Mobility 4 in Veliko Tarnovo: Blog



Blog in Bulgarian

Monday

On Monday, we were overwhelmed at the Bulgarians' hospitality as they presented us with musical performances and interesting speeches. We were very impressed at the musical talent conveyed by Emilyan Stanev's pupils, from a skilled violinist to young children - already masters of the accordion. We received presentations on Veliko Tarnovo's intriguing history which we all enjoyed. We then experienced our first workshops, and our excitement could definitely show!

   

   

Our first workshop was pendant painting, and our expectation of an excellent workshop was met and exceeded. Our instructor, who made us feel very welcome, supplied us with plastic pendants, glass paint, templates and relief paint - to create raised borders for us to paint.
We designed six patterns for our pendants, and then chose which ones were our favourites. We were jealous of the others countries designs, as their work was like that of a professional! We then used the relief paint to trace our designs from the templates to the plastic pendant, which proved tricky... Some of our 'attempts' were not as great as we had hoped. We then continued to paint the glass with bright, translucent glass paint, which was very fun, and not only we enjoyed it, but our Romanian and Slovenian friends loved it too.

   

After our workshop a group of us walked to the local mall, and spent the night shopping - surprise, surprise, the girls loved it! Amidst our veteran shopping, we ate at the pizzeria and enjoyed the fine cuisine offered by the restaurant EGO. Our Bulgarian partners bought us a lovely meal, allowing us to bond over pizza and soft drinks. We also encountered a corn shop, which we marvelled at. Not something you regularly see in Ayr! Many of us bought corn, and found it delicious. After a night of good food and laughter we headed home - for a second dinner! We thoroughly enjoyed our first day in Bulgaria, from the presentations from our partner students to the workshops we experienced together. Our first day was only the beginning of all the fun we had yet to experience!


Amy and Grania

Tuesday

The morning started off bright and sunny which was perfect for our first activity of the day. We all met at a square beside the Mother Bulgaria Monument, and then separated into two groups. In my case I was in group 1 which was followed by a dog until halfway through our visit as we walked around the town. We saw the older parts of the town which also gave everyone an opportunity to go buy some souvenirs. In the souvenir shops there were usually lots of rose oil which is a traditional Bulgarian fragrance. There were also a variety of fridge magnets, Turkish delight and different types of pottery. After having a break we continued our walk through Veliko Tarnovo, seeing some of the local sites such as Tsarevets Fortress, Gurko Street and the monument to the Tsar Liberator. Overall, I found the experience rewarding as it showed all the different aspects of Veliko Tarnovo and let me learn many different facts about Bulgaria. Afterwards we walked back to the meeting point and went to a medieval-themed restaurant that was located underground. For the starter we were given soup with mushrooms and rice. The main course for vegetarians was an omelette with pieces of sliced up tomato and the other main was pork in a sauce with mashed potatoes. The dessert was a cake that seemed to have been soaked in some sweet juice topped with cream which I found nice but very sweet.


   
   

In the afternoon we returned to the school to continue with our Art Nouveau-themed workshops. I was in the graphic design group where we worked with graphics tablets on Photoshop. The aim was to create six decorative icons featuring the name of our country, in my case Scotland, and some Art Nouveau-style motifs. Each icon was to have the same basic design but a different gradient mask which gave them a wide range of colours. These were printed out and are going to be arranged in 2x3 grid patterns. Overall, I enjoyed this activity as I have never used a graphics tablet before and I had little experience with photoshop.

By Matthew and Hélène

   


Wednesday

Wednesday proved to be an extremely interesting day. It was a sunny 24 degrees when we arrived in the town of Ruse located two hours from Veliko Tarnovo , a welcome change from the wind and rain of Scotland.
While visiting the Museum of Urban Life, we had the opportunity to see the river Danube and even over to the river banks of Romania which proved to be amusing to some of the Romanians in the group. We were then told of a very sweet legend about a Turkish general who fell in love with a beautiful Persian lady, so much so that he built her own house next to the river. This romantic legend was a nice change from previous stories we had been told about oppression, uprisings and violent Turkish rule.

   

We then drove into the centre of town for an hour and a quarter's walk around Ruse, where we were shown beautiful Neo-Baroque, Neo-Classical, and Secession buildings.
   
