Another week down...7 more to go!

Well, I have officially been in Radomir for 2 weeks now. I think it has been closer to 2 months though. The time flies by, but with out much changing in between in seems like a lot longer.

I am still here, and still hanging on, but it has been difficult because of the weather. I have yet to figure out the Celsius to Farenheit conversions, but it has been I think around 38 degrees celsius. Whatever it is, it is miserable. Without having air conditioning in most places, you are in old buildings with sweaty stuffy people. It proves to bring about good moods. This last week we have been overwhelmed with meetings and had whats called our first HUB, which brings together the other 38 volunteers. We have meetings regarding our programs, mine being Youth Development, and safety, cultural diversity and whatever else they feel is important. So just to give you an idea, the meetings are in fairly small rooms as size goes, with us 40 some volunteers, plus some because of trainers and anyone else, we are obligated to wear business casual clothes, which usually means long pants and stuffy shirts, and then the 38 degrees weather. It is MISERABLE! It is really a surprise that more people aren't passing out or getting sick, because the days are so long. Anyways, I'm back in Radomir and although its still hot, I can at least wear more comfortable clothes and not be stuck in stuffy rooms.

This whole experience has been going well. My host family is great and always wants to take care of me. They have a 13 year old son, who is fun to hang out with, but for some reason he has it in his head that I know a lot about motors, cars, and speed. I keep trying to tell him that most girls from America don't know about that sort of stuff. So instead, he has me play WWE with him on the computer! The other 3 volunteers in my group are good to hang out with. There are 3 of us, me, another girl Amber, and a guy named Mark who get a long very well and hang out a lot. The other guy, Matt is difficult to tolerate sometimes, so it has been a difficult adjustment but we are trying.

The food here is great. There are fresh vegtables and fruit at most every meal. We eat a lot of chicken, pork/beef type meat balls and a bunch of other interesting food. I definatly have not been going hungry. Its nice to have someone else coming up with food ideas and not have to cook, but my host mom has started to let me make the salad and other side dishes. It will be interesting when I leave the host family to see if I still cook their type of food, or if I will start reverting back to American food. I had pizza for the first time since I've been here at our HUB, and it was nice to eat something I know. Its really weird though because there are a lot of people who put ketchup and mayonaise on their pizza here! I'm glad we do some things the way we do back in America!

I have been very surprised at the lack of smoke and smoking I have experienced here. When I pictured myself walking down the street, I imagined a cloud of smoke following me all over. There is a lot of smoking, and in some situations you can't get away from it, but most the time you can, or you are outside. I am lucky that my host father is the only one that smokes, and he only does outside. Alcohol is also an interesting occurance here. It is typical to drink vodka, or whats called rakia with salad or soup as the starter drink. With the main course, they usually move on to beer or wine. When you are with your host family or at someone elses house, I have not had a problem with them respecting when you say no thank you. When we go to a kafe though, the beer is about 1 leva or so, which is less than an US dollar.

Well, I will close off for now. There is much more that I can tell, but I don't want to go on for too long! If anyone has any specific questions or thoughts, feel free to ask. I hope all are doing well, and I will try to figure out how to post pictures soon! Talk to you all soon.

Michala Golden

A Few New Changes

Okay, first, I just want to say that figuring out how to post this was difficult in itself. I can see it now in English, but if for some reason it is in Bulgarian for you, I apologize. Everything else on the internet today I have figured out how to get in English, but for some reason everything on the blog is Bulgarian. So this is a trial run.

So some of the new changes with living in a different country:

First, yes and no are opposite here. Nodding your head means no, shaking your head side to side means yes. If you forget to say what you mean while using th motions, who knows what may happen!

As many of you know, I was teased about the bathroom situations. Well, I experienced my first shoot for the whole and hope you make it situation. It may be described that way, but until you actually experience it, you have no idea. Thank goodness that is not what my home bathroom is like, but that is an experience too. Showering, brushing teeth and going to the bathroom in one open room, without any windows.

The food is very good. Not as scary as I expected, but if you don't like cheese, bread, and fresh fruits and vegetables it would be very difficult. I love my bread but having 3 or 4 pieces put in front of you for breakfast lunch and dinner, really makes you think about not wanting to come back weighing that 300 pounds I was worried about.

In all seriousness though it is an interesting experience to say the least. So far I am very happy, but its hard not having the communication you are used to. The privacy is different, and being surrounded by a language you don't know and trying to figure out how to do things is very difficult.

I am with a host family in Radomir, Bulgaria for 10 weeks, and it is only day 3, so I am just trying to take each day as it comes. I am excited about what there is ahead of me, but also nervous about living up to the challange.

If this worked, then hopefully I will be posting more about my adventure here, and I hope to hear more for you all soon. When I understand Bulgarian more, hopefully I will be able to post pictures too.

Thanks for the support with everyone. Stay connected, because who knows what is to come!

Michala
week 2