Work & Play

4-16-2007

It has been quite a while since I have written in this blog……. so I will now attempt to fill in the holes. A lot has happened this last month, and my schedule has been ridiculously busy. So I will do my best to summarize and keep my irrelevant ramblings to a minimum.
As mentioned previously; the hospital project has completely wrapped up. After everything was finalized, my municipality insisted that we celebrate the accomplishment officially. After a few phone calls, emails and faxes we were able to establish a solid guest list for the official unveiling of the donation. On March 26th my PC program director, a representative from USAID, and the US embassies DCM came to Chirpan for as official guests of our event. The event began with a meeting in our mayor’s office; where we all gave speeches and the mayor presented me with a plaque in recognition of my volunteer work. After the meeting we proceeded to the hospital; where we walked around and observed the donated supplies and equipment in use. The day ended with a tour of the local sites of Chirpan including our art gallery and museum. So there you have it…..that is pretty much the day summed up; I wish I were able to spice up the event in writing to make it sound a bit more interesting………but…….. this is not going to happen……..due to the fact that I am about to pass out from exhaustion at any moment. It was in fact a wonderful day; and I feel very proud to be part of the project. I must say however, that I felt a bit awkward at times; knowing that I was receiving the most recognition, when in fact I am not the actual king pin in this project. I was merely the facilitator and organizer, the key forces came from elsewhere….and they are the ones who deserve the pats on the back. This event actually made it into the Bulgarian papers. I am pretty sure the US embassy / DCM issued a press release after the visit to Chirpan.





-My neck is killing me right now, and it is a bit painful to look at the screen; and yes this was self inflicted. Rugby has pretty much destroyed my body again!
Last weekend I played a rugby Tournament in Pernik…….3 games……then I came back to Sofia for a game with my Varna club……..the 4th game proved to be too much for me to handle….. I ended up wrenching my neck against the ground after being tackled….

It is getting more and more challenging to find time to write; or perhaps I am just getting lazy. I manage to convince myself that I am too busy to write; when in fact I have all the time in the world. So this is my halfhearted attempt to revamp the blog and get a few of my thoughts on paper. Ahhhhhhhhhhh my neck really hurts right now, I need someone to stand behind me and hold my head up while typing. I wonder what type of reaction this request would get from my colleagues? I suppose I could just sit my chin on a stack of books; but I imagine this would look a bit silly. OK on with the updates………..
I recently planned and executed my second annual Chirpan 4 on 4 soccer tournament. The planning of the event started a few months ago, and things fell into place much quicker and easier this time around. Last year’s tournament was a huge success so in affect it was much easier to get teams registered this time around. I decided to limit the tournament to 8 teams; and luckily I had all the teams registered by the end of February. The participating teams included: two local Roma teams, Chirpan municipality (my team), a Peace Corps Macedonia team, 2 Peace Corps Bulgaria teams, and two other Bulgarian teams. I was extremely stressed the entire day because of various elements that were sucking the life out of me.. Actually all in all I would say I was suffering from complete exhaustion. The entire day all could think about was how much I wanted everyone to clear out of Chirpan so I could crash. Why was I exhausted?………well I can think of a few reasons………..For one I had to plan the Hospital Project event the previous week; it was a short notice event and the logistics were a bit tricky. I also had to put the finishing touches on the tournament planning; which was not easy. Ohh and I also had to pack all this work in by the following Wednesday, because my trip to Egypt and Jordan began on Wednesday night. I suppose that these things could appear to be a bit simple and being stressed and worn out because of them is perhaps a bit childish. And I of course agree, although the final ingredient to my stress and exhaustion is what put me over the edge. On the Monday of the 19th I had to go to Sofia for a minor surgical procedure. I had a mole/cyst on my back that was a bit suspect, and merited immediate removal. And because the surgical incision was deep and required internal and external stitches; PC medical forced me to stay in Sofia until Wednesday in order to ensure daily check ups and observations. This situation proved to be quite an inconvenience for me……. mostly because I had a lot of work to do. So basically I was stuck in Sofia with loads of work to do, and was suffering from sleep depravation do to the fact that I was sleeping in the strange and awkward ‘sick bay’ of PC headquarters. I absolutely hate sleeping outside of my comfort zone; and sleeping on a hospital bed in the Sofia PC office is definitely not within my zone of bliss. So needless to say when I came back to Chirpan Wednesday afternoon I had a lot of work to do, and was already a bit stressed and irritated by my lack of time, and the newly infected hole in my back. Also I will add: the antibiotics I was on had been screwing up my sleep and making me feel nauseas after each meal. OK I will end it there…… because I realize that most people are not amused by my complaining.
So back to the tourney……..All the teams showed up, the sun was shining and the entire day went according to plan. My athletic director flew an American flag next to the Bulgarian one; and everyone in attendance had a blast. The tournament ended about 3:30….and at this point I was literally about to collapse. For the most part I did not show this weakness; instead I kept it hidden in order to maintain control over the situation I was in. I fought through my exhaustion in order to make sure the tournament ended strong, and with a lasting impression of satisfaction for all involved. The tournament finally ended and we all began to part separate ways and speak of future plans. After assuring the whole crew that I would meet up with them in Stara Zagora later that evening; I turned my phone off and slept the next 16 hours.