Our guides gave us a good insight into the various Art-Nouveau styles present in the buildings even though many of the intricate facades were in a state of disrepair. We also had some free time to roam around the town centre however many of us sought shelter in the shade to prevent sunburn. Despite our best efforts some of us still ended up with red faces and arms which made us regret not packing the sun cream. Naturally, the Scots were the only ones to burn throughout the whole trip.
The next stop on our trip was to the Rock Hewn churches of Ivanovo. These were small rooms carved into sheer rock faces where people could come to leave coins and make a wish or write a short message and leave it within cracks in the rock. For many of us, this was something we had never seen before and so were awestruck at the idea of Churches carved into rock and the simple beauty of the place.
   
Our final stop was a small monastery also carved into the face of a rock cliff which could only be accessed by climbing up forest stairs. However the views that awaited us at the top were well worth the climb. Incredible panoramic views of the surrounding hills and cliffs made for an excellent photo opportunity! Inside the monastery itself there was only one large room with faded paintings on the walls and ceiling yet somehow they displayed a certain beauty and rustic charm which only added to the simple beauty we had seen in the churches earlier that day.
   
Spending time outside the workshops helped us to form closer bonds with our fellow exchange partners which, after all, is one of the main perks of taking part in exchange programmes with other countries. The visit to Ruse was definitely a highlight and showed us that not everything must be overstated to be beautiful.

Anastasia and Jacqui

Thursday

This morning we went to a workshop. It was called "Ex Libris". It involved us making a personal book plate using lino cutting. We found it difficult while still enjoyable, it was hard to cut to our original designs, the lino was much more solid than we had expected.

   
For lunch we returned to tbe Bolyari Restaurant, where we encountered fried cheese for the first time. It was surprisingly good.
 
The second workshop of the day involved us painting over a photo of a Bulgarian building in an Art Nouveau style.

After the workshop, we had some free time, so we went for a walk around the town for ice cream. There were some Scottish, French and some German students.
At 5 o'clock, we all met at school again for a multicultural evening. Some people chose to change into nicer outfits and that gave us an insight into the different cultures and their idea of what to wear to a party. The party started off by eating some of the traditional Bulgarian food that all of the hosts had made. This gave us a chance to try some different foods and experience the culture. Every country then demonstrated 3 traditional dances and invited everyone to join in. Everyone had different opinions of the evening but overall people had a good time.
   

Amy and Emily

Friday

After we finished our final workshop on Friday, we decided that we would go to the park with our Bulgarian exchange partners before leaving. We had also invited two girls from France, Emilie and Eloise. At 12 o'clock we ambled down the pavement to the bus stop near the school, chatting the entire way. Over the time we spent in Bulgaria we made many new friends from different nationalities, Emilie and Eloise being two of them.
As we approached the bus stop, we were given one lev by our exchange partners, even though we insisted on paying ourselves. They were very, very kind. We boarded the bus, completely involved in the conversation, talking about upcoming exams and the difference between Bulgaria and our home countries. We paid for our tickets and almost fell over when the bus started, then stood up, laughing.
After we got off the bus, we stopped off at Aladdin Foods for something to eat. I had a traditional Bulgarian wrap filled with meat, fried potatoes and salad with mayonnaise and another sauce on top. Amy, Ayesha and Eloise ordered a pizza which turned out larger than expected, so we all had to share. We had become a close group of friends. We had made some friends we hope to keep for life. At this point, Jacqui and Anastasia came with their exchange partners and some Germans and Slovenian students. After eating, we all decided we would walk together to the park. The park was on a hill so we had to climb a dozen stairs. The view at the top was worth it though.

After our long trek, we all collapsed at the top of the hill at the park before taking over the park, climbing on the climbing frame and taking turns to push each other on the swings and round-about. As the park was empty, nobody had any shame in playing in an under-12s park!
As we started coming off the swings in the park we proceeded to look at the breath-taking views of Bulgaria. The lush green forests as well as clear blue skies, looking down to vibrant flowers dotted in the grass. This was followed by a long period of selfies together as one group of friends. We also went to a monument near the Art Gallery and looked at the river from there.
On that note we proceeded down the hill only to take more pictures. It was an amazing day.
The last official event of the week was the Closing Ceremony and Exhibition. We were all delighted to receive our certificates of participation and to sing 'Happy Birthday' to the three participants who all celebrated their birthdays that same day. The Exhibition was spectacular. We couldn't believe that we had managed to make so many beautiful things in just five days.

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On Saturday morning we left Veliko Tarnovo in warm, bright sunshine. The week had flown past and, although we were looking forward to seeing our families at home, we were so sad to say goodbye to all our new friends from five countries. There were many tears as the bus pulled out of the South Bus Station. We can't wait for the next mobility in France!


A big 'thank you' to the whole Bulgarian Team for giving us such an amazing experience!

Meera and Ayesha



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