Cheating

Oh spring is in the air, which of course everyone associates with finals and papers, right? And as seniors graduate a full 2 months ahead of the rest of the school (as it was explained to me by a colleague, they are going to just skip so they should be allowed to graduate early, right?) this means I have to get grades in shortly.
The project in question for most of my senior classes is an essay I had them write. I noticed pretty much across the board that no one knew how to organize a paper or structure an argument. It was more like a word vomit on a page without rhyme or reason for some of these kids. BOOM! This looks like a job for your trusty Peace Corps Volunteer. If my degrees are good for anything at all, it is knowing how to totally BS a paper in no time. The very first research paper, with bibliography and cites was in Mrs. Homer's 6th grade English class. Senior year of college, no sweat. This is their senior year and they didn't know what a bibliography was, let alone how to use it. Hmm.... Ok. No problem. I can do this. So for the past 8 weeks I walked them through each and every step. Gathering research. Taking notes (seriously.... notes?!?!). Constructing a thesis. Making an outline. Writing a rough draft. Writing a bibliography. Editing a paper. Ok, after 8 weeks of trying to translate these concepts and ideas and explanations to my class of 19 year olds I think that perhaps, just maybe, they learned something about how to write. I am cautiously optimistic. The due date is a Thursday, and I gave the students to option to submit on-line until 10 pm that night if they didn't have a printer or want to waste paper. Only 6 out of 18 handed the papers in in class.
At 8:45, like the distant rumble of an apporching storm, I get a Facebook message:
"Mr. Tyler, What is my topic I will write about." WTF! REALLY?!?! 8 weeks of this? No, calm down. This is one of my better students. Perhaps he is just trying to punk me. Ok, ok. Sent the topic.
At 9:15 I get another message asking the same thing. Oh, god.
At 9:45 I get my first e-submission. It reads. Here is my paper- and a URL address starting with www.essayempire.com. So clicking on it brings up one the free essay sample which happens to be on their topic. Sigh. Ok.
Over the next few days I get 3 more bringing the total up to 10. 10 out of 18.
Upon receiving them at the door the next class period to inquire as to when, if ever, I could expect the missing essays I was greeted with blank stares. Essay? What Essay? We had homework?

Some of the better highlights of the paper copy ones:
1. Printed out and has the time and web page stamp at the top along with the blue hyperlink
2. Handwritten, but included the subscript numbers to correspond with the cites on Wikipedia
3. An essay that cuts off mid sentence b/c they were tired of copying.

The remainder were either exactly what you get when you plug in the BG wikipedia in to google translate, or other free samples from essay empire. When asked why they did this when we worked so long in class. Did they not understand the rubric I gave out. What about the worksheets and samples? The response was a resounding "It was too hard. We didn't feel like. You should just pass us anyways."
So as I write this I can't help but feel sad that this is the future. These kids will be sent off in to the world after high school with very few skills, no motivation, and no accountability for their actions. So... now what?

Today was nice. Not just weather nice (which I have noticed is a reoccurring theme in my posts. I’m working on finding a new fixation… Stickers? You guys like stickers?) but a good school day. Today was the first day teaching in a few months that I felt positively elated by my students. Why? New batteries for that tazer I bought of course. Just kidding… those are back ordered for, like, weeks! No, the main reason was that today was the first day I subbed for the younger classes. 6a were absolute angels. I loved all the kids at the Playground camp. Despite their stalking of me with an unnerving intensity, I really grew to love my fan club for more than the ego boost it provided. These kids were just as sweet. They tried, took notes, sat in desks, rarely answered their phones and if doing so kept the conversations brief. In short, almost everything I would expect of a normal classroom. Not just that, but kept it up for a full forty minutes!!!! At the end they thanked me and gave me a hug. Shocked, stunned, and a little confused all rolled in to one was how I was feeling. A quick survey revealed I was still in D-pol, Bulgaria. So what the hell was that? Such a complete change from the drudgery and dismal dealings with quite a few of my classes. (Not 11a, I still love them). It really made me wonder what happens to these kids between 6^th and 9^th grade to turn them into such little jackals tearing away at my will to live. Anyway, it was such nice reprieve and reminder that I am here to do good things and could actually make a difference. To put a cherry on this day, I received a kick ass package from an amazing friend, Lisa! I cannot wait for the next pirate party, b/c someone has a glow in the dark sword. BOOYAH! Also, I am sipping on a Hawaiian punch cocktail which is pretty fantastic.

