Peace Corps (Friday) Thursday!

So, I’ve been reading this book (when I can find the time) called “Bury Me Standing.” It’s about present day Gypsy culture with a little history thrown in to keep things fun. The Author, Isabel Fonseca, spent time with different Roma (Gypsy) groups in the early ‘90’s and wrote about her experiences. So far it’s been pretty interesting.

I have known for some months that I could possibly be working within the Roma population. Most people know that Gypsy’s are a nomadic people, separated by choice. They are very committed to their families and preserving their culture with as little influence from the outside world as possible. This alienation, coupled with a misunderstanding of their differences that has given them an often unfair reputation, has led to some pretty serious prejudice against the Roma population in many European countries.

But, of course, I’m American and, though we have some Gypsy’s here in the States (apparently), for the most part I have only seen them romanticized in movies like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Chocolat.

In my mind they have:

pretty, dark features,

they are excellent dancers,

and they drive one of these:

Though I’m only 50 pages into “Bury Me Standing”, I’ve realized that my view of them is a bit skewed. What I do know is that even though I may work very closely within their population, I will never truly be accepted by them. It’s just their way.

Ultimately, I will be working with Bulgarians. They will be the one’s working in and running the school where I will be teaching. From my (limited) understanding, the Bulgarians are the one’s offering education to the minority Turkish and Gypsy groups. But, if I do teach and live near the Roma, I know that we will be spending quite a bit of time together and their culture is one I will want to become familiar with along with my Bulgarian counterparts. This seems a bit daunting but I’m ready for the challenge.

I suddenly have so much to do between now and when I leave including delving deeper into my knowledge of the Bulgarian language (which I’m kinda freaking out about!), but I definitely hope to finish this book. Even if I don’t end up working with Gypsy’s, it’s a fascinating culture and well worth learning more about.

I encourage you all to pick up a copy.

-Age

Peace Corps Thursday

I graduated with my Teaching Credential a couple years ago. Actually, it’s coming up on two years this June that I have been with a Credential but without a job that actually requires one. While I was student teaching, the state was just beginning to make their budget cuts to education and many of the teacher’s I was working with were stressing out over the threat of pink slips. I had a feeling that finding a cushy job as a second-grade teacher was gonna be a little more difficult than I had originally thought.

Since then, I have been working hard just to make ends meet. I often have two jobs and for a little while there I actually had three which, needless to say, was a little much. I’m not complaining, I know that most people my age are going through something similar. We had these dreams of being wealthy World-Changers by 26 but instead we are hoping our rent check clears. It’s just life. Stories we’ll tell are grandchildren to impress them with our past work-ethic and ingenuity.

This is what drove me to explore other employment options. The Peace Corps was one of many ideas I had back in November but it was the one I felt God was pushing me toward and who am I to say, “Uh, God, are you sure about this?” Of course He’s sure. He’s God. He made the heavens and the earth and narwhals.

Anyway, I thought I’d share with y’all what I’ll be doing in Bulgaria.

I’m going to be teaching English to elementary/middle school students. I’ll also be training teachers at the school different techniques regarding English as a Second Language instruction. Also, most Peace Corps volunteers have a second job or project. I will only be able to work at the school 18 hours a week so I will have down time to work on other things.

Some of the other projects mentioned in my packet involved working with youth in terms of sex-trafficking prevention. I am VERY interested in these types of projects. The rights and education of women has always been very important to me, I may have even been called a feminist once or twice (or 217 times) After reading Half the Sky and learning of the terrible things that can happen to girls all over the world, I hope to educate and inspire the young girls in Bulgaria to have higher expectations for their lives.

But before I can do any of this, I have to go through training. I will spend three months living with a host family in a larger city in Bulgaria, possibly Sofia, learning how to speak Bulgarian and receive TEFEL training that will help to sharpen my teaching skills. They also show us how to apply for grants to receive funding for those secondary projects. I will train with a group of Peace Corps volunteers and will hopefully make friends in the process. Unless they think I’m a weirdo. Or maybe they are all weirdoes too.

The three groups I could potentially be working with are: Bulgarians, Roma (gypsies), or Turkish immigrants. Of course, I am fascinated by the possibility of working with gypsies and have been learning a lot about them since, before this, I didn’t know they still existed as a race of people. Their history is so shrouded in mystery and intrigue. I hope I’m able to meet some Roma people even if I don’t work with them directly.

I will also have to come up with summer projects while the kids are out of school. I’m thinking maybe a sports-based or arts-based camp but I really don’t know for sure. So much is still up in the air.

Basically, my work will be focused on the youth; building their knowledge base and self-esteem so that they can go on and become successful in the new free-market economy that Bulgaria is struggling to promote. I will work tirelessly and it will be full of struggles and hardship but I am going to learn so much and grow as a person in ways I can’t even begin to predict.

Very excited!

But not as excited as this guy:

-Age