We got it!

l just realized I had not gotten to my blog today!  Sorry about that!   I will be gone next week so will need to take a break from blogging.  I will be at a conference that just awarded Nargis and I money for a camp on additions and sexual health.  The last of the 3 conferences is next week and I get to take a student with me.  It is nice I get to involve people from the community.  I have to say we worked hard to get this money and now just have to do it in September and October, possibly.  I finished the last of my letters to the students from the English School this morning and have gotten an email, a letter, and a phone call from 3 of the students, and yes all in English.  No they're not perfect but I understand them and kudos (bravo) to them for trying!!  It's kind of like me with Bulgarian I guess, not perfect but at least I try!  I wasn't expecting anything and it is awesome that they want to practie their English!!  My neighbor lady also was asking me to translate some Bulgarian sentences into English tonight and I'm only so happy to help!!  One of the babas here was under the impression I had a boyfriend, somebody who wasn't me told her I had one, and today I told her we broke up.  She asked me why and I said because I didn't love him and again she asked why.  I said he wasn't in my heart and she said "he wants you to be there with him"  and I said "but I want to be here" and she told me to look for another one; there's still time!  "Ima vreme!"  The past couple days I have been helping a little with some repairs to my apartment building.  The baba gora's (upstairs) granddaughter is getting married the end of the month and I thought that was why the daughter was painting and sprucing up the place, and very well be.  Maybe she just thought the place needed to be updated a little!  She let me help, I still say let because it's very sledom where I get to do anything involving any kind of help, I might get dirty; if only they could see me after weeding my yard and mowing the lawn back in the states!  I think I am slowly becoming less and less of a visitor and that makes me happy.  Sorry this has been kind of boring but It's later and to tell the truth, I really don't feel like putting that much effort into tonight's blog!  Today was cooler and I actually had on jeans when I went to the post office today and was quite glad!  I hope things, meaning tempratures, are settling down a bit.  Everyone stay safe and hydrated, and don't forget sun screen for when you are out!!   Catch you a week from this coming Monday.  Love and hugs to all!!

favorite things #4

Yesterday when I was talking about a "sea of yellow" I was referring to ths sunflowers.  In the states when you see that much yellow in a grassy area that means dandelions, which are weeds and most people don't like them in their yards.  Also if you have that many dandelions somewhere that means their seeds are spreading/have spread and will soon appear in yards if not already.  The "sea" part comes in because that's all I can see; I look out the window, like being in a boat in the middle of the ocean, and all I can see is yellow.  It's like when you're in the middle of the ocean and look out and all you see is water.  This is a "sea" of yellow.  Yesterday when I said the "favorite things" ideas come on the bus, they certainly did and I have enough for today's blog also!  I love the fact that I can get on a bus and ride with chickens.  Have to say that's a new experience for me and something I certainly don't mind in the least!  I love that one of the first questions I get asked is "do you like Bulgaria?"  I certainly don't mind answering and love being here and experiencing all the new and different things, but it's like when someone graduates from high school and everyone asks "so NOW what are you going to do?"  I love getting hugs from baba's because they have a child in the states or canada (this happened to me yesterday and it made me a little sad for her) and I am the closest they can get to hugging their own kids.  I love that I am given so much food!  I'll bet people have given me more fruit and vegetables this summer and last then I ate in the states in a year!  Maybe that's stretching it a bit but I didn't eat much veggies or fruit in the states.  During the summer that's pretty much the ONLY thing to eat!  I love that no matter how hot it is outside people still drink tea and coffee, and I include myself in that too!  I love the fact that someone can be in tremendous pain or things can be going very wrong and the only thing anyone says is "it's ok, relax!"  Of couse I don't love seeing anyone in pain I just happen to think it's cute that they say "calm down, it's ok!"  Along with the "sea of yellow" I mentioned yesterday, I love that I see cows wading in the water when I look out the bus window.  Not an everyday occurance in Indianapolis!   I love that one of the most famous singers in Bulgaria is both Roma and gay or bisexual or whatever he is.  Whatever he calls himself, he's a minority and I think it's great!! I love the fact that when I tried to play the game "red light, green light"  I was told by one of the teachers in the kindergarten that the kids had just started studying stoplights and to save my game.  There were other reasons we didn't play as well.  It's just different for me to think that some of these kids have never seen a stoplight and the game would mean nothing to them!  We talk about towns in the states that only have one stoplight or "if you blink you might miss it" (very small town and if you take your eyes off the road you might miss the town!).  Then there's the whole "what does the yellow light mean"  difference which I blogged about last month I think or the beginning of this month.  I love that fact that if I'm going somewhere that I have been already I don't have to worry about whether or not the people there remember me; they do.  I kinda stick out...and then I open my mouth!  I'm not knocking my Bulgarian but I have an American accent and that kind of gets in the way if someone's not used to it.  Like people around here that I speak with on a daily basis or the teachers at school, they're used to my accent and can understand me.  The last thing is probably one of the biggest.  I love the fact that (most parts) Bulgaria has internet so I can communicate with my family back in the states and can write my blog and so much more!  I read about the deaths from the heat wave in the states.  My thoughts and prayers are with you all as you try to stay cool!  I say that after it rained last night and cooled things down about 5-7* and it feels soooo much better today!  My baba gore, upstairs, is having a wedding, her granddaughter??, at the end of the month and because of that she and her daughter and doing a lot of repairs to the apartment building.  They let me paint yesterday!!  Love and hugs!!  Ellis, glad you are reading my blogs!!

