It seems I've neglected my blog a bit over the past few months, eh? So please excuse me for a brief moment while I apologize.
*Sorry, blog*
Ok, now a bit about my life in the here and now. Last week, I finalized my post-PC travel plans heading back to the states. Briefly, it is as follows.
*I officially become a 'Returned Peace Corps Volunteer' on July 1st, 2009. Following this, I will remain in Bulgaria until my flight from Sofia Airport to London on July 10th. I will be flying with Beckie and spending 4 days in London. Then we are taking the train up to Edinburgh, Scotland to meet Beckie's mom, Dad(jonny/JC), and Mark. In my book, as cool as it will be to see Edinburgh and the Highlands of Scotland, everything will be peripheral to July 19th. Any guesses why? HINT: The 19th is a Sunday. GIVEAWAY: My Dad's gonna be there. You guessed it. We have Sunday tickets to the 149th Open Championship at the Turnberry Resort in Ayrshire, Scotland! Among many other times recently, the other day in class I was teaching a lesson to my 9th grade students about Sports (vocabulary, idiomatic phrases, grammar differences, etc.) when I got to talking about golf. Golf is not popular in the least in Bulgaria so, none of my kids were interested in the least in my rant. But that didn't stop me. I realized the scope of my instruction had gone a bit too deep when I began to explain what a '3-putt' meant. oops.
On a related note, Golf is becoming a bit more popular here in Bulgaria. With BG's integration into the European Union, and the influx of investors in real estate over the past decade, a few respectable golf courses have popped up around the country. As far as I've heard, there is a resort on the Black Sea Coast called 'Thracian Cliffs' that has a Gary Player designed course. But I played on a course in the summer of 2007 in a town just south of the Balkan Mountain range that had greens manicured to the level of the 'greens' the Brauns, Alan, and I used to create by putting my lawnmower on its lowest setting and cutting a small area of one of our lawns. Honestly, yea, this course was that pathetic. wow, once again, my golf digression has gone on way too long.
ok, so, after Scotland, Beckie and I are going to spend 14 days in Germany. We're going to travel around Bavaria and then head up to Berlin. We will fly out of Berlin on the 4th of August and arrive in Cleveland on the evening of the 5th. Why Cleveland you ask? Well Beckie's sister and her Brother-in-Law live there. She graduates from nursing school on the 7th and we are going to be there for the graduation. I hope my parents can make the trip up. Possibly stopping in Canton and Athens (OU) on the way home? hmm?hmm?whaddya say?
Bottom line, I'll be back in the DC area by the middle of August. Holler at me.
Life in Bulgaria has been great. I honestly probably wouldn't have used the word 'great' if it wasn't March. I say that because a)the weather has finally warmed up over the past few days b)the tradition of 'Martinitsi' (red and white bracelets that everyone exchanges with friends and family on the first days of march signifying the welcoming of the spring season) and c)I just returned from a nearby town where some of the PCVs in the region conducted a basketball clinic for some of the young people. It was a lot of fun for everyone involved and I loved how everyone was so competitive, friendly, fair, and appreciative. For all these reasons, I am reminded how lucky and thankful I am to have this experience.
I promise I'll post some more about my recent activities...soon.
All the best to all of my loved ones back home! Happy March and God Bless!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Monday, September 29, 2008
great weekend
This past weekend I went with Svetolube, a history and geography teacher at my school, to his village about an hour to the east of Ruse. **The village, Цар Самуил, is named after the last ruler of the 1st Bulgarian Kingdom (around the end of the tenth century).**
We went out to Svetolube's (Tsetso for short) village to take in all of the sights of the annual village festival. Pretty much every village and town in Bulgaria has one. Honestly, there wasn't much to see.
