The following are a series of articles I wrote about a year before starting this blog. They give a bit of background about our project, who we are and how it all started.
WHY BULGARIA?
I visited Bulgaria for the first time in Spring 2008 as part of a two and a half month adventure in Europe with our then five year old daughter. My goals at the time were to:
Do some slow traveling, soaking up the everday experiences of village life than can't be felt while just passing through a place
Visit a country that put me out of the comfort zone of familiar language, and
Try out volunteering and gain some basic experience in organic gardening
With these criteria in mind I scoured the WWOOF and HelpX websites, two of the more well known internet based volunteering networks. Finding the right place was an important issue - it had to be safe and appropriate not just for me but for my adventurous little traveling companion. And so it was that we found the perfect match and arranged to stay at Kathy McGowan's little piece of paradise that she calls St. James Park in the village of Voditsa.
During the two idyllic weeks that we spent there I was enchanted by the serenity and slow pace of village life and by the generosity and friendliness of the local people. During the last few days of our stay Kathy invited me to take a look around a small homestead that she had promised to help sell on behalf of one of the villagers ... and I guess that was the moment when I realized that this might well be the key to fulfilling several dreams that had been brewing for years on a back burner. In my mind's eye I saw immediately how all these things could merge together into one reality and I had a deep gut feeling that I should go for it, that these things were all coming together for a reason.
The wheels were set in motion and we prepared to spend the summer of 2009 in Voditsa. Dani, who had work obligations, was to spend the first few weeks with us, and Lielle and I were to spend the most of the summer there - almost two full months!
PARMESAN CHEESE AND THE EXCITEMENT OF THE COUNTDOWN!
Another consumer-related yardstick for our trip countdown is the weekly shopping list ... I wonder how many people get the kick that I do when I realize I don't need to buy any more toilet rolls or deodorant before our departure? I can barely describe the thrill I fgeel when the items 'sliced bread' or 'milk' are scribbled down on the list for the last time - a sure sign that we know we are almost off!
The trip we are looking forward to is to the village of Voditsa in Bulgaria. Having begun the process of purchasing a house in the village a few months ago, we are returning there to spend two months of the summer.
LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS...
OK - maybe my imagination has run a bit amok here, but somehow "Rats and Snakes and Bugs, O My!" doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Creepy-crawlies of various shapes and sizes are, presumably, going to be an integral part of spending the summer in the village. I guess we'd better just get used to the idea and bolster ouselves up for our first inevitable encounters.
Being a teacher of nature studies I'm probably less squeamish than most when it comes to this sort of thing, but even I would rather my snakes safely outside the garden borders than have them taking up residence in the outside loo as I read recently in one blog.
Rats and mice too. While interesting enough to look at through the bars of a little cage if they happen to be pets, they are a hell of a lot less cute when they're taking over the house ruining food supplies, furniture, the electrical wiring or even the basic structural elements of the building. Many rural properties are built from natural materials such as stone, wood, mud and straw and while there are many advantages to such buildings, one of the disadvantages is that these same materials can be an attractive source of food, bedding or shelter for various pests.
During my March 2009 trip to the village with my sister we were shown around a few uninhabited homes, one of which was showing signs of rat damage: large holes in the compacted earth floor through which the cellar below could be seen. I have also read of a case where people visiting their 'holiday home' after an absence of many months were greeted by a half-nibbled fridge door.
We're going to have to come to terms with the fact that these kinds of experiences are all part of living in the countryside, and that some of these problems will be compounded by our not living continuously in the home throughout the year. I guess some of the new skills we are about to learn, whether we like it or not, will include rat-trapping and snake-baiting. Watch this space!
JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN
Rats and mice too. While interesting enough to look at through the bars of a little cage if they happen to be pets, they are a hell of a lot less cute when they're taking over the house ruining food supplies, furniture, the electrical wiring or even the basic structural elements of the building. Many rural properties are built from natural materials such as stone, wood, mud and straw and while there are many advantages to such buildings, one of the disadvantages is that these same materials can be an attractive source of food, bedding or shelter for various pests.
During my March 2009 trip to the village with my sister we were shown around a few uninhabited homes, one of which was showing signs of rat damage: large holes in the compacted earth floor through which the cellar below could be seen. I have also read of a case where people visiting their 'holiday home' after an absence of many months were greeted by a half-nibbled fridge door.
We're going to have to come to terms with the fact that these kinds of experiences are all part of living in the countryside, and that some of these problems will be compounded by our not living continuously in the home throughout the year. I guess some of the new skills we are about to learn, whether we like it or not, will include rat-trapping and snake-baiting. Watch this space!
JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN
These thoughts were running through my mind just days before spending our first summer in the village - July/August 2009
ONLY THREE MORE DAYS to go now until we leave Israel to spend the summer months in our village home in Bulgaria. Although it's hardly unchartered territory there are still enough 'unknowns' ahead of us to give it the feel of a real adventure.
Will we have electricity? And if so does the fridge work? Are the beds OK? Or will everything need some serious fumigating after years of being uninhabited? Is there just the one leaky tap that we've been told about? Or will there be a flush of other plumbing problems to take care of? And talking of plumbing, just how are we going to manage with no shower or bath and only one very simple outdoor loo? And the weather - everyone says it's going to be hot! But how hot is hot? Will our nights be plagued with mosquitoes (or worse?!) ? What's hidden up in the attic which is open to the elements? (Perhaps we don't want to know).
We're still not quite sure what furniture and appliances are included in the deal. The sellers hinted that not everything is included in the house price so we may find ourselves with some unexpected expenses if we end up without some of the basics.
The way things are looking at the moment, our first project is going to be sorting out some kind of compost toilet and washing facilities. Another thing we're hoping to achieve is to organize a cozy outdoor living and cooking area. Most of the locals are presumably going to be very busy on the land harvesting their summer crops, and in the kitchen pickling preserves and jams for the winter months. Since we will have no crops of our own we are hoping to volunteer to help the neighbors and this will have the added benefit of getting to know other people in the village which in turn should help to make our absorption there more successful.
Oh, and one more question - will we end up buying a donkey? (a dream of mine for over 30 years).
Answers to most these questions can be found here
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These last few articles give you a bit more of an idea about who we are and our philosophy on life:
THE TRAVEL BUG
I've always considered myself quite a traveler at heart, but when I think about it, up until the year I turned 50 I hadn't really traveled at all. It's true that having lived for more than half of my life outside England where I was born and raised I've become quite cosmopolitan in my attitude and outlook - but this is far from being 'well-traveled'. On the contrary, the decision to immigrate to Israel all those years ago as a young mother pretty much dictated my travel plans for the next two decades. Any available vacation time was spent visiting the UK to keep up with the family I had left behind there.
As a teenager studying in the UK I developed a great enthusiasm for languages and through these language studies I got to visit both France and Germany as school trips. But hey, who calls school trips 'traveling'? I always felt a yearning to travel to other countries, learn of other cultures and hear the ring of foreign languages, and to some extent this was fulfilled when an opportunity arose a few years later to spend almost a year living and working in Germany.
It was at around this time that a few life-changing experiences and decisions led me in a new direction, the end result of which was the move to Israel, learning a totally new language and absorbing an exciting and vibrant new (for me) culture.
The sum of these life experiences has left the impression on some people that I have actually experienced quite a lot of the world. But my own feeling is quite different. As some of the best years of my life have been passing by I have felt, with a passion, that I really want to travel ... and so I started to fantasize...
Once I discovered the internet about 6 years ago a whole new world quite literally opened up before me. It began when I discovered travel sites like Lonely Planet. I would read messages on the forums and see just how easily people of all ages were traveling the world. And I started to think: "Why them and not me?" "What's stopping me?" "Money? Time? Family obligations?" All of these things were constraints for me at the time, but I didn't let that stop me dreaming. I pondered on what I would do and where I would go if these things should cease to be stumbling blocks. And so it was, that by the time these stumbling blocks had indeed disappeared one by one, I was ready with a plan!
Without a doubt the greatest revolution to my travel dreams came about when I discovered Couchsurfing. Not only did it mean that a big part of the financial burden of travel was removed from the equation, but I quickly realized that the biggest attraction of all was that you can meet real people living their real lives, something that most regular tourists just don't get to experience. And these are not just any old real people either - your typical Couchsurfer is pretty special. Amongst some of the common traits I've found in those I've met so far are generosity of spirit, open-mindedness, tolerance ... and they know how to have fun.
If you're not already familiar with Couchsurfing check out their website at http://www.couchsurfing.org/
A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES
Some of the choices I've made in life of late are quite enviable. Many of my friends and peers, on hearing of my plans: to travel, to homeschool our daughter and to develop the rural property we have bought in Bulgaria, wonder: "How can they do that?" Quite apart from marveling at the ideals behind these decisions they think: "How on earth can they afford it?" They see the type of work I do (I am a part-time nature studies teacher in a local primary school), and a quick calculation leads them to realize that I am earning less than the national average wage.
