Krista's Adventures

New year new ideas

2012-01-16T17:19:00.003+02:00

Well it's been a while...

I'm still in the USA, and working through it (it's like i need culture rehab). I have a new job that I'm happy in, and I get to make my living helping others, which is pretty amazing (severe understatement). As for the disillusionment/ despondence I feel towards America, I think I may have found something to help (perhaps culture rehab? Nope, even better, sub-culture infusion!)
While wandering aimlessly around the internet I stumbled upon this blog, which introduced me to a new idea for a concept that I already practice in many ways. I'm already a simplist (think minimalist, but not quite down to two pairs of pants and two pairs of shoes), but I'd never heard of the tiny house movement. The more I read about it the more the lightbulbs start going off in my head.

American culture norm conflicts with me:
#1 Long-term contracts (phones, mortgages, etc). Which to me mean long term debt, inability to be mobile, upkeep, dependence on markets, reliance on/indebtedness to big banks or companies.
#2 Focusing on stuff more than people. Loss of relationships because of things or money, and choosing stuff over people. Building relationships solely around 'stuff': what you have, what you don't, what you buy, what you want... this seems to be rampant and openly accepted in the current American society.
#3 Having more than you need, or over-consumption, which I am fully guilty of but would like to rectify.
I could go on but I won't. The problem with spending more time living in foreign countries in the last ten years than you have in your 'home' country is that you no longer fit anywhere fully (and you're always missing people all over the world).

Tiny House sub-culture solutions:
#1 Long-term contracts. With a tiny house the mortgage (if you even need to get one) is 1/10th that of a 'regular' house and can be paid off quickly, thus no long-term mortgage only short-term. Perfect! Also you can build these things on wheels meaning you don't have to worry about selling if you need to move or what the market is doing. For now, I have no kids and I don't need much space. When I do need a bit more space and my parents are getting up in years I can use the tiny house for them, allowing for autonomy but keeping them close. That's one long-term contract I can't get out of.
#s 2 & 3 Focusing on stuff more than people. & Over-consumption. It's hard to have too much stuff when you don't have room to keep it. Less stuff means less focus on stuff and less consumption. Plus the overall footprint of the house will use less materials than most garages, and I'm going to try and use salvage materials to build it as much as possible.

So the tiny house answers my biggest housing qualms with typical America, but is it actually doable for me...
I'm not 100% sure that it is, but I really do want it to be.

Here are the reasons I think I can transition into tiny house living:
1- For four years I lived in about the same amount of space, or less actually, than the tiny houses i'm looking at (i'm looking at between 110 and 150 sq. ft. for my house). Now I only occupy about 100 sq.ft. of my available living space (shared), so spacewise it's a lateral move and one I'm already adjusted to.
2- I hate paying rent and having nothing to show for it. Bye-bye apartments and landlords.
3- I'm handy. Being my father's daughter, I've learned a lot about fixing things, home repairs, and upkeep. I would also like to build this tiny house myself, with help of course. And if you're wondering, yes, I have experience building houses. Now if my dad would only teach me how to build an engine I could make my dream car.
4- I thrive on challenge and wilt when it's easy. Easy bores me, challenge makes me strive to become better and adapt. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's the life I chose early on, but this is one quality that is consistent (that and my horrible spelling, I'm so glad no one sees the first draft of these things).
5- Introvert. I'm not a hermit, nor could I ever be one for long periods of time, but I sure do need short periods of time away from the world. Not only is a tiny house all my own (no roommates, which I will actually miss because I've had some amazing luck so far, but I've also heard some horror stories, the stuff nightmares are made of) but I can take it to the mountains or the beach and "get away from it all" when I'd like to. I wouldn't need a power or water source for a weekend trip, so I could be completely isolated if I wanted/needed to be.

These are some of the issues with a tiny house I've thought up so far (feel free to add to them or dispell them):
1- parking. I'll have to have a place with water and power to sit my home. It can't be too far from my workplace (I hate long commutes) and right now I work and live in a city. The only options I can see are begging for/renting a backyard (hello again landlord, grr), trailer park (not going to happen), or buying a lot (see reason #1 America and I disagree).
2- hosting, which hinges on 1. I love hosting people. If I don't find a space where I can do outdoor hosting then I'll be limited to inviting 2 people over at a time. That's about where I am right now with mymliving situation, but I'd love to have the capacity to host more.
3- hauling it. Am I going to have to buy a truck just to take this thing anywhere, or is it more feasible to rent one when I need it?
4- aren't I already different enough? This might just draw too much attention and make people more curious than I'd like. I love people, but I value privacy and alone time too.

The ideas of simplicity and minimalism are what appealed to me the most and I can start to adopt those without moving. So I have, and I'm starting to pair down. As all who know me come to realize, I change my mind and have a "brilliant, life-changing idea" about once every six months so we'll see if this one takes hold, many of them do (why do you think I lived overseas for five of the last ten years) and some of them don't (i never did go live off the land as a hermit). Let me know what you think about this idea and if you think it's brilliant or that I'm crazy!

America... land of the easy.

2011-04-26T21:58:00.003+03:00

So I've been back in America for six months now and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.
At first it was wonderful. I went on a couple of shopping sprees to refresh my wardrobe after choosing from the same twenty pieces of clothing day-in and day-out for four years. The shopping euphoria wore off quickly as I remembered I never did like shopping, nor the bills that come with it. At least I had clothes to wear now though and more than three pairs of pants. After the consumer in me feasted the foodie in me really started to come to the table. I could now cook Thai food, eat Mexican everyday (if I wanted to), and find almost any ingredient my heart desired. I had "the world" at my fingertips except the things I really wanted, like sugar sweet just-from-the-tree mango, extra-wide rice noodles, fresh fluffy tamales, chipati, goat samosas spiced just right, olive oil so good you want to drink it, and tomatoes so delicious you eat only them for at least two meals a day. But alas you can get the tasteless poor-man's (or blind-man or ignorant-man) version of all of this right around the corner of wherever you happen to be in America. America the vast, America the fast, America the easy.

It's not that I hate the land of my birth. There are good things here. I love the diversity and the fact that we are a melting pot, or salad bowl depending on your school of thought. I love the opportunities provided for those who seek them. I love that you can get one-off versions of just about anything you've had anywhere in the world... but they just never seem to measure up. Maybe my memory paints a better picture, but I'm pretty sure that some countries do/make/grow specific things better than other countries.

America may "have it all" but that doesn't mean it has the best of it all. Vanuatu still holds my heart for beaches. Thailand has the sweetest, purest tasting fruit I've ever wrapped my lips around. East Africa has the brightest smiles and the most regal, awe-inspiring landscape I've ever laid my eyes on. Bulgaria has the best vegetables and quaintest villages I've had the privilege to garden in. Italy the best cappuccino and espresso. Brazil the best caparina. Mexico the most vibrant colors and colorful nightlife. All this is only my humble opinion and based on my limited experience.

I am young, a tempered idealist, and a fish-out-of-water. I feel uncomfortable anytime I am comfortable. Whenever life is easy it makes me uneasy. There is something in me that hates complacency and the strive to have more while forgetting those around us. I do have to admit though I strive to have more... rarely it's more money, usually it's more experience, more time, more love, more friends, more family, more quality time. I find that no matter how much of these things I have I always want more. I doubt that will ever stop...

Sorry if this meander through my mind has been a bit hard to follow.

Closing Services

2010-06-13T20:48:00.002+03:00

We're still learning.
We always will be.
Hopefully.
Learners in a land full of information.
We seek understanding only to be...
misunderstood.
Listening is our best tool.
Few are adept. Few care to be.
I hope you are those who care, those who help,
those who share the need.

Change the cheat

2010-04-25T09:45:00.002+03:00

Think you can't change the world? Think again.

Why do all my friends find cheating to be absurd and immoral?
Because someone along the way (or many people) told us that cheating hurt no one but ourselves. We believed them, we didn't cheat, and (if i may say so) we all have very successful lives and careers now. And we have gone on to teach the same 'no cheating' moral to our children, students, nephews, and nieces.

Why do almost all of my students find cheating to be not only acceptable but necessary?
Because the society reinforces that cheating isn't a bad thing. There is an echo throughout society that there is no harm in cheating; look at the successful businessmen, the politicians, the leaders. They all cheat or have cheated to get to their claws into the high rung they now hold.

The more I live here the more I'm disgusted by the corruption, the cheating, and the mindset about these two evils. From bus drivers to CEOs, cents to millions go missing daily.

The 'average man' seems to be despondent about corruptions on a large scale that affect them. They see no connection from large-scale corruption to their social reinforcement of cheating starting in grade school.
Sad. Tragic. Exasperating.

Books, Clubs, Motorcycles

2010-04-11T11:34:00.003+03:00

I'm in a book club now. There aren't many book clubs in Bulgaria (read: this is the only one I've heard about in the entire country). I'm the youngest member and the only one, so far, who does not have children. We read everything from The Sound and the Fury to The Jannisary Tree (the former I recommend, the later I don't). Reading has always been one of my outlets and I've always enjoyed it but there's something about the book club that makes it better. While reading, I know I'll be able to ask questions and discuss the things I find interesting, or uninteresting, with a group of people who have different views and opinions but the same knowledge of the book (as long as we've all read it through *ahem*). So I recommend you all go start a book club!

In other news I'm thinking about buying a motorcycle. (Flood family comments/concerns here::)

W.E.

2009-11-11T10:29:00.002+02:00

In my classes we've been doing a lot about creativity and imagination (since it's come to my attention that most children and young adults haven't been encouraged to do this in their academic careers here). Some of my students, no most of my students, amaze me with their vivid imaginations and their ease with the flow of words in a foreign language. For Halloween they wrote "scary" stories about everything from Dracula at a high school prom falling in love with a girl to the last Bulgarian non-mutant zombie trying to fend for his life in an old fortress. I also learned about the kind creatures in Cupcakeland that wanted to rescue young girls from the clutches of the most evil man in the universe and I had a couple young authors write intertwining stories that were complete on their own but intersected to form a complex and rich plot. I was so impressed and proud of my students enthusiasm for their work and their imagination!

Then came the upperclassmen... I asked them to create a holiday that was ridiculous, just complete nonsense. Either I failed with the topic or their imagination is far too hidden away by that age. There was one amazing spark that came out of this though. One of the girls started talking about holding a festival that all the teachers and students could come to that would have different booths and games and activities but that the students would plan it all and organize it, all the teachers and administrators had to do was show up. This might sound like a "normal" idea to those of you in the States who go to these things every year, but here it is not a tradition, nor is it even an occasional event. I've been to one such event here and it was at the "American High School" in country and it was planned by teachers and staff. To have a student even suggest having this type of event, and wanting to take responsibility to plan it, blew me away. When I asked her if she was serious about this or it was just an idea she said, "I would love to do this but we need a group of students, not just me. Would you help me see if we can get a group of students?"
Maybe I spoke too quickly about their imagination being gone, maybe it just takes up with more ambition.

Time turns

2009-10-04T16:22:00.002+03:00

This weekend I went up to my old town, Byala Slatina, to pick up all the stuff I left there, and boy was there a lot. I stopped in town along the way and had breakfast with a good friend and took my time getting to Byala Slatina. As I drove through the misty mountains and caught glimpses of the changing leaves through the dense fog I could only think of how fortunate I am and how beautiful Bulgaria truly is.
This whole weekend reminded me of all the intricacies of Bulgarian village life that I miss living in the big city. Of course now I don't have to worry about getting fleas but I also miss out on the 4 hour 'visits' where everything is made-from-scratch. Getting to see both sides of the country, and getting to live both sides, is not something most people have the chance to do. I really love it.

Vacations Always End

2009-09-22T12:08:00.002+03:00

After an awesome two month vacation traveling around Europe and the States I'm back in Bulgaria! Last week I moved into my new apartment and started my new job. The apartment is beautiful and pictures will be up soon (well as soon as I buy a digital camera). My new job is at a private school. I'm the "Native Speaker" and I teach English conversation to grades 8-12. So far I'm wholly impressed with the school and the new lifestyle.
This weekend was a 4-day weekend because of Bulgarian Independence Day. So after the first three days of school, we all got a relaxing four days so that we could go back to school for four more days before another rough weekend. The downside is that this is the ONLY holiday before December 24th. So I'm trying to make the most of it. I went to visit a few friends of mine on the other side of the country for the natural weekend, and then I came back ran some errands and enjoyed the last bits of warm, sunny weather.
Not a bad start to the school year.

RSFBP

2009-07-19T15:13:00.003+03:00

On my 'farewell to Peace Corps' tour I've reached the western front...of Europe that is. We've been to Rome, Sienna, Florence, Bologna, and Paris so far on this stretch and have 2 more weeks to go. Without a doubt Rome has been the favorite, just in case anyone is wondering. It just feels like magic is in the air there. Sienna was an amazing town to slow down and rest in. Since Rome was so hectic and packed with things to do it was a nice change of pace to lounge in cafes and stroll around aimlessly. The scenery there was gorgeous too. The Tuscan country-side is breathtaking. Florence was way over rated... sorry to all those people out there that just loooove it but I don't. One less tourist in your way I guess. It had nice architecture, and lots of art, but overall I was unimpressed. The masses of tourists walking around in chaotic zigzags with maps in one hand and gellato in the other, the massive lines for any and all museums, and the serious lack of outdoor cafes lessened my regard for it instantly. Plus it was hot. Real, real hot. I don't do well in extensive stretches of heat and 4-days is my max. Bologna was a quick stop over. Since we weren't expecting anything much from the city we were pleasantly surprised by it. It had a pretty center, with interesting architecture and lots of wide, shaded sidewalks. Basically it was a good shopping and eating town, so we did both and it worked out well.
We felt like we were on the Amazing Race trying to get to Paris though. It was ridiculous. People were pushing, shoving, cutting, and even elbowing us the whole way there...perhaps cheap airlines and the metro are not the way to travel. Once we got to Paris everything leveled out though. It's beautiful, but not quite as magical as it's portrayed to be (at least in my opinion). This is probably another one of those Florence things though, and I'll just say if you find Paris magical and wonderful I'm very happy you do but I'll be one less person in line for the Eiffel Tower the next time you visit. Speaking of the Eiffel Tower we almost saw someone commit suicide off of it. Just as we arrived to check out the line we saw a man with a helmet and lots of gear scaling the outside of the first level up then noticed him wrapping a rope around a person who was also standing out on the ledge with him who appeared to be a fanny-pack tourist (there was an actual fanny pack involved). We were wondering whether they were going to bungee or base jump so we stopped and watched. Then we noticed the heavily armed (i'm talking AK-47s) military and policemen standing along a roped off area at the base of the Tower. When the would-be jumper finally got talked down and climbed back off the ledge over the fence we realized what had been going on. It was crazy (and completely not covered by the media)!

