hey yall. what a week or so. i have been shadowing the english teacher throughout the school all week and helping teach some of her classes. the ability level with english ranges greatly. there are a few students that speak very well, and others that dont know anything but the word "hello". so its been interesting. my actual classes started yesterday. I had 2 groups, the first one was a group of about 9 kids that are from 14-17 years old and can speak english well. the class will be more discussion based and just have them use english. the next group was a challenge for sure. it was a group of 15-17 year olds that cant speak english. i got a lot of really funny stares. and that class is full - 12 students.
my first lesson... how to say hello in different ways. i am so sick of walking through town or the school hearing "hello!" from every single kid - and then it is quickly followed by a "good-bye!" these are the only 2 words these kids know! So lesson #1 started off as "hello, i am rory. it is nice to meet you. how are you?" and a dialog similar to that. then they practiced with answers and such. but no one walks up to you in the real world and says "hello, i am rory. it is nice to meet you. how are you?" it usually goes a little more like this in a relaxed setting, after the first meeting. "hey rory, s'up? or sup man? or hows it going? or whats kicking? or how you been? - its not so formal. and hello turns into "hi" "hey" "yo" "aye" haha - so i taught them a few variations on the general greeting question of "how are you?" it was pretty humorous.
seriously. they thought i was nuts - but i am a bit nuts. they will learn my kinda english. my english is American English with a hint of East Coast, Colorado, Chicago and Indiana slang topped with a twist of Rory. After 2 years, they will all be speaking like this guy. haha... i might be doing more damage than good if i do that...
so i also have a girlfriend now. she lives in a town thats like 20 or so miles away, but it can take over an hour to get there. her name is Tsveti and i met her through another volunteer. she is bulgarian yes. and yes, she speaks english which helps a lot. we have hung out a few times and been talking for a month or so - we will see how this goes. i am certain that relationship norms here in bulgaria differ from the norms in the states...
i celebrated halloween in the new city our friend Brave Yankee lives in with another american. it was a good time. the only thing that differed from any other party here was that there was a jack-o-lantern on the table. but other than that, it was a table, with lots of food, homemade rakia and lots of other alcohols. we sat, ate, drank and talked until very late. it was a grand time. i think there are pictures on facebook that Tsveti put up.
Its cold. i sleep in my sleeping bag with a winter hat on. haha, its like i'll be camping until april/may when it warms up again...
I've made alliances with the stray dogs here. especially now that its getting cold and food is harder to find for them. soon i will form my army of stray dogs and we will wage war on the stray cats. these dogs have a lot of potential, they just need a strong leader with a focused vision of the future without the crying of cats outside my apartment during the night. i have not seen any evidence of the cats organizing and working together to prepare for the imminent battle of the territory around the dumpsters when winter strikes in all her fury. and for this, i rest easy, knowing that my dogs will easily claim their desired grounds while only suffering light casualties. wish us luck in these coming days. i am not sure what the future holds for us here on the front lines, and if i become mortally scratched by the enemy, know that i believe in this war with all of my heart and that i fell bravely amongst the trash heaps by the dumpsters defending the territory that was inherently granted to man's best friend!
next time - I'll try to keep my sanity.
Oh, and my birthday is friday. i hear some kids are organizing something for me. but shhhhh! its a secret. I'll probably have a small party on saturday or something. but when its your birthday, you have to pay for everything. so my party will be small - im on a limited salary. :)
honestly - i will be 26 years old. i think i have the mind and heart of a teenager. do you think ill ever grow up? i hope not. :) this way of life is too fun.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
classes started
my meeting with my boss from headquarters was freaking awesome. we got a lot of good ideas flowing with the people i work with and i have noticed a real change in the way things are going. i am excited about it! i am going to use these english classes as a spring board into the next wave of projects. the kids that come and work with me this winter will be my ambassadors for the other projects i want to get started down the road! right now i have 25 kids signed up for the classes with rumors of another 10-15 that want to come as well! this will surely keep me busy.
