The wedding _ Lights, Camera, Action

The wedding _ Lights, Camera, Action

 There is a very interesting story “twist” to Kay and Tyler’s wedding.   As you look at the picture at the top of this blog, you will notice the sound boom, and professional camera.  You may think this is just the normal wedding video crew, but you would be wrong.  This is one of the two film crews  from NOVA TV, a national Bulgarian network.  They were filming the entire wedding because – in addition to being “rock star” Peace Corps Volunteers – Kay and Tyler are going to be TV stars this Fall here in Bulgaria.  Kay and Tyler, plus two other members of our B25 group have been “hired” to be the lead characters in a unique TV show.  

The concept for this show is very positive, and it uses Peace Corps Volunteers in an appropriate way.   As volunteers when we first meet Bulgarians, there are several questions we expect to hear.  Things like – “where do you live?”,  How long have you been in Bulgaria?  Why did you come to Bulgaria? and Do you like Bulgaria?   The last two questions hit upon the very negative perception Bulgarians have of Bulgaria.  They have a problem understanding why anyone would come to Bulgaria because so many of their friends and relatives are leaving!  And – many Bulgarians don’t like many things about their country, and expect that the volunteers would feel the same way.  But – to the surprise of most Bulgarians, Peace Corps Volunteers here love Bulgaria.  It is a beautiful country, with wonderful people.   That does not mean we don’t get frustrated with culture and things here.  However, we have learned how to see beyond all that.  It is kind of like how Lynn and I love to take the trains here.  Although there are often dilapidated houses and factories right next to the tracks,  I don’t see those any more.  I only see the mountains and beautiful fields in the background.   The idea for the TV series is to show Bulgaria to Bulgarians through a “non-Bulgarians’” eyes.    We don’t know the title yet, and it will not start until October.  But most of the volunteers think it is a great idea.   The story of how all this got started is also interesting.

Some of you who have been keeping up with this blog may recall how I talked about the B25 talent show during our Close of Service conference in early May.  This was the second talent show we had done during our two years here.   The day before the show, PC staff told us the hotel management had heard about the show, and would like to watch it.  Would that be OK?  We said sure.  So… during the show, there were six folks in the back.  However, those folks were not from the hotel.  They were from NOVA TV.  I’m not sure how they got the idea.  I assume one of the staff with PR connections had mentioned our talent to them.   During the show, they got to see some wonderful performances.  Almost every talent combined special Bulgarian traditions, culture, and phrases.   Whether it was the poem written by Matt, or the songs composed by Cory and Anna, or even the bosa (this is a terrible breakfast drink loved by Bulgarians, and disliked by volunteers ) speed drinking contest.  Kay’s contribution to the show was a ten minute video she did which perfectly showed how most of us feel about our lives here.  She had video of her village combined with traditional Bulgarian folk music and rock music from a group called “Killers”.  When it finished she got a standing ovation, and screams for copies.  We all wanted it. 

After the show, PC staff told us who the people in the back really were, and that they wanted to talk with many of us.  For the next two hours, while we danced, talked, reminisced, and had a beer (or two), the NOVA folks talked to some of us.  Kay was one of the people they talked to most.  A few weeks later we found out, they had decided four of us, plus one other volunteer who has been here for three years would be part of this show.  All five of them are amazing volunteers, who have integrated well, have good language skills, and truly love Bulgaria. They all officially finished their service during the week before the wedding, in order to work on this program.

None of us knows how this will eventually turn out.  The camera crew was at the wedding on Saturday. Then, they whisked all of their “potential stars” away to Sofia on Sunday.   Monday was the volunteers first official day as NOVA TV performers.    Although we don’t know the outcome or impact of this show, I think it is a great example of how the Peace Corps can make an impact in ways that none of us would ever have imagined when we all got on the plane two years ago.   While I don’t know if the show will change the perception Bulgarians have about their country, I hope it will start to make some small “in-roads” to crack their negative perception.  Maybe this can be the first step toward making Bulgarians see “beautiful Bulgaria” instead of focusing always on the negatives.   But – no matter what - having four of our volunteer group involved in this project makes me feel proud to have been part of this Peace Corps experience.

Thanks for reading

Mike

THE WEDDING: A COMMUNITY VERY MUCH ALIVE!

