Changes in Bulgaria

It has been about a year now since I left Bulgaria to study in Norway.  There have been many changes in Bulgaria in that year.  One of them is that the Bulgarian people are taking a stand against the corruption happening in their government.  In February this year (2013), the protests became so strong that the government resigned.  This meant new elections on May 12^th for a new government. 

This article titled ‘What’s happening in Bulgaria’ gives you an idea of what’s going on in Bulgaria.  It was shared by some of my Bulgarian friends and Peace Corps volunteers on Facebook.  https://medium.com/better-humans/d289c6e1392

The sun is back!!!

Today was the first day I have seen the sun since the start of December!!!  The official ‘Sun’ day that the sun was supposed to come over the mountains was January 21^st..over 1.5 weeks ago..the sky was lighter, but the sun never came up over the mountains here..until now!

..so..since I am hoping to work over the summer in Norway, I’ve been trying to step up my Norwegian language learning.  Some of the Norwegians in our class have been hosting ‘Norwegian café’..where we can only speak in Norwegian.  Next week, I will start teaching an after-school English program for students 9-13 years.  The younger students have only had one year of English classes..but I think this will work to my benefit, as I will have to learn enough Norwegian..it makes teaching easier

Here is the Norwegian word for the day – og siste.  My Bosu aerobics instructor always says it, and it sounds like ‘ohhhh sistah’..and for the longest time I thought it meant great or good job or something like that..and when she says it, it sounds kinda like she’s saying sister..so, I asked my friend during class today what it mean – it means, ‘and the last one’…

Yesterday, I had the biggest smile..my oldest student from when I taught English in Bulgaria is Geno.  Geno is 81 or 82 years.  For Christmas I sent postcards to my Bulgarian friends that I could find addresses for.  I sent one to Geno..and he sent one back.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him to write my address in English..but it made it here!  Here is a pic of Geno J

Waiting on the bus..

Soo..as you can imagine we have had quite a bit of snow..actually more ice than snow..until lately!  A group of us were waiting for 20+ minutes for the bus the other night..and then it just drove right past us without stopping..the next day, we found out why..

I here lots of grumbling about the new bus drivers..imported from Southern Norway, from Oslo..because the municipality felt that the local bus drivers were getting paid too much.  Unfortunately prices have been hiked up, buses are later than ever..and as you can see from the video below, they haven't yet learned how to drive in this weather.

It was good to see snow tires on the buses in the following days..

Oh..and this is not my video..I borrowed it from a Facebook contact..but that is the bus I take..#20

Northern lights

I just saw the Northern Lights walking home from University..I didn't have my camera.  There was like a dark green gleaming over the mountains, and it looked like a piece of Superman's emerald kryptonite glowing in the center of the sky!

Welcome..

Welcome - As a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), I maintained a blog so that friends, family, and anyone interested could learn more about Bulgaria, and my experiences there.

Now I live in the Arctic Circle (69 degrees latitude) in Norway on an island named Tromsø.  According to VisitNorway.com it has a population of approximately 68,000.

I attend the University of Tromsø (UiT) аs an International student (about 10% of the student population which is ~ 6,500).  I study in the Master's Program for Peace and Conflict Transformation at the Center for Peace Studies.  Our class is a diverse group; including students from Kyrgystan, Pakistan, Bangladehs, Nepal, Japan, Spain, Germany, Russia, and others.

Our first semester is the most intense semester, with a new lecturer each week..and lots of reading for comprehension on each of their topics.

Additionally, I am now the Treasurer of the local chapter of SAIH - they help promote peace education and democracy in other countries.  Their campaign this year is to help students who have been expelled for being politically active come to Norway to finish their studies.

..and the Public Relations officer for the International Student Union.

for these reasons, and more..I will most likely not have a chance to update this blog until after semester exams.

..but, what I will do is post pictures with labels, so that you can also get a glimpse of Northern Norway..so, if you click here, you will find albums of pictures (and many pictures from my summer travels and last couple months in Bulgaria).  Below, you can find a few of the pics from Norway :)  Enjoy!

Oh..and, for all my good friends around the world - if I haven't talked with you recently - I lost both my cellphone with everyone's phone numbers, and my address book with everyone's address..so, if you haven't heard from me or received a postcard..that is the reason :(

I love hearing from you'all - be it by FaceBook, E-mail, Snail mail (ask me for my address), or a post to me on my blog (make sure to write your name because posts come to me as anonymous usually), or by phone (I still have my wonderful MagicJack).

These pics are from the city center of Tromsø

 This one is from the Fall Gathering for SAIH in Oslo

These are from hikes - if you look the photo albums they're labelled

Here was our Number 1 International team in the Field hockey cup!  Team Mikel!

..and a few pics from our weekend in Finnkroken