The village has certainly seen its better times with the festival serving as a microcosm of that trend. Currently, there is only one functioning school in the village. The primary school stands in the center of a huge field. The school is wedged in between the old schoolhouse one one side (destroyed by arsonists according to Tsetso) and what is left of the initial construction of an extension of the school on the other side. The add-on was started in the twilight of the communist years (late 80s) and has simply been left standing. These defunct, half-built structures serve as unofficial memorials to the brilliant state planners of the Communist era. In this field behind the school, a small bazaar was set up where one could buy anything from candy to rugs to tracksuits (kinda like the one you have Will). After making the trek through the path where all of these goods are hawked, you found yourself in a mini-carnival of sorts. It fell a few steps short of par with EuroDisney.
But for all that the village lacked in aesthetic beauty, the people were amazing. Everywhere we went and everyone Tsetso introduced me to was very kind. It was difficult to understand most of them but judging them by their facial expressions and the words and phrases I did understand, they were very happy to meet me and share time with me.
Saturday night, Tsetso's niece and nephew came to visit with a group of their friends. They are from a medium-sized city called Dobrich (Добрич) about an hour to the east of the village. They are about my age and the differences in conversation, interests, and expressions between them and the older Bulgarian population is astounding. We all had a great time Saturday night and enjoyed the delicious food and apricot brandy that Tsetso's mother prepared for us.
Being in a rural Bulgarian village highlights the huge divide between the younger generation and the one which came of age during the mid-twentieth century. Whereas an older Bulgarian (especially someone who grew up in rural Bulgaria) will gladly point out the finer points of the Communist Party and scoff at the corrupt nature of the current political and social scene; younger Bulgarians are [almost unanimously] interested and unbelievably informed with the attractions of 'the West.' (e.g. cars, NBA, higher education, pop music) *Last spring a guy I met while playing streetball told me he thought the Wizards would be a lot better if they played stronger defense. And nearly everyday a student asks me some crazy question about the engineering involved in a 1960s muscle car engine.*
When talking with people from villages, nostalgia directs almost every conversation. When talking with younger Bulgarians from the city, their level of interest in all things western (regardless if their opinions are formed soundly or not) is remarkable.
We went out to Svetolube's (Tsetso for short) village to take in all of the sights of the annual village festival. Pretty much every village and town in Bulgaria has one. Honestly, there wasn't much to see.
The village has certainly seen its better times with the festival serving as a microcosm of that trend. Currently, there is only one functioning school in the village. The primary school stands in the center of a huge field. The school is wedged in between the old schoolhouse one one side (destroyed by arsonists according to Tsetso) and what is left of the initial construction of an extension of the school on the other side. The add-on was started in the twilight of the communist years (late 80s) and has simply been left standing. These defunct, half-built structures serve as unofficial memorials to the brilliant state planners of the Communist era. In this field behind the school, a small bazaar was set up where one could buy anything from candy to rugs to tracksuits (kinda like the one you have Will). After making the trek through the path where all of these goods are hawked, you found yourself in a mini-carnival of sorts. It fell a few steps short of par with EuroDisney.
But for all that the village lacked in aesthetic beauty, the people were amazing. Everywhere we went and everyone Tsetso introduced me to was very kind. It was difficult to understand most of them but judging them by their facial expressions and the words and phrases I did understand, they were very happy to meet me and share time with me.
Saturday night, Tsetso's niece and nephew came to visit with a group of their friends. They are from a medium-sized city called Dobrich (Добрич) about an hour to the east of the village. They are about my age and the differences in conversation, interests, and expressions between them and the older Bulgarian population is astounding. We all had a great time Saturday night and enjoyed the delicious food and apricot brandy that Tsetso's mother prepared for us.
Being in a rural Bulgarian village highlights the huge divide between the younger generation and the one which came of age during the mid-twentieth century. Whereas an older Bulgarian (especially someone who grew up in rural Bulgaria) will gladly point out the finer points of the Communist Party and scoff at the corrupt nature of the current political and social scene; younger Bulgarians are [almost unanimously] interested and unbelievably informed with the attractions of 'the West.' (e.g. cars, NBA, higher education, pop music) *Last spring a guy I met while playing streetball told me he thought the Wizards would be a lot better if they played stronger defense. And nearly everyday a student asks me some crazy question about the engineering involved in a 1960s muscle car engine.*
When talking with people from villages, nostalgia directs almost every conversation. When talking with younger Bulgarians from the city, their level of interest in all things western (regardless if their opinions are formed soundly or not) is remarkable.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
food for thought...
