April 3 - April 15

I’m way past due to post this, but finally I have the right combination of Internet, time and computer with me. Not in typical blog order, it starts with my arrival in Borovan where I will be until June and ends with last night. Please let me know what you want to know more about. Otherwise, this will just be a journal of my experiences.  Thanks for reading.  ~Joan

Sunday, April 3

This has been the most surreal day of this entire adventure. We got up this morning in Panichishte where all the B27’s have been calling home and getting accustomed to for the last six days. We ate breakfast at 8:00 A.M. as usual, met as a group in the “big hall” as usual, broke into groups for our language lesson as usual, and then packed up, checked out, and loaded a bus for Vratsa. Four hours later we met our host families at Peace Corps Vratsa. For the next ten weeks I will be living with Ivan and Nikolinka in Borovan, Bulgaria. They greeted me so warmly; I could tell they were very excited to have a trainee staying with them, and I am very excited to be matched with them. Ivan loaded up my luggage, which filled the trunk and back seat of their little car so there was hardly room for Nikolinka to sit, but they seemed unaffected, and off we went. I exhausted my Bulgarian in the first five minutes of the ride, but after a good ten minutes of silence, except for the Bulgarian folk music playing on the radio, I began pointing out the window and asking for words. They laughed and understood and tried their best to teach me new Bulgarian words. In Borovan, Ivan made one quick left turn, drove down a side street filled with pot holes, and then suddenly stopped in front of two houses. When he turned off the car, I realized I was home. Like most of the houses here, Ivan and Nikolai’s yards have been turned into gardens and are already worked up and ready for planting. I wish I had counted the pepper and tomato plants Ivan has sprouted on their back porch. I’m thinking that if they all make it, one side of the sidewalk will be mostly peppers and the other side will be all tomatoes! Four sheep and six or so lambs roam around the outside of the yard, chickens are penned in the back, two cats run wild, and two dogs are inside pens, one of which, I swear, posed for me to take its picture.  I have my own room and bathroom in a house next door to theirs, just a very short walk away. I will sleep and bathe here but eat with Ivan and Nikolinka.  Ivan (pronounced ee-VAHN) seems like such a nice, helpful gentleman, and Nikolinka is jolly and kind and very forgiving of my lack of Bulgarian language skills.

The first lesson Nikolinka taught me in Bulgarian culture was to remove my shoes as soon as I step inside the door to the house and put on house slippers. Of course, I’m all for that, but I think it drives Nikolinka a little nuts that I wear shoes that tie up and it takes me so long to tie and untie. She tells me not to bother tying and even gave me some outdoor slippers to wear in addition to the indoor slippers I have at both houses. This really makes me wish I had my Croks!

When Nikolinka took me into their home, traditional Bulgarian folk music was playing on the television. I’m not sure if it was for my benefit, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and got my second lesson in dancing the hora (the first was in Panichishte during training). At this rate I might be get it before I leave Bulgaria.

Ivan grilled thin steaks on a little grill out front of the house near his garden, and Nikolinka made a wonderful salad of lettuce, cucumbers, radishes and onions. I think the dressing was olive oil and vinegar. She also had a potato salad of just potatoes and onions which was delicious.

I thought Ivan had surely finished grilling the meat, but he didn’t come in and didn’t come in. When he finally did come in the house, he had a huge bottle of beer. I had made the mistake of saying I liked beer, so he ran to the store to buy some. I will try to be more careful about what I say. Of course, they offered me the traditional Rakia wine. We had been warned about this stuff, and Peace Corps made sure we knew the word for “a little,” so I was prepared. I tried it, but I couldn’t even begin to act like I liked it. It made my mouth pucker, and I made a face that made Nikolinka laugh her hearty laugh. When Ivan came in, she had me take another sip to show him. I thought, “Well this is going to be kind of fakey,” but no, the same thing happened again. It was just nasty stuff. Then I got my small glass of beer.

 While we were eating, Ivan got up and turned the tv to the news channel, which was CNN in English!