Summer Sizzles

2009-07-05T01:45:00.001+03:00

Today we had an adventure. Since we had two extra days in Budapest we decided to take a day trip- to Vienna. We took a train there and had no idea what to see or do. So after randomly finding the most famous church we headed down to the opera house, saw the parliament, got tired touring the fine art museum, then headed to a huge palace and gardens. The day was amazing. It was near perfect, in fact my cousin decided to say that it was the “perfect day” without knocking on wood. Big mistake. So after a wonderful sit at a café we headed to catch the 5.50 train back to Budapest. We get to the train station and find our train with 5 minutes to spare. Then I heard some girls speaking Bulgarian and I decided to chat with them. After a few seconds of chit-chat they said, “Oh good, we’re all going to Germany!” and I said, “Uh, no we’re going to Budapest…wait. Where does this train go?” And then we discovered we were on the wrong train. So we jump off with stuff in hands and 2 minutes until our train leaves. Luckily (or perhaps not so luckily) the Budapest train was right across from ours. So we ran into it and sighed, just then a man came up to us and kicked us off the train and told us to go further up. So we walked two or three cars up the train and got in again. Feeling very secure in our situation we actually sat down… then two boys ran through the train yelling something ending in “get off the train” in German. I caught their frantic spirit and rushed to get off the train, Chloe trailing behind me very confused until another man got on the train and said, “Follow me to Budapest!” This made us laugh and we followed. Then we realized that the train we were supposed to be on was in front/behind the train we had been on before and we had one minute to run to it. Finally we got on the right train and found seats and breathed a deep breath and went to take out the train tickets… which were nowhere to be found. As I tell Chloe that I can’t find our tickets she says, “Ha ha, good joke.” Then as I start to freak out she realizes it’s not a joke. After discussion of who will stay on the train, who will keep the bags, how much time we have, what we will do if we can’t find these tickets, and so forth we both get off the train. We decide the tickets must be somewhere on the second train we mistakenly got on, because I remembered grabbing them off the first. We run back to the train and it’s locked, but there was a conductor there who, after a brief explanation, unlocked it and let us look. We looked up, we looked down, we looked side-to-side, we looked back to front then front to back, we split up to look… then a worker found me and said I had to get off the train because it was leaving for maintenance in a couple minutes. Chloe was nowhere to be seen. As the guy asked me if I found the tickets I jumped off the train and shouted, “No! and my friend’s still on the train!” We ran down the train looking in the windows and finally found Chloe and motioned to her to get off the train right then. After reconnecting and realizing neither of us had found the tickets we resigned ourselves to buy new ones, and just as we did another workman (that bring the total number of workmen helping/following us up to 4) started walking towards us with something in his hand. Then he held them up and ta-da! It was our tickets. The man received his daily allotment of hugs in the five seconds following. We were so relived and happy, and then realized our train had left. Luckily the next train was only an hour later…and 20 degrees hotter with no a/c. But we have finally arrived at our hotel safe, sound, and full of adventure.

Busy like a bee

2009-06-13T12:15:00.002+03:00

The new group has arrived and it's really interesting to see everything through their eyes just as I'm wrapping up. I can't believe how busy I've been. With the new group's arrival, the 12th graders prom/excursion, finishing up teaching, getting grades together, and all the final Peace Corps stuff that has be done to finish there hasn't been a spare moment. It's so different from my normal pace of life here. I don't think I'll be able to survive living in the States. So for that reason I'm going to stay here.
Just kidding.
But I am looking for jobs here, so that part is serious.
I have an interview with a private school later on this month. If you are wondering why in the world I'd want to stay here instead of coming to the land of the super-size there are many reasons. I've gotten used to living here. I love the fresh fruits and veggies, in season. I like the pace of life and the hours spent in cafes. I love the fact that I don't need a car. Then there are the more substantial reasons: the friends I've made over the last 2 years and the fact that re-adjustment scares me so when I do it I only want to do it once. Hopefully a job will pan out and I'll be able to stay here until I feel like it's time to come back to the states.

Other than that excitement I'm planning a 5-week extravaganza across Europe, which I'm super excited about! I'll be home for most of the month of August no matter what. I'll try to keep y'all updated on the job situation.

A fresh end, a new finish

2009-04-12T15:14:00.004+03:00

I've been very slack about blogging so far this year. Since I only have three more months to share my experiences in Bulgaria with you I am going to make an attempt to blog every other week. I'm hoping I can follow through on this. So here's the first of the final installments:

Daily life here has become easier over the last two years. I no longer fear going to the grocery store or bumping into someone I'm supposed to know. The language comes easier, for the most part. The rhythm of life no longer seems foreign. And here I am about to leave and go back to a place where everything that was once so familiar will be foreign. It makes me think about staying... and then I think about the winter.
Leaving will be hard.

Today I wrote up an evaluation of my site and work situation. One of the questions just said "Electricity/Water Regime". Here is my answer:
"In the summer the water shuts off at least one day a week for the whole day. The longest it shut off was 5 days in a row, but in that span there was water for one hour every other night. In the winter it shut off less frequently, maybe once every other week. There's supposedly a radio broadcast saying when it will be shut off but I didn't know the station so I just kept two 11 liter jugs filled with water.
The electricity was pretty reliable. It went out in storms and sometimes for no reason at all, but it would usually come back on in a few hours."
It took me time to realize this wasn't normal, for you at least. Most of my friends in Bulgaria live in towns where their water shuts off almost daily during the summer and only runs for a few hours each night. So to me, I'm lucky.

There were two other answers that surprised me when I put them into words. "How strongly would you recommend your replacement by a new Volunteer?"
I feel like there is a lot of work that can still be done. The teachers are very open and receptive to new ideas... It amazes me the opinions that are stated as facts that no one questions. When I do question these 'facts' my colleagues and students are open to discussion, but have never considered that just because something was their opinion didn't make it fact. To continue this open dialogue another 'outsider' has to be brought in, because the 'insiders' are not given as much freedom of opinion or latitude for disagreement. My community was always supportive of me even when we disagreed. I'm afraid that if I'm not replaced all of the new ideas and opinions that have been introduced will be forgotten and everything will go back to the way it was before."
I have never been able to put into words my fears about leaving, but I think that's my biggest one. That I will not have made a lasting change.

The other question that I had never put into words before was:
"Do you feel that you have been successful in your assignment? Please explain."
"Yes and no. There is that which is possible and that which I desired to accomplish.
I think as far as what is possible- yes, I was successful. I integrated, made friends, shared ideas, exchanged cultures, taught students, and helped the students who desired to learn more learn.
What I desired to accomplish was far more difficult to measure and much harder to obtain. I wanted to change the mindset that racism is right, or even ok. That, I failed at. I hope that I may have made a few people start thinking a little more about a little differently though.

I know most people don't want to read the answers to my paperwork, but I figured just maybe it would help you see where I really am, what I'm thinking about, and how (even though I'm really looking forward to it) coming back to the USA is going to be difficult.

Podcasts...or Friends?

2009-03-09T13:55:00.006+02:00

Today I discovered Podcasts have replaced friends for me. While this may sound pathetic or odd, it works. In October my closest friend here moved to London. Which might seem insignificant to most people who have a network of friends, but here in Byala Slatina I have very few friends and this friend was the glue. She made sure we all got together at least once a week and she was also the one that always had time to hang out, go to cafe, pick apricots, or do nothing. It took me a while to realize just how much she had affected my time here. November and December were busy months full of guests, occasions, and vacations. So the gaping hole in my social life wasn't really felt until January when I returned from winter break in Rome to the bleak cold of home. By mid-January it was evident: I had little or no social life.
And life took a turn in this meandering adventure, if I can even call it that now. Other than weekly outings to my fellow PCV's apartment in town I went weeks without seeing any friends outside of work. Sitting in my moderately cold apartment not wanting to walk to the center in the freezing cold dark (which was anytime past 4:30) I realized I hadn't left my apartment except for work in over a two weeks. This is a sad story, there have to be a few.
Fortunately I re-discovered Podcasts. Now I listen and laugh along with those crazy Tapit Brothers on Car Talk. I postulate on the situation of the world with my personal correspondents on The Economist, BBC Global News, The New Yorker, and (my personal favorite) Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me. But sometimes I just relax, forgetting that I'm not in the studio with Jad and Robert, and ponder the scientific wonders introduced to me on Radio Lab. Yes, these are my pinch hitters, my friends in time of need, the people whom I don't even know and yet end up laughing with for hours on end wishing that I could look them in the eye after an especially good punch line. But I can't.
All I can say is that I'm glad to have found company for dinner that eats nothing at all and never complains if I haven't cleaned. To invite a whole cast into my home and then kick them out at whim, never having to apologize or feel bad is quite enticing. Not that I'm thinking of not having friends anymore, but it's tempting.

HSM

2008-12-07T21:33:00.004+02:00

As I was saying good-bye to my friends today it hit me. It always happens that way here. Whenever I've had a wonderful time with lots of friends the time comes to go our separate ways and after ten minutes of being without them I feel utterly and helplessly alone. I don't remember this ever happening when my friends and I lived only twenty miles apart and we'd see each other the next week or maybe the next day. Here it hits me every time, more now than in the beginning.
This time as I got on the bus, bracing myself for the 3 hour ride back to my town, I saw a friend that was on her way back as well. I sat next to her, happy for at least the comforting presence of a friend. As we rode away we started talking about our weekends and something interesting happened. The woman I was sitting next to, Emi, is a teacher at my school. She's three years older than me, speaks English very well (all through self-motivation), is married, has a 3 year old son, a house, and a mortgage. I had never talked to her outside of a work-related environment. Sure we're friends; I go to her house almost weekly for language lessons or just a cup of coffee and a chat. Every interaction we've had though stems from school. Sitting on the bus next to Emi I realized how different we were, how completely opposite our lives are.
She had gone into Sofia for the final exam of her voluntary weekend English course (She teaches classes all week and then two weekends out of the month for the past year she's been traveling into Sofia to study English all weekend so she can be a better teacher.) I went into Sofia to watch a silly, fun movie and drink Starbucks (it's brand new here) with my girlfriends. I had had an excellent day of eating, shopping, coffee drinking, silly song singing, picture taking, movie watching awesomeness. She had had a stress-filled day with 8-hours of exams. I was returning to my cat and my cold apartment, my only responsibility to prepare for class the next day. She went home to pick up her son and husband, warm the house, fix dinner, clean, and plan for the next day.
I don't know why it struck me so suddenly, but it was almost as if we lived in parallel universes. Then I realized that all of the friends I have in town have the same story. They are all married, in their early to mid-thirties, have full-time jobs, and children. I enjoy all my friends and the time I spend with them however different it is. But, my friends with children can't do things at night or for longer than a few hours and my single friends and I have weekend sleepovers. So when I'm in my town I spend almost every evening alone in my apartment, since it's culturally unacceptable to go to a cafe or restaurant alone. So when I have something to compare that to, say... going out almost every night with friends, it makes my day-to-day life seem stark. Perhaps this is why I feel the loneliness when I leave my single, mid-twenties, carefree friends. Is there anything I can do about this? I don't really think so. I enjoy my life and my friends in my town, but I also love the group of single girls I get to hang out with every so often. Both keep me here, going, and happy (most of the time). So I guess it's just another paradox of Peace Corps.

Smells like Uncle Jim

2008-11-23T12:10:00.002+02:00

The past 24 hours has been quite interesting. But it all started a couple months ago with a broken light.
First the light bulb blew at 10 pm and the whole apartment (all two rooms) went black. Luckily I am one of the few PCVs who has a breaker box, not just fuses. So all i had to do was take out the bulb and flip the breaker. But when I tried to replace the bulb, nothing worked. All the bulbs are fine, so it must be the socket. Oh well, I'll have someone fix it later. They're busy with remodeling now.
Then my faucet started dripping, sometimes pouring... now this could cost them money, so definitely want to get it fixed soon. Sometimes you couldn't turn the faucet off. It would just be running water and no matter what you did to try and turn it off you couldn't until it was ready and then all the sudden viola magically it would let you turn it off.
After various other household incidents (2 more light bulbs, breakers flipping intermitantly, mold discoveries) I finally had 'the big one' last night.
Act 1. I was getting ready to go to bed and washing the last of my dishes and when I went to turn off the water an explosion of watertastic amounts happen. All the sudden water was spraying and gushing everywhere! I didn't know where the shut off valve was so I ran down stairs to the security guard's room, woke him up, and shouted about a big problem with lots of water everywhere. When I got back up to my kitchen it was covered in water. (It's very clean now.) The water was spraying every thing and the floor was covered. The poor, tired security guard ran in and shut the water valve off then ran away while saying "there's water every where! Big problem! Big problem." I thought he was running away cause he just wanted to get back to sleep and not have to help me mop up all the water. He wasn't. Just as I had gotten about half the mess cleaned up he knocked on my door and told me to use the empty room next to me's bathroom and that he called the director. I started wondering how long I was going to have to wait to get my faucet fixed and my water back on... days? weeks??? I started dreading the daily cold hallway walk to the bathroom next door that wasn't heated but at least the water was.
End Act 1.

