Culture Thursday/School's Back

So, today was the first day of school. All my little savages are back and looking as deceptively cute as ever - they are so tricky. Basically, the day goes like this:

The kids and teachers all gather outside of the school

The older students march around with the school's flag and then hang the Bulgarian flag on the pole in front of the school

Speeches are given (our mayor, the director of our school, and my counterpart spoke)

The students listen with rapt attention

The youngest and cutest kids recite poems and speeches about the first day of school. The students in the front row are our new first graders. We're pretty excited about the 12 of them because we didn't have enough students for a 1st grade last year. They are pretty adorable.

With our new 1st graders comes a new (new for me, at least) tradition of walking under the arch for good luck. Yesterday, the 3rd grade teacher and I went hunting all over Momin Prohod for ivy and flowers so we could make the arch look this beautiful. It was fun.

The students also eat a peice of bread called "pitka" with honey for good luck before going under then arch, over the water, and into the school

This is the bucket for the water I was talking about. It's tradition, and I believe I've mentioned it before, to pour water on the ground in front of people who are embarking on something new and exciting in a ceremony such as the first day of school, graduation, or a wedding. There's also the school bell, decorated with pretty wild flowers

Then the kids go home and teachers, director, mayor, retired teachers, and the PC volunteer all pile into the teacher's lounge and eat lots of sweet things and drink lots of sugary drinks. It's usually tradition to drink rekia but my school's not big on drinking so we stuck to lemonade...and cigarettes.

It was a really lovely day. A couple staff members who were visiting a nearby volunteer dropped by to say "hi" and met all my colleagues. They also got to hear everyone brag about me (I bragged about myself a little too - I'm not gonna lie) and see the new classroom we're constructing. Speaking of that classroom, it's not really ready yet so we'll be teaching elsewhere until it's finished, which should hopefully be soon.

Here's hoping for a great year!

-Age