Tropical Heat Wave

I can honestly say that I now know what cold feels like. A cold front came down from Russia and turned Eastern Europe into Antarctica. The temperatures plummeted over night, and my home became about as comfortable as a meat locker. The current temperature in my house is 35F. Yesterday it was 28F and before that it’s was around 24F. So things are definitely getting better. But since my house has turned into a giant ice cube, I have lost all use of my utilities. My toilet as well as the rest of the plumbing in my house are frozen solid. I have been sneaking into the local hotel to take care of business. I haven’t figured out where I will shower yet, I am just praying that my pipes will thaw out and things will go back to normal. The thing I hate the most about this experience is living without a toilet. There is another major problem I face when leaving my home to use other facilities. This problem is known as “the Turkish toilet”. A Turkish toilet is porcelain hole in the ground. Normally I refrain from using these toilets but when almost every public toilet in Bulgaria is Turkish, my options are limited. It’s like camping but you can’t really use your hand to balance yourself (three point squat). Oh I forgot to mention these toilets are usually about as clean as a honey bucket at a rock concert.
I recently spent a week in Bankya, a small town near Sofia. It was ‘in service training’, a week long conference full of business, safety and language classes. It was great to see the other volunteers in my group and to hear about all of their successes and failures up to this point. A few of the volunteers had rough times at there sites and had to be moved to different cities. Over all the conference was a good time, and relatively helpful.
Well temps this week are skyrocketing and my work situation is slowly improving. So my spirits are rising with the weather. I have a meeting with Chirpan’s athletic director tomorrow to discuss the details of the soccer tournament I am planning for this spring. Things are going well at the kindergarten as well. The kids are learning fast, and are having some fun as well. The smiles of my students really brighten my day. It’s amazing how easily those kids are entertained.
Well I haven’t been able to watch a Sea Hawk game yet this year, but I will however have the opportunity to watch the Super Bowl. I am traveling to Sofia Sunday to watch the big game at 1am. I will be watching the game at JJ Murphy’s the Irish bar that sponsors my rugby team. It won’t be a typical afternoon Super Bowl party, but I will be watching the Sea Hawks destroy the Steelers and that’s what counts.
GO SEA HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wheres the Bacon? 

Snack Food 

The Slaughter

Well folks, I am now entering into a new stage in my life. Life after my 1st Bulgarian pig slaughter. Wow what an interesting experience, despite a few quick spells of nausea I made it through the event without complications. It began in the morning; a bullet to the head put an end to the life of poor Wilber. Its was time for this chubby 300lb beast to meet its maker. The Bulgarian pig slaughter is a seasonal, day long event that usually involves two families a barbecue and plenty of rakia and wine. Yesterday I got lucky while visiting some friends in Kortovo Kanare, and became a special guest to this very unusual event.
After the pig was pronounced dead, the men of the families began the long process of turning this massive animal into pieces of food. The first step is burning off all the hair; after this is done they poured water all over the pig and scraped off the burned hair with a knife. Now its time for the fun to begin, After the pig was situated on its back a small cross was carved into its chest. This cross was then filled with salt, for skin dipping. Everyone then surrounds the pig and starts pulling and cutting off the raw skin, dipping it in the salt and eating it. I thought to myself I am in the middle of a discovery channel documentary, or maybe one of the kids in ‘Lord of the Flies’. There is no way this is really happening. Well reality sunk in after we ate the ears and snout (raw of course). I had trouble with the raw snout, It took a while to chew and it was difficult for me to clear my mind of what I was actually chewing on in order to fight back the nausea. After that I became one of them and the rest of the day wasn’t shocking at all. Butchering the pig was quite a process. The pig was systematically cut up and thrown on the grill. Throughout the butchering, a plate of cooked meat (liver, heart, throat, cheek ect.) was passed around to be chased with wine or warm rakia. It was interesting to see how the pig was systematically chopped up and to learn where all the different types of meat came from. It became a bit like a hands on anatomy lesson. Bulgarians eat the entire pig, nothing is to be wasted. It was a team effort, the men, women and the children all did their part as they all worked together to prepare the meat and internal organs for consumptions. After hours of snacking, drinking and observing the butchering it was time for the feast. We all sat around the table and enjoyed a delicious meal of fresh pork.
I feel very lucky to have been a part of this Bulgarian tradition. Spending time with these families and watching them work, laugh, and smile together was very refreshing to see. The Bulgarian pig slaughter has the same family joy and togetherness as an American Thanksgiving.

