Well...where to even start for this entry! Life is crazy. We have been running around everywhere for the last couple of weeks...and its only going to get busier. When I first signed up for the Peace Corps, I knew that I would have to learn a language and deal with cultural adjustments. I had no idea how many assignments the Peace Corps makes you do. We have technical assignments for Youth Development, we have cultural assignments, we have safety assignments, and sometimes we just have random assignments! I feel like its more homework than any time in school! But if what the other volunteers say is true, after PST things will get a little easier, we won't be "babysat" as much by Peace Corps, and you start to feel somewhat like an adult again. I'm looking forward to it!
This last weekend, the 22-23 we went to a place in Bulgaria called Rila 7 Lakes. For those that want to see pictures (cause I am still unable to send while at the internet clubs) or read more, there is info online. Anyways, this hike, when you get done, is the highest mountain on the Balkan Peninsula.
For those of you who know me well know that I may like doing such things, but I'm not exactly the most in shape motivated of people. Well, needless to say, I whined A LOT! To start with, Mark and I had to catch a 6:30 train to meet up with the rest of the group for shuttles up the mountain. We were then dropped off at a place that was located just a little ways above where we stayed when we first came to Bulgaria. We then proceeded to hike, with 50 volunteers, all of us carrying backpacks (mine only had food for Mark and I, my sleeping bag, water and a few layering things since it would be cold....but I think it weighed about 50 lbs!!!), up the mountain for about 3 hours. So we were told that the hike was a mild-moderate hike that would not be that hard. I was in the back of the pack with a 66 year old volunteer, who at times was kicking my butt! When I can send pictures you all will see more, but not just due to the fact that I'm out of shape, the hike was really hard. The inclines were really intense, and on a lot of it the terrain was huge rocks and boulders. Needless to say, I arrived at where we were sleeping with a group of about 5 of us, long after the others had already had lunch. Mark was not happy though because I had all the food and he had to wait for me to get it! :)
Anyways, after this hike, we had a short break and then hiked to the 7 lakes. Even though there was no backpack this time, the hike was still really hard. As I said earlier, it is the highest mountain on the Balkan Peninsula, so you are going up hill the whole time! Anyways, despite my whining and complaining, I succeeded in making it to the top. Wow, was all that difficulty worth it. There are some things that happen here that you cannot even explain. As I said earlier, we are all really busy right now with so many things, that when you reached the top of this mountain, look down to what we climbed up, it puts things into perspective! To be able to have a break from all the language and assignments, to see something in a country that many people don't have the opportunity to see is such a great thing to experience at this time. It really reaffirms again, why we are here doing what we are doing. When I can, I promise I will send pictures.
Sadly though, that weekend also was a trigger for us losing another volunteer. Our 4th now in our group. We started as 40, and are now 36. The guy that left was from Portland and was a pretty good guy. He had moments when he had a tendency to piss people off, but when it came down to it, he would have done a really good job with the kids. The night after the hike, we stayed in the mountains and everyone was having a really good time and relaxing. No administrative staff was there from Peace Corps, so it was the first time we have felt like we had a little freedom. This guy got really drunk and ended up being a loud obnoxious drunk, which is a shame because everyone else was having a really good time. At some point in the night, he fell out of bed and split his head open above his eye. At that point Peace Corps Medical Office was called, he was taken to Sofia, and through a couple day turn of events, he was sent home. Its really hard because at this point when people go home we know them a lot better, so you lose people you care about and like. It just hits home and is reality that anything can happen while we are here that they feel you need to go home for. So...we are all adjusting to one less group member.
Anyways. I know I have written a lot here, and I just want to end on a couple last things. Right now in Bulgaria the teachers are striking. They get paid about 200-300 leva a month. Which to put in perspective is less than we get paid as volunteers, and the dollar is about 1.40 more than the lev, so they don't get paid much. Its really interesting but also hard to be here during this, especially since my host mom is a teacher...its not fair, but for us, there is nothing we can do. So, just some info from Bulgaria's news.
Lastly. As I've been here for 2 months, life is definatly different than what I imagined and what I have experienced before in the states. There are times when it would be so easy to leave and go back to all the comforts, but to make it through this will be an experience of a lifetime. The thing I wish most for you all when reading about my time here, is to just take a minute and really appriciate what you have there and what you are doing. It is so easy to get tied up in the day to day activities that you forget what you have. Some things that I took for granted in the states that I would like to have now is just a nice, long hot shower, toilet paper (yes I said toilet paper, when at cafes, we have gotten in the habit of carrying our own, because most places do not have it), ordering food, or just holding conversations. I feel so many times that there is so much more that I want to say to people and I don't want them to think I have the mental capacity of a 5 year old because all I can say is "yes, okay, good" and other basic things. So, just please all take some time and appriciate the things you can!
So....thats it for now. Things are getting a lot busier, so I don't know if I will write for a little while. I head to Dolna Banya on October 18th and the next adventure will start! I will write soon! Hope you all are well!
