letter2

Dear Mom and Dad,

It's so nice to be getting so many e-mails from everyone and to know that I
am being thought about. It definitely makes me smile after a long day of
training! :-) It can be exhausting! Especially after Na Gosti two nights in
a row! Tonight, I think I'll go to bed early!

Things are still fine, I'm just pretty tired today. The Internet Cafe has
become quite the hang out! Last night, Lydia and her friend came over again
and the friend (Sonya, I think) was asking about Benny and telling me to
hook her up with him and give her his e-mail adress so that she could e-mail
him and send him a picture! She's obsessed! I'm not sure what they think
about Bekah, though. My language is improving, but isn't that great yet.
They did say that you and Nana are both, "Hubovo", or beautiful. I have to
show my pictures to everyone who comes over! They are very into
grandparents here, so they are especially interested in showing everyone who
my Baba and Dy-ado is!

The food is okay and I have tried some okay foods here. The vegetables are
a little much, though! Especially the tomatoes! Yuck! Yesterday, Georgi
came home with a jar of this raw fish rolls in a yellow liquid that had skin
on them and a big fat olive in the middle. Katya INSISTED that I try one as
she shoved it onto my plate. Now, I have been pretty good at trying new and
interesting foods since I've been here, but this was taking it a little bit
too far! So, when know one was looking, I quicky wrapped the fish thingy in
my napkin and shoved it into my pocket. After dinner, I rushed to the
bathroom, wrapped the fish thingy in toilet paper, and shoved it into the
basket next to the toilet that you put TP in after you go to the bathroom.
So, I easily avoided that catastrophe! But, I'd give ANYTHING for your
green chili enchiladas and spagetti about now! I did have Bulgarian pizza
this morning that was pretty good though. They try to feed you a lot, but I
have restricted some of it and boy have I been getting my exercise walking
everywhere! My walk home every evening is pretty much straight uphill!
Plus, it seems that Bulgaria is FULL of steps every where you go!!!

We got a notice yesterday that said the entire town would be without water
for three days. It went out for awhile last night, but it seems to be back
now in our house, so I hope it stays that way. I heard the sites this year
are in smaller towns, so I shouldn't be in a big city where I will get too
lost! We went to a nice city today that I guess has put in for two TEFL's.
It was not too small and not too big at about 40,000. There was a great
shopping area that we spent the afternoon in and we visited a school in the
morning to watch a B-10 PCV teach English. She runs a summer program with
some other B-10's on the Black Sea called GLOW, or "Girls Leading Our
World." I told her I would be intersted in helping to keep that going next
summer. After two years of service, Primary PCV's actually go home as soon
as school gets out in May or June. That is 2 or 3 months earlier than other
PCVs. So, I will be able to come home, recooperate and readjust, and find a
teaching job.

Anyway, I miss you all very much! Write soon! I love you all! I am glad
Aaron found a great place and I will pray about the job situation. Keep a
look out for good ticket deals to Europe! Even if you found a better deal
to fly into somewhere other than Sophia, there are lots of trains and buses!
I could even meet you at wherever you flew into and we could see a little
more of Europe. There are often great deals!

I love you!
Chantel