Attic's Are Hot

8-22-2006

It is another quiet afternoon in the office, my colleagues are out and about, and I am enjoying a bit of peace and quiet. My office is a bit packed at times; I have four other colleagues and only enough desk space for two others. So as you can imagine there is a lot of socializing and goofing off that goes on in the office. It can be a bit frustrating at times because I don’t like to answer questions when I am trying to get work done.
Well it’s been a while since I have written in this thing, mostly because I am running out of things to say. So………where shall I begin????
OK, I will start with a bit of an update. Work is going pretty well, I have been incredibly busy and a bit stressed out because I feel like I am on overload sometimes and can not control everything the way I want to. I will find out Friday if my ‘Gita Medical Center Restoration Project’ gets approved. I am a bit nervous about that, but I guess there is nothing I can do now except wait. I have been going a bit crazy lately trying to figure out exactly how to fund my large ‘Chirpan Muncipal Hospital Project’. The last couple weeks I have been stressed out because I felt like I was on my own, and a bit helpless. However recently things have been falling into place, and things are looking up. Also I may not have to raise the full $15,000. If I can get Peace Corps approval to use the ‘Denton Program’ it would cut about $6,000 off of the shipping costs. Also I now have all the information needed to make donations to my project, so if you are interested drop me a line and I can send you the information. laketrev@hotmail.com
The last few days I have been pretty much miserable, and close to death by heat exhaustion. Friday through Sunday of last week averaged about 102F in the wonderful town of Chirpan. This ridiculously hot weather was of course amplified due to the fact that I am living in an attic. The thermometer in my house did not drop below 95F, which to say the least was unpleasant. Saturday night my body gave in to the torturous heat and pretty much made me feel sicker than I have ever been. After the 3rd or 4th vomiting session I realized that I had nothing left to throw up, and that lying in my sauna of a bedroom was not helping me feel any better. After that evening of a pounding headache’s and permanent nausea, I decided there was no way in hell I wanted to go through that again. So the next night my solution was to take a cold shower ever 1-2 hours or when I began to feel a hint of a headache (it worked). Yesterday it rained buckets and today it is back to normal, not too hot, a pleasant 80F or so.
I was sitting alone in my room one night last week reading a book, when I heard a boy and a man off in a distance yelling ‘Deenia’ the Bulgarian word for watermelon. The voices became louder and louder as they drew nearer to my home. I could soon hear the sounds of a donkey cart and their repeating watermelon sales pitch. As I looked out the window I saw a young Roma boy and his father riding in a donkey cart filled to the rim with large watermelons. This father sun duo was driving up and down the streets trying to sell watermelons on the hottest day of the summer. Experiences like this one make me compare and contrast past experiences and analyze the differences between my life now, and my life in America. The watermelon donkey cart I immediately compared to the Popsicle man who in the US would drive up and down the streets of my neighborhood blasting his trademark tune in order to attract kids from blocks away. This may not be the best example of differences between Bulgaria and America, but it does paint a picture none the less.
I am still playing quite a bit of soccer at the local stadium. There have constantly been a large number of guys I play with every Tuesday and Thursday, they range from about 17-55 in age. They still call me ‘Chavi’ for some reason, I guess ‘Trevor’ was a bit much for them to pronounce. I gave up trying to correct them months ago, and now when I hear someone yelling Chavi, I turn around immediately because I know they are talking to me. I suffered a mild concussion last week while playing the Thursday night game; I went in for a header and slammed heads with a guy named ‘Nicoli’. Nicoli’s head got split open and he needed to go directly to the hospital….. I have not seen him since, but I am pretty sure he will be fine.
It has been great having Painka (the Baba) living below me. We get along great and it is nice to have someone there to talk to everyday. I keep to myself for the most part, but I do enjoy an occasional meal or coffee with her. I was very sick for a few days about two weeks ago. I stayed inside by myself for most of the time, but had to go to the store when I ran out of food. As I was leaving for the store I mentioned to the Baba that I had been feeling sick. When I returned from the store a short time later, I was greeted by the Baba at the gate .With a concerned look on her face, she grabbed my arm and led me to a room with a table and two chairs. She then took my temperature, blood pressure, checked my pulse and heartbeat and examined the back of my throat. It was hard not to laugh; it was all so surprising to me. The Baba had transformed into my personal nurse, which all in all was comforting.
Well that’s about all I can think of to write at this time, I have a vacation coming up soon so I will be sure to share some of that adventure. A big thanks to all of you who have helped me with my ‘Hospital Project’ things are starting to come together, so hopefully the funds will be raised soon. I am very excited to come home for Christmas; it will be great to see all of my family and Friends. And like I said before if you are interested in helping out with my ‘Hospital Project’ let me know, I can use all the help I can get……….. and a big thanks to all of you that have been keeping in touch, it makes things easier here knowing I still have support from friends and family in the states.

TREVOR LEWIS LAKE