* www.udothedishes.com <-peep the blog
I got a decent amount of reading done this summer. The following are some of my selections and a few adjoining footnotes from EJC...
HOMICIDE: A YEAR ON THE KILLING STREETS(1991) by David Simon.
In a word, Simon is thorough. He's the executive producer of Homicide; Life on the Streets and The Wire. As hard as it might be to grasp, this book tops them both. He followed a Baltimore Homicide Unit during 1988 in order to write this book. It reads like a crime novel with Tom Clancy-like depth but, in fact, it is non-fictional. Must read!
AMERICAN PSYCHO(1991) by Bret Easton Ellis
Ellis tries to convey to his audience just how vulgar a life devoted to chasing the proverbial 'Paper' and labels by personifying the mentality with Patrick Bateman. The only thing that can get Bateman's mind off of the Armani suit his colleague is rockin is his indiscriminate bloodlust. One minute he is begrudgingly listening to his girlfriend's tribulations about the right Mikasa crystal set to buy; the next he is picturing how he could feed the cadaver stashed away in his apartment to a rabid street rat. It's an interesting way to convey the absurdity of the fast-money/fast-track life of the stereotypical YUP; but both the violence (surreptitiously gutting a child in the Central Park Zoo) and the materialism (spending pages at a time simply describing the brands and fashions adorning the bourgeious strolling by Bateman outside of Saks 5th Avenue) are beyond overkill.
Read it if you really want to be disturbed; although some people find it humorous, i didn't. Synopsis courteous of the Talking Heads line preceding the first chapter..."And as things fell apart, no one payed much attention."
UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE (1871) by Thomas Hardy
After reading this novela, I was surprised to hear of the dark cynicism that drives his other books. As I read the story - driven by funny-sounding old English village vernacular - I kept thinking of the presience. More than 200 years later, the humanistic conflict in the book is so easy to relate to.
Team Greentree! how amazing is it that this random word/phrase pops up everywhere! i love you guys farealdo!
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS (2007) by Khaled Hosseini
The definition of a summertime page-turner. I for one, had to keep a supply of tissues nearby. Both this and THE KITE RUNNER are amazing books even if the movie is crap.
BALKAN GHOSTS (1999) by Robert Kaplan
A travel book put together from his journeys through the Balkans after the Bosnian War and before the latest conflict in Kosovo (i.e. systemic killing of ethnic Albanians). The contemporary aspect of it has grown a bit outdated; but its definitely worth a gander if you are traveling through this part of the world. But living in Bulgaria, the conclusions he draws of their culture from only being here a handful of days is nothing short of comical.
OK...if you care to hear/discuss further about these books or life or how the redskins are gonna give it to the Kurt Warner-guffaw-led Cardinals; simply hit me up!
I got a decent amount of reading done this summer. The following are some of my selections and a few adjoining footnotes from EJC...
HOMICIDE: A YEAR ON THE KILLING STREETS(1991) by David Simon.
In a word, Simon is thorough. He's the executive producer of Homicide; Life on the Streets and The Wire. As hard as it might be to grasp, this book tops them both. He followed a Baltimore Homicide Unit during 1988 in order to write this book. It reads like a crime novel with Tom Clancy-like depth but, in fact, it is non-fictional. Must read!
AMERICAN PSYCHO(1991) by Bret Easton Ellis
Ellis tries to convey to his audience just how vulgar a life devoted to chasing the proverbial 'Paper' and labels by personifying the mentality with Patrick Bateman. The only thing that can get Bateman's mind off of the Armani suit his colleague is rockin is his indiscriminate bloodlust. One minute he is begrudgingly listening to his girlfriend's tribulations about the right Mikasa crystal set to buy; the next he is picturing how he could feed the cadaver stashed away in his apartment to a rabid street rat. It's an interesting way to convey the absurdity of the fast-money/fast-track life of the stereotypical YUP; but both the violence (surreptitiously gutting a child in the Central Park Zoo) and the materialism (spending pages at a time simply describing the brands and fashions adorning the bourgeious strolling by Bateman outside of Saks 5th Avenue) are beyond overkill.
