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-