End of Summer and new opportunities

It has been abnormally long since my last post......due to personal and Peace Corps related trips and pure laziness. I am a bit older (maybe wiser) then my last post and I have recently acquired a very energetic kitten from a volunteer in the Radopi mountain region of Bulgaria. My recent activities include an exciting week long vacation in Austria and Slovenia with a side trip to see my Baba in Boboshevo . As far as work opportunities go, they seem to be increasing as the school year draws closer.










I have been living with a kitten since late July, who I lovingly call Lou Lou. He is about 3 months old and sometimes I think he is possibly the spawn of the devil...........young and curious is more like it. Sometimes I feel bad that such a little cat is living alone with me in a studio apartment. He keeps me entertained and I think just about everything I own has become his toy. I haven't decided what I will do with him when it comes time to leave Bulgaria, I have plenty of time to figure out some options but I think its best to leave him with a local youth that would have more time with him and not scar him forever by spending 15 hrs in the darkness of a airplane luggage compartment.

In August I spent a week in Vienna Austria and Ljubljana Slovenia. In Austria went to Palaces of the Hapsburg family, ate apple strudel and sausage and then lazed about on the rolling green lawns in front of art museums. Slovenia is a bit smaller but just as quaint. I enjoyed ancient castles refurbished into local art galleries, riding down the river in a tour boat and spending the day walking around the lake in Bled. The trip was great, full of new experiences and happy moments. I am happy to say I was able to find a perfect hole in the wall sushi restaurant that I ate at, TWICE! :)

When I came back to Bulgaria from my vacation, I had a side trip to my Peace Corps training town, Boboshevo. I spent an evening with my Baba, telling her about my trip, work and answering questions about why I have not found a husband and have not started to have kids yet. This is still baffling to her that I am 24, not married and without children. It was great being back in my old stomping grounds. I saw all my old neighbors and even went with my baba to get her goats with the rest of the neighborhood. Just like old times. Our closest neighbor and fellow goat owner, made me another pair of knitted booties and said if I come back for Christmas that I would get another pair. I have at least 8 pairs at this point. All different colors and patterns. All to keep me toasty warm this winter.

Work lately has been a mixture of local town initiatives and working with the newly arrived trainees. I have been selected to be a Resource Volunteer for the group of volunteers training in Ovchartsi. This is a small village close to Dupnitsa, similar to my village where I spent my training. I will be a resource for them not only for their small group project but also for guidance as they become accustomed to this new lifestyle and after training when they move to their permanent sites. Something like a mentor. I have a great group. Two boys and two girls from all regions of the United States. Currently they are working on a great project proposal to have a day for the local youth in their village where the kids will take part in a photography scavenger hunt (the kids take pictures of different objects / elements in town) and then the pictures will be installed in the town library. The idea is to promote youth action and increase youth interest in the local library. This can also increase tourism and other types of local involvement.
As far as work in my town, I have several initiatives that I am working on. After attending a seminar on how to implement HIV and AIDS educational activities and events in site, I am working with my site mate and two youth to create a program for our local High Schools, private English school and art galleries. Each of these organizations will play a different role in reaching out to the local youth and the community about the issues of HIV and AIDS and how knowledge can lead to prevention.

My main title as a volunteer is "Environmental Education." This is something that I feel is very important for youth. Not only is it important for them to have respect and a connection to the environment but also to be taught about it with active learning. They must be in nature interacting with it to learn about it. I have a connection to a local elementary school who helped to me to hold a meeting with the teachers of this school and discuss my ideas of how to incorporate EE into their programs. They applaud the idea and look forward to having me working with their students after the beginning of the the school year. Recently I organized a meeting with the director of the local orphanage. Many youth volunteers have already been working with this type of institution in their town, but for me I see that the majority of my efforts in the information center (my current host organization) can now be focused elsewhere till the next tourist season. I will be meeting with the director next Thursday in order to discuss what are the needs of the institution and how I can help meet those needs. Ideally I would like to go to the orphanage several times a week, playing with the children, working with them on English, Math, Arts and anything they would be excited to learn about. My Bulgarian tutor is currently writing a project to give these children some school supplies and provide them with an opportunity to interact with the students of the local English School........something like an exchange.

As far as me and how I'm doing. Everyday I feel a little more like I live here.......which is about time because I only have one more year :) I'm making more acquaintances in my apartment building and around town. My Bulgarian language is improving more and more, slowly! And gradually I feel as if my work here is having a greater purpose, which certainly helps me to feel more at peace here and connected to my town.

Travels to a Българска Сватба

I had been invited to Dupnitsa for the resource fair of the new TEFL volunteers (B23s). I was asked to present environmental education materials since most of the work I have done in site has been teaching local youth about recycling, animal habitats and respecting the local environment. I Traveled to Dupnitsa through Plovdiv and Sofia. It was very nice meeting the new trainees and soon to be volunteers. It was the day before they were sworn in and I had the opportunity to speak with them and see some of their last minute jitters. They seemed very excited and ready to head to their new homes.

The next morning I woke up very early to head back towards Sofia and then onto Plovdiv to meet with other volunteers who were traveling with me down south almost to Greece for a Wedding. The wedding was in a small Bulgarian village named Slashten. A volunteer and a Bulgarian tied the knot in Bulgarian tradition.

Before the wedding I decided to take a shower..............should have thought twice. This bathroom had a clogged drain and I was unaware of the flood of water flowing out of the door. By the time I was finished, all the floor outside the bathroom was covered in standing water and confused Bulgarians. I apologized over and over and tried to help clean it up but they just smiled and seemed to say that it has happened before................the floor was tile making it easy for cleaning.
Early in the morning we met outside the home where the bride had been since midnight. It is tradition for the bride to hide so that her groom cannot see her the day of the wedding before she comes out in her dress. We all waited outside patiently for the bride and groom to make their appearance. When they came out a baba sprinkled them with herb water, local musicians played music and candy was thrown as we all walked through the village into the square.
Later came dancing and then signing of the marriage documents. We spent the rest of the day eating and dancing, eating and dancing until we were just about stuffed. At one point the dance group the bride danced with in Chirpan became the even entertainment. The bride changed out of her dress into a traditional Bulgarian costume along with her sitemate and those from the group who made the trip. Late we took a small break, then went to a small cafe where the other volunteers, the bride's family and the groom ate left overs from the wedding feast.