Read it if you really want to be disturbed; although some people find it humorous, i didn't. Synopsis courteous of the Talking Heads line preceding the first chapter..."And as things fell apart, no one payed much attention."
UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE (1871) by Thomas Hardy
After reading this novela, I was surprised to hear of the dark cynicism that drives his other books. As I read the story - driven by funny-sounding old English village vernacular - I kept thinking of the presience. More than 200 years later, the humanistic conflict in the book is so easy to relate to.
Team Greentree! how amazing is it that this random word/phrase pops up everywhere! i love you guys farealdo!
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS (2007) by Khaled Hosseini
The definition of a summertime page-turner. I for one, had to keep a supply of tissues nearby. Both this and THE KITE RUNNER are amazing books even if the movie is crap.
BALKAN GHOSTS (1999) by Robert Kaplan
A travel book put together from his journeys through the Balkans after the Bosnian War and before the latest conflict in Kosovo (i.e. systemic killing of ethnic Albanians). The contemporary aspect of it has grown a bit outdated; but its definitely worth a gander if you are traveling through this part of the world. But living in Bulgaria, the conclusions he draws of their culture from only being here a handful of days is nothing short of comical.
OK...if you care to hear/discuss further about these books or life or how the redskins are gonna give it to the Kurt Warner-guffaw-led Cardinals; simply hit me up!
Second go-around
Monday marked the first day of my second school year teaching at the English Language High School in Ruse. Unlike last year, the weather was really crappy and the brisk fall wind caused the opening ceremonies in the school yard to be rushed so people wouldn't get soaked from the approaching thunderstorm.
After the opening ceremonies, the older students feed dirty carrots and spicy peppers to the incoming 8th graders (this stems from everyone referring to 8th graders as 'bunnies'). It really gets out of hand and makes me want to do something about it. But with all the other teachers laughing about it, i only got involved with the most egregious 'feedings.'
I will be teaching 8th grade students and 9th grade students this year. I know the 10th graders from my classes with them last year; so I know about 60% of the students at the school from my classes and others who have taken it upon themselves to introduce themselves to me.
Also, I am starting a baseball team at my school. I got a hold of some gloves, balls, and a couple bats. Friday is our first practice. If the students show some interest we're gonna try to make a regular thing out of it.
That's about it for now. I really feel at-ease for this second year and I think my experience in the classroom last year will help me with controlling the environment in the classroom this year.
much love->
After the opening ceremonies, the older students feed dirty carrots and spicy peppers to the incoming 8th graders (this stems from everyone referring to 8th graders as 'bunnies'). It really gets out of hand and makes me want to do something about it. But with all the other teachers laughing about it, i only got involved with the most egregious 'feedings.'
I will be teaching 8th grade students and 9th grade students this year. I know the 10th graders from my classes with them last year; so I know about 60% of the students at the school from my classes and others who have taken it upon themselves to introduce themselves to me.
Also, I am starting a baseball team at my school. I got a hold of some gloves, balls, and a couple bats. Friday is our first practice. If the students show some interest we're gonna try to make a regular thing out of it.
That's about it for now. I really feel at-ease for this second year and I think my experience in the classroom last year will help me with controlling the environment in the classroom this year.
much love->
Monday, August 25, 2008
THE 2008 ruse redskins.
who says fantasy football isn't a craze here in Bulgaria? well actually it isn't. But amongst male PCVs at least, its all the rage. Yesterday was our much anticipated draft and here is how I fared...
QB: Jason Campbell//even according to the impious (i.e. non-skins fans) zorn is gonna be huge for him.
RB: Clinton Portis//hands down best blocking back in the league..wait, do pancake blocks count for fantasy?
RB:Reggie Bush//he's past the sophomore slump and ready to prove that the Texans really are as dumb as their most hated son.