The opportunity to travel is very important to me. So too is the education of our youngest daughter, now six years old. What is not very important to me is the type of car I drive (a 20-year old Fiat 127), wearing the latest fashions in clothing or footwear or having the latest in applicances and technology around the home. It's all a question of different priorities I guess.
Being optimistic in nature and looking on the bright side of things helps too. For instance, most people view not being a home-owner here in Israel as a big disadvantage, and it's true that there is a certain insecurity in never knowing when you may have to move house, in having no control over rent increases, etc. But there is a positive side to this situation too. Not having a mortgage to pay makes it much easier to make spontaneous decisions. Had we had that kind of heavy financial commitment over our heads it's unlikely tht our current plans could have been implemented. We also haven't amassed a whole load of material possessions - again, this turns to our advantage when planning a move as there are less things to worry about or that need to be disposed of.
WHY HOMESCHOOL?
As a child I went to regular schools and received a 'good education'. My parents, who had grown up in London during the Second World War and were forced to have their own schooling cut short, were keen that their own children should receive the education that they felt they had lacked. Accordingly, I attended good schools and remember my school days fondly. However, looking back it was a few very speciific people and not the schools themselves who really influenced me, and I think that my best achievements can be attributed to my primary school headmaster, a secondary school French teacher, and last, but most definitely not least, to my parents. All of the people mentioned above were the people who had me really enjoying learning. They made it fun, challenging and always seemed to leave a taste for more. They taught me to ask questions and encouraged my curiosity. They didn't always have answers for me, but they showed me how to discover them. I was encouraged to be creative and think outside the box. Lessons with these people often felt like play time incorporating a variety of fun activities such as drama, sport, crafts, music and more. In short, they taught me how to learn and made me want to learn. More importantly they taught me social skills. I learnt that it's important to care about others, to share, to be fair, honest, polite and considerate. I learnt that winning isn't always as important as knowing how to be a good loser. I learnt that "a man who never made a mistake never made anything".
Some four decades have passed since then. My experiences took place in the UK of the 60's and 70's, and our daughter is due to start school soon in Israel towards the end of the first decade of the new millenium. Things are different now. Even the core values of society seem to have changed and, like it or not, children of today grow up in a very materialistic and competitive environment, and this is reflected in the education system.
To be fair, I have no justifiable complaints against the school system so far. Our daughter hasn't even begun first grade. She turned six a few months ago and is in her final year of preschool - and she loves preschool! Who wouldn't? She spends her mornings learning through play and friendly interaction with her peers. Together they listen to stories, use varied materials for craft projects, put on plays, dance and sing. In first grade there will be some of all of these things, but for the most part they will be expected to sit nicely facing the whiteboard, listening, reading and writing. There will be a few formal regular breaks and a bell will announce their 'free' time. Despite all this new rigidity most children are full of anticipation as this important milestone approaches, and our daughter is no exception. In fact, one of our main considerations in planning the timing of this whole adventure was to enable her to experience the excitement of this important life event.
Around 15 years ago, quite by chance, I was offered the opportunity to teach nature studies in a local elementary school within the frame work of non-formal enrichment classes. There was no set curriculum and I had the freedom to choose my own materials and present them in any format I felt was appropriate. For inspiration I leaned heavily on memories of the fun learning experiences that I had accumulated during my own childhood. The success of these classes has been proven by the fact that the children, their parents and teachers alike have asked for the program to be continued year after year (it is funded by extra payments that the parents themselves make). I have received a lot of personal satisfaction from the success of this project, and it has made me acutely aware of just how important it is for children to learn through varied and active experiences engaging a variety of skills.
A few years ago, when I first started to entertain the idea of some extensive traveling, I began to consider the possibility of homeschooling. The more I thought about it the more the idea excited me and I realized that my background in non-formal education had given us a great advantage. Further research exposed the wealth of teaching resources freely available and many dedicated websites for sharing advice, lesson plans, etc. For now the plan is to take a sabbatical beginning July 2010. During this time we hope to do some traveling around Europe, basing ourselves in Bulgaria where we are hoping to set up a family retreat and educational resource centre.
MONEY MATTERS...
... yes, unfortunately, it does. A bit.
I read an interesting article recently that touched on the reasons why expats decide to return home after trying out living abroad. The writer suggested that a major factor may well be funds drying up, but that people are reluctant to admit to the fact, preferring instead to cite reasons such as missing their family, not getting on with the language, or not integrating well with the locals.