Responsibility & Tolerance

2:33am 1-4-06

Well it’s late to say the least and I have definitely had an interesting Tuesday night in Bulgaria. It started out quite slow and usual, I worked at the NGO for a bit and then after lunch I went to the municipality to talk about project ideas, and the needs of the city. After a lot of discussion I realized that my responsibility can be to find funding for these projects, my role and work at the municipality will be what I make of it.
I went home and read my current issue of Newsweek magazine, as I pondered my thoughts about how to improve the great yet dissolving city of Chirpan. I thought to myself what can I do, what should I do, what do they expect of me? Those are the repetitious questions, and I feel that they will adequately be answered in my following two years of service.
After some brainstorming sessions and some light reading, I hit up the gym. That is an experience in itself, A couple dozen juiced up tough guys wearing skin tight jeans lifting weights and flexing in the mirror every two seconds. Most of them are really nice guys, and it is a fact that Bulgarian power lifters are ranked amongst the highest in the world. I went home and took a shower which in Bulgaria is called a ‘douche’. Then I rung out my buckets of cloths and began to dry them on bars I set up in my bedroom. It takes a while but not as long as it would take if I tried to dry the cloths anywhere else in the house (Reason: because the rest of my house happens to be a toasty 40F). I tried that before and it took a week for the cloths to dry; heat is the key. I then began to cook my eggs and ham dinner, while the heat was still roaring in my bedroom. I soon found out that using two appliances in the house at the same time is not a good idea. The main fuse blew and I was left without any electricity in the whole house. So currently I am in the dark, bummer, ohh well it’s a 63amp fuse and I can find one in the morning, it will be a cold night.

(INTERSTING FACT: the language spoken by Tom Hanks in the movie The Terminal is actually Bulgarian)

My phone rings its, xxxx a good friend of mine, He wants me to head down to the Café for a beer, I say why not, its not like I can see or do anything in my place at the moment anyway, and its only 9pm so this invitation sounds quite appealing. xxxx, his lady, vvvv and yyyy are there; we have a couple drinks, and chat about the holidays. I told my friends I may go back to my training site this weekend to visit some friends. I tell them how great Krichim is and how I will be staying with a Turkish family. This strikes a fowl note with xxxx, he tells me that he doesn’t like the Turkish and how they are bad people, I give him a quick response about how ‘it’s a whole country of people how can they all be bad’, well in his opinion they all are. As he tries to explain his reasons to me; I think to myself, the ethnic tolerance issue in Bulgaria are worse than I thought. Here I thought that an educated 23 year old guy about to begin with his masters in economics would understand that discrimination, prejudice and segregation are wrong. As he began to speak of the Roma as inhuman, it dawned on me that I am in a sticky situation. I thought to myself is it even possible for me to find friends in Bulgaria that don’t think this way? Here I am in Bulgaria, trying to initiate positive change and promote understanding of these issues, and I wind up in a circle of friends that have absolutely 0 ethnic tolerance. Do I state my opinion and risk losing my only friends, or should I go for it and stand up to what I believe in and try to spark change in the minds of my Bulgarian friends. I have struggled to accept this point of view for quite some time while living in this country, and every time I come against these attitudes I have trouble finding the right words to say as a rebuttal. What I have come to accept is that many Bulgarians are eager to point the finger at Minorities because they have become a scapegoat to their own problems of poverty and struggles of living. I have however met several Bulgarians that understand the issues behind the poverty of minorities in this country. My co-workers at the municipality for example seem to have very progressive views and are willing to help promote ethnic tolerance. It’s a very touchy and controversial topic in Bulgaria and for me; is the most troubling. I personally feel that education combined with governmental support and anti-discriminatory laws is the only way to bring the Bulgarian Roma out of poverty. The situation Bulgarian minorities are in; is quite similar to that of the poverty stricken minorities in America after the abolishment of slavery.

