Drawing

When I was little the best piece of art I was able to produce was only a circle instead of a head and some other strange figures which no one could really see. While growing up I had always wanted to take drawing lessons and actually understand is there a special way I should draw certain things or I should only use my imagination and seek consolation in the fact that I was the only person who was going to see my drawings. That’s why lately I spend a lot of time trying to draw. I looked up in youtube for some video, teaching you how to sketch some things or draw simple shapes and to be honest it really helped me. I still can’t draw without having an example, or just the idea from somewhere, because if I try to express my feelings and the things I see in my mind with the help of a pencil on a piece of paper, the paper will be full with scribble. So here are some of my ‘’works’’ and I hope you can imagine without seeing my previous ones that there is a huge improvement.

·         During this activity I have developed amazing new skills; I have increased an awareness of my strengths and areas of growth and I have undertook new challenges. So, who knows, one day they might call me ‘’NeDavinci’’.

Swimming - march

Lately I don’t have any excuses for going swimming. Even when I have lots of other things to do, swimming is one of my main priorities. I have not only gotten much better than last year, but I also have the feeling I cannot stop and I don’t want to. I swim faster than last year, breaking my records with at least 1 minute, which is a massive improvement, according to me. I also don’t have the pain I felt in my back any more and I feel I have more energy than ever even when the weather is depressing and we have exams. It became a part of my life and I am grateful I started doing it last year. During this activity I undertook new challenges, I increased awareness of my strengths and areas of growth and I developed many and new important skills regarding swimming.

Nanny's diary

 Since January I have been volunteering again to babysit 2 kids, part of a Bulgarian family which lives 3 minutes away from my place, therefore I have time to go there every Tuesday and Thursday and every time I have to be creative in chosing which games we will play. The kids are 1) 10 year old and 2) 4 year old. So it is a bit hard to think of games which could entertain both of them but their favourite one is hide and seek of course. It was also my favourite when I was their age. It is a game with no age limits so it is suitable for everyone. But i changed it a bit. We play it like this- I hide and count to 100 and during this time they should change something in the house ( the position of a chair, table) / put something somewhere where I should find it, but they don't tell me what is changes. While searching where are they I have to find out what did they change. And if I am right and I guessed then they draw me pictures and give them to me, if not I give them chocolate. We are having a lot of fun, I am with them only for 2 hours, while their mother is at the gym, therefore we have enough time to get to know each other. Sometimes they are very tired so I am cooking something for them and we watch a movie, but I am glad I can help their mother so that she would have at least a few hours on her own. During this activity I am working collaboratively with other, I am undertaking a new challenge every time and I am developing new skills.

Jogging - march

The snow is still here. There is no sign of spring in Moscow that is why I am still running on the ice. I slipped last week and almost broke my arm, but thanks to all the clothes I had on top of me, I was enough protected. I thought jogging on ice/snow wouldn’t contribute to an improvement in my skills, but I actually realized I am used to running during this type of weather and if I am used to that, then I wouldn’t have any problems running in any other type or weather, therefore I have developed a new skill. I am also still helping the people to clean the snow on the weekends so my arm muscles have also got stronger thanks to all the digging, so I guess In every work we do, there is an advantage.

Tutoring (school)

This is the month when all the IGSCE students have their oral examinations for their Language B. That is why, after talking to my Spanish teacher and asking her who needs help with preparing for the exams, I decided to talk to Edgar and Dini in Year 11. Both are very bright and easy learners, but they also had a common problem- memory and pronunciation. The problem with Edgar was that he was trying to memorize the text as it is written and Dini didn’t understand the meaning of most of the complicated words.

So the week before their exams I asked them to see me twice during lunch breaks and we spent that time wisely and trying to prepare them well for their presentations.

For both of them Mrs. Mihailovksaya gave me papers on which were written dialogues, a special preparation for the exam.

I spoke with each person for 30 minutes, since the break is only 1 hour. With Edgar we had improvement even from the first 5 minutes. Although he was interrupting me while I was speaking and wasn’t listening very carefully I helped him with his accents and he really improved.

With Dini, the problem was that he wasn’t able to structure simple sentences like ‘’My father has brown hair and hazel eyes’’. I translated for him word after word and when he got the meaning of each one he started to get the whole text. We also worked on his pronunciation.

With both Edgar and DIni I improvised during the dialogues so that their answer won’t be memorized but they could actually think.

During this activity I have worked collaboratively with others and I undertook new challenges.

Creativity- poem

 Grey raindrops are falling slowly in the sea

My soul is deep dark blue, why can’t you just see

They loose their direction, but follow the sounds

The sounds of the shells hitting slowly the ground

Waves wash away our memories in the sand

They days when you loved me, when we walked hand in hand

So here I am- a mermaid, a wave, hitting the rocks…

I am overflowing without a direction

So lost in my lonely reflection

Hear my song, my memory, my voice

I’m here for you, waiting for so long, giving you one last choice.

I wrote a long time ago I was writing lyrics and poems, but in Bulgarian. So finally I decided to try in English. Here is the result- a poem which I created for 5 minutes, waiting at the metro station.

With this I developed a new creative skill and I undertook a challenge, due to the fact that it is for sure not easy to write rhymes, which have a meaning, especially when it is not in your native language.

Baba Marta

Baba Marta is a traditional Bulgarian holiday, and translated it literally means ‘’ Gandma Marta’’.  On this day we celebrate the beginning of Spring, and it is well known that this Baba Marta actually ‘’sends away’’ the winter. To celebrate it, we put on our wrists little bracelets/ bands called martenitsa , woven by the combination between red and white colored threads. We wear those bans until the day when we see a stork or a bloomed tree, symbols of warmer weather and spring.

We also say to each other ´´ Честита Баба Марта!’’ (Chestita Baba Marta), which means ‘’ Happy Baba Marta’’ and we wish each other health and happiness.

Usually, you can buy the martenitsa from everywhere around the country- from supermarkets to little street corners and the prices varies also. But as I live in Moscow, I cannot buy it from anywhere, that is why I have to make my own ones. I also prepare some for my relatives.

Here is a video showing how you could make your own martenitsa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP168PuhfVY