Yes, I have to admit I may have had my first “What have I gotten myself into?” moment when I got into that little tiny car with two total strangers, neither of whom could speak a word of English, but they are so jolly and kind, they put me right at ease.

At one point on the car ride I turned around to say something to Nikolinka, but she was on her cell phone. I wondered if she was calling her friends to report on me (like they warned us in training happens). I could tell she was trying to call someone, and I have to admit I thought that a bit rude, but after we got home, she got a phone call on her cell phone.  She had been trying to get hold of a former trainee that stayed with them two years ago who is now a Volunteer about 40 miles away. Nikolinka spoke to her for a bit then put me on the phone with this lady who became my new friend and instantly put me at ease. Hopefully she will be able to drive down next weekend, so I can actually meet her. Ivan and Nikolinka adore her. I hope I can live up to the standard.

So here I am sitting on the spare bed with a wood burner for heat and anxious for tomorrow when I will meet up with the other five members of my group along with Lazar, our language trainer. He is going to take us to Vratsa where we will register with the police (for our safety) and buy cell phones.

I must end this amazing, adventurous day and get some sleep.

Monday, April 04, 2011

We took a bus ride with our language trainer, Lazar to Vratsa this morning to register with the police. This is for our safety so that the local police are aware there are Americans living in Borovan, but Borovan is so small we had to go to a larger town to do the paperwork.

I was very disappointed when we got to the phone store. We could not buy a phone with a plan, nor could we get texting, so now I have a new phone that I can only use to call Peace Corps people and not text or call family. Add that to not having a chance to stop at an Internet café while we were in Vratsa. I’m bummed but realize this is what I will have to deal with for the next 26 ½ months.

Back in Borovan we met with Lazar for an afternoon of Bulgarian language lessons. I really enjoy learning the language, but the real lesson came when I had supper with Ivan and Nikolinka. They work and work with me to explain many things about their lives. Tonight supper lasted two hours while we talked about their families, Bulgarian history, the Bulgarian economy, and the PC trainee they had two years ago which I mentioned before. Both Ivan and Nikolinka enjoy telling jokes. Sometimes they would both crack up while I just smiled. Then they looked at me and said, “shay-GA, shay-GA! Joke!”

Tomorrow we have a day off, but I’m sure my hosts have something planned for me.

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Po CHEEF ka (a break)

It has been nice to have the day off, but here it is noon already. I just got back from my first walk with Nikolinka which was very eventful. Barely a block away on top of an electric pole, sits a huge nest, and resting there are two huge storks with their necks stretching to peer at us. There is a Bulgarian holiday associated with the return of the storks in the spring time, but I will save that for next year.  It’s interesting that there are so many storks but very few small birds. The only other birds I’ve seen in this area are doves; Nikolinka called them gull-something.

We ran into a cousin of Ivan’s who has Internet. Nikolinka set it up for me to go to her house at 8:00 with my laptop and try to connect. I will be so happy if I can. I miss contact with my family more than I thought I would at this point.

I was able to do a little shopping at the “dollar store.” I bought a washcloth and am thrilled with it! I have not had a washcloth since leaving Philadelphia, and my shower just doesn’t feel like a good scrub without a washcloth. Such comforts.

I watched Nikolinka make stuffed peppers this morning while I ate breakfast. She chopped and chopped onions until my eyes hurt from the air in the kitchen, then she cooked them with a combination of ground pork and beef. She used a seasoning that smells familiar, but I can’t quite place it (oregano, maybe), salt and red pepper (what looked like a lot of red pepper). When there was lots of liquid in the pan she added rice. I’m not sure if the liquid was added water or from the meat. In another pan she added yogurt to something, I forget what, then the broth from the meat mixture to the yogurt mixture while I stirred (finally she let me help!). Then the peppers went into the oven, and the yogurt sauce sat on top of the hot wood-burning cook stove.

After breakfast, Nikolinka suggested I (or told me to – I’m not sure which) iron my clothes that she graciously washed for me on Monday. (Yesterday I walked home from class by myself for the first time and knew I was at the right house because my clothes were hanging out on the porch to dry!) Bulgarians are very neat about their clothes and are offended if visitors clothes are ripped or wrinkled. (Yikes.)

