Bulgaria, final blog

Today’s activities included a tour of the Roman remains of old Stara Zagora, a visit to the local museum, and time to shop and ‘mooch’! Then, the bus back to Sofia ready for the flight home tomorrow.

So, to make the blog a bit longer, here are final thoughts from everyone on the trip:

Laila: Eye-opening and inspiring, the trip has been everything I was expecting and more. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work in Bulgaria and the experiences I have had will definitely stay with me for life.

Jess:  From start to end, Bulgaria has been amazing. I have faced new challenges every day and gained lots of experience teaching children.  I owe CRED a massive thank you for this life changing experience.

Carly: This trip has been incredible from the moment we started all the way till the last day! From working in a primary school in England to the primary school that we have been working in it was completely different to what I thought. Thank you to CRED for a fantastic opportunity that I will never forget.

Amy: From day one this trip has been truly amazing! I have enjoyed meeting many new people and getting to know the area we’ve been staying. I can’t thank CRED enough for giving me this amazing opportunity to come to Bulgaria and giving me an experience that I will never forget.

Mollie: This trip has been so different to previous ones. With changes every day we were challenged in thinking on the spot and improvising often. This has helped the team develop as a group and as individuals. Cred have once again been fantastic in organising and putting everything together to make this trip the best it could have been.  I have enjoyed working with the team and everyone we met in Bulgaria, it has truly been inCREDible, and something I’ll never forget. 

Rob: In previous years I have worked with several different children, in the UK, but these ones were truly inspirational. I have loved to work with the children at the school and the youth centre. Also, I have learnt new things and also how they live and work/study in Stara Zagora. This trip will change my looking at things for ever. I have loved to organise, fundraise and help the kids in Bulgaria to learn and achieve more. I will always remember this trip and I would recommend anyone thinking about future trips with CRED or would like to help then to do so because it will also change your life forever. I will never forget this trip. Once in a life time opportunity.

Asia: From the start of this trip I could tell it was going to be good but now I have been on this trip I can tell you it has been absolutely amazing. Thanks to CRED I would have never had this brilliant experience that I am so grateful to be given. The one thing that I have been taught is from a boy I have worked with he told me to always to smile even if you are having a bad day because you don’t know what you have until its gone. This is so true.  I will always remember this trip until the day I die- thank you to everyone who made it happen! 

Beca; Through-out this trip I have become friends with so many different people, seen so many different sights and been a part of loads of crazy exciting activities – one of them would be working at the primary school, Georgi Bakalov, to the children within there, regardless of their backgrounds, they have made my trip they have taught me many things that I will never experience again. I send many thanks out to the CRED Foundation for allowing me this opportunity, thank you to Gancho and all of his team, and lastly to Bex and Helen for helping and guiding me throughout this project. Bulgaria – in my heart forever and always.

Chloe: I have loved every moment in Bulgaria. It has been quite an experience for me as I am not a very confident or talkative person when it comes to new people; especially people who don’t speak English. If I had the opportunity I would defiantly come back to do everything again. I have met a lot of extraordinary people who I will miss.I will take back confidence, better communication skills and to smile no matter what.Thank you Bex and Helen for everything and to all the team for making my experience on point and it was an amazing adventure.

Taylor: This trip has been completely different to anything else that I have done in all of my life and it is something that will always be a part of me. It has been an incredible experience that has renewed my passion for what I love doing and what I want to carry on doing as I go through my life, helping others at home or the other side of the world. It has been a week of firsts for everyone, me included but it is something that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I have loved working with everyone involved and I know I have formed life-long friendships with pretty much everyone I have come into contact with this week.

Keely: This trip has been an absolutely amazing experience, I have loved every moment of it. I am so grateful to have been able to do this as I am going to take so many things away from this trip! I have loved working with the children and finding out about them and how different their life is to mine. I have met some amazing people and made some great memories which will last a lifetime. I have learnt so much from the kids and I am so inspired by each and every one of them. Thank you so much to Bex, Helen, CRED and everyone who made this trip happen and giving me this opportunity that I will never forget.

Katie: It’s quite hard to put into words exactly how inspiring the last 7 days have been for me, Bulgaria has reminded me to always be thankful for everything you have, it is the little things that can make a big difference. I’m so proud of my little team and what they have achieved, and extremely grateful for the work of the CRED Foundation and their partners in Bulgaria. Until next time!

Rebekah: having completed numerous trips to Africa, the excitement of a new challenge did not disappoint. An awe inspiring week, not just the beautiful children and staff we worked alongside but also my amazing team. Having worked closely with you all for a year it was a delight to see your dreams of Bulgaria come true. Big shout out to the Grannies of the group who supported me throughout Laila, Jess, Katie and Beca and of course Cred and Helen for giving the students the opportunity in the first place.

Helen: what a trip, what a team! Talk about flexible and adaptable – this team surpassed themselves in their ability to cope with whatever unexpected situations were thrown at them, and to make the most of it. Whether it was discovering that they had to teach kindergarten rather than 15 year olds, or suddenly being asked to do an extra lesson, they took it all in their stride and excelled.

I have been SO impressed with each and every one of the team and their willingness to step outside of their comfort zones for the benefit of others, and you as family and friends should be extremely proud of all that they have achieved.

My thanks go to Rebekah Cummings – cohort leader extraordinaire for all the time, energy, belief and love that she has put into this team before and during this trip.

And my thanks go to each of the team, for their unique and very special contributions to this trip. It has been absolute delight to lead this team, and to watch them each grow and flourish into a remarkable person.

Wishing you all happy reunions tomorrow, and my thanks to you for allowing me the privilege of leading your loved ones on CRED Team Bulgaria.em=