Monday 19 October 2015

Bulgaria, Monday by Chloe

Today, we woke up earlier because we had to get to school to begin teaching our lessons. For breakfast we had egg, cheese, tomato, ham and bread; some of us made egg sandwiches with this too.

After breakfast and getting our belongings for our activities for the day, we set out for school in cars and taxis. Once we arrived at the school, we had a talk from the headmistress, the deputy mayor and from Helen. After the talks, we ate some bread which had been by the school children as a welcome gift.

We went inside the school and some of the children performed for us. Some sang and some danced; they were really good. After their performance, we got taken into a room with food to eat and we were shown a powerpoint about the school.

After the powerpoint we went to the sports halls ready for our games lessons to commence. In our games lesson, we stood in a circle and said our names and ages, and then we did relay races of running, jumping and hopping. The children seemed to really enjoy it.

For our second lesson, we went to a different class with different children and we asked the children to draw their favourite superhero – this could be a real hero or a made up one eg batman, superman, their mum etc. They also had to say why that person was their hero. At the end the children took it in turns to tell the class who their superhero was, so they got to practice some English speaking as well.

Our third lesson consisted of drawing around their bodies and then labeling them in English and Bulgarian. They struggled a bit at the beginning but we taught them ‘heads shoulders knees and toes’ and then they got the hang of it all more.
I think the children thoroughly enjoyed the lesson of the human body. At the end we tested the children to  see what parts they knew and they remembered a lot of body parts.

We finished at the school and set off to the youth centre where we had lunch – banana and a sandwich-type thing made of a thick pita bread with filling.

After lunch we travelled by foot to the Roma community, which was quite a walk, but it was very enjoyable. We hiked up the hill, nearly to the top and had a walk around. It was amazing but it was shocking scenery. I couldn’t believe that these people could live in the conditions they are in. They mostly use horses and carts for traveling and the houses are very poorly made by broken bricks, rubble and roof tiles that are very displaced.

The children in the area were very interested in us. They spoke to us in English and they were mesmerized about us being there.

We walked back to the youth centre and sat down inside talking about our next plan of attack tomorrow. We got invited into the dining room where we were told we were going to make bread. The lady showing how to make it and was saying we need love and emotion in making the bread. We all had fun doing the mixing and the kneading of the dough, and shaping the bread.

After the bread making we sat down in a conference room and they told us about the heritage of a bread making network which started in Bulgaria and now it is dispersing around the world. Also Keely and Mollie talked in front of everyone on why we are here and what our plans are.

After the conference we ate dinner. We ate the bread we made which was soft and fluffy. There was salad (tomato, cucumber, onion) , delicious kebab sausages, peperoni, cheese, Turkish delight and small bits of bread with sauce on. After dinner we headed back for a debrief and planning.





















10 comments:

Unknown said...

It looks like you all had a brilliant first day with the children. Sending all our love. Mum, Dad and Josh xxx

IonaTinney said...

Dear Jessica Jeffries,
I know I didn't mention you in my last comment, so this ones just for you BUBBA G. Good to see you keeping up your hair scrunchie tradition.. Laila told me you were worried about room in your suitcase so you were planning on taking one pair of underwear and doing the good old inside out, upside down trick... It's nice to see your hair scrunchies took priority ;) the blue definitely compliments the ginger...

I hope your all having an amazing time and loving every minute!
Lots of love!!!
Iona xxxxxxx

mandy said...

Hi Bulgaria team, it sounds like you have all had a really interesting day! I hope you all enjoyed meeting the children this morning, I know it was one of my highlights of Rwanda! I can't wait to hear what else you get up too!

Hello Asia, I hope your okay! I miss you but I don't wish that you were hear because I can just imagine what an amazing time your having right now! I can't wait to hear all about it when your home but for now I love you and enjoy every moment. Speak soon.
Lots of love Megan xxxxxxx

Lucy Hurst said...

Dear Laila, Jessica, Katie, Mollie mooo, Bex ETC ETC ETC
Laila advised me to only write to her, but that is because she has many an issue.
I hope you are all having a brilliant time... I wish I was there, miss the trips a lot! I also hope that Bex is continuing lovely wake up calls involving flatulents (you have to be discrete on here don't you) and that there are lots of split ends for you to pick at, because like laila.. you have many an issue too. I will keep checking the blog, see what you are all up to and source any embarrassing photos.. Jess your photo is nice, what a disappointment. Anyway, good luck with the rest of your week, enjoy teaching! Love Lucy xxxx

Unknown said...

Hey Guys,
Sounds like you've had a great day, we're sure the children love having you to play with them. It was so kind of them to make you bread, I bet it was delicious!

Looking forward to the next entry and more photos,

Love Tobi and Mum x

Unknown said...

You all looked like you were having a great day there.
And all the children must of got so much out of today,well done Amy and rest well,we look forward to seeing how you get on tomorrow.Lots of love dad and jenny and nan and grandad in clacton.xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Unknown said...

Hello Miss Katherine Maw,

Hope you're having a good time, looks like it from the photos! ..derpy as usual ;)
Hope all of your preparation has gone to plan :) Sofia looks like a good place to visit! i enjoy the architecture haha!

everything is good here! Jakey misses your face tho.. and so do i... just a tiny bit.

Stay safe, Love you lots!!

Daniel xxx
(p.s. .....Beans)

Unknown said...

Hi

Photos look fab and it sounds like you had a great day. The bread making looked fun and so does the activities with the children. I am so glad everyone is friendly as it is a great thing you are doing.
Keely a big well done for doing a talk with Mollie and your bread looked interesting... Hope you are making the mot of your time there and that the children are getting lots out of it too. Your friends are following this blog too and everyone is very proud.
Look forward to reading more blogs and seeing some more pics.

Enjoy
Lots of love Mum, dad, Ellie and Lilly. xxx

Unknown said...

Alright love. Looks like your having a good time. The kids keep asking after you and said to say that they miss you. Im looking forward to you coming home with lots of presents for me, your favourite sibling. Dean said he's looking forward to pres with you next week haha. Try and get into more photos, your hardly in any and the ginge is in loads!! Any who I shall see you when your back. Have a great time and mum has written you a message underneath. Loves xxx P.S. Dean says have you fallen down any stairs there yet ha xx


Hi Laila its mum, hope your all having a great time out there. Cant wait too see you when you get back. Lots of love xxx

Unknown said...

Great write-up Chloe, what you are all doing looks and sounds fantastic, it's great to see you're all doing so much with this opportunity that you have. Looking forward to keeping up with everything, all the best to you all...
Best wishes
Mr Chapman