This & That; nothing too exciting

11-14-2006

The weather has been lacking any form of stability lately; there have been bursts of heat mixed in with the cold. I made a very important purchase the other day; I bought a small heater for my extra room. Before I purchased this I had to carry my 70lb soviet era radiator style heater from my office/living/wardrobe room to my bedroom every night and then back the next morning. Regrettably this is probably the most exciting thing in my life at the moment. I have been a bit frustrated lately with Peace Corps life. The ups and downs are always unpredictable and seemingly more and more frequent. I can go from happy to mad at the world to horribly depressed within a few hours. The Peace Corps lifestyle definitely toys with emotions and provides an endless amount of challenges. Even other PCV’s make life harder at times; it is like being part of a 140 person high school. The amount of drama and gossip circulating is quite pathetic. I have found that the key is to hang out with people you know and trust, and stay away from large groups of PCV’s.
I am still having problems with work, I keep hoping that things will snap back into place and the problems will work themselves out. I get frustrated when I am in situations that are out of my immediate control. I like being in charge of all situations, and the feeling of helplessness bothers me to say the least. I am now playing the waiting game for much needed information and funds to come my way.
I am actually in good spirits today; I woke up on the right side of the bed, and have been able to quit feeling sorry for myself long enough to appreciate the situation I am in. Sometimes I forget that life is full of ups and downs, and it is not only this situation that is challenging. I have been through plenty of highs and lows throughout my life, and have learned to manage the stress adequately. The problem now is that most of my former stress relieving outlets are no longer available to me. I no longer have a close friend living with me that I can talk to everyday, or an abundance of friends nearby that I can meet for a beer at will. I am no longer able to stay connected with my immediate family by periodic visits (stealing food, doing laundry ect). There are a lot of things that I miss, and have learned to live without while living in the Bulg. And despite the tone of this blog, I am actually happy with my situation and am constantly recharged with enthusiasm to fulfill my hopes and dreams.

11-16-2006

Today has been a great day so far; the sun is shining and I finally received confirmation of consignment from the AIA. So now I can breathe easily because that major headache is now over. I have been a bit worried lately because if I had not been able to secure consignment from the AIA, it would be quite possible for this whole project to fall through. Project CURE had told me previously that they no longer work with Romania due to major corruption and customs irregularities. I have been told that the container will be packed and ready to ship by the end of the month. Which his great because it means that sometime in mid January my hospital will receive $530,00.00 of much needed medical supplies and equipment.
I know I have said this before and have done nothing about it, but I really feel the need to get involved with my Roma community. It is definitely easier said than done, but I don’t really have much of an excuse not to get involved. After January I will have loads of free time, and will need to find new things to fill my free time. I really feel for the Roma kids in town, they remind me of the forgotten children I once saw in Colombian orphanages. Today on the way to work I saw two Roma kids ages 5 &7 sharing a cigarette on a bench in the park. I laughed a bit when I saw this; but then realized that their situation in life was not something to laugh about. I often see a young Roma kid walking down my street pulling a small make-shift wagon by a small rope. The kid is around 8 years old and spends his days combing the dumpsters in the area for items to put into his wagon. It is a bit difficult to put into words some of the things I see everyday ( I think I am going to start walking around with my camera). It is not uncommon at all to see Roma sorting through dumpsters, but it definitely hits a nerve with me when I see the young kids doing it. It is as if they have no hope or chance at a future; instead of school they are looking through other people’s trash. Hopefully new government changes and regulations will help curb the seemingly endless cycle of poverty that the Roma endure. I think one thing that will undoubtedly change after EU accession is the way Bulgarians treat the Roma. Bulgarians have every opportunity to attend any school they want to. It is quite common for Bulgarian children from surrounding villages to bus into their nearest city everyday to attend the schools. But if one of the kids from the Mahala (Roma Slum) wanted to attend a Bulgarian school (even if it were only 1 mile away) it would be completely unacceptable. In my town the Roma school only goes up to 8th grade; which shows a pretty clear indication of when the average Roma’s education comes to a halt.