Small tobacco field

Although we spent only a bit more than a full day in Kay’s community, it immediately felt very different from many of the other villages we have visited. Often, a village is inhabited primarily by elderly and middle aged adults. Schools struggle or fail to stay open with the minimum 100 students, and funerals are a far more common event than weddings. There may be one or two small magazines (stores) with the basic necessities, and of course at least one café. The gardens are worked, but often it is obvious that their sizes are shrinking as the owners’ age and can not manage the bigger task of planting, tending and harvesting the gardens of their youth. The streets are very quiet and vehicle traffic minimal. The young adults and their families have left to find work wherever they can. Some are within country, others outside the country. There are no jobs, no way of providing for a family in most of these little villages. We often say the villages are “dying”.

World map on the school wall next to the entry door....part of the project

Kay’s village felt different though. Granted it was a special weekend, not only because of the wedding, but because the new sports field (Kay’s project) was dedicated with a celebration the day before the wedding. There were an additional 25 or so Americans in the village and of course the camera crew from the national television station was there as well. All are reasons to draw people out. 

New combination basketball, soccer court.

However, it was not those things that made it feel different. As we walked out of town on Friday afternoon to admire the scenery, we passed a number of large lumber trucks, saw mills, wood drying sheds, tobacco fields, tobacco drying racks, piles of rock and more that were evidence that one could earn a living here. These things with the potential for sustainability were not lying dormant. This community was using the natural resources surrounding them, to generate income and sustain this village.  Children greeted us (in English) as we walked to the store for dinner supplies, and people of all ages were part of the wedding festivities.  I’m sure living here is full of challenges, and that many of the young people are drawn to the cities to go to universities, and for a better life, but somehow this village sitting precariously on the mountain edge is still hanging on! BRAVO GORNO DRYANOVO!!!!!!

Tobacco drying! A subsidized crop that will not be subsidized for long!

Piles of slate "harvested" from the mountains.

Tobacco drying racks. Will there be enough tobacco this year to use them all?

Saw mill and wood drying sheds on the mountain edge.

BULGARIANS IN OUR LIVES #1

Mike and I thought we would introduce you to some people who are a regular part of our lives. They may be someone we see almost every day, once a week, or once a month, but they have all become special people in our lives. Let’s start with Златка Георгриева - Zlatka Georgrieva .

Zlatka is a 36 year old native of Plovdiv. We see here 3-4 times a week depending on how often we walk to the market. She has a fruit and vegetable stand in the bazaar. Neither her prices nor the quality of her produce are the best. I think what first attracted us to Zlatka was her smile. She always has one for us, and makes every effort to understand us and be understood by us.

We interviewed her awhile ago to find out more about her. She has been selling produce since she was 16 years old. She lives in the same neighborhood as the bazaar, but has only been in this location for the last two years or so. She spent seven years in Hamburg Germany, also selling fruits and vegetables.  She returned to Bulgaria when she was pregnant with her daughter.

Everyone sets their stand up in their own way. Zlatka has a narrow middle aisle just big enough to step into
to see what is further back on the stand.

Back side of her stand.

When asked if she liked her work she quickly responded “No”. Though not excited about her job, when asked what she would like to be doing, she couldn’t think of anything “I don’t know” she said with a look of resignation. Yet when asked if she would still be here in twenty years there was an equally emphatic NO!. She would like to return to Germany.  Escaping Bulgaria is a common theme among workers. They don't leave because they love to travel or because living and working in another country is a status symbol. They go to other European countries to work because there is work that pays so much more. Often only one member of a family will go from several months to several years, leaving the rest of the family behind. I hope Zlatka and her family are able to return to Germany for awhile.

It is understandable that she does not like her work when you find out she works 50 weeks a year, seven days a week, and about 12 hours a day. That changes a bit with the seasons. Her mother( who also sold fruits and vegetables most of her adult life) helps out by filling in for her one Sunday a month and for two weeks in the summer when Zlatka goes on vacation to the Black Sea. When I asked her about being outside in the extreme cold, she said the plastic she wraps the stand in keeps her warm enough. When asked what was the worst thing about the job she said it was listening to the people all day. (Bulgarians tend to complain a lot) 

 Everyday she goes to a warehouse to pick up her fruits and vegetables, loads them in the car, unloads them at the stand, spends the day standing in whatever weather elements are present , loads the car with unsold foods, then goes home to care for her 6 year old daughter, make dinner, clean the house etc.