I never dreamed our cultures would be as different as they are. There is so much more to tell, but not tonight.

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

After breakfast this morning, Ivan and Nikolinka drove me to meet Lazar and the others at the bus stop in the middle of town where the Peace Corps van picked us up and took us to Byala Slatina about 20 miles northeast of Borovan. There we met with the other TEFL trainees for our first session on teaching English as a foreign language to Bulgarian students. I have a lot to learn.

Back in Borovan, we took an hour break then met at the center for language class with Lazar. I’m really gaining a lot of respect for him. He is kind, knowledgeable, educated, professional and fun. He lets us have a laugh but has a gentle way of nudging us back on the lesson. He often laughs with us with a funny laugh that boils out of him like he doesn’t want to because it would be unprofessional, but he can’t help himself.

I helped Nikolinka make a cake of sorts that she called something that sounded like kex (cakes?) and smelled wonderful like lots of cinnamon and vanilla baking. She pulled it out of the oven as we were eating supper (leftover stuffed peppers, to my delight), but then put it on the porch to cool, so I didn’t get to taste it. Instead we had a combination of eggs, sugar and milk, which I recognized as custard similar to what my mom used to make. Nikolinka called it crème caramel. It was wonderful.

I came home early to study, but here I am reflecting on the day. Homework waits.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Breakfast was the last of the stuffed peppers (I hope). As I finished my breakfast, Nikolinko brought out the cake we made last night, sliced off at least a third of it, wrapped it up and indicated I should take it with me to Byala Slatina along with a carton of yogurt for my lunch. It looked delicious! I didn’t want to smash it in my backpack, though, so I sent it with Lazar to keep at the center until I got back. I knew someone would share a sandwich with me if I got hungry before we got back because all the families feed us like we’re being fattened for butchering, and sure enough Amy gave me one of her three shoonka e koshkaval sandwiches (ham and yellow cheese which is not really yellow but pale beige). Later, at the center I shared my cake and yogurt. Finally, I got to taste it, and I was kind of wishing I had saved it all for myself. It was so good.

As good as the peppers were, I was ready to try something else, but I’m not so sure I was ready for the Rolla Stefanie we had tonight. It was very much like a meatloaf with slices of boiled egg, carrots and kiss-o-lo crustavitsi (pickles) diced up and stuffed inside served with rice and more diced kisolo crustavitsi. I thought it interesting that kisalo is used with the word for cucumbers to name pickles as it is also used with the word for milk to name yogurt, kisolo milako. It’s also interesting that leftovers are left out and served at the next meal cold.

One of the first things I noticed when I got here was the amount of trash along the streets and public areas. It was so distracting and upsetting to me that I almost forgot to look at some of the other sights here. Today I started noticing the houses more. Some are very nice. My house from the outside is bigger than most others and much neater. It looks way more affluent than the home Ivan and Nikolina live in next door even though this is their home also. Actually, if I understand Nikolinka correctly, it’s the house Ivan lived in with his first wife who died at the age of 44. Inside is a different story. It’s nice, but it’s not what I would call modern by American standards. But it’s comfortable…especially after Ivan makes a fire in the woodburner in my room. That’s all the heat I get, so the bathroom and kitchen are cold.

Along with the homes of varying degrees of upkeep and decay and sizes, there are barns, only not like barns in the Midwest. They are more like cobbled together sheds and lean-to’s with an amazing amount of stuff shoved in and barely room for whatever animal(s) the owner is raising. But then the animals don’t need a lot of room because most graze around the outside of the fences that are around the gardens. Sheep, a cow, a horse, chickens – lots of chickens – and it’s the same for every family, it seems.

We visited the Borovan police station today and met the chief of police and three of his officers just so they would know who we are and vice-versa. They were very nice and seemed to take their jobs very seriously. An interesting fact we learned is that the population of Borovan is 50-60% Roma (gypsy). That probably explains all the horse-drawn carts we see. They are no different than one would have seen here 50 or 60 maybe 100 years ago.  Both the carts and the horses look like they’ve been around that long, but they certainly add character to the community.

