Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Blog

Just wanted to blog quickly and tell everyone hello and Merry Christmas. The snow fell last week and the temperatures sure dropped! My bathroom froze, on the inside! That sure was interesting, sounds like I will have a lot more of that to look forward to as the cold months approach. The family I live with was nice enough to build me a wall with a sliding door, in my apartment that separates my living quarters and the back hall, that is all poorly insulated windows and the bathroom. So at least I will remain warm which is really the most important thing. I will just have to work up my nerve to go to the bathroom, and take a shower!! Things are picking up at work. It has been a lot of fun lately with my English classes, and all the Christmas activities going on. I am going to visit my host family over Christmas and I am really looking forward to seeing them again and resting. Some of my friends from training with also be there so that will make it a very nice visit. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and if you are lucky enough to be home with your friends and family then make sure you take a moment to really appreciate it!!

This is the tree my friend Ivanka gave me. I was able to find the decorations and my Aunt gave me the cute penguin ornament that I used as my tree topper. All the gifts under it are also from my Aunt Marilyn.

Stocking from my Aunt Marilyn =)

Some of my co-workers after we spent the day making Christmas decorations and this sign.

Merry Christmas To All!

All I want for Christmas is Blog!

(Wrote this blog a few days ago before my internet went out and I couldn't post it)

Yes, it  has been awhile since my last post. Once again waiting around for the blogger elves to blog for me did not pay off. Maybe I should talk to their union rep? Where should I begin............

Well October was a great month. There was a really fun Volunteer party I went to on 10/10/10 and got to meet a  lot of people I either had not met yet, or didn't really know. 

This is a random one from a night out that I thought I would throw in,

Henry in his chair on wheels!

At the end of October I took my first vacation and flew to the Netherlands to meet up with my family. Through powers greater than my own, my sister-in-law Lindsey, along with my Brother and their 2 adorable kids, were transferred to work on a project in Netherlands and have been there since August. They were originally supposed to leave at the end of October, which caused my parents to fly out at that time in order to help them with the move back, and me to fly in to catch a glimpse of them because that is just to close not to see them. The great news is that it was a wonderful visit.

Ivy my niece is talking more and more everyday. Henry my nephew is probably the sweetest thing I have ever seen. His eyes light up and then he gets this enormous smile on his face. When I left the states he was just over 2 months old. So getting to see him and his personality was a real treat when I thought I had said good-bye for two years. 

Ben and Linds got Ivy this bear in Gouda. 

The even better news (for me) is that Lindsey's project got extended and they are there until April, which means I can squeeze another visit in before they head back. 

My Mom and Ivy

Lindsey and Henry

So that brings us into November. The weather here has been very warm unseasonably warm in fact. The mosquitoes have been attacking every night. I have found out that they will bite you anywhere that you leave exposed: lips, eye lids, hands etc. I don't know why I thought there were certain places that were off limit in mosquito etiquette, obviously I have learned otherwise. I am still working with a group of kids after school. The schedule switches with them every month, their schedules change here between afternoon and morning shift. So sometimes we meet before school, sometimes after school. They have been great and I have a very loyal following. They give me energy ever time we meet and are so much fun to work with. I also have an adult English class now. I will probably add another one, but am trying to find some more projects before I add another one. The adults have been great. I have a group of 14, and about 12 show up daily. It is great to get to meet them and interact with them. I brought in some banana bread I made and they really seemed to like it. I really look forward to getting to be friends with them. The B26'ers also had our In-service Training Conference at the end of November. It was great seeing the group together, and also staying in the amazing hotel we stayed at!

I am also privately tutoring some people. I have been working with one women, Snejana, for a few months now. She is wonderful! She lives in Plovdiv and is a nice friend to have. I worked with her son, Stoyan, for awhile while he prepared for an interview.

This is Snejana with one of her Mosaics at her winery.

Now through my English class I have made another friend. Her name is Ivanka. She is about my age and lives very near to my house. She and I talk in Bulgarian and English and it is a wonderful exchange. She doesn't judge my Bulgarian abilities, and I help her with her all ready pretty good English. 

Things here seem to be moving along nicely. I am reaching out to a lot more people I meet in order to get out there and find more projects. At the end of December I will have completed my 5th month of Volunteer service!    

I and Blog and You

The camp was a real turning point for me here. Since then my friend Jennifer and I travelled to Shumen to visit with Brittany. It was a long trip but totally worth it. We went for an early celebration of Jennifer's birthday. It was great seeing Shumen and Brittany. She took us for a tour around where we shopped at some great 2nd hand stores and we visited a monument that represents all of Bulgaria's history with 1300 steps, one for each year. (No I don't know if they add one each year) By the way that is a lot of freaking steps!!!! It is painful on the way up, luckily there is a small cafe about 3/4 of the way up to give you a little rest, but my legs were shaking for sure on the way down!

