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J U LY 5 -2 5 , 2 0 0 9
WHO ARE WE
AND
WHERE DO WE COME FROM?
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN
BULGARIA– SUMMER
Ukraine Kyrgyzstan
CAMP 2009
Serbia
Kosova
Belarus
France
Montenegro Bulgaria
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Neil Starzynski
Milena Matkovic
Kellen Utecht
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 3
students
aged 14 to 18 from Belarus, Bulgaria, France, Kosova,
Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Ukraine and Serbia.
BELARUS
Alexandra Ivanov, 16. Sasha, as she is called by her friends, is the only camper from Belarus. She
traveled from Mogilev by plane and then for 12 hours by car. ”I like everything organized by the
teachers,” says Sasha. She also likes the classes and the atmosphere that the camp has recreated.
They will always be in her memories.
BULGARIA
Rumen Bojidarov Stoynev, 16, likes almost everything about summer camp. “Everybody here is
great,” he says. “There are a lot of friendly people.” The food is delicious, he adds, and the “teachers
rock.” It’s fun because “everyday is something new. It’s impossible to get bored.” His roommates are
outgoing, crack jokes much of the time and the three get along with one another quite well, he says,
even though they are all from different countries (there is only one Bulgarian in the room). Rumen
misses his bedroom at home, because he does not have a set bedtime there and can spend nights
playing on his computer until 3 a.m.
FRANCE
Claire Hayère, 15, is a French camper living the life of a typical teenager. To get to camp, Claire travelled
by plane from Munich to Sofia and then by bus to Blagoevgrad over a total of six hours. She’s the only
camper from France so she misses everything about her country -- the language she can’t speak with any
other camper, her family and her friends. But when everything’s over and she returns to France, Claire
says that she will miss the camp activities, too, and her new friends and even speaking English 24 hours a
day.
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K O S O VA
Egzon Sadiku, 16, says he likes “the melding of the nationalities, the way they all communi-
cate in English.” It’s the food he doesn’t like so much – the same ingredients over and over
again at supper, he says. The trip from Kosova was long -- 11 hours on the bus -- and he was
very tired. But camp was worth the journey. Egzon enjoys the ballet lessons at camp a lot and
he will miss them when he gets home.
K Y R G Y Z S TA N
Duishen Orunbekov, 18, says that even though campers are from different nationalities, they
understand each other very well. When he first met his roommates, Alexander, from Bulgaria
and Feston, from Kosova, they were so friendly and they helped him with his SIM card so he
could call home. He misses his mother’s meals, especially because he attends military school
in Turkey and isn’t at home very much. He says that he will always remember camp because
it’s the first time he has tried bowling.
MONTENEGRO
Lazar Yovičevič, 15, travelled for more than 15 hours by bus in pursuit of English knowledge. Lazar heard
about the camp from a friend. ”I thank Nikoleta for coming here,” he says. Lazar misses his friends at
home a lot, but when asked what he’d miss most about his summer experience, he says it’s his new camp
friends.
SERBIA
Milana Tosić, 17, has made a lot of new friends, mostly from Kosova, Bulgaria and Montenegro.
She likes camp meals because the canteen serves lots of potatoes. The only problem for her at
camp, she says, is that she has to go to bed too early. She would like to stay up later and party
with friends. Milana likes afternoon camp activities, especially bowling. She says that she’ll re-
member the friends she made here and also the married couple who taught at the camp – Tony
and Abeth Spencer. “They’re a sweet couple and they’re always smiling,” she says.
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UKRAINE
Daria Gayoshko Victorovna, 18. “It’s interesting learning about countries that I had never
even heard of,” said the camper from Ukraine. ”I thought I’d be alone and the oldest one in the
camp,” but after only a few days, she had already found new friends. She came to Bulgaria by
plane, accompanied by her parents and she misses them a lot. But when she has to leave
camp, Daria will happily remember everything here, including teachers, friends and special
moments of the time she spent in Blagoevgrad.
Reported and written by Floran Sahiti, Dea Tahiri and Rrona Zhuri
Cover illustration: Claire Hayère
Blondie to her astonishment: “This clerk also says that she doesn’t serve blondes.” Sadbere Fazliu, 16, Kosovo.
Squeal was walking through the forest. She forgot to breathe and she died. Damjan Delic, 16, Montenegro.
A blonde goes into a nearby store and asks a clerk if she can by the TV in the corner. Donika Gojani, 16, Kosovo.
Why did the blondes stand in front of the window during the thunderstorm? Because they thought they were being photographed.
Alexandra Ivanova, 16, Belarus.
“What a coincidence!” the man said with some obvious pride. “I work for the Minnesota Twins baseball team.” Duishon
Orunbekov, 18, Kyrgyzstan.
Two sand flakes walking in the desert said to each other: “I think we are being followed.” Rumen Stoynev, 16, Bulgaria.
