Hiya- it’s been a while (again) since I last updated my blog but so much has happened. The biggest news of all is I survived one of the worse recorded winters in decades and some say in the last century!! It’s not encouraging when your country gets on the news for days about record levels of snow and record low temps, especially when you’re already fighting the winter blues and desperately waiting for some relief from the weather. Our village was hit pretty hard (since we are almost a mile high) and the maximum amount of snow we had at any one time on the ground was almost 6 feet. That day it snowed, I opened the door, cursed out loud, went into the other room and was forced to climb out the window to go get a long wooden pizza maker to shovel a path to get wood. Well they use it as a shovel but pretty sure it’s the same thing as those wooden pizza oven things. The lowest the temperature dropped was over -20 Fahrenheit and with the windchill, who the heck knows. But it’s all the same after -20 I hear. My house made of bricks with large gaps in the middle and no insulation, was not very conducive to this winter I tell yeah. It was brutal, but I just layered up, kept my fire stove going as much as a I could, and went to people’s houses (Na Gosti), cause everyone else’s homes seem to be warmer than mine. Taking a shower is a painful process, because my bathroom is in the corridor which is usually the same temperature as the outside. I have to wear slippers to prevent frostbite while I take a shower (no joke). Ok, but in all honesty, I cheated. I went to Thailand with my friend Amanda. We had to cause it was life saving, he he he. 10 days of heat, sunshine, awesome Thai food, and diving, was just what I needed to get through this winter crap. Although as I write this there is still over 2 feet of snow in some areas but the sun is shining, snow is melting and spring is around the corner. The end of this month marks my 1 year anniversary of being in Bulgaria!! Crazy how time quickly went by slowly. I mean really that’s the only way I can explain how it felt. There were many dark days but many good days in between. It was a damn emotional roller coaster, that’s for sure. Here’s to hoping the next year goes by fast enough cause I am busy with productive work but slow enough that I can appreciate this different lifestyle and the little moments that make up an experience.Celebrated my birthday on the 8th of March with my good friends… good times, good food, good company was all I needed. It was perfect, especially since I couldn’t be at home celebrating with family and my other friends. March 1st we passed out and received Martenitsa bracelets that are to be worn til the first blooming tree is spotted or a stork is spotted. Remember my first post from Bulgaria and my bracelet? It’s that time again!! Some things learned about myself in the last year:-I can handle boredom really well-I am much more resilient than I thought-Didn’t think I could EVER learn another language but here I am chatting away with friends and strangers in Bulgarian- I am a creative cook especially when the village runs outta food and all I have are lentils, seaweed, sriracha, cheese, eggs and chicken bouillons. -I am the Asian American Laura Ingalls Wilder of BulgariaCheers to another year here,Sus

 The day before I left for Thailand, 2 new feet of snow... this was a good day.



 Koh Tao, Thailand, need I say more?



 Katie and Matt (regional volunteers) dancing Horo in a nearby village for Tedorev Day

I completely forgot to ask more about this holiday and know nothing excpept, there

were horse races and competitions and lots of mud

 See- Horses for that holiday



 friends, things look calm and peaceful... but so deceptive.

I heart these guys!!

Why hello there. It’s been a few months since my last entry and I could lie and say that I was so incredibly busy I never had time to sit and write. Really, I think I was just in a little bit of a lull and had stuff to write about but just couldn’t do it. Soooo now I find myself sitting in my cold house (while yet another snow storm is gracing us with it’s presence) and I thought since I have no electricity I should apply myself to something more productive. Thankfully, I have some battery life left on my laptop and who knows when I can actually upload this blog. JSoooo let’s start with some quick replays of things that happened in Oct. I conducted a “Halloween Festival” with the school kids and made a scavenger hunt (all written in English, haha) for the Trick or Treating portion of the day. I think the kids had fun and I definitely made them work for it too. By the end of the scavenger hunt, the kids were sweating, masks were ripped off and they were all panting. I mean, I didn’t say that the day was going to be easy.November was somewhat a blur. My group (B27) had our inservice training in the middle of the country and before that I got to hang out with my friends and do some shopping in our capital, Sofia. It is amazing how a few hour’s drive really makes such a significance in terms of language, style and living conditions. I live in a much more rural area and of course the clothes are significantly different as the women in my village (most) cover their heads and wear these long, 1 piece dresses with track pants undernearth. Different Muslim villages have different color schemes and ours are more of earth tones. The most common scarf worn over their head here is a cream scarf with flower designs with some gold threading. For Thanksgiving, I was able to go to my friend’s village (she also lives in the Rhodopes) to celebrate with some great people. It was an amazing feast where we put all of our stuff from the states together (cranberry sauce, stuffing, and velveeta mac n cheese- Thanks Casi!). It was DELICIOUS and just a great way to celebrate American traditions with one another even though we couldn’t be with our families. By the way, I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving too!Soooo Decemeber, phew. That month was even more of a blur. I got to travel to Cologne, Germany for a few days to meet my friend Rachel from the States!!! With her she brought some goodies from home, we got to experience German Christmas Markets, eat some delicious foods you just can’t get in Bulgaria, go to a fabulous Amusement Park and I got to do some more shopping (H&M!!!!). It was amazing and overwhelming all at the same time. I think I have gotten use to the simplicity of life, eating my simple meals and living quietly here in the mountains and going to Germany was a review of all the things I left behind in the states. It didn’t make me nostalgic for America but just made me think “Oh Yeah, I forgot that you could go to a grocery store and get Tomatoes even in winter!!!” Oh yeah, how could I forget, Gluhwein!!! Delicious hot spiced wine. Being away from home during the holidays is especially difficult but I don’t know if I could have spent it in any better way. It was perfect, for an overseas Christmas. By the way, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.Also, I don’t think I ever mentioned this before but our group (B27) is officially the last group to volunteer here in Peace Corps Bulgaria and after our Close of Service there will no longer be Peace Corps in this country. We are the Legacy group. In some ways it’s a good thing but also bittersweet as we have had to say good bye to some incredible staff members and will continue to say good byes til the day we leave. But I am getting ahead of myself as I still have another 18 more months or so!The other day when I was talking about the cost of living here in Bulgaria compared to the states and I had a shocking realization. I use to make in the states (as a medical social worker) in a DAY, what I live off of for a whole MONTH (and even then it’s more than enough). I use to worry that I wouldn’t be able to budget for this kind of life change, but my mentality has significantly changed. I don’t shop in excess (no Costco here to do it), I cook my own food (no restaurants to tempt me either) and I am mindful of usage and wastage (especially with energy). It’s not that I have become a Stoltinki pincher (Bulgarian change J) it’s more that life is simpler and cheaper here. I am still able to travel, purchase my diet cokes and other splurges but life is just different. That is one thing that I think was the easiest to adjust to especially since I have no other options. The snow’s falling even harder now and the anxiety of the winter is creeping up on me. I just found out I no longer have any transportation on/off the mountain and I am trying my best to cope with this but nothing like feeling stranded to make you a little more anxious, especially when the little stores don’t have much food (but they have plenty of chips, chocolates and sodas). But like my friend Joe reminded me the other day, it’s already January and we just have a few more months of this. Soooo I think I can do it??? Also, I don’t wanna hear from my friends in California about how exceptionally warm this winter has been, I mean it’s just mean. Haha! But no, really, don’t. Without electricity and a ride,SusHappy Birthday to my sis, Sonya!!!  The Halloween Decorating Crew Somebody wasn't having it with the sled...