Another funny story from today. 10a is writing another paper for me after an incident, so after giving them the instructions I decided to play charades and hangman. So after doing a few to warm them up I turned the board over to them. The category was famous actors and actress. One of the boys wanted to check the spelling of an actress, so he bent over to whisper to me. Jenna jameson… Now, normally I pride myself on knowing who was in what movie, but I couldn’t place her off hand. Who was in that... Jenna Jameson… wait, you mean the porn star? Oh tenth grade boys…..

Excitement abounds.... once this sh*tty weather is over.

I know it is only February. I know that most likely I have almost another full month till shorts, sleeping with the windows open, and daylight past 6 pm. However, I just can't wait for spring. The tease of those few nice days was just too much. I'm already planning the summer. Where am I going, what am I doing and how soon can I leave. I fall asleep to thoughts of boarding a plane, of days at the beach, even of the possibility of scout camp! So as it stands now here is an goal sheet for the summer. I'm putting it down now so I can check to see how much I actually accomplish.
1.) Run a half marathon/ Run the Athens marathon. Ok, the first one is a summer plan, while the Athens's thing is in like November, but still. Also, many people say it is one of the hardest in the world with all the hills, so I might only do the 10k, but still. Summer plans include lots of running and getting in shape. This time I won't have Tessa kicking my but and making me run so it is going to be a lot of that self discipline I keep hearing people go on about. The half marathon might tie in with another one of the trips, it might just be run to Huelo's town one day. We'll see on that one
2.) Italy. I turn 25 this year. 25! A quarter of a century. Odds are, almost a third of my life. I mean, I have to do something amazing to mark this momentous of occasions. Justin and his friends rented out a bar. That would be doable, but saddly many of my friends wouldn't be able to make it (I'm looking your way Jake). So what to do? How about go somewhere? And not just some somewhere... Italy! Yay! I have been wanting to go forever. I love the food, the cars (Not Alphas, ask Charles about my stance on those) the language, the first 2 godfather movies, pretty much everything about Italy. I have been practicing my speaking and vocab at home so I will be ready. I want to see as much of the country as I can. This goes completely in the face of number one's goal of being healthy since I will be stuffing my face to uncomfortable levels at least 2 meals a day. Oh well, you're only young once and if my heart has survived the deep fried orgy that was PST, it can handle what ever Italy can throw at it. On the plus side, after all the weight I lost during PST, I've got room to expand in all my pants.
3.) Justin's visit. This one should be an event. We fought constantly as kids and only really started getting along once he left for college. This should be a great adventure. He is flying in to Sofia, I am going to take him across the south of BG and then go to Istanbul for a few days. It should be pretty amazing. Plus it will be nice to show him what my life is like and what the country of BG is really like.
So those are the BIG three. There are some other stuff, like building a playground, getting this gym up and running, trying to get the student council to do work, and maybe some summer english classes. That last one is a big maybe, but time will tell. Anyway, as I look out on the cold rain and flooded alley I can't help but picture blue skies, warm breezes and the fantastic season which is summer.

Just a thought

Though I doubt I will keep this rather impressive string of blog posts I figure I might as well throw a few out there before I get distracted by something shiny or bits of sting or whatever might hold my attention for hours at a time. This one happens to be on the weather. I know, talking about the weather. I used to find it one of the most mundane of topics. A filler, if you will, for when you’re not sure what to say but feel that the conversation hasn’t reached the breaking off point. However, having almost outgrown the childhood weather classification of two categories (A. It’s nice to play outside, and B. It isn’t,) now care to talk to people about the weather. So is new found well of untapped maturity the reason for this random tangent, you ask? Nope. It is because of the huge difference right now between the weather in Bulgaria and America.

