LESS THAN ONE YEAR TO GO!!!

So..in case you aren’t on my Skype list, you may not have heard that I lost my laptop in a storm..messed up the motherboard..now, I was originally okay with this, until the very next day, the municipality I work for decided to change their mind about allowing me to go on a hike. Yep, the day before I have to leave, they decide that my work is ‘unsatisfactory’ (apparently I don’t bring in enough $ for projects)..so now, I don’t have a laptop (my connection to the outside world) and I am not going on a hike I’ve had planned for some time. If it weren’t for our MidService Conference with all the other volunteers in my group, I might have lost my mind. But..don’t worry; as I always say, everything happens for a reason. I usually tend to focus more on my Bulgarian friends, but this time, I really needed the break to connect with other volunteers. It seemed to me like a lot of other volunteers also were having difficulties, but I also heard a lot of great ideas and completed projects. As for the laptop that got fried during a storm, well..maybe I had been spending a little too much time on it. I have had a growing list of subjects I want to study (fixing motorcycles and Dive master for scuba diving)..as well as things around the apartment that need cleaned, and organizing notes..by the time I finish with the ‘to do’ list, I should be getting the fixed laptop back. And for the cancelled hiking trip..my program director is coming for a visit to review what Peace Corps is all about with my new counterparts, and what my goals are as a volunteer. The municipality and I seem to be on two very different pages and we have difficulty connecting, even though the residents of the city are open to these ideas..since they don’t bring in money, but instead promote community development.

4TH of July and Mom’s visit

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first..I think my computer’s dead. I came home from my 4th of July party dead tired, and climbed into bed..to be awakened a couple of hours later by a huge thunder and lightning storm. People are always saying to unplug your computer during these storms ..so I got up and unplugged it. In the process of doing this I happened to see my clothes on the drying line outside flapping all around..and once again getting wet. So..I run out and grab then as quickly as I can..still getting completely soaked. This morning I woke up, plugged the computer in, tried to turn it on..and..nothing. This..really..sucks.
So..let me backup to some happier moments on the 4th of July. I had a 4th of July gathering in the city I teach English. We had paper airplane contests, tossed water balloons (my good friend who wasn’t so keen on playing got drenched)..sorry about that Hrisa, had a drawing contest, listened to good American music, ate and had a relaxing day. And to top it off, a good Bulgarian friend of mine, Daisy, that I haven’t seen since almost a year ago showed up! I’m glad that I celebrated the 4th of July here! Many of my neighbors remembered the holiday as well and offered me ‘chestit praznik’ (happy holiday) as I was leaving in the morning.
Okay..and my favorite, favorite visit was from my mom. Just like when I left for the Peace Corps, this was my moms first time leaving the USA. I tried to prepare her before she left, to give her some idea of what to expect. She met many of my good friends and ate lots of Bulgarian food. We talked, and walked and laughed..a lot. I think she saw some of the more trying issues I deal with here. I am very happy and proud of her for coming. The only thing is..I really miss her and America since she’s been gone.

I can’t believe it’s June already..

I don’t often post about the projects or work, besides teaching that I do here in Bulgaria; so I thought I’d give a synopsis of one of the projects I’d like to complete this year.

I cannot repeat enough times how great it is to have a helpful counter-part. We are working together on a playground for a village primarily comprised of the Roma population. They are heavily discriminated against, and the primary school in their village is being shut down this year. There is not a single playground in the entire village, even though many children live there.

I recently contacted a company in the USA that helps build ‘community built’ playgrounds. I was so excited after reviewing their site..and they want to talk over ideas. The idea of the project is to gather the volunteers and they work 5-7 days..it’s intense work, but the entire community really pitches in to create some pretty amazing designs. So..that has been what I have been working on this week, while Niki has been contacting organizations that specialize in Environmental talks for youth and locating a local firm that we might be able to obtain the wood to create the park..and every day we talk over our ideas.

Niki is a great counter-part on many levels. She wants to learn English, so every day we speak a little English. She is one of the few Bulgarians that I have met that really seems to get ‘brainstorming’ and working together as a team. She corrects my Bulgarian, so that is slowly improving. She likes hiking, and introduced me to the hiking group that I will be doing an 8-day hike in the mountains with.

I didn’t mention also..I went on vacation with another volunteer, Felicia. We visited Amsterdam and Belgium (Brussels, Brugge, Antwerp). Oh, it was great. We walked a lot..and saw thousands of bicyclists in Amsterdam, ate great food, drank great beer, toured museums, shopped. I have to say the Belgian waffles in Belgium taste nothing like ours..they were so very yummy. And..i seemed to bring all the bad weather with me. It was chilly, overcast or rainy most of the time we were on vacation. Everyone kept telling us the week before had been beautiful weather. Oh well..I’m used to it. This was my first trip outside Bulgaria, without other Bulgarians. I was concerned with directions, but had no need for concern. Felicia was an excellent tour guide. Just give her a map and she can find her way around pretty much any town. I told her we’d make a good team for Amazing Race..I posted some pictures on the links at the bottom.