I don’t know why Zlatka always has a smile for us. Maybe because we have one for her and we never complain about life’s woes!!!!!!  

Lynn

отиде до вилата Visiting the Villa (aka – going to the Cabin)

отиде до вилата

Visiting the Villa (aka – going to the Cabin)

The "weed-filled" left half of this building is the villa!

This past weekend, Krum, and his family (including an Aunt) took all six of us in his small car on a short 35Km drive to his father-in-laws villa.   Krum has not been there for two years, but has promised to take Lynn and I there for some time.  It was a great day, and gave us another perspective of Bulgarian life. 

The "foundation car" died before this climb.

Plovdiv's elevation is 164 meters (approximately 538 feet) above sea level. The very small village of  Бойково  (Boikovo)  took about 30 minutes to reach, but it is 1,106 Meters (3,628) feet above sea level  and is located the mountains just south of Plovdiv.  From my office window, I look out over the roof tops of other buildings and into the Rhodope mountains.  The road to Boikovo is long, curvy, and basically ends at the village center.  The “road/trail” from the center for the final 300 yards to the villa is a challenge for any vehicle other than a four-wheel drive.  Krum's car made it, but two years ago, the foundation car did just died half way up that last stretch from the village center. 

There is a very strong “cabin culture” in the US upper mid-west.  We know many people who spend most of the summer on a lake in all manner of small (or large) houses.  But what we found out this weekend, is that the Bulgarians have been doing similar things for a couple of centuries.  The difference is that while we go to the lake to cool off, they head high into the mountains to catch the cool breezes of summer.  Although Krum's in-laws home was “spartan” at best, there were several homes in the village which were very nice.  A few of them had to be owned by people from Western Europe because some of them had lawns with lots of grass.  Most often Bulgarians are more practical and use every inch of land to plant gardens. 

The water for the villa comes from a spring further into the mountains.  However, we could not get it turned on.  So... we went for a short 10 minute walk up to the spring to fill the five liter plastic jugs.  On the way, we met some of the neighbors cooking a lamb on an outdoor spit.  On the way back, we were stopped by them, and invited to have some rakia, beer, meat (not the lamb because it takes about 6 hours to cook, and they still had another hour to finish it). It was really nice, and fun just standing around talking and enjoying the beginning of their party.  They have a family “compound” (just like the Kennedy compound on Cape Cod – well almost) with two buildings, a fabulous view, and constant breezes for the three brothers and all their families.  One of the older women had just made some bread, and we all devoured it.  Three hours later when Krum, Lynn and I returned from a hike around the village,  there was only a pile of ashes where the fire had been.  The spit, and roof were portable and had been put back in storage. 

In addition to the Lamb roast party food, we also had our own small party with shopska salad, bread, fried chicken, and Lynn's homemade cookies.   After spending a couple of hours grazing on good food, Krum, Lynn and I went out for a long walk around the village and onto the trails in the woods nearby.    The pictures don't really capture the “quaintness”, and the unique aspects of many of the old (and new) homes. 

When we got back to the villa, it was time to start packing and cleaning up to get ready to leave.  However, we were not going very far on the first leg of the trip home.  A couple of miles down from the village center there was a trail leading to a refurbished chapel.  The trail continued onto a knoll with spectacular views to the north and onto the Plovdiv plain.   

Following are some more pictures of the “Bulgarian Cabin (Villa) Life”.   We had a great time, and hope you enjoy the pictures. 

Thanks for reading

Mike

This is the town center- the one bazar was opposite this cafe

Getting Closer - - To Closure

Getting Closer - - To Closure

 

Friday – May 6, 2011.

I’m writing this while traveling on the train going back home after being on the road for the past nine days.  I’m riding through some of the most beautiful mountain canyons and gorges in Bulgaria.  I have my ear-buds in, and my ipod is blasting.  I’m tired - - and filled with emotions.  Emotions I never planned, dreamed, or expected to have two years ago when we boarded the plane for Bulgaria. 