 Looking for candy in flour.. he he

 Cologne, Germany and Dom Cathedral

 Gluhwein!!!

 Bridge of Locks...

 Gingerbread Latte and the Cathedral

 Socialist Museum in Sofia

This statue was "Earth after War" I think...



 Escape to the Mountain.

 Back home and time to play in the snow!

As I was sitting here thinking of what to update this blog about, I thought you should write about what everyone is talking about and that is the weather and all the good/bad things it brings.A few weeks ago, I went to the Black Sea again to celebrate my good friend Amanda’s Birthday, it was warm and beautiful and the day I returned home it was full blown winter. Bam, just like that!! No transition and no warning. This is a general transcript of a conversation I had with this guy who gave me a ride home:Me: It’s really cold and cloudy. I think it’s going to snow.Him: No, it won’t snow til November-December,Me: yeah, maybe it’s gonna come earlier cause this is really cold.Him: No it’ll just really cold til winter.The next morning: full blown blizzard (see pics below)I mean, I may not have ever lived in Bulgaria or in the mountains before, but I did live in upstate New York and if I learned anything from my time there, it was also about detecting the change in weather.We have had 2 more additional snow days since then but apparently, the kids don’t get snow days here, well cause they all just have to walk a little and there’s no driving to school, which is going to be a downside to the winter, not having any snow days!Since the snow days we have had some amazing fall weather (clear and cool). I am surrounded primarily by Evergreen trees but still get to experience the beauty of some trees changing/shedding their leaves. That was something I loved about living in the East Coast, the beauty of autumn. Also, the fleas/weird insects here are in hibernation or whatever it is they do to survive the winter and this has been a very welcomed relief, especially since I am covered in scars. But something different that happened is that all the animals returned from pasture. Apparently, everyone has sheep/cows up in the higher mountains who live their during the good weather months with shepherds and then return when the weather gets cold… so they are back. I was wondering why my landlady all of a sudden went from 4 sheep to like 25. In addition to the sheep returning, the bulls are back. This week alone, I was chased by 2 bulls!!! The first time I was with my kids and we skipped English lessons for an awesome hike because it was just too pretty to sit inside and on our way back we walked past the area where people bring their juvenile bulls to sell for their meat. But that also means there’s a bunch of irate bulls there. As a collective group we were chased by a bull tied to a rope but let’s be real, no 1 person can control a bull. The scene was mayhem as people screamed, laughed and grabbed little kids, but only for about 40 seconds. We all had a good laugh about it!! Later that evening, on the very same hill I was chased by the damn geese, I was met with another challenge. I spotted a baby bull and though oh he’s probably ok but when I rounded the corner I saw that there was a bigger male bull hidden by a randomly parked car!! So I could either run down the hill and run by the baby cow and be chased by the bull or run up the hill and take my chances. What can I say, I like living life on the edge. I boldly walked up the hill away from the bull but heard his mooing (male cows make the loudest screaming/angry noises) and ran like a cheetah to my house (which is really only about 40 feet away). That same bull came down the path seconds later and continued his screaming till he spotted another group of cows, again without a shepherd. The grandpa that lives with my landlady was very serious when he pointed to the bull and stated: “Nai Losh” which translates to “the worst” or “the baddest”. Apparently, because bulls/cows graze all day and people can’t stay with them all day they are left to graze by themselves and allegedly will walk themselves home. Which means, until the real winter comes I will be hesitant to go anywhere because of free roaming bulls. I embarked on what could either be a disaster or a success but I am planning and creating a Harvest Festival for the kids at the school. They will be going on a village scavenger hunt which is the trick or treating part and maybe play same group games, but here’s crossing my fingers that the weather holds for another week!! My awesome friend Michelle sent me a care package of the best arts and crafts stuff so the kids are making masks out of paper plates using construction paper, feathers¸ glitter, pipe cleaners and their imagination. It’s pretty awesome to see how excited the kids are about it and how it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still enjoy arts n crafts!! My village in general doesn’t celebrate Halloween and it might exist in bigger cities. Every so often, I am humbly reminded of the simplicity of things and this is one of those things…Finding joy and excitement in the simple things of life. Finally flea free,Sus The oldest tree in Bel Kamen on Green Day we helped

Park Rangers place signs on trees to not cut!

Friends!

 Friends and Lifelines- notice the short sleeved shirts???



 

 

 The next day, granted in a different part of the country, but still

I left the mountain wearing a short sleeved shirt

 Making masks, these two are my class clowns and this is the

QUIETEST they have EVER been including test days!

 Enjoying their first tastes of Jolly Ranchers!!

Thanks Michelle!!

