Homeward Bound

This hasn't been updated in awhile. I will try and fill in the last few weeks before IST on Sunday. So let's start at the top.
This past weekend I went to visit my friend Drew in Razgrad, a city about a third of the way across the country from me. Traveling in Bulgaria is always an adventure. While waiting for the bus in Razgrad I happened to hear someone swearing fluently in English, then Spanish, behind me. Kakvoooh? I turn around to one of the most unlikely sites in all of Bulgaria, a Mexican Mormon. Now, Mormons are that uncommon, they are sprinkled about Bulgaria on mission trips. However, knowing I had a two hour bus ride ahead of me and, frankly, just plain curiosity, I struck up a conversion with him. He had met his wife when she was on a mission trip to Mexico, ended up getting married and moving back to Utah with her. So, in the Mormon church you can go on another mission trip once you are 50. So he is living in Turkey now, and took a vacation to Romania and was staying with a friend in Razgrad for the night. Crazy.
The day past with the usual haze of a 20-something birthday weekend and once again I was on the road; this time with the unhelpful addition of a horrible hangover. I arrive 30 min early for the bus to Varna only to find out that it is sold out. However, you can usually get a spot standing on the bus if you don't mind. I was in no position to argue with the idea of getting home in a speedy manor to a warm and comfy bed to ride out the remainder of this chemically induced hell. However, having most likely kneeled at the wrong statue and prayed to the wrong deity, I would be riding home on a double decker bus. My initial excitement at this fantastic novelty quickly waned when I realized that the ceiling of the bus on both floors was only a shade over 5 ft. Now I am 5'11", so that "shade" really wasn't going to cut it. And being packed like sardines in the aisles meant no chance of sitting down. Well, this is just going to be spec-freakin-tacular. Two hours standing with my head cocked to the side already feeling bright and chipper. Thankfully, the bus broke down about an hour in. Yes, after an hour I was thankful for the reprieve. And even better we broke down within walking distance of a roadside shop where I bought some water. Returning to the bus in time to see the remnants of the engine fire put out and a bus from Shuman (a city half way between razgrad and Varna) called I hopped on and proceeded to pass some time at the Shuman bus station till another bus could be rounded up to take us all on. Thankfully, they had to get two buses, which was almost perfect for everyone on the whole bus to get a seat, save three. I being a stupid, stupid gentleman gave up my seat to a rather attractive woman. Anyone who says chivalry is dead can go kick rocks. So I passed the remaining hour of the journey sitting on the step next to the bus driver. I arrived in Varna just as the train to Dalgopol was leaving. Hooray! Thankfully the next one was at 5:45. So after a quick bit of grocery shopping I make it to the train station, find a comfy bench and relax. And relax a bit too much because I fall asleep. Luckily the arrival of the train wakes me and I get back (finally) to Dalgopol, none to worse for wear. Ah, the fun adventures of a Peace Corps Volunteer never stop.

The Adventure of the Trying to Catch a Bus.

There are somethings you take for granted. When you flick a light switch, the circuit is completed and by magic the lights turn on (Sorry Mr. Delaney, I wasn't paying that close of attention but I'm 75% sure that is what you said). When you flush the toilet, something happens. These and so many other little luxuries I took for granted in the US. Thankfully, these are only occasional set backs but tiny reminders that I am not in suburbia anymore.
Now, don't get me wrong, if I was a PCV anywhere else I doubt I would have so awesome perks as I do here. There is even a sweet, US style grocery store about 25 km away!
And that is the topic of the day, trying to get there. 25 km is only about 15 miles. I would be a totally easy bike ride. The town of Provadia would def make it worth it. There is the problem of the hill. I may have mentioned the hill before, but the hill is unstoppable. The hill is guardian of Provadia, only the worthy may pass.
So that leaves the bus. The Bus has no problem with the hill. However, the bus is just as difficult as the hill. It is an elusive minx. Impossible to catch. It is like a unicorn and a leprechaun had a baby. Not in looks, but in the ease of catching... you know what I mean.
It has been a week, and despite the constant reassurance that there is in fact a bus at that time I have yet to see it. People in fact have claimed to ridden it. So where is this bus?
So, as I type this.... Seriously, where is the bus?

