"Mid term Training" 13-17 Setembro em Park Hotel Plovdiv

 No passado mês de Setembro entre 13 a 17 decorreu no Park Hotel Plovdiv o chamado “Mid Term Training” em que marcaram presença voluntários europeus EVS a prestar o seu serviço na Bulgária, mais de 30 pessoas contando com voluntários de chegada”on-arrivals”. Este encontro/treino é precedido por outro que já foi descrito pela nossa estimada colega Agne ”on arrival Albena” no dia 4 Agosto.

 É com satisfação que vos falo como participante num projecto EVS na Bulgária e apraz-me dizer-vos que este encontro dá seguimento a 3 meses de contacto com uma nova cultura que é explorada em conjunto com pessoas de outros países com os quais se criou um espírito de camaradagem num ambiente de tal forma agradável que apenas se poderá explicar experienciando.

 Um encontro após metade da duração dos respectivos projectos decorridos é não só uma excelente oportunidade para rever caras conhecidas e amigos mas também para fazer um ponto de situação, perspectivar cenários futuros, melhorar actividades presentes assim como tentar perceber como individualmente nos poderemos tornar mais úteis num colectivo. Que me desculpem por não ser explícito nas actividades desenvolvidas neste meeting mas realmente é algo que deve ser vivido e não relatado sob pena de perder a sua significância.

 Recomendo vivamente aos leitores deste blog com idades compreendidas entre 18 e 30 anos a participação num EVS(european voluntary service). Se me permitem gostaria de acrescentar que ao participarem em tal projecto é extremamente importante que gostem do contacto com pessoas e que ousem descobrir mais de vocês nos outros pelo que ao fim e ao cabo tudo é aprendizagem, ou como diria o poeta “Tudo é caminho e verdade”.

 Este encontro em Plovdiv, uma cidade com particulares encantos, tais como o anfiteatro romano é deveras interessante pelo que as imagens abaixo dispensam quaisquer tipo de apresentações. 

 Dirijo especial agradecimento a todos aqueles que partilharam e partilham esta experiência comigo seja de forma presencial ou outra. Aconselho-vos a colocarem Bulgária no vosso mapa pois há realmente muito a explorar neste país.

 

Rotina diária 

Concerto em anfiteatro romano 

Em cima: da esquerda para direita, Nasko, Agne, Sarah, Janis, George, Laura, Stanislav, Carmen, Fran e Ani
Em baixo: Sarah, Agnese, Chema, Ricardo, Inga e Ana

Do you want to write a novel? Session 1

At last, I have the correct letters...

Yesterday we started the workshop Do you want to write a novel? at the American Corner, in the Sofia City Library. We are going to have sessions every week, on tuesdays, at 16:00 h. so feel free to join us!  By the way, if you miss any session, don't worry, because I'm going to post about it every Wednesday...

So, here we go!

Week 1. Motivations and ideas.

If you are here because you like to write or have ever thought of writing a novel. Ok, this is the time. This fall, all of us here are going to write a novel. All of you and me too, of course. In these meetings we will discuss different aspects of writing a novel, the motivation to write, build a plot, create characters, and all other aspects

These talks will serve as training to prepare for NaNoWriMo. What is NaNoWriMo? It's National Novel Writing Month, and celebrated in November. This means that during the month of November we are going to write a novel of 50k words. Fifty thousand words in a month, almost 2k words a day. You may think I'm crazy, but it really is very, very funny.

Except when your characters begin to do what they want. At that point you suffer a little, but anyway.

You can enter by signing up on this page, is free, and there you can comment on forums, have your works listed, see your progression, etc…

NaNoWriMo started as a joke between friends, but you see that little by little it has become an international event, and now people worldwide participate. This is the first time something is organized in Bulgaria and the Sofia City Library has become the first library in Bulgaria to participate in the program  Come and Write In.

