Correction

Correction to my last post: we are not leaving Varna. I had a long talk with Jenny and worked out some kinks. I'll be staying for the full two weeks. And I'm having a blast with my kids!

My Near Arrest

Connor, Sarah (other Fulbrighters), and I are currently at STEP Bulgaria. We're actually leaving in the morning, which is a long story that I'll probably save for another post, but in the meantime, we're in Varna helping a non-profit summer school for orphans. My story, however, takes place in Sofia. Last Saturday, there were planning meetings for STEP in Sofia, and then we took the train to Varna on Sunday. Saturday night, Sarah and I spent the night in an apartment that STEP owns in downtown Sofia. We went out for a bit to put more time on our pre-paid cell phones in case we had any emergency calls we needed to make. Then, we headed back to the apartment. STEP had given us what looked like a car remote that is used to disarm the alarm and then a key to the gate, a key to the building, and a key to our room. So, we got through the gate, and then held the clicker down like we'd been told for three seconds to disarm the alarm. Then, we opened the building door. And the alarm went off. Of course. We were both exhausted and cranky and kind of anxious being in Sofia for the first time. The last thing we needed was the alarm going off. But I pulled out my newly charged cell and called Jeni, the director of STEP, to ask what to do. She gave me the code, and we disarmed the alarm. About halfway up the three flights of stairs, we hear a knock on the door. Security had arrived to see what had tripped the alarm. Awesome.

Sarah and I trudged back down the stairs and opened the door to two non-English speaking, angry-looking security guards. We began trying to communicate through a mixture of broken Bulgarian and miming. And the guard responded in short phrases of English mixed with even more miming and mounting frustration. They made us set the alarm and then disarm the alarm over and over again. I'm not really sure why. I think perhaps we had somehow broken the alarm because each time we reset it, they radioed to their base and asked a lot of questions in Bulgarian before making us do it over again. Meanwhile, Sarah and I were praying. I'm too young to experience Bulgarian jail. I have no idea what Bulgarian jail is like, but I don't want to experience American jail, and I speak the language there. I don't even know if security guards are authorized to arrest civilians. I also didn't know if they were legitimately security guards. I have no idea what security guards look like in Bulgaria. I had visions of Taken flashing through my head. I haven't even seen Taken, but I had visions of what I imagine it to be like flashing through my head. Thankfully, after twenty minutes of broken conversation and apologetic grimaces mixed with dubious attempts to look innocent, the security guards said "All good" and left.

In short, I was probably never anywhere near arrest, but it certainly felt like it for awhile. I'm grateful to say that I escaped the harrowing prospect of jail in a foreign land.

My Bulgarian Wedding and new pictures of my apartment

Today, FISI (Fulbright International Summer Institute) took a field trip to Blagoevgrad and Dobarsko. In Blagoevgrad, we toured the American University (which has WAAAAAAAAAYYY nicer dorms than Luther College, ps). Then, we had half an hour to wander the city centre and take a few pictures. It was not nearly enough time to see everything, but I did manage to see a beautiful river and an awesome old VW bug. Then, we traveled just outside of town for lunch at a traditional Bulgarian tavern. I have already raved about the food, so I won't go too far into it here. Just let me say, it was delicious and came in four courses: salads and veggies, potatoes and veggies, meat, and fruit for dessert. By the time the meat arrived, I was fairly stuffed, but I managed to make room for a couple of bites of chicken kebab and chicken stuffed with what I think was ham. I had absolutely no room at all for the fruit. So, I left the table and wandered around in the petting zoo just outside. It probably wasn't intended as an actual petting zoo, but there were tons of animals and you could pet several of them over the low fences, including the ponies!

The river in Blagoevgrad

In Dobarsko, we visited a beautiful church where we heard folk songs sung by local, traditional folk singers. The church was built sometime between 1120 and 1640. The date is widely disputed. My uneducated guess based on the frescoes inside, my limited knowledge of Byzantine/Orthodox art, and my tendency to sit in the middle would be that the church was built somewhere in the early 1400's? I pulled that number out of thin air, but it seems to be a good compromise. I don't think, from what I saw, that it was built as late as 1640, but it is in incredibly good shape to be built as early as 1120.