We sent the new couplke off with wishes of luck and happiness.
The next morning started early. Time to head back to site.........seems easy enough right? Well all the volunteers who came to the wedding and I hopped onto a little micro bus headed to the next large town where we would get on another bus to Sofia. On the trip, a group of men got on the bus but had not closed the door to the luggage bin correctly. The bag of one volunteer fell out and is believed to have been stolen by a passing car. After almost an hour talking about it outside the bus we got back on and headed to our destination. We took the driver to the local police station where Peace Corps (on the phone) , the police and the driver spent an hour or so discussing the next steps. The volunteer probably wont get his bag and belongings back but thankfully will be able to have the bus company reimburse him for the majority of his lost items.

Now that I'm back to work after a long and expensive trip (Bus fare is a killer) I have been meeting soo many foreigners who are hiking and traveling through Karlovo. I work at a tourism center so when they walk in I have to assume they are Bulgarian (this is Bulgaria) so I begin speaking in Bulgarian. When I get the awkward face I used to give when I didn't understand, I switch to English and that tends to be more productive. Just yesterday I met a young French boy who had been hiking from Italy and wanted to travel over the Balkans through Karlovo. I provided him with a map and took him to the beginning of the train up to peak Botev and then up and over.
The weather is hot and sweltering. Had to buy a fan so that I could sleep at night. Work is going well and my projects and ideas are rolling along. It may be warm but I'm staying busy and that's what makes a good day.

Smell the Roses

This past weekend was the Festival of the Rose in Karlovo. Two volunteers came for the event; Jim and Emma. I had never been to the rose festival before and wasn't sure if it would be very entertaining..........turns out there was nothing to worry about. When they arrived Friday night, we went for dinner at a local restaurant and talked about Peace Corps experiences and did a little catching up. After dinner we walked through the center. We were met by a local doctor from Soput outside Restaurant Karlovo. He and I are working on a project together to get medical supplies for the local hospitals. This evening was apparently an auction to raise money for children. It was a lavish event with banquet style seating, flowers and lots of food and drink. The doctor invited us to join and paraded us into the restaurant passed the front tables telling everyone we were Americans from the Peace Corps and lead us into the back where all the municipal leadership was sitting.........to say the least we were all surprised to see each other. The night continued with a few awkward hellos and introductions. The waiter brought us out cake and poured us water in wine glasses. The doctor, who was very drunk at this point in the night kept coming over with wine for our glasses. The entertainment for the night began not much after we arrived. There were women in Vegas style costumes dancing to Broadway music and a man who swallowed fire and had Jim step on his chest while laying on a bed of nails. Emma described it as what she expected to happen if she was ever tripping on Acid. I was pretty sure that no matter how much fun the next few days were this evening would be hard to top.

The next morning we woke up early and met the past volunteer and my dance group to go to the outside of town to the rose fields. Here we saw the tradition of the rose queen and her court, traditional dancing, singing and drank rose rakia......which honestly was more like cool aid with rose flavoring.

After the events in the rose fields there was a presentation in the center with the rose queen and the mayor. This was followed by kukeri dancing and singing. We decided to go for a walk around Karlovo to see the waterfall and a local rakia distillery. This distillery made rose rakia and rose water. They were giving demonstrations and tasting. Later that night, there was a concert in the center. It was an early 90's hair band. They played alot of covers and at one point played the first 3 or 4 minutes of several popular rock ballads which was a bit confusing but that might have been all the knew for those songs. At one point we only heard the drummer playing, this was because the other group members decided to take a smoke break in the middle of the concert.

Emma headed back to her town Sunday morning and Jim and I enjoyed a lazy afternoon. We made french toast and attempted to make banana bread in my testy oven. We made a crazy decision to go to Plovdiv for McDonalds. I spent almost 10 leva on food and it was worth every stutinki.

Yesterday I had an Eco club project with the kids I went with on excursion a few weeks ago. There was a presentation from a volunteer who lives in Gabrovo (just over the mountains) and we played a game about food chains then they made masks with natural and recyclable materials and finished the event with two films; one about hedgehogs and the other about lady bugs. At one point in each movie the animals were getting a bit physical.......the kids were giggling and we had to explain that is what happens in nature so there can be more hedgehogs and ladybugs. Hehe!

The class and their teacher had brought me a bouquet of flowers........it really made me feel special and welcome. After the event I was given some startling news. Thankfully the visiting volunteer had better Bulgarian skills then I and was able to clue me in on what she was saying. He just had this look on him that something was wrong. I understood that she was talking about a student and a mom but it wasn't until she used the work "monkey" in Bulgarian that I was able to piece the puzzle together. The problem was that there was a student in her class who did not come to the event because he was upset. After our trip around Bulgaria he went home crying saying that apparently I had called him a monkey. This of course was not true and not something I would ever do to anyone let alone a 10 year old child. He has a complex about his larger ears. I was told that he tends to think people are always talking about him and his ears. I assume he heard me say something to the other kids, or misunderstood something I said thinking it was related to him and his ears. I don't know where he would have come up with this idea. The teacher explained that she knew this was not in my character and even the students explained it had not happened. The mother of this student was upset as I can imagine and had contacted the teacher about the incident. I offered to speak with the mother if it would help. Even though the accusations were completely off the wall and false it certainly put a damper in my day to think that not only one of the students but also their parents thought I was capable of this.