WR: Braylon Edwards//that's when i knew i was pretty guuuuud
WR: Calvin Johnson//after seeing him single handedly destroy the hokies first hand in the fall of 2006, I value his 'beast' over Roy Williams' stupid first down dances.
WR: Laveranues Coles//my favorite non-skin in the league
TE: Mercedes Lewis//I underestimated Cooley's value and let him slip away. But with the questionable WR situation down in J'ville, Garrard is gonna dial Lewis' number often.
K:Sean Suisham//This way I can love him or hate him X2.
DEF:Washington//Wait, the Redskins had a pre-season game last saturday? They played the Panthers? They got 47 dropped all up on them? The answer to all three questions is obviously NO.
BEN: Thomas Jones//Solid back + Nasty new O-line + Tony Richardson as his lead blocker + Defenses keyed on Brett "no i would not like $20 mil for NOT working" Farve = steal of a pick in the 7th round.
BEN: Jonathan Stewart//IF the Redskins did play the Panthers last saturday, he would've seduced me like Scarlett Johansson at a Jazz Bar.
BEN: Ted Ginn, Jr.//Gotta love the possibility for return touchdowns and he's the only one ready to get his shine on down in the armpit that is the Miami organization. Plus he talks in that weird Michael Phelps-jaw-ain't-quite-aligned kinda way. I heard that's the new pink.
BEN: Chris Johnson//upside is unmatched. As long as LenDale continues to disappoint, this guy is gonna be better than AP by October.
BEN: Antwaan Randle El//little man...huge hand movements/hops after a catch
BEN: Jamarcus Russell//gotta give the #1 pick a shot
Keepin my eye on Brad Smith, Troy Smith, Eddie Royal, Kevin and Julius Jones, Desean Jackson(even though it would go against my policy of not drafting anyone from the NFC East)
happy ROTOing to all!
QB: Jason Campbell//even according to the impious (i.e. non-skins fans) zorn is gonna be huge for him.
RB: Clinton Portis//hands down best blocking back in the league..wait, do pancake blocks count for fantasy?
RB:Reggie Bush//he's past the sophomore slump and ready to prove that the Texans really are as dumb as their most hated son.
WR: Braylon Edwards//that's when i knew i was pretty guuuuud
WR: Calvin Johnson//after seeing him single handedly destroy the hokies first hand in the fall of 2006, I value his 'beast' over Roy Williams' stupid first down dances.
WR: Laveranues Coles//my favorite non-skin in the league
TE: Mercedes Lewis//I underestimated Cooley's value and let him slip away. But with the questionable WR situation down in J'ville, Garrard is gonna dial Lewis' number often.
K:Sean Suisham//This way I can love him or hate him X2.
DEF:Washington//Wait, the Redskins had a pre-season game last saturday? They played the Panthers? They got 47 dropped all up on them? The answer to all three questions is obviously NO.
BEN: Thomas Jones//Solid back + Nasty new O-line + Tony Richardson as his lead blocker + Defenses keyed on Brett "no i would not like $20 mil for NOT working" Farve = steal of a pick in the 7th round.
BEN: Jonathan Stewart//IF the Redskins did play the Panthers last saturday, he would've seduced me like Scarlett Johansson at a Jazz Bar.
BEN: Ted Ginn, Jr.//Gotta love the possibility for return touchdowns and he's the only one ready to get his shine on down in the armpit that is the Miami organization. Plus he talks in that weird Michael Phelps-jaw-ain't-quite-aligned kinda way. I heard that's the new pink.
BEN: Chris Johnson//upside is unmatched. As long as LenDale continues to disappoint, this guy is gonna be better than AP by October.
BEN: Antwaan Randle El//little man...huge hand movements/hops after a catch
BEN: Jamarcus Russell//gotta give the #1 pick a shot
Keepin my eye on Brad Smith, Troy Smith, Eddie Royal, Kevin and Julius Jones, Desean Jackson(even though it would go against my policy of not drafting anyone from the NFC East)
happy ROTOing to all!
