Saturday, May 30, 2009

Bulgaria in living color!

I have uploaded a few pics of Bulgaria and a short video of my living arrangement. I hope you enjoy!


This is a view from a trail that I ran which is also part of a ski slope.








This is a road I ran on in the mountains at the initial training site.








This is an English class in the secondary school that my group visited.



Wednesday, May 27, 2009

My First Week in Bulgaria

Hi Everyone,

If you don't know I have already made to Bulgaria and my host site. At the moment I am living with my host family in Roman, Bulgaria. Training has been extremely intense trying to balance learning the language and understanding how things operate in Bulgaria. My day is a constant struggle trying to understand my host mother starting in the morning at breakfast and ending at night for dinner. I am not complaining because now I'm actually starting to hear and understand the language to the point in which I can answer certain questions asked of me.

Last night was interesting because me and my host brother went to a local bar to hang-out with his friends, and they all were initially very stand-offish. Then they found out that I wasn't a spy or German here to sabotage their town. It's funny because walking through town is like walking down the red carpet with the exception of paparazzi! Everyone just stops what they're going to watch you pass like you've just arrived from Mars. Every now and then I'll hear the word American as I pass and I can only assume that I was the topic of their conversation. Other than that my time here has been pleasurable. Playing cards with my host sister and studying in the afternoons has been my choice of entertainment for the past few days. My host sister is only 13 and she's great, because she makes sure I am as comfortable as possible. If I need something in town she accompanies me to the store and tries to explain what everything is and how to use it.

So far everything is going well and Bulgaria is a very beautiful country. The infrastructure is crumbling and the economy is not the greatest but the people can't seem to tell because, with the exception of blank stares, they are very friendly and happy. Well that's about it for now on my end. Next time I will try to post some pictures and maybe a video of where I live to give everyone an idea of what life's like in Roman, Bulgaria.

Until next time,

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Благодаря (Thank You)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended my going away party on Friday evening. The support I received and the kind words really meant a lot. No matter where I go I will always carry with me the memories and experiences of everyone I have worked with.

Our dreams and aspirations may take us far home and the road and spaces between may be long, and difficult, but we will always find our path home.

Peace, Love, and Understanding...