Page 2 of Rachelh235 Travel Blog Posts


Europe » Bulgaria » Varna Province » Varna May 8th 2011

Hi all... had another fantastic but very busy week. Had a visit from my lecturer at university and a lady from Frontline to continue links with the UK and to ensure all our University documentation was correct. Had a good meeting with them and the Ruse universtiy lecturers to get an idea of our progress and received very good feedback. I now have some more outcomes to achieve in the final three weeks with the children and a few minor bits and bats to sort out while here. It all seems managable so should be ok : ) The weather has been rubbish again at the start of the week. Me and Claire walked back from a meal out to our house and returned looking like someone had thrown a bucket of water on us! It ... read more
In the hostel
The Black Sea!
Enjoying the sea!

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet May 2nd 2011

I have had the most amazing few days... It all began on Wednesday 27th travelling from Ruse to Sofia (5 hours) to meet the other students for our coach to Istanbul. After long journey no.1 we went to Sofia Mall to chill out and eat before long journey no.2 at 11pm. We met the other 100+ students at Alexander Nevski Cathedral and got on our coach, taking stops ever few hours throughout the journey and arriving at the Bulgarian/Turkish border at 5am. It took forever to get our visas, paying £10 to get int country. We arrived in Istanbul at about 12:00 and went to our hotels (as there were so many students we were in two separate hotels). The hotel was very basic but I was just happy to have a comfortable bed instead of ... read more
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Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse April 24th 2011

The weeks appear to be going by quicker and quicker now... too quick for my liking. Half way through already. With regards to the children's home, our role was to set goals for each of the individual children and work alongside them to achieve thier goals by our final week of placement. With us being half way through, I reviewed the goals I set and feel on target for the children to reach their goals by the end, if not before. They are achieveing above and beyond our expectations, using Supernanny's naugthy step technique for the behavioural issues, giving the children the choice and freedom to play, allowing them to explore a variety of environments to stimulate all their senses, and ensuring the more disabled ones sit in a variety of positions through the day to ... read more
Enjoying Paella on the balcony!
Fun with the other students.
My sword!

Europe » Bulgaria » Sofia Province April 19th 2011

Hi All! Had another fantastic (but roller coaster of a) week... The change of plans on Monday meant that Mum and Josh were now coming to Sofia which was great to look forward to at such short notice. Monday - Did the language course in the morning and then went to the Pink House in the afternoon. Had a bit of a gathering in the evening with some of the erasmus students and played hide and seek in our mansion of a house. It was good fu :) Tuesday - We got up early to go to the Mental Health Centre to so our weekly group exploring the individuals lives (using the Kawa model for all you OT's reading this).It was more successful than we expected and were very impressed with the results. Chilled out in ... read more
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Europe » Bulgaria » North April 11th 2011

So..... I did it! Quite possibly the best thing I have ever done in my life! It was fantastic! Video's and Pictures available to view! So proud of me and Emily :D xxx... read more
On the ledge...
3...2...1.... Ahhhhhh
Emily's turn!

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse April 10th 2011

I've had another fantasic week here - Can't believe I'm 1/3rd of the way through my time already. It's going way too quick and I don't think I want it to end. Got a routine going now so this weeks structure was pretty similar to last weeks in that we went to the childrens home, went to the centre for mental health and went to our Bulgarain language lesson. It's been a very productive week in that we have met with directors and managers regarding some of the issues we have faced in previous weeks and are now in the process off arranging and providing training for some of the staff we work closely with regarding posture and manual handling...so basically, not only are we working at a qualified OT level, we are working at a ... read more
Tradition for welcoming Spring
On a stroll
Gypsy garden

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse April 2nd 2011

Sunday - Last sunday, although I said it would be spent going to church, was infact my day to recover from what can only be described as a fun-filled, crazy night out in Ruse's finest club, Oppium! We went out with the international students and met a few Bulgarian students out also. It was a brilliant night and was extreamly cheap. Buy one get one free BOTTLES of vodka sums the night up really, costing the group of us just 12 lev between us (£6). We spent the day with Elijah as he had invited us to his house for lunch with his grandma. She cooked the nicest Mussaka I have ever tasted and (to continue the alcohol flow...) we had a small shot of trditional Raki (50%!!!). (I'd like to point out at this point ... read more
Traditional Bulgarian ritual
Our lunch at Elijah's.
The view from Elijah's flat.

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse March 26th 2011

What a week! For those of you on Skype, you’ll have an idea what I’ve been through but here goes the summary! Saturday – We got our washing machine so can now start to smell nice again. Everywhere is very smoky, dirty and dusty and there is not a ‘no smoking’ policy in the restaurants so you can’t even go out for a meal and smell nice so it’s nice to finally be able to wash our clothes! We met with Elijah and Petia (the Bulgarian couple we have become friends with) and went for a walk in the park and to a nice coffee shop. We have been trying to teach Elijah sarcasm as he is planning on coming to the UK in September to study so we felt he needed to fully understand the ... read more
Enjoying a hot chocolate with Elijah.
The Frontline volunteers!
The equipment brought over by Frontline.

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Rousse March 18th 2011

Monday - The flight was fine, landing at just after 12:00 Bulgaria time. We got our bags and went out for a taxi, (dodging the local people who wanted to take us in their mini busses for just $3 each). The taxi man was really nice (even after Claire tried to get in the taxi, realising once in that she had got in on the drivers side!). He knew some basic English and we were able to test out our Bulgarian which we had speedily learned on the plane. Somehow between the three of us, speaking a combination of English, Bulgarian and German we managed to explain we needed the bus stop in Sofia to then get the bus to Ruse. Driving through Sofia was interesting, very basic and rather grubby with multi-storey flats as the ... read more
View on the bus.
Monument - Angel Kanchev
By the Danube




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