Getting Out in Bratsigovo

This week I decided that from now on I am going to work out of the office on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. I told my counter-part I am here to help all the people of Bratsigovo, not just work in the Municipality office. I said that in order to help the people, I must know the people, and I can't get to know them by looking out of my office window. I want to meet business people in town, important and interesting residents, and the regular Joe Shmoe's. Doing this will not only help me get acquainted and integrate into Bratsigovo, but it will give me more to do.

Often times I am just sitting in the office with no work and just playing on the internet. I don't have enough information about Bulgaria or Bratsigovo to complete projects on my own. I need someone to work with me side-by-side. Truth be know, since my counter-part got promoted to Vice-Mayor, I really don't have a counter-part anymore. He is too busy. I don't like this right now, but in the future this arrangment will probably be benneficial. I share an office with a women, but I can never understand her. It's funny lately I have been feeling pretty poor about my language skills, but today when I spent my first afternoon out of the office, I was able to talk with and understand everyone I met.

I first visited a women(C.C.) who has hosted volunteers at her home durring their training. She introduced me to her colleauges and we sat and talked for an hour or so about potential projects, what were doing for Christmas, and just small talk. One of them invited me to hang out at a cafe soon. I also found out why all these cats keep wanting to get into my apartment. A couple of years ago there was a volunteer who lived in the apartment I live in now and she would take care of the cats. Eventhough she has been gone for a couple years they still come in the apartment building and they keep trying to get in my place. I always wondered who's cats these were. It turns out the apartment building never had cats until this volunteer came. It's funny how the cats still linger here after two years.

After my visit to C.C. I went to one of the two orphanages in town. There is one that is prodominantly for little kids and one that is for older kids. I went to the one with younger kids ( I will go to the other one on Friday). I talked to the Director of the orphanage for a couple of hours. She showed me some pictures from a couple of years ago when the U.S. Military visited the orphanage. I translated an email they sent her and a card she got from the director of Peace Corps in Bulgaria. I told her I would come back again and help her write letters to some of the Army guys that she met. While I was talking with her some of the kids who live there kept coming into the office to offer us treats. For some reason the kids kept asking me if I'm French. I don't know why think I'm French.

I'm glad I decided to get out of the office. It's going to help me with my language skills and networking.