| Monday, 5 Nov. 2001: Reflections... |
| Well, I was right about the snow. A few hours after writing the journal the flakes started falling. Being the typical arizona girl that I am, my eyes lit up and I got a huge grin on my face. As I ran outside to look at it, I forgot to grab my jacket. Opening the patio door was a definate shock to my system. It's barely November. Mom just emailed that it was 98 degrees back home. Halloween is usually pretty warm, maybe cool, but never downright cold! I'm excited about the change in weather, but it brings up a difficult issue for the schools here. Most schools shut down for an extra wek or two during the winter because there isn't enough money to heat the schools. My students come to class and stay all bundled up during class, trying to write notes with gloves on. They do all this because there are many broken windows and the cold wind hits everyone in the room. Last week we kept the curtains open because the sun would help to warm us up. But now there is no sun. We close the curtains in an attempt to block out the wind, and we are forced to turn on the lights in the class. Not only does this use precious energy, but it creates a glare on the blackboard, and the students can't see what I'm writing. Winter also means that my clothes that used to take a day to dry, will now take 4 or 5. The clothes I'm now wearing are much thicker, and it's colder out, so they take longer. It also takes longer to do the laundry, only because I can't bring myself to crouch over the bucket and wash one pair of pants at a time, because I don't have a bucket big enough to fit more than that. Then I have to wash and wring out the clothes, in freezing water. By the time I'm done, I can't feel my hands. I'm not writing this for sympathy, because I love it here. I'm telling you this so you know my everyday thoughts, and what I'm living with. I love it here (can I say that again?)...sometimes the cold is unbearable, and I'm told that it's not even winter yet (it's still fall), and that it will only get colder. But winter also means the appearance of new veggies that I haven't seen at the market before. Now I'm seeing fresh mushrooms and green onions, and I can sit on my couch eating soup and drinking hot tea while I grade all that homework! Well, Wednesday is my site visit, and Chavdar should be bringing me all those packages waiting in Sofia!! Dimitrina is in Shoumen again for school so this week is another hard one, full of lots of classes, but I enjoy the kids so much that I don't even mind it. Next week I will be in Pleven, and hope to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while. I hope everyone is doing well, and rooting for my D-backs to win the World Series!! Take care... I guess that's all for now. For all of you that have been writing or emailing, keep it up!! I love getting email and letters/packages. For those of you that seem to have forgotten about me, well, I don't hold grudges!! :) Love, Sarah |