favorite things #3

Sitting on the bus going to the town this past weekend for the wedding my brain suddenly came alive with "favorite things" ideas for a blog, so that's what today's blog is going to be, maybe tomorrow too!  One things I love is not so much about B in general, although I am on buses at the time, is that when I sit down and purposefully try to write a favorite things blog, I can't think of anything I haven't blogged about before.  When I get on a bus and have to get in my backpack for a pen and try and find something to write on, THEN the ideas come!!  It would be so much easier the other way around.  I love that I can look outside the bus, train, car, whatever you happen to be riding in and see a sea of yellow...and it's NOT from dandelions!!  That happens in the states and you make enemies of your neighbors pretty fast, generally speaking of course.   I love that I can walk into a restaurant and order a meal without thinking.  Again that's not so much about B but I remember during PST when Naoma and I went to a restaurant to "practice" because we didn't feel confident we were so afraid!  Maybe not so much afraid as unsure.  That restaurant had a picture menu and I still don't think we got what we wanted!  I love how everytime I am traveling somewhere I have to make sure I have a full stomach because unless you are traveling from big city to big city the roads are windy and I have a tendancy to get carsick!  That's why, no matter if I had lunch a few hours ago or it is 6 in the morning, I eat before I travel!   I love the fact that people see their guest off when they leave.  None of this say goodbye at the door stuff, not here.  Even when I left on Friday to go with a collegue of my neighbors to where I was to catch my bus for the wedding, my neighbor (and my dog family) walked with me to where I was to meet my ride.  When I left to come back here on Sun, Nargis saw me off at the busstop.  That's nice and something very little but very much appreciated!  I think I'll save the rest for tomorrow's blog.  Today is the hotest day of the week.  In the afternoon it's supposed to be 39*C.  You do the math but that's hot!  Funny story real quick.  Since I am now 1 with the dogs whenever I go somewhere, to pay my water bill or to the market on Monday's to when I have class at the kindergarten, I have a parade of dogs with me.  Monday was the pazar, market day where the freshest fruit and vegetables are plentiful, and I was walking from my apartment to go when one of the dogs spotted me going somewhere.  I was NOT going anywhere without an escort!  "Jina" was keeping cool under my neighbor's car and got stuck trying to get out fast!  After maybe 30 seconds to a minute finally Jina made it out from under the car and walked with me to the pazar.  Love and hugs and thoughts and prayers are with a friend of mine in the states and her family.  While I'm adding things, congrats to the Japanese Women's Soccer Team!

wedding pictures

at the brides families house.

dancing before going inside at the brides
families house.

this is my wonderful counterpart Nargis
and her daughter.  The lady in
the orange. 