Two oranges are going across the street. A truck runs over one orange, and second one says: “Juice, come on.” Vasilije
Perovic, 18, Montenegro.
Two ice-creams are walking in the street. A truck runs over one, and the other one melts laughing. Arber Bakalli, 16, Kosovo.
A duck came to the book shop, and the shop assistant asked him what he wanted, and the duck said: “BUK”. Shop assistant
gave a book to duck then the duck went away. Half an hour later, the duck returned to the shop and said: “BUK, BUK”. The shop
assistant gave the duck two books and the duck went out. The third time, when the duck came, it told the shop assistant: “BUK,
BUK, BUK”. He gave him three books, and the duck just went away. The shop assistant was curious about where the duck took
all the books. He followed the duck, and he saw as the duck came to the lake. There was a frog there, and the duck was putting
these books in front of the frog and the frog was saying: “READ IT, READ IT.” Daria Gayoshko, 18, Ukraine.
How much do campers really know about the town that has become their
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home for the last month?
Few campers had ever stepped foot into Bulgaria prior to attending the AUBG edu-
cational camp; even fewer had walked the streets of Blagoevgrad, a city rich with
history and culture as well as clothing stores and fancy cafés. Though most of the
campers do not speak Bulgarian, they have been able to explore the town that has
become their new home for the month of July.
The town is divided into two sections - “the old city” and “the new city.” The old city
is called Varosha, which was formed during the Bulgarian Renaissance, a time of
economic and social reconstruction from the late 18th century to the earlier part of
the 19th, a time when Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule. Houses are decorated with old architecture and cobblestones line the
streets showing signs of an earlier time.
Blagoevgrad is located between two of the largest mountain ranges on the Balkan Peninsula—Rila
and Pirin, which hold the records for the tallest and second tallest points in Bulgaria respectively.
Due to its location between these two mountains, the climate in Blagoevgrad varies from sweltering
heat during the day to brisk winds that blow through the town after sunset.
Center of Blagoevgrad— cultural Other attractions in the city of Blagoevgrad include the National Museum, the Opera, the Thea-
ter and many other forms of entertainment like bowling, going to disco clubs, sitting in nice
center of southwest Bulgaria cafes, watching movies at the cinema and swimming at Aqua Park. Blagoevgrad is also the
birthplace of Dimitar Berbatov, a famous Bulgarian football player who currently plays for
Manchester United.
Street Dogs
Written by: Rina Hajdari, Egzon Sadiku, Photos by: Nita Skenderi,
Interviews by: Dina Hajrullahu, Desislava Tsekova
You're driving your car and you see a dog on the side of the road. With disappointment, you
realize he's alone. What should you do? Throughout the centuries, dogs have been consid-
ered man’s best friends. They are used for herding sheep, protecting the household, leading
the blind, providing companionship and even doing tricks. They loyal, intelligent animals that
have the capacity to express different emotions. Why then is it that these beautiful creatures
are frequently left at the side of the road to fend for themselves? Bulgaria unfortunately, is
rampant with stray dogs, who have either run away from their homes or have grown up in the
wild. And the treatment they subsequently receive is unforgivable. Teenagers kick them and
A stray dog, resting in the
center of the city.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 7
treat them as carriers of diseases or toys that can be messed with. So in addition to
having to finding food and shelter in the streets, the stray dogs of Bulgaria have to
learn to fend themselves from the rowdy and sometimes belligerent teenagers. Not
everyone likes stray dogs, and that’s why they get left out to fend for themselves.
In general, dogs younger than four months old are killed because they are too young
for sterilization. Females that are grown are killed because of the higher amount of
anesthetics that have to be used in relation to the dog’s mass. A large number of
dogs die due to unprofessional medical treatments, and others die from infectious
diseases after they are returned to the streets.
“It’s too cruel to kill them, though it’s not good for them to be on the streets. They should be gathered in a special place and
locked there, so if someone wants to have a pet they can go and adopt them there. The female one’s should be sterilized,” said
the camp counselor, Edita Bekteshi.
Over two-thirds of the summer campers took part in this class, which took students on a quick tour of different creative
writing exercises – including short stories, poetry, drama, essays, and the ever-popular free writes.. A total of 64 notebooks
were filled with works that ranged from witty and clever, to terrifying and exciting, to sad and contemplative. Interestingly,
although the exercises were the same all three weeks, each class of students put their own unique spin on the assign-
ments and took them in new directions.
For example, there was one assignment where writers took only a simple title and created the outline of a novel and a pas-
sage from that story. One of these titles was “The Republic of Good and Evil,” which became a story about a love triangle
the first week, a medieval Robin Hood-type story the second, and a battle for humanity between angels and devils the third
week. Similarly, giving students the first line of the poem “Roses are red” and letting them finish the next three lines led to
poems that were touching, funny, spiteful, silly, sad, exciting, happy, and even seductive. Writers were also not afraid to
introduce the random element into their works, whether it was creating a short story with three random words chosen from
the back of a book, or deciding whether to free write about speed or Antonio Banderas.
