| Dear Friends and Family, Please forgive me if it takes me awhile to answer individual personal e-mail's. I know that you all want to hear from me in e-mails besides these general e-mails, but so many of you write me and my time in the internet cafe and the money I have to be in here is pretty limited. But, I will respond to all of you as often as I can! Anyway, everything is wonderful. We were placed into language classes by levels today and I was placed in the advanced group for the teachers, so I was proud of that! Also, the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria came to speak to us today, so I can now say that I have met my first Ambassador! I am looking forward to Wednesday evening because we are being given a fourth of July party in the local park complete with hamburgers, watermelon, fireworks, and the town orchestra! So, things are fine and I am trying to adjust to the many changes that my life is now partaking of. It can be a slow but steady process! Before, it was all the exhiliration of being in this new, amazing place, but I think I am finally realizing that two years is a really long time and that everything is so different! But, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. My parents are planning on trying to visit this Christmas (yes, when I am freezing in a tiny apartment!), so keep it in your prayers that they are able to come. Anyway, the real purpose of this e-mail, I want to tell you about a trip I took with my host family on Sunday. I had just opened my Bible (thanks Karen!) to have my quiet time with God when the entire family and some of their friends burst into my room (privacy is a novelty in Bulgaria!) trying to tell me in Bulgaria that we were going somewhere. I had absolutely no idea where, but I am learning to just go with the flow with a smile plastered to my face all the while. It turned out, that we were going to a Villa in the forest (gora) that some friends own for the day. Now I described European driving before, but multiply that times ten when you are doing it on small, dirt mountain roads, some of which you aren't even sure ARE roads! Oh, how Americans take seat belts for granted! I actually drove home with the friends who owned the Villa and they had seat belts in their car, so I was very thankful as we drove up mountains at full speed! Anyway, the "Villa" was like nothing we would see in the U.S. because, though it looked great from the outside, the inside was a crumbling mess. But, the day proved to be very eventful. We gulped down rakiya (a strong whiskey that is a staple of any Bulgarian meal) and ate chicken and fish that was cooked over an open fire outside. We also snacked on Bulgarian sunflower seeds which are awesome and are homemade . . . Dad you would be in heaven! I hung out with the kids a lot at the Villa because, around them, there is so much less pressure to communicate properly and there is much less of the "fish bowl effect" with the little ones. We walked along the mountain roads, Iva grasping my hand, as we threw sticks in the river, made sour faces as we tasted the crab apples from the trees, and picked beautiful wildflowers from the sides of the road. Everywhere I go with Iva, she makes sure I have a full boquet of wildflowers by the time we get home. Sometimes, I think Iva gets jealous, especially when I pay attention to her brother, and she wants me all to herself. She is only 7, but she is definitely my new buddy! The kids are also wonderful in teaching me Bulgarian and they delight in pointing and picking up objects to teach me the Bulgarian word as well as listening to me slowly reading parts of children's books in Cyrillic to them. It was a great day in the gora and I delighted in a four hour nap when I got home! That was just what I needed! So, that was my weekend. I miss you all and I do enjoy your encouragement as I experience all of these changes, joys, and frustrations. I will answer your e-mails as quickly as I can, but please keep writing and keep in touch. After all, each of you are my link to my life in America and that is what keeps me going and keeps me positive. And this will probably be even more so as time passes! Keep me in your prayers and I love you all! Love Always, Chantel |
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