Christmas on the Slopes

I have officially made it through my first holiday season abroad. Christmas eve I took a bus to Plovdiv and met with a few PCVs for a late lunch. I really enjoy spending time with my Peace Corps friends, we are all scattered about the country so our meetings are few and far between. After the meal we did some quick grocery shopping and hopped on a bus to Chepelarie. Chepelarie is a small town in the Roedobes(mountain range in southern Bulgaria). The crew consisted of:
Mitch- From Michigan, a laid back surfer type guy from Central Michigan University.
Kristin-From Delaware, a very intelligent and fun girl from Harvard.
Greg-(aka The Senator) from California, a very confident and experienced business type guy from Georgetown.
We made it to Chepelarie around 5 and began to cook our Christmas turkey. Our turkey was 20 pounds and barely squeezed into the microwave size stove we had. After about 6 hours we ate dinner and enjoyed our mostly cooked turkey while we reminisced about pre service training, and our future plans at our permanent sites.
The next morning we hitch hiked to the slopes and enjoyed the fresh snow at the near by ski resort of Pamparrovo. I must say snowboarding on Christmas day really took the edge off things. Christmas really wasn’t the same away from my Family and friends in America. However Snowboarding was the perfect cure for my stress and homesickness. We ended up skiing the next day in Chepelarie, and spent the following two days about 50 km away in Smolyan. Its great to have PCV friends living in the Roedobes, it made our Christmas vacation affordable.
Its new years day right now around 6:45 pm, I am exhausted from last night, and am relieved and eager to have a good night sleep. New years in Sofia was nothing short of spectacular. I truly can’t imagine a place where I would have had more fun. My friends Andrea and Boudreaux hosted a PCV party at their place. We began the night with some home made chili, and followed it with some drinks and pleasant conversation. As more PCVs showed up, the night continued its enjoy ability. All the volunteers were excited to get away from there small towns and to cut loose with their new friends. There was a moment when I was sitting in a circle of volunteer’s Indian style smoking out of a hookah (tobacco), that I realized ‘this truly is the Peace Corps’. It made me laugh to think about how much my life has changed since I moved to Bulgaria. Everything is different, and my perspectives and outlooks on things have become distorted. Why is it that I now find it ridiculously expensive to pay more than $5 dollars for a meal in a restaurant? Beaudroux told me that he is able to flush toilet paper down his toilet, and I found this unbelievable. The truth is that I only get paid around $225 a month, and the plumbing is terrible in Bulgaria so toilet paper is placed in a small garbage can, not flushed. Bulgaria is such a poor country that the money I earn is more than adequate for a PCV lifestyle. And all the other small differences have become normal and routine.
Alright back to the festivities, after a few hours of loosening up with the PC posse, we made our way to Sofia’s city center. There were thousands of people in the center, partying and having a great time. There were loud speakers bumping traditional as well as popular Bulgarian music, as well as a stage showing traditional Bulgarian dancing. When the clock struck midnight, the crowed roared and fireworks began to light the cold Bulgarian sky. It felt great to be in such an inspiring atmosphere. After about an hour of dancing the ‘hora’ and taking pulls of home made wine with friendly Bulgarians, we headed back to Boudreaux’s to continue the party and eventually sleep. As I woke up in 2006 I felt slightly beat, but overwhelmingly optimistic about the following year. I began to think about where I am and why I am here. My pondering helped me put a lot of things in perspective and gave me motivation for the following year. I consider myself lucky to be living in Bulgaria, and am appreciative to have this opportunity to volunteer in such a beautiful and diverse country.
I don’t feel like I have accomplished much in the last couple months, I have focused more on integration and less on actual work. I am feeling more and more comfortable at my site, and have been meeting some great people. That’s all for now, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.
Thanks a lot for the care packages from:
Sam and Lori and Roy and Maize- I appreciate the warm cloths, the fleece and hat are wonderful and I have had many compliments on both.

Mom and Dad- Thanks for taking the time to get me those winter cloths, Thermal underwear is key. Ohh and that was the best peanut butter I have ever had!

Julie- Thanks again for the care package