Today was back to the real world. I started work in the information center. They have been itching for an English speaker to be working here for all of the foreign tourists asking for information regarding the town and the mountains. There has already been a man in today from Switzerland. he wants to make a film about the rose festivals in Karlovo and Kazanlak. I was sorry to say that he had missed the festival in Karlovo but had all week to enjoy the festivities in Kazanluk. I also put him in contact with the volunteer in that town.

It is a beautiful day on Waterfall street.

Hanging with the kiddos

On Friday I returned to Karlovo after a five day excursion with twenty-five third graders, all of which were nine or ten years old. The trip was an opportunity for the children to take learning outside of the classroom. We visited history museums, churches, historic monuments and caves. The name of this little excursion translates into Green School. Not only did the students learn about the history and culture of Bulgaria but also its amazing environmental beauty.

I was asked to serve as another shaperone for the students and since I speak English..........it was thought that I could teach the children English while we were traveling around the country. I had prepared flash cards and pictures in English and Bulgarian but the kids were also happy playing 20 questions all day long in order to learn any word they could think of. It was very humorus and I enjoyed every moment of it. I helped them with their English and I had 25 ready and willing Bulgarian language teachers.

At first they didnt seem very interested in me traveling with them. Every now and then they would walk to the front of the bus where I was sitting and ask me a question; "Where are you from?", "How old are you?", "Do you speak Bulgarian?" :) (that one always makes me laugh because I've already answered the first few questions in Bulgarian), "How long have you been in Bulgaria?" ........and so on. This went on just about the entire first day until we got to our hotel and we had more time to joke and have fun. It wasnt long before we were all good friends........But the questions continued :) They wanted to know absolutly everything about the United States and how it was different from Bulgaria. It was difficult conveying to them the size of the US because they wanted a response that pertained to the whole country. They didnt understand how there could be so many differences in one country. I did my best. I did have one student who asked me what life was like in England. I explained I was from the US, and not only is it far from England but also different in many ways. She didnt seem to care much about my explanation.....to her, they were two English speaking countries and basicly one in the same.

There was one student who turned out to be more curious then the others. One day he put his arm around me and asked me with a smile "Are you married?" Not too bad for a nine year old. Every night we had a little disco in the resturant of the hotel.....only problem was all the boys I could dance with were missing fifteen years and three feet. It was fun just goofing around and dancing around with the kids not worring how bad I dance.

The moms and other shaperones were just as interesting. The day was spent with the kids and in the evening the older women and I spent the evening with Bulgarian snacks, Gin and tonics and Music Idol. The questions at this time of day were geared more toward what I was doing before I moved to Bulgaria, my family and my personal life. It was interesting to them that I was twenty three years old, living very far from my parents and without a ring or kids. One had been married since she was 16, but never regreted a moment of it.

Before I left on the trip I began planning an Eco Club for these students. We will play games focused on food chains, have a mask making competition with materials from the outside and recyclables, and also a film and a presentation about the animals in the Balkan Region. I will be getting help from local volunteers in Gabrovo for the presentaions and well........... the crowd control (entertaining 25 youngins is no easy task).

I hope to have the opportunity to work with more youth in the future of my service regarding environmental education in ways such as eco clubs, projects, hikes and outtings.

Life behind the scenes

Well its only a matter of time before you have to write something personal in your blog. For some of us, life as a volunteer includes more then butchering the language, nagosti and coffee at the local cafe. A few of us have attempted to have a personal life during our service.......arent we optamistic.

This brings with it many challenges, sacrafices and the need for alot of strengh and understanding. The biggest challenge is balancing your commitment to your work and community (your reason for coming here and dedicating two years of your life) while finding time and giving enough of yourself to your personal commitments. Sometimes I find myself asking if it is appropriate to be spending time on anything other then my work, however we are all entitiled to a life as long as you keep your priorities in mind at all times.

Hope! This is something I have been holding onto everyday. Hope that all your effort and time spent is going to prove worthy of all the difficulty. Hope that one day you will have more then weekends. Hope that one day you will really learn who this person is.

Just as in our service, this must be taken one day at a time and with the least amount of expectations as possible.

TIME: Do your best to spend your time wisly; its limited.

TALK: Communication is so important, because you spend 80% of your relationship on skype or sending emails if your lucky.

BE CAREFUL: Your emotions cant be paraded around town and your best friend on the other side of the world isnt always going to be awake when you need someone to talk to.

PATIENCE: Be willing to put your needs on hold

UNDERSTANDING: The first priority is your purpose for being here.......Don't lose site of that.

Take a deep breath and take each step with care and consideration. Maybe it doesnt work for everyone but for me it also takes alot of prayer; all of my blessings did not come from my work alone, so why would I think I could face my challenges and survive them alone?

Forgiveness

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

"Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who forgives you out of love takes upon himself the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrafice."
-Dag Hjalmar

"Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."
-Mark Twain

Some might say my daily life is a bit strange...........

So enough "odd" things have happened to me lately that I felt compelled to share it with everyone who may be reading my blog. For those who do not live this sometimes awkward life style, daily events and happenings may leaving you looking with a confused and maybe nervous face. I've encountered the weird, the funny and the "are you serious, is this really happening?" You can't plan for each day, because 90% of the time it never happens the way you plan or something off the wall happens instead which really just makes your day that much more interesting........Just be prepared to go to the moon at a moments notice and you will be fine. I always keep my passport, a toothbrush and a change of underwear on me at all times....you never know whats going to happen.