I'm an auntie... again!! My sis had a little girl in August and it was one of those surreal moments seeing her on skype in the hospital but not being able to hold her or bond with her. As difficult as it was being here in Bulgaria away from family and friends, I had to remind myself, that was a sacrifice I had to make, but hopefully I will get to meet Ms. Khloe soon and I get to watch her grow up via skype, which is alot more than volunteers around the world have!Remember when I said I was determined to be the best potato picker EVER last month? Didn’t exactly meet my goal, but I would say I did pretty darn good!! September is the month for picking potatoes and the first time I went was a week and a half ago. I needed to go for a hike one day but upon starting my adventure I ran into a group of ladies who were working diligently in a very awkward hunchback posture and decided it was time to do some more integrating and I asked to help out. The really hard work (tilling of the ground and potatoes) had already been finished so I walked around a large field and collected potatoes according to size first. I did this for hours until the sky started to turn gray fast. We were able to clear out a large field and all walked home (I liken it to something outta Snow White and the 7 Dwarves when everyone is walking home with hoes over their shoulders) when suddenly everyone froze in unison. We all heard the same thing and it was the all familiar pitter patter of raindrops falling, to which we all begin to hurriedly run down a mountain side as lightning and thunder literally crashed around us in the forest. We weren’t fast enough, and I was soaking wet within seconds and as I ran to my home, everyone started yelling my name as if to say “Susie, you’re getting wet!!!” but it wasn’t like I had the choice of stopping and hiding under a tree. As I ran past people I knew (who were waiting in their homes) they were all laughing and encouraging me to run faster as well. The picture below is what happens after 5 minutes of rain exposure up here in Bel Kamen. The next day was my first full day of hard potato farming work and I have the utmost respect for the ladies here, cause that was a hard day’s work. I probably was bent over in a hunchback position for over 11 hours in the grueling sun and probably did over a 1000 squats and that was only 1 full day for me. The other ladies will do this for the rest of September until they’ve gotten all the potatoes!! I think I will always send out a little thanks to the world for the people who do some back breaking work only to make less than a lev (currently 1lev= $0.70) per KILOGRAM!!! I keep mentioning the ladies, cause the men were nowhere to be seen and when they did show up, they made themselves a nice picnic of good food and cold beers and waited while the ladies finished the work. I’d say the men were busy with their own work, but the unemployment rate here is over 95%. Nothing can be inferred from that but that woman really are better workers and can handle hard labor, boo ya.We celerated Bahraim (the end of Ramaddan) with 3 day of sweets and food and food. It was all too much, I received a large box of sweets and desserts and also received 3 large loaves of homemade bread. I gave most of it away, but the damage was already done cause at the end of the 3 days of gorging I came down with a stomach bug and vomitted for an entire night. Gross, yeah I know.Mikel, our country director and his partner came to my home for a visit and you know what the first thing they said was coming out of the car “this is the tiniest village and most rural we’ve been to”! Hey, if anything after all this is over, I get to say I had a real PC experience. School started last Thursday with quite the fanfare, speeches, music, flowers and chocolates !! I am teaching English to 1st-8th grade to a whopping 35 students TOTAL. It’s a very small school to say the least and as cute as the 1st graders are, they’re my most difficult group so far!! Hoping they calm down…eventually. Every month, I think I will share with you a new rule about village living and this month’s rule: If people are surrounding an animal and everyone is staring at it, walk the other direction. It will either be slaughtered or mated, either way, you don’t wanna see it. # witnessed slaughtered animals to date: 3# of cows being raped by a bull: 2My milking cow is no longer producing milk, cause she’s gonna have a baby soon, but will produce milk again right before giving birth, super excited to see the baby cow!! Still infested with fleas,Sus

 For my new baby niece! Purple Beans that cook to green ! 

 Typical evening scene, me hanging out with some of the village kids

 Sweets galore to celebrate the end of Ramaddan

(Bahraim in Bel Kamen, Eid elsewhere)

 Water games for the last day of summer school

 Water games turned into water wars, rather quickly

 My awesome Baba (Grandma)

 Bringing the animals home from pasture (the hussy's knocked up)

Soaked after 5 min in the rain!

 Shadows of the ladies before clearing another field, across the way

is the field that was cleared the day before (rain incident day)

 Went to Sofia and happened on this graffitti contest around

the ugliest statue in Europe (it has been voted as such)

 Kartoffi (Bulgarian) Combie (local dialect) or Potatoes (English) 



 







 

 

 

You know that awesome feeling you get when you put on your pajamas after a long day or finally take a shower when you really need one or the feeling you get after you get your teeth cleaned at the dentist? I’m starting to get those feelings now about my tiny little village. You know that feeling when you get when you’ve been on vacation and then you finally return to the all familiar feeling/comfort of your own bed and pillow? Yeah that’s it. That’s what I am finally feeling about my little studio home. Somewhere along the way, this place finally became home to me and for that, I am super glad. I had a conversation with my friend Joe a few weeks ago and that was something we were discussing and wondering, if our new homes would ever feel like home. And then bam! It happened. Let me back up by saying how I finally came to feel this way. Last weekend, I finally got to travel out of my South West Corner and went to see my friend, Jacob and we then travelled together the next day to meet my other friends on the Black Sea!!! It was AWESOME and exactly what I needed!! A few days of nothing but English with my fellow American Friends, Subway Sandwiches, Iced Coffee, swimming in the sea, pizza, beer, lce Cream and just plain old fun! It was lifesaving! But, I finally came home after 7 hours of travel to the comfort/familiarity of my home and village and I realized I felt a sense of relief and excitement about being able to sleep in my rusted, bumpy and uncomfortable bed!! I mean, it just kinda crept up on me and it happened!! The next day in class, I realized I was actually super excited to see the kids, even the naughty ones. JAugust 1st was the start of Ramadan (or Ramazan as our village calls it). I was awoken from my sleep by the sound of drums (or maybe it was pots and pans clanging) around 4am, but I was so tired I went right back to sleep. This is how they wake everyone up to eat, by clanging pots and pans or drums every morning. But I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard it since the first day, cause I have been covering up my head and sleeping soundly. Most all of my kids are waking up super early (around 3:30-4:00AM everyday dictated by a Ramadan schedule) to eat as they fast during the day and won’t eat until late evening. So you’d think they’d be calmer, but instead I have had super hyperactive kids this past week. I even made my 5th-8th graders run outside in the heat to get rid of their energy, yeah I know that was mean of me since their fasting and all, but dang, they were crazy and it had to be done! I am anxious and nervous about the end of Ramadan which then signifies the start of slaughtering season. I believe September 1st is the start of the season (I think it’s the Village’s Praznik or Anniversary) and the celebrations just go from there. I was asked which sheep I would like to have slaughtered first and I picked the one that always craps in front of my door (see attached picture) but I don’t know if he will be the one, since he’s the only male. Don’t ask me which animal to slaughter first because I do hold grudges, I’m just saying. September also begins our Potato harvesting season (we just finished hay harvesting) other Muslim towns also have Tobacco harvesting but I was told we are too high up to grow Tobacco and so potatoes it is! I tried to help chop some wood for the winter and after about 1 log, the Dyado (grandpa) just looked at me and took my axe from me. Apparently, I wasn’t successful at the wood chopping, but I am determined to be the best Potato harvester, ever. I am also starting to be more bold about being around cows, which yeah I know they’re gentle giants, but even the milking cows have these horns and it’s all fun and games til someone gets poked in the eye, don’t you know. My landlady brings me food almost on a daily basis and the least I can do is help milk the cows, even though it scares the crap outta me. Just to tell you how fickle our weather system is up here, I am wearing wool socks, hooded jacket, and jeans again and it’s August 5th. The rest of Bulgaria is dealing with humidity and mosquito infestation and I’m enjoying my cold weather, booyah!!!Peace and Greetings,Sus

Update: 8/17/2011Bulgaria has a new country director and he and his partner are coming to visit me tomorrow!!! Oh what to do with him, his partner is a published chef (so I refuse to cook them breakfast) so hiking it is, since that’s about all we got!Also, my awesome friends from home, Rachel, Casi (who just had a baby!!), Carmen and Casi's mom, Annie, (whom I've never met) sent me care packages from home and seriously brought tears to my eyes. Not because I missed stuff so bad, but because of their generosity, support and encouragement (even from a perfect stranger). My village kids are going to love to share the stuff with me! My cup runneth over.