You see - in the middle of these nine days, Lynn and I attended our COS (Close of Service) conference.  This happens when there are approximately 90 days before you leave your host country.  (Lynn and I are extending for two more months to finish a couple of important projects – so we will not leave till September 15.)  I have worked as a trainer at the COS conference for the two previous groups (B23 & B24) prior to this.     Even though I had done this conference twice before, I knew it would be different with my own group.  I thought I was ready for it - - but, alas, I was not! 

Our group is the B25s.  This is the 25^th Peace Corps Volunteer group to serve in Bulgaria. We arrived with 62, and now have 52.  The average age is - - well young (about the age of Scott and Shawn).  Lynn and I are the “senior couple”.  Our COS meeting was a typical Peace Corps conference with lots of long, sometimes boring sessions. But this conference also has some very emotional (tear-filled) meetings and goodbyes, as well some fabulously funny and happy celebrations. 

The thing I never expected, planned, or considered when we left the US is the bond we would develop with all these young people.  The B25’s are incredibly tight for such a large group.   Prior to our arrival, most training groups were 25-30 volunteers.  It can take 12-plus hours for some volunteers to get out of their mountain villages and go across Bulgaria on trains and buses.  So, it is amazing that we could develop and maintain the connections, bonds, and relationships that we have.  What is even more amazing is how much a part of the B25 volunteer group Lynn and I feel.  We have never felt outside of this group of special young people.  Yes – I know Lynn and I are open, and want to have these relationships.  But – come on – achieving this is a dream that would rarely come true.  Let’s face facts – we are 35-plus years older than most of these volunteers.   They could easily call me “Dad”!  (Thankfully, that has never happened, although sometimes I have been called “boss”.)   Lynn and I genuinely admire, respect – and yes love – this motley group of eclectic people, and we also – somehow - fit right in.  We do stay up and dance and talk with them till 1:30AM.  We were very happy at this COS conference to find out that our room would be in the center of where all the informal parties would be.  We don’t want to be far away from the “noise”. 

A few rooms had LARGE patios - perfect for parties.

We wanted to reconnect with the volunteers who have spent the night on the air mattresses on our floor.  We wanted to hear the stories about how they coped with the 20 screaming kids who were trying to jump out the classroom windows, or about the mayor who only wanted the volunteer for project writing and getting money, or how they are doing surviving in a small dying village, or how they are emotionally dealing with watching a small child slowly die at the orphanage.  We could try to explain and describe some of these situations, but unless you have lived through them, it is impossible to fully understand them.  Every volunteer’s experience is the same and uniquely different at the same time.  The fact that each volunteer has to overcome their own adversity sometimes in a physically demanding environment is the basis of this special common bond.  It is the foundation of this thing they call “the Peace Corps experience”.  

An important way to cope with all these trials is to provide support for each other, and to have “celebrations”.  It is during those long nights spent talking, or during the parties with all the laughter, dancing and –yes – drinking, that the special bonds are further strengthened.  The B25s are especially unique with our celebrations.  We don’t split up into small cliques.  We want to stay together - - and we do!

One of the talent show leaders (with brace)

It started with our first conference two months into service.  This conference was with our Bulgarian counterparts (partners).  Our language was still not good, and it would have been normal for the volunteers and counterparts to go their separate ways during the evening.  But that did not happen.  Informal counterpart and volunteer leaders worked together to find something we could all do.  They found a karaoke bar.  It may seem strange, but singing the Bulgarian national anthem followed by American patriotic songs and mixing Bulgarian with American pop songs was fun, and helped start a bond.  Three months later at the next conference (which was here in Plovdiv), I found a bowling alley, and we took it over for the evening.  Almost all the volunteers were there, and we had a great time together.  Our one year anniversary conference was a turning point.  The group wanted to stay together, and they came up with an idea for a “talent show” and dance.  I have to admit, at first, I thought this would be “hokey” at best.  What I did not realize was how talented many of us are.  The show went for about 90 minutes, and it was great.  After that we stayed together talking and dancing.   For COS, the group decided to get dressed up (as best we can here when you really don’t have any good clothes) for a second talent show, and dance.  Staff wanted to participate, and they did two numbers.  Their hip-hop song was priceless. I wondered if we could top our first talent show at COS, but we did it even better the second time.  Our understanding of Bulgarian culture, habits, and life was shown in some very funny ways, and also in some very moving ways.   It is hard to explain all this without being there, and I am probably going on way too much about it.  But it seems to be more important to me (and others) than I ever really imagined. 