Throughout the magazine are some of the writings of our talented authors. Enjoy!
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Today I will introduce you to the terrible and macabre world of a potato chip addict, a tater fiend, a true spud ma-
niac. For his and your safety, I will just address him simply as “Gonzo.”
At this point I felt that everything was going down hill and I
tried to mend the situation. I tried saying he was wrong, but
before I had the chance to speak he had a furious look in his
eyes and looked very aggressively at me. I felt that was the
cue to bail and I just shoved my tape recorder in my pocket
and headed to the door. I was passing right behind him, feel-
ing his angry glare staring at me and suddenly, he grasped
my wrist. At that point, my primitive instincts acted out, so I
just pulled my hand away hard and ran for it. As soon as I
slammed the door behind my back, I heard glass breaking
against the wall, perhaps it was the tall glass of water that
neither of us touched during the whole conversation. Gladly,
he decided not to chase me. You know, I’ve seen the horrors
and atrocities of addiction, but you know what? I could sure
use some “Sour Cream & Dill” Pringles.
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Age: 24
Everybody looks at Ashley and you can hear all of them asking: “Isn’t she the cutest person ever?”
She’s also kind about answering campers’ questions. When asked what she thought about being so popular, especially with the
boys, she said, “I think it’s funny and flattering. I’m 10 years older than the boys in the camp. I was in middle school when they were
born!” Then she flashed her trademark smile, the one a lot of people talk about.
One of the students, Nita Skenderi, 14, from Kosova, said: “She’s the best teacher ever. She makes your days funnier and happier.”
In the end, Ash was just hoping to be a source of inspiration and motivation. Well, we just wanted to assure Ash that she’s already a
source of inspiration and motivation for us all.
Age: 26
The interview we got from him was very surprising. When asked about his feelings on hearing he has the attention of all the female
students, he said: “It’s a nice compliment, but I’m more concerned about what they are learning, how to speak better English and under-
standing business concepts.”
While the students didn’t mention English improvement or business concepts, Ana, a student from Montenegro, said: “First, I just
thought he was handsome. Now I think he’s sweet and cool and everybody loves him, not because of his looks, but also because of his
personality.”
We just hope that after all these compliments Kellen won’t let it get to his head.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 11
France has amazed millions of tourists with its old European culture. There, right in the center of Paris
stands the glamorous Eiffel tower and some blocks away, The Louvres, which gives people the opportunity
to explore the art world and learn about the greatest artists who have ever lived. It’s an opportunity to see
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s self-portrait, and Monet’s famous roses.
Montenegro is a country whose people are proud of its beautiful coast. Montenegro has a lot to offer to
tourists. The town of Ulcin, which used to be a pirate town, is now one of the most preferred places of tour-
ists. Bar is a city which gives tourists the opportunity to see the old architecture and style of life of a Monte-
negrin, as well as its magnificent coast. Most people find Montenegro to be a perfect place for great relaxa-
tion.
EXIT is an annual summer festival that takes place in the Petrovaradin Fortress of the Novi Sad, Serbia.
Serbia It
usually lasts four days. EXIT’s mission is providing entertainment for Serbians youth, through concerts,
parties and performances. Although very few people believed that this concert idea would be successful,
the first concert held in July 2001, visited by 200,000 people from all over Serbia, was a proof of its suc-
cess.
Every April Fool’s Day, the streets of Odessa, Ukraine are full of people dressed in the funniest way. Hu-
morina, as it is known, is has been celebrated since 70’s. The first few Humorina festivals were actually
pretty funny and sophisticated, but as years past by, Humorina became
more of a tourists event. Nowadays Humorina is a non-organized cos-
tumed “parade” across the Odessa streets.
The International Festival of Art “Slavianski Bazzar in Vitebsk” is an annual festival held in Vitebsk, Bela-
rus under the supervision of Belarusian Government. This festival is devoted to Slavic music and its main
participants are celebrities, mostly singers from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine and celebrities guests from
many countries, both Slavic and non-Slavic.
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AN INTERVIEW WITH
ALEXANDER THE GREAT-EST
WRITTEN AND TAKEN BY: DESSYSLAVA TSEKOVA AND TIJANA DELEVIC
PHOTOS: THANKS TO VANYA STOYANOVA
Dessy: Hey, Alex. Thank you for giving us this interview. So, could you
tell us your full names?
Alex: My name is Alexander Acosta. My nickname is Alexander the
Great!
Dessy: The Great?
Alex: Yeah…No! The GREATEST!
Dessy –laughs- : Where are you from?
Alex: I’m from Bogota, Colombia. Born and raised.
Dessy: How old are you?
Alex: I’m 28 years old.
Dessy: I see a ring! How long have you been married?
Alex: 2 years in September.