ahhhhhhhhhhhh my neck is killing me……….I think it is time for me to search the web for possible remedies………

4-18-2007

My neck is killing me right now……so I thought I would take a breather from my real work and jot a few of my thoughts down. So……..The weather is getting nicer which is great…..and if my neck was not throbbing with pain I am sure I would be in an excellent mood. I have absolutely nothing to complain about….I am literally living out a dream of mine, and am surrounded by wonderful people. So life is good; and I am thankful for life. I have actually been thinking a lot about life and death lately. I guess sometimes you just need to take a step back and realize that life is precious and we are all lucky to be able to live life. Ups and downs are inevitable but even the bad times make the good times that much better. Death is definitely a scary thing; I suppose it helps not to think about it. We are all part of a game and the variables that affect this game can knock you out at anytime without warning. That is a fact; our fast paced and diverse lives add an extra variable of spontaneity. Instead of the old days where you may fall off a horse or bump your head on a tree; now you may fall off a motorcycle, or crash your car, or crash your plane, or even your bike. Perhaps I should wander of into the woods and live a long life in seclusion, away from the mortality variables. That actually would not be very fun…would it?...... I choose life…….I choose adventure….I choose to live life with variables and am excited and intrigued by the unknown. In the words of Toby Helfenstein “drive fast take chances”. I often find myself plagued with over thinking……I seem to contemplate…..worry……brainstorm……and fantasize a bit more than I should. I suppose it is because I am currently crossing another bridge in my life…… and this time there is a multiple fork about half way across the bridge. I am forced to choose a direction but am finding myself intrigued and equally drawn toward each option in front of me. So …….after a few sleepless nights of muddled and incoherent thinking….I have decided to jump off the bridge and swim somewhere unexpected and different. I am completely aware that I will be forced to confront this bridge again later on in life……..but for now….I am comfortable and content with my indecisiveness and overall lack of direction.

Well I am finally finishing with my Gita medical center project (just a bit more paperwork). Yesterday I attended one of the health education classes that my project created. It seamed to go quite well; the kids were relatively attentive and seamed to appreciate the efforts of Dr Koleva’s teachings. It was interesting to see how primitive and run down everything was in Gita(Gita is a village of around 800 people about 7km from Chirpan). The village life in Bulgaria appears to be like another world compared to life in suburban America. In a way the Bulgarian village lifestyle appears to bring with it a blissful simplicity……but I suppose in economic and sociological ways; it also brings a hindering handicap and overall dissadvantage. Like in small towns all over the world; money, education, and opportunity for village residents are not at the same level as the nearby populated areas. I noticed that about 95% of the students in the Gita classroom were Roma…….this made me wonder what their future would be like. Small town, rural Bulgaria, Roma ethnicity,…….all in all it spells disadvantage……. and almost certain failure when compared to our society’s view of success, accomplishment and quality of life. Thankfully Bulgaria has been changing drastically the past few years, and it is beginning to look like there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel. Time will only tell if these equality issues get sorted out…….or if things get a increasingly worse before they get better.
The roof of the medical center has been professionally fixed, and the building is now fully functional. I feel very proud to be involved with this project; and am very thankful for all the help given by my colleagues. They were very helpful in the planning and implementation of this project. The following are a few pics………
Before

After


Well the clock is now ticking………less than 5 months left of service. What happened? It does not even seam possible that my time here is almost up. It is actually a bit scary to think about it…….I find myself brainstorming ways to prolong my adventures. I have absolutely no intention of returning to the USA anytime soon. To me it is more frightening to return home than it is to begin living in another foreign country. I have been gone too long……life has gone on without me. Home in the USA is no longer home…….it is more of a faded and fuzzy memory of comfort and belonging. I miss my family and friends immensely, but definitely feel that I need some more time overseas to figure things out. In 4.5 months I will be free from all responsibilities for the first time in my life. I feel like I will at last be free of all obligations, and time will mean absolutely nothing. I will become a sponge and will soak up all of life’s challenges, experiences, and joy as they comes near me. Wow…….I am really excited to experience this type of freedom…….and the plan is not to have a plan. I will travel spontaneously and stretch each dime out as thin as possible in order to journey as long and as far as possible. OK…….I better stop all this senseless daydreaming about the future and warp myself back into the present.