You take the good with the bad

So I really need to work on updating this a bit more.
The school year has begun. It is unlike any high school I have ever been in. Marusia was way to great and made controlling the students look so easy. (Side note: I hope all the best for you! Glad you got out from under that horrible woman!) Needless to say, I lack her flair. There are only 2 classes that give me any real trouble. Yet for some reason those classes last FOR-EV-ER! I think my 12th grade class would give me trouble, but I haven't seen more than 3-5 of them on any given day. This might become an issue considering they are a class of 15+ students. Not quite like my brief stint at Linden Hall. Not even the ghetto school (sorry Forrest) in Wilmington. I'm adjusting and we'll leave it at that.
Other than the occasional homesick for America and claustrophobia of living in such a small town life is pretty good.
Last weekend was a perfect example of the good and bad of Bulgaria. I was going to go to Varna to see Neil one last time before he COS-es, takes one last tour of Europe and heads back to the good ol' USA. I was going to take the train up, catch a city bus to the bus station and then walk around the malls and get some thai food. (If you haven't picked up on it, I freaking love Inter-Thai.) The morning train ride started off shitty. There was a drunk guy on the train (at 9:30 am mind you) yelling and making an ass of himself. After I had enough of it I moved to another compartment and he followed me there. Finally the train cop wandered through and after a huge ordeal kicks the guy off at the next stop. Ugh! Then as we get in to Varna it starts to rain! Well, doesn't that just suck? No worries, I'll hop on the next bus and head to the mall and meet Neil. I miss the bus by seconds and have to wait for the next one... in 20 minutes... in the rain. Given my solid even keel and patience of a saint this is no problem. I'm kidding, I flagged down the next cab passing. I meet up with Neil, Ashley and another B24 Tobias who was great company. We have a blast. Great little coffee shop and some cool stores. Head to lunch and meet up with a bunch of other volunteers. (I'm telling you, this place is like catnip for Americans). We head out to another of Varna's malls (It has THREE!?!?!) to check out an amazing store Zara and go to the grocery store in the basement. Zara might become a problem. I've never walked in to a store and liked absolutely everything (with the exception of the skinny jeans. I mean honestly... stop that). Hit the grocery store and bought cheddar cheese. Super excited for Mac and cheese. Kashkaval, bulgarian cheese, just doesn't cut it. The way back to the train station we hit another brick wall of crappiness. Neil and Ashley's train leaves in 25 min. It is only about a 10 min cab ride, so no real worries. Until we manage to get in to one of these criminal cab drivers cabs. Most cities in the modern world have easily and quickly solved the problem of being ripped off by cabs by sitting down and setting a common, across the board rate. Bulgaria hasn't gotten around to this yet and so corruption still reigns. This jerk tries to charge 20 lv for a 4lv cab ride. After a good deal of ugliness we get to the train station and Neil and Ashley make their train. It really pissed me off that what should have been the end of a wonderful day was ruined by petty greed by some jerk.
So, I must say sorry if this comes across as bitchy and dismal, but that's life! Darkest before dawn, keep on trucking, Vote Nader in 04 and all that. Ok, maybe not the last one. But the others work, right?

Something wicked this way comes...

Today was my first day of school. Like all first days at a new school it was an awkward and psyche scarring event. It also showed me how bad my bulgarian is. I am pretty sure my colluges think I am borderline retarded. It also made me realize how difficult it must be when I speak english at a million miles an hour. It was a learning experience to say the least. Tomorrow I will have a bit of a reprieve since I have to go to Varna to pick up my new Bulgarian ID. Super excited to see how bad the picture turned out.
2 weeks ago I was at a confrence on the other side of the country with all the other TEFLs and the CODs for a few day. It took 26 hours to get there. To put it in perspective, I could drive from pennsylvannia to florida in 26 hours. On a plane I could fly from New York to Australia. The country, however, is about the size on Tennessee. You just have to laugh.
The conference was a blast. It was great to see everyone and I met a lot of really cool B25s. We taught a 10th grade class at a Language High School in B-grad. The kids were great and really patent with us since, for the most part, we didn't teach them anything new. B-grad was a pretty neat town. I saw two movies, Salt and Inception, with popcorn and drinks for less than the cost of a ticket in Lancaster. Got to love that exchange rate!
The most fun I think was the night we all hung out on the steps drinking. Myself and 2 other volunteers organized a beer run for the whole group. We bought close to 30 2 liters, 4 or 5 bottles of Black Ram Whiskey. It was hilarious to see the look on the cashier's face when we were checking out. After that one of the B25s, Nat, broke out his guitar and serenaded us.
Last week there wasn't a whole lot going on. I bought a bike so now I don't have to wait for the damn bus. The only problem is that Peace Corps requires me to wear a helmet when I ride. No complaints, it is stupid not to. The problem comes in trying to find a helmet that fits my enormous head. I bought one so that I could ride it back from Provadia without being keel hauled by the PC, but it is a bit snug and gives me a headache. That combined with the 20 km ride over a mountain makes it an unpleasant journey. Also it makes me realize that despite losing weight I am still not it great shape.