Act 2. Then at 9 am this morning I was awakened by a knock... as I usually am whenever I have 'surprise' guests, but I had been up until 1:30 am cleaning t mess so this time at least it was justified. There stood fix-it-man #1. He came in, looked at things, and then left. Then fix-it-man #1 brought fix-it-man #2 along with him. I thought to myself, I should have more disasters on Saturdays cause they'll get fixed super fast and without 10 people tromping around my apartment to 'help'! Help meaning look at all the different stuff the american has, even though i don't really have anything different than them, except my family pics displayed every where.
Fix-it-men #1 & 2 start working, then they decide it would be a good idea to turn the water on to see just exacly what the problem is... I stand by with towels. The next half hour is spent with them on cigarette break (and finding parts, i think the cig part only took 10 mins) and me cleaning up all the water from the kitchen.
End Act 2.

Beginning Act 3. They come back with parts and on-looker #1. Fortunately there was only 1 on-looker and he only stayed for Act 3 of the water drama. They work for about an hour, fixing and pondering and telling me about England...not sure why fix-it-man #2 decided to tell me about England, since he'd never been there. They make progress; I grade tests; on-looker #1 leaves. The water gets turned back on and lands only in the sink! Tada!
Then I point out the drip, drip, drip, drip...
End Act 3.

Begin Act 4. Water off again. Parts of faucet are completely taken apart, looked at, and determined fake. That's my problem, a fake faucet. Fix-it-man #2 decides this discovery warrents a 3rd cigarette break...it's bad news. I reteat to my other room to grade tests, hoping they'll come back and put my sink back together again, again.

*intermission*
(yeah, it's in the middle of an act, so what! It's to create suspense. Go make yourself a sandwich or something)

Welcome back. Fix-it-men #1 & 2 are back in action (and making my apartment smell like Uncle Jim, thus the title) faucet fixing. They have found a completely new-to-me faucet that is not fake (i hope) and are working on putting it together. After breaking a couple of parts and looking for replacement one there is .... SUCCESS! Hot water - check. Cold water- check. Drip, drip, drip - nope! All is well and done!
... well except for that bathroom light, but they say they'll get to that next week.
End Act 4.

Now I'm gonna go take a shower.

Long absences

2008-11-11T11:15:00.002+02:00

It's been a few months since I've written. Sometimes it's a writing time, sometimes it's a reading time. I'm going through a reading time, but I figured I could give you a not-so-well-written update. In very important and very late news: My cat, Mila, had kittens on July 4th. Then she promptly ran away three months later leaving me with Lula. Lula, formerly known as Luke Skywalker, was the kitten I decided to keep so Mila would have some company. But seeing as Mila ran off a month ago and hasn't come back Lula is now my company... and my leg warmer for the winter.

In other news school has started. Not so exciting.

I went on an adventure through Albania (and Macedonia and Greece, but the goal was Albania). That was very exciting. It took 33 hours to get back from Albania... it was crazy and fun. Here comes some actual writing!
Four friends and I slept on a white pebble beach for three nights. During the day we swan in the Ionian Sea and watched the island of Corfu as it disappeared in the morning haze then re-appeared by lunch. There were no clocks or watches, few people drifted by, and we were left to our own laziness. Every night we had a fire to sit by until we got tired, walked to our sleeping bag ten meters away, and curled up for the night. The sun woke us up with a hot hello every morning. It was paradise. There were expansive mountains behind us and brush-forests leading up to them. The sky was blue and cloud spotted the entire time. At night, before the fire building, we would watch the clouds roll over the tops of the mountains like a slow ocean wave, decend a bit-almost threatening rain- then recede back to the windward side.
The ridiculous amount of manovering to get there and the 33 hours to get back was well worth it. There is no way I'm ever going to be able to get back there, and this time that is a beautiful feeling.

A quick thanks

2008-06-20T13:47:00.000+03:00

So as most of you know I enjoy cooking. Recently I stumbled upon a great Thanksgiving-for-one. No, it's not anywhere near Thanksgiving. No, I didn't plan on eating a "Thanksgiving-ish" meal. It just kinda came together. Earlier this week I boiled a chicken (for some mole' a friend had given me.... ohhh mole') and saved the broth. I didn't have a whole bunch of mole' so there was a lot of chicken left. Enter: creativity.
A friend, who also loves to cook (http://parsnipsaplenty.com), came to visit a couple weeks ago and re-introduced me to polenta, it's like grits kinda. So as it came time for lunch and my stomach started to growl I thought to myself "What do I have to eat?" The following recipe will show you what transpired after this:

Chicken and Basil Polenta
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbs. fresh basil, finely chopped or 1 tsp. dried
pinch of sage
1/3 cup coarse yellow cornmeal/yellow grits/ качамак
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water and broth to boil. Add milk, basil, and sage then return to boil. Whisk in yellow corn meal and turn down heat to medium-low. Continue to whisk until very thick then remove from heat.

Now for the pseudo-Thanksgiving dressings! Heat up chicken or turkey (I just used part of the chicken I had boiled). Spoon polenta onto a plate put the chicken on top then sprinkle with dried cranberries, I really like Craisins with Orange Flavor(r). And that's it!

The Абиторински Бал

2008-06-16T14:22:00.000+03:00

... or Prom on crack.

Last weekend I went to the Ball for the 12th graders. In my town in Bulgaria the 12th graders go on an excursion for a couple days with all their 12th grade class-mates from their high school. Then they have a Ball, or Prom, in town for all the graduates city-wide. I didn't get to go to the beach with them on the excursion, but I did make it to the Ball.
The students invite the teachers that they like to the Ball. The students all have custom-made dresses and suits and dress up very fancy for this occasion. It's one of the biggest events in town every year.
I showed up at 8 pm to the restaurant where the festivities were to take place. I was nervous and apprehensive... was my dress too nice? was it nice enough? would I be able to find my students? what other teachers were going to be there?
Shortly after entering I found the table where my colleagues were sitting. I knew all of them... thank goodness. I was not over-dressed and not under-dressed... fears relieved. I hadn't found my students yet, but I was sure that sitting with all the other teachers from my school would solve that issue shortly.
But as I did say before, this is no ordinary Prom... it's Prom on crack. They served a 5- course meal. There was music and dancing during, between, after, before, all the time. There were two different singers that came and went and a band and a DJ. My conservative American nature was not too shocked to find that alcohol was part of the menu (I'm becoming Bulgarianized). It does still surprise me when I see students drinking with their teachers though. All students are of age (which is 18 here), but still nothing I am used to seeing in the States.
So these reasons make for a crazy Prom but not quite a Prom on crack, just wait. So I arrived at 8 pm, by 10 pm we had spent two hours on our first course and the students had spend an hour and a half dancing with DJ music. Then the shirts came off.... literally. I don't know what song, I don't know why, but all the sudden over half the guy students in the room had their shirts off. I tried to hide my complete shock at this turn of events. Thankfully the shirts went back on after a couple of songs... I was worried. Then came the balloon popping, out of the blue someone would pop one balloon then 10 more pops would follow. This happened several times during the night. The table dancing was always a cause for concern. When students were particularly fond of a song one or two of them would get up on their table and sing along. This seemed to be monitored carefully by the table of observing teachers, because if the glasses on the table shook they all shot horrible looks to the student and told them to get down.
I did get to dance with my students and I loved that. It was really neat to be asked by the kids I had taught all year to come to the dance floor and do the dance circle (a very inter-cultural concept). I also got to talk to a few of them more as friends than as a teacher. I think it's a lot easier to make that transition here. Towns are small, friendships varied.
Around 1 am I was tired and ready to go home, as were two of my other colleagues. So we packed up and left just as the rest of the town was arriving. After a certain point in the evening, or rather early in the morning, anyone in town who wants to is welcome to join the festivities. A friend told me it went on 'til 5 or6 in the morning.
Overall it was a very fun and interesting experience. I was glad I went.

Field Trip

2008-06-15T14:00:00.000+03:00

There's been a few little field trips in the past weeks and I feel like commenting on some of the language differences in the small country of Bulgaria. Keep in mind that Bulgaria is the same area as Tennessee but shaped more like a square than a rectangle. I could drive(if I were allowed to drive at all) from the Black Sea in the East to Western most point of Bulgaria in 7 hours (provided the roads were like interstate roads, which they're not, but just for comparison's sake we'll say they are).
I started in the Southwestern region, three hours south of my town, where I was taught the language made things a little difficult because I can't really tell the regional specifics there very well since that's what I learned. It was easy to tell that they talk slower than in my region and they don't enunciate quite as much. Next I went to the South central region, three hours southeast of my town, where my Bulgarian friends have told me they replace the letter "A" with "IA". The language was also much softer there than in my town as well and I was starting to get the sneaking suspicion that maybe my region had the harshest speech in Bulgaria. Then it was on to the Northeast, about three hours east of my town, where the differences were apparent from the second I set foot off the bus. Almost half of the population spoke Turkish, a language completely different from Bulgarian and unintelligible to me, and that rubbed off on their Bulgarian skills. Turkish is more fluid and less harsh than Bulgarian, therefore the Bulgarian spoken in that region was really slurred and not very harsh at all. They could understand me perfectly! I found out that my region is definetely the harshest speaking place in Bulgaria. Every "H" is said gutturally, every letter with staccato. When i say the word for bread, hle- ap, I have to spit out the "H" and "P" to be understood. Talking becomes a physical activity. With every word I have to use my whole upper body to provide the force for each consonant. Today I spent an hour with my tutor going over the different pronunciation for hour and o'clock, which are the same word with a different stress. I am usually understood, unless people can't get over the fact that I'm not Bulgarian, but now I'm trying to work on the specifics and I think I might retreat! Bulgarian's a harsh-sounding language to begin with and to add more harshness... well maybe it's not necessary.

So I was all over the place, but as I came back up to my town and walked home some magic happened.
I was carrying all my stuff, and almost to my door, as I started to notice the way the trees hung over the street, the sun shining through their fresh spring green leaves. The air smelled like pollen and must with a light flower scent wafting through some places. As I started to enjoy the moment I walked by the pine trees and notice that they had started growing. The new, vibrant green contrasted vaguely with the deep, rich growth from other years. I smiled and looked down to see the last tulips holding on to the chilly weather and the irises looking to the warm months to come. It was an amazing five minutes until I reached my door.

*I apologize, this blog should have been posted on May 10th but due to some Euro-American date digit swaps it thought it was to be posted on Oct 5th... the metric system isn't the only confusing difference.*

Велик Ден!

2008-05-05T21:37:00.003+03:00

So it was velik den (which is the post title) or Easter last weekend. I promised a run-down of Bulgo-Easter events so here goes:
I ended up spending Easter in my town with a friend and her family. She told us all week that we were going to make traditional Easter bread, Kozonak, and dye eggs at some point before Sunday. But on Friday we weren't supposed to do any work all day because it was Good Friday, so we couldn't dye eggs or make bread then because that was work. So we saved all the fun for Saturday. All week long teachers at my school had been buying crates of eggs from the teachers with hens. They take egg dying seriously here. It's not just a dozen or so... it's about three to five dozen or more. Crazy! The coloring they use is also much more vibrant and works really well with the brown eggs. Saturday we all ended up at Dani's for the festivities. We started out by dying eggs. Sehee and I had received Easter Baskets from a friend in the states so we brought our ready-made American dye kits, which were quite unusual and well talked over. We had a glitter-egg kit which went over fantastically well. The table was spread with bowls of deep Bulgarian dyes, pastel American dyes, and glitter, oh and about 4 dozen eggs. Then they broke out the netting, onion peels, and leaves. Yes, in Bulgaria they wrap eggs in onion peels, flowers, leaves, and nets then stick them in panty hose and boil them. It's crazy! They make really pretty nature-looking designs. I was impressed. Of course, being Bulgarian and always prepared for guests to have all the fun, they had already boiled all the eggs for us so Dani, Dan, Ljudmil, Sehee, and I got to have all the fun of dying with none of the work :) No complaints. After we had dyed all the eggs Dani baffled me again, she poured oil in the dyes and started re-dying. It was crazy! In my family I guess we just stuck to the plain, old boring dye jobs but here they go all out. Dani showed us how to swirl the egg as we put it in the oiled dye and make tie-dye type patterns.
So when the eggs were finished all the non-Bulgos were wondering if it was time to eat (I guess that's just what we do in America and being 4 pm at that point my stomach was grumbling). But no, no more fun to come. Food takes last place. So we finished and decided we would inaugurate the first-annual Easter egg hunt for Dani's little cousin. They don't do Easter egg hunts here so it was a fun production and there was lots of cultural exchange happening (Peace Corps would be proud). After the Hunt we started to set up the grill, which was brand new and unused. Then we put together some Shish-Kebabs, cut some pork fillets, open packages of kufte (meatball-ish things) and kebapche (sausage-ish things) to grill as soon as the fire was ready. When we finally ate there was enough food for about 20 people, but there were only 10 of us. No matter how much we ate I kept hearing "oh the shish-kebabs are done, time to eat." Finally I just had to be a rude and say "there is no way any more food could possibly fit into my body. I will not eat for days after this. I have had my meat quota for about two years." Well maybe I didn't quite say all that, but I did have to stop eating, which was rude. So after all the food was cooked and some of it was eaten we realized it was 11.30 and we were going to be late for church. Oh, 11.30 pm.
So the biggest, and to me coolest, tradition they have here for Easter is walking around the church. Perhaps this sounds boring, but when there are over 500 people with candles circling in a small church courtyard three times led by three singing priests with a big cross and big candles, it's pretty cool. So besides some wax on my jacket it was awesome. After three go-rounds we all met outside, because of course we had all been separated, and started the "egg breaking" tradition. Now, no one had sufficiently explained the "egg breaking" tradition to me. I asked several times and got a general "We try to break each others eggs" response each time. So when I hear that to me that says "Break some eggs." So I was out to break some eggs. Little did I know the object wasn't to break eggs, but to gently tap the other persons egg and see if one broke. So as I smash the egg of Dani's uncle and see the look on his face I realize I had done something wrong. You can't win 'em all...
It was a great Easter, probably the best of my adult life.