Back in my village I have been busy (finally) I told my counterpart I was ready, I want to start an after school program and start teaching English to adults. I don't know if it was a communication thing or what, but now I am teaching an after school English class to kids! ha!! We meet every Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday was just a quick introduction and I had 16 kids not only show up, but run there after school. Today I thought, ok, if I get half of those kids back then I will be happy. Well 17 kids showed up! 17 kids at all different levels of English, and me at all different levels of Bulgarian! =) I walked home with the best smile on my face and the most amazing feeling in my heart. Not only did my lesson plan work out to exactly the right amount of time, I had a blast, got to know some of the kids, and am so ready to dive in with so many more ideas and plans!! I will start teaching English to adults soon, but I am just really enjoying my first program and the kids! Hopefully I can maintain my sanity and keep them entertained as well as time goes on.

This picture is for my Mom. She sent me a couple great packages and this dress was in one of them! I have worn it a few times and love it! I have been lucky to receive a few packages and know that a few more are on the way. Thank you to everyone for the packages and letters, and honestly thank you for even thinking of and wanting to send one! =) I can't tell you how much I appreciate it and it lifts my spirits!

At the top of 1300 steps you are treated to some great views of Shumen as well as some transformer! =) Jennifer named them the steps to Mordor. There is certainly a transformer feel to the structure. But then when you turn the corner there are some beautiful mosaics very similar to the ones I saw in Russia. Well worth the steps!

Here I am on my last step! (up)

Jenn and Brit on their last steps!!

This is where they start. If you look in the distance at the top of the hill you can see the monument. It is the big thing that does not look like a tree!

Blog up

One of the coolest things about the conference in Sliven was that my counterpart approached me and wanted to see if I was interested in helping out some fellow volunteers at a camp. She had previously not allowed me to leave to go to another camp so I think this was her way of trying to make up for it. I very very happily accepted the invitation, once I figured out what she was talking about and when the other volunteers actually invited me themselves. I had such an amazing time!!! It was a camp put on by two volunteers from another group, Shah a B24 who has since COS'ed (his service ended) and John who is a B25. Another B25 CJ was there to help out. There were 3 Vols from my group of B26's, Amber (my first PC friend and roomie) and Ryan, a fellow Pacific North-westerner, and of course me. We had about 8 kids from ages 15-18 and they all spoke relatively good English, which was a huge relief for me! =)

It took place in the Rhodopi Mountains in the small beautiful village of Borino. The villages and people of the Rhodopi mountains are so friendly and it is SO beautiful!! We stayed in tents and the weather for the most part cooperated. The 3 of us B26's got in after dark since we were travelling directly from our conference. Our directions were that once we got off the bus in Borino there would be a man to meet us in a green van. I knew it would be one of those amazing experiences that drew me to join the Peace Corps and it did not dissapoint.

Here is Shah leading one of the English sessions

Amber and John in one of their sessions

And we shall call her "Old Faithful". This was our group transportation from where we were camping to the village. She rode about as good as she looks, but certainly was dependable!

We went to another village for their town celebration on Sat. This is Ryan, Amber and I.

They named the camp "Myle" I still don't know why, but here are the kids spelling it out. We followed this photo with a fun game of Duck Duck Goose.

The interior

Here is CJ, Amber and Ryan on our trip into town. There is a good reason Ryan is laughing in this photo. He and I sat in the very back and often got launched off of our seat a good foot or more from the "road" that we had to traverse in order to get to and from the camp.

Blogorious

After our conference in Blagoevgrad we had to wait about 2 weeks and we were all back together again. This time we were together with out counterparts. It was for our Project Design workshop and it took place in Sliven. It was great to be all together again. There are a few more photos that I was tagged in on facebook if anyone wants to see more.

All you need is Blog

So lets go back in time a bit. Towards the end of August we had a conference in Blagoevgrad, which is a city in the South Western part of the country very near to Macedonia. It was a great conference but by far the best part was getting together with my other friends and getting to meet and finally get to know some of the other volunteers. I didn't take a lot of pictures but what I did are posted here.

You be saying to yourself, why the heck haven't you blogged in so long, well to that my answer would be that better nothing than the emotional wreckage I have been trudging though. Some people put it all out there and others clam up, I would be in the latter group. I love this country, and I love the people here. I know that I read through a lot of blogs before I joined the Peace Corps. I read them to get a wide range of feelings and experiences of the people actually living the "dream". If there is anyone out there who would like to know more in detail what I have gone through or certain feelings and emotions that you may (or may not) feel your first few months I would be more than happy to share those with you. I do not feel prepared at this time to put everything in my blog though. Wow that sounds dramatic doesn't it! Seriously though, I am in a very good spot and can feel some great momentum now but it was not easy getting to this point.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

This was our first night together hanging out in almost a month! I had missed my girls very much. There was a very nice stairway from our hotel to a really pretty park that had some restaurants in it. It was a great location.