By the way, during the month of November we only will write the first draft of our novel. Then we have all the time in the world to rewrite and edit and correct, but we made the first step, the most important. At this point, it's quantity over quality.

Why would you write a novel? Why you want to write, in general? Do you feel that impulse that makes you think Oh my god, I have to tell this? Have you fallen in love for character? Do you have a general idea, or a particular scene and you think you can develop it?

For me, for example, it starts with a character that I fall in love, and since then I cannot stop until  build a world, a whole life around. This is different for each person, of course, but in my case I often build the plots around a character.

Why you want to write? What is it that made ​​you come here today?

We talked about the reasons we have to start writing, so now we have to talk about an important point. What to write? I do not know if you already have something in mind or going on an adventure, but at this time we will work on it.

Every writer is different. Some writers think it's best to write about what you know. On the contrary, many others think is best out of that comfort zone and venture to discover things we never thought. About this there is no single valid opinion so for this reason we can findso many different stories and so many types of novel.

For me, one of the most important tips on this issue gives us Ray Bradbury. I love Ray Bradbury, so you can expect it mentions more than once. Ray Bradbury tells us to write about what we love. Write about what you love, whatever it is.

Bradbury loved the planet Mars, dinosaurs and circuses. So he wrote about that. When you read his stories you can feel his passion, his love for those things.

Write about what you love. No matter if what you like is cooking, or if you prefer ghost stories. If you like vampires or if you prefer stories based on real events. Never mind. You'll spend a lot of time writing about it, so choose something you're passionate about, what makes you get up every morning wanting to write. That story that you cannot stop thinking, that character you are madly in love.

Another tip when choosing a topic to write about is this Write the story you want to read. I think it is very logical, and in a way has a lot to do with what we talked of love. You need to want to know what will happen next, and only you can do.

Imagine your book as a movie.

Think for a moment: you can do whatever you like, no limits. You have absolutely everything at your fingertips. You can put your characters in a castle under the sea, or in a London neighborhood. On an unknown planet or in this same library. You can have as many characters as you want. You can have your favorite actor as a protagonist, if you like. You can dress them in the clothes you've always wanted to take, or not dressing at all. Make traveling to that country you've always wanted to visit, or even make time travel.

There are no limits.

You own an universe, so imagine the possibilities.

Let's do a little exercise. Think for a moment in a movie, a series or a book that you really like. Already? Perfect. Now think of a scene or a situation that you would have liked to change.A small change, or a bigger one. As you want. Write down. When you get home, write about it. They can be a couple of paragraphs or thirty pages, which you want.

What I want from this exercise is that you feel the power you have when you write. Feel that power, do the characters behave as you want.

Where do you find inspiration? Well, every person is different, and what I find inspiring to me may not work with you. It can be a song, a work of art, or why not, a character in a movie. It may be that you come across someone that catches your attention, and begin to imagine his life. You may find what you are looking watching the news while having breakfast, or on the cover of a book while giving a tour of the library.

Almost all writers recommend carrying a small notebook in which to jot down little things that caught our attention, so rare that dream we had those ideas that suddenly assail you. Be not deceived, many of these ideas never you will use, but it is comforting to know they are there, if you need a moment of inspiration you can always read your pages. I also use Pinterest, which is an image file and can create different boards by theme. It is free and is very easy to have a collection of images that you like, you remember what you like and that at one point you can serve as inspiration.

Ray Bradbury (yes, again) for example, recommended to make two different lists with the things you liked and things you dislike. I have to admit that I have never used this, but it seems as good a way as any to learn more about our true interests.

Maybe some of you and you may have some idea of ​​what you will write. Great. Maybe some, as happens to me, you may have several ideas lurking in your head and you may have to choose only one to start working. In any case, you have homework for this week: find (or decide) what are you going to write your novel in November.

Well then, to work!

Dora's organic garden - a few principles

An autumn sunflower field I found while hitch-hiking in Northern Bulgaria. Associative photo.