last night i went out with one of my coworkers to a cafe for "a beer". well, a beer is never a beer. and a beer turns into 5 or so. and then i wake up with a killer headache and wanting nothing more than to lay in bed for the whole morning. but i was glad i got to work today because it was one of the better days ive had! even if i was slightly to extremely hungover. one funny something - i went to a 10th grade class today. there were about 10 or so people in it, and only 2 of them were guys. the teacher tells them i dont understand bulgarian and they must ask me questions in english. this is a daunting task. the girls giggle like crazy and want to ask me things, but they just dont know how in english. so i listened to many things said about me between the girls becuase they thought i couldnt understand the language. well, i understood everything. it was pretty funny - just stuff that 16 year old girls say about the new young teacher from america. so after answering a few questions about my favorite foods and about my family, something funny happened in class. so i laughed. well, the girl in the front said something along the lines of how beautiful my smile was. i quickly looked at her, said thank you and told her she had a pretty smile too... well this set off panic amongst the girls because they then thought back on all the things they had said about me during the class! every one of them turned bright red and i had myself a hearty chuckle over the situation.
during the afternoon, i had a whole bunch of 17 year old students come and take the test i had set up for them. its just a test to see how much english they understand. 3 or 4 of the girls that came dont understand english at all. and as i was later told by another student, they have no interest in learning english either - they just want to come to my class and get to know me. so yea, its kinda funny being the popular guy and i get a kick out of it. a little ego boost.
other than that, nothing too interesting is going on this moment. another day, another experience.
last night i went out with one of my coworkers to a cafe for "a beer". well, a beer is never a beer. and a beer turns into 5 or so. and then i wake up with a killer headache and wanting nothing more than to lay in bed for the whole morning. but i was glad i got to work today because it was one of the better days ive had! even if i was slightly to extremely hungover. one funny something - i went to a 10th grade class today. there were about 10 or so people in it, and only 2 of them were guys. the teacher tells them i dont understand bulgarian and they must ask me questions in english. this is a daunting task. the girls giggle like crazy and want to ask me things, but they just dont know how in english. so i listened to many things said about me between the girls becuase they thought i couldnt understand the language. well, i understood everything. it was pretty funny - just stuff that 16 year old girls say about the new young teacher from america. so after answering a few questions about my favorite foods and about my family, something funny happened in class. so i laughed. well, the girl in the front said something along the lines of how beautiful my smile was. i quickly looked at her, said thank you and told her she had a pretty smile too... well this set off panic amongst the girls because they then thought back on all the things they had said about me during the class! every one of them turned bright red and i had myself a hearty chuckle over the situation.
during the afternoon, i had a whole bunch of 17 year old students come and take the test i had set up for them. its just a test to see how much english they understand. 3 or 4 of the girls that came dont understand english at all. and as i was later told by another student, they have no interest in learning english either - they just want to come to my class and get to know me. so yea, its kinda funny being the popular guy and i get a kick out of it. a little ego boost.
other than that, nothing too interesting is going on this moment. another day, another experience.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
staying in touch
Hello world! So my work is coming together. I have gone to a couple classes in the school where i help the teacher and the kids to understand a native english speaker. its definitely interesting and i really enjoy it. i get a good energy from the kids and it makes my day a whole lot better. Yesterday I went to the school and then after that i ate in the cafeteria with a bunch of kids. one cute girl, about 10 years old, came up to me and gave me a leaf from a tree. I have heard that "leaf art" is actually kinda common since other materials arent readily available. so she gave me the leaf, i gave her my chocolates. haha i think she won on that exchange, but it was really cute!
well i left the cafeteria, saw some kids that were just hanging out and might be classified as "bad kids" - i approached, asked what they were doing and when they responded with "nothing" i took the frisbee out of my bag and tossed it to one. They were shocked, adults dont really play with kids here. so i got about 5 or 6 kids in a circle and taught them how to toss a frisbee. we had a lot of fun and it didnt take long for a crowd to gather and watch us play! we played for like an hour and i have a feeling that these kids skipped class to play. i asked if they had class, and was assured over and over that none of them had class that hour... i think it was BS. but i had fun, they had fun, and everything was grand.