Monday, August 18, 2008
2008 American Flag Football Camp!!!
So the first annual Ruse Flag Football Camp is officially behind us. Overall, I can honestly say it was a success. The only disappointment was the consistency and quantity of attendance. (that's Peace Corps lingo for not too many ankle biters decided to show) Also, not every camper thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread; but on the other hand, some kids really had a fun week and truly improved their throwing/catching/flag-pulling.
The Municipal government allowed us to use the practice field of the Danube Ruse Football Club. They provided us with t-shirts for the counselors/coaches to wear and printed certificates of participation for all of the campers. The first day of the camp (august 12th) coincided with the International Day of Youth so the local news station came out to do a story on our camp. This aspect of the week was interesting to say the least. Somehow, the municipality thanked us (Peace Corps Volunteers) for being their guests on this beautiful day to play a new, great game. Very interesting, ostentatious way of looking at it if you ask me.
We used the two-a-day format with sessions in the morning and evening. Although we had a slight problem the first evening with soccer hooligans running on our field, the municipality called in some police officers to secure the field the rest of the week. yikes!
next year, we will have the camp during sprink break in order to avoid the problem of having the students already committed to vacations at the Black Sea, International vacations, or the mentality that nothing structured or organized can possibly done during the month of August.
in closing, thanks to all of the PCVs, Mladen, Phillip Yordanov, Yulian, Phillip Pastovanov, Poly, Poly, and Mladen for all of their help. YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!
The Municipal government allowed us to use the practice field of the Danube Ruse Football Club. They provided us with t-shirts for the counselors/coaches to wear and printed certificates of participation for all of the campers. The first day of the camp (august 12th) coincided with the International Day of Youth so the local news station came out to do a story on our camp. This aspect of the week was interesting to say the least. Somehow, the municipality thanked us (Peace Corps Volunteers) for being their guests on this beautiful day to play a new, great game. Very interesting, ostentatious way of looking at it if you ask me.
We used the two-a-day format with sessions in the morning and evening. Although we had a slight problem the first evening with soccer hooligans running on our field, the municipality called in some police officers to secure the field the rest of the week. yikes!
next year, we will have the camp during sprink break in order to avoid the problem of having the students already committed to vacations at the Black Sea, International vacations, or the mentality that nothing structured or organized can possibly done during the month of August.
in closing, thanks to all of the PCVs, Mladen, Phillip Yordanov, Yulian, Phillip Pastovanov, Poly, Poly, and Mladen for all of their help. YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
summer lovin happened so fast...
I can honestly say the past three months have flown by. Back in the spring, I was so excited to host my family (minus dad), and already I'm missing them again...solitary teardrop.
Of all of the great experiences and fun things I have been able to do in the past month, one particular memory jumps out at me as being truly awesome.
One month after Kosovo had officially become an internationally-recognized country (and not just an autonomous state within Serbia), my brother, sister, and I got to travel through it on our way from Bulgaria to Dubrovnik, Croatia. From the time we crossed the Macedonia-Kosovo border in the back seat of the mini-bus we boarded in Skopje(capital of Macedonia), I had felt like we were truly seeing something unique. All along the roads, we saw signs of the United Nations' presence: trucks, soldiers, complexes, barbed-wire. My imagination ran wild thinking about the broken-lives that had been created here within the past decade. As we drove, I was reading BALKAN GHOSTS by Robert Kaplan. He had traveled through the same part of the world almost 20 years ago and I found it fascinating how what I was seeing was so different from the Kosovo that he had experienced.
The capital of Kosovo, Prishtina, was so alive. Everywhere I looked, I saw people walking, running, but mostly just standing in small groups. I noted how few women I saw. The ones that I did see were predominantly escorted by an older man and clothed from head to toe (tradition stubbornly failed to recognize the 90 degree temperatures). The inner Robinson Crusoe in me longed to get out of the mini-bus and get lost in it all. Yet, traveling through the outskirts, I was awed by the infrastructure. It was sub-standard in some places; non-existant in others. Prodigal hotels shot out of the ground next to cow pastures and auto-body shops working on any thing from donkey carts to 1970s communist-issue buggies to Mercedes G-wagons. What a fascinating microcosm!