Michala
Friday, September 28, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Dolna Banya
Well, as many of you might have guessed, that is the name of the town I will be living in for the next two years! For those who want to see pictures of it, and maybe read a little more you can go to http://www.dolnabanya.net. I do not know much about the town, but I was very excited to hear about it. It is about 2-3 hours from where I live right now, so I am excited that I will be able to visit my host family. I am also near other volunteers, an hour or so that I enjoy and will be able to see them more. The two volunteers I live in Radomir with live farther away though, so that will be a hard adjustment for the 3 of us, since we spend every day together.
My job is going to be working with a NGO developing programs for youth in the community to work on healthy activites and social skills. The idea is to focus more on prevention as opposed to dealing with the problem after it occurs. There is also an orphanage located in town that I will work with. I believe in that, the idea is to just be a positive role model/support for these kids and to do various activities with them.
I am very excited about the possibilites of these projects and living in the town for the two years. Its beautiful and I think it will be a good size and location for me. As you can imagine though the language continues to be a very difficult obsticle. I spent the last 3 days in the town meeting people, and on both sides, not understanding what the other was saying. There was an environmental volunteer that lived there and left right before I came, so when I would introduce myself as a Peace Corps volunteer, the towns response was..."Ahh, Thomas...ahh, he spoke Bulgarian very well!" I understood this much from my very limited Bulgarian skills. When you are in that situation you get used to a lot of awkward silences, staring, smiling and saying "DA, DOBRE", which mean yes and good! So the language and skills continue.
It was very nice to come back to Radomir though because at this point it is some sort of safety bubble. My host parents greeted me at the bus station, (they drove an hour into another town, as they did not want me to wait another hour to take the train on my own). My host mom barely let me get off the bus before hugging me a lot, and saying "my girl." Its very nice to have a family that I feel very comfortable with here. In all the forms of relationships you are forced to get to know people a lot quicker then in the states. Whether its a co-worker, someone in town, or a friend of someone you know. Usually you are embraced very quickly, kissed on both cheeks, or pinched by the baba's (grandmothers) and they say beautiful, sweet, or just stare and smile! Bulgaria has some great people.
So as my adventure continues, I hope to keep you all up to date on important, exciting and funny things. It is very difficult to describe everything, as most things you have to see for yourself. Just one thing before I go.
As I think I have said before, I have a 13 year old host brother here who speaks very little English. Well before I left last week, I had a conversation with the family and mostly him about cars in America. I have no idea when or how he got it into his head, but for some reason he thinks I know a lot about motors, speed, fuel, engine size, and various other things that have to do with cars and motorcycles. No matter how much I tell him that in America most girls do not know about such things, he still asks me how many Mercedes, Hummers, Dodge Vipers, Feraris and other fancy cars I see in Idaho. Its a fun process to try and describe these things for me, especially when it turns into some form of sheraides and you feel as though its game night and someones about to win! Anyways. That is just some of the fun things that go on at home, and in general in Bulgaria. Keep reading all...there will be more to come!
My job is going to be working with a NGO developing programs for youth in the community to work on healthy activites and social skills. The idea is to focus more on prevention as opposed to dealing with the problem after it occurs. There is also an orphanage located in town that I will work with. I believe in that, the idea is to just be a positive role model/support for these kids and to do various activities with them.
I am very excited about the possibilites of these projects and living in the town for the two years. Its beautiful and I think it will be a good size and location for me. As you can imagine though the language continues to be a very difficult obsticle. I spent the last 3 days in the town meeting people, and on both sides, not understanding what the other was saying. There was an environmental volunteer that lived there and left right before I came, so when I would introduce myself as a Peace Corps volunteer, the towns response was..."Ahh, Thomas...ahh, he spoke Bulgarian very well!" I understood this much from my very limited Bulgarian skills. When you are in that situation you get used to a lot of awkward silences, staring, smiling and saying "DA, DOBRE", which mean yes and good! So the language and skills continue.
It was very nice to come back to Radomir though because at this point it is some sort of safety bubble. My host parents greeted me at the bus station, (they drove an hour into another town, as they did not want me to wait another hour to take the train on my own). My host mom barely let me get off the bus before hugging me a lot, and saying "my girl." Its very nice to have a family that I feel very comfortable with here. In all the forms of relationships you are forced to get to know people a lot quicker then in the states. Whether its a co-worker, someone in town, or a friend of someone you know. Usually you are embraced very quickly, kissed on both cheeks, or pinched by the baba's (grandmothers) and they say beautiful, sweet, or just stare and smile! Bulgaria has some great people.
So as my adventure continues, I hope to keep you all up to date on important, exciting and funny things. It is very difficult to describe everything, as most things you have to see for yourself. Just one thing before I go.
As I think I have said before, I have a 13 year old host brother here who speaks very little English. Well before I left last week, I had a conversation with the family and mostly him about cars in America. I have no idea when or how he got it into his head, but for some reason he thinks I know a lot about motors, speed, fuel, engine size, and various other things that have to do with cars and motorcycles. No matter how much I tell him that in America most girls do not know about such things, he still asks me how many Mercedes, Hummers, Dodge Vipers, Feraris and other fancy cars I see in Idaho. Its a fun process to try and describe these things for me, especially when it turns into some form of sheraides and you feel as though its game night and someones about to win! Anyways. That is just some of the fun things that go on at home, and in general in Bulgaria. Keep reading all...there will be more to come!
Will hear from you all soon I hope!
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