I also administered an english test in my chitalishte to kids that are interested in furthering their english studies after school. i got about 8 kids to show up and take a test so i could find out what they knew in english. they were excited and hopefully i will get something started up that has meaning.
so yea, i dunno what else. my birthday is coming up. it will be interesting to see what happens with that. and Brave Yankee lives in Pleven now and i went to visit him and help him move in. Pleven is a city of over 100,000 people and has pretty much anything you could want. so he is going to have to learn how to budget that small amount of money that we get!
well i left the cafeteria, saw some kids that were just hanging out and might be classified as "bad kids" - i approached, asked what they were doing and when they responded with "nothing" i took the frisbee out of my bag and tossed it to one. They were shocked, adults dont really play with kids here. so i got about 5 or 6 kids in a circle and taught them how to toss a frisbee. we had a lot of fun and it didnt take long for a crowd to gather and watch us play! we played for like an hour and i have a feeling that these kids skipped class to play. i asked if they had class, and was assured over and over that none of them had class that hour... i think it was BS. but i had fun, they had fun, and everything was grand.
I also administered an english test in my chitalishte to kids that are interested in furthering their english studies after school. i got about 8 kids to show up and take a test so i could find out what they knew in english. they were excited and hopefully i will get something started up that has meaning.
so yea, i dunno what else. my birthday is coming up. it will be interesting to see what happens with that. and Brave Yankee lives in Pleven now and i went to visit him and help him move in. Pleven is a city of over 100,000 people and has pretty much anything you could want. so he is going to have to learn how to budget that small amount of money that we get!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Is that a light at the end of this tunnel?
oh my! its starting. its about time too... i was getting pretty anxious and i was really distraught for a while. Finally, there is organization and maybe a purpose for me here. My boss from headquarters is coming out here on tuesday and that news has sent a panic amongst my coworkers. my boss wants to know what work im doing, wants to see what im doing, wants to meet the kids im working with and all the other people in town i work with... well. its funny because i havent really been doing much of anything.
I knew she was coming since early last week and made passive mentions about it to my coworkers. then yesterday she called and actually talked to them about her future visit. and thats when the ball got rolling. i am getting all the broken stuff in my apt fixed... i went to the school today FINALLY to meet the english teacher and help with classes... i am getting a place set up in the culture center where i work so i can teach classes there... we are finding people that want to learn english... I HAVE WORK! so now i can finally breath a little easier. i have more freedom believe it or not because i am working. i have purpose. nothing has started yet, but now i am 100% confident that it will start soon. Oh Thank God!
i feel a large weight lifted off my shoulders. nothing worse than waking up in the morning with a lot of energy and good feelings and wanting to do stuff only to walk into an office, sit down and do nothing until 530pm. then do more of nothing after that. its draining. but now - i have something!
oh, and here is a fun story. well a couple fun stories i guess. yesterday morning i put some clothes in my new second hand washing machine and started her up. i sat down at the computer to get on the internet and after about 3 minutes i heard a thud and my power went out. i investigated my apt, nothing looked out of the ordinary and nothing fell, so i left for work. came home and still no power. i heard music... so someone had power. i found the buildings electric box and my fuse was blown - i flipped it and had power. i went to the washing machine to restart it... but apparently the electricity decided to show ultimate power on the washing machine and gave it a good hard lethal dose of shock. now my washing machine is dead. i bought it two months ago and paid a fair chunk of change. UGGGGGG. never catch a break.
and let me take you on a journey. close your eyes.... wait. that wont work. uhm, think really hard about it being Monday night. i was tired, i laid in bed maybe around 10pm. i sat in bed, awake, until around 2pm when i decided it was ridiculous, i flipped on the light and read a book til about 3. fell asleep at 3. woke up at 6am! why? becuase i was stressed about my life here and what the heck i was doing. so i get 3 hours rest. i go to work. i come home a little early, around 5pm and say to myself, "man, i just want to grab a beer for tonight (the beers are 2 liters or 6-12oz beers) and drink a little with dinner and fall asleep at like 7pm. so i leave my building to purchase said beer. i see a man that lives in my building. he asks me what i am doing and why i havent come to his apartment yet to meet his family. i told him i was doing nothing. he said, well lets go then. so i 180-ed and re-entered the building and headed to his apartment. this was 5pm. i was exhausted. i sat in his kitchen and enjoyed a glass of cola and some sweets with him and his wife. another woman entered, she was nice and we talked, she had cola too. then she left after an hour or so and i tried to depart at the same time. i was told to sit. i did. then our conversation resumed and many topics discussed. one being google earth. so we went to the other room to the pc and tried to find google earth. it wasnt there. so we downloaded it and visited many places. it is now 745pm, past my planned bedtime. i ask when the shops close and i knew damn well they closed at 8pm. i wanted an excuse. he said, why are you going to the shop? i said i have to cook dinner and need meat(a lie). he said, no no - you will eat dinner with us tonight. i said, ok thank you. (uhg, they are so hospitable here!) so we listened to music and watched a bit of some western movie. then dinner was served and it was good. dinner ended around 10:30pm or so. but i couldnt leave after dinner! conversation continued until past 11:15 or so when i was literally falling asleep in my chair. i finally stood, said i must go and thank you for everything. we made arrangements for another dinner tonight. i slept well last night - so i should be ok.