Friday, April 08, 2011

This morning was our last day of TEFL training in Byala Slatina for a while. The ride back to Borovan was just the three women TEFL’s in the van. Apparently we were ready for a weekend because I think we laughed practically the whole way back home, but it wouldn’t do to try to tell what we were laughing about. Suffice it to say that Amy has created a legend the first week here: the Hunchback of Borovan! Amy and Joy are so silly and fun. I have to wonder how I can be so lucky to get with such a great group!

I walked home after language training to meet Hazel, the volunteer who lived with Nikolinka and Ivan two years ago during her training. She is about my age and just finishing up her service.  We chatted away until supper time, chatted away while Nikolinka fixed supper, chatted away through supper and finally stopped four hours later. Hazel is also a TEFL teacher, and I had so many questions for her that we talked like two old friends who needed to catch up after many years.

Supper tonight was turkey legs and rice with mushrooms and liver which was actually quite good – when I didn’t know it was liver.

A funny story: When I first got here, Nikolinka would not let me help her. She would instead indicate that I should sit down at the breakfast nook and relax. This went on for three days. Then I heard her mention something about “princess” to Ivan. I could have sworn they were talking about me, calling me a princess because I just sit there and do nothing while Nikolinka works. I finally asked my trainer about it, and he said, “Oh, no, princes is a sandwich!”

Thursday, April 14, 2011

I heard there was a bazaar on Sundays in Borovan and asked Nikolinka if we could go shopping there. She assured me we could. After breakfast on Sunday (no one goes to church here, I don’t think) we made something, I forget what, and then Ivan drove us to town – about 5 city blocks away. Nikolinka and I walked around the tables and booths and looked at the merchandise, but she would not let me buy anything – ne hoobav! (not nice), so I didn’t get anything – not even an orange that I thought looked really good.

We three TEFL’s started teaching this week. On Monday, we observed the English language teacher teach. She was good, but I had no idea how good until I tried teaching myself on Tuesday.  I think I had fifth grade that day and was so nervous that apparently I talked a mile a minute because I had about four people tell me I needed to slow down; the kids didn’t understand a word I said. Oops. But they were good kids. Tuesday I taught fourth graders, and it went much better, but I only got through half my lesson. We (the American teachers) went waltzing into these classes expecting kids to know English on a level with the text we are using to plan our lessons, but no, they barely know any English. Some know English rather well, but others hardly know it at all. What a reality check.

Today I taught an eighth grade class. I was real nervous about this class because I have little experience with the age level, but it went really well, and I’m happy about the day.

The Bulgarian school is nice but very simple. The teachers have single plants sitting in the huge windows plus several in each classroom. The plants and possibly some student work up on the wall is all one will see in the Borovan school for decoration.

The Bulgarian language classes are just short of over-whelming. I’m glad to have a day off tomorrow, even if it is to go to Vratsa and have meetings all day.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Today’s training in Vratsa was worth the trip. I received a wonderful surprise - a letter from my mother! Thank you, Mom. It was so good to hear from you!

It was nice to be in a city and get to go to real stores. Borovan has stores, but they are small and with a very limited selection. There are at least five mini-grocery stores called magazines where you can get what you need. They have surprisingly fresh produce. Nikolinka makes a great salad almost every evening with the fresh vegetables she gets at the magazine.

Nilolinka likes to watch a Turkish soap opera that’s dubbed in Bulgarian; actually it seems a lot of Bulgarians like to watch this show. It’s on every night after we eat, and I usually go to my room when it comes on. Nikolinka suggested I stay and watch it with her tonight. With my limited Bulgarian, a Bulgarian/English dictionary and lots of miming, she was able to make me understand what was going on. I may be addicted now, too.

The language is difficult. Each verb has a different form for each person: I, you (singular/informal), he – she – it, you (plural/formal), we and they. Of course, this is just for present tense. Past tense and future tense is another mess. Then the nouns are either masculine, feminine or neuter, and the adjective ending changes accordingly.