Saturday 27/06

Everyone took advantage of the weekend to lie back and relax, and enjoy some fun activities. In the morning, a few volunteers had the courage to wake up early after a long night, to learn Bulgarian dances. Some other volunteers went to see the Buzludzha monument in the afternoon. They had a picnic there and went hiking.

Sunday 28/06

Sunday was a very hot and sunny day so some people decided it was best to relax at the swimming- pool near the house – a few of them got sunburns. Some others went for a walk in the forest near the house, and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Rose Valley, while others went to Shipka to see the Monument of Freedom. At the end of the day, most of us enjoyed a beautiful demonstration of Bulgarian folklore dancing at the main square, where we tried our best to follow the footsteps of the locals. In the evening, some had dinner at a restaurant in the town, while Alberto was starting a barbecue for everyone at the house.

Monday 29/06

In the morning of this new week, each group was reassigned to a new task, and during that time, we were all brainstorming to find creative ideas to fulfil our weekly tasks. A revolutionary device was introduced in the house today: the WATER PURIFIER. Now, the times of having to walk 25 minutes to the Lion Fountain with our water jugs are over. The new filmmaking team is continuing the interviews of the volunteers with another format. We also tasted Marion’s îles flottantes – another tasty French desert – which were made for the cooking videos. Also, one bedroom of the house installed a shower curtain inside their bathroom, and now, they feel just like at home. Carlos’ salsa dance lessons are still continuing, and we can see the number of participants reducing as the days go by. At night, during a spontaneous karaoke party on the balcony, Charlotte was unanimously crowned the “Dancing- Queen”.

Tuesday 30/06

The day started with a meeting of every volunteer at the Youth Centre with Nasko. We discussed the advancement of our weekly project, and we also had some misunderstanding about the deadlines of our project. We discussed the rest of these 2 months and the planning of the Eco-festival. After that, the journalist team went walking around the town and to the Rosarium to practice the tips Eszther had given us the previous day, to try to be familiar with the camera and to try to take artistic photography. The filmmaking team worked on the storyboard and the synopsis of their video, which is going to be a horror-eco movie. When we all learned about it, the excitement to see their final video was palpable. In the evening, we discovered Atosi’s incredible singing voice over the sound of the guitar.

Wednesday 01/07

In the morning, the journalist team tried to interview Dancho, the landlord, to make a portrait and to ask him about how he feels living with the volunteers. However, even with 3 phones with google translate on, we couldn’t manage to conduct the interview, there was too big of gap in the communications. During the day, the house was filled of the good smell of Atosi’s recipe for the cooking video, I’m excited to see what it is going to be. The filmmaking group began shooting the horror- eco movie.

Thursday 02/07

The day started with some morning yoga for those , who are used to waking up early. The journalist team went in the Rosarium to interview some local people about the Eco Festival, Erasmus+, Kazanlak etc. We also brought some books to the sharing book shelves in the park. After that we continued with writing some articles. The workshop group came up with the idea to do the famous “Cup song” as a workshop at the festival and they produced their own handmade washing powder!! You can try to do it, too! It is not that difficult. Atosi did another recipe: Naan bread! The movie group was busy with editing and designing posters.

Friday 03/07

In the morning everyone was working on their group tasks and adding final touches for the presentation in the afternoon. All of us were focused to finish the job on time. At 3.30 pm, we showed all of the things we had done during the week. The film making team impressed all of us with their horror movie! The cooking team presented us some nice recipe videos. The Journalist team presented their articles which are worth reading. At 6 pm, some volunteers left for Burgas to spend the weekend there. The volunteers at the house went to a rock concert at the Hope live club in the city center. It was a Nirvana tribute concert. The band “Appreciation” rocked the night and we really enjoyed the concert.

See you next week

Love

Your volunteers