By Iliana Dimitrova
Facing a classroom full of teenagers can be daunting, almost as scary as walking across hot coals for the uninitiated. Luckily for the new cohort of Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs), the Commission staff planned a week of fun and instructive activities to help them get their feet wet and minimize any “adjustment burns.” From September 1 to 8, 2025, the Fulbright Bulgaria community came together at the Astoria Grand Hotel in Sofia for an unforgettable week of training, cultural immersion, and new friendships. The orientation welcomed this year’s cohort of English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) and their Bulgarian mentor teachers, as well as US Student Researchers, setting the stage for a rewarding year ahead.
The week kicked off with informal introductions and ice-breaking activities led by our returning ETAs Maya O’Boyle and Caroline Cassell. The following morning began on an inspiring note with official welcomes from two executive directors: Angela Rodel of Fulbright Bulgaria and Desislava Talyokova of the America for Bulgaria Foundation. Sessions introduced participants to the Fulbright program, living and working in Bulgaria, and key resources to help them thrive during their grant year.
Throughout the week, grantees dove into Bulgarian language training with expert instructors Radost Sabeva and Zhana Zagorova. Classes were split into beginner and advanced groups, ensuring everyone felt supported – and learned important survival skills, such as how to order a salad and rakia! Beyond language, a series of interactive workshops equipped ETAs for success in Bulgarian classrooms. Highlights included “Teaching in Multilevel Classrooms” and “Teaching Speaking” sessions led by Ekaterina Louzioti, as well as discussions of differences between the Bulgarian and American school systems, and, of course, strategies for classroom management, led by our ETA alumni Molly O’Keefe and Michael Smith. The three days of mock lesson practice, guided by Cassell and Maya, gave all ETAs the opportunity to try out creative lesson ideas and overcome any classroom stage fright!
Orientation wasn’t just about academics—it was also an exploration of Bulgaria’s rich history and traditions. Grantees enjoyed a Bulgarian horo dancing lesson with Angela Rodel, and later practiced their newly learned skills together with professional dancers at Vodenitsata, a restaurant at the foot of Vitosha mountain, where the welcome dinner featured folk music performances and a breathtaking firewalking show, in which one ETA was even carried across the hot coals!
Sessions with U.S. Embassy officials provided important insights into safety and support, while lectures on Bulgarian history, politics, and European integration by Fulbright alum Eric Halsey and political experts Yavor Siderov and Hristo Panchugov, Ph.D., helped contextualize the country’s cultural landscape.
A major highlight was the Partner Organizations Fair, where grantees connected with representatives from educational and youth-focused NGOs, including the BEST Foundation, the Corplus Foundation, sCool Media, Trust for Social Achievement, the American University in Bulgaria, the Arete Youth Foundation, the Bulgarian Reading Association, Az Moga Tuk I Sega Foundation, alumni of student exchange programs and aspiring journalists. These conversations opened doors for extracurricular projects, mini-grant opportunities, and community engagement initiatives.
Later in the week, mentor teachers joined the program for collaborative sessions on AI in education, fun joint activities and building stronger connections between ETAs and their Bulgarian counterparts.
The orientation concluded with a farewell cocktail at the Steps, featuring a welcome address from Nancy Schiller, president and CEO of the America for Bulgaria Foundation, and a greeting from Ivan Dimov, founder of the Single Step Foundation. This inspiring evening marked the beginning of a new chapter for the ETAs and student researchers; hopefully as they embark on their Fulbright adventures across Bulgaria, they will feel as if vsichko vurvi po voda, i.e. that they are walking on water and not hot coals!