Sunday, August 17, 2008

I will forever be amazed at how time passes here… On one hand, this week was so busy that it flew by. On the other, I have a hard time believing we have been in Bulgaria for 3 weeks tomorrow. I also can't believe I haven't stopped to update on life here in Bulgaria (and let me tell you, my personal journal is looking rather sparse as well)!

Last Sunday the 5 of us Trainees in my village packed up and joined Jenna's host sister Daniela for a hike up into the Rila Mountains to see the Ovchartsi Waterfall (ОВЧАРТСИ ВОДОПОД – yessss J). We walked the few miles to the town below the waterfall to wait for a couple of Daniela's friends, when we ran into the host mom of a volunteer who lived in that village. Next thing we know, we are walking up a hill to the village training center, and joining all 4 Trainees that lived there to celebrate one of their birthdays! It was an awesome afternoon of hanging out, exchanging stories from our first week, and just relaxing. We did make it up to the waterfall before heading back to our village by dinner. I just can't get over how beautiful it is here… and am so excited that no matter where my permanent site placement is, the mountains will be relatively close!

This week was kind of a blur: on Monday we had our first HUB in the city with all 30 members of our training class. We had a brief Bulgarian History lesson from a local college professor ("schools, textbooks, and most Bulgarians will tell you [this]… but I can affirm that it is not true!"), a YD session about UNICEF and local support for kids, and a session on food, nutrition, and health.

Tuesday was definitely my favorite day this week… all of the Youth Development Trainees met at the Training Center in the city where a PC van picked us up and drove us about an hour to visit a youth services NGO where a Peace Corps volunteer has been serving for the last few years. We got to hear about her role in the organization, what the NGO does, and then ask her questions. After that, we visited a HUGE cultural center (called a Chitalishte – every village, no matter how big or small, has one). There, we met with one of the youth leaders and a bunch of kids, and got to hear about their role in the community. It was extremely interesting to hear, especially since at least a handful of us B-24's will be placed at Chitalishte's, so it was great to hear about how extensive their potential can be. They are mainly in charge of all cultural events and holidays in a community, but PCV's who are placed there can be free to start all sorts of youth clubs, sports, classes, etc. Basically, as long as you figure out what will keep the community engaged, you can't go wrong…

After the visit to the Chitalishte, we loaded back up into the vans and drove a little ways into the mountains to an orphanage. In Bulgaria, orphanages aren't exactly what we always envision as Americans… many of the kids at orphanages in Bulgaria do have parents, but for one reason or another they can't afford to take care of them. This particular orphanage is up in the mountains because the kids who live there (but not during the summer when they go home to be with their families) have respiratory diseases. Even though there were no kids, as soon as we walked through the gates of the institution, I felt as though this was the type of placement I would love. I joined the Peace Corps thinking I wanted to basically transfer my skills and experiences from the US and do a similar job to what I had been doing in Burlington, NC and Washington DC with youth at camps and the Boys and Girls Club. Now I see, however, that the Peace Corps is an experience I will probably never get to do again, and chances are, I will return to the US in a couple of years and begin searching for a job similar to what I had been doing pre-PC. THIS is the time to stretch myself and try an experience unique to my PC experience. The orphanage staff was absolutely incredible. Even though many of the kids are terminally ill, their budget only allows for 2 nurses for over 50 kids. They can no longer afford the doctors they used to have on staff, and this winter they couldn't afford heating (even though they live in the mountains and not all of the bedrooms had windows until this summer!) until the new mayor somehow scrounged enough money out of his own budget to heat the children's dormitory's. Because the staff work at an establishment for kids with illnesses, they each receive an extra 4% in their paychecks compared to other workers at institutions around the country. The staff has pledged that extra 4% (and keep in mind their salaries aren't sufficient as it is, I'm sure) to a "fun fund" for the children. They try to take the kids down into the city for a movie or fun outing as often as funds allow it. The kids have no play equipment, and their 2 hours a day of free time are unstructured and without many resources. The staff very obviously does [WAY MORE THAN] what they can for the children there, but in addition to caring for each child's physical needs, they are the one in charge of building repairs, schooling, cooking, and any grounds keeping that needs to be done. As the staff member told us on our way out, you don't do this job if you don't love kids… As hard as it was to see this, and would be even harder to work somewhere similar for 2 years, I would love to work alongside a staff of people who would do anything for a group of kids that has been dealt the short stick every day of their lives…

On Thursday we were joined by 3 other training groups from surrounding villages, and after a day of various sessions and a lot of anticipation, we received the demographics list of the sites that will be opening. I was extremely excited to see that there will be 4 orphanage positions open, and 5 at Roma NGO's (my second choice placement). The Roma population accounts for the largest education drop out and early pregnancy rates in all of Bulgaria, and a PC's role in Roma communities is to promote racial integration and appreciation. The list also gave VERY broad geographic ranges, and I am content to report that as much as I would love to live in the mountains, again, all of Bulgaria has access to good hiking!! I also thought NYC had turned me into an ultimate city girl, but I love the small village life here with the goats as well. So, the moral of that story is, I'm ready for wherever God is calling me. I continue to be immensely amazed at how he has orchestrated everything up until this point, so I can't wait for my placement interview next week, and site unveilings the following week! As I said, it's crazy how fast time is moving, although it feels like I've been here forever…

 

 

 

"Praise the God of open skies, everything breathing praisin' God, in the company of all who love the King."
- David Crowder -