Dessy: What were you like when you were a teenager?
Alex: I was shy. I was cute. I was sweet…
Dessy: And you’re so modest! Are there any interesting moments from
your teenage years?
Alex: Oh,yeah! I played basketball professionally when I was 17 for
my team.
MESSY IS GOOD! Do you like mess? Well, there are some students in our camp,
who REALLY like it. We took a look at some rooms and took
BY: ZANA BUÇINCA some pictures of the mess and talked to campers about it.
WITH PHOTOS BY: MIMOZA HOXHA
“As for me, I don’t like the mess, I’m just lazy,” says Tijana Delević, 16, from Montenegro. Tijana’s
roommates don’t mind the mess either. Mess doesn’t mean that Tijana doesn’t have an organized
life, even though she’s messy both at camp and at home.
Genc Dauti, 16, from Kosova organizes his daily schedule, he says, but he doesn’t mind if his room
is messy, and the chaos doesn’t really reflect his entire personality. His roommate tried to clean the
mess, but then he gave up, and just got used to the untidiness. At home, Genc’s mom cleans up
after him. That, he says, is why he’s lazy now.
Tijana Delević’s room
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But……in this summer camp, there are also students who HATE the mess. “Mess drives
me crazy” said a tidy girl from Serbia, Milana Tosić, 17. She loves being orderly because she
knows where her stuff is, so she can find her things easily. She is always tidy, not lazy at all, be-
cause she cleans her home also before her mother tells her to do so. And what she hates about
her roommates is THE MESS that they make.
Butrint Deshishku,16, from Kosova is one of the few guys that are tidy and willing to talk about it.
“When my room is messy, I get mad,” he says. He just can’t stand it, so if he had a messy room-
mate, he would try to convince him to clean. But, luckily, his roommates are just like him.
Not to be sexist, but it appeared from this research that girls are more likely to be tidy and boys
messy. If a girl is messy, she doesn’t want anyone to know. If a guy is tidy…well, you know. So,
thank you, messy girls and the one tidy boy. And always know: You are not alone.
Sunset. Night.
Day ends. My ally.
Descends, floats, disappears. Incoming, crawling, falling.
It’s fascinating each time. My mind is opening.
Twilight. Darkness.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 15
Aleksa Golubin is a sixteen-year-old from Herceg Novi, Montenegro. Herceg Novi was founded 600 years ago (in the year 1382).
He said that we should definitely go to the Square, and to Topla. And he made us promise to go to the pancake house Roda, be-
cause they make the best pancakes in whole Herceg Novi. ”We have two Museums, The house of Ivo Andric, The school in which
Njegos studied. Go to the Blue Cove, it’s the prettiest cove in the Adriatic sea. And there is also an Old city in Herceg Novi, that
stretches out across the whole town, so you cant miss it.”
KOSOVA
There are a lot of students in the camp from Prishtina. It’s the capital of the newborn
state, Kosova. When asked why he loves his city, Betim Bryma (15) answered,
“Definitely, the great night life. More than half of Kosova’s population is under 25
years old. So when you go out at night you get a chance to meet people. You might
think it’s not safe for our age to go out at that time of the night, but it’s really not that
dangerous,” he said, considering the laws in Bulgaria. Prishtina was described by
Betim as having a “vibrant community life.” There are a lot of people on the cafes or
the town center. “There are a lot of places to visit! I would give the visitor a tour of
Prishtina by showing them the ethnographic museum where they would learn about
our culture and our lifestyle through the ages. They would also love the Gërmia Park; Prishtina’s night life
we go there often to enjoy the nature.”
BELARUS
The only Belarusian camp participant comes from
the city of Mogilev, which is located in the eastern
Belarus. It’s Alexandra Ivanova, a sixteen-year-old
who is known to us as Sasha. She describes her
city as “small and quiet, but sometimes it gets in-
teresting.” Since it’s the third largest city in Bela-
rus; we were confused why Sasha told us it was
small. She explained, “Because in my country
there are only six cities and all of them are small.”
She said that the city has a lot of cafes and restau-
rants. “I really enjoy going to the Drama Theatre
and Leninskaya Street (where all the youngsters
Mogilev’s Leninskaya Street Mogilev
hang out), and that’s where I would send a tourist.”
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SERBIA
Belgrade (meaning "White City" in Serbian) is the capital and largest city of
Serbia. The city lies on two international waterways, at the confluence of the
Sava and Danube rivers, where Central Europe's Pannonian Plain meets the
Balkans. Viktor Reljic, a seventeen-year-old from Belgrade, said that what
makes him love his hometown most are his family and friends. When asked
where would he send a tourist, he said that he would send them to splavovi, to
the centre of the city, and to malls like Delta city, Zira, Ushce, and Merkator.
According to him, most of the people from Belgrade hang out in front of their
buildings, in cafes (Banovic Strahinja,Obilicev Venac), in centre, discos.