I can hardly believe that this Saturday is my last scheduled class to teach English for this school year! Do you have any idea what this means?! This means I have my weekends free!!! I can actually go and visit other friends and volunteers in Bulgaria.

And the best news of all..my mom’s coming to visit. In less that 2 weeks, she will be here in Bulgaria!

random ramblings in May

This month..much like last month has gone by way too quickly..but, on the good side, there are lots of projects and ideas on the table, and I have a great Bulgarian colleague to work with. This month, I finished teaching the younger students English..yeah! I loved teaching them, but it’s one less stressor, so that I focus more on projects. Next month I finish teaching the high school business class..yeah again! And the adult class on Saturday (this is my favorite group..but I really am excited to have entire weekends off at a time!)..we’ve already talked about meeting during the week, I just need a place to sleep since the bus doesn’t run from the village in the evenings

So..this has been a month of na gosti’s..many, many interesting visits. They are always different. We discuss European history (going back to the Roman and Byzantine empires)..minorities within Bulgaria, the environment, Bulgarian, European and American politics, etc.. And time and again, it amazes me that we can have these discussions in Bulgarian language..they are very patient helping me understand their language. They are also very honest about their thoughts on politics and minorities..as am I.
Some of the events that took place this month: A sports holiday for kids, where the students from the villages in the Municipality were invited to a day of sports. We had a relay race, na rodna topka (the closest thing we have to this is Dodgeball), treats, and awards. There’re a few pictures from this event on the new link at the bottom of this page.
Also..yesterday was a big day in a nearby village where I teach. First, it was a national holiday celebrating the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet..it’s actually a 2-da y holiday for all the schools. But, it was also a town holiday for one of the villages I visit. These celebrations always consist of lots and lots of food, and rakia. I saw my first cooked head of a lamb. I’ve heard many volunteers talk about this, but this was my first..and I basically visited people around the village eating and drinking the entire day..that might be why I’m a little tired today. They had games and rides and a bazaar set up in the center of town.

I have a feeling this summer is going to fly by just as quickly, but also hopefully it will be very productive.

The mountains in SW Bulgaria

What a difference a long weekend and a new counterpart can make.

Because of a holiday last week, we had a 4-day weekend. So I headed to the mountains in SW Bulgaria, near the bordering countries of Macedonia and Greece. In fact, after the first day of our 8-hr hike to the summit of Mt. Ruen, we were stopped by the border control police on our way back down the mountain, and had to hive them our names and EIN numbers.

Now, let me tell you..Bulgarians, are very different when they go hiking from when they take a stroll through town. I mean they move..and fast up those mountains. Most of the time I was in the middle to back of the pack, walking a good pace, chatting with other members and taking pictures. I tell you, they only took one real break at the summit the entire 8 hours..and they eat and drink so little when they hike, and afterwards they don’t appear nearly as tired as I did. And..after every hike, we pack up and head to a new city to see for an hour or two..then head to the next hija (hut) for the night and leave at 5:30 the next morning for a 10-hr hike..of course, this is always after a fun-filled evening of eating, drinking (home-made rakia and/or wine), and dancing. So, all in all they did one 8-hr hike (Mt. Ruen and Mt Shapka), and two 10-hr hikes (Mt. Radomir and Mt. Slavyanka); visited the cities Kyustendil, Petrich, Melnik, and 2 others I can’t remember; and visited 2 monasteris (Zemen and Rupite – a temple to Baba Vanga, a clairvoyant). I say they went on these hikes, because (I never thought this before, but I guess I’m a wimp), after the first 8-hr hike, I didn’t do the next two 10-hr hikes.

Bulgarians are honestly the friendliest people I have met, and the ones on this hiking trip only enforced these thoughts. I spoke pretty much Bulgarian the entire 4-day weekend..and they patiently listened and taught me much about the Bulgarian language, culture, and people.

So..since I was so tired after the first hike, I woke up a little later and went with a second group I had chatted with the day before..it was only a 5-hr hike, with lots of jokes, lots of talking and very relaxed. So..I swore I was going to hike the final day..but woke up at 4:30 a.m. to lightening and pouring rain. I turned to my counterpart across the room and said I wasn’t going. Turns out, all the rain stopped before they left and it was a beautiful day..but that’s ok, because again, we gathered a smaller group and finished another 5-hr hike.

I’ve posted a new link for pictures at the bottom of the web page..because the old location had reached capacity; you should check out the pics.

Oh, and did I mention my new counterpart (yes..new counterpart!!) was there as well. She has only been my counterpart for a week and already we have made more progress together in the first week than I did in the previous 9 months with the other ?**. It feels nice to have an actual counter-part to work with!