Tanya even joined us, which was good because she can hang out with us and not be all business.
Today I got to sleep in and it was amazing. I met Katie and Kristin from Popitza at a cafe and then Kevin came and we all used the Center for it's Internet. It was another relaxing day. I just hope this upcoming week will be less stressful than the last. I know that Wednesday we get observed teaching...I think we kind of have a plan. I'll let you know how it goes! Also, I'll try to post some pictures this week!
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