Rugby & The Evil Baba

9-19-2006

I think part of living successfully and happily in a foreign country is adapting to strange and unusual behavior. For the most part things here are relatively normal, but every now and again things happen that make me wish I was sipping on a Bud and watching a baseball game in the good ol US of A.
Last weekend started out great, I went to Sofia to play in my first rugby match of the season. We played against an old boys team from Kenya. The team consisted mostly of ex-pats who were working for various AID organizations in Kenya. I was surprised to see that the team did not even have one black player. However they did say that their A-side back home had only one white guy on the team. This makes a bit more sense, it is after all a team from Kenya. The game was very social and not taken too seriously, which made it a great opening match for the season. The Kenyan team introduced us to a new ‘tour rule’ that I had never heard of previously. ‘When the ref blows the whistle and yells freeze……. the last person moving has to run to the sideline and pound a beer’. Of course the Bulgarians with little English skills got the raw end of this deal because the command to freeze was lost in translation.
My weekend peaked out at the rugby game and gradually became worse after that. Thanks to a new highway that cuts entirely around Chirpan, it has been increasingly difficult to find a bus home from Sofia. After two hours of waiting and three different buses refusing to sell me a seat because of the new bus route, I became a bit frustrated and annoyed. I decided to take the train home, which adds about an hour of travel time but is ‘all in all’ a bit more comfortable.
I do have a funny story about waiting around the Sofia bus station. Well……..at least I find it a bit amusing, although not at the time. So here it goes………. As I was sitting alone on a bench a woman came up to me and looking at me with a half-sad smile sat next to me. She then began to stare at me with a strange look of desperation. After a few moments of silence she turned to me and mumbled something in Bulgarian. When she repeated it, I had a hard time not laughing. She told me I was beautiful…… and then bombarded me with a bunch of simple questions. As we chatted about simple things she repeated two things over and over. One was that she was cold, and the other was that I was beautiful. Every time she said I was beautiful it made me feel a bit uncomfortable………she was 26 by the way and from some village I had never head of. Well anyways after about 20 min of awkward conversation she looks me in the eyes and calmly says “kiss me now”(in Bulgarian of course). Wow……..how do you respond to that one? I looked at her trying to hold back my laughter and said that I would not because I did not know her. She ended up talking to me about five minutes longer and then got the hint and hit the road.
I must say that this experience was both funny and creepy, kind of a muddled mix of the two. It makes for a good story however, and I suppose it is flattering to know that out there somewhere is a lonely 26 year old Bulgarian girl who thinks I am beautiful and would love to kiss me.
After the long train ride home I was ready for some peace and quiet, and not prepared for the events to come. The night took a turn for the worse after a misunderstanding/communication lapse took place between my site mate and I, which resulted in me not attending an important town event. It was a bit frustrating because skipping the event may have looked as a bit of an insult to my colleagues. This event was important because it was in celebration of a famous artist from Chirpan, and was attended by around 7 ambassadors as well as other important Bulgarian Government officials. Around 11pm while I was lying on my make-shift couch and trying to calm my nerves, my door opened and in walked the “Evil Baba”. She headed straight past the kitchen, through the hallway and into the storage area. I was not in the mood for this invasion of privacy, so I walked up to her and told her that she was not welcome in my home. I told her that if she ever wanted to come in my apartment she must ask permission, which includes knocking on the door first and asking permission to enter. She became very infuriated and said it was her house and that she can come into my apartment whenever she pleases. The next day I complained about this incident to a few colleagues including the vice-mayor, and told them how this happens frequently every time she is in town. I explained to the people at the municipality that it is an invasion of privacy and that I do not feel like it is appropriate for the “Evil Baba” to come into my home whenever she pleases. After an unpleasant after lunch discussion with the “Evil Baba” and my counterparts, it was clear that she did not understand the meaning of the word ‘privacy’. Nor did she understand the fact that if you rent out an apartment, you are no longer able to enter it without an invitation. After a bunch of bad noise I assumed that she got the point and would at least knock before entering my place. I was wrong!!!!!!!!!! She entered my apartment today as I was preparing to take a shower. I was only wearing a towel and she walked into my apartment as if our conversations yesterday had not taken place. So I am not sure what the next step in this process will be, perhaps it is time for me to pack my bags and move on to another residence. I am not sure how much more privacy invasion I can take.

