March 3, 2005: Headlines: COS - Bulgaria: Enviromental Sciences: Primary Education: The Concorde Journal: Lise Holdorf joined the Peace Corps in August 2003, and was assigned to assist in an environmental sciences program in a primary school in Burgas, Bulgaria, after intensive language training. Her tour of duty will be completed in October 2005.

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Bulgaria: Peace Corps Bulgaria: The Peace Corps in Bulgaria: March 3, 2005: Headlines: COS - Bulgaria: Enviromental Sciences: Primary Education: The Concorde Journal: Lise Holdorf joined the Peace Corps in August 2003, and was assigned to assist in an environmental sciences program in a primary school in Burgas, Bulgaria, after intensive language training. Her tour of duty will be completed in October 2005.

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-123-27.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.123.27) on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 9:43 pm: Edit Post

Lise Holdorf joined the Peace Corps in August 2003, and was assigned to assist in an environmental sciences program in a primary school in Burgas, Bulgaria, after intensive language training. Her tour of duty will be completed in October 2005.

Lise Holdorf joined the Peace Corps in August 2003, and was assigned to assist in an environmental sciences program in a primary school in Burgas, Bulgaria, after intensive language training. Her tour of duty will be completed in October 2005.

Lise Holdorf joined the Peace Corps in August 2003, and was assigned to assist in an environmental sciences program in a primary school in Burgas, Bulgaria, after intensive language training. Her tour of duty will be completed in October 2005.

CCHS grad shares her Peace Corps experience

By Lise Holdorf

Thursday, March 3, 2005

President Kennedy signed the law founding the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961, and this week marks its 44th Anniversary. It continues to be a vibrant program for both volunteers and host countries. Current members were asked to write about their experiences for their local newspapers. Lise Holdorf graduated from Concord-Carlisle Regional High School in 1998 and from Stanford University in 2002. She joined the Peace Corps in August 2003, and was assigned to assist in an environmental sciences program in a primary school in Burgas, Bulgaria, after intensive language training. Her tour of duty will be completed in October 2005.

Irena grabs my arm and pulls me out of my chair at the dinner table. " Haide!" she urges. Come on. We are in a packed and smoky basement restaurant and the band has just begun to play traditional Bulgarian dance music. Within seconds, half the tables are emptied of their occupants and a line of us join hands and begin to dance the horo, weaving and bouncing our way through the narrow spaces between tables.

Conversation has temporarily been suspended, and as I settle into the syncopated rhythm of the dance, I let my mind wander. When I applied to the Peace Corps over two years ago, I never quite envisioned such a scene. I had expected that I would be isolated in a village in Africa without electricity, possibly suffering from intestinal parasites for two years. Instead, I packed my bags for Bulgaria in August of 2003 unsure of what my new life in the Balkans would entail.

My assignment turned out to be in the port city of Burgas on the Black Sea coast, working on environmental education at Mihail Lakatnick Primary School. The school itself is housed in a bland Communist-era cement block building with a weedy patch of pavement for a playground. Bulgarian schools are under-funded and can be pretty gloomy places, but the dedicated staff and parents of students at Mihail Lakatnick have put in every effort to make up for the lack of resources. Their commitment to providing a quality education for the students reminds me of my own experience with the school system in Concord. Still, with the average Bulgarian making about $135 a month, the community can afford to give little beyond their free time and labor to provide for materials and upkeep of the school.

When I first began working at the school, every day was filled with frustration. My role at work was unclear and I felt unable to communicate my ideas or my feelings with ease. But in spite of having the language skills of a 4-year-old, I felt at least that I was an object of interest. My colleagues were always inviting me for coffee and trying to "corrupt" me with cigarettes and slang expressions. When I sat in on classes, students would persistently whisper questions about my family, my home town, and my favorite soccer team as they passed me cards they had drawn for me while their teacher wasn't looking.

Gradually, my language improved and I began to find my place. I now teach an extra-curricular ecology class as well as a few English classes. Most of my time, however, is spent working on a Peace Corps funded project to put together a book of environmental lesson plans and fact sheets in Bulgarian for primary school teachers across Burgas. In a country where some people still dump trash out of their apartment windows, environmental education is a somewhat novel idea.

Thirty minutes and three dances later I am finally allowed to sit down to rest. Georgi, another colleague, soon notices my empty glass from across the table and stealthily reaches under his seat for his bottle of homemade rakia. Bulgarians like to tell Americans that rakia is just like whiskey, though personally I think it has more in common with rocket fuel.

We click glasses and then Georgi asks me if we have rakia in America. Doing my best Bulgarian impression, I click my tongue and nod, meaning "no." I've heard this question and its variants (Do you have Bulgarian cheese? Do you dance the horo? Do you celebrate this holiday?, etc.) hundreds of times. These questions are sometimes rooted in curiosity, but more often than not, the questioner already knows the answer. It's really more of a proud statement, as if to say "We may not be as rich as people in your country, but look at these wonderful things we have that you don't."

Indeed, evenings like this remind me that I'm living in a unique and distinct place. It's not just the tangible things like food and dress that strike me, but it's the less tangible customs as well: the way Bulgarians linger and talk over dinner for hours; the way strangers in a train compartment will strike up a conversation and later part like old friends; or the passionate way Bulgarians express their opinions on the economy and government corruption, yelling angrily one minute and laughing from the gut the next.

But it's the generosity towards friends and guests that strikes me most. It doesn't matter so muchwhat you give, because it's the act of giving that's important. I'm continually surprised by it, whether it's a guesthouse owner foisting jars of homemade preserves on me, the woman at the local store slipping a candy bar in my shopping bag, or Irena insisting that she pay for everyone's meal tonight, in spite of her meager teacher's salary.

We finally leave the restaurant around one in the morning. Irena links her arm in mine and asks if I miss home. I tell her I do, but that I'll miss Bulgaria too when I leave.

"When you go back, will you say nice things about us?" she asks.

"Of course!" I sputter.

She laughs. "You're not going back. You're going to marry a Bulgarian and stay here!"

Note: If you have unused educational computer CDs, simple English language books, art supplies, sports equipment, computer headphones, or a used laptop computer and would be willing to donate them to Mihail Lakatnick Primary School, e-mail Lise Holdorf at liseholdorf@yahoo.com with any questions.





When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

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Story Source: The Concorde Journal

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Bulgaria; Enviromental Sciences; Primary Education

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