One whole year...

2008-04-19T22:35:00.005+03:00

I've been in Bulgaria for one whole year.
The past month has been crazy. I've been all over the place. We had a break at the end of March until the beginning of April, so me and a couple of friends decided to go to Greece. Actually I just hopped onto their plans. We went to Athens for 4 days and Thessaloníki for 4 days. Athens was perfect! Everywhere we went there were ancient ruins. It was warm and sunny and everything was green, which I wasn't expecting. I hear that it all turns brown in the summer cause it gets too hot. Spring time is the way to go. This is a picture of us in front of the Parthenon. They're doing some reconstruction so it's complete with cranes.

So while we were in Athens I got my hair cut by some guy that looked German but wasn't. He was one of those crazy 'Edward Scissor-Hands' types. There was hair flying everywhere and just when you thought he was done - BAM! - there goes some more. After all the hair was off and cleaned up he gave me a chic frizzy style and even though I don't much enjoy frizzy or chic hair I must say it didn't look too bad. I'm quite pleased with my new cut so here's a picture, even though you can't really see it well.

Along with the picture comes another story... the train or should I say the second train. We traveled by train the whole time so that we could walk around and such. Well the train ride from Athens to Thessaloníki was less than pleasing. First we're on the platform and we notice we're surrounded by high schoolers and while I like high schoolers, generally, I was on vacation and didn't want to see a single person of high school age. So finally the train gets there and we pile on and claim our seats. Then, just as I had hoisted my huge and heavy backpack up onto the luggage thing, all the high schoolers come piling on too... loud, obnoxious, and sitting all around us. I couldn't even talk to Amy and Sehee right across the aisle becauase #1 I couldn't see them through the wall of teenagers and #2 I couldn't hear anything but the roar of excited kids. So finally when it looked like they had all piled in and surrounded us a teacher comes up to us and says something in Greek... I don't speak Greek. Then she says (it was wonderful that pretty much everyone spoke English) "This car is for the children. You'll have to find somewhere else to sit. Sorry if they didn't tell you." At this point we saw other angry people standing in the corridor in the back and understood we weren't the only ousted, angry people. Then we spent 30 mins trying to get out of our seats because all the excited, hormone driven teenagers were standing in the aisle, the whole aisle, every single space. It was a wee bit frustrating as most of them were looking at us with this "Why are you in my space?" glare and yet none of them would budge to let us get out of their space. Believe me we both wanted the same thing. So when we finally got out of that noisy train car and realized that there were people everywhere and seats no where...
We set our stuff down in a hallway and I went to scout out the options while the girls stood guard. I found a perfect location: an empty playroom with some big soft blocks and a padded floor. So after I hit everyone with my bag while moving down the aisles, we relocated for a second time to the padded playroom. Everything was wonderful for about an hour. Just as I was falling asleep a train attendant came in and started talking in Greek. He quickly realized our ineptitude with this language and switched to English; we had to move. So after I tried to reason with the train attendant to no avail - there are no children, we paid for a ticket, we are as close a thing to children on this train besides the high school students who kicked us out of our seats- we moved to local 3: The hall right outside the playroom with a few other Greek people. About 10 mins later the same guy came by and told us to move, even though he didn't say anything to the playroom's new residents. So we went to local 4: the entryway. We left our stuff in the playroom because, after all, he couldn't yell at our baggage. Then 15 mins later he came back and told us to move again... not happy. At this point I went to check on my bags and noticed 4 Greeks sitting peacefully in the quiet and padded playroom as I was being moved to sit... where this time??? in front of the toilet. Yes, my 5th location was in front of the toilet. I guess he felt he had sufficeintly humiliated us and put us in our place because he left us alone after that. Sehee was keeping watch though and when he got off the train we all went back to the playroom for our final 2 or 3 hours of the train ride. Amy met a really nice Greek guy who accompanied us to the playroom and gave us a Greek history lesson for the rest of the ride. Now most of the Greek people we met were amazing (friendly, nice, helpful) not like Mr. Mean Train Attendant.
It rained everyday in Thessaloníki so we didn't do much sightseeing. But we did enjoy what we did do... and what was that you may ask? Eat, drink coffee, and dance. This is me with my BBQ cheddar burger... AMAZING! Sorry it's kinda covered up by the French's mustard (another treat). I also had a free refill coke light! This might sound crazy to you (I'm sure it does), but it was a wonderful treat for me and Amy. We also had fresh seafood and walked along the waterfront. If it hadn't been raining it would have been beautiful. We saw the White Tower, which used to be called the Bloody Tower but that scared away the tourists so they changed the name. We did lots of shopping as well. I have shoes that fit me and lots of sandals for summer! I also got that purple scarf/head wrap that I'm wearing in the picture. So overall the Greece trip was good. Great company, great scenery, great history.

I think I've written enough to make up for my silence the past month. :)

March: The Trickster Month

2008-03-17T18:59:00.002+02:00

March is very tricky. It starts out nice then turns nasty. It seems like it'll be a short month, with a long holiday at the end, but turns out to be the true Longest Month and the holiday disappears. I can't believe it's only half over! I'd swear it's already April and my calendar lies, but unfortunately it doesn't. March looms on.
I believe it's Easter this weekend in the States. Happy Easter! They celebrate the Eastern Orthodox Easter here. It isn't until the end of April so you still have plenty of time to get those Easter packages off and here on time :) The eggs here are brown so we can't dye them and they don't have that fake plastic grass. There are some neat traditions here, that don't involve fake plastic grass or peeps, and I'm excited to learn about them.
This past weekend I went to two birthday parties, one for one of my Bulgarian students and the other for two of my PCV friends. It's funny to compare parties in each culture. At the Bulgarian party I went to Petia's , the birthday girl, apartment. Her parents had left for the evening and there were about 12 people there. The tables were spread with food. We sat there talking with the TV going and music playing for about four or five hours (or until the room filled with so much smoke that my eyes turned red and I started crying). Then afterwards they went to the disco; I went home. At the 'American' party, for lack of a better label, we went out to eat and stuffed ourselves with Indian food. Then we wanted to go sing karaoke, but it turns out there's only one place in Sofia to do that. We ended up at an Irish place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day early and played "pick out the ex-pat". This game is becoming more and more easy the longer I'm here. We would look at the other tables and guess if the people at them were Bulgarian or not. Very politically correct. Then we went back to the hostel and talked for a little while. Actually they weren't really too different. One was just closer to home and much smokier.

Almost

2008-03-06T16:20:00.002+02:00

For three weeks the weather was... perfect! Sun shining to wake me up every morning. Temperatures in the sixties, or seventies even. For three weeks my clothes dried in hours instead of days. I woke up at 7:30 naturally. The temptation to go for a daily walk couldn't be resisted. My students were happier and less restless in class. And then yesterday the clouds came again. And today the temperature dropped rapid and steady until it settled around freezing.
Oh March! why did you bring the cold? They say it won't last that long and that it's not going to get much colder than this. I hope so! I was ready for spring.
To be fair, it's only March and the weather shouldn't be all that warm yet. It was only by freak chance that we had the 3 weeks of premature spring and I did enjoy them throughly. So I am grateful for the break from the cold and the preview of coming attractions that the end of February and beginning of March gave us.

Break it down

2008-02-21T15:19:00.002+02:00

Today, as frequently happens, one of my co-workers brought lunch to school for whoever cared to join. I think this is one of my favorite things about my school and the teachers that I work with. Let me set the scene:
Simova brought in lutenitsa*, pork fat**, fried pork fat, pickled veggies, bread, and cheese. After she was done with classes she pulled out the white "it's time for lunch" table cloth and put it over the gold fringed red velvet "smoker's room" one. Plates of deep red homemade lutenitsa, bite-sized pickled cauliflower, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes, creamy white hunks of cheese, and salted (cheese-looking) pork fat decorated the table. (the first, and only time I ate the pig fat was when I mistook it for cheese... quite surprising!) She told me excitedly earlier that day that we'd drink Rakia*** after classes were over. I was looking forward to the hours of conversation about nothing important that, as always, ended in people getting excited and yelling at someone two feet away from them about how much eggs cost this week. I wasn't disappointed. It was fantastic.
Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have such a warm and open school. They accept me with open arms, look the other way when I do something culturally insensitive, and always include me in everything that is going on.
Emel sat on the other side of the table and translated anything she felt was important, a joke or new word. Simova and Galya flanked me and we made side comments when conversations rose to a roar. I haven't seen Costa in weeks and he looked so happy, with his cigarette in one hand and his hand other tucked under his arm. Venci got new glasses which were discussed extensively. And Sashka acted out her story of the week, then just acted silly for the amusement of all. Rainie was in and out, as usual, working on something- who knows what. Vacileva asked me if I could cook with pumpkin...
"Yes! of course. I love it."
"Well, I'll give you another then. What do you make with them?"
"Pie, bread, soup, curry..."
I don't think this had ever been heard. There was a definite gasp around the room. Then discussion of whether these things could be made with pumpkin or not and more importantly, would it taste good?
My classes ended a little before one and now, here it is almost four. Half the time I just sit back and think of how much I enjoy these, almost weekly, occurrences. Then someone will ask me, "What are you thinking? Why are you quiet?"

*lutenitsa is a tomato and bell pepper spread that is put on just about anything... think of it as the most amazing tomato sauce you've ever tasted.
**pork fat is eaten here like a meat. it's almost a delicacy... although I don't partake.
*** Rakia is the national drink of Bulgaria. It's made from fermented fruit that they can't eat during the summer. Today they asked me what kind of fruit we have in the US. I said in my state really only peaches and apples. Then they wanted to know what we did with all the left overs, since we don't have Rakia. I tried to explain that we have huge farms where these fruits are grown and then sent to different places to sell them. "Yes, but the trees in your yard. What do you do with all the extra fruit from them?" I wish I had fruit trees in my yard.
The differences just don't translate most of the time.

Listen

2008-02-20T11:56:00.003+02:00

I love it when I can hear my food. The crackle of my egg-n-cheese sandwich hot from the pan. The gulp of my oatmeal as I stir in water. The sigh of my tea as the water starts to heat. I think that's why I liked Rice Crispys as a kid. They just sounded right; it made up for the lack of sparkling flavor.
Today after fixing my lunch I found myself warming my hands by the burner and laughed. It's now warmer outside than it is in my building. My apartment is about even with the outside temperature... lucky me. And I have to think February, you're not so bad.
The sun is out. It's around 50 degrees, at least for the rest of the week. I just got back from a one week conference to have all my students skip classes two days in a row. (You might think this is bad, but I look at it as a three day week and two days of lesson planning already done.) I'm not sick. I have a birthday celebration to go to this weekend in a even more beautiful city. Oh and I got to take a bath last week. I also swam in a pool, sat in a hot tub, and sweat in a sauna. It's amazing how big the little things in life are.

Winter Doldrums

2008-01-28T22:03:00.000+02:00

I think I've hit the winter doldrums. Life is coasting along slowly... oh so slowly.
I'm sick, nothing major, just the flu.
The semester is wrapping up this week.
And those are about the only two things going on. It's not even very cold anymore. The snow is starting to melt. I still have to walk by piles of it on the sidewalks, but the paths and roads are dry. We've actually had several days in a row where it was above freezing. The sun has been shining and it's actually pleasant outside!
What is it about winter though?
Have you ever heard of 'summer doldrums'? Well I've never had 'summer doldrums' and I don't know anyone that has. But if I say 'Winter Doldrums' everyone understands. Time has seemingly stopped, in my head at least. Today I had a reminder that time is indeed marching on, towards spring(!!). I looked at the sky and thought I'd be rather early for my coffee date at 5:30. After all it was light outside and the sun was still in the sky. Then I took out my cell phone to check the time and I was already late. The days are getting longer, and noticeably so! Time is passing, so why doesn't it feel like it is?
Others before me warned me of this. From a compilation of evidence and statements I can deduce that the insipid feeling I'm having will last for about one month. (read: all the PCVs said February was the longest month filled with boredom, so I should get out the knitting now.) Luckily during February we're going to have a conference in a town known for mineral baths and ancient Roman ruins. This should make part of the month go faster... I hope. Plus there are only 28 days in this long month (which is actually the shortest month of the year). So logically this won't be the longest month at all, it will be the shortest month and it will bring with it spring in the month that follows. Really I think I've talked myself out of the winter doldrums at all. It's pointless to feel like you're having the longest month of the year during the shortest month of the year.

Conversions

2008-01-08T17:24:00.000+02:00

Here are a few conversions I've been doing:
1) -27 degrees Celsius = -17 degrees Fahrenheit
That's the low for the day I came back to Bulgaria. Incidentally -13 C ( or 9 F) was the high.
2) 70 centimeters = 2.3 feet
That's the amount of snow that was on the ground when I got off the bus in my town. About 30 cm more fell within the next couple days to round it out to a full meter or 3.28 feet.
3) 31 points out of 100 = a C
On one of my English tests the average was a 36... so I had to try and pass more than the three kids who scored over 60 points. I ended up making a shifted bell curve where only half the class failed instead of 90%.
4) 2 radiators + 2 huge electric heaters = 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit
In my apartment... that's 4 heating devices and I can't even keep it above 60.
5) 6 days = 1 website
At least I hope it does! That's how much time my school has to come up with a website.
and my final calculation:
6) 1 cat = scars on hands, 10 degrees of extra warmth, waking up at 6 am to meows, and hours of entertainment.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, a wonderful New Years, and a good start back to school, work, or just to the new year!