Two other small things happened the day after the talent show.  For me both of them seemed like scenes out of a movie.   It was time for all of us to head off to our Bulgarian homes and finish the final 85 days of service.  The bus and train stations in this small mountain town don’t have many departure times.  So… about 20 volunteers heading south through the mountains descended on the little train station to wait for the one afternoon train.  While we were waiting one of the volunteers pulled out his guitar, and starts strumming and softly singing.  Other volunteers are milling around listening and watching.  When the “two-passenger car” train finally arrived, we took over one of the cars looking for seats in the small 8-person compartments.  We were split up, but could visit in the other compartments during the two hour ride out of the mountains.  When we reached the flatlands, we got to a rail junction.  This is really just another small station with more tracks than usual.  Most of the volunteers jump off our train and start climbing onto the train next to us.  Lynn and I with one other volunteer stay on our train.  We pull our window down and hang out of it saying goodbye.  As the other volunteers got on their train to head west, they pulled down their windows and hung out also screaming goodbye.    

(Remember these are not modern trains like in the US.  They are old, dirty red colored graffiti covered trains.  The scene I am trying to describe is more like a 1940’s movie with everyone hanging out the windows saying their goodbyes.)  Our train pulled away first, and we continued waving as long as we could still see the others.  As I sat back in my seat, I was struck by the symbolism.  The group was starting to separate.  In a relatively short time, we would all be going our separate ways – for good!  This was just the first of many goodbyes.  I hope the bonds we have developed among our fellow volunteers and Bulgarian colleagues never leave us.  I know it will be hard to make this happen.  But I believe we will all try.  In the meantime, there is one thing that I am sure of - - We are definitely getting closer - - much closer - - to closure!  

Thanks for reading

Mike

Computer Project Underway

It has been just one month since the Grand Opening of the computer room at school. Everyday I have classes here I am excited by what I see. It thrills me to see the smiles, some huge and others just little ones of triumph matched with bright, interested eyes as students learn to use a mouse for the first time or navigate their way through tasks. It is exhilarating to see EVERY student actively involved in the learning process. I love that I can easily modify what individual kids do based on their skill level. Some can be reading English stories while others are practicing the alphabet. 

Currently all of the third and fourth grades are having one English lesson a week in the computer room. I also have taken my 1^st graders a couple of times as well. Last Friday I introduced the computer lab, using the Bulgarian Language program to three of the five second grades. I hope to do the last two tomorrow. Equally as thrilling as watching the students’ reactions is seeing the excitement of the teachers as they watch their students. One fourth grade teacher who is very skilled with computers takes her class to the lab for Geography and History twice a week. A third grade teacher has her group there for a variety of subjects four times a week. And we have an extra curricular class for fourth graders as well. This level of usage is exceeding my expectations in just three short weeks (we had a 12 day vacation in the last month).  The difficulty will come in building the confidence of the majority of the teachers so that they feel confident and comfortable doing these lessons on their own.

Other benefits I was expecting and am seeing are difficult to measure, but certainly present. Children matched in pairs are not always with their best friend. In fact boys are often with girls and children who do not associate with each other may be working together on the same computer. All but one pairing has worked well, expanding each child’s sphere and social skills. Classes in the computer lab are much much quieter and behavior is not a problem. The kids are made to take a “time out” away from the computers for not listening, or being late for class. They are being taught how to “read” and follow an outline of the daily lesson posted on the white board, making them more independent, with much less time spent waiting for help. Little things like individual charts are allowing them to work on their own as well and be successful more quickly.  In general, schools here do not provide the tools for kids to be thinkers and independent learners. Everything is taught to large groups, with copying being the primary mode of information acquisition. Kids are constantly checking “Is this right? Or “like this?” in their other classes. I hope using computers gives them an opportunity to approach learning in a new way.

The Grand Opening was quite an event. I was frustrated that I had to wait two weeks once the computer lab was ready before I could start bringing kids into it. But our director wanted to have a grand opening with the press and staff members from Peace Corps and the local municipality present. Coordinating all that took time.  The week leading up to the event was equally frustrating as class after class was cancelled as three teachers worked very hard on the celebration. Everything had to be perfect. A group of fourth graders were familiarized with some of the programs and demonstrated their skills on the day of opening and my first graders showed how something as simple as a slide show accompanying a song can enhance learning.  There were speeches and gifts, a ribbon cutting and the traditional sharing of bread and honey. In the end it was a great day except for all the press interviews I had to do.Even the kids had to endure the press!