Home Sweet Bulgaria

The past few weeks have been a series of adventures. I was sworn in as an official Peace Corp Volunteer and moved to my new home almost 3 weeks ago. My little town is about 30 km from the coast and 60 km from Varna (the biggest town in the region). It takes about an hour to get there by train. The funny thing is it costs about 4 leva to get to Varna, by bus or by train, or 3 leva to get to the next town over, a 5 min bus ride. Not quite sure how that works, but it is what it is. There are a ton of volunteers around the region and Varna is the main hang out hub. Plus, there is a Thai Restaurant there. And I LOVE thai. Not Charles though.

My apartment is not much to look at. It is small. I mean really small. My entire apartment is slightly larger than my bedroom in college. If anyone remembers my bathroom on Wilbur st, it would be described as ‘spacious’ compared to my current one. On the plus side it will be really easy to heat in the winter. Just baking heats the whole place up. The place is right off the center of town so I don’t have a far walk to get anywhere. In fact, there is a small bazaar right outside the entrance that sells fresh fruit and vegetables.

Other than that I have been super busy with getting settled in and starting work. I have been working with the student council trying to make a school webpage. Trying to do something creative by committee is not easiest and I have my natural Wolfgang patience. However, we are making some decent progress so I am trying not to be cynical. Other than that I am teaching some English in the afternoons and I am starting to write some grants to try and build the school a decent gym/ workout room. It is slightly self serving since I would love a place to workout, but students have all said that it is something that they really want. The real fun is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I get to do my normal summer routine, aka, playing kickball. I have taught about 15 kids the game. I consider this one of my more impressive feats considering my poor language skills (though I did pass the minimum requirements for Peace Corps) and the fact that the kids have no knowledge of the rules of baseball, or for that matter, a game of baseball. Explaining everything from what a base is on up has been a real challenge. I get to use the computer in my counterparts office a few times a week, so I spend a fair portion of that on Google translate.

I should have internet at home sometime soon (hopefully whenever I post this is an indication). The internet company has been promising to turn it on for a few days now. I would describe business moving on ‘island time’. Nothing is really rushed. Case and point is getting my Bulgarian ID card. It is called the Linchna Carta. The process to issue the card takes the better part of 6-8 weeks. Everything goes through a tiny office in Varna so there is always a sizeable line. Last Friday, after waiting 1 week for 2 signatures, I went to get my photo taken and fingerprinted. Unfortunately it was too hot that day so the boss wasn’t in. So, I had to go back on Monday. Monday, however, I was taking a group of students to the beach. So after a day on the beach and no shower I went and got my photo taken for my official Bulgarian Identity card. My brother, Justin, has a passport photo that makes him look like he just got off a 3 day bender. This picture makes me look like I went on a Keith Richards style 3 day bender.

I’m still losing weight like crazy, which I love. I have scaled back the running. It is way too hot and I don’t have Tessa here to make me go. That and there is no good area to run. The track in Knezha was really nice and the hill we would run up was a lot of fun. Here the track is super over grown and I am not supposed to run outside of town due to wild dog attacks. This leaves running through town and up and down the hill that the town is built on. I have a good circuit to run, but the stares and pointing are a bit uncomfortable.

This past sunday I went to a near by town for lunch and to hang out with the other volunteers around. There are 3 volunteers in the next town over, but no easy way to get there till I buy a bike. The town is only about 7-8 km away, but on the other side of a mountain, so to get there is about 20 km so I have to take a bus. Sadly, there are only 2 buses a day, a morning one and an afternoon one. There are no set times for the bus. The morning one comes between 7:30 and 8, so I try and get that one, but the afternoon comes pretty sporadically. After I get there we run up to see this ancient fort above the town, both grab showers and meet the other volunteers for coffee. Then grocery store!! I am really missing big grocery stores. Wegmans, Whole Foods, Stauffer's. I would even settle for a Weis. The one we went to was like an Aldi's but compaired to the stores in my town it was epic. I will def have to make a monthly trip there to stock up. So after a really excellent lunch we check the bus times. There is one at 6pm. Perfect! So around 5:45 I get to bus stop only to find the bus came and went about 20 min ago. The bus came a full half hour early! So I had to take a taxi (rather pricey) back home. All and all it was still a pretty great little adventure!

That’s all for now!