Drinking the rakia

Greetings from Bulgaria!

While in Dobarsko, the folk singers reenacted parts of a Bulgarian wedding ceremony for us, and they asked for volunteers to pretend to be the bride and groom. I have become one hundred times more adventurous since arriving in Bulgaria, and I decided to go for it. So, I got to wear three layers of extremely hot clothing that was covered in intricate, hand-made embroidery. Then, I got to chug rakia (a Bulgarian liquor that is like very strong brandy) and dance with my "groom" and the folk singers. It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I am happy that I am learning to take advantage of the opportunities presented to me.

I've decided to accept the apartment that my school offers. I have already seen several pictures, and I received some of the kitchen today from the German assistant that currently lives there. It's adorable, and I can't wait to move in! My apartment comes fully furnished, and it even has a washing machine. I'm really excited about that. I'm going to have a lot of laundry by the time I reach Stara Zagora! I will take my own pictures of the apartment after I arrive and share them with everyone!!

My Bulgarian kitchen. I love the stove!!

And the adorable tile!

Roma children and discipline in the classroom

I'm currently attending the Fulbright International Summer Institute, where I'm taking a class on Bulgarian culture to prepare me to teach. Today, we talked about the treatment of ethnic minorities in Bulgaria, primarily Roma, Turks, and Pomak (ethnic Bulgarians who are Muslim and therefore considered a distinctly different group). Our lecturer said that the majority of Roma drop out of school and do not even attain a basic education because they are poor and cannot afford to buy books or to be away from home long enough to attend school. Further, many of them are bullied in school and made to feel inferior. Many are illiterate. She went further to say that one method of discrimination against the Roma is to require a basic education in order to receive a job in even the most basic of service industries. For example, hotel maids need at least five years of schooling (as in elementary school, not university level). Ilona, our lecturer, said that many Roma are upset because they do not understand why they need an education to get a job as a maid. They feel that they can clean just as well even if they are illiterate. Ilona defended the requirement, however, by saying that education provides discipline. According to her, the requirement is not just a matter of discrimination. Employers require schooling so that they know their employees have an understanding of basic "discipline." Apparently Roma are considered extremely undisciplined because their parents often do not put restrictions on their actions. They are allowed to roam freely, and the boys are allowed to treat the women in their family with less respect. One of the hardest aspects of education for Roma is the need to sit still for 45 minute periods, and the punishment for actions considered acceptable at home. When Roma become frustrated, they will sometimes bite or kick their teacher. Ilona implied that they kick or bite because they are not punished for doing so at home. I wonder, though, if part of their use of force is not behavior learned solely from their home environment but from their schooling. Roma students are bullied and beat up and segregated not just by the students but also by some teachers. Roma history and literature are considered irrelevant topics of study. Even the police occasionally play a part in the violence against Roma. I do not intend this to be a direct attack against Bulgaria. I understand that many countries, including the US, have problems with poor treatment of minority groups. I still vividly remember the Postville raid several years ago, and I have heard far too many people advocate a violent removal of Mexicans, even legal Mexicans, from the US.

