Be quick, but don't hurry.

From June 3rd-6th Tryavna is celebrating their hometown hero Pencho Slavaikov. As part of the celebration SOS Children's Village-Tryavna held a youth bicycle tournament for the children of Tryavna and other towns in Bulgaria. There were a total of 10 teams, with each team consisting of four participants. Each participant completed four different bicycle courses and a written road safety test. In addition to the individual tasks, each team completed two timed tasks involving puzzles and a bicycle inspection. The tournament was composed of team and individual competitions, with the winners being decided by the lowest total scores.

All of the individual tasks required the rider to maneuver around obstacles. If the rider made contact with an obstacle or placed their foot on the ground they were penalized with a point. After each course the judge tallied the amount of points and marked it on the rider's score card.

All of the bicycles and helmets were given to SOS by sponsors, in addition to the different obstacles used in the tournament.

Each of the four courses were designed to require the rider to use maximum concentration and coordination to complete successfully. A representative from Bulgaria's largest automotive union officiated and sponsored the bicycle tournament.

The written test required each rider to identify road signs, hand signals, and the appropriate actions to take in situations involving other riders and automobiles. There were four different questions and each rider was given two minutes to complete the test.

The puzzle competition was one of two team activities in the tournament. There were four different puzzles for the teams to complete, and they were given two minutes to complete them.

The bicycle inspection was the second of the two team competitions, and also the last activity of the tournament. Each team was given drawings of certain parts of the bicycle and they had to perform an inspection to decide which parts were defective. Like most of the other activities they were given two minutes to complete the inspection.

As a finale, the top five teams and individual riders were given rewards based on the lowest scores. Above, the director of SOS Tryavna is congratulating one of the children from SOS.

Overall, the bicycle tournament was a big success. No one was injured, the weather held out, and the children enjoyed themselves.

Quotes of the Day (In Memory of John Wooden):

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."

"Happiness begins when selfishness ends."

"Your reputation is what you're perceive to be. Your character is what you actually are."

Beat on Repeat:

"Rocketship" - Donnie

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

International Children's Day

International Children's Day is celebrated on June 1st in most former Communist countries, and it involves childrens' programs being shown on TV and no school. In SOS, we celebrated by playing games ranging from Playstation 2 to foosball.

Foosball is by far the most competitive non-contact game we play in SOS. In actuality, it turns into a contact sport, because I constantly have to play referee and break up fights that inevitably occur. The kids have an insatiable competitiveness that results in a total dislike for losing. One minute they're best-friends and enjoying the taste of success, and the next they're complete enemies ready to rip each other to pieces because one person let the other team score the final goal.

Playstation 2 is the biggest hit for the children in SOS, because there's only one in the village. The children have computers in their homes so they're able to play PC games, but Playstation 2 games draw all of the attention. I have to set a time limit for the Playstation because otherwise there would be the same two children playing the entire time. No one wants to give up the seats in front of the TV for those games - it's like trying to get a front row seat to a Lil' Wayne concert!

The computer games are usually relegated to the children who don't have the audacity to fight and claw their way for a chance to play the Playstation 2 or foosball. It's a shame because I've spent hours trying to download fun games, only to realize that no one wants to play them. The children that do play computer games want to play internet games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, or spend their time talking on Skype. It's okay, though, because it just makes me realize how disconnected I am from the gaming world. When I was the kids' ages I was just as in-the-know about Playstation and computer games as they are now, so maybe it's a sign that I need to put down the books in my free time and check out the popular internet games. I never thought I would say that, but it's for the kids at the moment.

By the way, I just finished reading two new books in the past two weeks: Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel and The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell. If anyone's interested they are both excellence reads. Martel has to be one of the best writers out at the moment, and my new favorite author. I find it amazing how he is able to write so exquisitely about a topic such as the Holocaust, but disguises it in such as way that the reader isn't really focused on the horrors of that period, but more so, the meanings of life and death. I wouldn't rank it higher than his acclaimed book, Life of Pi, but it's worth reading if you enjoy good literary work. The Man from Beijing is crime novel that pulls the reader in from the start on a long twisty ride, and doesn't let go until the end. In the beginning, an entire village is gruesomely murdered in Sweden, except for three people, which leads investigators to speculate why. Mankell takes the reader from present day Sweden to 19th century China and America to Mozambique.

Well, that's all for now.

Quotes of the Day:

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aseop

"Faith is like being in the sun. When you're in the sun, can you avoid creating a shadow? Can you shake that area of darkness that clings to you, always shaped like you, as if constantly to remind you of yourself? You can't. This shadow is doubt. And it goes wherever you go as long as you stay in the sun. And who wouldn't want to be in the sun?" - excerpt from Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel

Beat on Repeat:

"Spanish Joint" - D'Angelo

Peace, Love, Understanding...