Busy Busy!

I haven't been posting as frequently as before because I've been really busy. I've been helping an English family that moved into Bratsigovo get oriented. They've been having a lot of problems getting the house in their name and I've been acting as a conduit between them and the Municipality. This past weekend I took the Brits to their first Na Gosti (guest party). We went up in the mountains to visit with the internet guy (Zoro) in his villa. It was an all day event with plenty of food. It was great to see Jean and Trevor's (the Brits) reactions to the whole event and all the food that was served. The mountains were cool and peaceful.

Last week eight french girls arrived for the summer to to help at one of the orphanages. They speak english and I've been translating and helping them plan activities for the kids. On Friday they're going to help me with a cooking class I started at the orphanage and cook French food since I know nothing about how to cook French food. On Saturday, as long as the weather holds out, we'll go for a hike in the Rhodopi mountains near Bratsigovo.

I've been working on a project to create a wood and metal shop in one of our villages. It will be available to the community, but first priority will be given to students. These particular students have been sent from all around the country to live in a boarding home in this village. The idea is to give the students some training in a skill they can use in the future. We would also like to use the shop for after school programs to keep the kids of the street. Bratsigovo and Bulgaria in general is in desperate need of youth development. Typically school gets out at about 1pm and the kids don't do anything, but go to Cafe and get into trouble. In addition to Community and organizational development (my program) and teaching English, Peace Corps has a youth development program. It's new, but probably one of the most important programs. They can do a lot of good if it's organized well.

So those are the things I've been up to besides a lot of traveling around the country. The young people have come out of their caves for the summer and I've been making a lot of new friends. If the rain would go away once and for all, things would be near perfect.

4th of July

I've experienced a lot of firsts in Bulgaria. My first fresh squeazed milk and homemade yogurt. My first fresh layed egg. Recently I experienced a couple more. Last week while heading to a Bulgarian tavern in town to meet up with some friends, I noticed these little lights flashing in front of me and then around me. This is before I had even drunken a drop. I wasn't sure what they were, but was little concerned that if I touched one of them it might shock me. I stayed clear. It turns out they were fire flys. Those have to be the coolest little bugs i've ever seen. I might go out hunting for them tonight and see if I can trap one in a bottle. Hahah!

A couple days later, I headed to the coast for 4th of July weekend, I took a night train and sprung for a sleeping wagon for the first time time. The conducter gave me my own room which was nice, unfortunately I think he also charged me double because I am American (or more exactly a supposed rich foreigner). I have to stop saying I'm American. I'm not. I from the Czech Republic. =) Hey it worked in Turkey and some other parts of Bulgaria. One time while in Kardjali I was getting a hair cut and the barber asked if I was from Yugoslavia. I said "no, I'm from the Czech Republic." He apologized. I said, "It's ok. A lot of people get us mixed up." I'm sure I saved at least 10 lev that day.

Anyways back to the train. The trip took five hours. I tried to get some rest, but every time the train came to a screeching halt so did my sleep. Once I met the destination, I got off the train to see dozens of Baba's (grandma's) holding signs saying they had hvratira's to rent out. I figured that must mean that they rent out rooms. I asked someone just in case and asked how much they usually cost. Then I walked up to one of the Baba's and she rented me a whole apartment (pretty nice) for less than $5. I think I had a neighbor in the next room, but I never saw him.

Sunday night some volunteers reserved a club and got a live band. The live band did mostly cover songs in English. Popular rock songs of the 80's, 90's and also a few Beatle songs were thrown in. When the band took breaks Jackson, a departing volunteer, pulled out his ipod, hooked it up to the sound system, and played new and old American favorites. You know the little story about Jack and Dianne, American Pie, and born in the USA. All the volunteers sang as loud as they could and even some Bulgarians who trickled in from somewhere.

I stayed up the whole night and when the sun came up, I went to take a last look at the sea before catching an early morning train. It wasn't the same as the San Francisco Bay back home. No huge waves, but it was nice to see the water again. I gathered a few shells as souveniers before I left. I'll be back to the sea again this summer.