Seriously though.......things seem to happen to me here that would leave some with a huge ? over their head like in the Sunday morning cartoons.
Back in January I was going to Sofia by bus. It was 6:30 in the morning and a man was sitting across from me making the most horrible sounds. Everyone seemed to think he was sleeping but I could tell it was not so simple. He was foaming at the mouth and his breaths were getting shorter and shorter. At the time the bus driver decided to go back and see what all the commotion was about the man had stopped breathing. The driver was yelling at him to wake up. Rather then calling for an ambulance right away when the man did not wake up, instead he went back to his seat and turned on the bus. I was in horrified. Were we going to leave this man on the bus with us for the next 3 hrs ? Finally one of the passengers said that he would call for an ambulance. After waiting 20 minutes for this the man had ceased to make any sounds and was completely still. It was so odd because his phone was ringing every five minutes, as if someone in Sofia was trying to contact him and he was not really in the position to tell them he wasn't going to be making the trip. The man passed away. He needed 5 men to carry him off the bus onto a stretcher and be put into a car used as an ambulance but really was an old communist car or truck reassembled into an ambulance. Needless to say it was a quiet trip all the way to Sofia.
I'm friends with the woman who runs the local Radio station. Once she heard that I had joined a local Bulgarian dance group she wanted to see my skills............outside in the center of town! Every morning she would find me somehow, I would be on my way to work and she would want to dance the horo, rain or shine this woman was ready. With some music and the right outfits we could have been quite the entertainment.
One day I was waiting on my boss to come to the office and open the door when I man talking to himself was kicking rocks around where I was sitting. He seemed harmless until he picked up one of the larger rocks and made the motion that he would throw the rock toward one of the nearby shop owners. I was a bit nervous and thought about leaving. He came over to me and started to tell me something in Bulgarian. This man was missing all of his teeth making his words that much more difficult to understand. I told him I wasn't able to understand him, so he thought for a second and just said to have a nice day. About five minutes later he came back with a red tulip for me as a present and then walked away. I decided to go home and work from there until I heard more from my boss. I hadn't been walking more then 3 minutes when I heard the sound of someone running behind me......it was the same guy. I kept walking only to hope that he wasn't running to me. Well he was.....he threw everything in his arms in front of me so I couldn't walk anymore. He stops for a breath, looks up at me and says USA? I replied yes and he handed me a cookie and then ran back in the other direction.
Just yesterday I was walking home from work to change my clothes for the opening of an art auction that was associated with one of my recent projects. Please keep in mind I live in Bulgaria......not anywhere near a desert. I'm walking by and just enjoying the weather when I see a camel sitting next to my apartment building.......Yes a camel. This animal was just chilling out in the grass with 5 miniature horses. I found out later that the circus is in town. This wasn't as shocking as what I found on the steps of my apartment building this morning. What looked like a 3 or 4 year old little girl and an infant were sitting on a blanket alone, dirty and very sad looking. I kept looking around for parents or someone keeping a watch on them.....no one! One would think that would be enough to talk about for one day......not in my town. The woman in my office asked me to take a notebook to the tourist hostel and mentioned that I had mail waiting for me at the information center. I went for a walk, grabbed some pastry and ran my errands. On my way back to work I saw a man who comes into my office to speak with my boss on a weekly basis. He was in his car and I went over to say hello. I could see tears in his eyes but rather then saying something about what was wrong he proceeded to ask me if I would teach his grandchildren English.....well of course but not what I was expecting him to talk to me about. He wanted to know where I was going so I explained I was headed to work.......I could see it from where I was standing. He insisted for me to get in his car so that he could take me to work......all 30 seconds of the trip.
This didn't include the constant stares because I must have AMERICAN tattooed to my head, crazy questions about America (You mean its not like on the movie...?) and little things like mothers leaving their children in baby carriages outside or 5 year old children buying cigarettes at the local store....but you get the idea. Well that's just a taste of the odd ball things that go on here in Bulgaria.......Can you handle it?

I'm alive, I promise!

Yeah so I’m a horrible volunteer and I haven’t been sharing with the rest of the world about my experiences in Bulgaria…………..Here is me playing catch-up after a month of no blogging. Lets see, since March I have been crazy busy with projects, almost dieing in my bathroom, checking out a few more cities in the BG and playing around in the North EU.
On Sunday three of my first projects will have been implemented after several months of work and if you know me at all, a bit of stress. At the beginning of the month there was a youth art exhibit organized by a local high school student and myself. Students participated from every school in the Municipality, from first grade to their senior year. There were photographs, graphics, sculpture and paintings. Two poems of my poems were written on photos taken by another student………….they were in English so I had to do some explaining. So many people from the community came to show their support. Many leaders of the Municipality came and local teachers. We had problems finding funding from the community, and ended up accepting support from a local political party……..which means after organizing for 3 months I had to take the back seat and keep my name out of the event. As a volunteer I can’t be politically affiliated especially since I technically work for an office out of the municipality. The event was organized to sell the artwork and give the money earned to the local orphanage as well as get the local youth involved in a charity and bring the community together. It was a great success and I was really impressed with the hard work of the students and the support of the community.
Just a few days later (April 21 and 22 2008) was two days full of Earth day activities that I had organized with several local teachers, my organization (tourist society) and local students. The first day included painting over years of graffiti on the information center and planning trees and flowers around the property. The second day included 10 students from the local mahala and I making bird feeders and seedling planters. They really enjoyed themselves and I really felt that I helped to make a special day for them. Later in the day I painted two murals with several High School students on the side of the info center. One was Edelweiss and the other was a tree with the faces of youth under a banner that said in Bulgarian “Celebrate the Earth.”
For the last 4 months I have been working with the local English school specify on their American cultural day. My site mate and I have been helping the students to prepare projects and even teach them some American dances. The event will be this Sunday. A representative from the US embassy in Sofia will come, some staff from the Peace Corps and the community has also been invited to watch the event.
Other then work I have been living life in this little county. A few weeks ago I learned why people always wear sandals in their bathroom. I was trying to do a little home repair and fell on slick tile directly on my elbow and then my lower back. I’m ok now but after a trip to Sofia it just gave my boss something to tease me about………I mean who falls in their bathroom and messes up their elbow. It does feel funny though. The tip of my elbow where I fell is chipped.
As far as traveling, I went to a great city north of my site, Veliko Turnovo. It was absolutely beautiful. I went for a meeting with a Russian woman who is writing a book about tourist destinations in Bulgarian. Since I work for the tourist society and info center in Karlovo I figured it was a great opportunity. I met up with 3 other volunteers and stayed in a hostel owned by a RPCV. The town is built into a hill with so many historic buildings and structures. The same night we crashed at the hostel, a young English man was also staying in our room. He was hilarious and kept us entertained. He apparently has been working in many countries, with odd jobs just seeing the whole world. He told us about his American girlfriend who he has dated for 10 years long distance. She was coming just two weeks after we met. Little did she know he had just bought some property in a nearby village to VT. By that I mean that he bought a shack he was planning on adding a shower and a blow up mattress to before she came. I wished him luck for her arrival.
Just last week I went on another trip. This time I went out of the country to Latvia for a youth exchange. Five students and myself traveled by plane (some of them for the first time) to a country even smaller then the one I live in…………..if that is possible. The name of the exchange was called “Looking forward for open Europe.” Even though it was grammatically incorrect it was a good exchange. The organization and leadership could have been better but I really enjoyed the activities and the people I met. My favorite was the Portuguese group. One guy had a really long name beginning with G so we just called him Big G………such a funny guy. I’m planning to make a trip to Portugal to see them as soon as I can afford it. I will be traveling to Austria and Slovenia with Jim in August………so my money has been already spoken for.
The rose festival is in just a few weeks and the previous volunteer from Karlovo will be coming back at the beginning of next week. I’m really looking forward to this festival. Tourists from all over the world come to see the traditions of the rose festival. I asked if I could be the rose queen which they crown every year, but apparently there is this rule she has to be Bulgarian……..Can you believe it? ;)