Following the recently discussed topic of sustainable agricultural practices, we might as well talk about organic gardening. Permaculture itself is not necessarily organic but the two go well together.

Our fellow EVS Dora from Vlahi (mentioned in the previous post) cultivates an organic garden as part of her project and has shared with us a few tricks of how to be most efficient and to naturally avoid pesticides, herbicides and other similar evils. To me, some of them have been a nice discovery and, I thought, why not to forward them on to you too, our dear dedicated reader   

(1) The Three Sisters of pre-Colombian American agriculture, starring corn, pumpkin and beans. According to Native American wisdom, the three plants help each other to grow and to feed. They have a symbiotic relationship. For example, the bean plant grows wrapping itself around corn, and the two exchange bacteria that keeps pests away. 

(2) Planting companion plants, such as onion & carrot; tomato & basil; aubergine & beans, together. They keep harmful insects away from each other, and therefore, the gardener does not need to use pesticides.

(3) Taking advantage of friendly garden animals. Apart from singing nicely, birds eat many harmful insects and produce manure which is a natural fertiliser. To attract certain birds to your garden you may need to plant certain bushes, e.g. raspberry or goji berry for sparrows & tits. Grasshoppers eat insects, and so do bats - the latter during the night, so your garden may be protected 24/7.

Wasps also eat insects - build a place for them to live in your garden. Ladybirds feed on plant lice - they like to settle on nettle and yellow flower, so make sure you have some of the said plants present to attract ladybirds to your garden.    

Yellow multipeds feast on slug eggs. Ducks eat insects and slugs, and produce manure - make a pond for them in your garden (in the pond, grow some gambusia fish - they will eat the mosquito larvae). Chickens do similar deeds to those done by ducks.

Hedgehogs, besides generally being sweet and charming animals, will cut down the numbers of slugs, caterpillars, multipeds and chockhafers. Snakes will eat mice; lizards will eat insects; and toads love to snack on Colorado beatle (toads, like ducks, will need access to a pond in your garden). Frogs will feast on insects and slugs.     

(4) You might want to plant your herbs in reinforced spirals. The said constructions help the gardener to use water efficiently. Higher in the spiral should be plants that need less water; those needing more should sit a little below. On the south side put plants that like sunlight; on the north side put those that thrive well in the shadow. Spiral works well for growing herbs, medicinal ones and kitchen ones alike.

(5) Finally, put up a tank for collecting rain water, and instal solar panels to have hot water available.         

A vine above the street, Veliko Tarnovo. Another associative photo.

Permaculture: respecting your place within the ecosystem

Worm bin, permaculture. (c) Wikimedia Commons.

Life is not just about reading and writing great books. One has to eat too.

As creatures of Mother Nature we may call ourselves animals and be reminded that, initially, we were supposed to - at least before the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century messed everything up* - live as an integral part of an ecosystem and, along with other species, participate in the nature's food chain.
 
Similar thoughts re-entered my head several days ago at a Sofian community centre 'Adelante' where our fellow EVS volunteers Marko and Dora from other Bulgarian organisations were giving a lecture about permaculture.

Talking about permaculture: (right to left) Marko from Serbia, Dora from Hungary, and the translator. Judging by the amount of people who turned up at the event at the community centre 'Adelante' that day (all the seats were filled, some people had to stay standing), the topic was up-to-date and relevant. 

Permaculture (= permanent agriculture), the movement started in the 1970s by the Australian naturalist Bill Mollison, seems to be promoting an updated version of the lifestyle that our farmer ancestors had practised for thousands of years: staying in harmony with the nature.

Although at times it sounds rather hippie-like and New Agey because of all the love and harmony it promotes, the ideology of permaculture is, actually, quite a rational way to be - if your aim is not to leave any ecological footprint and to be self-sustainable.