Look who discovered Post Its, luckily have a million left to play with

Putting it on their heads was all their idea! 



Just another beautiful sight of rays coming through the clouds 



Hiking with some friends 



Homeless dogs/cats are a huge issue in Bulgaria, even in my

remote village in the moutains. No I am not keeping any... 



My home is the first window on the left, and this is my view! 

My room! 

My kitchen and that large silver thing to the left

will be my pechka (fireplace/stove) come winter 

 This is the sheep that likes to taunt me and leave surprises at my door, EVERY DAY  Sharing pictures of Home and previous trips!  Gospoja (Ms.) Susie and my younger kids  

Look what strolled through my door, I'll be honest, I screamed explectives,

Then went at it with my boots, since bug spray did NOTHING.



Finally!! I am teaching and working hands on with the kids of my village!! I have a wide range of kids aged 6-20 and am teaching English everyday and afterwards I have been organizing structured activities with the kids. Sounds like fun and easy work right? Yeah, no. I have the utmost respect for all the teachers, youth group leaders and professors who I have had in my life cause let me tell ya, thinking of what to do the next class, while trying to keep them entertained and interested in learning English, is no easy feat! Neither is thinking of new and creative games for the kids to play for 2 hours with no resources! Don’t get me wrong, I am actually really enjoying teaching and getting to know all the village kids, but with it definitely comes its own set of stressors, oh and the pressure brought on by the kids who always ask “E sega?” Which translates to “And now” to which I respond with my own blank face and say, “spo koino” which translates to “calm down, or relax”.But I have to say, I love my 5th-8th grade kids the most. Yeah, that’s right, I said it. I have a favorite class! They are the biggest class I have and the majority of the school but they are the most eager, fast (or is it fastest) learning, comical kids I have and I have blast with them! I’ve gone on 2 hiking/picnic trips locally with them and they have been a blast. I taught them “Red Rover” (remember that game???) and they can play for hours. Sometimes, it has gotten a little rough, but what’s a bloody nose and a bruised neck when they had fun getting it? Which brings me to another topic I’ve noticed about Bulgaria that’s different from the US. Some of which I find to be refreshing and other times a bit quizzical. For instance, Bulgarians just generally tend to live life on the edge a bit and here are a few examples I have noticed in the 4 months I have lived here: no car seats for kids (better yet no seat belts at all), an ample supply of sugar rich products that are eaten excessively and with no concerns about the ramifications of ingesting said products despite their age, letting kids play out in the neighborhood with little or no supervision (and I mean young kids) and playing with firecrackers near a wooden shed filled with the winter supply of wood (this happened a lot this week). But I can’t say that I have seen any of these things be an issue either, so maybe the issue is in America and not Bulgaria??? Not sure, but it’s definitely different here. Oh and how could I forget the most impressive act of all: speaking on the phone, smoking, changing the gears and mountain driving, all at the same time. I have been in a vehicle on more than one occasion in which this has occurred and yes, I was nervous, so much so, that once I yelled for the driver to pull over, to which I immediately began vomiting profusely. Or maybe it was the stench of BO (the BO here is definitely more pungent than in the states, and I have worked with 100s of homeless people in the states too) and cigarette smoke combined that finished me off?Last night (today is Saturday, July 16, 2011) our village had a Horo party (traditional Bulgarian dancing usually done is large circles while holding hands) and I was already nervous about everyone staring at me and guess what happened? Someone went up to the DJ who then played a slower song (as I said I would only dance if it was slower song) and repeatedly said my name, and mentioned I was a new addition to the village and dedicated a song to me. So I knew I had to dance it, but the worst part was that everyone was waiting for me to take center stage and start dancing !!! I was shaking like a leaf by the time I got to the center and grabbed people I knew, thinking we would all go down together. But luckily, it was a Horo I had danced before during my training and I didn’t have to wait long for the circle to grown. But it didn’t help that I was in the outer circle and could hear “who’s Susie” over and over again as the DJ continued to say my name through the song playing.Integration in my community has been much easier for me then other volunteers because my community is so small, for which I am super grateful and lucky. However, I am much more isolated from others than I would like. I don’t have frequent transportation and not many of my village people have cars they can drive on the main road and it takes lots of planning for me to leave the mountain and go see friends over the weekend, which also includes finding someone to either take me down to the next town or pick me up from the next town. I think I've mentioned before, that we were told in Bulgaria our condition of hardship would be much more psychological than physical and it has definitely proven to be applicable. But, I was without water for 4 days this week and without electricity for 2 days this week, and I would take the psychological challenges happily, as hiking for 4 hours and having no shower after for 3 more days, was wrong, just wrong. Ok enough rambling, gotta go, thunderstorms rolling in and I was told I could get electrocuted and die if my internet is connected!!! Maybe, I'll just live life on the edge and be a real Bulgarian and upload some pics instead!Missing you (even my friends in Bulgaria),Sus

Intense Game of Red Rover



See the tiny one in all black? She is tiny but mighty!



Yup, my favorite group!



Best group of girls ever!



Sunset with the Full Moon behind the Mosque



My youngest class

Village Pool (see the tiny one? She runs this village)

