Last week I found out where I will be living for the next two years. It’s a village of about 2000 people near Veliko Turnovo, which is a former capital city of Bulgaria. It’s slightly north and east of the center of Bulgaria - about 3 ½ hours by bus east of Sofia. Lots of green rolling hills, agricultural fields and of course fields. When I visited my village I felt like I was in parts of rural Wisconsin or Iowa. Because the bus rides are long – there are movies available. One way they played two American movies with Bulgarian sub-titles “Robo Doctor” (with Alan Thicke) and another one about a starlet that joins the army. Going the other direction it was an action movie – Bulgarian I think. While it was tempting to study using the subtitles, I was too busy watching the scenery!
Geography – there is a river running through town and it is clean and many frogs call it home – quite a chorus these days! Like most villages there is a town center with a park, monument, and plenty of trees for shade on summer days and benches to sit for a spell to people watch or chat with friends – new and old. Someone also mentioned to me that the train to the Black Sea coast comes very close to the village – and it’s only a two hour trip! Ha! Two of the volunteers who arrived at the same time as I did have sites in towns on the Black Sea so I have friends to visit down the road!
My apartment – I’m in a “block” which was built during the communist times. It’s a smaller version of the ones that are in the cities – only 24 units and 4 stories high. It’s near the town center so I can walk everywhere. Someone has put a lot of love into this apartment – it has tile and laminated wood flooring and a gorgeous, wood built-in unit in the master bedroom. There is an open balcony which will come in handy for drying laundry and a glass-enclosed one which will let light in in the winter. I have two bedrooms (room for guests – Peace Corps or otherwise), an electric stove and refrigerator, Internet and an indoor bathroom. Yippee.
(A little aside here…..I must admit there are times I appreciate having an outhouse with a toilet to sit on. Yes, I said it – despite the obvious negatives – I like it at times. At night I like sitting and looking at the stars as long as it’s warm. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but the way you know if the outhouse is in use is if the door is open! It’s in a private spot so no need to close the door – it’s only closed when not in use. AND I am also loving brushing my teeth at the outside sink in the garden surrounding my blooming iris!)
My work – I will be working in my hometown 3 days a week and in two neighboring villages one day a week each. At this point I’m focusing on teaching English and computer skills as well as website help. I’ll be working with cultural centers, schools (kindergartens mostly), pensioners clubs, and women’s clubs. Also there is need for networking and sourcing funding for projects – like buying computers for the public to use in the library. My work will be a work in progress as I settle-in and get used to the language and communities. One village doesn’t need my help with English classes because there is a community of 30 British families living there. Of course, it could be fun to co-teach a few classes to give the “English” version and “American” version of words and events.
A Peace Corps volunteer has been visiting two or these three villages for one day a week for the past year. I was privileged to meet her last week and she is wonderful. She’s extending to stay a third year here in Bulgaria in the same region. And by the way, her name is Tricia – so it should be easy for people to remember my name when they meet me. I will be on my own to develop classes and programs with my contacts in the villages, but she will be available to answer questions as I get up and running. I’ve met so many nice people – Bulgarians and currently serving Peace Corps volunteers. The volunteers have been very helpful by their willingness to share their experiences – both wonderful and challenging. I find it reassuring because overall they love Bulgaria and Bulgarians.
This visit did a few things for me – one is to make me feel excited about the next chapter – living on my own, eating the way I want to (most of the time) and personal space. It has given me an introduction to the people and the place where I’ll be soon. The visit has brought home the reality of committing to living here for 2 years – thinking about rental contracts, a phone contract, an internet contract and all the details of life which have been suspended for the past 2 1/2 months.
And what surprised me was that I have a new appreciation for Z. She’s opened her home to me – a stranger from another country, and she’s embraced my presence – language barrier and all. Most of the time she is patient as I practice learning her language and I feel she is an advocate for me here in a land strange to me. As I look forward to living on my own, I will miss the positive qualities of being part of a household and family as much as I will appreciate being on my own. I don’t know how relationships will unfold in my new town, but I trust I will find friends and will overcome my hesitations about the language. Heck, if I have Internet access and I get stuck – I can always turn to Google Translate!
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