but that is just a small example of how you can never plan anything and in the blink of an eye, everything changes. my neighbor is an incredibly smart guy and very nice. so i was happy to meet him and spend the time there. its just that i wish i had slept the night before!
So things are looking up. except that my freaking washing machine and electricity decided to brawl. i lost some good money on that fight.
and dan the brave yankee is moving to a nearby city in a sweet apartment. im going there this weekend to help him move. dig it.
so long, farewell, and keep it real.
Rory
I knew she was coming since early last week and made passive mentions about it to my coworkers. then yesterday she called and actually talked to them about her future visit. and thats when the ball got rolling. i am getting all the broken stuff in my apt fixed... i went to the school today FINALLY to meet the english teacher and help with classes... i am getting a place set up in the culture center where i work so i can teach classes there... we are finding people that want to learn english... I HAVE WORK! so now i can finally breath a little easier. i have more freedom believe it or not because i am working. i have purpose. nothing has started yet, but now i am 100% confident that it will start soon. Oh Thank God!
i feel a large weight lifted off my shoulders. nothing worse than waking up in the morning with a lot of energy and good feelings and wanting to do stuff only to walk into an office, sit down and do nothing until 530pm. then do more of nothing after that. its draining. but now - i have something!
oh, and here is a fun story. well a couple fun stories i guess. yesterday morning i put some clothes in my new second hand washing machine and started her up. i sat down at the computer to get on the internet and after about 3 minutes i heard a thud and my power went out. i investigated my apt, nothing looked out of the ordinary and nothing fell, so i left for work. came home and still no power. i heard music... so someone had power. i found the buildings electric box and my fuse was blown - i flipped it and had power. i went to the washing machine to restart it... but apparently the electricity decided to show ultimate power on the washing machine and gave it a good hard lethal dose of shock. now my washing machine is dead. i bought it two months ago and paid a fair chunk of change. UGGGGGG. never catch a break.
and let me take you on a journey. close your eyes.... wait. that wont work. uhm, think really hard about it being Monday night. i was tired, i laid in bed maybe around 10pm. i sat in bed, awake, until around 2pm when i decided it was ridiculous, i flipped on the light and read a book til about 3. fell asleep at 3. woke up at 6am! why? becuase i was stressed about my life here and what the heck i was doing. so i get 3 hours rest. i go to work. i come home a little early, around 5pm and say to myself, "man, i just want to grab a beer for tonight (the beers are 2 liters or 6-12oz beers) and drink a little with dinner and fall asleep at like 7pm. so i leave my building to purchase said beer. i see a man that lives in my building. he asks me what i am doing and why i havent come to his apartment yet to meet his family. i told him i was doing nothing. he said, well lets go then. so i 180-ed and re-entered the building and headed to his apartment. this was 5pm. i was exhausted. i sat in his kitchen and enjoyed a glass of cola and some sweets with him and his wife. another woman entered, she was nice and we talked, she had cola too. then she left after an hour or so and i tried to depart at the same time. i was told to sit. i did. then our conversation resumed and many topics discussed. one being google earth. so we went to the other room to the pc and tried to find google earth. it wasnt there. so we downloaded it and visited many places. it is now 745pm, past my planned bedtime. i ask when the shops close and i knew damn well they closed at 8pm. i wanted an excuse. he said, why are you going to the shop? i said i have to cook dinner and need meat(a lie). he said, no no - you will eat dinner with us tonight. i said, ok thank you. (uhg, they are so hospitable here!) so we listened to music and watched a bit of some western movie. then dinner was served and it was good. dinner ended around 10:30pm or so. but i couldnt leave after dinner! conversation continued until past 11:15 or so when i was literally falling asleep in my chair. i finally stood, said i must go and thank you for everything. we made arrangements for another dinner tonight. i slept well last night - so i should be ok.
