8-24-00

I’ve been trying to get Kate to write one of these letters/journal entries, but she only wrote one way back in June and until she wants to write, I guess you’ll have to listen to me if you’re already patient enough to click through our letters/journal entries. I’m trying to wonder what kind of questions you have for us. One question that I would want to ask a PC volunteer is, do you miss home? My answer, yes! Life here in the Peace Corps is sort of like going off to college again. When I began college, I knew that sooner or later I would eventually get used to living on my own. But until then, there were some lonely nights – days, even. I had to learn how to cope in the new situation and I had to add new pieces to my personality in order to survive. We do that whenever we enter a new situation. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about something that is familiar to me, like E. Main St. in Columbus. I walked, shopped, ate, studied and drove on that street more than any other and I wonder if it is still there without me. Is it still there? I miss familiar food, like my favorite fast food – Chipotle (those of you in Columbus know what it is!) Sometimes I would do just about anything for a good Mexican dinner with a pitcher of margarita for Kate and I to share. Mi Mexico and El Vaquero are our favorite Mexican restaurants in Columbus. Sometimes it would be nice to be in an environment where you didn’t have to think about every word you were about to say. It would be nice to be able to go into the store and know that if I ask for onions, I’ll get onions and not something else. It has become less of a guessing game to see if we’ll get the food that we thought we ordered at local restaurants, though. Our language is getting better. Even when someone is speaking very quickly I can pick up the general idea some of the time. If they speak slowly, I do much better. Compared to ten weeks ago when our language was limited to five words, I feel good about our progress. For me, I can speak better than comprehend what people are saying. My ear needs to be totally rewired to distinguish the sometimes-indistinguishable sounds that are coming out of the Bulgarian in front of me. I find myself panicking because I don’t understand what they are saying and then I just have to start laughing.

Another question I might have for a PCV is what are the people like that you are training with? As my friend Jason said as we had a beer together at the “Café Desparado” just down the street last night, I’m really surprised by some of the people who have joined the PC. There are people here who are the stereotypical PC volunteer – earthy, liberal and free-spirited. But there are also people here whom you would never guess would want to leave their lives in America to come to Bulgaria. One trainee, an ex-lawyer, said he lied for a living. I assume that meant that he wasn’t too proud of himself back in the States. He’s in his 40’s or 50’s. Others have come here with an agenda (the quickest way to get frustrated and leave). It’s amazing how unbending some people are, even when they sign up to be volunteers! Others have an incredibly positive outlook and they will leave their mark wherever they go. The reasons for people being here are more varied than I thought they would be. Some people are escaping a dead-end job, others want adventure, others want a nice résumé, and others have always wanted to do this since they were young, others had nothing else to do after college, and still others wanted to “find a woman in Bulgaria!” I guess it’s possible, but considering the person who said it, I’ll believe it when I see it. Kate and I had two reasons for being here that we talked about before we left – we wanted an adventure together and we wanted to do something useful to help people. I think my definition of helping people is changing. It has changed from trying to be the savior to one who is among those who are in need of help and working with them to figure out a solution. We always want to be the savior who wraps up the problem on our own and then is thanked. It doesn’t last. I could say a really cliché proverb right here, but I won’t and you probably already know what it is.

Peace,

Josh