I am here!

What a week and a half it has been!

Hard parts I have faced so far:

• After I unpacked everything, reality sank in. I mean, I was fine during training, and then SMACK! Two years came and punched me in the stomach! I am not going to lie, I had my own personal meltdown, that unfortunately my Mom got sucked into. Pity Party for one please! I think a little of the meltdown was that my apartment was in the exact condition I left it in when I came for my visit, meaning no fridge or stove! I had to fight off some serious doubts and emotions, but I can tell you I am stronger for it. Also, don't worry not only do I know better than to look at this as two years and to just break it up into chunks of time, but I learned my lesson about not doing that.
• The language is just not coming fast enough. I can understand a good portion, and luckily I am observant enough of people and their body language even if I don't understand everything I get the jist of it. But seriously, I would like to talk at some point and have confidence that what I am saying isn't just a jumbled mess of words that I know, that may or may not make sense to the person hearing them.
• Mosquitos! Seriously, I think the amount of blood I have lost in this country to fleas and mosquitos is the equivollent to the amount I would have donated at a blood drive. To bad I don't get a pin saying a "I saved a life today".
• Washing machine. I did not and do not expect a washing machine, lets be clear, I realize there are people all over the world that wash their clothes by hand, including other people and volunteers in this country. My problem comes with the fact that I have a bright, shiny, brand new washing machine sitting in my apt. just asking to be hooked up! Lets hook that baby up!!! PPPLLLLLEEEAAAASSE!

Amazing, fantastic things that have happened:

• My counterpart is just amazing! She is funny and very hard working. She is fun to be around, and I think over the next few years we are going to have a great time (especially as the language comes.)
• The family who is renting me an apartment on their "compound". They are so generous and it just doesn't seem to stop. They saw I had purchased some veggies from a local stand and 10 minutes later they were at my door with arms full of fruits, veggies and eggs from their garden and chickens . They also told me not to buy them any more and to just help myself to the huge garden that provides me with an amazing view to wake up to. I will probably still buy them though, since it not only gives me language practice but gets me out in the village.
• My work. I have a lot to look forward to with my work. The door is essentially open to me, to do what I can and as I please as far as activities and programs to start up.
• First Sunday here, I met up with some other volunteers one other B26 and a married couple from B25 group. They live in Plovdiv and were wonderful giving us a tour and giving us the details we needed to have! I was able to pick up a map of Plovdiv that has the bus routes on it. That will come in VERY handy!
• My first weekend here (not including the unpacking weekend) I went to this amazing International Folklore Festival in Plovdiv. It was free and at the ancient roman amphitheater. There were groups from Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Portugal, Serbia and of course a local group from the Plovdiv area. It was as amazing and cool as you are picturing, and probably even a little cooler than that. It is an annual event so if anyone is interested next July would be a good time to think about a visit.
• Also in my first weekend here, I maneuvered myself via public transportation to Plovdiv all by myself and met with a big group of volunteers (without getting lost). We even saw "Inception" in english and air conditioning at a mall! =) Less than a dollar gets me into the 2nd largest city in Bulgaria! Location Location Location....
• The dance group I am still holding out hope I will be able to join soon. We were actually supposed to meet, but when I got there they were sitting at a cafe and there were only 3 of them so not tonight, maybe next time? I was happy to get out tonight. I was able to see the real activity of this town. I am mostly only out during the days since I kind of live a bit outside of "downtown". I got to say hello to a whole new group of people.
• The people in this town have been so nice. They enjoy hearing all that I can tell them in my limited Bulgarian and seem to want to hear more when my language gets there. Today as I as walking home a woman who sells tomato's and cucumbers on the street stopped me, mind you while she was in the middle of selling some cucumbers, and gave me two to take home with me. It was so sweet! Random acts of kindness like that happen all the time here, and I can tell you as someone who is away from all the people and comforts of home, those acts completely make not only my day, but days, and maybe even week! As soon as I start baking (which may not happen till it cools off!) I plan on sharing some goodies with her.
• I have been promised rain either tonight or tomorrow which couldn't come soon enough it is VERY hot here! I do love the rain..

Below are some pictures of the festival. Enjoy!

This is actually the end of the Festival. These people know how to have a good time.

This is the group from Bulgaria. They also dance at the Festival my village puts on in June.

I believe this is the group from Ukraine. They were one of my favorites.

This was Georgia. They were my other favorite. Their dances were amazing!

