My wife, Mary Vasey, and I are flanked by two members of Parliament, the mayor, school superintendent and principal among others. We re on the top step at the entrance to School 150 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It s opening day, and the celebration is being duplicated for 1 million school children in 4,000 schools from the Black Sea on the east to the Yugoslavia border on the west. Music is playing. Parents have filled the arms of teachers with food and flowers.
First graders stand in front of the crowd.
The other students, parents and teachers are neatly assembled in a large u-shaped area before us. There are speeches. Dramatic and musical performances by students. Mickey Mouse and Paul Anka s Diana . Traditional Bulgarian songs.