Sorry, I haven't been keeping everyone updated about the happenings here, so I apologize. Since the arrival of summer and vacation season, I've had my hands busy with various activities. I'm no longer working full-time in the SOS Children's Village, so my duties there have been cut in half. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I organize either sport or art activities in the morning, and in the afternoon I help with computer activities for the childern. I also teach English on the side to a couple of the younger children who are motivated enough to get a headstart for the upcoming school year. There are also the weekly letters to Justin Bieber from a few of the girls that I help translate, which keeps my Bulgarian skills up to par if nothing else!
The other part of my work now involves working in the Center for Social Rehabilitation and Integration (CSRI). I worked at CSRI last year for a short time, but now more of my time is being dedicated there, because in September it will be my full-time job. At the moment, my work involves searching for funding and writing grants to support a group of people with disabilities. The group performs theatre plays, and also does art projects in the center. Their goal is to be able to buy new costumes for their plays, so that they have to the potential to travel throughout Bulgaria, and possibly Europe, showcasing their work. If anyone is interested in helping this group achieve their goal of buying new costumes and traveling around Bulgaria showcasing their work, please let me know.
I'm also trying to intitate a HIV/AIDS program in CSRI to help educate the youth about the disease. Right now, I'm applying for a grant through Peace Corps to fund the project, so if all goes well I will have the resources I need to start. I need one Bulgarian youth to help me with the project, and it's quite difficult finding young people to help you for free during the summer. Most of the youth that I'm targeting are either working, studying for their university exams, or out of town, or all of the above! I'm not worried, because I'll start the project in one way or the other.
Last week, I spent the entire week at a Peace Corps conference in the really nice Bulgarian town of Vratsa. The conference involved discussing the successes and failures of the first year of service and ways to make the last year go smoothly. It was really good seeing the entire B25 group and being able to hangout. Actually, I don't know if hangout is the right word, because there was a party every single night, and there was no shortage of antics. I'm sure the club we frequented were happy to see the Americans leave at the end of the week, because most of us partied to exhaustion! After the conference I was able to visit my host family in Roman, which was really nice because they were extremely happy to see me. My host mom felt that I haven't been eating enough, so she sent me home with a sack full of food from cucumbers to baked chicken and banitsa. If you don't know what banitsa is, take this opportunity to Google it and learn a little about Bulgarian food!
Quotes of the Day:
"There's always an end. But the end is always the beginning of something else. The periods we write into our lives are always provisional, in one way or another." - an excerpt from Henning Mankell's book The Man from Beijing
"People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them." - Epictetus
Beats on Repeat:
"On to the Next One" - Jay-Z
"Te Amo" - Rihanna
Peace, Love, and Understanding...
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