Dear Family and Friends,

We are just about finished with are training here in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria. This week we will be testing and having wrap up sessions for everything. The staff has really been wonderful. They say that it is still unique to have an all-Bulgarian staff to train us. In other countries they often fly in Americans to teach or run the training. All of the staff speak English at varied levels and have been very helpful and pretty well organized.

The teaching staff especially impressed me because they had such wonderful teaching methods and really had a good sense of how much we could handle in a day. There were always just 4-6 students in one class so the teaching could be more individualized. I was in a few classes with some volunteers that drove me absolutely crazy. Some had a problem getting off the subject and not being able to sit still and some had a problem with having such stinky feet that I was distracted and told them to get your feet away from me they stink! I know how rude! Luckily every two weeks we would switch classes and teachers so that the teacher or the other volunteers would not drive us crazy.

Now about stinky feet: Before coming to Bulgaria we read that touching below your knee during the meal was considered extremely rude. I thought this was the strangest thing but now I understand why. The first reason why is the Turkish toilets. If you have never experienced a Turkish toilet I will share with you. Basically you are supposed to stand on two feet platforms and aim in a hole. It took a few weeks for many of us to figure out the best technique to use the bathroom and in those weeks we often had poor aim and well lets just say that below the knee could get a little spray. The second reason is that we do so much walking. Because it was summer and many of us wore sandals we naturally would acquire stinky feet.

This summer has been the very full. It almost was not a summer for us and we have not had a break. We are hoping things will slow down a little when we arrive in Silistra. We are also looking forward to being our own family again. It has been fun living with another family and being a part of their lives, but it would be nice to have more than one room that is ours alone again. Are apartment is still a mystery to us. We are not sure of where we will live. Apartment number one or apartment number two. We will see if our colleagues in Silistra got the apartment together for us.

I will write again about our Swearing In Ceremony, which happens on Saturday, September 2nd. It should be really neat. All of the host family’s are invited plus all staff and volunteers will be there. Afterwards there is a dinner for all.

I miss you all and think of you often!

Love, Kate