My parents sent me pictures from an ice storm that happened the same week that I wore shorts running and sat and read in the park. It is just amazing the difference. People were shoveling snow and I was working on my tan (slow and steady, you know. Best to start now.) I was worried about winter here. As you may have gathered, it is my least favorite season and the winter in Bulgaria had me pretty apprehensive. Particularly the story from my friend Neil, a b24, about how despite having a heater going full blast around the clock he had ice almost an inch thick on the inside walls of his kitchen. Umm… What? Then getting to site I hear about the meter of snow on the side walk last year. I am 1.75 meters. Waist high you say? Buses and Trains didn’t run for a week? I’m going to have to pass.

And you know what? It worked. This winter has been pretty great. A little cold early off and a few snow storms I could have done without, but honestly, pretty all right. The culmination of this winter weather? 67 and sunny on February 8^th. I spent a good deal of the afternoon sitting in the sun doing lesson plans and a whole lot of nothing. It was glorious. The next 4 days the highs are all above 60. For the beginning of February that is fantastic. If you could show me conclusive proof that this is due to global warming I would be building a bonfire of tires and gas and using cfc aerosols to start it.

So before the Frost giants descend upon this Valhalla of nice weather (I’m reading a book about mythology, sue me) I make this plea: Don’t let this be the precursor to that meter of snow!

For those of you that question the logic behind volcanos= pretty.

Flucation = Way better than Snow Days

Oh Flucation, the sweetest of all the school holidays. Growing up, I was regarded snow days as the highlight of winter. Day off? For sure! Who cares that you have to make it up in June. 2 hour delay? Count me in. My AP classes were always the ones I missed. These are nothing compared with the glorious joys of FLUCATION! Comparing a snow day to a day off on flucation is like comparing apples and a steak dinner at the Palm. The reason? The weather. Snow days mean snow. Cold, unpleasant snow. I hate snow. Yes, snow is very pretty. I also think volcanoes erupting are pretty. That doesn’t mean I want to be anywhere near either of them. Flucation isn’t fettered by dismal weather. It is a beautiful sunny day off today. Not a cloud in the sky. Thank you Flucation

So what caused this miraculous of events? Cosmic rays? A boon from the lords of Olympus? Nope, just as you guessed, the common flu. Apparently flu shots are not the de rigueur in Bulgaria so every year there is a massive outbreak. Like, really massive. Over 30% of my school was ill. It shut down everything in town. So that left me with loads of free time. Wrote some grants, planned some awesome lessons, studied BG a bit, and most importantly, watched a lot of movies. Umm… so maybe not most importantly. But regardless, it was an amazing vacation.

The best part? These days don’t have to be made up. School is out, no matter what!

I can only wait till next year. In the mean time, I’m taking the soap out of my classroom. Might as well help the odds, right?

I have been neglecting this thing for ages now. With Flucation (Flu+ Vacation= FLUCATION!!) wrapping up I guess I can’t say I have a lot to do so might as well take a few minutes and give everyone one an update on life.

Where to begin? To start back with Halloween? The awesomeness of my Kiss costume and the promise to top it next year (I’m thinking Daft Punk). It was held in Veliko Turnivo, which was really cool. I hope to get back to the city and walk around without a splitting headache and hangover. Spring is coming! But it was an amazing party. I easily give myself the award of best costume. I'll probably take second place too. I liked it that much.

After that, hmm… ah, IST. I have to say I love PC gatherings. For some reason, the forced suffering though countless training sessions, flip chart upon flip chart and the pressure of having counterparts there did nothing to dampen the mood. It was great. The gigantic rooms invitied the in room partying. We completely bought out the gas station next door of any and all cheep booze by the second night. I would say that it wasn't a total loss for PC. I actually learned a good deal. That combined with all the espresso you could drink between sessions lead to a hyper, rather keyed up volunteer.

Next event was Thanksgiving. The little things I didn’t even realize I missed were amazing to have. Particularly green bean casserole. Seriously, that stuff is great. It was hosted at Hannahs swanky new place in Varna. It was so much nicer than my apartment it made my head spin. I have grown to like my place. At first I was honestly a little disappointed. One room, a kitchen and a bathroom? Maybe 120 sq feet in total?!? Seriously? But I have to say I have grown to love it. It takes all of an hour to clean the entire place top to bottom, the space heater keeps the whole place (except the bathroom! UGH!) a balmy 65. Not too shabby I have to say. But back to thanksgiving. With the part winding down Greg, another volunteer, was going to leave to go to another party and had to catch a train. I had that metal flash. That flash that said something isn't quite right.

