Hello October!

Well, I'm doing a terrible job of keeping this blog updated, but nevertheless I am back for another post. It's been two months since I last updated and life here has had its ups and downs during that time.
I went from this


to this


back to this




Besides my physical transformations, I have actually made some progress throughout the community. You'll be happy to know that I have friends...REAL friends!! Some are 8, others are 68, but they all love me just the same. I have still been playing lots of soccer with the youth around here and just the other day almost scored my first goal against the older kids. I tried to head it in and unfortunately it hit off my chin, but it was sooooo close to a goal. Some pics of soccer kids and the stadium.




I have had two PC conferences, one in Blagoevgrad (western part of BG) and one in Sliven (easternish part of BG). Other places I have travelled to (that are on this map above) include Belogradchik, Bansko and Mezdra. The country is really beautiful and right now the colors are starting to change as most of BG is turning into a fall wonderland. Here are some pics to show how gorgeous it is here.
Belogradchik Fortress




Bansko hiking with some friends


Ok, enough for the pictures. The first day of school in Bulgaria is September 15th. Every school has a big celebration and there is not much class on the first day. I was lucky enough to get an inviation from the school director to attend. It was really cool and I was presented with 2 bouquets of flowers...wonderful. Since then I have been working at the school a couple times a week. Mainly with a third grade english class, 10/12th grade geography class and first grade art class. I'm really enjoying it. The kids are terrific and seem to be glad that I roam the halls a couple times a week. The teachers are wonderful too and I have been able to sit in on a class for every grade, first through twelv...12th. I am excited to get the chance to work with the students here! They have already invited me to coffee and to go dance at the discoteka in the next town.

I have entered the WWS program which connects a PCV to a classroom in America. I am corresponding with my old (as in a long time ago, not age) neighbor Katy, who was a PCV in BG and is currently a 4-6th grade teacher in America. I am going to work with the 3rd and 4th graders at the school here and we will correspond with Katy's students. It should be beneficial for the kids involved.

I started my English Club/After School Program with some pretty good numbers. Right now, there are 25 students and for the most part, it seems like they are looking forward to learning English from an English speaker. I'm in the process of trying to hold the sessions at the school in a room that has heating so that people will actually show up during the cold winter. Cross your fingers for me please.

Tomorrow I have my first 'teaching' class at the kindergarten. There are about 15 5-6 year olds there. Basically, I'll be helping them learn the basics and we will also do some art projects and play some games. I am scheduled to work there 2 days a week, one for English and one for art. Sweet!

My adult English class is all set to start except we have no room to use right now. I am waiting for a response to see if we can use a room at the community center/pensioners club. I have talked with interested people as young as 21 and as old as...well I dont know how old she is, but her grandson is in his late 20's. It should be pretty interesting once I figure out the levels of all the participants and how many people will actually be dedicated to show up consistently.

I have been working with my tutor 2-3 times per week trying to improve my Bulgarian skills. It seems to be working. I am able to have more and more in depth conversations with the people here. It's exhausting to speak, listen, eat, sleep, live, play, Bulgarian all day everyday, and then come home and study more, but it's definitely worth it. The people I talk to encourage me to learn as much as possible because they are very supportive and I really want to get to know them. It's pretty awesome.

Other than work stuff, everything here has been pretty good. I have been to a lot of na gostis where I have been treated to some home cookin' and drinks. As I have said before, the people here are just unbelievably hospitable, generous and nice. It makes integrating here a little easier. The weather has taken a turn for the worse the last few weeks as mother nature is beginning to introduce me to her bitter side. On the bright side, I got rid of the mice that were enjoying the comfort of my home.

Also, I have to give a BIG shout out to my mom and dad for sending me what one of my PCV friends was, "Defiantly the best peace corps package i have ever seen!! ENJOY IT!" So THANK YOU! Here are some pics of the goodies.




I'm saving some of this stuff to entice friends to come visit me. We shall see how that works. Well hopefully now that I've got some different things going on here I'll be more inclined to update. But that's always what I say, so don't consider it a promise. Although I will try. I hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather out there. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.

Chao!

2 weeks down, 102 to go...

I thought I would make an update about how and what I've been doing during the first two weeks at my site. Brusartsi is a rather small town of about 1,300 people and there is not much to do here. For now, I am at the municipality from 9-5 m-f doing random things. Mostly studying Bulgarian so I can learn to do more things! There is nothing really lined up for me, so I have been doing a few different things on my own. Check out Wiki Brusartsi and Wiki Brusartsi Municipality. It's not much, but hopefully someone will use it one day. I want to add some pics of the town, but haven't yet figured out how to do that. Once I do, they will be some stlyish wikipages. So that's about it for my "work" details.

After work is when I feel most accomplished.

