Svinski Grip!

In case you haven't heard, the whole world is ducking under cover from the swine flu. Schools everywhere are closing, and people all over are, in general, losing their minds. In Bulgaria, as always, things are the same but different. Schools everywhere are closing, people are freaking out, but instead of complaining about the lack of vaccines (or whether vaccines should be administered, don't even get me started), people here deal with it in a bit of a different way. Almost everyone I know has holed themselves up in their house or little cement block room, refusing to come out until the threat has passed. The usual way the flu (or "grip" in Bulgarian... awesome) is dealt with is a good dose of isolation and by hurling jokes at it. In fact one tv station just called it "pianski grip" (drunken flu). That'll get 'em!

Meanwhile, the sheer numbers of people coming down with flu is staggering. The ministry of health has declared several regions within the amount needed to declare an epidemic. The others are under a "wide circulation of the virus" (and God knows what that means). As a result, many schools (including the ones in Preslav) have been shut down, including the preschool I work at, under the amazing title of "swine flu vacation." These closures are due to a rule that states schools have to close if 30% of the students don't show up. In addition, hospitals are turning away cases because they can't handle them all. At the orphanage, special rules have been put in place: can't have large gatherings of kids in one space, children should be confined to their rooms, staff is recommended to wear paper masks. This has put a little bit of a dent in the range of activities that I can do there, but we're still hanging in there. Tomorrow we'll be rebooting the life skills classes for the older kids, and since the kids can't do much else, we should actually have a good turnout (gotta look on the bright side).

Speaking of the bright side (and getting away from the grip), Halloween this year was a huuuge success... well at least in comparison to last year's, which involved bobbing for apples and costume wearing, neither of which quite went as planned. This year, the kids learned to say the phrase trick or treat in exchange for candy, and instead of costumes we did scary faces and masks. What came after was the true success though I think. After coming in possession of quite a few toothbrushes and toothpaste, I thought a bit of an educational activity could be thrown in there. The kids learned the proper way to brush their teeth, when and how, and they were actually into it! This was fantastic since the hygeine situation at the dom is for the most part appalling. It was one of those moments that made me feel really happy about what I'm doing right now. The kids are even saving the brushes!

Another high spot was the annual Halloween party in Veliko Turnovo. I went as Flo Rida, the much celebrated rapper from my much celebrated home state. I even had my own bling made from cardboard and tinfoil, which didn't quite come across, but still... Other highlights included the entire Ghostbusters squad, David the Gnome, and the cast of Mad Men. Needless to say it was a memorable time, and, to make things better, allowed many of us to avoid the grip explosion in our towns (not a big deal in Turnovo).

For now, I'll be doing what many others are doing - hiding out when I can, and trying to avoid coming down with this ridiculous virus. On the plus side, in my recollection I have never had the flu before, and I'm not planning on getting it now...

Until next time...

Veliko Turnovo

This weekend I headed out for a couple of days to Veliko Turnovo, which was possibly the most beautiful city I've been to so far in Bulgaria. It was the first time I felt as though I was in Europe (i.e. not in a former Soviet country): clean, historic, plenty to do and see. An amazing city.

Veliko Turnovo was the capitol of Bulgaria (after Preslav) until 1867. There is therefore a great amount of history and beauty there - castles, monuments, and a pretty "old town" with small winding cobblestone streets and Bulgarian revival architecture.
Tsaravets is the old fortess that housed the royal palaces, and is as close as you can get to a castle in Bulgaria. This fortified walkway is on a ridge, and you can look down at the city on either side. The building at the top of the hill is a beautiful church filled with frescoes and paintings. Inside the well preserved walls are the remains of the medeival city.

This is what remains of the old palace structure. It's now topped with a gigantic Bulgarian flag, and is surrounded by remains of the old city. You can walk along roads that have been there for over 800 years, and peek into old battlements and towers.

This weeked was also notable because I got to celebrate Halloween with a lot of the other volunteers. Everyone got dressed up and we had a good time, despite the fact that we were a day late. It was nice to have some American traditions way out here in Bulgaria. Then I got a package from home for Halloween as well the next day! All in all an amazingly great weekend.

By the way I'm loving fall. The weather's great and the leaves are changing. Hopefully it'll last a while longer...

Until next time...