Could the woman with the big boutique of flowers please stand up?

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to give a quick update on what's happening with me here in Bulgaria. Last week, I spent 3 days at a project, design, and management conference in Veliko Turnovo. The conference went really well and now I feel more prepared to tackle larger projects in Tryavna. Veliko Turnovo is a super nice town nestled in the Balkan Mountains, so as you can imagine the scenery was very beautiful. I guess all didn't go well because I ended up bringing a stomach virus back with me, which kept me feeling miserable the entire weekend.

Starting this week my work should pick up because finally the summer holiday comes to a close, and school will begin. There are about 3 different projects that I'm trying to initiate with the help of colleagues, so I'm sure I will have my work cut out for me in the coming weeks and months. This week I begin teaching semi-formal lessons to the children in my organization, advising/coaching a youth basketball team, and organizing an English Club for youth and adults. Finally I'm beginning to feel like I'm doing something that is beneficial for people in my town. Hopefully this momentum will carry me into the winter months, which is exciting and dreadful all at the same time.

School starts today, so it's almost like an unofficial holiday here in Bulgaria. There was a huge ceremony before school welcoming the children back in which the mayor, school director, local soccer celebrity, and others spoke. All of the children gave their teachers a flower which is a great gift, but it's funny because I see people walking with these enormous boutiques of flowers and I know they must be a teacher. It was very easy to feel the excitement surrounding the arrival of another school year, one in which I haven't experienced in a few years!

That's all for now.

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

This is a random picture of the inside of a school in Tryavna.

The flowers on the table are an example of a boutique I was mentioning earlier.

This is the ceremony at the secondary school in Tryavna where the mayor and star soccer player spoke.

When will the Bulgarian summer holiday ever end?!

Hi Everyone,

I know it's been a while since my last posting, but I've been very busy with my initial work here in Tryavna. The sad part about it is that I'm currently only working in one of the two organizations that I'm assigned to. Since it's still summer and most people, including children, are on holiday I've been working in a social rehabilitation center, where there is seldom time for vacation. Everyday I, along with a therapist, go to the homes of disabled people to provide free rehabilitation. The work is very fun and interesting but also very tiring, because I am constantly going from one place to another. The people are always very nice and show their hospitality by offering cookies, cake, coffee, tea, or some form of refreshment, which I'm learning to accept even though I don't want.

I didn't make a post announcing that I have been allowed to walk without a brace and crutches, but I gave those things up about 2 weeks ago. I've been allowed to walk, but I still cannot run, ride a bike, or do anything too intense. Last Wednesday I visited a physical therapist in Sofia who gave me several different exercises do in order to strengthen my quads and hip flexors, which by the way are weaker than I thought. According to Peace Corps doctors in Washington, D.C. surgery has not been ruled out! In two weeks I will travel back to Sofia for another check-up and hopefully x-rays will show that the patella is healing normally. If not, I've been told that surgery might be required to fix the patella which means an early visit back to the States.

Below I have posted some pictures of Tryavna and the area near my home. At the moment the weather has been beautiful, with temperatures in the high 70s most days. I can tell the weather is starting to change, because I took a hike the other day and the leaves on the trees are starting to show changes. Everyone I've met tells me of the enormous snowfall during the winter, so I'm trying to mentally prepare what's to come!

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

This is a picture taken behind the town hall in the city center.

This is a meadow on the hike I made recently.

A fountain in the town square which is across from the park in the city center.

Straight ahead is the town hall and to the right is the Chitaliste, or cultural center.

This is a lake that is about 100 meters from my home, and that I often visit to relax.

It's Official...I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer!

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to let you all know that I am now officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. On Friday I sworn-in with 61 other people as a B25 volunteer. It was a hot and humid day with temperatures hovering around 100F. The ceremony lasted about 1 hour with speeches from the PC country director, the mayor of Vratsa, the US deputy ambassador to Bulgaria, and other people. Despite the weather is was a fun day. It was also kind of sad because I was leaving the Americans that I spent the past 10 weeks studying, training, and having fun with. I also had to say goodbye to my host family who were so patient and understanding of my language and cultural inabilities.

Also on Friday I traveled to Sofia to visit my doctor to have a checkup regarding my knee. Everything went well and I now have 2 more weeks to wear the cast. After that I can begin walking without the cast and the crutches, but I still will not be able to exercise. I have to wait another month or so before I begin some type of rehabilitation program. I'm lucky because my town has all of the amenities I need to begin therapy. I am approved to begin swimming after the cast comes off so at least I can begin some exercise.

Before I go I would like to thank my country director, Lesley, and her husband, Sam, for allowing me to crash at their house on Friday. The pancakes with maple syrup on Saturday morning were amazing!

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

My host mom, Natashka, and me before the ceremony.

Me and my group members from Roman.

