Spring Update

5-22-06

Its Monday afternoon in Bulgaria, the sun is shining, and my office is uncomfortably hot. I would guess it to be in the mid 80s today. Last weekend I traveled to Sofia and watched the Premiere of ‘The Davinci Code’. I personally don’t know what the hype is all about, the movie was entertaining, and creative, but far from something that can be looked at as plausible.
Saturday I played a rugby game against a Swiss team. They were a team from Switzerland, but most of them were French. They started off the game by lining up on the midfield and presenting us all with club ties and a bottle of French wine. After that the French ambassador did a ceremonial kick off to begin the game. The Swiss team did a lot of arguing and showed poor sportsmanship throughout the game, the game eventually ended prematurely by the Swiss team abandoning the game. The points however were in our favor, so it was without question that we had won the game. The Social we threw for them went well for the most part, we didn’t mingle together as much as we would normally, due to the language barrier. But our French players Olivier and Benoit felt right at home amongst the French.
Sunday was another beautiful day, I participated in an annual Peace Corps Softball game. The game was against the Japanese volunteers in Bulgaria. (Similar to Peace Corps) We only lost by one run which is great because apparently we usually get crushed by the Japanese. The game was followed by a barbecue and social event with the Japanese. The next game of the day was the US embassy vs. the Japanese embassy. It was funny to see how competitive some of the US embassy guys were playing. And to see the US ambassador in a full baseball uniform.
Well I am at work now trying to figure out my next plan of action. A couple of things I am working on seem to be falling apart, so it may be time to start brainstorming for other project ideas.

5-26-2006

Its Friday now and I am excited for another beautiful weekend. This week flew by because Wednesday was a national holiday so we had the day off. It was a day for Bulgarians to celebrate the creation of the Cyrillic Alphabet. The Bulgarians founded this alphabet and are very proud of this accomplishment. I met a couple friends in Plovdiv on Tuesday and enjoyed the local nightlife. On Wednesday I went into the mountains to a resort on the side of a small lake. We spent the day swimming in a pool and relaxing in the sun. Of course it was the first day I had my shirt off all year, so the next couple days I reaped the consequences.

5-29-2006

It’s another uncomfortably hot Monday in the office. It’s really starting to heat up in these parts, and my weekend excursions are getting better and better. This last weekend I went to a town called Kazanluk. It is known for its production of rose oil.( rose oil is the base of most perfumes). Saturday we played an exhibition rugby game for a crowd attending a festival. It was a ticketed event, and they even provided us with our own cheerleaders. It was ridiculously hot, and quite a rough game, but a very good time overall. Saturday evening my rugby team and I attended a private party at a secluded restaurant right outside of Kazanluk. There were many ex-pats in attendance, including the Irish ambassador. The dinner was great, and the whole night was filled with traditional music, and dancing. I consumed enough rakia to get out on the dance floor when everyone was dancing the ‘hora’. Later that evening there was a traditional fire walking demonstration. When the Bulgarian woman finished her show, I took the opportunity to throw caution to the wind and dart across the hot coals. I walked across about 4 times without even getting blisters. My friend Lincoln however was not quite as lucky. He awoke with a few souvenir blisters on the soles of his feet. Sunday we were taken to a rose oil factory, it was founded in 1909. In 1944 however the communists took the factory away from there family and did not return the land and factory until 1992. They say that Kazanluk at one point supplied 80% of the worlds rose oil.
I feel so lucky to be doing what I am doing right now, its hard for me to imagine how life would be if I were in America right now. This experience though rocky at times has been jam packed with once in a lifetime events and experiences. My schedule is always filled with exciting events weeks in advance. This next weekend I will go on a work retreat to a resort in the Balkan mountains. And the following weekend I have a trip planned to play a rugby game in Varna. I will be my first game with Varna RFC a semi-pro rugby team in Varna. In order to play with them I need to jump through a few hoops and get in some eligibility paperwork. I am excited to join this club and to play high level rugby. They will even pay all my travel expenses and give me a per diem on game weekends. Which is completely necessary because traveling to Varna takes about 7 hours and is not an easy thing to afford on a Peace Corps salary.
The only problems right now that I am having are my allergies. They seem to be getting worse and worse, and the Claritin I use is losing its effectiveness. It’s a bit frustrating when I have to blow my nose every 10 minutes, and can’t get to sleep at night because my eyes are burning. Everything else here is starting to come together, my language skills are improving slowly but surely, and my work situation has been getting better with time. I have a few soccer games this week, the first game is today at 5:30. I am a bit worn out from this last weekend, however I should be able to scrape together enough energy to play.
5-31-2006
My first soccer game of the tournament went well we won the game 2-1. My eyes were burning the whole time, and my nose was running uncontrollably. I think that I am allergic to the grass on the field. Yesterday I had a game as well, but we ended up losing 3-1. During the game I received an accidental elbow to the face from one of the opposing players. And I have the black eye to prove it, it was an accident, and I am used to pain in rugby so I didn’t make a fuss about it. I didn’t even draw a fowl, I just shrugged it off and kept playing. I still had a good time and after all its part of the game.