Sixteen-year-old Nemanja Pejcic is from Pirot. He said that his town has an
old medieval fortress, as well many clubs and discos. “If you come to Pirot you Narodna Skupstina Republike Srbije in Belgrade
must go to the old fortress Kale, and you must take a walk down our river Kej.
And if you come during the summer we have a huge swimming pool. There
are also two squares where you can sit and enjoy the sunset over the
nearby hills. After doing that you’d probably love to relax, and the best place
to do that is Planinarski Dom, situated a few km from the city in the moun-
tains, or the lake Zavojsko, which is a bit further off, but worth the trip.”
Pirot’s Kej
USA
Jeng-Tyng Hong, the journalism teacher, is from New York City. New York is the most popu-
lous town in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is
among the most populous urban areas in the world. The city is often referred to as New York
City to differentiate it from the State of New York, of which it is a part. Jeng said that the best
part of her hometown is the West Village, because in a city that is constantly moving there are
still remnants of an earlier period in NY where live bands play accompanied by aisles of people
dancing. She said that you should definitely visit the Central Park, The Metropolitan Museum of
Art, and Broadway to see some of the shows, Her reasons for visiting New York are: “First of
all, because Jeng lives there, and, because there is no other place in the world like it. You can
never get bored. It’s the city of endless opportunities.” The Statue of Liberty
Two of the other teachers are Ashley Soltis and her “better half” Neil Starzynski. Ashley is from
Inwood, West Virginia, located south of Martinsburg. Neil is from Hamburg, New York, a town
south of Buffalo. Ashley’s town is small, and she said that they have a really good Mexican res-
taurant and a few small bars, and that there is the first house in the state with electricity, which is
actually a log cabin. You can spend your free time walking along fields and streams and look for
Civil War relics. Neil’s town is much bigger, but also very cold. According to him it’s freezing
there, but people embrace it. “We grow up throwing snowballs,” he said. Neil urged us to go to
Niagara Falls when we get there, which is a 30 minute drive from his house, so be sure to ring his
doorbell when you’re around. He also said there are some nice beaches along Lake Eerie.
HAIRSTYLES
By Alexandra Ivanova and Aleksa Golubin
When walking in the park or just sitting on the bench, you see hundreds of different people with different hairstyles. Sometimes it de-
pends on their gender, age, subculture to which they belong, but sometimes it doesn’t. It also depends on their mood. Your hairstyle
shows what kind of person you are and it expresses your inside world. And what about the participants of the summer camp?? It’s like
a cultural melting-pot here, but still we are all young and this article will show the hairstyle preferences of the young…..just read it!!
Erza Mekuli from Kosovo really likes her curly hair because in her opinion it looks better than straight hair. She said she doesn’t have
much time to go to the hairdresser so she seldom changes it. You have to pay 10-15 Euros in Kosovo to have your hair cut or dyed.
Ashley Soltis, who is 24, comes from the USA…’I have had the same hairstyle for a long period of time, for about 5 years, it is easy
and it keeps you warm in winter says Ashley. She says that she didn’t often change her hairstyle. Moreover, she prefers not to dye her
hair. Ashley likes the fact that in Bulgaria she has to pay only 3-4 BGN, whereas in America it is 25-30USD for the same cut.
Tijana Delevic is a 16-year-old girl from Montenegro. She really likes her hairdo. That is why she doesn’t change it often….’the price is
low: 5-10 Euros,‘ said Tijana.
A Serbian boy Victor Reljic who is 17 has gone bold!!! ‘I did it because I think I look more handsome. I like it very much!!! It is so sim-
ple!!! I don’t need to go to the hairdresser any more!!!...I didn’t pay anything...I did it myself!!!’ says Victor and laughs.
And the last person interviewed for the article is Robertino….He is 16 and he is from Bulgaria. It is in his blood to be an adventurer
and a rocker or something like that. This is the reason for having long hair and Robertino is not keen on changing his hairstyle a lot.
He feels very good with this style. He usually goes to the hairdresser once a year. Robbie said he cared a lot about his hair and this is
probably why it is so shiny and smooth.
Skinny jeans
are so in!
S
P
O
R Nemanja
T Pejćić, 16,
Serbia
Y
L
O
O
K
Check out
these trendy
accessories,
of the
summer
campers!
Erza Mekuli, 16, Kosova
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Karaoke Night
Written by: Rrita Limaj, Contributions by: Viktor Reljic and Andjela Lekic
On Saturday, 18th of July, from 7:30 PM to 10 PM, the campers of AUBG’s, sang and partied like they had never done before. It was
“Karaoke Night” at a very popular bar called Bacardi which is located in front of the American University in Bulgaria. Almost all the stu-
dents participated in the party, but only a few had the guts to sing in front of the crowd.