Portugal. The women had baskets of what I assume was flour balanced on their heads for much of the dance. It was amazing. Not one of them dropped it and I only saw one girl touch her basket during the dance!

17th Annual International Folklore Festival, Plovdiv 2010 (in case you can't read Cyrillic)

This is the Mayor of my village and my counterpart Gergana.

Pre Service Training Wrap-Up.** Updated!! 8-4-10

Well suddenly it was 3 months later. Not sure how that all happened but I think that is what everyone says. Training is over with and I am now a volunteer as of Friday July 23rd. I had a wonderful time in training and although I was eager to get the freedom of my own living space back, I miss my host family very much already. I will be back there for Christmas if not earlier. I have a few last photos of training I wanted to share and let you all know that I have arrived safely at site. I am in the process of getting acquainted with my village, apartment and counterpart. I will update soon about site but these are just the last of the training pics.

**One story I forgot to mention in my blog that happened in PST was the day they brought me a soup to try. Normally my host Mom makes great soup. I steer clear of the meat but the flavor is great. Well I had a spoonful of the soup, again staying away from the "meat". Then I noticed they were watching me. Then they told me, I had just had a spoon full of cow stomach soup! I kind of just looked at them and laughed. They asked if I wanted any more and very kindly told me I didn't have to eat it. I decided when the hell am I ever going to get this opportunity again, so I actually pulled up a chunk of cows stomach from the bottom of the bowl and ate it, of course that was all of it that I ate, and I gave the bowl to my host Mom right after that. But it wasn't horrible. The hardest part was knowing what it was. After that it was a running joke with my host Father at every meal time! =)

This is my host Father Petar, his father and brother during my last week in training. I got very close with my host family during training and miss them all very much already.

These are two very special people in my life, my language trainer who helped me out in so many ways other than just language and my host mother who is just amazing!

Went to dinner at a "cousins" house and before I knew it they brought Petar a drum, and then the wife comes busting through the door with her husbands accordion! It was hilarious but the best part was that as we were leaving he started playing the accordion again and we started dancing in the streets in the middle of the night! A great memory for sure.

Here we are before the show got started.

Have I mentioned the scenery here?

My host family very generously took me on an outing the weekend before I left. We traveled to Ledinika Cave and to a Hristo Botev Monument. Both spots were really interesting.

This is Petar and one of my host sisters Inna. She is wonderful and goes to school a couple hours away from us but she came and visited a couple of times while I was there.

This was Petar showing his creativity with the angle of the camera. This is one of my training friends. We always had great white wine when she came over for dinner!

My host mom always picked out great snacks. These little things were called "Lucky Girl" I call them "air snacks" cause it was kind of like eating air. But they came with a prize, so Maryana, host Aunt Julia and I all put on our bindi's

This is the park that we focused our community project on. We cleaned it up installed the equipement the kids are playing on, and later we painted the benches.

These are my girls from training! Brittany's family took us to this great look out spot.

Working hard at on our community project!

I want to thank everyone for all their love and support. I have my address now so just send me an email if you want it!

Flea bite log, July 3 2010

The bites just keep coming. I spray with repellent and with stuff that kills them and yet I keep getting new bites. Oh well right, it builds character.

I have returned safely and soundly from my permanent site visit. It was a relief to find everything out and at the same time the pressure is building because I want to be ready and able to fulfill the needs of my community. I have been placed very close to the second largest city in Bulgaria, Plovdiv. I will have the best of both worlds, village life with the ease and comfort of city life. Here are some pics from my future apt.

This bathroom is so nice it might as well be plated in gold!! I have this all to myself in a few short weeks.

Kitchen!

This is my living room/bedroom, that is full size bed you see, no twin bed for me.

I will be working with the Cultural Center in my town, helping to create programs and activities, in order to help make it more used and useful to the community. I will also work with the schools and the Mayor on a few projects. They are excited to have me and I am just as excited to be working with them.

We are going to complete our "Community Project" this weekend and pair it with our 4th of July celebration as long as the weather cooperates. Hopefully it will because I don''t really know what we will get another opportunity but I am sure it will all work out.

Lets talk about packages briefly. I will have my address very soon and hope to start recieving some packages as well. Some people have expressed that they just don't know what to send. Well lucky for you I have a few ideas, you can send anything and I would be happy and thrilled but a few things I have thought of are: a fave lip gloss or eye liner, food, nail polish or clear fast drying top coat polish, manicure set, seasoning packets, PICTURES, games, movies, cd's, magazines. This is a pretty good overview of things for now that I would enjoy getting. I can get much more specific and probably will as time goes on. Also the USPS has what is called an M-bag which may be worth looking into if anyone is interested in sending me books.

Hope everyone is well. I miss you all!