Check out this extremely cool link. You'll like it.
-Age
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Hard Work and Good Times
Currently, my school and I are writing a project in order to receive funds for a new English classroom. The way the project works is:
• We decide what we want and how much it's going to cost
• Our community funds 25% of the project
• The project is posted online and American organizations donate the other 75%
• Our fully funded project is implemented
Seems easy enough and I'm hoping it will be just that: easy. We've decided to re-model our English classroom which will cost almost 6,000 leva. The 25% took some time to come up with but the municipality offered to pay for new windows which worked out perfectly. Before the municipality stepped in, my students from the Volunteer Committee were planning fundraisers to help raise the money. The last two Saturdays, with the help of another awesome volunteer, we've gone to the local market and sold raffle tickets. We've raised over 100 leva and I couldn't be more proud of them, they really worked hard and had a great attitude the whole time. I have to say it was the most fun I've had with my students all year and it came with the greatest sense of accomplishment.
However, now that we don't actually need to fundraise because of those new windows, we've decided to use the money to buy a new computer, which is something we wanted to include in the project but didn't think we could afford. We've found a local place that revamps old computers and sells them at a reasonable price so all we have to do is raise 400-500 leva and our classroom will be complete! With a new computer in the room we'll be able to utilize the school's projector which hardly ever leaves the director's office simply because there are no computers in the school to give it a purpose. I find it interesting that every school in Bulgaria is required to have a projector but that they go unused because there aren't computers in most classrooms to hook them up to and no form of training or resources for the teachers who, like me, may want to bring a laptop from home in order to make use of it.
Anyway, the project is ready and I'll be sending it in for approval within the next couple of days. I hope the funding comes quickly so we're able to finish construction before the new school year begins. It's all very exciting and I can't wait til it's finished and all our hard work is right before our eyes in the form of a shiny, new, modern classroom. I'm hoping it will perpetuate a feeling of seriousness and motivation for the students when it comes to English. Lord knows they could use it.
We have a few more ideas for fundraisers including partnering with the local restaurant and hosting a bake sale which I hope to get started this summer. It'll be nice to keep the Volunteer Committee going after the school year ends. I'd like to give them some sort of prize or certificate at the end of the year for all of their help, hard work, and good ideas but I haven't decided exactly what I wanna do for them yet.
On a seperate note, May has 20 working days and, of those 20, we have 8 days off of school - it's the month of holidays, testing, and fun and I've really been enjoying it. This upcoming week I only teach Monday and Wednesday as Tuesday is testing day for the high school (and even though we're a primary school we get the day off), Thursday is a break for schools in the Sofia region (still not sure why), and Friday is sports day. I'm EXTREMELY excited about sports day. I love being outside and running around with the kids. We get to relate to one-another out of the classroom and have fun doing it. I plan to play volleyball, per usual, but also teach them 3 Flags Up which is a game every kid loves and requires nothing more than an easily-catchable ball. I told the athletic director that I'd like to help and she seemed thrilled. Should be a fabulously tiring day and an ideal way to end the week.
Overall, the Spring has been pretty great and I have a feeling it's only gonna get better as we transition into SUMMER!
-Age
• We decide what we want and how much it's going to cost
• Our community funds 25% of the project
• The project is posted online and American organizations donate the other 75%
• Our fully funded project is implemented
Seems easy enough and I'm hoping it will be just that: easy. We've decided to re-model our English classroom which will cost almost 6,000 leva. The 25% took some time to come up with but the municipality offered to pay for new windows which worked out perfectly. Before the municipality stepped in, my students from the Volunteer Committee were planning fundraisers to help raise the money. The last two Saturdays, with the help of another awesome volunteer, we've gone to the local market and sold raffle tickets. We've raised over 100 leva and I couldn't be more proud of them, they really worked hard and had a great attitude the whole time. I have to say it was the most fun I've had with my students all year and it came with the greatest sense of accomplishment.
However, now that we don't actually need to fundraise because of those new windows, we've decided to use the money to buy a new computer, which is something we wanted to include in the project but didn't think we could afford. We've found a local place that revamps old computers and sells them at a reasonable price so all we have to do is raise 400-500 leva and our classroom will be complete! With a new computer in the room we'll be able to utilize the school's projector which hardly ever leaves the director's office simply because there are no computers in the school to give it a purpose. I find it interesting that every school in Bulgaria is required to have a projector but that they go unused because there aren't computers in most classrooms to hook them up to and no form of training or resources for the teachers who, like me, may want to bring a laptop from home in order to make use of it.
Anyway, the project is ready and I'll be sending it in for approval within the next couple of days. I hope the funding comes quickly so we're able to finish construction before the new school year begins. It's all very exciting and I can't wait til it's finished and all our hard work is right before our eyes in the form of a shiny, new, modern classroom. I'm hoping it will perpetuate a feeling of seriousness and motivation for the students when it comes to English. Lord knows they could use it.
We have a few more ideas for fundraisers including partnering with the local restaurant and hosting a bake sale which I hope to get started this summer. It'll be nice to keep the Volunteer Committee going after the school year ends. I'd like to give them some sort of prize or certificate at the end of the year for all of their help, hard work, and good ideas but I haven't decided exactly what I wanna do for them yet.