Denying My Nationality 3 Times Before the Rooster Crows

9-12-2006
What can I say about being an American…………. I am proud to be an American and truly love my country and what it stands for. For all the good America does in the world, it is a bit unfair how tarnished our image has become. Most Americans that have not traveled abroad have no idea how bad things are in other countries. America is a large Country and there are plenty of ignorant Americans who have no respect for other countries and there cultural differences, but in contrast there are also many people of other countries who have the same types of unjustified prejudices. These days it is painful for me to see how ignorant and cruel people can be at times, there is a large amount of resentment and negativity in the minds of foreigners toward the USA that has been greatly illuminated by the media. It makes it hard and seemingly unbearable at times to be an American Ex-Pat.
The first time I encountered this epidemic was when I was in Istanbul about 6 months ago. It was Anzac day so a lot of Ausies were in Istanbul celebrating their cherished holiday and honoring their fallen countrymen. As my friends and I met dozens of Australians it was alarming to hear some of the comments that were made toward us. Many of them did not want anything to do with us because we were Americans. This was shocking to me because I was not aware of any animosity amongst our two countries. Throughout the weekend the prejudices became more and more apparent. Many of the Australians we met had no respect for our government and because of that resented Americans in general. I left Istanbul with a bitter taste in my mouth, and a new found realization that the image of America and Americans has been changing rapidly in the last few years for the worse.
My second experience was in Ios (a Greek Island near Santorini) about a week ago. My friend Aaron and I were at a Disco and were enjoying a drink outside with a handful of seemingly friendly people. One girl approached us and began to talk to us in an accent I was not Familiar with (maybe Scandinavian). She asked us where we were from, and when I told her that we were American she appeared disgusted and immediately turned away without saying another word. I was shocked at this, and tapped her on the shoulder and said “so…….you hate Americans or something?” She looked at me with a harsh look and said….”do you hate Iraqis?” I responded by saying “Well I personally get to know someone before I make my judgments on whether I like them or not….. I don’t hate individuals or groups of people based on the government of their country”…..she thought about what I said for a second…..she then changed her tone and gave her approval of my statement and became very friendly again. Later on that night I was on the dance floor with a group of girls when I asked one of them where she was from, she looked at me and said… “where are you from?”…. I said I am an American…….. she then gave me a brutal look of disgust and resentment, and immediately all three girls turned there backs on me as if I were scum. That was the last straw for me and I was ready to go home and sleep off the night of horrible realizations. The next day Aaron and I tried to figure out a way to get along with people and avoid these harsh prejudices and stereotypes. Aaron came up with the idea of telling people we were Canadian, this was a good idea because our accents were about the same and no one seems to have negative feelings toward Canadians. I was not completely a fan of this idea, but I also did not want to have to go through what we had to experience the previous evening. When we arrived at the Disco at around 12:30am we came across a few Australian guys wearing togas and standing by the entrance of the club. We struck up conversation with the friendly Ausies and told them we admired the togas. After a bit of conversation they asked us where we were from, Aaron immediately blurted out “we are Canadian” the Ausies looked at us with approval and laughed and said “cool, at least you guys are not Americans” and then they continued to give us advice on where the hot spots were around the Greek Isles. I felt a bit like a traitor denying my country and it didn’t feel right to be ashamed of being an American, but it truly showed how pleasantly different things would be for us at that moment; based solely on lying about the country we were from.
I am writing about this because I feel very strongly that people should not stereotype, and resent people do to things like race, ethnicity, religion, country of origin, ect. Maybe it was good for me to experience these things……it definitely helps sometimes to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I can compare this to how many Americans feel about the French. I can imagine how Americans of French origin felt when American media was bashing French people, and when businesses were doing stupid things like changing the name of ‘French Fries’ to ‘Freedom Fries’. Most people who lashed out against the French in this period had no idea why, and absolutely no educated reason for their actions. It just seamed right to people because everyone else was doing it and the media said so. Can you imagine how horribly uncomfortable it would have been to be an American or Ex-Pat from the Middle East after the 9-11 attacks………… These unfortunate people were automatically looked at as terrorists just because a small group of people from their geographic area of origin were responsible for a massive terrorist attack. What I have been through and have experienced living abroad, is only a small fraction of what these people must have felt; but it does give me the opportunity to reflect and to empathize with them. People need to realize that Stereotyping is wrong, and that it is important to judge the individual not the group. And it’s OK to disagree with what other people think, or the way our Government, or other Governments are run, but keep in mind free thinking and diversity are important things. We are a nation of diversity, where we are free to speak and express our feelings and views freely. It is not fair to exhibit prejudice or lash out on people that think differently than you, or to judge a group of people based on the actions of a few.
OK I will stop ranting and raving about my views and opinions…….but I just wanted to let people reading know that hating me or anyone else because of the country they are from is Bull S###! And that it is important for everyone to respect the views and differences of others.