Although I have loved and appreciated almost every other experience I have had recently, no sense of me was satisfied as thoroughly as my sense of raw adventure was that evening.
***
Pictures on snapfish.com can certainly paint a better picture of my summer up to this point, but now I will briefly try with words. I guess it all started with a wedding in southwestern bulgaria between an american peace corps volunteer and a bulgarian man. The wedding was in a itty-bitty village called Slashten (don't even try searching for it on the map). The size and rural aspect of Slashten did not prevent - in fact, surely caused - the explosion of love, fun, and kindness that was omnipresent throughout my time there. I did not know the peace corps volunteer (Andrea) or her husband (Mustafa) before the weekend. Beckie (my amazing girlfriend) invited me. Some of my other friends in the Corps were there and we had a great time; folk dancing/reception decorating/picture taking/soccer in the town square. It was great.
Then, I met my sister in the Sofia airport early Monday morning. She flew in from London to stay with me for 2 weeks before we again headed west to meet my brother at the Sofia airport. We went to school together, watched movies together, and drank beers together at Ruse's beer festival. But most importantly, she discovered the glory of Shopska Salata! Also she got to see the end of the year performance of my school's Drama Club. I was very proud of all of our young actors and I think Joanna (and Beckie and the other PCVs that were there) were very impressed by the actors and their English deliverance. The play was called 'Charley's Aunt.'
After stopping in the towns of Gabrovo (where we received some true PC hospitality//I heart you Foltzes and Amanda and Jerry//) and Veliko Turnovo, my sister and I met Mark at the airport. We made it back to the hostel and met some very cool people. After all, what is a European Hostel experience without jovial big-boy status brazilian man and a well-traveled friendly swede? Bernardo and Anders were two guys I will not soon forget.
After our mini-bus traversed the balkans, we arrived at 5am in Dubrovnik. Mom had already arrived the evening before and she was very excited to see us (but mostly me...right mom?)
The whole week was absolutely amazing. I can't think of one thing I didn't enjoy. We even got used to the 53 stair incline-21 stair decline-54 stair incline that it took to get from the street to the apartment where we were staying. Despite the fact that Dad wasn't there to remind us, UNIT keys remained in our secure possesion for the week's entirety. whewwwwwwww
After Mark and I said good-bye to mom and joanna (until July '09!) we caught our bus back to Bulgaria. Mark and I went to Beckie's village and rested for a night. The next morning we went on a hike to the Rila 7 Lakes in Rila National Park (SW Bulgaria). I was really happy Mark could see one of my favorite places in the country; as well as my favorite person.
After sending Mark off to the Sofia Airport, Beckie and I went away for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. We went to the Rhodope Mountains to see 'The Devil's Throat.' This is where the Thracian Oracle of Orpheus originated. Also, a beautiful place (look at the pictures).
***
Now, I'm back in Ruse. From the 12th to the 15th, I will be running a Flag Football camp in town. Other PCVs will be here to help and some of my Bulgarian friends will be the coaches of the teams. Hopefully I will have pictures and stories to tell about that....posle (later).
I'll say good-bye with a quote from Joseph Addison's CATO: "'Tis not in mortals to command success, but we'll do more,...we'll deserve it."
love, hugs, handpounds, daps, cheers to all,
ejSEEZY
Of all of the great experiences and fun things I have been able to do in the past month, one particular memory jumps out at me as being truly awesome.
One month after Kosovo had officially become an internationally-recognized country (and not just an autonomous state within Serbia), my brother, sister, and I got to travel through it on our way from Bulgaria to Dubrovnik, Croatia. From the time we crossed the Macedonia-Kosovo border in the back seat of the mini-bus we boarded in Skopje(capital of Macedonia), I had felt like we were truly seeing something unique. All along the roads, we saw signs of the United Nations' presence: trucks, soldiers, complexes, barbed-wire. My imagination ran wild thinking about the broken-lives that had been created here within the past decade. As we drove, I was reading BALKAN GHOSTS by Robert Kaplan. He had traveled through the same part of the world almost 20 years ago and I found it fascinating how what I was seeing was so different from the Kosovo that he had experienced.
