Last Night

Yesterday after lunch I visited the ceramics factory in town. They have many different designs they work on. I watched a man make the view of a street in Old Town, Plovdiv. He made a three dimensional design of it from a photograph. Three people were working on that same design. It's like an assembly line, not with conveyor blets, but each of them worked on a different part of that design. Another guy was sketching new designs on paper and preparing to make a new mold. They showed me a tour of the place and all the different things they make.

After that I went to the other Dom Za Detsa(orphanage) and they ended up having an event that night. People from all over Bulgaria came to give gifts to the kids for Christmas including German red cross. I hung out and talked with the kids and they put on a show for everyone. They gave us ornaments they made as gifts. After the show they turned the cafeteria into a disco for the kids. In the winter time there isn't that much for them to do at night because the only disco in town is closed.

After that I stopped by Sisi's house and met up with some volunteers. They're teachers and from a differnt class than mine, but they did their training is Bratsigovo. Sisi fed us fried potatoes, keilbasa and gave us Rakia to drink. We talked a lot. It's interesting because eventhough we were speaking in Bulgarian I recall the conversation in English.

That night I went to a Cafe with the other volunteers. I drank mastika or oozo(is that how you spell it?) and they had beer. I ordered some duck hearts and one of the other guys ordered chicken hearts. The duck hearts are much better! We talked about the differences between being in the education program, which they are in, and the economic development program, which I am in. We also talked about volunteers who go back to the states before their time has been served. In my class of 59 we've already lost 5. We let some guy buy us another round and then stumbled back home.

What a cold night it was; I couldn't feel my nose. I'm learning the key to staying warm is in layers. I've got thermal, under shirt, under sweater, under jacket. And that's not enough. I need my beanie, gloves, and maybe some long-johns. I feel like I'm wrapped up in cellophane. When I look around it's only us American's who seem to be bundled up so tightly. You can be fashionable or you can be warm. I choose the latter, but maybe some of the Bulgareen's choose the other.

I'd like to end this message with a great philosophical question. Why is snow white and ice clear? Aren't they just different forms of water? If you succeed in answering this question please let me know. I can add it to my list of useless facts. Welp...I'm gonna go see if I can find some food. Come again.