A Few of My Favorite Things

2007-12-02T20:05:00.000+02:00

Remember those teachers you had in high school and middle school (and maybe even elementary school) who shaped you as a person. The ones whose names you can still remember and sometimes you feel yourself transported back to their classroom when someone says "What was that conversion factor?" or "How do you spell that word?" Perhaps I'm stretching the nostalgia a bit too far, but there are teachers that helped you become who you are today. Maybe they nudged you into working a little bit harder so that they could show you just how good you could be. Maybe they encouraged the pants off of you and acted like you were a super-star in the classroom, even though you felt like a loser outside of it. Maybe they just did their job and it was really your desire, passion, and skill that made them so influential. You still remember them though.

Then there were the teachers who made you feel quite insufficient. You just couldn't do good enough. You talked to much, or too little. Maybe they never noticed you, or only noticed you to hand out a punishment or critique. Maybe instead of encouraging you to work harder they told you that "You'd never get any better, so why try?" Maybe they didn't do anything particular and you just sucked at that subject, and they knew it and you knew it. Maybe they were just a bad teacher who couldn't explain anything sufficiently. Their names are forgotten, but their tactics remain.

There are all kinds in every school, all kinds in every child's education. For me the first group, the great teachers, were mostly made up of my Math and Science teachers. After 7th grade I think I could tell you all my Math teachers' names and many of my Science teachers', but I won't bore you with that. Not all of them were extraordinary, but many were. Most of my favorites were non-traditionalists. Mrs. Williams (the only English teacher in the bunch) let us have paper ball fights if we were good; she'd even join in. Mr. Paar would use fishing analogies to teach Algebra. Miss Genie would get so excited about Math she would start jumping up and down, one time she even climbed on top of a desk. Now that I think about it they were all pretty nuts. At the time, sitting in their classrooms, we (the students) would just look around at each other and say "Wow! They're soooo weird." But we loved it. They were passionate about their jobs and they were passionate about helping us learn. We'd have never admitted it back then, but those were our favorite classes. Those are the teachers I want to emulate, not just their crazy behavior but their zeal.
The second group of teachers included most of my English teachers, thus the incessant use of spell check and dictionary.com now-a-days. To ALL my English teachers (and it was pretty much all of them) who said, "You need to work on your writing. It's not very good. Your spelling is atrocious, and there are comma splices every where. Now look at Katie's paper, that's what you should be writing." I am teaching your subject now! How do you feel about that? *Also I would like to take this time to note: my mom thinks I write very well, and has complimented my blog writing skills numerous times. I assure you she is a very unbiased source.* Now I know most of you are thinking (or should be thinking), "What in the world are you doing teaching English if your least favorite subject was English and you still use spell check without default?" And also the question begs to be asked, "Why did you get a degree in 'The English of Tech' when you were at an engineering school in the first place, obviously suck at English, and enjoy Math?" The answer is: Through many random events and strange happenings, but really God only knows. But I loved my major, I'm glad I'm teaching, and I'm ok with the fact that my students catch my spelling mistakes. I was never very good in those English classes because I felt that all they wanted you to do was copy another man's style and pass it off as your own. And for the most part that is exactly what they wanted, and exactly what I refused to do. Thus the conflict, and my inability to get an A in English. These teachers, the ones that stifle and come down hard on you, are the ones I hope I am for no student.

Now comes the idealism, if you haven't already felt it. As a teacher now, looking back on my experiences as a student is hard. The roles are reversed. I see how challenging each day is for the Teacher. I feel the propelling desire to make the biggest difference I can in each student's life. I know the difficulty of meeting challenges with patience and quick solutions, however many it takes to find the right one. I come home in the afternoon with a headache and a hounding question, "Did I make a difference?" I hope that at some point, while I am a teacher, I can answer that question with an unequivocal "Yes." But for now, all I can tell you unequivocally is that the students make a difference in my life every day, my fellow teachers make a difference in my life every day. That for me is enough right now. That for me is everything I need to know. No matter how much I give it will never be enough to return what I have received. One day though, I'll be able to answer my question with a "Yes" and on that day I'll be jumping up and down in the streets (or maybe I'll just climb on top of a desk).

Baby It's Cold Outside

2007-12-02T18:00:00.000+02:00

It's cold outside. I know this because 30 seconds after stepping out the door my eyes start to water. Two minutes into my fifteen minute walk home from Dani's my throat starts to itch. Four minutes later my nose is running and my eyes now itch as well, all orifices function as water spikettes. Three minutes from my front door I start to cough, with no apparent benefit. As I walk in the door I notice my chin is numb, but that is the least of my worries. I gulp down a glass of water, wipe my eyes, blow my nose, and breath in the clean air of my apartment. Winter is here. They did warn me.

Most families use a wood (among other things) burning stove to heat their houses in Bulgaria. At first I thought this was "nice" and "cute," to have a fire burning to heat you. Now I know otherwise. Every night, and sometimes day, the air fills with smoke from these household warming devices. Everything is burned in them: plastic shopping bags, diapers, food scraps, papers, wood, books (ok, so no one is really burning books...), any other trash that might need to be disposed of. It really cuts down on the garbage. My predecessors did tell me, "Just wait for winter, when the fires start burning. The air will barely be breathable." Did I believe them? Maybe. But how was I to know just what they meant by this; I had never experienced a Balkan winter. Now I know. The Bulgarians feel it too. As much as we all love the warmth we hate the smoke. But there is a trade off for all things and this one is just more visible and immediate than most.

Coming to Bulgaria there were many trade offs. Some I haven't yet experienced, some I'll be experiencing my whole time here. I left my family. I have a large family, most of whom read this on a semi-regular basis (thanks!). At least one grandmother, two parents, two brothers, one sister, two nephews, two nieces, four aunts, four uncles, nine cousins, and assorted other relatives I don't see on a yearly basis were at home celebrating Thanksgiving the other week. I missed that. But I did get my trade off: a Bulgarian-American Thanksgiving Extravaganza! Two Bulgarian Teachers, six American Fulbrights, two Bulgarian Boyfriends, seven American Peace Corps Volunteers, two turkeys, four kilos of mashed potatoes, two kilos of glazed carrots, two kinds of stuffing, numerous amounts of other food, and a guitar all fit into the confines of Roz's two-bedroom Vratza apartment. It was wonderful! There is no day designated for giving thanks in Bulgaria, but the concept is not foreign here. We cooked and talked, ate and drank, and then we sang. We sang, or rather, I should say one of the Fulbrights studying traditional Bulgarian music sang a few traditional Bulgarian songs for us. Roz sang a couple songs in Hebrew from Isreal for us. Then we all joined in for traditional American folk songs and Christmas carols. It's funny just how few people actually know the words to the carols. After hearing the same songs for years and years you'd think we'd be better. Second verses were the most challenging and "Do songs even have third verses?" was the response after a few mind boggling rounds of the same verse of Silent Night and Joy to the World. But we all stumbled through together and had more fun for it.

I guess this is the easiest trade off to tell you about, especially since it's so recent and confined to one day. But there are so many others that may be more complex, but are all the more beautiful. Too bad words don't go far enough.

The Table

2007-11-18T22:20:00.000+02:00

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, of course I'll have to celebrate it on a different day because we don't get the holiday off, but thanks will be given only a couple days later than traditional. I'm actually quite impressed at what we are able to rustle up for Thanksgiving dinner here. I think many packages were sent with fillings for pies and makings for casseroles, and because of this the all important Stove Top stuffing will make its appearance and be scarfed down, I'm sure. Thanksgiving is a really fabulous holiday though. Usually, as a family, we sit around the table and say what we are thankful for that year. It's pretty much like a movie... almost nauseatingly so. I think, since this is my first blogging Thanksgiving, I will give my thanks online this year at the chimerical internet table. We can all sit 'around' our computer screens and give thanks at our cyber table.

I'll go ahead and start. I am thankful for:

20 cm of snow that I saw falling and made a snowcaptain, snow angels, and much more snow mischief in last weekend.the amazing, loving friends that I have: in Bulgaria, in the States, in Mexico, and all over the world.

my family and the fact that I get to see them in about a month!

7 continents and new experiences on each one.

cabbage. There is so much you can do with it... and I'm finding out just how much.

my kitty Mila (sweetheart in Bulgarian), who is also finding out just how useful cabbage can be. (That is Mila sniffing the 3.5 kilo-> cabbage I bought at the market. The cabbage weighs about three times as much as she does.)

wonderful colleagues who make me banitsa and also make me laugh.

the internet.

copy machines.

nice sheets.

and last but not least... Peanut Butter.

So thank you for joining me at the table. Please share what you are thankful for too, if you feel so inclined. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Dog Show, and Georgia-Georgia Tech football game for me. GO TECH!

Getting to know you.

2007-11-09T12:42:00.000+02:00

Here is a link to an article in a Bulgarian magazine for ex-pats (people that have moved from different countries and now live here) it's in English, of course. The article is about Peace Corps Bulgaria and it might help make what I'm doing here a little more understandable.
Check it out:
http://www.vagabond-bg.com/index.php?page=live&sub=19&open_news=659

Also, if you'd like to help feed the hungry and practice vocab go here:
http://www.freerice.com/index.php
It's very useful if you like to sound smart or are studying for the GRE, SAT, and other standardized tests or if you have lots of free time and find suduko can only be entertaining for a short time.

Teaching Again, but not The End

2007-11-01T12:56:00.000+02:00

My school is teaching again! Yay! I now have something to occupy most of my days and a purpose for being in Bulgaria! But the strike is not over, unfortunately. I'm not sure when it will be, if ever. They keep getting so close to deals and then the day they are supposed to sign the teachers always back out. I really want them to reach a conclusion soon, but I don't know how realistic that is.
We started teaching just in time for Halloween which was brilliant, and I'm sure that they planned it that way just for me (since they don't celebrate Halloween here). So my first week back to school (which is this week) I get to tell ghost stories and talk about little kids in costumes. Very easy lesson planning! So for homework I asked them all to write a ghost story based on parameters we set up in class. My large, smart, and unruly class chose to set their ghost story in a castle in New Jersey in 1861 with Frankenstein, his wife and son, as the antagonists, and our class as the 'normal' people. Then my smaller, eager, off-to-college class went a bit more traditional and set their story in a small town in the 18th century with vampires and once again I asked that our class be in the story too. The twist in the latter class was that one of their elements to a good ghost story was that good people had to die. So we'll see who they kill off from the class. Ha ha! These kids have been in the same class with the same students for 5 years. It's remarkable how well they know each other. In some schools kids will be in the same class, with the same class teacher and the same classmates, for all 12 years of schooling. I can't even imagine.

My kitty 'n me

2007-10-20T21:38:00.000+03:00

I just got a new kitty. She's little and docile, for the most part. The last cat went kinda crazy and attacked me while I was sleeping. So I'm still feeding him, but he's not allowed in my apartment. The new one'll keep me warm and give me company for the winter. Speaking of winter: It's freezing! Seriously. This weekend is the start of true winter. I was at a dental appointment in Sofia on Friday and when I came out of the office at around 3 pm it was 4 Celsius. It's cold!
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the strike is still on.

Stachka! Stachka! Strike! (not a reference to baseball)

2007-10-07T21:40:00.000+03:00

Well. The title says it all.

I am not allowed to strike, but that is of little matter anymore. The teachers are striking in Bulgaria. Many schools aren't actively striking, or only part of the teachers in the school are, but my school is actively on strike. This is quite interesting, seeing as I'm not allowed to strike and have to continue to offer my classes despite not having any students. My school just joined the strike Sept 27th. The teachers all show up at school every morning on time and sit in the teacher's lounge or smoking room until the school's regular hours are over. So for 8 hours teachers come to the school, sit there, work on school lessons (that they aren't teaching) during the period they would normally be teaching the lesson they are now working on, do paperwork, smoke, talk, and watch soap operas. The students don't come to school at all. I've seen perhaps 3, out of 500 students, come in and out of the school since the strike began.
This is a short article about the strike and news on how it's going: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=86057
I would like to correct one of the pieces of information in the article though: I have NEVER met a teacher whose salary is over 400 leva (200 euros) per month. Therefore the average salary of teachers is probably more like 300 leva (150 euros) per month. That's, on average, $212.14 per month for a full-time teaching position. There's a part-time teacher at our school that makes about 100 leva per month, 100 leva = $72. That is the lowest salary I've heard of though.

What does all this mean for me?
Lots of free time... once again. I'm trying to be productive, but it becomes hard when all you want to do is teach. Needless to say, this is not what I thought would happen when I came to Bulgaria with the Peace Corps. Well, at least part of it is not what I expected.
Boredom, Challenge, Free Time, The Unexpected: expected.
A Strike (stachka in Bulgarian or really it's стачка), Not Teaching during the school year, Watching Cable, Teaching Literature (or being able to if i was teaching at all), Eating Fruit strait from trees on the side of the street, Being Friends with my students, Eating Fabulous Yogurt: unexpected.
But, if you follow my logic, my expectations are all inclusive in the end. Even though it wasn't what I thought I was expecting I must have been expecting it, because I was expecting the unexpected and I have just told you what that was. Right? Sure. It all makes sense now.

The Awakening

2007-09-15T11:28:00.000+03:00

I've been saving this title for today or a special occasion. I don't think anyone should have any trouble identifying the author now.

Saturday was the first day of school. Basically it was a ceremony and a meeting, not much actual school going on. It was interesting though. Most of the teachers were there and less than half the students showed up. We gathered outside, sang (or more listened to) the national anthem, and watched as the flag was raised. Then the director gave a speech and poured water in front of the doors of the school. Why in the world would he pour water in front of the school (you should be asking yourself)? Well it's a Bulgarian tradition, of course. At the beginning of something new everyone takes a piece of bread (pitka) and dips it in honey or a seasoning mixture and eats it. Then the welcomer pours water on the ground for everyone to walk across as a symbol of "washing off the old and stepping into the new." So the director just performed the water part of this tradition and then all the students came into school as the janitress rang the bell.

