| Wednesday, 06 February 2002: 6th Month Reflections... |
| Ok, so maybe I've been here for longer than 6 months, but I finally got around to doing this. Here are my reflections/impressions from my first 6-7 months in Bulgaria. Everyone keeps asking me if I've changed at all being here. The answer is a resounding YES!! I don't know how to explain it, but I see things differently because of my time here. I've been through possibly every single emotion possible. I've been happy, sad, elated, depressed, hopeful, stubborn, hardheaded, tearful and probably many more that I can't even think of. Have I considered going home? You bet I have. Especially the two times I've been stolen from. The first time was at Christmas, the second just this past weekend when my wallet was stolen on the train. But, despite all that, I can't imagine my life having happened without this experience. I've met incredible people, both volunteers, expats and Bulgarians. I've also seen some of the most beautiful cities and sites in my life. I can go to the beach or the mountains, I can go skiing, or like last weekend, I can be shot into the air on a sling-shot like contraption! It's a world of opportunities here! But it hasn't been without challenges. Remember the "Toughest Job" part of the Peace Corps slogan? Heck, I've never been able to forget it!! Trying to get people who have been repressed and controlled for 550 of the last 600 years to be positive is difficult. People work hard and don't get paid the money they deserve. For example, the teachers at my school sometimes wait a whole month just to get paid. Which is really difficult when both parents work for the school and you live paycheck to paycheck (which is normal here). And while there are many Bulgarians who value hard work, it's difficult to explain to others that nothing will get done if the day is full of Pocheevka or breaks. It reminds me of Italy, where people are more concerned with relaxing rather than getting things done and then relaxing. But this is not transferred down to kids. Parent's push their kids to learn english and computers because that's the future. Or at least that's what everyone tells me. But it does apply to restaurants and customer service (or lack of). What Americans consider customer service is non-existent in Bulgaria. Sometimes it's frustrating to wait a half hour to get a check and than another 15 minutes to get change, you learn to deal with it. Change-that's another thing. You can't get it here. During training we were given our walk-around allowance in 20's. Normal right? No way. Nobody could change it. It's impossible. I learned quickly to go the the bank and change it and to take money out of my account in odd numbers, because that way you only get tens. Right now, the 50 leva bill is the largest bill in circulation. So even ten's are big. And I've learned to stockpile my stotinki. Everyone wants it. Nobody has change, and will give you a stick of gum or box of matches instead of stotinki because they don't have it. It's amusing, and now I have a great collection of matchboxes! There is also a thing called a "na gosti" which means a visit. People do this for hours-literally. I've finally perfected the art of eating and drinking slowly because dinner can last for 6 hours, and even a coffee can take 2 hours. It'f much more important to go visit someone than calling on the phone-hmm, maybe I should learn that, considering my phone bills!! Transportation is a big thing here, usually a big problem. While trains are nice (meaning usually on time) they are generally much slower than the buses. I love that my town is a major train hub, because I can usually get anywhere I want without to much hassle. In a country the size of Tennesse, it takes an hour to go 30 miles. UGH. I've learned patience here. Now I just bring a good book (meaning anything in english) and sit back for the ride. Buses are another thing altogether. I've been left at a bus station because the driver didn't feel like stopping that day to pick me up, I've been taken to the wrong town, told there was a bus, when there really wasn't, and waited in the snow at 6am to get somewhere, only to find out the bus doesn't run that early. It's always a gamble when taking a bus, and I must admit, my stomach still does flip flops when I'm waiting for a bus, getting on a bus, and when I'm getting close to my town. Nothing really bad has happened, but you never know! I'm working on a jumble of projects right now. I'm going to start teaching english classes at the municipality (to everyone who works there-even the mayor!), I'm trying to get a new computer lab, and a Language Resourse center, and I'm going to start a School Newspaper. I also want to start some after school clubs like baseball and american football. It should be fun, and there's already some interest. I'm going to begin team-teaching one of the computer classes with my counterpart-which I'm excited about ecause the kids are great! I'm also going to start an english class for the teachers in my school. I have so many ideas, and I'm beginning to wonder if 2 years is enough time. I remember when I thought it was so long. It's not. I can't believe how time is flying by!! Well, I should pucblish this online, so you can actually read it before I'm at the 9 month mark! Love, Sarah |