When the kids let out of school on the 23^rd, for some reason it felt like vacation was going to last forever. I don't know why I didn't know better (I do have a good 22 years of school vacation "experience" under my belt – it's never as long as you want it to be!), but today came as a surprise. Of course, I got a call saying there were hardly any kids in school again today… **sigh**

Well, the holiday season has come and gone, and I got through it without any broken bones this year!! HUZZAH!! The jokes were all there, but my resolution for this year is to NOT spend the majority of 2010 being broken (like last year :)).

Even though it was hard spending the second of three holiday seasons away from home, I really love my life here and the surrogate families I've developed. It's going to be hard watching my fellow PC Volunteers leave in October, and just as hard to leave behind my Bulgarian family the following spring.

I spent Christmas Eve and day with other B-24 volunteers down in the mountains near the Greek border. We rented a beautiful house in a preserved village called Delchevo. We spent two days by the fireplace hanging out, talking, laughing, eating, playing cards, and just being together. Probably one of the more relaxed gatherings I can remember – I loved it! Not the same as being with my family back home, but if I couldn't have been there, don't know where I would have rather been.

I came back to Samokov on the 26th, and enjoyed my cozy little apartment and catching up with family on Skype before a delicious na gosti with my colleague's at Katya's apartment. LOTS of great food, yummy "domashno" (homemade) wine, and tons of laughs. I loved the fact that I brought my grandma's fudge pecan pie, and all the Bulgarians ate it for dessert while I chowed down on Baklava. Talk about an experience exchange. Isn't that what PC is all about? ;)

For New Years, I met up with some volunteers in Sofia, where we spent a good 2+ hours wandering around the city trying to find SOMETHING to do. An open bar, restaurant, whatever. Nothing… we ended up back at the hostel where we played cards until cramming onto the tiny balcony at midnight to watch fireworks throughout the city (including the ones that randomly got launched out of various apartment windows all around us…).

Hard to believe this is the year that would have ended my service as a PC Volunteer in Bulgaria if it wasn't for my "sabbatical!" Last year didn't exactly go how I planned, but maybe it's about time I stopped planning and let God take control? 23 years later and I still don't have it figured out. ;)

 

Честита нова година!! Happy New Year. :)