I have been in Sofia for a week - it’s been great. My group of Peace Corps Volunteers here in
Bulgaria – the 27th group in the past 22 years – is the Legacy Group
of Peace Corps Volunteers here, we are the final group. This
week we had a review of some of the language skills we've learned in the past 2
years and then we had our 3-day Close of Service conference. Some of us will be leaving our community
within the next month or so and the last volunteers will leave in July.
We spent time remembering our first meeting two years ago
this week – at our initial Staging Conference in Philadelphia. Remembering our first
impressions of each other and of the Peace Corps staff. Then that long bus ride to JFK Airport in New
York and the even longer flight(s) to Sofia, Bulgaria. Then our first few days in Panichiste – in the
gorgeous mountains south of Sofia. Days
of orientation, rules, expectations and teams.
It was a beautiful spot to begin
our Bulgarian journey. After this brief stay, we headed north to villages in
the general area of the city of Vratsa, and the person or family we would live
with for the next 11 weeks. We knew only
a few words of Bulgarian and they knew little or no English. Truly immersion learning about Bulgarian
culture and language.
Fast forward 2 years – here we are – now experienced
volunteers - sharing our trials and our joys and hugging each other good-bye. Some of us have formed lifelong friendships
with other volunteers and with our Bulgarian friends. We respect one another for the patience,
perseverance and skills we’ve all demonstrated through our lives here. Each of our experiences is individual, yet we
all have much in common. It has been a challenging
and beautifully rich experience.
I am not yet done. I
will be in Bulgaria until mid-June.
There is still more to do – teaching more English and other things to
finish and refine. People to meet with
for the first time or for yet another time. Laughter to share. Tears to share.
And more photos to share. And maybe even
a little rakia. My heart is full with
the love, kindness and generosity of the people I live with and work with in Dzhulyunitsa,
Dobri Dyal and Dragizhevo. I am so happy
to have had this opportunity to live in rural Bulgaria. And I am grateful to the very competent and
supportive Peace Corps staff in Sofia.
It’s been a great week.
