Well, week 2 of teaching over and done with. I'm starting to get a feel for things, and I feel like I'm starting to hit a stride with my classes. Of course, just as this happens, things get a tad screwy.
For those of you who haven't been following Bulgarian news (i.e., probably all of you), or those of you who I haven't told (most of you), the teachers in this country are going on strike. Basically, they asked for a 100% raise (they currently get paid, on average, 25% less than the average salary in Bulgaria), and the Ministry countered with an offer of a 15% raise. Thus, we get strikes and bargaining. From what I can gather, the teachers are probably willing to settle for a 50% raise, which would put them at a little over the average monthly salary. Until then, we're having walkouts across the country.
This is where the fun starts. See, I'm not paid by the Ministry of Education. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I'm supposed to stay apolitical. Therefore, I'm not allowed to get involved in the strike at all. This means I'm expected to be at school, ready to teach, regardless of what's going on with the other teachers. In other words, I have been informed that I have to cross a picket line.
I'm terribly excited about this, let me tell you. I mean, on the one hand, the school director and the chairwoman of the strike committee both understand my position and have told me to be at school. On the other, I'm crossing a damn picket line. Not exactly a comfortable position in which to find oneself.
On an amusing sidenote, at the staff meeting where they apparently decided that they were going to strike, a roster was passed around. As I thought it was an attendance thing, I signed it. Turns out it was a list of support for the strike.
Oops.
Fortunately, I was able to get it cleared up, with no residual problems. It certainly explains some of the odd looks I got between Tuesday and yesterday, though.
Hopefully, next week won't be too weird. I suspect I'll just end up chilling with a book and some music in my classroom, as I'm not hopeful that many (if any) students will show up. We'll just have to see.
Later, flipsiders.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Lined Up And Waiting For That Next Big Set Outside
Well. One week down, second one started. It's sort of a mixed bag, at the moment. I have some classes that seem very eager to study, who ask and answer questions, etc., and I really enjoy teaching them. Other classes, I have to struggle to get them to pay attention, put up their cell phones, etc. Needless to say, I don't particularly look forward to teaching them.
Additionally, the schedule isn't set in stone, yet. This makes for some interesting times, as I thought I had a class during 5th period today, only to find that it had been moved to 6th, when another class came into the room in which I teach, letting me know that they had a class with another teacher.
This is apparently not an uncommon experience for Volunteers.
On a different note, I went up to the mountains again this weekend. This time, I went with the current Trainees on their hike to the Seven Rila Lakes (Bulgarian: Седмите Рилски Езера, Anglicized "Sedmite Rilski Ezera"). It was a lot of fun, and once again I was struck by just how amazingly beautiful this country is. There are, of course, pictures.
Starting off, just outside the lodge:
"Rugged" is a good adjective for the countryside here, I think. Also, as you can see, we were kind of hiking up into a cloud. It made things interesting.
One of the Seven Lakes. They were all amazingly clear.
There were all sorts of shots like this.
More shots of the various lakes:
At this point, the hike took a sharp turn upwards (into and past the clouds).
At the top:
Yours truly:
A cloudscape panorama:
Me again:
More lake shots:
Someone made some rock loungers. Perhaps this is what Blizzard meant when they talked about Frozen Throne™?
Couple more shots from the top:
The clouds rolled in, obscuring a really awesome shot of the lakes flowing into each other, so here's a little rainbow instead:
On the way down:
All told, it was about 4 1/2 hours round-trip from the lodge to the lakes and back. It was an awesome time, and hanging out with the new trainees and some other Volunteers who went was also really cool (there were 50 people in the group, total).
On Sunday, we went to the waterfall I went to last time. Due to battery issues, there are no pictures of that this time. What was interesting was that there were already icicles forming at the top of the waterfall, and there was some ice on the rocks leading up to the falls, as well.
Later, flipsiders.
Additionally, the schedule isn't set in stone, yet. This makes for some interesting times, as I thought I had a class during 5th period today, only to find that it had been moved to 6th, when another class came into the room in which I teach, letting me know that they had a class with another teacher.
This is apparently not an uncommon experience for Volunteers.
On a different note, I went up to the mountains again this weekend. This time, I went with the current Trainees on their hike to the Seven Rila Lakes (Bulgarian: Седмите Рилски Езера, Anglicized "Sedmite Rilski Ezera"). It was a lot of fun, and once again I was struck by just how amazingly beautiful this country is. There are, of course, pictures.
Starting off, just outside the lodge:
"Rugged" is a good adjective for the countryside here, I think. Also, as you can see, we were kind of hiking up into a cloud. It made things interesting.
One of the Seven Lakes. They were all amazingly clear.
There were all sorts of shots like this.
More shots of the various lakes:
At this point, the hike took a sharp turn upwards (into and past the clouds).
At the top:
Yours truly:
A cloudscape panorama:
Me again:
More lake shots:
Someone made some rock loungers. Perhaps this is what Blizzard meant when they talked about Frozen Throne™?
Couple more shots from the top:
The clouds rolled in, obscuring a really awesome shot of the lakes flowing into each other, so here's a little rainbow instead:
On the way down:
All told, it was about 4 1/2 hours round-trip from the lodge to the lakes and back. It was an awesome time, and hanging out with the new trainees and some other Volunteers who went was also really cool (there were 50 people in the group, total).
