"The Golden Cock Award"

This is a group shot from Kevin's birthday.
Vinny, Mary, Rachel, Tanya, me, Kevin and Jackie


This is the name of the award that is given at some sort of talent contest. I found this out while teaching on Friday. Actually, Vinny was teaching and he asked if any of th students played any instruments. A couple raised their hands. He then asked if any of them could sing. One boy raised his hand. Vinny was impressed because he used to sing in show choirs and stuff like that. Another volunteer that is located in Byala Slatina (James) is a teacher at the same school as us. He, like Rob, has been here for a year already so he already knows the students. James told us that this kid won an award for singing. We asked him what award it was the he had won. James hesitates and then says "...It's called The Golden Cock Award...". The three of us errupted into laughter (as did Georgi) and I really hope that kid never finds out what that means. I just hope he didn't think we were laughing at him...but really, how can you hold that in?


These long PST hours are beginning to take their tole on our group. It never seems to matter how much sleep we get, we're perpetually tired. But then we remember that we're having this amazing experience and we perk up enough to make it through the day. Monday was nice because we didn't have to teach so we were done before lunch. We just had three hours of Bulgarian and then we had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted. Kevin and I had to meet with Georgi to go over our lessons the next day. The two of us and Vinny had to team teach one 45 minute class, which is not even a big deal. We went to his shop and he ran off some copies of the activities he wanted us to teach. He gave Vinny a page full of stuff, Kevin got a little over a half of a page, and I got...one activity. Just one. I had to have them combine two sentences to make one complex sentence. These kids are smart. This activity will take 10 minutes. How is that even fair? I was slightly insulted. I was then visiually violated when more eye contact was made with my chest than with my eyes. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I don't think feminism is much of a concept over here. I got to talk to Tyler for a little bit but the power went out and we were cut off. This made me pretty upset because I was going to wish her a Happy Birthday before we got off so that I could've done it kind of in person instead of just on Facebook. But, I know she understands.


Tuesday went well with the team teaching. I was right, my activity only took about 10 minutes. I tried not to let it bother me, though. Vinny and Kevin both did really well, so that was good. After teaching, we grabbed some lunch at a little sandwich shop that we found and frequent. Nadka fixes me a sandwich every day...but I'm not sure what kind of meat is in there. It's something that I'm not comfortable eating. The sandwiches at this shop are delicious and cheap, which are two things that I greatly appreciate over here. After lunch we had our three hours of Bulgarian and then we all went back to our houses to prepare for the next day when we were to be observed by someone from the Senior Staff. Dinner was kind of quiet again, but afterwards, Nadka and Hristo took me to the Penny Market to go grocery shopping. I know what you're thinking and, no, it's not a market where everything costs a penny. It's just what they call a grocery store. We got there and they told me that if I wanted anything to just grab it and put it in the cart. I thought this was a nice idea...but I don't know what any of this stuff is! They would bring me something and asked me if I liked it and I would say that I didn't know and they would just ask me again, but louder. I think we ended up coming back with entirely too much food. I told them that I liked ice cream and they wouldn't leave the store before I picked out a kind that I wanted. But, I also found the only attractive male Bulgarian in Byala Slatina at the Penny Market. Unfortunately, he was not for sale. But it's nice to know that one exists. After the Penny Market, we came back home and I went into my room to prepare for the next day. I also talked to my WONDERFUL, INSPIRING AND LOVING parents for about an hour. It was definitely the highlight of my day (was that good enough for you guys? ;))


Wednesday went surprisingly well. We found out that Phil would be the Senior Staff member who observed Vinny, Kevin and myself. Vinny was going to teach an entire 45 minute class by himself (because he's a professional) and then Kevin and I would team teach the next 45 minute class (because we are not professionals). Vinny did well, as he usually does, and then it was our turn. I don't even remember what we talked about, but I remember we took turns doing different activities and I felt like I was going to throw up the entire time. When both of our classes were over, Phil offered to buy us lunch and, being poor volunteers, we gladly accepted. Mary joined us and Phil told us about his experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Napal and then about his experience in Bangladesh when he worked on the staff there. He had some amazing stories and I told him that he should write a book. Or let me write one for him. After lunch, we had feedback about our teaching and I was so glad (and a little surprised) to hear Phil tell me that he thinks that I'll be "a great teacher". I was worried that he would be able to tell that I had little to no experience teaching, but he said he couldn't tell at all. He only had one suggestion and that made my day.


Thursday we switched Language Trainers for the first Bulgarian lesson. Vladi from another satellite nearby came and did some review work with us. He is actually from Byala Slatina and it was good to see how another Trainer goes about things. It was easier because all we did was review so we played some games and stuff. It was a nice change of pace. He left during our lunch break and when we returned, Tanya was back. We were still reviewing so we didn't have a rough day. It was a nice break.


Friday was Kevin's birthday, so we made plans to go to "The Nice Resteraunt" after our days work and have some drinks with our group and Rob and James. First we had Bulgarian. Vinny, Kevin and I had to teach in the afternoon, so we had to have our Bulgarian in the morning, without the other girls. It went well because it was still reviews and we did a lot of helpful activities. We grabbed a quick lunch and went to the school. We were each to present the state that we were from and prepare a whole lesson around it. It was the easiest thing I've ever had to present. Kevin is from Indiana and Vinny is from Ohio, so I definitely had the most interesting state. I talked about the Wright Brothers and their Kitty Hawk flight. I talked about the Outerbanks and the pirates ( they thought Blackbeard was really creepy looking). I talked about how Michael Jordan became famous because he played at UNC. I pretty much made North Carolina look like the best place to live, ever. At the end of the class we took a vote to see which state the kids liked the most, North Carolina totally won. After class, we went to the resteraunt and met the rest of our group and Rob and James for dinner and drinks. It was so nice to be able to relax and not have to worry about teaching or Bulgarian. I think it was definitely needed and Kevin had a good time on his birthday.


Today we all met around 2 o'clock to go shopping for groceries so that we could cook Tanya a traditional Bulgarian meal. This was an assignment, by the way, we didn't just think this up on our own. We made her banitza (a traditional Bulgarian pastery with eggs and cheese in it), stuffed peppers (she doesn't like meat so we just stuffed them with rice, carrots and onions), tomato and cucumber salad, and fruit salad. We made it all at Tanya's apartment and it was all pretty good. I was impressed. Tanya said it was good (and she said it with a straight face) and she ate all of it. So that was good. After dinner we played some card games and just hung out. I walked with Jackie back home. I got abducted for a little while by her mother, but it was OK. When I got home, I played with the puppy for a little bit and then I came in to find dinner waiting for me. I had told Nadka the night before that I would be eating dinner with Tanya...at least I think that's what I told her. So, I ate dinner again...but with Nadka this time. I didn't eat a lot because I wasn't hungry in the least bit. Gotta love those language barriers!


Tomorrow I'm going to Pleven with Nadka and Hristo. Her brother lives in a little village outside of Pleven and then they want to take me there to show me around a big city. I don't know if her brother knows any English or not, but I do know that this should be interesting!