Today was the actual first day of classes. I went into school at 7:15 am, not quite sure what time classes actually started. It turns out school starts at 7:30 am, but no one had a schedule until 7:45 or 8 am. Then there was a mad scramble to get to classrooms and find out which rooms classes were in. I ended up only having two classes later in the day, and both with the same grade. I think I sufficiently scared them. We had a lovely test and I passed out the class rules and test rules. Rules being passed out and stated is a novelty here. The students poured over them, even when they were supposed to be taking their test. All in all it was a good, successful day. The beginning is here.

A Respectable Woman

2007-09-14T15:21:00.000+03:00

My summer has been lazy. At first it was maddening but then I adjusted and it was bliss. When we started having to go into school last week I didn't know what to do! I had been waking up without an alarm clock for so long I forgot how to set it. Well not really, but it's still a shock to my system when I hear it go off in the morning. Going in to school has been nice, albeit uneventful. We had a few meetings and I found most of the teacher's hang out spots, but other than that more cigarettes were smoked than work done.

My counterpart refuses to speak to me in English, which is very good for my Bulgarian, but can prove difficult when she's trying to communicate specifics of class books and schedules. For a week and a half I thought that there were no text books for the 11th and 12th grade classes I was going to teach. I asked several people and gleaned the same answer or got a "go ask (fill in the blank) about that". Then on Wednesday I was sitting in the upstairs lounge and one of the teachers started asking me about the 12th class. I responded and she switched over to English. I had no idea she even spoke English! She continued to tell me that she had taught the 11th class last year, who would now be 12th graders, and if I needed any help to just ask her. I asked about the books and she said she had lots of material and books she pulled from would I like to see them and use them. Yes!! This was a wonderful break through! I finally got books and, as it turned out, more books and some more books and an invitation to a na gosti (visit at her house). Right now, I have three textbooks she gave me, plus a couple work books, a literature overview, and I'm on my way out the door to a na gosti where she's promised to give me more books if I want them. Talk about going from 0 to 100.

Tomorrow school starts. Yes, on a Saturday. We won't have any classes, but it's the opening ceremonies. They'll give speeches (and maybe I'll have to too) and basically just welcome everyone to a new year. I still don't know my kids' names or what room I'll be teaching in, in fact I just found out today that there is an actual English classroom. I do feel much more confident that I can do this and I have help if I need it, which is good enough for me for right now.

A Reflection

2007-08-28T18:38:00.000+03:00

This weekend turned into a week.
This weekend was long and tiring as only the most specific weekends can be. It started on Thursday. I traveled to Bobov Dol to visit my host mother, the other host mothers, and the kids that became my friends. It took all day to travel there, but it is worth it. That afternoon, early evening when I finally arrived I had coffee with my friends in town and then with the host mothers too. Coffee is always an hours-long event which may or may not included any coffee. It usually consists of much smoking, some drinking of a beverage very slowly, talking loudly and not at all, poor service, and perhaps (if it's close to a meal time) a snack. This 'coffee' happens almost everyday. This morning it was with Lauren before her meetings and my bus; tonight it was with Dani, Irena, Sarah, Sehee, Nikola, and Vladi the people I have come to call my good friends here. Two 'coffees' per day is quite normal. Sometimes a whole day is spent just having coffee at the same cafe. It's comforting, even when there is silence there is friendship that seems to build in this silence. 'Coffee' or Cafe is a crucial part of society and life for me now. I can't imagine buying a 20 oz coffee of the day and running out the door with it or drinking it with a friend in less than an hour. Here it is the 1 oz espresso or 4 oz cappuccino, which is really a latte, that will last me for at least 2 hours and a Bulgarian at least 3 if there is especially good company.
It's Irena's 250 ml bottle of cherry juice that she still hasn't finished after 4 hours of 'cafeing' that says the most about our friendship.

At Fault

2007-08-20T23:10:00.000+03:00

Drew already guessed the previous author! It was my favorite: William Faulkner. I guess I shouldn't be so obvious to pick my favorites first. So there's a new author now...it's harder I promise.

I had to let my cat go the other day. It was sad, and he keeps coming back which is even more sad. He just kept me up at night at first, but then he started scratching me while I was asleep. He also attacked my friends or me when we tried to pet him sometimes. So... it was time for him to go. For all you Bob Barker fans, he is neutered so there aren't going to be any little Teague's running around to scratch new people. Right after letting him go I went to my first Bulgarian futbol (soccer) game. It was interesting. I found out that most of the games are bought so that the referees favor one side. This game was obviously bought by the opposing team and we lost. It was a really unique experience though. There was a band that played for the first 15 minutes of each half and guys that waved flairs while the band played. The first half was really slow but the second half got much better! We still lost, but I had fun. There really isn't too much going on other than that. I think I'm gonna get to go to a rock concert this weekend in the mountains. That should be interesting. Raspberries are in season, meaning I just bought a kilo of them and baked my heart out today. And that's it from this side of the world!

Turnabout

2007-08-18T00:02:00.000+03:00

For all you avid readers (or could I say fans?) of this blog I'm going to start a little all-in-fun competition of sorts. All the titles of my posts are going to be titles of short stories by the same author until someone guesses (by email or comment on the blog) that author. When a the author has been correctly identified I'll pick a new author and let you know who the old one was. Yes, it's quite dorky, but most of already know that I am, among many other things, a dork (or as I prefer to be called: a nerd).
The first author started with the previous post and will continue until someone guesses who it is. If no one guesses then I will probably become desperate, besides feeling that no one reads my blog, and start emailing my friends with tears in my eyes asking them to indulge me. This is really just for some literary fun! So have fun and guess away!

Country Mice

2007-08-15T01:26:00.000+03:00

It's harder to write with a cat constantly nudging you for attention, but I'll try.

Here the country is much different. The towns and villages are sparsely placed throughout the landscape of fields. The center of town is just that, the center. It's where the life takes place. On Monday mornings it fills with people sitting at the cafes, gazing through the market, catching up on gossip. It's where you go to meet before you go anywhere else. It's the only place you can buy anything but the most basic groceries. Full of cafes and "Fshicko za 1 Lev" (yes, that's right they have "Everything's a Dollar" stores here too) the tree lined street is never rushed. Just outside the center the houses are very close together. They all have gardens closely knitted with vegetables and fruit trees. But the houses and their gardens occupy no more than half an acre and those are the biggest lots I've seen. It's amazing what can fit into less than a half an acre: tomatoes, cucumbers, pears, apples, walnuts, okra, beans, peas, grapes, zucchini, peppers, plums, peaches, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, corn... and that's just what I've seen planted I'm sure there's more. When you get past the houses you run into the bloks. Some are stark, monstrous, and foreboding, others are tree shaded with plant lined balconies. They are quite a change from the full and healthy gardens and quiet, tiny houses. They are practical and stave energy in the winter. Most people that live in the bloks have a house outside the "city" (which is to say bigger village) with a garden in a village near by. They bring some extra produce when it's in season and when they've fixed cakes or goodies they'll share those too. Beyond the bloks and houses there is nothing. There are fields of sunflowers or grazing cattle in a trash strewn field. And there is a road. In every direction there is a road to the next gathering of houses and bloks, a new center of some town.

A Selection of Questions from Aunt L.

2007-08-09T01:58:00.000+03:00

How’s the weather this summer?

The weather has been a lot hotter than usual. The whole month of July there was no rain and there were only 8 days where the high was less than 90 F and over a weeks worth of days where it was well over 100. But the last day of July brought rain and normal temperatures highs in the low 80s, nights in the 60s or low 70s. So the past week has been great.

How’s the scenery?
The scenery is gorgeous. Around me it’s plain country side with lots of donkey/horse carts, but 30 mins away there are cliff-sided mountains and pretty much the whole country is just breath taking. Here’s the website to some of my pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/krista.greiner

How’s your health? Enjoying the food or having to get used to a lot of different foods?
My health is good. I do a lot of walking which is great. They eat lots and lots of meat and pork, and I was a vegetarian for a long time and still don’t care for meat that much. They like to use a lot of oil and salt in their cooking too. Lots of cheese (but they only have 2 kinds) and dairy but I’m lactose intolerant. I’m really glad that they grow a LOT of veggies here and in the summer they are really plentiful and I can easily eat only vegetarian food. The food I’m able to get and cook I love… I just don’t go out to eat much.

What do you do every day?
Right now… not much. Mon-Fri I teach teachers English from 9 am to 11 or 12. But really we talk in Bulgarian and look at American magazines or translate songs or poems. My main goal is to get to know them and that’s working out quite well… but if my goal was to teach them English I’d be a miserable failure. Then I go home and clean or do laundry or cook or read. On Mondays I go to the Pazar (outdoor market) and buy my veggies for the week. Usually at least 3 times a week I go out for coffee with some of my Bulgarian friends or students. Some nights I have people over for dinner or a na gosti.

What do you eat for breakfast every or most days?
Yogurt (they make a plain kind here with no sugars or flavors) with granola or fruit in it.

What do you eat for lunch?
This changes everyday. For the first few weeks it was grilled cheese 75% of the time. Now… eggplant and cheese sandwich, soup, eggplant parm, noodles with sauce, a few days it was so hot I just ate 2 cucumbers or a tomato, a sandwich of some sort.

What do you eat for dinner?
Eggplant parm, stuffed peppers (with mushrooms, cheese, and eggs), rice and chicken, pasta, something called kebabche which is basically a cross between a sausage and a meat stick.

Who are your best friends at this point?
Sehee, my sitemate and a PCV. Day, a PCV. Yordanka (Dani, Danche), Ireana

What do you love about being there?
Free time, I’ve got lots of it. A clean, beautiful apartment. The extensive selection of fresh fruit and veggies for a very cheap price.

What do you wish you had from the USA that you can’t get there?
Mexican Food/Restaurants, my friends, Ziploc bags

Have you found anything you want to take back when you leave?
Lace and pottery and maybe my cat.

Are you glad you are there?
Yes.

What do you do when you get homesick for America?
Wait it out. It never lasts too long.

Finally!! Rain!

2007-08-06T22:57:00.000+03:00

For the past few days it's been raining here. The temperatures are now in the 70's and 60's. It's very overcast and I feel like I've greened a little, in a good way. I've also started English Classes with the teachers at my school. Only 2 come, but we have fun and I like them a lot. It's more of a social hour where they can ask me questions about English words, but my goal changed within the first day and now it is to get to know them and become friends. With a good start on my goal for teaching, nice green plants staring at me when I get outside, cool air coming into my apartment, and a very loving cat at home I am now fully settled in. And still the to-do list hangs over my head... I need to find a tutor. That's the big one. Most of the other to-do's involve studying and working with the language, which seems to be my downfall. I also need a game plan for the first few weeks of school, but I have plenty of time for that.
As the rain started I had the opportunity to go to a concert. It was the Slavi concert. Slavi has a Jay Leno/David Letterman type night show and is also a singer. He's got an amazing band and is very popular with the Bulgarians. The concert was great! The ticket only cost 6 leva (less than $5) and it was well worth it. The first few acts were from Music Idol (yes, American Idol shows are every where, there is no escape). Then there was an amazing traditional number with loads of traditional Bulgarian bagpipe-ish instruments and dancers; that was worth the 6 leva by itself. Then Slavi came on with fireworks and Las Vegas dancers complete with ridiculous headdresses. The music was mediocre but the show was great!
Other than all that the highlight of my day today was making peach pie. I went to the market. Which is every Monday and is the highlight of my Monday because what else would be. I was the first one there at a little before 8 am... and I thought they got an early start? I still can't get over the fact that I get 5 lbs of peaches for $2.50. The produce here, in summer alone, is amazing and wonderful. I'm also going to make stuffed zucchini with the single 2 lb zucchini I bought. It's a giant! King of all zucchini!

Na Gosti and Gardens

2007-07-31T13:20:00.000+03:00

na gosti- to go on a visit
baba- grandmother; a name the whole community calls any woman with grandkids

The other day I had my first na gosti at my friend Yordanka's (Dani, Danche) house. Her father was there; he's a local artist and showed us his studio, very cool. While we were walking to Dani's house I noticed this amazing house with an immaculate garden. Now I've never wanted to be friends with someone just because of their garden, but there is a first time for everything. So being cunning and thinking about how to find a way to befriend whoever lived in that house I asked Dani who lived there. "Two babas." she replied. Hum... I'm still trying to develop a strategy. All I need is to let them think I can't cook, or get them to find out I don't know how to can. Baba's are the best of the Bulgarian life. They live to take care of other people and make sure everyone is doing ok. Everyday on each street corner you can see a gathering of the the baba's where at least 4 and maybe 9 grandma's sit in the early evening sun and talk about the day, thier husbands, garden, or kids, the weather, and other assorted subjects you can only guess at. They look at each person who passes by taking the time to think about whether they have anything to say to them, or about them. If you say hi to them sometimes they just stare at you... probably because they didn't hear, maybe because they are in shock. Other times they say hi back. They might be the most stereotypical thing about Eastern Europe, and I have to say all the stereotypes are not stereotypes at all, they are fact.

Baba's, or babushka's as my mom likes to call them, are usually found wearing black or navy scarves over their hair. Many walk hunched over, others with a cane. They work long hours and are often found doing tasks that people half their age would find too strenuous and difficult to pull off. I take my hat off to all the baba's and hope that I can find a way to have the two with the nicest garden I've seen adopt me.

Don't belive it? Well, it's all true.

