We woke up at 8:45 and left at 9:30 for the Lauder School of Sofia, the only school in Bulgaria that teaches Hebrew.
The school is actually public and only 30% of the students are Jewish, but according to their headmaster, whom we met with, virtually all of the Jewish families in Sofia send their kids there. In addition to being the lone school to teach Hebrew, the Lauder School of Sofia is also one of the most prestigious schools in the country.
While meeting with the headmaster people were asking a lot of questions, some good and intellectual, and some not as much, but I had a pretty simple, yet interesting one- why do they teach Hebrew anyways? The answer was extremely compelling. The headmaster said that Bulgarian law provides small ethnic groups with the ability to learn their "mother tongue," and this happens to be one of the schools where that happens. Bulgaria is a self-proclaimed open-minded country, so giving Bulgarian kids a Hebrew education helps them build their cultural understanding. Later in our Q&A with the headmaster, Rabbi Dov mentioned how respectful the kids were and asked a question about respect. The headmaster responded that when you love something, you have respect for it. I thought this idea was deep and that it can be applied to life in many other ways, and I just thought it was worth sharing.
We split up into groups after meeting the headmaster and met with students. I met with 8th graders in their English class. Before we went in their teacher told us that this was their first time meeting people from the US, and that both her and the kids would just ask us questions. During our maybe 30 minute discussion a few students mentioned that they wanted to go to college in the US and then live there. They said that Bulgaria provided them with less opportunities than other countries, and I thought that was interesting. It was sad to hear that they don't feel that their country's future will be a bright one, but I'm really enjoying meeting kids from these countries and hearing about what they think and learning about their lives.
After we left the school, we had lunch in the park and then went on a "scavenger hunt" through the city to get a chance to explore it. Unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations, which I guess were to really enjoy it. But it was still better than chillin' in the hotel, which is what some kids said they would rather do.
After our scavenger hunt we went to meet with the president of the Jewish community of Sofia. The one thing I took away from it and wanted to share was that, as his secretary closed, she told us that we (Kivunim) were an inspiration. Because we have committed our year to learning about and understanding other cultures, and specifically the Jews immersed in them, we are seen in her eyes as inspirational. What she said was very sweet and heartfelt, and it gave me a new perspective to view this year, however I honestly see this year as simply the opportunity of a lifetime that is too good to pass up. At the same time though, another thing that this year is about is to learn, but more specifically to learn from other people and gain new perspectives on so many things.
Finally we ended the day by hanging out with and getting to know the seniors from the school we visited earlier today. It seems like most of us hit it off with the kids and are planning on seeing them tomorrow night. Hopefully we'll be able to continue meeting kids our age in each country we go to. As I was talking to my new friend Yo (it's a nickname, her full name is all Bulgarian/too hard to pronounce) she mentioned that it's great to see the sites in a foreign city and all, but what really makes it fun is hanging out with kids your age and getting a taste of what ti would be like to truly live somewhere else.
Now I have about 6 and a half hours until we go to Plovdiv tomorrow, so I'm going to try to get all the sleep I can. I'll do my best to keep you guys updated as often as possible, but I can't promise daily blogs. And as a side note, any feedback (comments, critiques, criticisms, etc.) is welcome.
"Don't stress, just take in what interests you."- SB
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