Well Saturday was our first day of the school year....it was a trade off day for the previous week when businesses were closed on Friday from the national holiday on Thursday, but I don't get how that affected a school year that had yet to commence, yet there are A LOT of things here I don't get!
Anyway, I got up and at 9 walked down the street, just 2 houses down where the High School is, for all the celebration for the first day. All of the kids meet their new teachers and they give them all roses or some kind of flower, real or fake. Then, when I happened to show, they were all standing around respectively within their classes, and were all waiting for performances. So, I walked up through the gate entranced, found a nice spot on the side so I could see everything and everyone who walked by, students and teachers. It was good....i was a little nervous being around EVERYONE at one time since June/early July, but it was good, and it was great to see the kids again!! SO, follow up on my last bit, there is no strike apparently, or they already did what they decided to do, that being delaying the celebration on Saturday i think and wearing ribbons. I still don't know for sure what all they were up in arms about but pretty sure and would put money on it, that it was related to salaries and/or benefits.
Well towards the end after a group performed with their musical recorders and another group of boys did their usual break dance routine, a couple of the teachers from the elementary school ambushed me with their flowers. Since I didn't take them when they said I could have some, they decided to force them upon me! haha. Right about that time, Kate, the volunteer who works at the school for the deaf which is just 4 blocks away, showed up. She said that our school was like a real party/fiesta celebration compared to what went on at her school. She happened to get some pictures, those are the one I included. The pictures at the top are my school and the one at the bottom is a picture of some of the kids from her school. Like night and day, behavior wise.
So, come Monday I got up and went to the "small school" aka elementary school (we call it малко училище, small school) to see the teachers, see the kids and find out some of the teachers class schedules. I showed up and there weren't really any kids in the school yard like usual, and then when i walked up and said hi to one of the cleaning ladies, she said how she's not good, that she's tired b/c of all the cleaning work going on in the school and she told me how dirty everything is. HA she was right. i walked up stairs and there were some kids there and they were all helping the teachers clean desks, and bookshelves, etc. It was crazy. It's all from the remodeling that had started JUST right before school and is STILL finishing!!! SO, there have been no classes so far. The remodeling is great, b/c they are getting new windows and new heaters, which were both so desperately needed!!! So, my mindset of going and getting down to business was immediately HALTED and i had to take a step back mentally and just sit and socialize with the teachers basically. After I could only take so much of that, i then walked over to the "big school"(голямо училище) to make some ground there. That school is also in a disarray but not as bad! The whole 3rd floor apparently is not being used due to the construction of the new roof (much needed!). They also got new windows throughout the school, but work was started there first, so they're all holding classes, even without the 3rd floor being used. It's all just crazy. Anyway, that was my first day.
Today, was better. I went to the big school found the eng. teacher got her schedule, then headed to the small school. I chit chated with one teacher about work ideas and what not. I then went and found in the neighborhood this soccer coach who works at an NGO by the big school, to talk to him about some of his players we are trying to get back into school. After that I headed back to the big school to sit in a 5th grade eng class. That was great actually b/c the 5th graders are all 4th graders that I worked with at the 4th grade. It was great to see them and see how excited they were to be at the big school....except when they're in their eng class when the teacher does nothing engaging and makes them write a language they barely can pronounce much less write. It's really actually frustrating and difficult for me to sit in the class in regards to that aspect!
When i was leaving i ran into all my older 10, 11, and 12 graders! They all asked when we'd have class again and then a couple from my summer camp asked to go to cafe, i said of course, so that's the plan tomorrow, for me to go back and talk to them about times and days and to go and just hang out at a cafe. Now, that's work!! :) That's the part of being YD (Youth Development) that we get razed on from other programs, that just going to cafe's and hangin out with kids and playing sports and games is our work, haha :)
So, things are back to being more upbeat! I'm trying to do a lot of brainstorming and trying to make connections needed to do some things. Went to the pazar in the center today to see if I could buy some more okra this week and the lady didn't have any!! I happened across them last week, bought literally 7 pods and she gave them to me free (i wanted to feel it out first before i bought a ton) and they tasted great. Bought cornmeal this week instead of flour to cook them in and was all pumped and, ohhhh, let down! oh well, sauteed up a mix of veggies in soy sauce instead! mmm, mmm :)
pics: first 3 my school and the kids ... before and after the "celebration" performances and dances they had music playin and the kids afterwards were just hangin out dancin around, it was funny. They LOVE music and to dance! The pic of the kids standing around a roped off area was a shot of trying to get the break dancers...they're to the right wearing black and white. pretty sure their outfits were made by the girls who take the sewing classes. The last is one pic that kate got of her kids at her school before walking to ming.
Sorry if I ramble or get too caught up in details and makes too long, it's a habit of mine! ;)
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