2007-07-24T19:29:00.000+03:00

If you haven't heard (which if you are in the USA I doubt you have) there is a heat wave sweeping through Eastern Europe. Lots of people have died already, only 2 in Bulgaria as of two days ago, but I'm sure the number has risen. Today, in a town 45 km's away the high was 107 F, and that town is in the mountains, however mine is not and I'm guessing we peaked out at about 110 F with 7% humidity. There hasn't been a drop of rain in weeks, the humidity level never rises about 20%, and there are fires everyday. It's pretty serious actually.
I came to Bulgaria specifically for COLD weather. That was one of my only requirements for placement. And what do I get? A heat-wave that's setting records and proving Global Warming isn't a joke. Well, I didn't need proof. I believed it just fine before coming to a scorching hot place that's supposed to be cool and even frigid. Instead of enjoying a warm sunny apartment I feel like I'm baking. Instead of having a good lunch and a long walk, I eat two cucumbers because I feel like anything more will make me sick and then take a cold shower or lay on my bed.
Ahhh! The heat is wilting me. Lucky for me there is a two day break in the 100+ temperatures this week. On Wednesday and Thursday it will only be in the mid-90's... Oh how lucky. And yet, I really am happy over this break. For the past 7 days the high has been over 100. In the past month there have only been 6 days where the observed high was below 90 degrees! It does cool down for about 2 hours during the night, but then before 9 am it's hot again.
Please send me cooling thoughts. :-)

My Day with Mr. Bean

2007-07-17T23:45:00.000+03:00

*For any of you who don't know who Mr. Bean is go google him now. *
One of my students asked me if I wanted to go to the pool and being completely bored out of my mind and craving any human contact I said "Of course!!!" So as she, her best friend (and another student of mine), her boyfriend, and I drove to the pool I was excited. We spent 4 hours at the pool, I didn't burn, and I got to meet about 10 people... a record so far. While we were goofing around I had a funny feeling this girl's boyfriend looked familar, but I couldn't figure out why. After 4 hours of pool time they invited me to go out to dinner after a little R&R time. I was still haunted by the boyfriend's familar looks; it was starting to bug me. Then I figured it out, after dinner when we were at the cafe. I had spent from 1:30 to 11:30 pm with this guy and it took me until 11:05 pm to realize he looked exactly like Mr. Bean.
It was a good day. And I'm happy to report Mr. Bean is really nice and isn't as weird as he seems in those sketches and movies.

The Stump-tailed Cat

2007-07-16T09:36:00.000+03:00

I have a cat now. An orange, sad, short-broken tailed, old cat. It meows loudly to announce my arrival into a room... or to ask me for something, usually I can't figure out what (unless it's canned cat food, which it might be every time). It curls up with me on the couch as I watch Frida or Mission Impossible on TV and try to learn new words. I like the cat very much because, like me, it is a cat of paradoxes. Relaxed and quiet, then loud and rambunctious getting stuck under the couch. Aloof and solitary, but also craving bursts of attention and bent on curling up in your lap. It's a good cat... I only wish I could find a decent name for it. It's been Boomerang, Tiger (Tigs, Teague), and Kitty so far. None of them suit the cat. I think I may end up calling it Teague so it doesn't have an identity crisis, not that it hasn't so far. I'm sure that cat has years of therapy to undergo because none of it's 2-year-long ownerships have managed to keep the same name. It's a Peace Corps cat and it gets passed from old-outgoing Volunteer to new-incoming Volunteer. So for the next two years Teague will be with me and we will keep each other company.

Picnics and Parties

2007-07-09T22:41:00.000+03:00

I have to say that Bulgarians do picnics right.
Yesterday I went on a trip to a cave with a group of new Bulgarian friends. I should have known better than to think we were just going to a cave, but I didn't. We met at 8:45 am and were off by 9:15 am: two cars, eight people, and supplies for a picnic. Now what I have discovered so far is that as an American I think of the destination more than the journey. I was all excited and ready to get to the cave, but as a dweller of Bulgaria I need to learn the mentality that the journey is the adventure, not the destination. The first stop on our trip (the caves were two hours away) was to pick up a friend of the people in the other car. The second stop was to have a visit with the parents of my friend Irena's brother's wife's parent (wow). Then we were on to what I think we all thought were going to be the caves, but turned out to be a 3 hour dead-end hike by the longest river in Bulgaria, the Iskar, and up a mountain with no shade in 90+ degree heat. It was pretty and nice, but no cave. So at this point I'm thinking maybe there is no cave and we are just going to picnic and go home...wrong. It's only 1:30 pm by the time we finish meandering through the woods and my stomach is growling. So we set up our picnic.
I went with Sehee, the other PCV at my site, and we each brought a sandwich, granola bar, crackers, grapefruit, and cookies for the picnic. This is OK picnic food right? Pretty standard and normal for an American picnic. Our friends pull out their picnic bags, start setting up and put us to shame. This is the third Bulgarian picnic I've been on and you think I would learn by now. Yordanka has 10 sandwiches grilled this morning, a container full of whole tomatoes maybe 9 in all, a bag of 15 cucumbers, a full bag of napkins, a table cloth, and a box of cookies. Irena has 7 sandwiches and 4 tomatoes. The family of four brought chicken meat pulled from a whole chicken if not 2, a loaf of bread, 15 tomatoes, a 2 liter Tupperware with bagel chips, silverware, and cutlery. I'm sure I left out something but the point is to say that we all sat there and passed around the food, cut up tomatoes and cucumbers, laughed, and ate for at least an hour if not two (I wasn't counting). Every Bulgarian picnic I've been on has been like this. I love it, it's wonderful, they feed everyone.
After the picnic we drove around for about an hour trying to figure out where we wanted to go. Well we knew where we wanted to be but not how to get there, and there was some car to car discussion which was funny. Every time the car in front would go to make a turn they'd stop mid-turn and someone from the car in back would go up and discuss the turn then run back and we would either make the turn or try to back up. After about 2 real turns and 2 false turns we found the road we were supposed to be on. We got to the cave around 3 pm. After the cave we went to sit by the river and eat more that we hadn't eaten from lunch. Then at about 5 pm we packed up to leave. When we dropped the girl that we had picked up off we went to a cafe and had a coke and talk for maybe about another hour then finally at 6:30pm we were on our way back home. We got back at 8 pm and couldn't believe how exhausted we were. I'm still recovering; I took a 3 hour nap today. Excursions here are like meandering paths you go down them only to see, only because you have time.
I had a great time and saw a whole bunch of beautiful nature so I'd say it was a good meander and a day well spent.

Home Sweet Home?

2007-07-03T13:58:00.000+03:00

I'm in Byala Slaltina now and have a wonderful apartment. I've been incredibly busy and have had no time to unpack my room. It's crazy, they tell you the first few weeks if not months are boing and you have nothing to do, but here I am with barely any free time and suitcases strung everywhere. Tomorrow is the 4th of July and here that means absolutely nothing! But there are 4 volunteers here right now (including me) so we're gonna celebrate in style with watermelon, real hamburgers, salad (with real lettuce), guacamole (I know it's not traditional but it's a real treat here), and maybe even sparklers. I miss you all incredibly much and I'll write more when I get internet.

Time Just Flys By

2007-06-25T16:08:00.000+03:00

Well this week is swearing-in (that means I become a Volunteer instead of just a trainee). This also means I get to move to my own apartment, make my own schedule, and have my own life! Horray!!! Tomorrow we have a language proficiency exam and then a good bye party for our host families. Then on Wednesday it's packing, Thursday some conferences, and Friday we're official! I can't believe I've been here for over 2 months. Time doesn't seem to exist in the same way here.

New Address and Renewment...

2007-06-19T18:35:00.000+03:00

I have a new mailing address for now. It is to the right ->
So now you can mail me letters again! And thank you so much to all who have already mailed me letters! I loved them, I love them, I love you, and I am so fortunate to have amazing friends who are so supportive and loving.

These past few weeks were tough. It has been one of those busy, multi-faceted times where you just feel like you don't stop, ever. And then you hike up a mountain. So I really did hike up a mountain and I'd like to say that I am not physically what I once was...it was a sweaty, sad site. But I made it and it was a beautiful mountain and there were beautiful waterfalls and it was well worth the effort. So worth it that I might do it again. 38 Volunteer, 2 tour guides, and 1 doctor went hiking in the Balkan Range on Mt. Rila. It was two and a half hours strait up with only about 50 yards of flat-ish land. It was crazy, but beautiful and of course my camera broke right before this hike. We stayed in a hostel (called a hizha) on the mountain and then hiked to a waterfall the next day before hiking back down. It was amazing. I'm going to have to buy a tent and go backpacking up there.

These past few weeks I've had so much to do that there was (and still is) no time to think, relax, or breath. I need a pochifka (break). I have a funny story about my "pochifka" that actually: So today we had the first of our 3 "sport days" with the kids from school. It was extremely hot and sweaty but successful. Afterwards we decided to go to one of the cafes on that side of town and have a coke. I had a language tutoring session in an hour, but thought it wasn't a problem I'd just catch a cab. So about 20 mins before my language session starts I call the cab. I see one drive by about 10 mins later, but no cabs stop. So then I go stand outside the cafe for about 5 more mins and try to wave down 2 cabs but they think I'm saying "hi". At this point I call the cab company again and say that there is no cab and I'd still like one. As the guy is trying to get my info my phone dies. So I have no idea if there is a cab coming. I start walking a little and I walk about 10 feet when one of my students comes out of a building to say "hi" and talk. Right as we meet each other in the center I see a cab come speeding up to where I just was, but now I've just said hi to her and it would be rude to leave without asking how she is and what she is doing today. I turn around after taking to her for just a minute just in time to see the cab drive away. *Large sigh* So I start the 30 min walk to my apartment and then back to where I have the session. I had already played volleyball with the kids for 2 hours before this and now I'm climbing about 200 stairs and then another hill just to get my notebook. By the time I get home I'm already 20 mins late for tutoring and I have to go to the bathroom. Flushing is very different here than in the states, there is a different method for each toilet. For ours you have to turn a lever and it goes directly from the pipe to the toilet (no tank, no nothing, just the pipe and toilet). I turn the lever and the pipe blows off spreading water all over the floor and onto me from the pipe (at least it wasn't from the toilet). So now I'm standing in the apartment wet from the pipe, sweaty from the walk and sports, and generally upset because I'm so late. I finally get to the language session and I'm a half an hour late and my tutor asks if I had a nice pochifka. I laugh then explain that there was no pochifka what-so-ever and tell her what happened. Then, this is the best part, we just start laughing. Now I'm sitting in the internet cafe and I'm still sweaty and sticky and the kids that were playing volleyball with me just came in and said hi to me. I think it's turned out to be an ok afternoon, but just wait the way my luck keeps changing I'll go back to the apartment and the water will be out for the rest of the night, that would mean no shower...

Alive, Exhausted, and on my way to the spa

2007-06-01T18:08:00.000+03:00

Sometimes I wonder if I'm really in the Peace Corps. I mean I'm going to the spa tomorrow, I'm on the Internet today, and the kids in my 7th grade class finally paid attention to me this week. Maybe this is making up for the absolutely horrible week I had before.

Rainy Days

2007-05-24T17:57:00.000+03:00

I wrote this post awhile ago but haven't had time to post it until now. So if I have time this might be a double edition. Oh, and if you don't like stream-of-conscious then i suggest you skip to the second part.
5-21
I keep my head down as I walk so that I can see the puddles. Although my shoes are soaked and squishy my jeans have started to dry. Running through the pouring rain for an Italian meal may not have been our best idea, but it certainly was one of our tastiest. Even now, two hours later back in Bobov Dol, still soaking wet and chilled to the core I think it was worth it.
jump over the river that has overtaken half the street
well at least I only got one foot wet, the other has stopped squishing finally and is now just damp
I can smell the cigarette of the man walking 15 meters in front of me. It's amazing how inescapable that smell is. Even in the open air it haunts you. As I start walking up the steps i notice two other girls that were on the bus with me. We seem to have all taken different routes to end up at the same steps.
so much like life
Our paths converge for an awkward second and we don't speak or look up. Then I am past one girl and the other passes me. The moment is over along with the awkward pause.
two blocks, turn left
up the stairs, up more stairs
turn left, one block, turn right
up the stairs, again
get the keys out...wait it's unlocked. she's home
Thank goodness today I'm not assaulted at the door. She yells from the kitchen and laughs. I respond in Bulgarian, there is no English spoken here,
"Yes, there was lots of rain today."
and think about my wet shoes and jeans. I hope she doesn't notice them. She doesn't.
"No, thank you I already ate dinner. I thought we talked about that yesterday."
"Oh, ok. No, I don't want dinner."
Any phrase that includes me not wanting food never seems to translate. After lots of pointing and motioning she gives up trying to feed me a second dinner.
My room always looks a mess. I clean it everyday and yet there is just too much stuff for one small room. More papers today, more handouts we were given, more notes, one less book lent to a friend, a pair of wet jeans, wet socks and shoes. Sort. Stack. Sort. Find space. Organize ...somehow.
Are those flees? I think I can feel them. I thought they were gone. Are there bites? No, only my imagination. Still I spray more to kill them if they are there or not.
My feet have finally dried and the chill is starting to fade from my legs. Don't itch the old flee bites, don't itch. Think about something else... don't itch. Ack! Stop itching.

Second Post: Now for Today
Today was Alphabet day. I know this makes no sense to anyone who is not Bulgarian so I'll do a little explaining. Cyril and Methodie were brothers and they invented the Cyrillic Alpahbet (notice only one of them is the namesake). Bulgarians are very proud of their alphabet because from what i understand it was one of the first in the area. So May 24th every year they celebrate these brothers that created the alphabet. Those are the basics.
Our school (and the other school in the town) put on an event with speaking and singing. So of course we all went. As the assistant mayor spoke I thought perhaps I was mistaken at what i heard. But no, oh no, I was not mistaken. then the mayor got up and I thought, perhaps everyone will maintain a quieter volume for this woman, the mayor, who is old enough to be their grandmother. But no, oh no. I have never sat through so much talking and disrespect in my whole life. Well I did stand through something worse when one of my students decided to jump out of the window of our classroom while I was teaching. Unfortunately we were only on the first floor. But I thought maybe, in a different setting where respect is commanded and expected these kids will demonstrate some amount of restrain. But no, not even a little. They were yelling to each other, getting up and down, talking incessantly at a normal level and when you combine 400 or 500 kids talking at a normal level all in one room it turns into a roar then add the speaker and sound system. Let's just say I ended up with a headache.
Tonight we'll be going to the teacher's celebration which should be much, much better.
Just as a side note:
As I type this I'm sitting next to a boy around 4 years old playing Miami Vice or whatever that video game is where you drive around in a car and run over people. He's the cutest kid. But now i can see exactly why they all acted as they did today.