6/17/11So here I am, finally, after a year and a half of waiting and countless hours of wondering, writing to you from my new home in Bel Kamen, Bulgaria. You can Google search it but I guarantee you there won’t be much useful information. I am in the Rhodope Mountains but am neighbored by both the Pirin and Rila Mountains as well. I don’t know if words are enough to describe what my little village looks like but let’s say it’s small, very small. We have 1 main dirt road and really not much else, but we are surrounded by a beautiful forest and amazing scenery. Can’t really compare it to anything in the states cause I haven’t really experienced anything like it… rolling green hills and fields, sheep, cows and shepherds galore, and a juxtaposition of rustic living and modern technology. I guess I should back up and say, I passed my language test and also was officially sworn in as a PC Volunteer on Friday 6/10/11, and the next day my friends and I parted ways and I travelled to my new town. .. Only I had a stomach bug that didn’t make the trip a very pleasant one. When I arrived, I stayed at the director’s home and proceeded to sleep for 13 hours straight. Imagine a conservative Muslim woman suggesting I was hung over and suggested I should drink a beer, I laughed at the irony of the whole situation!! I told her it was a stomach virus and she remained skeptical until I continued to be sick for a few days after, but the great thing about living in such a small village, is that everyone knew about my stomach ailments… and I was offered multiple different cures and suggestions. I think the animals knew too and these cows have stares that make me believe they know everything that’s going on! I’m sure their down with the local gossip.The first few days of living here were somewhat frustrating and intimidating. I was SICK and just wanted to rest but had people follow me everywhere, walk in my home, and come by every hour asking if I wanted to do this or that… at first I didn’t know if I could handle it but I realized that this was their way of making sure that I am being taken care of, not in need of anything and most of all because they care. They have been requesting a volunteer at this site for over 2 years and since they finally have one, I am at the receiving end of much attention, which is going to take some getting used to. The stores here are very limited so I will take a 30 minute trip on the weekends to the local bazaar and stock up on necessary food items, but also to get a little different scenery and also cause I don’t want rickets and need some fruit. It’ll also be nice to get lost in the crowd (well as much as an Asian can) and to remain somewhat anonymous. Well living in a rustic village in the mountains will take some getting used to and case in point, I should always shut the door behind me in the corridor, cause you never know what might walk in… see below to see what wondered in my house and made me a little anxious. I love my little quaint studio home, it’s actually pretty modern for Bulgarian standards and they had been building it but by the time I arrived here, they were mostly finished. It’s quaint and perfect for my needs, although I could do without Kujo who lives right outside my window and am sure he’s killed a thing or two in his lifetime… we’re destined to not be friends I think. Well friends/family, enjoy some pics of my new home… in the meantime I will enjoy the real thing. ;)Missing you and Mangos,SusOh I forgot to mention about some other things that happened in the last few weeks! We had our Youth Development academy in Dolna Banya and got to work with some kids that live in an orphanage there and had a great time meeting the kids and actually getting to work with the kids. I don’t bruise easily, but let’s just say I had 2 of the largest bruises I’ve had in quite some time from an intense water balloon fight… I’d like a rematch. Ledenika Park, before entering the Ledenika (Ice) Caves

Whitney and James- gonna miss that Texan when he leaves Bulgaria in July!

 Amanda, James, Whitney and me, entering the cave!

 Having fun in Dolna Banya

and below is the video of a concert in the caves (outta order)

 Doing arts and crafts at the orphanage in Dolna Banya

 one of the views looking outta my village, Potato farms !

 not bad for a nightly view, huh?

 This is my village!!

 just behind the mosque and slightly to the right, is my house! 

 Yup- this is what wandered in my door, when I didn't shut it...

Update: Yesterday, I was walking down this short, steep hill, saw a flock of menacing geese, geared towards the right, only to realize the goose turned around and I was being chased by a hissing, deranged goose... ran down the hill ("Burzo" (fast) as my village people described my running techniques) to be met my this ankle biting mutt who proceeded to bite my jeans... all the meanwhile my whole village was watching/laughing. I'm not scared of little dogs or even big wild ones, but rather geeese... who knew they were so vicious???

It’s already been 2 months since I got to Bulgaria and also since the start of our Pre-Service Training (PST). The last few weeks were stressful to say the least. We had our language mid-term and we also were told where we would be going and working for the next 2 years. I originally requested to go to a small Muslim town to work in a school and surprise, I was actually placed about 15km outside of Bulgaria’s capital and largest city, Sofia. We had a “counterpart conference” in which we all met the people we will be working with for the next 2 years (colleague and someone to show you the ropes and help you integrate into your community), but I didn’t technically have a counterpart. I was surprised to meet, Teddy, a 14 year old kid who speaks great English. The shelter that Teddy is from is actually a shelter for homeless people, families and orphans. The shelter does not have a program and therefore, there were no other employees to send. After 4 days of the counterpart conference, I went with Teddy to the shelter. It was great seeing the kids and meeting the families that I would be working with but unfortunately, my directors and I didn’t think it was a good fit and so I am being placed elsewhere, a small Bulgarian Muslim town up in the Rhodope Mountains!! I will be an English Teacher in a school of a whopping 25 students, that’s right, 25. According to the school principal, the mayor of that village is VERY concerned with the increase of single men in the town (insert big smirk). The Bulgarian Muslim population is considered a minority here along with the Roma population, there’s this long history to it, and I’m 95% sure I’d repeat it incorrectly so I’m not gonna say what it is, but suffice it to say they are a minority and as such are at a disadvantage compared to mainstream Bulgarians. Some of my friends are going to be living/working in some amazing towns and villages. Some will be 10 minutes away from Greece, Turkey and some will be living right next to the Black Sea in towns with picturesque vineyards, you can imagine my envy. But I know that I will be no more than a train/bus ride from visiting everyone (even though it might be an all day, HOT train ride with babas (grandmas) that won’t open the window cause you will DIE if the wind blows) and so I’m still very excited for everyone.But before we all go our separate ways and start integrating in our respective places, we still have to pass our language tests and go through a Swearing in Ceremony (which I hear is quite the shindig). But it also means I have to say good bye to everyone. It’s so weird to think that just 2 months ago, we were all perfect strangers and somewhere along the way we all became friends and for some, familyesque, while we navigated our new towns and Bulgarian cafes, culture and lifestyles and in 2 weeks we will say good bye to go our separate ways. Our little safety and comfort zones will be poof, gone and we will have to build that back up again with new faces and primarily Bulgarians. I look forward to that process but mostly, I look forward to seeing how much Bulgarian I actually might know! Next week, our cluster group (Youth Development group) will be travelling to different cities to train with current volunteers for a week then I will be visiting my new future home up in the Rhodope Mountains. Did I tell you it has a population of a whopping 570 people? It’s near ski resorts and according to my director “the most luxurious spa resorts in all of Bulgaria”. My town has 1 magazine (small shop for basic food supplies, nothing like a Ralphs or Albertsons, as a matter of fact, grocery stores like Ralphs are an exciting adventure for me now) and 1 café. I am told I will probably be stuck up there during the winter… I’m currently brainstorming for different entertainment ideas and am looking forward to this adventure!! My host mom has taught me how to can fruits, but I’m worried that I’ll give myself Botulism, so I am going to rely on stockpiling pastas, rice and canned veggies for the winter. When I signed up for this, I said I wanted an adventure and I feel I’m definitely up for one now! Did I tell you about Na Gostis? Dinners that last for hours with lots of alcohol that’ll burn your stomach lining??? Well I’m off to one now, gotta drink the Rakia while I still can!Priyaten Den (Have a good day),Susps It appears that I have slacked off on the picture department and have no pics to share with you... not to mention the internet that I am "borrowing" isn't very dependable right now and won't even upload older pics... next time I will have more pics and pics of my new place!!

