On the 13thof September 2019 the volunteers of COOl and Volunteering 4 Change projects, the team of IIC - David, Kosatadinka and Rayna went out for some team building activities. We weren’t told where we would be going, just that we would meet up at the train station at six in the morning. It was still dark when we boarded the first train going to Septemvri. Our morning sleepiness wore off as soon as we started having breakfast on the train.
We were split into two groups, the Pink Butterflies and Happy Unicorns. Our task was simple: Speak to locals and find out what they like about Bulgaria, where in Velingrad we should visit and the myth surrounding the creation of the Rhodope mountains.
Here’s a short summary of everything we found out by speaking to the local community; an overwhelming majority of people said that they appreciate nature most in Bulgaria, due to the fact that there are many different mountain ranges and also the Black Sea. Everyone told us to go see Kleptuza, a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains in the south of the city, where we would later all have lunch together. According to Greek mythology the Rhodope mountains were formed when the Queen Rhodope of Thrace and her husband, who had offended the gods were punished by being turned into stone. Another mythical figure of the mountains is Orpheus, who is said to have been born there.
The trip was not only educational, but also a lot of fun. We spend our time dancing and laughing in Velingrad and on the train ride back. The video material we had from the interview was later turned into two promotional videos for IIC. The videos were uploaded on Youtube and Facebook and the video with the most likes won, in this case the Pink Butterflies. If you’re interested in watching said videos, follow these links. Pink Butterflies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJy-cBe4Ejs
and Happy Unicorns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc9vItMOJaA&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1hOBAjAmyBRpbYg1T2R4zXL3AQYO1EqeuiiCrnJMLAFDoH38JR4PKCHEI
