A Few Thoughts...

As I sit here in my apartment in an 8-story concrete apartment block in true soviet-era style in the city center of "the aristocratic city" of Bulgaria, I feel the past 4 months since I left the Crowder house in Woodbridge, VA have gone as-expected in some ways; in other ways, they have been so extraordinarily outside the realm of any of my expectations. I digress...

First off for those of yall who I haven't had the chance to tell...I am living in Rousse, Bulgaria as a member of the 21st group of volunteers to serve in the country since the fall of the Communist regime in 1989. Presently, there are 4 Peace Corps programs here. Youth Development, Community/Organizational Development, Primary Education, and last but not least Secondary Education. I am with the Secondary Education program. Starting September 15th, I will teach 8th and 9th grade students at one of the many high schools in Rousse (the 5th biggest city in Bulgaria with approx. 160,000 people here). That is my 'primary assignment.' Additionally I will work with a local NGO that has ties with YMCA and the Rousse Youth Center subsidized by the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

That is what I have in store for me in the near future. Now, what the hell have I been doing with myself for the past 4 months while all of you have been: enjoying the beach, graduating college, celebrating the 4th of July and numerous birthdays without me, mourning/grieving the events of 4/16, starting new jobs, and playing golf, and most recently speculating if [insert 'guaranteeing that' if you choose] Jason Campbell is going to take us to the promised land. Well, actually I have tried to do stay as much in contact with it all over here in Bulgaria, but inevitably, as my service over here has evolved into what it has over the past 4 months, I feel increasingly detached from you all (tear).

Since arriving at the Sofia International Airport on April 16th, 2007, I have had the honor to meet some pretty damn awesome volunteers who I'll be in Bulgaria with (There are over 100 total but only 40 B21s[see above]). I lived in Kyustendil, a small town relatively close to the Macedonian border at the foot of the Rila Mountains, with my host family the Stoyanovs for my 3 month training period. Mariana, Alexander, and their twin son/daughter Velisar and Velislava (21 years old) were the kaleidescope through which I first looked into the Bulgarian culture. Slowly but surely, as I began learning more and more of the language I established one of the coolest bonds one could ever experience with Mariana. As we would sit at the dinner table late into the night studying my new language (no one in my host family speaks English) and smoking Victory Brand cigarettes, we began to know each other in a way that any language would insufficiently express.

During the week in Kyuestendil, 4 of the other volunteers from the B21 group and I would have language training and teaching training until the evening. Anni, our language trainer is one of the most fun, intelligent, and funny women I will ever meet. It is because of her (and the fact that I'm a straight ballllllller) that I can speak Bulgarian at the level I can at the moment. As we grew into our new role as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) Amanda, Josh, Mindy, and Nancy became true friends as the sometimes odd and undeniably foreign culture would push my patience and sanity. (for this you guys, I kick you!)

I visited so many amazing places during my stay in Kyustendil (e.g. The Rila Monastery, Sofia to visit Velisar and Velislava at University http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/travel/01surfacing.html?ex=1184126400&en=b3db05d314597df3&ei=5070&emc=eta1 , The 7 Lakes in the Rila Mountains, many different small villages where it seems like the clocks are turned back decades compared to the fast-paced electronic life in which I grew up).

So I have given you a bit of an idea of what I will be doing during the next two years, and what I have done in the past 4 months. Now I can attempt to answer the question that I ask myself sometimes after I ask for 250 grams of Bulgarian cheese at a supermarket, or finish a glass of beer at dinner with the very real monogram showing at the bottom of the glass: Made in the USSR....WHAT/HOW AM I NOW?

I am happy. I am lonely. I am overjoyed with the decision I made to join the Peace Corps. I am overwhelmed. I am learning. I am meeting people and starting friendships with people in a language that is not my own. I am training for the Athens Marathon in November. And one thing is for sure...I'm livin my life.