I admit I felt a little guilty when I found out that I was serving in PC Bulgaria. I always envisioned myself wearing flip flops, long dresses and carrying a basket of food above my head while balancing 5 gallon jugs of water on both sides of me and walking 10 miles to get to my dung hut, when I thought of myself as a PC volunteer. So imagine my skepticism when we were first told that our challenge or our “condition of hardship” would not be the physical things or lack of material things here in Bulgaria, rather it would be a mental condition of hardship. How very true this is starting to become for me. The last few weeks has been a little bit of an emotional roller coaster for me as let’s just say “the honeymoon is over” and things are getting real. It’s a lot for anybody to have to suddenly move in with perfect strangers and be put in a group of random strangers who really only have the English language and being from America in common initially, all while trying to adjust to a new language, culture and being in a fishbowl, a VERY small fishbowl. Without even knowing it, I have been experiencing (to different degrees) the mental conditions of hardship that I was told about. I knew that I would have people stare at me as I had this happen quite a bit during my travels in Romania. And without any exaggeration, I have had a trainload of people turn around and stare at me for hours. I know that this is out of curiosity, but it still doesn’t make it any easier to deal with it and it makes you feel like you are being overly scrutinized and definitely makes you feel quite vulnerable. It also just makes me mad after a while. In America, we have personal space bubbles and yes, mine may be a little bit larger than most people’s, I guarantee you that those stares and glares can make you feel way outta your element. I admit that when I first arrived to my training site, I felt somewhat protected within my circle of friends and with my co-trainees. But the staring got old real quick and it has been an ongoing issue for me. I just hope that I will be able to integrate well enough in my permanent site that I this will not be an issue for me and/or I will be able to find a strong enough support system where I can also feel empowered enough that this will not be an issue for me. I mean, I’ve got a nice little Mezdra bubble going here. I’ve got a great host family, great training group and an awesome language trainer. I’ve got a Dyado who takes care of starting the pechka (fireplace/heating system) the second the temp drops below 60 degrees, I mean who could ask for anything more? But that’s not what I came here for.The last couple of weeks we have had the opportunity to play with the kids from the orphanage again and also from the school we are studying at and I am ready to start doing some more hands on stuff and am very eager and excited to find out where I will be going. We had an amazing community service day in which we helped organize and plan a cleanup of the school that we are taking classes in currently. It’s a large school but definitely an old building. For several hours, almost 75 students and several teachers, our whole PC training group and our language instructor participated in cleaning up the school, cleaning out the attic (which looked it had stuff from the early 1920s), cleaning up the outdoors playground (picking up trash, pulling out weeds and painting basketball hoops and goal posts). It was a pretty incredible experience in which we finally got to be more personal with the kids, play with them while demystifying ourselves to them. Until then, I have had my own personal groupies/posse/peoples that would follow me into the bathroom by the hoards and then go and get their friends to check out the American in the bathroom. Yeah, I knew we would be a mysterious enigma for them but we may have reached celebrity status for them. I kid not, they have asked for our autographs and have literally watched our every move while giggling, pointing and staring… very cute. Now we are having more “Hellos” said to us and definitely receiving more smiles and waves… This upcoming week is the biggest part of our whole Pre Service Training in that we find out where we will be working/living for the next 2 years… I told my program directors that I came here for a challenge and I feel like those will be my famous last words… wish me luck !!

Missing you and Dryer sheets,

Sus

 Egg Dye- Colored over 100 eggs with the family 



 Just a small batch of eggs, ate eggs for a week 

 Start of Community Service day 

 The amount of stuff in the attic was no joke- but the kids smiled the WHOLE time!!!



 New Friends and the boy to my (R) was my personal translator 



 3rd grade class and my friends painted this sign with the actual artist 



 Some of the kids that helped and us volunteers. Can you see me? 

 Monastery just 15 minutes from my town

You know what’s crazy? I’m entering my 4th week of my training and feel like I have been here for a week. We found the local current PC volunteer in Mezdra and she opened up a whole new world of fabulous restaurants with cheap liters of wine for us! Not to mention, Mezdra is also a local train stop and so we have seen quite a few volunteers get off the train for a doonyer or two and have been meeting more volunteers! We have yet to tackle the local discotech, and my host mom has put the fear of God in me saying that it would not be safe to go without a local Bulgarian. So my brain interprets this as “why would I go anywhere, if I would require a bodyguard?”Language lessons are going, but just this last week, I had an epiphany. We had been in the country for only 3 weeks (with only 2 weeks of intensive language) and we were already writing paragraphs. Pretty awesome… I think. I still have my moments where my mind checks out especially when the language part gets a little more complicated, at which point nothing will work, except a coffee break. I have to say, having a great café and shops all around, are going to be problematic for me especially since I really have to budget now. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll tell you the truth, Bulgarian cafés are more than that, they have alcohol (cheap alcohol)… so yeah when I say we’re going to the Café, it really means, we’re going to get some alcohol…Today was especially one of those days that put a smile on my face and a spring in my step. We had our first field trip as youth development volunteers so I got to go to what is called a “Day Care Center” for special needs kids, but this is not like a pre-school by any means. They have kids with neurologic, developmental and physical disabilities in a program and receive services from other disciplines and professionals in physical, speech, occupational and mental health therapy. Pretty impressive… but the highlight of the day was going to an orphanage. After a very ummmm what’s the word, oh right, Bummer of a speech, we got to wait outside while the hoards of children came running out to meet us and play with us. My friend, Lauren, had the brilliant idea of playing elbow tag (remember that old school game) and the kids seemed to have fun with it and it also was a great ice breaker. We also played a game of soccer against the older kids, I’d like to tell you that we let them win on purpose but that would be a straight out lie. Before the game even started, I saw outta the corner of my eye, my friend, get hit by the ball so hard he practically fell to the ground (for his ego’s sake, I won’t post his name, but you know who you are, love ya!!) and after that I was SCARED for my life, I won’t lie. I screamed a bit… the worse part of the game? The fact that we were playing against one kid who had on flip flops, another kid with a broken hand that still had traction on his hand, and kids half my size !!! The rest of us ran around, pretending we knew what we were doing, but it was hard and I’m talking sweating up a storm and day dreaming about Gatorade hard. By the time we had to leave, the kids that wouldn’t give me a “high five” initially were giving out high fives, telling us they enjoyed playing elbow tag and wondering when we were coming back. In Romania, I had been to a couple of institutions for abandoned babies (pretty hard core institutions) and so in my head, I was expecting a similar scenario, but what I got were kids wanting attention, thriving on attention (let’s face it, none of us were fluent in Bulgarian so we weren’t really communicating with them), and lots of smiles. Yes, there are definitely some aspects of it that conjure up the stereotypical image of what an institution might be, but I can see the hope and potential for change. Some random information, we had 1 of our PC docs come by and review medical stuff with us, and she almost, almost, made me panic when she said “when you’re in the middle of winter and the water has been turned off for 8 days and there is not enough heating, you need to think of alternative food sources”. Wait, what? I have to cook??? Project 1, when I arrive to my permanent site: meet the locals and a baba (grandma); they have the potential to be the providers of my alternate food source.Also, to make this beautiful and amazing day all the more better, I got 2 cards from people back home!!! (Shout out to Mark and Gloria). I was sooooo ecstatic; I danced like an idiot and got choked up when I read the cards. After weeks of gloomy, cold weather, we were finally rewarded with the most beautiful day filled with smiles and twinkly eyes… Happily Content in Bulgaria,Susie Me and the girls, picking veggies for lunch  Dyado Ivan, whose garden we picked from! Getting the eggs ready for some old school pechka cooking Beautiful day in Mezdra... hoping there's more of them!