Какво Става с Мен

Now that I'm trying to catch up on my blog entries, I'm at the point where I can fill you all in on the present. My work is going very well. My new counterpart is a very smart man with great project ideas. He is very interested in sustainable tourism in Karlovo. Currently we are working on a SPA project for alternative energy systems for the five huts in the mountains surrounding Karlovo. We want to add Solar panels, composting toilets and composting of organic wastes for each site. We have until August to have the project written, but still a long time to go as far as creating the budget, securing funding from the municipality and planning out the timeline. My counterpart says "Има време" - There is time!

Last Monday Peace Corps came to visit my site now that I HAVE AN APARTMENT, and now that I have a new organization (with a sweet counterpart!) This was a very productive meeting because I was able to express any concerns I had about our working situation and he was able to explain more ideas he had about projects, future events and how he wishes for me to be involved with the tourism information center. Eye opening! I had a good idea about what he wanted and now I feel even more confident about being busy with projects and activities while I work for this organization. Yeah for having work and people who want to work with you!
When the Peace Corps came they brought with them a package that had been sent to me in December 2007. This is not the norm for packages to take quite that long.........sometimes I wonder if the pony express is still in use but not three months. When I received the package I saw what had caused the delay. My address was illegible and the only information that could be read was my name, Peace corps, Bulgaria and 4300 (my town code). With this limited information this package, even after three months made its way to the Peace Corps office in Sofia. Someone out there went out of their way to find out where the Peace Corps office was in Bulgaria. In the box, I received some Christmas socks, ginger cookies, wire art, "Grow a pet" (a plastic pet that grows 600% its size when in water for 72 hrs), a very pretty Chinese fan and an American magazine article about cosmetic companies in my region. Very interesting contents. Certainly made my week!

Outside of my organization I continue my efforts with local schools and some social groups. With the other volunteer in my town, we have been assisting in the planning and preparation of an American cultural day with the local English school. The children will be presenting everything from historical events, famous people, holidays and even one about Mcdonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In addition to the projects, some children will be participating in extra activities such as traditional dances, readings of famous poets, skits, plays and preparing traditional American food. As far as food, my site mate and I will be preparing some dishes and hopefully with the help of other volunteers. We would like to serve macaroni and cheese, apple pie, lemonade, hamburgers........ This Saturday they had an end of the year party named "Fashion disaster." It was a great time with dancing and games. At the end of the party I provided the teachers with American country music that I would be using to teach the students how to country line dance. After the party I went with about 15 little girls to our cultural center where I dance every week, to teach them the electric slide. It was more of them jumping around and giggling.......So cute and lots of fun!

I have dance practice three times a week. My group is preparing for a dance festival in Spain this summer. I will not be attending but it gives me more opportunity to improve my skills and practice my Bulgarian. My group will be performing for the Rose Festival at the end of May and early June. I have yet to be asked to participate but I have been told my dancing is improving and its good fun just to be active with the group. Once a week I climb on an indoor climbing wall with a local high school student. He is ranked 13th in Europe for his climbing skills. I have been working with him for the past month on preparing a resume of his placements and a cover letter to request funding from companies throughout Europe and in the US. These were sent out last Thursday, I hope they return a response so that he can continue in his competitive climbing. This is a large part of who he is and I would hate to see him have to give it up because he is unable to find the resources to make it possible.

Last week I planted trees with the municipality. We planted at least 75 trees. With my site mate we plated about 10-12 trees together. These are located in what was an open grassy area next to several bloc districts. The area does seem more pleasant. This was a great opportunity to interact with the municipality workers outside of their office and do some physical work outside. I can only hope that the municipality and the neighbors to to these new trees keep them maintained and healthy.

