In the Classroom
Outside of Class
Gotse Delchev Facts
Fun facts
100
I taught classes from 5th-12th grade this year. I faced many unique challenges and successes teaching such a large age range. Something my 5th graders taught me this year:
Skibidi Toilet (and the importance of showing enthusiasm for things that I didn't understand in order to build connections)
100
Which sport was most popular with my middle schoolers?
A) basketball B) soccer C) volleyball D) ping pong
Trick question: it's football, not soccer
100
How close is Gotse Delchev to Greece?
12 miles / 20 kilometers... or about 15-20 minutes by car!
100
I visited Kardzhali this year to go mushroom hunting with high hopes of collecting my own mushrooms and eating them. About how many mushrooms did we find that were good to eat?
Two :( Here is me with the one I found:
200
One of my favorite lessons I did this year was getting my 11th and 12th grade students to make "day in the life" videos in English. I also made one, in Bulgarian. A Day In My Life is not complete without what coffee order?
Double Espresso and Love
200
Another sport I enjoyed playing with my students was ping pong. What score do you play to in a ping pong game?
11 (but you must win by 2)
200
The town today known as Gotse Delchev was formerly known as Nevrokop, and was founded in the 2nd century by the Roman Emperor Trajan. The town was renamed Gotse Delchev in 1951. Who was Gotse Delchev?
Macedonian-Bulgarian revolutionary active in Greece, Bulgaria, and Macedonia in the early 20th century during Ottoman rule.
200
How long was the longest bus I took this year?
11 hours (Istanbul - Dobrich)
300
One of my fifth grade students won our school's Spelling Bee, which I announced. What is the definition of the word "myriad," which she won on?
"a countless or extremely great number of things"
Ex. I had a myriad of challenges getting my 8th graders to pay attention in class
300
I got to visit several of my students' villages this year, including the village of Leshten, which has a very small permanent population of approximately how many people?
Only 6! Here is me with Boris, one of the six residents.
300
Gotse Delchev is surrounded by which 3 mountain formations? 100 points per mountain
The Rodopi to the east, Pirin to the north, and the Alibotush (Slavyanska) to the south! Here is a picture of the Pirin mountains:
300
Learning Bulgarian allowed me to connect meaningfully with people in my town and one of the things I will miss most next year is the challenge and reward of getting to speak Bulgarian in my daily life. The sad truth is that I know that, without practice, my Bulgarian will decline. However, there is one word which I will never forget: гума. What does this mean?
400
This year, my 10th grade class did a pen pal exchange with the school I taught in last year in Joinville, France. What is the straight-line distance (mi or km) between Joinville and Gotse Delchev? Closest answer wins.
1,021 miles, 1,623 km
400
Are you going to watch the tennis tournament today from 4-6 pm?
I hope so! Here is me practicing for it last week with some of my students
400
What is the population of Gotse Delchev?
about 13,000 for the town, but 30,000 in the municipality including the many small villages around
400
Although Gotse Delchev is quite isolated from other placements, I still got around...
... and visited 12 other cities with ETA placements (plus a few other cities just for fun)