 Martenitsa bracelet (given to you in the beginning of March) to be worn until you see a stork or your first blooming tree, that's my first Martenitsa on a bloomng tree

 My little brother brought me flowers, we are buddies now, FYI !!

Originally written on 4/4/2011

I’m sitting in my room for the next 3 months, kinda still pinching myself and trying to remind myself, that this is real. The last week, er actually last month, has been an absolute whirlwind. I left California, Sunday March 27th for Philly and got swept up in the whirlwind of what is “Staging” for PC. Basically, went through training all day Monday and Tuesday with my new 39 colleagues (do you still call them that if we are all volunteers? Perhaps, it’s good that I’m not a TEFL teacher) and immediately began forging friendships, well cause frankly I’m going to be with them for the next 2 years and because I like them (I’m not just saying that because they may read this either). I genuinely think we have a great group! So fast forward a few days (since all I did on the flight was just sit there like a lump on a log for too many hours) and land me in a little mountainous town just north of Greece (yes, the country). Where I really started getting to know the other group members and hanging out with them… our little retreat was, well for lack of a better word, awesome! I loved it so much but I knew that things would eventually change since we were always reminded that we would be living under “conditions of hardship”! We were introduced to Bulgarian food (the hotel was asked to cook basic Bulgarian food for us) and I think the food rocks. Back in the USA, I hated Tomatoes but here they taste differently (was told it gets even better cause the tomatoes we ate were imported) so I ate sliced tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner with my new favorite cheese (and I’m sure it will be the culprit for my pending rapid weight gain), Syranae (my spelling of the word), which tastes like a milder version of feta. We were filled with more information then I can retain every day, but am now appreciating the language lessons, despite me not looking forward to them previously, while under the influence of jetlag. Fast forward again, where you land me in my current town of Mezdra with my awesome training group and language instructor (who also had to move here for the next 3 months). I have to say, we are pretty darn lucky to be in this well developed town. It’s small but has everything I need. Other fellow, PC trainees are currently peeing (and other bodily functions) in outhouses or out in the wild, so I can’t complain, at all. In my group we’ve got Amanda, Lauren, Raydrienne, Bailey and me… yup, you’re right, pretty darn cool group. Petko is our language trainer and although soft spoken cracks me up… My host family is dang cool too. My host mom is much younger than me but my host father is my age and I have a 5 year old brother. My host brother looks about 10 but is only 5 they say. He is wary of me but I’m determined to be his BFF before I leave (too ambitious?). The chocolates, candy and Disneyland map didn’t seem to do the trick, I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve. Chasing the family dog with him today didn’t do it either.I’ve got a Baba and a Dyado (grandmother and grandfather) that live below me and I went downstairs to check out Dyado working out in the backyard today and we bonded over trying to chase the damn family dog (that is a hairy chow beast) to chain her up. We were cracking up and he just began talking to me as if we were old friends, so I just replied, “Da, da” cause I had no idea what was being said. I also have a chicken coup!! Soooo awesome, until I saw the male chicken (yes I know what he word is, just couldn’t get myself to write it) beat the crap out of another chicken, I yelled out an expletive, and thank god, no one understood me. Freaking bully that yells, nay, screams at the crack of dawn… (can you eat a male chicken?) This is after I witnessed what I believe to be a neighbor’s cat raping another cat. I use that word, because the other cat was asleep, I’m sure it was non-consensual, of course I yelled out another expletive while I witnessed this from my outside balcony, where I was enjoying the beautiful sunshine and my awesome ability to hang laundry on a clothesline.My host mom is awesome and has gone out of her way to make me feel welcome…she made me a great dinner for my first day here, who knew microwaved chicken could be so yummy? I believe my previous skills of being a master at charades are coming in handy as I try to communicate with my non-English speaking family. I am actually quite thankful they don’t speak English, because it has been both challenging and stimulating and forcing me to think more in Bulgarian and use the thinking part of my brain a little more.Update: Just after writing that last statement I had my first Na Gosti (looonnnggg visit with others), mine was only 2 and a half hours but I honestly had a good time and laughed A LOT, which was just perfect and what I needed. My host dad’s cousin, wife and 4 year old son came over for dinner at 9pm!! I’m starting to get the impression, Mezdra or my family specifically are a bunch of night owls !! Hope I can keep up… oh and they offered me Rakia (Bulgarian version of some hard alcohol) and I got excited cause I’ve been hearing about it for MONTHS so I drank some, almost died and then said “Ne obeechum Rakia” ( I don’t like Rakia) which led to hysterical bouts of laughter and then they revealed it was freaking “Whiskey Scotch”… yeah not Rakia and not cool. I did also have my first offer to be set up with a boyfriend, which our guest said would be the fastest way for me to learn Bulgarian… funny guy that one. He sat next to the computer during the Na Gosti and google translated everything for me (google translate kinda failed me though at times) including, he’s going to the bathroom… to pee (when their son went downstairs). I also gave my family a box of taffy from the Long Beach Aquarium and to which the cousin also commented, a great “nautical gift”, ha!!I enjoyed my first Na Gosti and have a sore tummy from laughing so hard! Sorry the update was sooo long, I had lots to say, lots of pent up thoughts that needed to make its’ way out!! Laughing in Bulgaria,

Susie

Lay over in Munich with my new PC buddies



The site of our pre-PST in the mountains



New Friends... 



view from my balcony on my 1st night at host family's home...

Chasing Riya!



I've got Chickens and Ducks and Fresh Eggs!

Update to the last Update: Via translator, I was just informed, that what I have been drinking through this first week is in fact Rakia (the stuff is fierce). Oh and my little host brother and I are communicating more and I think him bringing me wildflowers are a good sign of things to come… he’s too dang cute.