this is the bride and groom's
car.  the windshield and
side mirror are decorated with
colorful towels so people
can it is part of a wedding. 

these 3 guys played for us both
days and nights!  they were awesome!

some dancing outside the Mayor's
office.

here you can see the bride.

in the Mayor's office.  I later found
out this woman is the secretary for
the Mayor

this is the loaf of bread I mentioned
yesterday.   She breaks it in half
and the number of crumbs are the
number of kids the couple will have.

again with the Mayor's secretary.

dancing after the ceremony.  Here are the
bride and groom, or at least their backs! 

this is the party before the party
the night of the actual ceremony.
Nargis, her daughter, and I slept here.
When we came to put our stuff
here we found a whole houseful of cousins, aunts,
and others going to the "reception"
and the party had already started!
the young girl you see here in white
at one time had a jingly q-chek
"skirt" on and she was really shaking
those hips!

this is again outside the Mayor's
office.

"I do!"

This past weekend I attended the wedding of my counterpart's husband's brother; a traditional Muslim wedding.  I'll post some pictures along with the description but let me explain a little first.  The actual ceremony takes place in front of the Mayor of that town or someone representing the Mayor's office.   Like our maid of honor and best man, here they have a special couple that goes in front of the Mayor and drives them around and such.  The night before the cermony there is a big party and, unlike is the usual tradition in the states, it's not segregated and involves A LOT of dancing.  The bride, the women relatives, and close women friends have special outfits they wear.  I forgot my camera that night but Nargis has some pictures I took on her camera that I will show you all as soon as I get them from her.  What happens is that people pin money on the bride, like making a big necklace.  I guess people from the family can get money too because Nargis got about 20 leva and her daughter even got some money as well as the groom, but by far the most money is pinned on the bride.  The dancing is primarily done in a circle and when I asked why this was got the "I don't know" answer.   One of the "intersections" of the dirt/gravel roads of the village was the setting for the night before party.  Considering the party didn't get going until 8:30pm. (and it was a good thing to because it was hot as all get out!) or there-a-bouts, Nargis, her daughter, and myself didn't get to where we were sleeping until about 1-2 the next morning, and we weren't the last to leave!.  LOTS of dancing!  Later that same day, maybe 11-12 in the afternoon, we arrived back at the couple's/his parent's house to find the men hard at work preparing food for that evening.  I was a bit confused by this (don't get me wrong! Men helping in the kitchen or with food preparation is a big plus in my book but I have been led to believe that the men sit around and drink the day away while the women do the work.  I was quickly proven wrong!!  Not to diss women here; there's PLENTY for them to do) and so I asked, as is getting to be pretty typical for me (Lisa?  With a question? NEVER!).  Turns out that because there were to be so many people there (like around 500 and that evening was to be the same except more like our reception and with a meal) it was too much and the men did all the food work.  Slicing and dicing cabbage,cucumbers, and carrots for the salad and rolling and frying about 2000 kebache, like big-sized meatballs.  Then at about 5 we all got dressed up again, different outfits for the women, and drove (kinda like a funeral procession but for a wedding) to pick up the brides family whose cars would follow ours.  Nargis wasn't sure if there would be enough room for me so I wasn't sure I would get to be part of this, with the honking and all that I always hear outside my apartment.  Lukily for me there was room in a car and I got to observe this part of the tradition (I guess some people do this picking up of the brides family and some don't).  All the way to the brides families village, with the bride and grooms's car being the first and chauffered by the "best couple" the other cars in the procession try to pass the bride and groom's car and if they do the groom has to pay THEM to stay the first car.  This didn't quite make sense to me, after all the groom had to pay out the money GIVEN to him only the night before, but what tradition always makes 100% perfect sense???   And I have to say after Nargis explained that it was tradition to try and pass the first car and all I felt a lot more comfortable where I was because before I just thought the guy driving the car I was in was a very bad driver with all the speeding and trying to pass and all (I give him kudos because he didn't actually pass.  When he first tried to pass I was thinking how rude he was being to take the 1st spot away from the bride and groom on THEIR day!  LITTLE DID I KNOW!!) After we got the brides family, honking horns all the way through all the villages; we actually got out of our cars and danced some more when we got to her families house, we headed to the Mayor's office for the official ceremony.  It was a nice ceremony!  There are several things they do different then we do but the basics are the same.  There is one part where a round loaf of bread is broken by the Mayor, or in this case the secretary, and how ever many crumbs are on the ground is how many children the couple will have.  All this while the bride and groom are in their suit and wedding dress, and it was a very hot afternoon!  Then we went back home and at 8:30-9 went to the school gym, we had to with that many people, and started the "reception."  We were fed and given drinks, it was hotter than all get out in there!, and the same 3-4 guys that played music for us the night before played for us that night.  Since it was so hot, the night before we were outside-this night we were inside, I wasn't in the dancing, or beer drinking mood (however the man across from me felt I needed some whiskey which I cradled all night.  AT about 12, Nargis' daughter had fallen asleep and I had said that I would go home with her if they took her home; Nargis was the sister in law and it was more important for her to stay with her husband and finish out the night, I went to the house where I was to sleep and promptly fell asleep myself!  The whole weekend was very nice and I have to thank them for opening this up to someone non-kin because she was curious!  On second thought I might post the pictures tomorrow; this is getting pretty long.  It rained a precious little last night and I think that helped to cool things down a bit.  Not very much but I'll take it!  I'm going to quit here so I can get some more work done!  The women gave Japan a valient effort but came up short in the end.  Japan could use this good news; I'm happy for them!!  Congrats to the women for taking silver!  Love and hugs to all!!

