Tortilla & Sauerkraut

After sharing more than three months a flat, it was time to analyze the other nationality. Of course there are thousands of negative facts about Spaniards and Germans, but we tried to find at least ten reasons why to put a German/Spaniard in your life. That was hard.


10 reasons to put a German in your life...

10 reasons why to put a (e)Spaniard in your life... 

“Se está liando" In Radetski Flat!

Varna, Bulgaria, 31st December 2013

“Radetski flat” is the place’s name of three EVS girls in Varna. Anna, Audrey and Vero. They decided to stay in Bulgaria for New Year’s Eve and they wanted to do something special and different.

By “Why Rakia’s group” in Facebook (the group of EVS Bulgaria) was possible to ask if anyone would spend that night in Bulgaria and if they would like to join us in this party. That idea started like something without a great plan, very spontaneous and, humm, yes… finished the same way! One hour before the start of the party we didn’t know how many people would come… But finally, that spontaneous idea was the best New Year’s Eve party ever!!....

Christmas in Armenia

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6^th as a major Christian religious holiday, together with the Epiphany (baptism) and attend church services in their neighborhoods. Part of the ritual is the “Blessing of Water, when water is blessed with the holy chrism symbolic of Christ’s baptism.
May be it will seem strange for people who celebrate it on 25 December, but it’s in this wayJ.

In the evening on 5 January we bring light from the church  to our houses through the candles, cover the table with special foods.

Armenia-Italy: Intercultural evening

Cooperation was the basis of many essential achievements in the history of humanity.

Veliko Tarnovo

Shumen’s Team visited Veliko Tarnovo, City of the Tsars. Here the Yantra River surrounds a sheer tree-lined gorge atop of which sits the ancient capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185 – 1396). 

After several invasions from different nations (Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs…) in 1393, the in those days named Tarnovgrad fell again, this time to the Turks, and the fortress was destroyed. The town remain fairly stagnant until Bulgarian culture and nationalism gradually reasserted itself during the mid- 19^th century. In 1877 the Russian General Gruko liberated Tarnovgrad from the Turks. Because of its importance during the II Bulgarian Empire, Veliko Tarnovo (as it was renamed) was chosen as the place to write the Bulgarian Constitution in 1879, and to officially proclaim the independent State of Bulgaria in 1908. The town is proud of its history, and educational, religious and linguistic heritage.

Glance to the future, a.k.a. why volunteering?

On my first days here in Sofia I was first of all amazed by the quantity of young people from all around Europe coming to work on a Voluntary basis. Before arriving and meeting them all, I have faced this quite sceptical attitude of people from my environment at home country. The attitude of “is this going to be of any benefit for you?” With the departure date approaching I had more and more thoughts and doubts reflecting this attitude of others. However, all of that was dispelled a soon as I saw this incredible variety of young adults ready to devote themselves for voluntary work and at the same time gain this invaluable experience.  All types of people - from recent high school graduates to nearly 30-year-olds with several master’s degrees and solid “normal” working experience.  Therefore, I feel that it is essential to emphasize, why volunteering is a right choice at any point of one’s life and how it is going to be beneficial for you (a.k.a. shut the scepticism):

Christmas and New Year’s Eve

Christmas ... like everything in life, depends on the prism through which you look. I could say it's the era of consumerism, waste, that there are only toys advertisements, or that we do not really know the meaning of Christmas...

But ... what the hell!! I like meals and family dinners, snacks with friends, street lights, holidays, parties, I like when we say a thousand of times “Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year"; I also love gifts, kisses here and there, the moments before, during and after the New Year... Moreover, I like that good aura that people have, generally speaking, this period ... and so many other things!

Dementia

Dementia is a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Affected cognitive areas can be memory, attention, language, and problem solving.

The beginning of this problem can be noticed when people do not remember what they ate in the morning, or where they left their socks. This first symptom is related to the short term memory, since they do not remember what happened minutes ago. With the pass of the time, it affects long term memory and they even forget the names of their friends, their relatives, friends...

EVS abroad. Istambul trip.

Istanbul- a metropolis bursting with life, pulsating with demonstrations, breathing with every minaret-prayer, smelling of thousand different spices and kebab shops. What better place is there to celebrate a New Year’s Eve? As a German-Italian trio we departed by bus from Sofia to Istanbul in the Night of the 30^th to the 31^st of December. There and back again for 75 Leva - that amount is even found in the budget of a volunteer. Istanbul welcomed us at 5:30 clock in the morning with shouting sellers, crazy taxi drivers and the obligatory prayers from several surrounding mosques. 

What a city! Istanbul as the new It-Metropolis of Europe?! Never! Old Turkish guys with long beards, sitting on small stools in front of their shops, drinking sweet and strong tea out of tiny glasses. Narrow alleys with shops and stalls, overloaded with sweets, spices and kitschy nonsenses. Screaming vendors of Pilav (rice), Kebab, Souvenirs, Turkish delights and pastry are at every corner. For those six days we visited the city, it presented itself very as Turkish indeed!

Snow in Kazanluk!

Winter is that kind of season that people either hate or love. In Spain there are different kinds of weather due to it is a “big” country. In the north the winter is cold, rainy and snowy but in the southern part it is not very hard, snow is really rare and the temperatures can reach between 8 and 15 centigrade as maximum.

In my case, I am from Murcia and it is situated in the south-east part of Spain; it is very close to the coast as well so it is even harder to have snow. I have never seen snow in my city but it is possible to see it far away at the top of the mountains; however, the quantity it is not that much. I went to do ski in other cities of Spain where there are high mountains, so I could see the snow on the ground but I never saw the snow falling down.

Eat. Bulgaria.

Christmas holidays and new year celebration are behind us, and it was a good time to test local Bulgarian cuisine traditions. EVS team from Rebrovo (Kristaps, Pierre, Inese and Baiba) had a wonderful chance to visit Velingrad – family of our organisation’s president Marina. Who else, but the grandmothers, are able to present local traditional cuisine, right? And I am not talking about Shopska salata or banitsa because I think we know enough about that. This time we will go a little... deeper.

Shumentime

After three months in the historical Shumen, our love for this city is always growing up. These are some of the reasons why we wouldn’t change Shumen for anything in the world...

Rally París-Shumen 

4/10/2013