Even More Spring Rain - How to Have Fun....

Sunny this morning - afternoon rain (more intense than the last storm) - blue sky again before sunset. This dog shows how to turn flooding streets into a playground!  It's short and sweet - enjoy.

Spring Rain

We have had some spring rain!  Here's a little snippet of the road in front of my apartment yesterday.

Имахме някои пролетен дъжд! Ето един малък фрагмент на пътя пред апартамента ми вчера.

Almost the Blue Danube.....

April Lilacs

Katya, my friend and advocate here in Dzhulyunitsa, is a neighbor of mine in the single apartment building here.  She has another family house where they go to garden (one of two gardens) and to hang out in a quieter part of the village.  She invited me to the garden for fresh lettuce, onions, garlic and parsley.  And of course, a wonderful bunch of lovely lilacs!  What a treat to brighten my spirits and apartment.

(I have posted additional photos on the Spring 2013 page.  Click on the link in the column to the right.)

Over the past 6 months feeling well has been a challenge.  Off and on I've been successful, but I've had more than my share of colds and "owies."  I've always been a pretty healthy person, so this on-again, off-again, not-feeling-well is new to me and has made me more empathetic to folks who have chronic illnesses.  Around March 20th, another "new" cold began.  A few days later I traveled to Sofia for our Final Peace Corps conference.  I had a couple intense coughing spasms, but had assistance when I needed it.  I am grateful for the help of the Peace Corps medical staff.  For the past month I've been drinking herbal teas for lung health, using a few herbal remedies I brought with me to Bulgaria and meditated on my emotional/mental imbalance which might be causing these physical experiences.

Certainly I feel some stress about winding down my work and time in Bulgaria.  Two years in a community is a long time.  I will miss my friends here and have appreciated their warm embrace into their village and lives.  We have shared our cultures with each other.  We've shared laughter, learning and ideas. They have been very patient with my fledgling Bulgarian language skills.

I look forward to returning to America.  Can't wait to see my family and friends there.  Returning to a familiar life is both exciting and terrifying on various levels.  I will have some time in Sedona to re-acclimate to a time zone 10 hours earlier than what my body is used to.  I'm sure some of what used to be familiar to me, will still be.  But I will see everything with a different perspective after living in Bulgaria for an extended time.  The astounding beauty of Sedona is calling to me and I look forward to the quiet and the energy of some of my favorite trails (and maybe some new ones too). Then I will visit family in California and the Pacific Ocean.

This is all I have planned.  I know the next chapter will work out just fine.  But I do have some stress when I begin thinking about all the details about where to live and work; how can I find a good car in my price range, etc.

I've been doing my best to stay focused on all the wonderful parts of my life and my personal strengths and gifts.  But my body has told me, I've been focusing too much on the stresses.  I went to Sofia last week for my departing medical and dental appointments.  Along with me went a refreshed version of a cold with a ongoing cough.  The doctor took me to a specialist who diagnosed a virus (no surprise).  More than five weeks of not feeling my usual healthy self, wore me down and I have embraced the medical solutions to my symptoms.  Yesterday was the first day of using an inhaler and taking Zyrtec.  I felt better almost immediately and I was able to go for an uphill walk with friends, without a long coughing spell.  I will continue the course of medication for a week because I want to be healthy and available to these last weeks in my village.

I will continue to focus on what I want to create in my life when I return to Arizona and California.  I will continue to trust the process of co-creation and that the next chapter in my life will be as lovely and rewarding as my life has been all along the way.

P.S.  I'm not sure how many more blog posts I'll have time for - there is lots to do in the next 6 weeks!

A Summary of Bulgarian Spring Holidays

The days are warm in Bulgaria.  This past week the temperatures have been in the mid-to-high 70s.  And the week before I was still using my heater occasionally when I felt chilled in the evenings and mornings.  It was a quick switch!

Here is a quick update on Bulgarian holidays - it’s a time rich in holidays :

Sat. April 27 – Lazarovden (Day of Lazar).  According to the Bulgarian tradition, Lazarovden is the day that marks the transition in maidens between a girl and a young woman fit to be married.   On this day, several groups of girls aged between 10 and 16 (“lazarki”), dressed in their best holiday clothes or wedding costumes adorned with wreaths and bunches of flowers go around the village. They visit each house and sing praises to everyone in the family, including children and the elderly, women and men, and Bulgarians of all professions.  The owners of each visited home gave them eggs and money.  Old sayings state that any house visited by lazarki will prosper throughout the year.

Sun. April 28 -  Bulgarian Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday - Tsventisa-Vrabnitsa, to mark the triumphal arrival of Christ into Jerusalem.   The Bulgarian tradition is to carry flowers and willow branches, rather than palm leaves, and the day is also regarded as the holiday of the fields, meadows and forests. It is one of the most important holy days, falling one week before Easter, and marking the beginning of the Passion of Christ.

Wed. May 1 – Labor Day, celebrates the efforts and accomplishments of those who work AND it marks the point in the year where people begin earning money for themselves after 4 months of earning money for the government – in the form of taxes.

Fri. May 3 – Bulgarian Orthodox Good Friday

Sat. May 4 - Bulgarian Orthodox Good Saturday

Sat. May 5 – Easter Sunday

Mon. May 6 – St. Georges Day. In Bulgaria St. George is the patron of spring verdure and fertility, and of shepherds and farmers. His Day, May 6, is believed to set in summer and the new farming cycle.   A common ritual is to prepare and eat a whole lamb, which is an ancient practice possibly related to Slavic pagan sacrificial traditions and the fact that St. George is the patron saint of shepherds.  A special place on the table is attributed to the ritual Gergyovden breed. All sorts of bread are made for the feast - the cross bread, the shepherd's bread, the large ring-bread, as well as small ones, or the special ring-shaped bun baked by the young wife in the house.

So this year many Bulgarians have a long holiday from May 1^st through the 6^th.