The first duet of the night was performed by Korab Kosova and Andi Selimi,Selimi both 15 years
old and both from Kosova. They performed the song, “Californication” by Red Hot Chili Pep-
pers, but you could not really hear them singing because the microphone wasn’t working. “I
felt a moment of happiness when I stepped onto the stage,” claimed Korab Kosova, while
Andi said that “the whole feeling was very good, but sadly the microphone wasn’t working
properly.” On thoughts for the location, the two friends had completely different ideas. Andi
liked the location a lot, but Korab would definitely change it for the next Karaoke Night.
Party Fashion
Much the same as for every other party, girls spent the minutes between lunch and
the party choosing the perfect partying outfit. Some started planning what to wear
even before lunch! On the other hand, when boys were asked how long or how
much importance they devoted to their outfits, they claimed that they did care how
they looked, and it only took them 5-10 minutes to pick the outfit.
The exception was Genc Dauti who said that it took him half an hour to choose what
to wear.
Photo caption: AUBG campers clapping for the current performer.
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On July 14th, the auditorium was filled with students, talents, and teachers who showered
the performers with applause and emotions. The students displayed their talents in front of every-
one, so they could all get to know each other better. The show was opened with the sweet melody
of the Turkish March, played by Nemanja Pejčič (Pejča), from Serbia. All were amazed by his tal-
ent, especially when they found out that he’s only 16 years old. He started playing the piano, even
before reading and writing at the age of 6. When asked about his greatest influence, he replied: “I
sincerely thank my Ukraine teacher Tanja, who would be proud of me, especially after two months
hard work”. He also said that it was difficult for him, because he was a bit nervous, but he hoped the
audience liked it.
One of the other performers, maybe the one that was most talked about after the show,
was Sadbere Fazliu (Beli), a 16 year old from Kosovo who performed differently from the others.
She showed her talent in hip-hop dancing, but then blew everyone away with her belly dancing,
which was unexpected by everyone. It was really interesting because of the fact that hip hop and
belly dancing are not very closely related, but that question was immediately forgotten after everyone saw her dance routine. “It
was hard, since I had only one day to practice but, I thank my friend Nita Këpuska who helped me pull the routine together,” said
Beli, after she was asked about her difficulties. “I liked it a lot, because it reminded me of my country, Colombia” said Alexander
Acosta, the executive camp assistant. “She is a great dancer, and she dances like Shakira” he later added.
Nita Këpuska, a 15 year old Kosovar, was another rare talent who performed in AUBG’s
talent show. She touched everybody’s heart with her passionate voice and the enchant-
ing melody of the song “Killing me softly” which was originally sung by the Fugees. In
fact, she was a ‘whole package’ - she was confident, looked great, and she really was
killing the audience softly with her performance.
“Even though I was a bit nervous in the beginning, with their warmth, the audience
helped me conquer my fears.” was Nita’s reply when she was asked about whether she
was nervous. “I liked Nita’s performance the best, and I think she deserves to be the
winner.” said Damjan Tufegdzić
After those touching performances, there came the scary part. Metodi Deribanov (18) from
Bulgaria, decided to come up with something different. He told a scary story, which in the beginning didn’t seem that scary, but in
the end everyone was scared to death. The story was about how spirits try to communicate with human beings in different ways.
But the most commented part about this act was when the whole auditorium was concentrating to look for “the face” of a spirit,
when suddenly a terrifying face appeared which brought a lot of screaming. “It scared the hell out of me, it was really really terrify-
ing!” claimed Rozafa Maliqi (15) with a ghastly look on her face.
The show was ended sensationally by another singing talent who brought tears to the crowd’s eyes: the 16 year old Albanian
Dina Ahmeti. Because she sang perfectly, no-one would have ever guessed that it was a last-minute decision. She chose
“Foolish Games” by Jewel because it is her favorite song. “This song was dedicated to someone special.” claimed Dina in her
interview. “I was not nervous about the show, since I’m close to nearly half of the audience.” she acknowledged when she was
asked about her feelings during the performance. “It was very very touching, and I really loved her voice.” said Jelena Jankovič
(16), one of the campers. “If I had a chance to vote, I would definitely pick her.” she added.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 23
But not only students have talents. This was confirmed by the teacher’s sketch, ’Being beautiful’ and Alex’s dancing routine with
Donika Gojani(16) from Kosovo.
The sketch ‘Being beautiful’ was played by Abeth Spencer, Kellen Utecht, Jeng-Tyng
Hong and their so-called assistants; Emma Garcia, Ashely Soltis and Tony Spencer.
They were hilarious with their performance and a lot of voices laughing were heard in
the auditorium. “I think it went fine, I liked the part with the lipstick but we spilt water all
over the place!” said Abeth, the writing skills teacher. Everyone wondered how much
time it took to prepare the sketch, so Tony, the computer skills teacher, replied “It did
not take a lot of time. We just took the props and we improvised”. But the funniest one
was Kellen a.k.a. Charlotte, dressed as a woman. “I thank Ashley and Emma, who
helped me with my boobies,” claims Kel-
len.
