seriously?

welcome to the latest edition of jordan's vent fest. i seriously do not know how much more i can take. today i was assigned to substitute again. nevermind the fact that i don't think it's really appropriate for me to be substituting. i'm brand new to the school system, country, etc... i mean, let me get my feet wet before you throw me to the wolves (aka 12th grade). i was already annoyed about having to sub again because of the aforementioned reasons... PLUS, i had a bulgarian lesson at the same time as the classes. it's really important for me to learn the language for obvious reasons, and it's been really hard to coordinate something with my tutor because our schedules are so different. (she is also a teacher).

anyhow, OF COURSE, i get to school today and none of the students showed up. they don't have the substitute system that we have back home. basically, the school gets a teacher who already works at the school to fill in if/when they have a free period. so sometimes, they will just cancel class altogether if there is no one available. so basically, the 12th grade was told they would have a substitute and subsequentially no one bothered to show up for either class. so not only did i waste my time sitting around waiting on students.... but i canceled my bulgarian lesson for nothing.

now i am waiting around for the next period to see if anyone comes to that. it is 11th grade and supposedly they will be there. as you can imagine, i am more than a little skeptical.

one week down, eternity to go

another boring saturday. just me and jack johnson chillin at the apt. (or should i say, jack johnson and me.... i am an english teacher now). and speaking of english, i finished my first chaotic week at school. i won't go into the nitty gritty details, because i'm sure i will personally recount all my many adventures to all of you who read this blog. in a nutshell, they changed my schedule three times without telling me, causing me to miss one class, show up three hours early for another, and now i have the most ridiculous schedule ever. alas, i have conceded to the bulgarian school system. i just can't fight them on everything, as it is proving utterly exhausting and more importantly, futile.

(in front of the school)

on the bright side (yay for mr. brightside.... no pun intended... haha to those of you who understood the reference... i just can't help myself). anyhow, i really really like my 8th graders. so far, they seem really cute. and they were perfect angels this past friday. which was a relief. will they stay good for the whole year? now that is the question! hopefully i will win them over with my amazing teaching skills and charm, and they will want to work and be good little students. but seriously, i'm actually excited about working with them on thursdays and fridays. this excitement is the one flame that burns in my heart and keeps me from thinking this was a big waste of time.

i am also happy to report that i got my first bulgarian haircut. or perhaps my first haircut in bulgaria is more appropriate. either way, it came out fabulous. (and everyone knows how absurdly picky i am). i couldn't have been happier. sadly, my friend harriet, who went with me to the same salon to get her roots dyed, was not quite so lucky. after a very long dye job, not only did were her roots still dark brown, but the blonde in her hair had turned purple. oops! when they washed her hair and i saw it..... i almost died laughing. it was hands down the funniest thing i have seen so far in bulgaria. she had this big, important black tie charity event tonight. i didn't see the end result, because she insisted i didn't have to wait, and after being there for 4 hours, i finally complied. i hope for her sake it came out ok in the end. the best part of the entire experience was when the semi-english speaking manager came to try and smooth things over. the manager told harriet that, "it isn't really purple, it's grey"...... as if that's any better?!?! to which harriet replied, "well i wanted blonde and at 20 years old i don't really want grey hair, thanks." so then the manager insists, "well i think it looks nice." and harriet (who i must say was extremely tactful given the circumstances) responded, "do you really? because i'm pretty sure if you had purple hair right now, you wouldn't be too happy." it was pretty much the best exchange i have ever witnessed. i honestly was waiting for candid camera to pop out from behind a curtain.

all for now. except to say, GOOOOO DAWGS! SIC EM. WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF.

drowing in my pity pool

why is it that when you are in a bad mood, rather than try and pick yourself up and look on the bright side, it is so much more satisfying to wallow around like the world is ending instead? or maybe that's just me.

so my first day was stupid. technically, today was only the "opening day." just a small ceremony and party really. i didn't teach. i did get my schedule though. i was signed up for 8 whole classes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow guys, thanks a fricking lot. i dedicated two years of my life and cried myself to sleep on numerous occassions so that i could teach 8 WHOLE hours per week?! that's just lovely. and it's really not even eight hours if you want to get technical because the classes are only 40 minutes long. AND THEN, they tried to tell me i don't need to come to school until they have books.... did i mention the books are arriving in two weeks? (hopefully two weeks, actually-- i suppose it never dawned on anyone to order the books in advance so that they are here when school starts....). OH, and then they were surprised to see that i didn't want a two (or more) week break. two and a half months bored to teeth was just dandy and all, but i think i'll pass.

then, to top it off, all the teachers were going out to eat after the ceremony. i wanted to politely decline, because i knew it would be dreadful, but it would be "rude" not to go. so, let me get this straight.... it's rude for me not to go to an "optional" (their words not mine) lunch, but it's not rude for everyone else to carry on in bulgarian like it's my native language and completely ignore me the entire time? ok, just wanted to make sure i was clear.

oh yeah, almost forgot. i'm SUBSTITUTING tomorrow. (since there is nothing else for me to do). lords knows i just loooooved doing that in the US, can only imagine how wonderful it will be here. and there was the promise of future sub gigs.... goody gum drops!

if you can't tell, i'm in total bitch mode right now. and i loathe bulgaria. the end!

here today, gone tomorrow

to start: i have to dedicate this blog to my mom. even though we tend to bicker quite frequently, she will always be the most important person to me. i mean, i have to credit my winning charm, looks, humor, intelligence... you get the picture (haha)... to her. but more importantly, she's been my role model for as long as i can remember... dating back to when we had matching blue and green sweaters (hers from the limited, mine limited, too.)... carrying on into the present when i often skype to vent and get advice.

so, as most of you know, my mother came to visit this past week. the week went by so quickly... which i knew it would, but it was sad to say goodbye again. i had a really good time (despite what she may think), and it just made me realize how much i miss everyone back home... as if i don't think about it enough already! we mostly just hung around town and my apartment. we went to sofia for one night and that was nice. i should have planned it better or maybe researched a little more, so that we could have had more of a structured itinerary. maybe next time. we did see the new adam sandler movie though, "zohan." it was dumb, but funny... exactly what i expected. there were a LOT of sexual jokes though and no matter how old i get, it's always a little ackward to watch that kind of stuff with your mom...

i have lots and lots of new goodies now (including but not limited to):
*lovely new bamboo sheets
*new iPod
*SLINGBOX!! (yay for TiVoed shows, fox news, and espn game plan!)
*cooling pad for my laptop (very handy indeed)
*new pillow to rest my weary head
*season 3 of Gilmore Girls

and various other items for my house... not to mention the incredible generosity that was bestowed upon me while she was here (such as going out to eat daily). basically, i'm really lucky!

on a different note, school starts monday! i can't believe it's already mid-september. well... let me re-phrase. i can't believe i'm about to start my ACTUAL service. loafing around is all well and good... until you realize you have no friends, no money, and nothing to do. then it gets a tad monotonous. i'm so anxious to see what my schedule is. yes, school is in two days and i have absolutely no clue who or when i'm teaching. apparently that's how things "work" around here.

hmm.. not much else to really say. i will post again soon to report on the first week of school. wish me luck!!

OH, and of course, i will take a moment to pause and remember all those whose lives were lost or affected by 9/11. living in a foreign country really gives me the authority to say that we are so lucky to live in such an amazing place! i wish i could personally thank all the men and women who have helped to make america what it is today