I've been just kinda sitting here in front of the computer with my mind running 1000 miles an hour, trying to organize my thoughts... because believe me, the thoughts are running. The last couple of weeks have been an emotional yet exhilarating time for me. I had a 30 something birthday, Japan was struck by not just a massive earthquake, but washed away by a Tsunami (which then reminds everyone here in California, we're still waiting for the "big one" and then we all talk about apocalyptic events and different scenarios which just stresses the heck outta me), Charlie Sheen has announced he's going on tour (someone needs to give him some mood stabilizers, a touch of an antipsychotic and just call it a day)... oh and I think I am finally packed. I'll be honest, I have SEVERAL boxes that need to be sent to me once I have my permanent site. =) Like my friend Noel says, "I need options". In 5 days, my family will be dropping me off at the airport and I'll be making my way to Philadelphia, where I will be meeting "my peeps" and then we will all leave together next Tues for Bulgaria. I will probably a sobbing mess when I have to say good bye to my family, but I know without a doubt, I am supposed to be going to Bulgaria, right now, at this time in my life... but I have to say, it still doesn't feel real. Since my mind is just outta control right now, I decided to just show some pics (the good pics are courtesy of Rachel) from the last couple of weeks of Disneyland and a good bye party !! Maybe the next time I write again, I'll have found my spunk and wit again!

 My Niece and I @ Disneyland

  Rachel !!

 Niece and I at Good bye party !! Yum Yum Yum !! Thanks Jeanie !!

Rachel, Me, Carrie and Baby !

Rachel, Ruby, Me, Gloria, and baby

Annie

Ali, Nugget Creed, Noel and Ruby @ Wicked !

Lots more pics of other friends and party pictures on my sis's camera (but question is will I ever see those pics again) and so many people I didn't get a chance to take pictures with =( but I have my mental pictures and memories to sustain me during my time in Bulgaria... Thanks to everyone who came out and I will miss everyone... I carry you in my ♥ !

So if you would refer to my first post ever, I mentioned that I am writing these blogs as a mere form of entertainment and that you would probably end up saying, "OMG Susie" as you read them? Well cause the weirdest things happen to me? Case in point, my thumb. In January, my thumb got stuck between the boat and a ladder as I was making my way up the dive boat , got a nice laceration and apparently trapped something in there too that later healed all nice all on it's own. Well, it was bothering me for the last few weeks and so my MD said it was time to take the sucker out... so on Wedn 3/2/11 @ 0800, I gave birth to a rock of stone or something. Forutnately, it was not a worm but unfortunately, it was not Gold. The MD had no idea what it was but stated "yeah it was longer than I thought it would be". See the weirdest things happen to me. (To the PC medical people, there were NO tendons, ligaments or bones involved and it was a simple outpatient procedure to remove the stone).

Anyway, that story has a purpose I promise. Because I had to have that little procedure done I got some time off of work for medical leave ! Talk about perfect timing, eh? I'm running around like a manic person (insert comment about Charlie Sheen here). Well unfortunately, I didn't realize that because I have been so busy with the little stuff and also trying to spend time with all of my friends, I haven't really processed the fact that I am leaving. It's all becoming quite real and somewhat overwhelming. I find myself becoming tearful a little easier or totally evading the words "good bye or when I leave". And I'll be honest I find myself getting upset when people talk about my departure, I minimize what they are saying cause of how it affects me. Yeah, talk about good coping skills. Some might call that denial I suppose, but I call that self-preservation !

Before all of that craziness happened, I was asked by the PC office to do an interview with a local Korean Newspaper, that was fun until I read the article and saw my disasterly picture. The article itself was great and discussed how S. Korea had PC volunteers years ago and now Korean-Americans are being chosen as volunteers, which is awesome. The current US Ambassador to Korea was a former PC volunteer in Korea !! Cool huh?

I'm no longer imagining packing "perfect suitcases" cause my stuff is ALL over the place and my new goal is to just shove it in til it fits while being mindful of the weight restrictions. He he... by the way my staging city tickets are all booked (Philadelphia) and so are my flights to Sofia, Bulgaria!! I've got lots going on in the next few weeks and will hopfully be able to update this blog before I leave, but just an FYI, I won't have internet access for about a week after I depart the USA and I don't really know how often I will be able to access internet after that (depends on my host family's situation). But in case you feel compelled to write me old school hand written letters (HINT HINT HINT) the following will be my mailing address until June 10, 2011 (but please mail all things before May 1st, as it may take weeks to receive anything).

Susie Ro

PO Box 425

Central Post Office

Vratsa 3000, Bulgaria

Already Missing You,

Susie

So this is my first blog post !! I'll be honest, I just googled "how to start a blog" to get this far. (insert big smile here)

As my info states, I am leaving in exactly 7 weeks today to a "Staging city" (yet to be told where) a day before I leave the USA to head over to Bulgaria. I'm told I am going to be a social worker in the youth development program and no, I have no idea what city/village/town I will be staying in until I have successfully completed 3 months of pre-service training. You'll be hearing more on that I'm sure. I started this blog as a journal for myself and also for my family, friends and co-workers back home, something to read in your spare time. I do not pretend to be a writer nor am I gifted with poetic speech as I use "dude", "like" and "peace out" quite a bit (product of So Cal-clearly), so you probably won't be inspired by my writing as much as you might laugh at me and say "OMG Susie" quite a bit, because Lord knows the weirdest things happen to me... In the words of my friend Bopal, "I wasn't born here" and English is my second language. Those are my disclaimers.

Well to make a long story short, I've always been a dreamer (think it comes with being a Pisces). I LOVE travelling and in the last year or so have had some stressors at work that made me realize I stopped loving my job and I was ready for a change, a big change. I guess I was on a quest to find out what else I wanted with my life. I'm sure I made my friends dizzy during this period in my life cause I applied for (wait for it...) over 20 jobs (from Hawaii to UK), 2 universities (for nursing school), Certificate of Social Work in the UK (seriously look it up, I'm registered in the UK-although I think it might expire soon) and multiple jobs ALL over the World. I was especially inspired and motivated after travelling to Italy and Romania to visit my friend who lived in Romania as a missionary. She mentioned Peace Corps a few times but no joke, I envisioned myself in a military uniform and thought it was too much, how little did I know. I began the Peace Corps application in November of 2009. I was offered a volunteer position in Cambodia for May 2010 but right around that time, broke my wrist in yoga and I had to defer my invitation. I was almost 100% sure I wouldn't be offered another position until I received the call July 2010 and got the formal invitation in August 2010 !! I couldn't be more thrilled about Bulgaria as I had been to Eastern Europe twice before and loved it !! To be able to volunteer in a country that is only 20 years or so out of communism is to be part of an amazing thing... and I feel immensely grateful that I was chosen to be a volunteer here and can't wait for all that I get to learn and experience!

In prep for my move to Bulgaria I am "studying" the Cyrillic alphabet and let me just say this, there are no Latin roots in the Cyrillic alphabet and some of the letters look like alien crop shapes (you know the ones in the corn fields). I'm just saying...

Andale Pues, (no that's not Bulgarian, it's still Spanish)

Susie