The salsa routine was a performance that was not on the list, an unexpected and
brilliant piece of entertainment. “I liked all the performances, but if it was up to me,
me and Donika were the winners.” explained Alex with a bit of humor in his voice.
They’re great students and well-behaved teenagers, but on this evening, their talents
were discovered as well. The AUBG community, composed of 82 students, 5 teach-
ers and a handful of other staff members got an insider’s view of what a group of
talented high schoolers are able to do with a little bit of work and an endless supply
of energy. Who knows? Maybe they were witness to “the next big thing!”
On Wednesday, the fourteenth of July, students from the AUBG camp had a chance
to have some fun by going to Blagoevgrad’s biggest summer attraction - the Aqua
Park. “It was cool and I really liked it,” said Tijana Delevic. It was the coolest place to
be on a sweltering day. After not being able to go to the pool for a week, the stu-
dents were very excited because of the fresh water that was waiting for them at the
end of a 20 minute walk from their student dorms. After getting in the water, every-
one was very happy. The atmosphere was full of excitement and in the water smiles decorated the campers’ faces, as they swam peace-
fully with one another. When asked whether the Aqua Park was accessible to all campers, Egzon Sadiku, from Kosova, replied, “I think
it’s quite available to everyone, but it’s a bit expensive and far from the dorms.” After an hour, campers were exhausted and ready to go
home; that was before they saw paradise on Earth - a long aqua slide. They jumped on and all had a great time once again. When asked
why people usually go to the Aqua Park? Robertino Todorov remarked, “because it’s FUN!!!”
Boys and girls going for a dip to escape the sweltering heat of Blagoevgrad’s summers.
WE 8 Page 24
It's fun to talk about boys - boys with gorgeous eyes, groovy hair, cute smiles and ripped stomach muscles. But what
do they say when they talk about you? Here are some things we came up with after surveying some boys.
Having complexes about their looks.
“They are never satisfied with themselves and they’re always trying to be someone else.” says Ivan Ivanov (15)
from Bulgaria. He has a point. Why won’t most girls go out because they have a bad hair day? Relax, girls!!! Looks
are not always the most important thing guys look for in a girl.
Overusing make up.
“It’s alright to have a little make up, but if you look like a Picasso masterpiece, kissing you is like huffing paint.”
says Mars Atanasov (17) from Bulgaria. “Why do girls think they need so much crap in their faces? Do they think
that it will get them a guy?” But not all girls put on make up just to “get them a guy”. The makeup thing... It's more
fun than anything. Right, girls?
Being around too much.
What’s the point of all these text messages, phone calls every single minute? Yeah, it’s good showing that you
care, but not acting like their moms. Why are you with him, if you don’t trust that he’s not with another girl? “Yep, it
reminds me of my mom when I was 10,” says Ivan “but still, behind every strong man, there’s a woman.”
Gossiping
Have you ever heard of “minding your own business?” What do you benefit from talking all day long with your
friends about the latest fling? It’s all just a waste of time.
Smoking
Most of them don’t even like it. They smoke because they think that they look cool. Believe it or not, most of them
hate to see a girl smoke. “A girl smoking, is not my type at all and they look so ugly”, says Rumen Stoynev from
Bulgaria. “I hate to see a girl smoke, but now I’m used to it,” adds Georgi Mihaylov from Bulgaria.
Being Late
A girl on time is difficult to find. 10..15..20 minutes maximum, is sometimes acceptable. But being late 30 minutes?
Isn’t that something very hard to handle? Even if a girl starts getting ready 2 hours before a date, there will defi-
nitely be something she forgets to do. “I even turned my watch back ten minutes so I’m not waiting around so
long. That’s the only thing I can do and it works,” says Vasilje Perovic (18) from Montenegro.
Jealousy
“What is this text message?”, “Why is SHE calling you ’baby’?” “Are you sure she’s just a friend?” It’s a creepy
habit girls do all the time. What’s the point of controlling their boyfriends like policemen? It’s a thing that guys find
extremely annoying. But not all the guys hate jealousy. “I don’t mind jealousy, I’m jealous myself,” says Rumen.
Ego
“I hate it when a girl claims 2000 times that she cannot be reached,” says Vasilje. “They are in love with them-
selves,” he adds. How about girls who are naturally shy? Does that count as ego? “She will never say I’m sorry!”
most of them claim, but you have to understand - it’s girl PRIDE!
Provocative outfit
“I don’t hate it when a girl wears a miniskirt, short tops, unless she’s my sister” says Rumen, Genc Dauti (Kosova)
and Betim Bryma (Kosova). So, yeah they look hot. But will they be taken seriously by most of the guys if they con-
tinue wearing that stuff? Don’t think so…
Lying to them
No girl appreciates you lying to her face without even the slightest sign of remorse. You probably want to go to that
movie with your friends, but there’s no need to lie and tell her that you’re visiting your grandma.