but that is just a small example of how you can never plan anything and in the blink of an eye, everything changes. my neighbor is an incredibly smart guy and very nice. so i was happy to meet him and spend the time there. its just that i wish i had slept the night before!
So things are looking up. except that my freaking washing machine and electricity decided to brawl. i lost some good money on that fight.
and dan the brave yankee is moving to a nearby city in a sweet apartment. im going there this weekend to help him move. dig it.
so long, farewell, and keep it real.
Rory
Monday, October 19, 2009
Zimata idva.
not much to write about today. ive kinda started work and i think tomorrow ill get these damn english classes started that ive only been waiting since july 25th to start. its cold out and rainy. and i have a little radiator that i drag around with me to the room im in. i wonder what my electricity bill is going to be? i was in moravitsa last saturday night and it was pretty chilly. i got a taste of how the winter will be spent. let me describe it to you.
Cafes will be crowded because it is warm in the cafe and you dont have to heat your own house to stay warm if you are sitting in the cafe. the doors are closed and windows are closed. everyone is dressed warm. alcohol keeps people warmer, or so it seems to the person drinking, so the drinking starts earlier. but not with beer, or not as much with beer, its mostly homemade wine and rakia. and i believe i have told you this before, everyone smokes here. if not everyone, at least 90%. so the rooms become like a cloud of smoke, everything you are wearing stinks and your eyes burn. the stove in the room is burning wood and coal and keeps the room incredibly hot. so a hot cloudy room full of people drinking and laughing and wearing warm clothes. and this is what i foresee winter being. oh, and i ate donkey meat. so in like 2 weeks time i have eaten both animals that i have seen pulling carts around town. donkeys and horses. donkey was gross, horse is better.
so i have a birthday coming up on the 6th of november and if anyone wants to be awesome and send me a little sumthin sumthin than that would be sweet. so here is the shameless plug. SHAMELESS and i feel bad about doing this, but this is the stuff i want/need as of now: http://amzn.com/w/2P9QL1CYSZYJ4 oh, and any types of spices are welcome. Ranch dressing and hot sauce too... :)
I will be indebted to you for anything that is sent. it isnt cheap to ship stuff but its also proving to be difficult to find these things here. especially books in english... and earplugs. which are needed becuase i live above a lively cafe with loud music...
Cafes will be crowded because it is warm in the cafe and you dont have to heat your own house to stay warm if you are sitting in the cafe. the doors are closed and windows are closed. everyone is dressed warm. alcohol keeps people warmer, or so it seems to the person drinking, so the drinking starts earlier. but not with beer, or not as much with beer, its mostly homemade wine and rakia. and i believe i have told you this before, everyone smokes here. if not everyone, at least 90%. so the rooms become like a cloud of smoke, everything you are wearing stinks and your eyes burn. the stove in the room is burning wood and coal and keeps the room incredibly hot. so a hot cloudy room full of people drinking and laughing and wearing warm clothes. and this is what i foresee winter being. oh, and i ate donkey meat. so in like 2 weeks time i have eaten both animals that i have seen pulling carts around town. donkeys and horses. donkey was gross, horse is better.
so i have a birthday coming up on the 6th of november and if anyone wants to be awesome and send me a little sumthin sumthin than that would be sweet. so here is the shameless plug. SHAMELESS and i feel bad about doing this, but this is the stuff i want/need as of now: http://amzn.com/w/2P9QL1CYSZYJ4 oh, and any types of spices are welcome. Ranch dressing and hot sauce too... :)
I will be indebted to you for anything that is sent. it isnt cheap to ship stuff but its also proving to be difficult to find these things here. especially books in english... and earplugs. which are needed becuase i live above a lively cafe with loud music...
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