I remember when I first came to Israel from the UK how amazed I was that the infamous Israeli 'hutzpa' extended to personal money matters. What would have been back in England very intimate and almost classified information seemed an acceptable part of everyday conversation here in the Holy Land. Typical questions asked almost in passing might range from: "How much did you pay for 'x'?" to the almost sacred: "How much do you earn?"
Now that we too are on the verge of an adventure that, like it or not, needs some kind of funding, I find myself dying to ask people similar probing questions. The curiosity is killing me. Just how do other people manage to buy a property in Bulgaria, renovate it, and live out there, giving up in the process their regular sources of income?
Of course some buyers are those who have money to spare and the purchase for them is a straight-forward form of investment. Perhaps they don't even intend to live out there, or for the most part use the property as a holiday home for a few weeks a year. On the other hand there are those who are looking specifically for a change of lifestyle and are buying their home, quite often in remote rural areas of Bulgaria, with the full intention of living there, attracted by the low cost of living and the laid back, back to nature life style. Until recently the majority of this second group of buyers seemed to be older people who quite possibly had a property back home to sell or rent out, or perhaps a UK pension to live off. Lately however, I have been aware of a new sub-set of these 'life-style buyers': younger people, often with children, whose major motive for the move is to improve their quality of life, hoping to replace some of the materialism and consumerism that plague modern Western society with more old-fashioned generosity of spirit and community values. These people may typically be in their 30's and, despite our being closer in age to the older retirees, we feel a particular affinity with this younger group since we too are a 'young' family (two proud parents and a six year old daughter), and like them we share many of the same challenges.
Not least of the challenges are the financial ones. Immediately ahead of us is the mission to get together the funds needed to make the final payment on the house and to spend two months of the summer vacation living there and sprucing it up. In the longer term we need to start saving up for the sabbatical we are planning to take next year when we intend to combine setting up a family retreat and educational resource centre in Voditsa, Bulgaria with homeschooling our daughter and visiting friends scattered around Europe. At the moment the main areas we are focussing on are:
(1) Ways of cutting down even further on unnecessary expenses
(2) Looking for additional sources of income
(3) Checking out other possibilities such as bartering our skills and services
MONEY LAUNDERING
"Sorry! This one's been washed in detergent. You'll have to exchange it somewhere else!" Those were the bank clerk's words as she returned the 50 Euro note to me, along with a couple of other bills that hadn't made the grade. Does that make me guilty of money-laundering, I wonder?
This conversation took place in the Popovo branch of the Post Bank where I had hoped to exchange my Euros for Bulgarian Leva. Each of the notes that I had handed over were carefully scrutinized and then rechecked by machine. But apparently it's not only forgeries that get rejected here. The Post Bank has strict standards of its own and along with the squeaky clean 50 Euro note I was handed back a lightly crumpled 20 Euro and a slight torn 100 Euro bill. The clerk pointed me in the direction of the bank over the road. There, she assured me, they were less finicky... and sure enough, my super-shiny 50 Euros were accepted on the spot. The crumpled and torn notes were a different story though, and I was advised to try the exchange booth in the next street. There I managed to exchange the lightly crumpled 20 Euro note, though at less than the offical exchange rate. I still have the slightly torn 100 Euro note in my wallet. A word of advice...
I had unwittingly brought all this unnecessary hassle upon myself. Not being used to carrying large amounts of cash on me while traveling I had decided to spread the notes around and had stuffed some into my socks for safe keeping - not a bright idea with all the walking we'd been doing! I think that the 'detergent' that had been detected was actually foot cream! I'm definitely up for any good tips on money belts or other creative solutions.
"Sorry! This one's been washed in detergent. You'll have to exchange it somewhere else!" Those were the bank clerk's words as she returned the 50 Euro note to me, along with a couple of other bills that hadn't made the grade. Does that make me guilty of money-laundering, I wonder?
This conversation took place in the Popovo branch of the Post Bank where I had hoped to exchange my Euros for Bulgarian Leva. Each of the notes that I had handed over were carefully scrutinized and then rechecked by machine. But apparently it's not only forgeries that get rejected here. The Post Bank has strict standards of its own and along with the squeaky clean 50 Euro note I was handed back a lightly crumpled 20 Euro and a slight torn 100 Euro bill. The clerk pointed me in the direction of the bank over the road. There, she assured me, they were less finicky... and sure enough, my super-shiny 50 Euros were accepted on the spot. The crumpled and torn notes were a different story though, and I was advised to try the exchange booth in the next street. There I managed to exchange the lightly crumpled 20 Euro note, though at less than the offical exchange rate. I still have the slightly torn 100 Euro note in my wallet. A word of advice...
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