Returning to my original point, however, I want to address the insistence that education's function is to supply discipline. Even in the US, discipline is seen as one of the primary functions of education. Even though many teachers hope to teach their students to love learning and to think independently, those outside of the teaching profession (and many teachers, as well) see education as a training facility for the workplace. We (I'm using the term "we" very loosely here...) want students and workers who sit quietly and do their work diligently. Who ask questions respectfully and only after they have been given permission to do so. For many teachers, the thought of a completely open classroom where students are encouraged to think independently and challenge their teachers and the instructions given to them is a nightmare, not a dream. We worry about losing control of our classroom and losing sight of our objectives. But what are our objectives? Having students questioning the information presented to them is not losing control. You only lose control when you try to stamp out creativity and questions or when you have no objectives and do not provide any sort of a structure. I don't believe in total anarchy in the classroom. I believe in some structures and guiding activities and goals. But I think that teachers should present materials as a launching point for discussion and debate, not as a chance to prove their own intelligence by condescendingly handing down the "right" answer to everything from the glorified heights of academia (that is, of course, an exaggeration of the way that most teachers operate in the classroom, but it is true that too many teachers think of students as empty vessels to be filled with the teacher's knowledge). Maybe it's my background as an English major, but I doubt the existence of a right answer. I think there are many, many right answers. And I want students to question what others perceive as reality. They should know what is expected in a workplace, but they should also know that those expectations are based on a certain view of reality, which is constantly changing. While they should know social norms, they should also understand social norms. Maybe I'm a dreamer. I don't know. But I think that it's unfortunate that Roma can't afford an education because they're impoverished and can't get jobs because they don't have an education, and all of this is based partly on the perception that they don't understand discipline, when in reality, they just don't understand the Bulgarian perception of discipline.

Meditation on cucumbers

I've arrived safely in the city of Bansko for the conference on international education followed by my orientation into Bulgarian culture. At this point, most people would describe the scenery (which is gorgeous, by the way) or the conference (which is interesting and informative but hard to get through when you're jet lagged and struggling really hard to focus), but I want to take a blogging moment to talk about the food. I love it. My roommate tends to describe it as gross hotel food, but I describe it as amazing Bulgarian food. It's like Greek, Turkish, and Russian food had a love child (try not to think about the logistics of that statement). Tonight for dinner, I had chicken Romania, pressed yogurt, shepherd's pie salad, and a delicious cake-like dessert. Chicken Romania looks like yellow curried chicken, but it tastes way better (and I LOVE curry). The pressed yogurt is mixed with various, unidentifiable ingredients that turn it into a spicy (full of spices, not hot) dish of almost pudding like consistency. I have never enjoyed yogurt more. Shepherd's pie salad is a twist on a salad that is served at every meal I've had in Bulgaria: cucumber salad. Basically, it consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, and goat cheese with a little vinegar and spices over the top. Shepherd's pie salad adds ham and boiled eggs to the mix. Some of you are fighting the urge to gag right now, and I don't care. I will proudly announce the fact that I love cucumber salad. The vegetables here are incredibly fresh and crisp and juicy. I've always liked cucumbers and tomatoes, but these take vegetables to a new plain for me. They're locally grown and completely fresh. Bulgaria doesn't bother with the chemically induced super veggies that look great but lack taste. Bulgarian veggies are both gorgeous and delicious and fresh. I was walking through town earlier with a group of people, and one of the Bulgarians reached up into a tree and pulled down fresh cherries for all of us. It was the best cherry I have ever eaten. All the food here is like that. Fresh. Local. Beautiful. My toes are aching from wearing new shoes all day, and I'm exhausted from jet lag, but I forgot everything tonight while eating my divine chicken and salad combination. I ate a completely full plate of food and had to force myself not to go get more out of fear of gaining eighty pounds during my trip. Now that I'm done eating, however, the jet lag exhaustion is setting in. So, I'll cut this blog short for now and head off to slumber. Night, friends.

Shout out to John Denver

I'm in a wedding today, and I leave tomorrow. Time is flying! But my bags are packed; I'm ready to go. There is no taxi, though. I'm driving three hours back to my parents' home tonight from Chicago after the wedding. Then, my lovely parents are waking up early to drive me the three hours to the airport back in Chicago to say goodbye to me. Partly because they love me, and partly because I don't think I can carry all my baggage by myself. :P Seriously, though, I'm going to feel like a freak if I'm the only one with two enormous suitcases, a backpack, and an abnormally large purse. Anyway, time to get pretty for the wedding. See you soon, Bulgaria!