You are supposed to look after the earth and the people, and not to take more than you need. You have to arrange your farm's plants and animals in a way that mimics the surroundings and relationships they would be having in the wilderness. The arrangement has to fit nicely into your farm's natural landscape: hills, forests and water sources.

You zone and layer all the living components of your farm around your house according to certain rules that are designed to give the most benefit to you, to the plants and the animals, and to the environment. You create around yourself a balanced ecosystem of which you become a part.

If you like to live close to nature, permaculture seems quite a creative and philosophical way to be. With all the myriad rules and principles to take into account, it is not the easiest craft to learn, and a good way to learn is through practical experience.

Both volunteers have worked at permaculture communities. Marko has been at a few workcamps and farms around Europe, and Dora is currently helping at a small village of Vlahi located in the Bulgarian Rhodopi mountains. 

* Although I am not necessarily saying that we all should go back to the gloomy pre-industrial times.

Do you want to write a novel? Join us!

Is our time, baby...

Have you ever thought about write a novel? Do you have a lot of ideas, but never find the moment? Do you want to write but don't know what?

 Maybe today is the day, my dear. 

 We are preparing a workshop about all the things you ever want to know about how to write a novel. How to find the motivation, how to develop the characters, how to create a world only by yourself. Is a challenge, of course, but it deserves so much fun. 

 Our goal would be to take part in NaNoWriMo and write a complete (or something like that) in November. 50000 words in one month… An entire novel from your heart to the paper in only one month… Are you prepared?

 The workshop starts the Tuesday 1 of October, at 16:00 h. at the American Corner, in the Sofia City Library. Every Tuesday we will meet at the same hour, to talk about our novels, about our fears, about our writing. We’ll share our motivations, our tips and tricks, our ideas. Maybe it wouldn’t easy, but it would be funny.

 So, if you want to write a novel, this a great opportunity!

 Would you miss?

Blaga Dimitrova's 'Scars': the elegant visions

Scars. Poems by Blaga Dimitrova. Ivy Press Princeton, 2002.

Yet another Bulgarian poetry anthology by Ivy Press Princeton is Blaga Dimitrova's 'Scars'. To me personally Dimitrova's poetry book was more appealing than the previously reviewed selection of Konstantin Pavlov. 

Like Pavlov, during the soviet era Dimitrova was known as a dissident poet (and a socially active person: in 1992 she became the first democratically elected Vice President of Bulgaria). Her poetic style, however, is quite different from Pavlov's.

Lighter in style (although no less serious), more precise, more elegant, very articulate. Dimitrova does not talk abstract; instead she reflects on things around her, including her own body parts (hair, tongue, throat), and uses them to make philosophical statements about life, love, and the universe. Although Dimitrova is very aware of her immediate environment she is not mundane because she puts things into perspective. She notices details but does not get overwhelmed by them.

In this book, Dimitrova never gets drowned in emotion, even though some of the experiences she is talking about are among the strongest (loss; dementia of a loved one; near death experiences). The poet remains quite rational; all her emotions get distilled and rearranged into logical compositions before they land on paper as poems.

Perhaps it is also a better quality translation than the previously reviewed Pavlov's book (the translator of the both is the same: Ludmilla G. Popova-Wightman). The translator was a friend of the poet, and, possibly, because of this reason was able to understand the author's inner workings better.

'Scars' consist of five sections: Ars Poetica (poems about writing poetry); Lullaby for My Mother (mainly about the poet's mother ill with Alzheimer's; although the father is occassionally mentioned too); Love (self-explanatory); Delirium in Green (the author's near death experiences at the hospital); and Sentence (heavyish reflections on the life that has already passed).

'Scars': the poet does not like to bleed in public. She heals her wounds in privacy and all that is presented to us are her remaining scars. Here scars = poems.

*

I create you out of sadness 
absence 
need, 
out of loneliness 
emptiness
nothingness -
to come to me.
And unnaturally,
you arrive,
as you think,
of your own free will,
not doubting it
for a moment. 