May 1

So I have been promising for awhile now to blog about some of the special days in B that passed.  The first one I wanted to blog about was May 1.  Sort of like our Labor Day.  During communist times this was an official holiday and everyone had the day off.  May 1 was the celebration of the right to work and the communist party organized a rally.  This day celebrated workers, intellectuals, and students who took part in this ralley.   Today, after communist rule, this is still a big holiday but organized in bigger towns in B.  For some people this is a communist holiday and they choose not to celebrate/recognize this day.  However, the idea for this day came from/started in the states and is on all the United Nations calanders.  *Now is when I have to thank Dani Adamova and Ivan Hristov from the Peace Corps staff and Brian Fassett.  They authored and illustrated the workbook where I got this information, and most information on the special days in B.  So, thanks!*  Today it is 93* and I certainly understand why everyone stays inside and takes a break from the day between the hours of about 12:30 and 4!  I have decided to write the English School students so they can have some English practice over the summer if they want and just sent the last of the letters to the students not from here this morning.  I still have about 20 to go but am cheating a little.  I have 3 different letters and I copy those so it's not as much work as it sounds like.  Oh!  I may have to skip tomorrow's blog.  I have been invited to a wedding; all I have to do now is find a ride!  Think I may have found one and if that's the case will be leaving before my normal, what's normal??, time to do my blog.  Love and hugs and happy Independence Day Jean-Philippe and any other French people reading this!!  Go figure, I come to B and find out today is the national day for France!  Just like July 4th is for the states and September 22 is for Bulgaria.

some pictures

the 4th party at Jez's with some
other volunteers; Jez,Rachel,
Mary, and Chris.

at our midservice conference after
dinner one night sitting
out on our balcony telling
"popcorn" stories. Jez, Chris, and Lisa

the other side or the balcony with '
Mary and April

the staff gave us one year "medals".
Ashley is wearing hers proudly!!

and then the talent show began.  This is the
pre-show kareoke

Tom

Brittney with her word poem.

Katelyn, our MC

Ben and Vinnie

Tyler and his ladies.

Charity and Basima and the
evolution of dance.

Ryan

Aaron and Jez giving Mary a
henna tattoo. 

I can do this!!

