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Bulgarian Children Meet the U.S.

Kidsmeet Usa

By Trayana Georgieva (YES 2018-2019, Bulgaria, hosted by PAX in Waynesville, MO)

“What are you most curious about when it comes to the U.S.?” This is the question that my fellow YES alumna, Yulvie Izet, and I asked third grade students at the Neofit Rilski Primary school in Gabrovo.

Inspired by our stay in the US, we realized how important it is to set a positive example and be an ambassador of cultural exchange. I vividly remember reading a book in Bulgarian to children in my host community during International Education Week. Many of them hadn’t ever heard about my home country before, but they were eager to discover more after our meet. The situation is a bit different here, though; Bulgarian kids are surrounded by American culture. We felt it was our duty to break the stereotypes and show them more than what they simply see in movies or on the Internet.

The students seemed excited from the moment we entered their classroom on March 2, 2020. They greeted us with a gift of martenitsas, small bracelets made of red and white yarn. According to a Bulgarian tradition, on March 1 we put these on for luck and don’t take them off until the first bloom appears, signifying the arrival of spring.

Kidsmeet Usa2
YES alumnae Trayana Georgieva and Vulvie Izet

We introduced ourselves and began our presentation about American culture and life across the Atlantic Ocean. We aimed for a fascinating and interactive approach, trying to include as many games and questions for the children as possible. First, we discussed the difference between “America” and “the USA”. Surprisingly, they knew a lot already! We explained to them what a state is, and how the unity of 50 states forms this magnificent country. We also introduced them to the American flag, explaining the meaning of the 50 stars and 13 stripes.

We split the topics of conversation into five categories: family life, sports, celebrations, cuisine and school. We then asked the most controversial question of the day: Which topic intrigues you the most? As we expected, they chose sports, so we began with this topic. We included many pictures from our personal experiences in the presentation, including pictures with softball teams, canoeing, and playing basketball. We showed them the right batting stance and how to hit the softball, which wasn’t as soft as they had expected. It was a home-run!

We next discussed family life in the U.S. We believe this part went especially well because our host families had almost nothing in common. Their different backgrounds, culture, origin and beliefs served as examples of the uniqueness and diversity of the U.S, also known as a “salad bowl”.

For the cuisine portion of the presentation, we introduced them to popular dishes such as Biscuits and Gravy and Chili con Carne through a series of pictures. We then played a game; we gave them ten food items and tasked them with putting them in pairs. The students were surprised when we revealed the answers to this “surprising food combinations” game. Americans love dipping their fries in ice cream, who knew?

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Third grade student adding a sticky note to the poster.

The next topic was American celebrations. The children already knew about Christmas and Easter, but most of them hadn’t heard of 4th of July or Veterans day. Halloween caught their eyes the most, even though most were already familiar with it. Every year, a growing number of Bulgarians dress up in various costumes and go trick-or-treating. Our last presentation of the day discussed the American school system, focusing on various events that are held throughout the year. The third graders fell in love with the concept of “Spirit week”- they wished they could go to school wearing PJs every day!

To conclude the presentation, we brought a large sheet of paper and sticky notes on which the students answered the question: “What did you learn about American culture today?” They wrote their answers and put them up in a colorful pattern, giving us positive feedback.

After answering some final questions, it was time to take pictures. We felt like celebrities surrounded by radiant smiles and curious gazes. The photographer, one of the teachers at the school yelled “Zele!”, the Bulgarian version of “Smile!”, which translates to cabbage. We high-fived every single one of them, waving goodbye and promising that we will meet them again.

This was truly a memorable experience because such projects allow us to create friendships and spread the knowledge we gained during YES with future leader of the world. Yulvie and I met because of the YES program, and take it as our responsibility to help, teach and encourage others.

 


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