My English group is going very well. We have had 5 meetings so far and each with a very good turnout. Some of our topics of discussion have included the issues facing Bulgaria, the youth in Bulgaria, lack of employment, environmental issues and homosexuality. Not only does this provide this with a relaxed environment to practice their English since many of them are preparing for their final certificate, but it also allows them to discuss topics not normally discussed in school or in their homes. These students are very bright and have become not only windows to the youth interests in Karlovo they have also become my friends :)

For the last two weeks I have been so tired. This is beyond being difficult to get up when I hear my alarm, I'm not hearing my alarm and sleeping well past when I am supposed to be at work. Not good!
I know I have been going to bed late and eating later. The Peace Corps Medical officer suggested to take vitamins ( I have been bad about this since I was a kid), going for walks in the sun, going to bed earlier on a regular schedule and not eating late. I have removed caffeine from my diet and trying to cut down on salt and sugar. Im not trying to go on a diet but trying to see if a changed and improved diet can help my sleeping problem, otherwise the PCMO has suggested I may need to be tested for anemia. I had blood testing in December and there were no issues then but if my changes dont show any results I will see if this is a possibility.
I have been asked to join another Blog, Blog Stars! I will be the only female posting. My topic is graffiti art and to allow myself other options I think I will also expand my topic to Communist Art. My first post will be tomorrow.......You will have to wait till then!

A Place to Call Home

After five months I have my own little space. Since October of last year I have been hearing from my local Municipality that they are working on my apartment and will have it ready "soon." Soon has a new meaning for me, so does "wait a little."
After a while I was under the impression I would be living with the other volunteer in my town for the rest of my service. Every month or so the Peace Corps and my Municipality agreed on new deadlines for my apartment to be completed and every month the date would pass with no change. When I was finally told it was ready I came to see for myself what it looked like...........it was great! I had freshly painted walls, wood floors and a complelty new bathroom, but........it was empty, no furniture or kitchen!
I went back to the municipality to ask when this would be completly finished, they replied that this is as far as they can go because they ran out of money. Uhhh What? I was told they only had 500 lv left for me to spend on all the necessary items Peace Corps requires in each apartment. This would have covered maybe 2 or 3 items on a list of 15. After several phone calls and the Municipality handing over the responsability of my apartment to the Deputy Mayor it was completyly furnished in 2 weeks.

Many people didnt understand why I needed my own apartment. Almost every person in Bulgaria lives with a realitive or girl/boyfriend. Living is too expensive to live alone, so for me to have my own space seemed unuseuall and maybe even unnecessary. Its required by the Peace Corps for each volunteer to have their own living space, even if it is with a host family........there must be certain space dedicated for the volunteer's use.

I have a modest little pad. My one room apartment is within the tallest buildings in my town. I live on the first floor and have a great view of the Balkan Mountains. Slowly but shurely with the help of several workers from the municipality and sometimes their family, I was able to get my place in order. It reminds me a bit of a dorm room.......small with pleanty of storage.
The apartment was previously lived in by an old Roma woman who I believe died in it........lets just say it adds to the character. The apartment building (bloc) is located far from the town center and closer to the mahala just next to the stadium. This means that I have a reason to have long walks when the weather is nice and I'll never miss a town football match. Its so nice to have a place to hang your hat and call

your own, it was worth the wait :)

Spring Holidays

Saturday March 1st was Baba Marta Day in Bulgaria. As I explained in my last post, this is a day to pass out bracelets for good luck and good health. I spent the whole day tying on bracelets, wishing good health and enjoying the amazing weather. I might of gotten carried away with warmer temperatures. I decided to sport a sun dress and flip flops. When my first counterpart saw me on the street she said that I would cause the weather to change and we would have cold rainy weather.........since my outfit was premature. Right up until the end of the day I was exchanging bracelets. Since this took place on the weekend, the entire town was exchanging for most of the week.

Monday March 3rd was the Bulgarian Independence day. I had been invited to join in on the festivities that took place in the center. The Municipality leadership and employees as well as the local military and my dance group came together in the center to celebrate their freedom from Turkish rule. The next day represents a morning of those who died for the freedom of their country.

I just happened to have a meeting in the Municipality that day to discuss my apartment situation. Before the meeting I was shuffled into the main entrance where all the Municipality workers stood with lit candles and the local monks cleansing the building for the new leadership/new year and also to remember the dead..............like our memorial day, only just after our independence day.

Saturday March 8th was Women's Day (March is women's month). This day has alot of symbolism. Not only does is it a day to recognize all the efforts of women but also it follows the continuation of holidays in Spring that celebrate new life, a new start and good health. Women give life and maybe even one can connect women with keeping the family / children healthy. This day began with a festival in our center to with Kukerie dancers. Five of our villages were represented in the National Kukerie festival only the weekend before. All 8 of our villages were represented with their kukerie groups this day. Amazing costumes and kukerie of all ages and size filled the town square and the whole town was there to watch. The last group to perform had 10 and 15 foot head dresses made of owl feathers.

Being that this was women's day, I (being female) had been invited to a little banquet at the tourist hostel. The owner had prepared salads, fried potatoes, Bulgarian meat and lots of sweets. I was at least 1/3 the age of most of the women there but it was so much fun. We danced the horo, ate till I thought I would never move and exchanged spring bouquets with each other. All the women were grandmothers and being that I was the only one without a family, I was asked repeatedly about my plans to start one and if it would be with a Bulgarian who would convince me to stay and keep me barefoot and pregnant. I just smiled (holding back my chuck reflex) and said I have plenty of time for those things.

The next day, March 9th was the national day of forgiveness. This is a day celebrated with the family. The younger members of the family as for the forgiveness of the older family members. An egg is given to those asking for forgiveness........again symbolizing new life and a new beginning. This past Sunday was Easter in the United States though Easter for the Eastern Orthodox is not celebrated until April 27th. The traditions seem to be similar. They also incorporate painted eggs and an appearance at the local church. The next big holiday that I am aware of is the Rose Festival. This begins the first week of June. Preparations will begin long before. I live in the Rose Valley and our city has a large role in this holiday. Rose oil will be put into our water fountain filling the air with an amazing smell of roses. I have been told by my dance team that I will be dancing with them in the center for the whole town at the Rose Festival..........insert biting fingernails. Should be worth a photo or two!