You know, it never fails me when I stop and think what I take for granted now, things that are second nature to me now that are a BIG deal when looked at by themselves.   Today I went to get my litchna carta process started.  The litchna carta is a little like a social security card.  When we first came we applied for a card but were only allowed to apply for 1 year.  Now that year is up and it's time to renew because mine expires the beginning of August and they give fines for expired l.c's.  So, since this is coming up and I'm going to be busy with other things I decided to get it started today.  This summer is a little different than last in that last summer I was new here and kinda needed someone with me most of the time, or at least during the day.  I had a schedule to follow to learn my way around my new home, places to go and "gostis" to experience!  Now that I've been here a year Nargis can go on the vacation she very much deserves and my director can worry about the school stuff instead of showing around the new Peace Corps volunteer.  I guess what I'm getting at is that this summer there is more to worry about than me.  I really didn't know how comfortable I felt trying to get this very important document by myself and decided to ask someone to go with me.  I rethought that and decided to do it myself!  I know my way around the place where I had to go enough and figured hey, if I can survive loosing my phone there I can surely do this!  Everything worked out fine and I even got finished earlier than I thought and got an earlier bus back to my place.  Thinking about the morning and what had been accomplished on the bus back home I realized what a big deal that was.  If you would have told me 6 months ago I would travel alone in a foreign country (ok, not so foreign anymore) to complete a very important document that can't be messed up and  all the while only speaking in Bulgarian I would have laughed in your face!!  I guess the point is that we all have more strength than we thought and if it needs to be done, we just find a way to do it without even thinking twice!  It's when you slow down or take a sip from a cold beer after a long bus ride that you realize "hey, I really did that!  Cool!"  One of the movies I have seen a few times here, it's in English-weekend tv, had a quote in it that I like; "if it's necessary then it's possible."  That's a little how today was I guess.  I'm not sitting down with a cold beer just yet but I feel one in my future!  It's HOT here!  During the bus ride in the morning I overheard the guy on the radio say 36*.  Of course that's *C but when you do the math that's pretty close to 100*F!!  Love and hugs from here!!

back to business

the burgers are on the grill!

the finished potato salad!  Not
as good as mom's!!

some of the teachers helping dish
out the salad.

most of the helping crew!  My
director is the man just to
the right of middle.

the last of the burgers!

we did a lot of hamburgers
and potato salad!!

THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!

some of the students.

not a good picture of my language tutor
and she won't like it BUT this is
supposed to be a picture of me eating
my 4th of July hamburger(close enough)
and potato salad!

again some of the students.

Oh my gosh!  I feel like it's been forever and I'm sure to you all it has (maybe I'm just blowing smoke up my own @#!)!  Here it is mid (almost) July and it seems like the summer just started!!!   Well, the 4th of July/end of the year party went well, I enjoyed helping my friend Jez with her party, and I got to be apart of a flashmob to Shakira's "Waka Waka" during our mid-service conference.  It was nice seeing all the volunteers again but I have to admit a little overwhelming!  We broke into our program groups (Yd, Community and Organizational Development,  and Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and shared a favorite success story from this past year.  To a "t" (just about) all the YD stories were about a relationship formed and not about a project or whatever.  "Build relationships, not monuments" was suggested to us at out IST this past November.  Mine was the time a man riding his bike waved at me without me doing anything first and the woman who greeted me FIRST at the busstop early one morning before I said anything.  This may seem very trivial but to me it was like "wait a minute!  Did that man just WAVE to me?  Right out or the blue!" and "did she say good morning FIRST???"  It was a moment I DISTINCTLY remember.  Anyway, things like that or a baby sitting on a lap of a fellow volunteer  and feeling comfortable enough when she couldn't find her mom.  I'll try to put up some pictures.  I know, I've said that before and nothing has happened!  Oh!  I almost forgot!  I learned something pretty interesting today.  Sitting down talking with my neighbors, which I really need to do more and make more of a priority, he mentioned his wife's parents.  To Maria they are mom and dad, naturally.  But to Ivan, her husband, Maria's parents are his grandparents, or baba and dyado.  So the parents in-law aren't parents but grandparents!  Love and hugs!

busy time#2

Sorry I forgot to post on Friday and Thursday!  The party went well and the potato salad was good; could've used more mustard but hey, it turned out and I can't complain.  I'll go into more detail the end of next week or on the 11th.  Things are a little busy right now!  I'm leaving tomorrow to celebrate the 4th with some volunteers and then we have our mid-service conference!!  Hard to believe it's mid-service already!!  Things are fine!  Love and hugs to all!!