Project Success, & a Much Needed Vacation

It is now 9:05 in the office, on my first day back at work since my glorious, eventful ad much needed vacation. It actually feels pretty good to be back because now I can take the control back of some project tasks that I had delegated to my colleagues. They are very competent and hard working but got a bit confused on a few of the aspects of my project. I was been a bit stressed out about work, throughout my vacation due to some absolutely horrible timing. It all started with a good/bad email…….The night before I left for my trip with my visiting American friend Aaron I received an email saying that my ‘Gita Medical Center Restoration Project’ will receive funding. This was great news of course because the grant I applied for is very competitive and difficult to attain. However the email also asked for more information about a few things, and also stated that I need to fill out a few forms and submit them by Sept 8th. This was a bit of a disaster for me because I was not scheduled to return from my trip until September 9th. So I was suffering a bit of a dilemma……do I postpone the trip I have been planning for the last 6 months and get the work done, or do I delegate all the tasks to my colleagues and hope it all works out. Well after a few phone calls and emails I hesitantly decided to delegate the project tasks to my colleagues and hit the road. I checked my emails periodically throughout my trip, and had a few scares due to my colleagues completely misunderstanding important aspects of the project. They did however do understand most of what was asked and did a great job with most of the requested information. Well anyways…….. I am back in the office today, and all the forms are signed and faxed, and all the revisions have been made. So now I can rest easy knowing that all is well and the project will be funded as planned.

The trip with Aaron AKA Enron was a blast we toured around Bulgaria for a bit stopping in Krichim so we could spend the day with my host family. We went on a hike to a small monastery and enjoyed the company of my host parents grandkids Ester and Daniel. Daniel is a 9 year old boy with Down Syndrome. He and Ester live with their grandparents (Blagovesta and Angel) every summer. It was great seeing the host family and showing my friend what a Bulgarian village is like. The weather the first weekend was overcast so our time at the Black Sea could have been a bit more memorable if the weather had cooperated. We met up with a couple of my Bulgarian friends from Chirpan, and then my German friend Johannes. I only saw Johannes one day because he and his friend Nicoli did not want to leave the Sea. Our next stop was Istanbul. We caught a late bus to Istanbul but the excitement faded when we realized that we were given a less than adequate seating arrangement. They had oversold the seats on the bus, so we had to sit on the floor the whole time. This was a bit of a disaster because it was an 8 hour trip. We arrived about 7:30 wearing shorts and sandals and hoping for sunshine……..it was of course cold and raining buckets. After a quick power-nap we met up with a couple of my PC friends and began our exploration of the city. The sun came out and we all had a great time soaking up the Turkish culture and exploring the beautiful and historical sites of Istanbul. After Aaron and I had discussed and dwelled a bit on our not so comfortable bus ride to Istanbul, we decided that we would buy a plane ticket to Athens rather than suffer through 20 hours of travel time on a bus. We were able to find a cheap flight to Athens, and get there by 10:30pm. We faced a new problem….. our flight to Athens threw off our budget a bit and we did not have any hotel reservations, or any clue where to find a hostel. This situation was a bit frustrating to deal with because a simple solution seemed to be nowhere in site. After two frantic and stressful hours of trying to find a cheap place to sleep in Athens, we gave up. We stumbled across an isolated area of the airport with about 20 or so backpackers sprawled across the benches, and lying in makeshift beds made out of 5-6 individual chairs. It was a bit humorous to see a whole clan of backpackers taking advantage of a free place to sleep. We met some really cool people that night and were given plenty of advice on exactly where to go and stay on the Greek Isles. Sleep however was non existent. I put my creative mind to work and made a bed out of 5 chairs, a pillow out of my fleece and used my beach towel as a blanket………but all in all it just didn’t work out for me. I just could not manage to get any sleep, so I gave up around 5am and spent the next couple hours talking with some friendly Canadian chicks. We left the Airport at 7am and headed to the port to catch the 8:30 ferry to Ios. We were able to manufacture a few ZZZZZs on the boat ride but our adrenaline and excitement is what got us through the day. We spent the next day at the Beach and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and much needed rest……..the disco that night was a whole different story; I will get into that some other time. After Ios we traveled to Santorini which was incredibly beautiful to say the least. Aaron and I wasted no time in tracking down-