Bravo Bulgaria

2007-05-17T14:06:00.000+03:00

Well I'm in Byala Slatina and I love it. I wrote a huge post on my laptop, but don't have access to wireless right now so I'll just give a little blurb for now.
At first I was skeptical. The outskirts of town are not very impressive, but the center of town is beautiful and has lots of cafes to sit outside and drink coffee at. It's just the right size, not small enough that everyone knows each other but not so big that you feel lost or like 'just another person in the mix'. The teachers at my school are simply wonderful. They've been amazing, and I don't feel like I can begin to cover how great they all have been and how at home they've made me feel. Every single one of them is kind, welcoming, eager to get to know me, friendly, helpful, and nice. The eleventh grade students took me out to coffee today and talked to me the whole time. I was amazed at how good their English was. I couldn't ask for a better school and town or have picked a more perfect fit for me if I choose it myself. As far as PC assignments go I know I lucked out. I really hope everyone else in my Training Class feels the same way though. :-) I'm so freaking excited about getting here in a month and a half. Now I feel like I have incentive to learn Bulgarian. I want to be able to learn about the people here as much as they want to learn about me. It's amazing. I'm in shock.

2007-05-15T23:05:00.000+03:00

I found out where I’m going to be for the next 2 years the other day. It’s a medium sized town in the north center of Bulgaria. The name of the town is Byala Slatina. I’ll be working at an agriculture specialty school. I’m so excited to see it. There’s another volunteer from my group that’s going to be living in the same town as me. Her name is Sehee. She’s really fun and I’m really excited about her being close to me! I’m going to live on the campus of the school in a boarding house. The school has a fitness center, a summer swimming pool, a garden patch, and a hotel/boarding house. They seem super friendly and I can’t wait to meet all the English teachers and the staff.

I’m loving it right now. I’ve spent the past two days with all the volunteers in sessions but also hanging out. It’s amazing how quickly you can make close friends. I feel like I’ve known these people forever. They are so supportive and we all understand what each other is going through. It’s incredible how much you can bond through common experiences. I feel like I don’t know the Volunteers at all, and yet I know them so well and can talk to any of them and hang out with any of them. It's really nice to hang out with these amazing people. We all are so different, but have the same empathetic spirit and desire to do something good. I'm so fortunate to know them.

The language is so challenging. I'm going to have to learn much, much more before I go to my site permanently.

Oh the tiredness...

2007-05-10T18:00:00.000+03:00

Today marks the end of my 4th week in Bulgaria. I can't believe it. It seems like I've been here for at least 3 months already, although my language skills show that I haven't. I think when you're in a new culture it takes at least twice as long to process and get through anything. I've been given just enough assignments to fill each day, don't speak the language of most of the people around me, and learn (or try to) lots of new language everyday add that all together and you get one tired Krista. Today in Bulgarian language classes I actually nodded off. I couldn't believe it. We also had our first observation while teaching today which was stressful. I'm going to blame the nodding off on stress. Yup, it was the stress. I think my language trainer just laughed at me because of it. They decide on our sites tomorrow and we'll find out where we'll be for the next two years on Monday. Then we'll go visit for a week. I can't believe training is half over with. I feel like I have so much more to learn.

Well done

2007-05-02T19:17:00.000+03:00

Today I had coffee with one of my students. She is really nice and speaks very, very, very little English. So that was challenging, but we ended up talking about what sports we like, our brothers and sisters, and I said that when my Bulgarian is better we should do it again. She's a 7th grader and she asked me to coffee. It made my day. The 7th grade is my favorite class. There are 28 of them and it's the biggest class by far. They are only supposed to have 25 in language classes, but 2 people came in mid-semester and they didn't want to have to split the class. They are completely out of control half the time (or what we would call out of control in the states) and loud and always seeking attention. But I love them because they respond; they are interactive; if you give them positive attention they respond positively everytime. They may be loud, noisy, and rowdy but they aren't disrespectful (unless they're testing your boundaries) and they give you immediate results. Teaching is going well but I have alot to learn. There is a volunteer at our school, Andy, and he is completely helpful. It's really nice to have him there and see what he's done that's worked and what hasn't. We went out of our little country town this past week for 2 days and as we were riding the bus back I was thinking how nice it would be to get back. Then I saw our town and sighed and smiled. It was a nice realization that this does feel like home in a way, and that it feels nice to come back here after being away for a few days. There are other volunteers in smaller towns and some in bigger, some with better schools, all with more behaved students.

This next week we will interview for our permanent sites...it's kinda nerve racking. We have so much to do this week and next. We are pretty much chocked full to the gills with things to do for all of training. It makes learning the language much tougher. But it's coming. I've gotta go eat until I feel like you could roll me to bed and hear from my host mom how little i ate. I think this is the only country where you can eat enough for 5 people and then have the person feeding complain that you never eat anything. Alas I am well fed.

Oh wow.

2007-04-27T18:25:00.000+03:00

So I've been here for two weeks...well I've been gone for two weeks. I've been in my small town for one week and in Bulgaria for a week and a half. I'm starting to notice culture differences, which is good. There are a lot of things that seem the same on the surface, but aren't really the same at all once you get down to it. I started teaching yesterday and will have my first full class on Wednesday. So far I've taught 7th graders. They are loud and crave attention, but I really enjoy them. They are eagar to learn and aren't apathetic yet. I think I'm starting to come down with something though. So let's hope it's just a sore throat and that it'll be gone by Monday.

Let me give you a basic run-down of my schedule:
between 6:30 and 7 am Wake-Up
8 am Meet the other Volunteers at the cafe and drink coffee and walk to school
8:30 Get to school and prep for class
9- 11:30 We teach English
12:30- 1:30 Lunch at "home"
1:30 -4:30 Bulgarian Language Class
5:30- 7 Read and study
around 9 pm we eat dinner
i go to bed before 11 every night.

Needless to say I'm glad it's the weekend! Now, I'm going to go rest. :-)

I'm in Bulgaria!

2007-04-23T13:19:00.000+03:00

As Jeff stares over my shoulder I write this to tell everyone that I'm safe, I have a new apartment and a host mom to go with it, I have 40 new friends, and that I can say basic phrases in Bulgarian. I don't have long; we just got done eating at Ben's house and we have to go back for more language and training stuff. I'm in a small mining village between Sofia and Dupnitsa. It's beautiful and all the people know each other even though there are about 6 or 7,000 people here. There are 3 other volunteers in the village with me: Josh (from Columbus), Ben, and Jeff. Yes, back to the Tech ratio. I don't mind that a bit. I miss you all and I hope that you're doing well. Send me emails and mail! I'd love to hear from you. I have pretty good access to the internet, so I should be able to check and write back weekly.

I'm leaving TODAY!

2007-04-15T15:38:00.000+03:00

I'm so excited! Yes, our flight might be canceled. Yes, we have to sit in the first airport for 5 hours. Yes, we have to sit in the second airport for 4 hours. Yes, it's pouring outside. Yes, I have way too much and way to heavy luggage. BUT I'm still really excited!! I'll miss you all terribly though.

I really like all the people I met here. They're all so different but so similar. There's the quiet guy or two. I'm the crazy girl, I have a feeling. We have the thoughtful few and the ones who kinda go along for the ride. And I like them all; that's the best thing.

Two Days, Too People, To Parents

2007-04-11T22:51:00.000+03:00

I can barely stop myself from running outside and jumping around (the cold rain is a good deterrent though). The four glasses of sweet tea may have something to do with it, but I'm sure my exuberant abundance of excitement about leaving in less than Two Days is the main cause. I can't believe it. I mean that phrase very literally; it is very hard for me to grasp and believe that in two days I will be on a plane and gone from Atlanta for over two years. In the past weeks I've come to realize how much I love ATL. I always knew that I enjoyed the city and never minded living in it, but I feel like Atlanta is home. I'll miss it while I'm away; I missed it even when I was only an hour away.

My parents are being hysterical, well hysterically funny. My mom tries to dramatize every moment. Tuesday night we're all watching TV and she blurts out "Krista! This is the LAST Tuesday night you'll be watching TV with your parents! *fake sob* *fake sob*." Then, as we leave for church, "Krista! This is the LAST time you're going to church with us!! *gasp* (as she swoons with her arm on her forehead)." It's better than crying and funnier than moping. My dad is reserved, but very intent on saying "Bye, I love you!" every time he or I leave the house.

Packing isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. And yes, I did make an Excel spreadsheet and already pre-packed just to make sure everything would fit. But I was still debating exactly what to bring (and I kinda still am). It's been much easier to start weeding things down though. I have one bag entirely packed; it's like a heaven for vacuum bags. I had some stuff, like my amazing 5 pound buckwheat pillow that I love like a child, that I just couldn't take. Then there was some more stuff that now fit since I wasn't taking the other stuff. All in all I've just got a ton of stuff, actually only about 100 pounds of stuff but that's still alot.

The Final Steps

2007-03-28T19:25:00.000+03:00

So I've taken care of almost everything. I have my plane ticket for Philadelphia (that's where staging is going to take place) on Friday the 13th (such an ominous day). I've paid all my bills that can be paid right now. I'm starting to see all my friends and family and slowly say "See you later" (because I don't say "good-bye's" unless I know I'll never see you again). Everything is starting to fall into place and feel taken care of. As the day to leave approaches I feel much more calm and ready, which is odd 'cause I certainly thought I'd be flipping out or at least more stressed with each day instead of less.
I've gotten a lot of questions about some of the details so here's some explaining: Friday the 13th, I'll fly to Philly and start Staging. Staging is a two-day orientation to the Peace Corps in general, not the specific country, for all of the Trainees (PCT's) for Bulgaria. There will be about 40 PCT's in my group. Sunday the 15th (it's just not as fun to say as Friday the 13th), all of us will bus over to NYC for our flight to Bulgaria. It'll take a full day of flying with a lay over in Germany to get us to Sofia, Bulgaria. The first four days in Bulgaria we (the 40ish PCT's) will be at a hotel getting some primary training before moving in with our host families. The fourth day, or maybe the fifth, we will meet our host families and go with them. I'll live with a host family in a medium-sized town for the first three months. There will be 4 to 5 other PCT's in the same town as me with other families. Training is three months of intensive language learning, culture adaptation, skill training, and just time to deal with all the things that you don't expect to have to deal with. About 10ish weeks into training I'll find out what town/village/community I'll be in for the next two years. So, just to re-cap, I don't know where I'm going to be living within Bulgaria for the two years and won't for the next few months. The address I have is only for while I'm in training for the first 3 months.
I'll be teaching English as a foreign language to High Schoolers once I finish training. I really can't wait. Each day I get more and more excited and anticipatory. I'll be in Atlanta this Friday and Saturday if you would like to get together just call me. I'll be in Athens later today, that's a little bit shorter notice, but same thing goes. I'm also going to Eggs in the Easy for Easter weekend and I'm sure I'll get to catch most people there. Only two and a half weeks left!

Address!!! Only 4 weeks left!

2007-03-16T17:53:00.000+02:00

My address for the first 10-12 weeks in Bulgaria is:

Krista Greiner , PCT
Zora Community Center
2 Nikolaevska Str., Floor 3
2600 DUPNITSA
BULGARIA

I would love letters and I'm really good at writing back! I will also have intermittent access to email.

I started the initial packing stuff last night. I made an excel spreadsheet of everything I'd like to take and which bag it will go in. I also paired all the different outfit combinations by letter and number. There are over 125 different pairings... obviously I went to Georgia Tech. Then I tried to put all the stuff in the bags... not as easy as making a spreadsheet. My backpack was completely full to overflowing with only half the stuff in it and my other bag had room to spare. My goal is to get most of the weight into the backpack and not touch it until I get settled in Bulgaria. I'm hoping that vacuum bags make a huge difference.
What am I trying to pack in these bags? Here's a list so far:
16 shirts
2 sweaters
2 dresses
3 skirts
3 pairs of pants
2 pairs of shorts
2 scarf sets
2 sets of workout clothes
2 pairs of long johns
1 sweatshirt
3 jackets
compact sleeping bag
fleece blanket
5 pairs of shoes
toiletries for 3 months
1 set of T-shirt sheets
6 books
assortment of my favorite teas
a photo album
2 chef's knives
assortment of Thai and Mexican cooking spices
That's all in 2 bags whose measurements can add up to no more that 105" and each bag can weigh no more that 50 lbs. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes :-)

Why do they have to have titles?

2007-03-11T02:37:00.000+02:00

I mean really. Does it have to have a label? I'm not so big on the labeling.
I just watched a bunch of videos and filled journal entries out about labeling people. Really I think it was supposed to be about quesitons you could be asked while you're serving, but aren't those questions really just so we can label each other?
Anyway...
It's almost a month exactly before I leave. I'm getting so excited and nervous. I have no idea what to pack, how much to pack, what to pack in... I'm trying to learn the Bulgarian Alphabet (it's Cyrillic) and boy that's exciting. I'm also starting to realize I have to say bye to everyone. I don't like good-byes so I usually just make it a "see you later" and don't have to worry about it. But this is for a little bit longer than normal, so I'll just have to see how I do.

The Six Weeks

2007-03-05T03:10:00.000+02:00

There are six weeks left before I leave. If you'd like to stay updated on how and where I am and what I'm doing then this is the spot for you. I'm horrible about posting things, so I'm sorry if this doesn't meet your expectations for frequency of posts, but it's all I've got.

I'm feeling: loved, thankful, happy
and thinking: OMG six weeks and Amanda's already gone!!!!