On Sunday, we went to the waterfall I went to last time. Due to battery issues, there are no pictures of that this time. What was interesting was that there were already icicles forming at the top of the waterfall, and there was some ice on the rocks leading up to the falls, as well.
Later, flipsiders.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Who Told You Dreamers Are Never Achievers?
Second official day of work today - just meetings, at the moment. Classes don't start until the 15th, so at this point we mostly sit around in a miniature reading-room-type place and drink coffee and smoke (well, my colleagues do). It's not so bad, as long as I sit near a window.
Anyway, today I found that there was a copy of Fahrenheit 451 in there. As I'd never read it before, I took the opportunity to do so. It's a really fantastic book. There was one bit, in particular, towards the end that resonated with me:
"'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said. 'Live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.'"
-Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
For me, that really sums things up nicely. We spend so much time inside our little box, our little private universe of neuroses and stultifying certainty that we never step outside to see that the world is actually a surreal place of wonder and amazement. We never wake up and think about the small everyday miracles that make up our life, the mind-boggling strangeness our species has wrought upon the planet.
Imagine, if you will, trying to explain the internet to the average Joe from the 1950s. Hell, even as recently as the late 1970s you'd get glazed looks in a matter of minutes. And the neverending press of forward progress continues headlong. In 30 years, imagine trying to explain dial-up modems to kids who might not even remember what corded phones are. And that's all on the technological level. I'm not even delving into the unadulterated weirdness that is the natural world.
Myriad forms, perfect natural geometries and symmetries, windswept LSD-shapes carved in the rock, it's all there. All of our dreams, all of our nightmares, our inspiration and our demons, lurking on this beautiful, fragile planet we call home. It shapes us, makes us, even as we strive to master it and reshape it in our own image. We swarm across its surface, busily wrapped in our little shells of meat and bone, forcing ourselves into obliviousness as to the wonder of it all, lest we be struck dumb with awe at the fragile majesty and overwhelming power of the world around us. We barely take time to appreciate the cultures that we ourselves create in response to the environment that contains us.
And all of the strangeness and wonder that surrounds us goes unnoticed as a defense mechanism. Who could hope to do anything if you actually thought about the vastness of our planet? I mean, the jungles alone are pure madness, to say nothing of things found underwater. Creatures that can swallow you whole? Essentially kill you with a thought (via sonar)? The world is such a strange, frightful place that all we can do is compartmentalize it and shove it to the backs of our minds, and maybe allow ourselves a peek now and again at the wonder of it all.
I suppose that's really the point of the quote. Don't take anything for granted, just because it's there. Enjoy the opportunities you have and make your own when you can. Really, life is there to be lived, enjoyed, exulted in. Taken by the throat. There really is more to see, to do, to learn than can possibly be done in a lifetime. So, enjoy the journey. Take time to appreciate the things around you, to open your mind to the possibilities. After all, no matter how old or young you are, you have your whole life ahead of you.
Later, flipsiders.
Anyway, today I found that there was a copy of Fahrenheit 451 in there. As I'd never read it before, I took the opportunity to do so. It's a really fantastic book. There was one bit, in particular, towards the end that resonated with me:
"'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said. 'Live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.'"
-Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
For me, that really sums things up nicely. We spend so much time inside our little box, our little private universe of neuroses and stultifying certainty that we never step outside to see that the world is actually a surreal place of wonder and amazement. We never wake up and think about the small everyday miracles that make up our life, the mind-boggling strangeness our species has wrought upon the planet.
Imagine, if you will, trying to explain the internet to the average Joe from the 1950s. Hell, even as recently as the late 1970s you'd get glazed looks in a matter of minutes. And the neverending press of forward progress continues headlong. In 30 years, imagine trying to explain dial-up modems to kids who might not even remember what corded phones are. And that's all on the technological level. I'm not even delving into the unadulterated weirdness that is the natural world.
Myriad forms, perfect natural geometries and symmetries, windswept LSD-shapes carved in the rock, it's all there. All of our dreams, all of our nightmares, our inspiration and our demons, lurking on this beautiful, fragile planet we call home. It shapes us, makes us, even as we strive to master it and reshape it in our own image. We swarm across its surface, busily wrapped in our little shells of meat and bone, forcing ourselves into obliviousness as to the wonder of it all, lest we be struck dumb with awe at the fragile majesty and overwhelming power of the world around us. We barely take time to appreciate the cultures that we ourselves create in response to the environment that contains us.
And all of the strangeness and wonder that surrounds us goes unnoticed as a defense mechanism. Who could hope to do anything if you actually thought about the vastness of our planet? I mean, the jungles alone are pure madness, to say nothing of things found underwater. Creatures that can swallow you whole? Essentially kill you with a thought (via sonar)? The world is such a strange, frightful place that all we can do is compartmentalize it and shove it to the backs of our minds, and maybe allow ourselves a peek now and again at the wonder of it all.
I suppose that's really the point of the quote. Don't take anything for granted, just because it's there. Enjoy the opportunities you have and make your own when you can. Really, life is there to be lived, enjoyed, exulted in. Taken by the throat. There really is more to see, to do, to learn than can possibly be done in a lifetime. So, enjoy the journey. Take time to appreciate the things around you, to open your mind to the possibilities. After all, no matter how old or young you are, you have your whole life ahead of you.
Later, flipsiders.
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