 

I am now feeling the squeeze of time. I have only about 20 more days in school.  The kids have a few more than that but there are many four days weeks leading up to the end of school on May 31. I still have so much I want to do with the teachers in particular. The kids will benefit if the teachers use what is available to them after I leave. We will do more training in June, but there is nothing like having a teacher see first hand what computer learning can do for these kids. Twenty days and a few classes with each teacher is not much time to transfer skills.At one point in January,  while I was waiting for project approval and funding, I seriously considered withdrawing the project proposal. I was concerned there just would not be enough time to make this successful. Though it would be better for all of us if we had more time to nurture this project, we don't, but I sooooo very glad I did not withdraw it, as I feel many have already reaped the benefits and will continue to do so.  I will spend the summer, setting up systems to make it as easy as possible for the teachers to connect the computer programs to their lessons, and with the help of teachers like Petya, Lina and Tsveti who are already hooked, I'm confident that in time every child will have "the computer experience"!!!!!

SCHOOL! WHAT IS IT LIKE? PART 3

I want to talk about Stephen. As you can see he is a (natural) red head with freckles. I can honestly say in almost two  years I have not seen another red-headed freckled kid in Bulgaria never mind the mahala where most everyone has dark eyes, skin and hair.

Steven is a third grader and attends school occasionally. I can not begin to explain his individual circumstances but I can guess at many of the reasons for his frequent absences. He fits the stereotype of Roma kids, being quite dirty most of the time, worn dirty clothes, shoes that neither fit nor are held together well, a street kid, fighter type. When he is in school not a day goes by that you are not pulling him off someone else. At times it is “play fighting” which most of the boys engage in, but not always. He is the kind of kid that can draw moans from his teachers when they do see him in school, knowing the day will be tougher for everyone.

Yet there is something about Steven that pulls me in, just as there has been with dozens and dozens of boys over the years. Without knowing how, he tries to engage others, most often unsuccessfully.If you can get it, his attention during lessons is hard to keep. He rarely completes his work and if he feels he has had enough he leaves school for the day (as do other "tough" kids). On a few occasions I have worked one-one with Steven to try to get him through an English lesson by modifying the written work. Under these circumstances he responds positively, demonstrating some knowledge of what we are doing. The other day he came into the library at the end of school where I spend most of my free time. Petya and I were cleaning getting ready for our "Computer Lab Grand Opening". We jokingly asked him if he wanted to help clean, and he quickly responded "yes". He eagerly wiped down desks and chairs for about 30 minutes, rolling on the floor as he did. By time he declared he was "done" I was working on a computer. He came to see what I was doing. I decided to open up the new Math software program and found a shape puzzle to complete. It was obvious puzzles have not been a part of his childhood. But after doing three together he now had an understanding of what to do. His behavior was very acceptable, but it is easy to understand when you are getting all this individual attention. During the following days, Steven looked for more attention from me. One of his inappropriate ways was to ask "Do you watch porn shows?" Sigh!

In many ways Steven is not much different than many kids I have worked with back home. I have seen these behaviors many, many times. What is different about Steven though is there is little hope for positive change in his life. In the states, kids like Steven have educational plans with goals outlined and much support to help them achieve them bit by bit. Steven has no help beyond what his teacher can offer. She has several "Stevens" in her class and little to no training managing them.  I have seen a few kids here successfully receive some limited help, but it requires parental agreement, and that appears to be hard to get. I don't know what the process is, but it certainly is not well developed and there are not specially trained people to direct that process. I know some teachers have tried to get help for kids unsuccessfully.

I will be surprised if Steven continues in school beyond 6th grade. He understands very little Bulgarian (a frequent and real complaint about our kids) and continues to fall further and further behind. I can not say for sure, but I suspect there is very little adult supervision or guidance in Steven's life. He is a prime candidate to succumb to negative influences as he makes his way through life with little to no education or life skills.

All I have been able to give Steven is a few moments of acceptance and attention, but not enough to make a difference in his life.

Lynn