April 25, 2002

“Preoccupied” might be a good word to describe Kate and I lately. The spring weather is overwhelmingly beautiful lately and the sun is shining in our windows every morning. The air is cool and fresh and for the third season we have seen Bulgarian leaves on trees. Going home is on our minds and it’s becoming more of a reality every day. We’re ready to go back to our families, friends, and the life we said goodbye to two years ago. We know that they’re ready to have us back, too.

We’re trying to put together an idea of what we’ll do when we get back. To be honest, the prospect of returning is also a little daunting. Just about any Bulgarian we know would trade places with us in a moment’s notice to go to America, but there’s also the factor of readjusting to the American lifestyle. I don’t think we’ll have too terrible of a time adjusting, but it will be an adjustment nevertheless. It was enough of a shock to pay $2 for an espresso when we were home at Christmas, where you can get one here for about ten cents.

There’s really not much to write about. School continues. Lettuce and baby onions are abundant in the bazaar. Tulips are almost past their season. I am giving oral tests to nearly all of my classes, Kate is teaching her fourth graders a song, which I’ve helped with by playing guitar, and some of the students are getting restless. (Or maybe I’m the one who’s restless!) We met a French ornithologist last weekend at the nature preserve about 20km outside of town. Our minds are beginning to focus on what will be happening in our lives in about three months, after we’ve returned home. We’ll be returning with a heap of experiences and stories.

These last few weeks here will be important to let the whole idea of going home sink in. We’ll also have the chance to say goodbye to all the people we’ve come to know here.

-Josh