Ray of Light

Other than some scattered clouds, the weather has been amazing lately. The sun has been shining and I haven't had to wear 6 layers of clothing to go outside. The center has been covered with people shopping and sitting outside at cafe. There are only a few more days left before Baba Marta Day. This is celebrated on March 1, as the coming of spring. Before this day you buy red and white bracelets for your friends and family and give them out wishing everyone good luck and health and the person receiving them makes a wish when the bracelet is being tied on. The bracelets are worn until you see a stork and then they are tied to a fruit bearing tree. I'm excited for this holiday and look forward to seeing my friends in town to exchange these bracelets called Martanitzi. I have bought at least 20-25 with all different types of charms and designs.
My work situation and secondary projects have been keeping me super busy lately. This week I have had at least 3-6 meetings every day. I have begun a project with a teacher from one of the local high schools and her students. The project will focus on Environmental Education and activities to get the students more interested in the topic. This will include several hikes and camping trips in the mountains, and presentations about Environmental issues, sustainability and human impact. Before I decide on the topics of the presentations and the specific activities I will submit a survey to the students and the teachers of the local schools to get a better idea of what their interests are and the best resources to make the educational process more fun. I will also submit a survey to the leaders of the Municipality in order to understand how Environmental Education is supported throughout the town. In addition to this, my new boss has me working on one of two new websites for his organization. Today he handed me a plan for now until September of the projects he wants me to be working on with him. I was in shock. I figured that I would be pestering him for projects and tasks. I cant wait............most of this includes working with the eco trails, composting and local organizations who want to make a connection with the tourism center. Outside of my main organization, I have several other projects in the works. The gallery project is under way now that we have a Go! by the mayor. Tomorrow I will be speaking with several art teachers about choosing students for the gallery opening. I have also been asked to submit some art work. I may do some poetry and or photography. The local language school has asked the other volunteer and I to help the students put on a large presentation for their end of the year projects. This will be a huge cultural event all about the United States. The students can choose any topic they wish and present it however they wish. I will be organizing a group of students who want to learn a country line dance that will be performed at the large cultural day. We are inviting their parents, members of the municipality and a member of the US embassy. I have started an informal English group so that the local community who speaks English can practice their language skills outside of a classroom. I have had a very good response so far.
Outside of work I have managed to take part in a Bulgarian dance group and a rock climbing club. The young man who invited me to climb with him is a European Champion. He has been unable to gain support from our municipality for his competitions, so I am helping him to put together a resume and letter for climbing companies and organizations that might be willing to sponsor him and help him pay for his competitions and gear.
Tomorrow I'm traveling to Chirpan to watch another volunteer who has also joined a dance group. I have to give him a lot of credit for doing this. It can be difficult enough going to practice and being the American butchering their time honored dances, but performing in front of your community and media...........that's intimidating. I will be performing on Monday and Wednesday. Monday is the National Holiday. This will celebrate the independence of the Bulgarian People. As far as I have heard this is only a day without work and relaxation. The mayor will make a speech and the military will display their equipment. It is not celebrated in such a active way like our independence day.
Just today I received the keys to my new apartment. The one I have been waiting to be completed for five months. I was told it was completely finished. This isn't totally true. It has electricity and running water but where the Kitchen is supposed to be is not finished and there is not furniture, only an empty room. I was told that the Municipality will give me 500 leva to buy all the things I need. This will not be enough for a fridge, oven, bed and the smaller things I will need. I wasn't totally surprised that even to the very end they would be dragging their feet to try and get out of the agreement with Peace Corps. None the less I have been in my apartment several times today just enjoying the fact that I do have a brand new space all for me........even if I cant move in just yet. So close and almost there!

I can't believe I did that!

At the moment I am sitting in the living room of my apt. About an hour ago I was in new my office just next to my apartment building. This is a smaller and temporary office that does not have facilities. Since my apartment was only steps away, I decided to leave my things in the office and run upstairs to use my own facilities. When I closed the door of the office it locked on its own.......the keys are in the locked office and I am sadly not. Ehhh it could be worse. I got a hold of my counterpart and currently I'm waiting for her to find a locksmith who will come and unlock the door so that I can continue with my work. Not exactly how I imagined my first day but there isnt much that surprises me in this country anymore.
My new work placement is with the Tourism information center in Karlovo. I already find myself much happier in this placement then the last.......not only because I have a responsive director but also because they are excited to have a volunteer and ready with several projects and activities for me to work on with them. This will not only give me the opportunity to work with tourism activities in Karlovo, it will also allow me to provide assistance to the tourists who come from abroad. I explained to my director that I also want to be involved in environmental awareness activities with the local youth through the center. He was very excited about this. As far as work goes, things seem to be looking up......Right now I am only waiting on my apartment to be finished and a locked door :)
Soon I will be starting an informal English group with students from the local language school and also having a pen pal exchange between these students and several in the states. I have a cousin in Kentucky who is a teacher in middle school and her students are very excited to have pen pals in Bulgaria. This should be a great experience for both sides.
I spoke with my mom last night over SKYPE. She is doing very well. She explains that she is almost pain free and that her cancer markers are dropping fast. I cant ask for better news. My other family members are just now learning about the wonder that is SKYPE, so soon I hope to speak with them on a regular basis, not only through email.
The student I climb with on Tuesdays is training for his next competition. I have been communicating with my climbing friends in the states to see if they had any ideas of how to find him a sponsor for his competitions since he does not have the money himself and the municipality is not a reliable source of support. He and I will be working on his resume and several letters to send to European and American companies that design climbing gear and or support the sport itself. If anything it will show him how to find support within his own interests.
Yesterday was the day of remembering Vasil Levski, this was the memorial of his hanging. He is the hero of this country and known as their freedom fighter. He desired to have one united Republic of Bulgaria.....not sure if he would be happy with the present day situation. The schools let out early and parades and people flooded the streets all the way to the Levski monument in the old town. Red and yellow carnations were put at the foot of the monument as a memorial of his death and for his heroic efforts. On Monday I attended a play that illustrated the events that led up to Levski beginning the rebellion in Bulgaria. Not only was it a great play helping me to better understand how he played such an important role in creating a more united nation for his people but it also allowed me to feel like more of the community. After the play I talked with several municipality employees and their families.
Well I have been told my problem is solved and I can go back to work.