My language trainer, Ani, and me before the ceremony.

The Days of Summer

Hi Everyone,

I know it's been a while since the last posting but things here have been extremely busy for me. The past few weeks I've been trying to prepare for the huge language proficiency test that I took on this past Tuesday. It looks like the coast is clear and on Friday I will swear-in as an official Peace Corps volunteer. I'm actually kind of sad, because now I have to leave my host site and start over again meeting new people and forming new relationships. At the same time it's very exciting because now I will start the work I came to Bulgaria to do, which is to help people.

The past few weeks, in addition to studying Bulgarian, I've been seeing new places, celebrating different occasions, and forming amazing relationships with the locals in my community. Last week, me and my group members implemented our day camp and it was unbelievably successful. There were about 30-40 children that participated and the community chipped in to help us with the project.

On Saturday I will travel to my permanent site, Tryavna, and begin the transition of working without the structured environment of the Pre-Service Training. I'm looking forward to having more time to do things that I want to do, but at the same time I think I'm going to be extremely busy with my work in Tryavna. At least I have a lot to look forward to, because on July 30th I will have my cast removed, and on August 8th I will also travel to the Black Sea for a much needed vacation.

Well, that's about all for now. Once I'm in Tryavna I should be able to update this blog more often, so look for more posts in the coming weeks. I have posted some pictures below of the day camp and a trip I took to a monastary near my town. Before I go I have to give a special thanks to Marina, Pesho, Nasabravka, and Jenni for being so patient the past few weeks while I tried to perfect my Bulgarian!

Until next time,

Peace, Love, and Understanding...






Jenni, me and Marina at the monastery.

Pesho and Me

No Surgery Needed!!!

Hi Everyone,

I just returned from Tryavna, my permanent site, and Sofia for my knee re-evaluation. The good news is that I do not need surgery, and I don't have to wear a hard cast. The bad or not so good news is that I still have to wear a soft cast for the next 6-8 weeks. The fracture in my patella is not dislocated, so therefore surgery is not required. Although I can already tell it's going to be a long road back to normal walking once the soft cast is removed, because I tried flexing my knee to put my socks on this morning and it did not want to move. It looks like muscle atrophy has already started in my left leg and it's only been a week. Yikes!!!

On the other hand my visit to Tryavna went great! The organization I will be working for is called SOS Kinderdorf and it is based out of Austria. My future colleagues are very friendly and open to new ideas, so I think it's going to be a nice match. The town is also nicely preserved, and has a lot of historical artifacts and monuments. I actually asked if I could stay there and not go back to my host site, but Peace Corps wouldn't allow it!

That's all for now. Check out the websites for Tryavna and SOS Kinderdorf for more info.

Tryavna:
http://www.tryavna.bg/en/

SOS Kinderdorf:
http://sosbg.org/ENG/index.html

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

The Good, Bad and Ugly!

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to give a quick update on what's happening in Bulgaria. On Thursday, I found out that I'll be placed in Tryavna for the next 2 years. I'll be working mainly in an orphanage of approximately 70 children, where I'll be organizing after-school programs, sporting activities, teaching English, and other activities. I will also be working in the municipality and secondary school to organize activities for youth and adults living in the community. I'm pretty excited about Tryavna because it's a tourist town nestled below the mountains in south central Bulgaria. My counterpart is really nice, so I think there will be a lot of opportunities to do projects that I'm envisioning.

On the flip side of things I have bad news. On Wednesday I fractured my left patella playing basketball with children in my host site, so now I'm on crutches. Right now, I'm expected to be in a cast for the next 6 weeks, and hopefully surgery will not have to be performed. In 2 weeks I have to travel to Sofia for a re-evaluation to see if surgery is needed, and if not hopefully I will be put in a soft cast.

Other than that things are going well. Training is still intense, but that's expected. In a couple of weeks my group will be having our day camp for the community youth which should be really fun, at least for them. I am still a little interest to know what my modified role is going to be since I now am using an assistive device! Hopefully next time I'll have some good pictures to post from my permanent site and the day camp.

Until next time,

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

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.

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...

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...

Welcome!

Hello Everyone!

If you're reading this you probably know me, but if you don't, my name is Chris Voerg-Jones, and this is my Peace Corps blog. I am currently 23 years old and a graduate from University of South Carolina with a B.S. in Exercise Science. I'll be serving in Bulgaria as a youth development volunteer starting May 18, 2009. This webpage will be primarily used to keep family, friends, and anyone else interested informed about what and how I'm doing in Eastern Europe.

There is a chance that I'll be updating this webpage intermittently, so don't get alarmed if weeks or months past without any new postings. I'm probably still alive, I just haven't been in a position to transcribe my thoughts. So, whoever you are, wherever you may be, please stay tuned!

Peace, Love, and Understanding...