On a seperate note, May has 20 working days and, of those 20, we have 8 days off of school - it's the month of holidays, testing, and fun and I've really been enjoying it. This upcoming week I only teach Monday and Wednesday as Tuesday is testing day for the high school (and even though we're a primary school we get the day off), Thursday is a break for schools in the Sofia region (still not sure why), and Friday is sports day. I'm EXTREMELY excited about sports day. I love being outside and running around with the kids. We get to relate to one-another out of the classroom and have fun doing it. I plan to play volleyball, per usual, but also teach them 3 Flags Up which is a game every kid loves and requires nothing more than an easily-catchable ball. I told the athletic director that I'd like to help and she seemed thrilled. Should be a fabulously tiring day and an ideal way to end the week.
Overall, the Spring has been pretty great and I have a feeling it's only gonna get better as we transition into SUMMER!
-Age
Friday, May 6, 2011
This Is For One
I watched Two Weeks Notice yesterday. You know, the romantic comedy with Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock where they try and out-do one another with witty humor and quorky antics. They both win. Well, throughout the movie she continues to order chinese food (mmmmmm, chinese food) for herself, just tons and tons of it cuz she's a stress eater (I'm a bored eater) and at the end of the phone call she always says, "this is for one." It got me thinking about my eating habits here in Bulgaria.
Cooking here is a bit tricky. There are many reasons for this including:
-small refrigerators
-questionable ovens/stoves
-the season and, accordingly, what foods are available
-countertop and table space for the preparation and consumption of meals
-what to do with leftovers (availability of a microwave)
Despite the fact that Peace Corps Bulgaria has it's own cookbook and Bulgarian traditions seem to revolve around the culinary feats of баби, майки, лели and the like, most of us don't put too much effort into our cooking. When a volunteer does go above and beyond and makes something that could actually fall into the category of a meal, it's a big deal. Pictures of it get posted all over the internet. It's "liked" on facebook, commented on in blogs, and even youtubed as the cooking process becomes genuinely fascinating to all who have been deprived of what used to be a pretty mundane event.
The reason for this, I think, is simple: "this is for one."
When I went to visit my friend and fellow PCV, Evan, in her village and the nice Bulgarian woman, Betty, who takes care of her teased Evan about her lack of cooking, I thought it seemed unfair. If Betty didn't have a husband and a daughter, I doubt she'd put nearly as much effort into every meal. Maybe she would, I don't really know, but she has to know that we volunteers have no real reason to make anything more praiseworthy than a grilled cheese sandwhich and a shopska salad. Top that off with a cold beer and that's a Monday night (and for me, Monday came twice this week). Who are we trying to impress? No one. Well, I mean maybe the cute guy on the television screen but that's only because we've all started to go a little crazy and pretend he's real sometimes but that's beside the point. (Plus, he likes grilled cheese and thinks it's cute when we spill beer on ourselves)
I've had friends, both American and Bulgarian, over for dinner and I've made nice, fancy meals with multiple ingredients and courses. I've woken up early to make people breakfasts that have included pancakes with a sweet, fruit toppings, scrambled eggs, and toast. I've even tried my hand at making banitsa. But, for the most part, scouring my fridge and cupboards for whatever seems edible while trying, with best intentions, to include all the food groups so I don't become diagnosed with anemia or scurvy and whipping up something completely mediocre is simply how this whole Peace-Corps-volunteer-living-alone thing is gonna go. I leave the fancy cooking up to the Bulgarians and always appreciate a good на гости but това е.
We also have a really nice restaurant in town. I'm really good at ordering, eating, and paying for food. Like, really good.
-Age
Cooking here is a bit tricky. There are many reasons for this including:
-small refrigerators
-questionable ovens/stoves
-the season and, accordingly, what foods are available
-countertop and table space for the preparation and consumption of meals
-what to do with leftovers (availability of a microwave)
Despite the fact that Peace Corps Bulgaria has it's own cookbook and Bulgarian traditions seem to revolve around the culinary feats of баби, майки, лели and the like, most of us don't put too much effort into our cooking. When a volunteer does go above and beyond and makes something that could actually fall into the category of a meal, it's a big deal. Pictures of it get posted all over the internet. It's "liked" on facebook, commented on in blogs, and even youtubed as the cooking process becomes genuinely fascinating to all who have been deprived of what used to be a pretty mundane event.
The reason for this, I think, is simple: "this is for one."
When I went to visit my friend and fellow PCV, Evan, in her village and the nice Bulgarian woman, Betty, who takes care of her teased Evan about her lack of cooking, I thought it seemed unfair. If Betty didn't have a husband and a daughter, I doubt she'd put nearly as much effort into every meal. Maybe she would, I don't really know, but she has to know that we volunteers have no real reason to make anything more praiseworthy than a grilled cheese sandwhich and a shopska salad. Top that off with a cold beer and that's a Monday night (and for me, Monday came twice this week). Who are we trying to impress? No one. Well, I mean maybe the cute guy on the television screen but that's only because we've all started to go a little crazy and pretend he's real sometimes but that's beside the point. (Plus, he likes grilled cheese and thinks it's cute when we spill beer on ourselves)
I've had friends, both American and Bulgarian, over for dinner and I've made nice, fancy meals with multiple ingredients and courses. I've woken up early to make people breakfasts that have included pancakes with a sweet, fruit toppings, scrambled eggs, and toast. I've even tried my hand at making banitsa. But, for the most part, scouring my fridge and cupboards for whatever seems edible while trying, with best intentions, to include all the food groups so I don't become diagnosed with anemia or scurvy and whipping up something completely mediocre is simply how this whole Peace-Corps-volunteer-living-alone thing is gonna go. I leave the fancy cooking up to the Bulgarians and always appreciate a good на гости but това е.
We also have a really nice restaurant in town. I'm really good at ordering, eating, and paying for food. Like, really good.
-Age
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