Who knew the woman painting her nails would be my rock of sanity!

Life has been all over the place since I got back from Thailand. Last weekend I hosted a much needed ladies weekend in Karlovo. We made French toast for breakfast, I gave them a tour of the town and we and stayed up late doing the whole girly gossip. I had such a great weekend with the girls. It gave us all an opportunity to open up and just hash out whatever was going on, which we all needed to do. Next time I want to have more of the B22 girls.......one big estrogen fest.

Last Wednesday I had a visit from my program manager. This visit was intended to find out what would be my next steps in the municipality since my department had been closed and counterpart fired. Since the municipality I have been working for, had not met any of the requirements to host a PCV up to this point, there were intentions of removing me from the municipality and moving me to a new organization. The meetings that day resulted in another period of waiting. I have been waiting 4 months for an apartment that was supposed to be done the weekend I arrived back in October and Its been almost a month since my counterpart was fired and sinve have been sitting in an empty office waiting for information. It was agreed that I would wait until March to see if the Muni will give me work since they explained that they do want to keep me, had a new department for me and had actually began work on my apartment. I had expected that this would have been a visit with more concrete results but progress and results occur differently in this country and you have to accept it or let it drive you up a wall.

On Friday of last week I was called into the Deputy Mayors office to meet a man who is the director of an sustainable development NGO in town. We talked about work done in this dept, the type of work I wanted to be involved in and how I could be involved in this organization..........call me crazy but I thought I was getting a new work placement. I was asked to show up this Monday morning to meet with this director and the others in his office. I showed up to the office and met some very nice people who told me if I had any questions or needed any help to feel free to come to them. We all talked about peace corps, my background, the United States and learned a little about the organization. I was asked again what type of projects I wanted to work on. I explained that I wanted to do something related to environmental awareness, but willing to work on whatever was the current project........just wanting some work to do (though I am busy with other activities). When this was over he said I should go with him. We left the office and walked toward the center, then into the Municipality. I was not sure why my new boss was taking me back to my old place of work. Well it turns out that this man is not my new boss, instead he is the head of the department that has replaced mine and I was introduced to him as a resource.

After that confusion, I was trying to figure out who would be coming with me to the Peace Corps IST that starts on Monday next week. Either the counterpart of the volunteer is supposed to attend or a member of the office they work in who the volunteer works with. At this point I was without a counterpart until it was suggested to me that the new girl in the of office I "work" in to be my counterpart. Turns out she used to be the counterpart of the volunteer before the last and is familiar with project writing......so I think that could work. She is really young but very smart and super sweet. Im only confused on if I work in that office or for that office since the muni said they would be placing me in another department in a few weeks......Just one reason to talk to my program staff at IST. So as of yet I do not know who I will be going with to IST for the PDM workshop but at this point im just along for the ride.



This past weekend was so fantastic. The weather was so beautiful. Jim came to visit me this weekend and he finally had the opportunity to experience Karlovo, meet people in my town and enjoy being outside surrounded by the beautiful Balkan mountains. Friday we went to the intellect school to watch the students presentations, then we went to the disco with the students from the youth parliament. Saturday was so much fun. We went to meet with my dance group at our dance hall. After everyone changed, we boarded a bus for no more then 5 minutes and then got back out again. Everyone walked to the top of a hill covered in snow. When we arrived, some of the dancers were making preparations for some type of cultural tradition. It turns out though Trifonovden was Friday it was being celebrated with the community on Saturday. This was a holiday to celebrate the fruits of last years grape harvest and bless the land for the following. I drank red and white wine from metal bowls that had a grape branch floating in the wine. This is more symbolism of blessing next years harvest with this years fruits. The mayor came to the event. He broke traditional Bulgarian bread, drank some wine and cut a branch from the vineyard. A priest came and blessed the vineyard and followed it with a small religious ceremony which had me trying my hardest to keep a candle lit in the wind :) . After the ceremony, we all walked down the hill to another part of the festival that had kukerie dancers, who scare off evil spirits. There were also baba horo dancers. I did a little horo in the mud and snow to amuse my dance group.
Jim and I had intended on making chicken pot pie for dinner but we ended up blowing a fuse and killing the electricity in the apartment........this lead to eating out and some really amazing chicken. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, enjoying amazing weather and eating a lot of M&M's.

Today was a little more confusing as far as still trying to figure out this partner to IST.........I'm finished trying to figure it all out. I'm just going to watch it unfold and quit worrying about it. This evening was very productive. I watched presentations at intellect instead of meeting with my climbing group. I wanted to talk to one of the teachers about creating an informal English speaking group that would meet in a cafe or restaurant in Karlovo. This would help the students to practice their skills outside of the classroom. She and I set up a meeting for Friday at lunch to discuss. After this I went to meet with one student who I will be working with on another project. He and I are working on a project for a youth gallery opening. The theme is "Youth Art and its Future", or at least that is what it is for the moment. He and I made some great headway by laying out a calender of what needed to occur and how to meet our gallery opening deadline. We discussed meetings, materials and funding needed and layout of the exhibit. The best part about this project is that the money raised will be given to the local orphanage........a great way for the local youth and the community to be active and support a local charity. I'm really looking forward to working on this project. Well its been a long day, that I just remembered it began with a glass of red wine.........I was stopped by the gallery owner on my way to work to sit for a spell and try his natural red wine. Who am I to turn down wine at 9:00 am :)

"How long should you try? Until!"