The capital of Kosovo, Prishtina, was so alive. Everywhere I looked, I saw people walking, running, but mostly just standing in small groups. I noted how few women I saw. The ones that I did see were predominantly escorted by an older man and clothed from head to toe (tradition stubbornly failed to recognize the 90 degree temperatures). The inner Robinson Crusoe in me longed to get out of the mini-bus and get lost in it all. Yet, traveling through the outskirts, I was awed by the infrastructure. It was sub-standard in some places; non-existant in others. Prodigal hotels shot out of the ground next to cow pastures and auto-body shops working on any thing from donkey carts to 1970s communist-issue buggies to Mercedes G-wagons. What a fascinating microcosm!
Although I have loved and appreciated almost every other experience I have had recently, no sense of me was satisfied as thoroughly as my sense of raw adventure was that evening.
***
Pictures on snapfish.com can certainly paint a better picture of my summer up to this point, but now I will briefly try with words. I guess it all started with a wedding in southwestern bulgaria between an american peace corps volunteer and a bulgarian man. The wedding was in a itty-bitty village called Slashten (don't even try searching for it on the map). The size and rural aspect of Slashten did not prevent - in fact, surely caused - the explosion of love, fun, and kindness that was omnipresent throughout my time there. I did not know the peace corps volunteer (Andrea) or her husband (Mustafa) before the weekend. Beckie (my amazing girlfriend) invited me. Some of my other friends in the Corps were there and we had a great time; folk dancing/reception decorating/picture taking/soccer in the town square. It was great.
Then, I met my sister in the Sofia airport early Monday morning. She flew in from London to stay with me for 2 weeks before we again headed west to meet my brother at the Sofia airport. We went to school together, watched movies together, and drank beers together at Ruse's beer festival. But most importantly, she discovered the glory of Shopska Salata! Also she got to see the end of the year performance of my school's Drama Club. I was very proud of all of our young actors and I think Joanna (and Beckie and the other PCVs that were there) were very impressed by the actors and their English deliverance. The play was called 'Charley's Aunt.'
After stopping in the towns of Gabrovo (where we received some true PC hospitality//I heart you Foltzes and Amanda and Jerry//) and Veliko Turnovo, my sister and I met Mark at the airport. We made it back to the hostel and met some very cool people. After all, what is a European Hostel experience without jovial big-boy status brazilian man and a well-traveled friendly swede? Bernardo and Anders were two guys I will not soon forget.
After our mini-bus traversed the balkans, we arrived at 5am in Dubrovnik. Mom had already arrived the evening before and she was very excited to see us (but mostly me...right mom?)
The whole week was absolutely amazing. I can't think of one thing I didn't enjoy. We even got used to the 53 stair incline-21 stair decline-54 stair incline that it took to get from the street to the apartment where we were staying. Despite the fact that Dad wasn't there to remind us, UNIT keys remained in our secure possesion for the week's entirety. whewwwwwwww
After Mark and I said good-bye to mom and joanna (until July '09!) we caught our bus back to Bulgaria. Mark and I went to Beckie's village and rested for a night. The next morning we went on a hike to the Rila 7 Lakes in Rila National Park (SW Bulgaria). I was really happy Mark could see one of my favorite places in the country; as well as my favorite person.
After sending Mark off to the Sofia Airport, Beckie and I went away for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. We went to the Rhodope Mountains to see 'The Devil's Throat.' This is where the Thracian Oracle of Orpheus originated. Also, a beautiful place (look at the pictures).
***
Now, I'm back in Ruse. From the 12th to the 15th, I will be running a Flag Football camp in town. Other PCVs will be here to help and some of my Bulgarian friends will be the coaches of the teams. Hopefully I will have pictures and stories to tell about that....posle (later).
I'll say good-bye with a quote from Joseph Addison's CATO: "'Tis not in mortals to command success, but we'll do more,...we'll deserve it."
love, hugs, handpounds, daps, cheers to all,
ejSEEZY
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