9-12-2006 2:21pm

-scooters, after we revved up our hogs immediately took off into the night. I must admit I felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable on the scooter for the first couple hours, I guess it’s because I have not ridden a bike or driven a car for over a year. The next day we went beach hopping on our scooters and soaked up enough rays to turn us into lobsters. That evening we drove our hog’s to the far edge of the Island to watch the very famous Santorini sunset. It was absolutely stunning, and an experience of a lifetime. I can’t put into words how beautiful Santorini was; most of the island is surrounded by a 300ft high cliff with traditional Greek houses built in clusters hugging the edges. After Santorini we checked out the Acropolis and some of the other ancient ruins of Athens. Overall Athens was not very impressive in my opinion, it reminded me a lot of Sofia BG. Of course the Acropolis was incredible and definitely worth checking out. Greece was an amazing country; I just wish I had a bit more time to explore the Islands. After Athens it was time for the inevitable long and agonizing trip home. It took about 12 hours of by train, 6 hours by bus, and 3 hours of waiting around to get me back to Chirpan. My trip with Aaron was incredible and something I will always fondly remember. It was great to have a familiar face around, and to have someone who I could talk to about the good ol days of college parties and chasing the ladies around.
It’s back to the real world, my vacation is over and now I must finish the work I have started. My first day back I had quite a bit of work to catch up on, the timing of my trip made things a bit stressful but thank God it all worked out in the end. My medical clinic project is on its way to DC for final approval and soon the funds will be transferred to my project bank account. At last I have accomplished something in my community, I have definitely done a lot of little things but nothing on a visibly noticeable scale. I guess the longer I live here the more insignificant I feel, maybe it’s because everything is becoming so routine and normal, and I no longer notice the little things. Perhaps when it is all said and done I will be able to look back and see a foot print in the community I left behind…….well I hope so at least.
It’s mid September now and the weather is noticeably changing, it has been getting a bit chilly at night time which is bringing back not so pleasant memories of the harsh Bulgarian winter. Last winter was the most challenging and uncomfortable winter of my life, I can only hope that this year will be a bit easier. But I guess whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. This winter I foresee to be a bit easier, I will have Painka (the Baba) living below me, so I am thinking some of the heat from her place will rise through my floor boards and help heat my place( I am crossing my fingers). Also it will be helpful to have someone to talk to on a daily basis, and to drink coffee with when the feeling of loneliness and isolation kicks in.
A big thanks to Enron and Espen for hooking me up with Peanut Butter, even though the Gold Bond and two cans of peanut butter exploded on the plane one of the cans made it with no problems, I had a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch today and it was divine. And thanks a bunch to my good friend Karli Will for the nice words, and care package full of food, last night I ate the Kraft Mac & Cheese (it was great). Thanks to all of you who have been writing me letters and emails, it helps me a lot to know that I have friends and family that care about me. I can’t wait to come home for Christmas; it will be great to be back in the comfort and kindness of friends and family.
-TPEBOP-