Situation:9+ people staying.

Only 4-5 were getting beds or a couch.

That gives me about a 50% chance of spending the night on the floor

I live an hour and 20 away.

Nope! These odds aren’t going to work. Peace.

So I literally dashed out the door and followed and slept in a comfy bed (Perhaps the greatest purchase I've made here)

Following that was a low point for me. I had almost no motivation to do anything. Spain was looming, the kids were dragging me down and above all it was getting to be winter. I don’t do winter. I don’t like winter. I would go so far as to say I hate winter. If winter were a country I would declare all out war against it. Yeah… But on the plus side, it only had to last a month. Then Spain!

Traveling in Bulgaria is always an adventure. Am I going to make it ok? Is it going to take less than a day to go 40 km? After the bus incident from Razgrad (which btw Drew has yet to come to Varna. Jerk) I don’t take public transportation for granted. So rather than taking the night train and flying out that morning I decided to take the train the day before, stay over in Sofia and fly out in the morning. Plenty of time, just to be safe. So I catch the train and Dalgopol and looking for a compartment when a voice calls out to me and I see another volunteer, Kevin Burns. It turns out he and his GF are going to Italy and staying the night in Sofia. So much better to have traveling companions. Plus I made amazing sandwiches (Really a luxury here due to the lack of deli meat, but that is a rant for another time) so it was a pretty fun, and more importantly, an uneventful trip. So getting there I invited them to stay with me at the Hilton since my dad was nice enough to get me a room. It was pretty great. My Dad has status with Hilton. Upgraded the room, amazing breakfast, and the best part a free ride to the airport. Plus all the amenities for Kevin and Laura. The funny thing was the room for the night was a little more than what Peace Corps pays us for the month. Way better than a hostel for the night.

Spain was amazing. A-MAZ-ING. It was really great to spend the holidays with my family. Skype is great. Don’t get me wrong. I thank the elves that make it work every day (I’m not 100% sure on this one. I assume it is something like that). But it isn’t the same. That combined with being in a western European city was heaven. I nearly had a breakdown in the grocery store by the hotel. I seriously was having some problems. I am a bit of a foodie, so BG has been limiting, but I think I am going to have to be stepped back in gradually. Maybe just Aldi’s for the first few weeks before I can work up to a whole foods of wegmans. Combine that with a gorgeous resort, warm sandy beaches, and people who all spoke great English and I was so happy.

Getting to Spain was too easy. Looking back I realize that now. I should have realized everything went too smoothly. Smooth train ride, taxi to the airport, only slightly delayed flight. Yeah, the travel gods were going to have to balance the scales a bit. Easy travel, huh? Great trip, you say? Well, guess what hotshot.. BAM. Now you are landing 300 miles off course. Suck on that one buck-o!

I have my headphones and slept on the flight. As we are making are approach for landing the pilot comes on and says his little talk and we will be landing in Polvdiv in 5 min. In my sleep addled brain I kind of shrugged it off. Plovdiv? No, silly, we are landing in Sofia. I have a room in Sofia. Taxiing to the terminal I see a sign. Пловдив. Pl. Ok.. Plov.. Shit! Plovdiv? WTF are we doing in Plovdiv? I turn to the guy next to me. Well, Sofia doesn’t have fog lights, so we landed here. Haha, wait, what? So I curse under my breath how the hell am I going to get to Varna. Thankfully my explicatives were loud enough to carry across the aisle to a cute girl. She said that she too had to get to Varna. Take that travel gods! She turned out to be one of the coolest of the random people I have met. She was professional puppeteer. Let me say that again, a puppeteer. How cool is that?!?! She ended up getting a ride from a friend of her fathers, but sadly I couldn’t tag along. Ah well, at least I made my first Bulgarian friend outside of PC, right?

So that brings me up to the present with the goal of updating a bit more frequently. But, I said that last time too, so we shall see.