[Conjured, pg. 147]

'Literatura finlandesa' de Kai Laitinen

Los libros siempre saben mejor con un poco de té

La verdad es que me sorprendió mucho encontrarme este libro en la Sala Escandinava de la Biblioteca de Sofía. No por la temática, claro. Un título como Literatura finlandesa de Kai Laitinen es justo lo que una espera encontrar en una sala dedicada a la literatura y el idioma de los países del norte de Europa. Hasta ahí correcto. Lo que no me imaginaba es que me iba a encontrar un libro en español, y como ya sabéis que me puede la curiosidad, pues me lo traje a casa.

No sé vosotros, pero yo sé más bien poco de literatura finlandesa. De hecho, aunque Arto Paasilinna es uno de mis autores favoritos, creo que es el único de esta nacionalidad que he leído en mi vida. Tengo en casa, pendiente de lectura, Purga de Sofi Oksanen, autora finlandesa ganadora de numerosos premios europeos, pero hasta ahí llega mi conocimiento que, como podéis comprobar, es bastante limitado.

Animada por las pequeñas dimensiones del libro (formato pequeño y apenas 160 páginas) lo adopté durante un tiempo para echarle un vistazo y aprender algo nuevo, que nunca está de más. Suponía (y no me equivocaba) que el libro me iba a dar una visión bastante somera de la historia literaria de un país que, reconozcamoslo, es casi  desconocido en España.

Desde las primeras canciones populares hasta los autores contemporáneos, de la ilustración a la desgarradora novela de posguerra, del sueco y el latín como lenguas predominantes en la literatura finlandesa hasta el finés como un idioma literario. Y, en medio de todo,  El Kalevala, la gran epopeya finlandesa, la gesta inolvidable de un pueblo,  una compilación de repertorios populares realizada por Elias Lönnrot en el siglo XIX y que se ha convertido en el símbolo de un país, de una cultura y una tradición.

Sin embargo, en más de una ocasión, el libro se convierte en una mera lista de autores, aportando muy poco a la historia de la literatura propiamente dicha. Sí, es demasiado corto, ya me imaginaba que no iba a profundizar demasiado, pero en algunos casos me he quedado con ganas de saber más de la evolución real de su literatura que un nombre tras otro de autores...

Su autor, Kai Laitinen, es catedrático emérito de Literatura Finlandesa en la Universidad de Helsinki, por lo que me imagino que algo sabe del tema. Además, se trata de una figura muy influyente en las letras finlandesas desde los años cincuenta. Ha trabajado como crítico y director en diversas revistas literarias, además de ser jurado en varios premios literarios por toda Europa.

Como primera toma de contacto con la historia de la literatura finlandesa es correcto, aunque ya os digo que en ocasiones se parece más a una lista de la compra de autores que a un ensayo de historia literaria. Es sí, su función la cumple a la perfección, porque lo cierto es que ahora me han entrado ganas de conocer más sobre la peculiar historia de este país, leer más a Arto Paasilinna, empezar 'Purga' de Oksanen de una vez, y sí, conocer a autores de los que nunca había oído hablar y que tienen nombres imposibles de pronunciar. Si a vosotros también os ha entrado curiosidad, lo tenéis disponible en la Sala escandinava de la Biblioteca de Sofía en la plaza Slaveikov. Allí estará, esperándote...

Jos mum tuttuni tulisi
Ennen nähtyni näkyisi.
Sillen suuta suikkajaisin
Olis suu suden veressä.
Sillen kättä käppäjäisin
Jospa kärmä kämmen päässä!.

(Si mi amigo viniera/ si mi amado se dejara ver. /
Le besaría en la boca/ aunque estuviera manchada
por la sangre de un lobo./ Le estrecharía la mano/
aunque contuviera una serpiente.)

 Canción popular finlandesa

Otava
ISBN: 951-1-17301-4
Traducción: Úrsula Ojanen y Joaquín Fernández
160 páginas