One of the first few days I was here, a baba invited me into her yard to talk. I sat there for about an hour, listening to her stories and pretending that I knew what she was talking about (I understood some things, but other things not so much). Anyways, when I was leaving she gave me a huge bag full of zucchini (тиквички - Teekveechky) and tomatos (домати - Domati) and cucumbers (краставици - Krastaveetsy). It was really kind of her. In the 10 or so days since that happened, she has hooked me up with sooooo many fresh veggies that sometimes I don't know what to do with them. Recently I made stuffed zucchini with the goodies she gave me. I cut up some hot dog and mixed it with bread crumbs, cerene (goat cheese but super mild and delicious), an egg, garlic, oregono and red pepper flakes. And for dessert I fried up a banana with some butter and brown sugar, mmmmmm... So yeah, she is my go to baba when I need fresh veggies!

I have spent a lot of time at the cafe in the center of town. I usually go after work before I walk home. The owners are really friendly and the first day I showed up they said they expected me to drink a beer there everyday! I like to hang out there because that is where most people are if they are not at home. I have met a lot of people there and picked up some Bulgarian as well. Last weekend I ventured off to a different cafe and the people there were just as nice, curious, and friendly. Besides the cafes in town, I have spent a lot of time in the magazines (mini stores). I have introduced myself to all the workers and they greet me everytime I come it. It's nice.

I noticed that people approach me more often now than they did when I first arrived. At first, I would walk by someone or a group of people and say здрасти (zdrasty - hi) or здравей (zdravey - hello) and wouldn't get a response. Which I guess is typical. If someone in your tiny village, who looks like an outsider walking around all by himself, says hello as he walks by you, you might not say anything back. Anyways, I'm actually getting to the point of this topic... When I left the magazine on Wednesday, this group of kids that I had never met (only said hi to) called out my name. They were hanging out in the park so I went and sat down with them. We exchanged introductions and I talked with them for an hour and a half. There were 3 girls and 2 boys all around 14-15 years old. It was definitely a funny conversation because they kept asking me all kinds of questions and most of the time they had to repeat what they said because they were talking много бързо (mnogo burzo - very fast) and I не разбирам (ne razbiram - couldn't understand). I had to break the news to them that it actually does snow in California, I didn't live in Hollywood, Orange County or LA, and for as much as I look and act the part, I am not a famous celebrity. They were devastated for about .8 seconds and moved on to more pressing matters... "I heard Lady Gaga is coming to Bulgaria!! If so, do you want to go to her concert with us?" one of the kids said in Bulgarian.

Besides talking with people around town, there are other ways I have been trying to integrate into the community. For the past few days, and I think this is going to continue, I have been playing soccer with kids from town. On average there are about 8 of us, so we have enough for 4 vs. 4. It pretty awesome. The kids are way better at soccer than I ever was and probably ever will be. I like it though. It's really fun and I can speak Bulgarian more freely because the kids don't mind when I mess up. Usually, they help me out and tell me the right way to say it. It's a win win situation. They have me, this akward, slow, bearded man running around speaking Bulgarian gibberish (which I am sure is why most of the kids come to play) and I have them, these minature little kids (not really, but just compared to me) super happy to be playing soccer and quizzing me about everything regarding California and America, which helps me with the language. I look forward to playing soccer with these kids for the next two years.

Ealier this week I played basketball with a different group of kids. Well, I guess you could call it basketball. The backboard had one big hole in it and only the metal siding was attached. The rim was more crooked than a pair of billy bob teeth. It was fun though. The kids were really active and I think we all enjoyed ourselves.

What else...Hmm, oh yeah. It has been pretty hot here lately and super muggy, which makes for scary, but awesome thunder and lightening storms!!! I have never seen so much thunder and lightening in my life since coming to Bulgaria. It's amazing! Because of this, our town has lost power for some part of the day 4 of the 13 days I have been here.

I have been cooking a lot of delicious meals and mom, you would be proud that I (usually) include all food groups! In a couple weeks I will be going to a PC conference and will get to hang out with my PCV friends. I am excited to say the least!! I think that is all I have so chao for now. Take care and thanks for reading!

Address

I figure I should add my address in English so the people in the US can figure out where to send any packages you all might want to send me. If you put the address in both English and Bulgarian it will get to me quicker. Here you go...

джо макдонъл
Общинската администрация
ул. "Георги Димитров" № 85
Област Монтана
Град Брусарци 3680

Joe McDonnell
Municipality Administration
Street Georgi Dimitrov #85
Oblast Montana
City Brusartsi 3680
Bulgaria

PC Article

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1600

One More

A little bit of the action from our going away party with our families.

Random Pictures of our Adventures

Group Pictures!!

Here are some pictures of the awesomeness that was/is Group Pavolche!