Thursday 23 July 2015

Bulgaria Wednesday by Chiara and Charlotte

Wednesday
Today was an epic day. It was not only a day of teaching, but also exploring the town of Stara Zagora, and also getting an insight to Bulgarian culture with traditional Bulgarian dancing. 

            Kicking off the day bright and early the youth workers took us on a brief tour and treasure hunt of Stara Zagora. We were all very shocked to see the depth in culture only a few streets away from us. We were given an image of the amphitheatre we had to find and a list of questions that we had to answer via the people around the town (luckily getting the help from the translators as we’re still not fully fluent in Bulgarian). It was great to see the rich heritage combined with people’s enthusiasm for sharing the town’s culture and the brief information about it from the head of education in Stara Zagora.

         Getting use to the routine we got back to the youth centre, excited to teach the buzzing children who were eager to start the day. From it being the third day in of teaching them it was really nice to see the children still raring to go, eager to learn and enjoy themselves. The scorching sun didn’t seem to discourage them from having a great time outside, enthusiastic as ever. It couldn’t have been made more clear that the children were having fun as other children from around the park came to join in with the games we were playing, just as happy as the rest. 

Going back inside all the groups coped well the changing dynamics and lively children as new additions were made to the group. Individually from our group we gained 5 new children so it stretched our age range from 9-13 year olds. It only confirmed our liking for the children as they welcomed new people to the group and were willing to make new friends. Today really touched our hearts as we learnt more about them in the activity based around our theme of the week, seasons. We were exploring their culture of Christmas when one asked whether they could write up their Christmas wishes. We were surprised with some of the responses and were touched by sincerity shown by some of the children. With responses like “peace in the world” and most touchingly a wish to “make a lot of new friends”. This gave us a whole new perspective on the children we were teaching with finding out what they really cared about. Other groups enjoyed activities such as making animals out of plasticine and even complex algebra! 

In the afternoon we were treated to a dance lesson of learning the traditional Bulgarian folk dance. This gave us a new burst of energy at the end of the long day and kept us laughing, as we were all gradually trying to the steps right to the music. 

After having dinner we dressed up as smartly as we could and headed off to the jazz concert. We were blown away by the amphitheatre at night and by the vast number of talented musicians on stage.  With the exception of Hannah confidently clapping in a pause in the music, we fitted in well. The concert lasted for just over an hour and it seemed that everybody enjoyed it and was a fantastic way to finish the jam-packed day. We headed back to the hotel stuffing our faces with ice cream, eager to get back to our beds to sleep after the amazing activities of a very full day. 


We’ll keep you up to date with what’s going on, Chiara and Charlotte X 










11 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds like really busy days and the pictures look great. See you soon Ellen love The Adamsons

Unknown said...

Sounds like a busy but brilliant day! Great to have more children joining your groups too and sharing their experiences. Looking forward to catching up on all your news and photos on Sunday. The Woods xx

anne and peter said...

Reading you blog makes us so proud of all of you. You are an amazing group of young women and you are making a difference in this world.
We love you.
Anne , Peter and Florrie xx

Unknown said...

Really glad all is going so well. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the time in Bulgaria. Take Jim. Chris and Ian Mac :)

Unknown said...

*Take care Jim*

william said...

Wow ! You are having a very busy time, everyone looks so happy in the photos.
How brilliant that more children want to join in your activities , I am so proud of you . We are in Poole Josie and Nana and Grandad say hi ! Lots of love Mum xxxxxxxx

Unknown said...

We're looking forward to a demo of some Bulgarian dancing when you get back...!
You're doing a fantastic job - keep smiling,
Love Andy, Karen and Rosie (who still hasn't written her personal statement!!!!!)
xxx

Unknown said...

Email from Auntie Jennie:

I tried to leave a message for Lily and co, but Google decided that I was trying to hack into my own account and froze me out. Of everything. On every device. Not impressed.
So, please would you be able to post a message for me? I wrote something like this, before I was banned from my own account:

Hello Lils and co. Just to say how very proud I am of all that you are doing and the memories that you are creating for the children with whom you are working this week. I hope that you cherish every moment, as they will too.
Lots of love - and take care of yourselves and each other. AJ (Lily's Aunt/Godmother!) xxx

Thanks.
xxx

The Joneses said...

We really look forward to reading all these updates & feel very proud of all you girls (& BHHS staff also) doing such wonderful work with these children ... Lots of memories for you all to last a lifetime. Enjoy the next few days & take care.
Love & miss you loads Immie :-)
Xx

Unknown said...

Well done to all BHHS contingent. Love that you are learning from your Bulgarian hosts as well. A real exchange of knowledge and values. What life is all about! See you on Sunday, Kate! Love Mum

Avni Thomas said...

So excited to read your daily blogs, what a brilliant day you've had. That maths looked hard! Missing you loads Bela and look forward to having you home on Sunday. M,D,L x