Cheating
If there’s anything worse than lying with no proper reason, it’s definitely cheating. If you can’t focus on a single girl,
don’t even try. “Being betrayed by the person you love is the worst pain in the world,” says Mina Slavkova, 15, from
Bulgaria.
Selfishness
You like chips? Sure you do, but so does your girlfriend, so don’t just shove that stuff by the mouthful. Same goes
for thinking only about your own convenience. “My ex used to think only about what suited him best, it was terrible,
like I was his slave!” remarked Victoria Angova, 17, from Bulgaria.
Gross
Girls don’t like it when boys are dirty, smelly and when they don’t take shower. They also hate it when you pick your
nose, so please stop doing it while you’re reading this, guys!
Fake
Nobody likes people who pretend to be who they’re not, especially when that person wants to be involved with them.
Jealous
Ok, let’s say that you’re with an awesome girl that every one of your boyfriends wants to steal her. That’s JEALOUS!
No Respect
No girl likes it when you treat her like an object. Most people have stopped doing it since 800A.D. You should do it
too, Mr. Caveman!
Page 26
WE 8
SUMMER MUSCLES
Story and photos by:
Milena Matkovic,
Sanja Mracevic and Natalija Paunovic
Campers can work out when they’re not busy with other
activities. The equipment is available from noon to 5 p.m. and camp-
ers can stay there as long as they want.. The opportunities are huge, Enjoying…
everything from running on the track and cycling to kickboxing, tai-chi
and yoga.
Robertino Todorov is 16 and from Bulgaria, but his muscles make people think he is much older. It
is that because he exercises four or five days at week? This guy likes being fit and he likes the
equipment camp provides. His favorite is the running machine, like most campers say. Robertino “Maybe you can’t see, but
said he has no routine when he is working out. He does it free, without any rules. I feel so refreshed now.”
One of the most active women at camp is Marija Lopusina, 23, who is chaperoning campers from
Montenegro. She trains because it helps her feel better. Marija likes using camp facilities, but she said
she has been to some much better. After an exhausting two-hour workout, Marija said, “I would like to
have an aerobic instructor and balls for pilates. It would make this program more interesting.”
F E AT U R E : A D AY I N T H E L I F E O F A N A U B G
CAMPER
Written by: Dina Hajrullahu, Butrint Deshishku
Interviews by: Vanya Stoyanvoa, Stasi Madoleva
Outside is a cool and fresh air that blows from the river of Bistrica. Most of the students get ready
and by 8 o’clock, they go to the AUBG, but some of them are left without food in the morning. Then
it’s time for classes (Performing Arts, Journalism, Writing Skills, Computer Skills and Business).
Everyone learns something, works together with other campers and has fun. After 3 hours of classes,
Trying to wake up.
there’s lunch. Usually, the restaurant serves soup, pota-
toes, rice, meat, salads, fruits, etc.
After finishing lunch, students have to go to the activities for which they have signed up earlier
that morning. Some options include arts and crafts, fitness, basketball, football, baseball, bil-
liards, bowling, board games, swimming, volleyball and reading books. Then they have free time
and they can use it to talk with parents, to walk around Blagoevgrad, shop, or if they are hungry,
go and eat pizza, snacks, wherever they want (well, Retro is a good place for eating pizza as
well as Napoli). And at 6, everyone has to go back to the AUBG to have dinner with friends. Then
comes the last activity… it’s the night activity where people work in teams and have to do many
interesting things like (board games, movies, team competitions etc).
Having a break.
WE 8 Page 29
I had a mission to find a few words in every single language that is spoken by our AUBG campers.—
campers.— Goran Cetkovic
English Hello How are you? What’s your name? I don’t Understand Thank You
Belarusian zdravstvui kak dela ? kak vas zovut ? nie razumieju dziakuju
*
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 30
“The most important thing in the world is friendship.” -Zorana Perovic, 16, Montenegro
Written by:
Deniza Kryeziu
Jovana Jankovic
Milan Perovic
At the beginning, we arrived here and no one was our friend. We all looked
at each other with different opinions. But the days passed and we began to
like each other. W hat
changed? Maybe because we
liked and appreciated each
other. We played together,
stayed together and had fun
together. We will miss each
other and we all hope that
these summer camp friend-
ships will not end. We will stay
in touch and will never forget these amazing times.
WE 8 Page 31
CONTACT LIST
CAMP STAFF
TEACHERS
CAMP COUNSELORS
CAMPERS
CAMPERS
CAMPERS
CAMPERS
NOTES
WE 8 Page 37
NOTES
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 38
NOTES
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 39
NOTES
JOURNALISM CLASS ROCKS!
Playing tug-of-war on
Monday night — GO
TEAM!!!
Dea Tahiri,
Floran Sahiti,
Rrona Zhuri