The trip………Well let me begin by saying that this trip was absolutely incredible in every aspect of the word. We covered a near impossible amount of ground; and saw breathtaking things almost every day. The trip was so full and busy, that if it were not for all the incredible sights……we would have all collapsed with exhaustion daily. So let me try and describe how the trip went down. (the trip included: Emily, Meghan, Porto, Beach, and I)
First we all met up in Sofia and began our adventure by flying to Amman, Jordan. After we arrived in Amman we were taken immediately to our hotel in Petra(3hr drive). We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and looking forward to the following day. We woke up around 6:30am and made it into the ancient city of Petra by 7:30am. I was completely taken back by Petra……each corner seamed more spectacular than the previous. I ended up taking 130 pictures during the first 2 hours I was there. The beautiful sandstone canyon was magnificently cut out and transformed into cave homes, amphitheaters, temples ect. I could not believe how large and intricate this city was. It was a breathtaking experience to be able to hike and climb around the ruins of a city that dates back thousands of years. We spent around 9 hours in the city the first day and were barely able to scratch the surface of the city. Will and I took donkeys 2km up a rocky mountainside in order to get to a hidden 2,000+ year old monastery. We also decided to hitch rides on the local camels, and soon realized that the goofy beasts are slow and their saddles make for a less than comfortable experience. I have never seen anything as remarkable in my life; nor do I imagine ever seeing anything quite as spectacular again. I could go on all day about Petra and how amazing it is……but I tend to ramble so I will just add a few photo’s………









The next day we woke up at 6 and spent the morning in Petra exploring a few other parts of the city. The highlight of the morning was coming across a mountain peak with a perfectly carved sacrificial alter and area of congregation. I highly recommend everyone reading this to visit Petra……it was amazing!!!!!!
We then left Petra for our jeep tour of the Wadi Rum-desert national park. We spent the day driving around the desert and stopping at intricate wind carved sandstone canyons; Natural arcs, pictures and cave writings dating back to 1500bc; red sand dunes and several other amazing sights. After a long day of driving around the desert we dropped our things off at camp and climbed to the top of a large rock to watch the sun go down (meanwhile my bag was being looted by the camp guy-he left my sim card from my cell phone- which was nice of him). After the sun went down we enjoyed some delicious traditional Jordanian food and spent the rest of the evening pleasantly talking around the camp fire. We were there with an American / Canadian couple living in Kuwait; they were an interesting couple and a pleasure to converse with.
-----Insert Wadi Rum pics---------




The next morning we woke up….checked out a few more sights and then made our way to Aqaba. After a bit of haggling we were able to get a good price on our hotel room; which was a bit run down…..and filthy…….but hey….it had an incredible view. Our balcony looked over the Red Sea into Israel.

And we were only about 100yds from the beach; unfortunately the beach was not that impressive. It was overcrowded and littered with trash……..it was an interesting experience to see actually. The women swim with all of their cloths on; including veil.

Meghan and Emily actually did not have much fun in Aqaba due to the fact that they were hot and could not swim; or do much of anything without being harassed by local men. I enjoyed Aqaba and found most of the people to be quite pleasant and friendly. I also enjoyed the delicious falafel sandwiches which became the staple of my diet for most of the trip.
The Next morning we took a Ferry across the Red Sea to Egypt. This adventure turned out to be a lot more complicated than anticipated; the customs took a long time, and we had a difficult time finding a fair priced taxi to take us to Sharm el Sheik. We ended up paying more for the cab than we should have……..but our options were limited so we did not really have a choice. Sharm is like Vegas, Maui, and Palm Springs all rolled into one. I personally was not a huge fan of the place, and would have much rather traveled somewhere else…….but the girls were running the show and had been planning this trip for years……so I had to go with the flow. I convinced my buddy Porto to save some cash with me by staying at trashy hotels. The first night we stayed at a hostel; which was absolutely disgusting and filled with bugs. The sheets were stained and did not appear to be clean in any way shape or form. Also the hostel was about 10km from the sea and was right next to a large mosque. And the problem with this is the ‘Call to Prayer’……..this means that several times a day a loud speaker blasts prayer songs for all to hear. This is actually quite pleasant and fascinating usually……..but it can be a bit irritating when it goes off like clockwork at 4:15am every morning. The next day we decided to try our luck somewhere else, we moved into the grass huts of a Beduin village near Shark Bay.

The huts were fine for the most part; they were near the beach, comfortable…cheap… but were obviously not air tight………and this caused us to run into a bit of a problem with the local insects. I slept with the sheets over my entire body because I was being viciously attacked by mosquitoes…….in the morning we both looked as if we had just survived a week in the Amazon….Porto had large bumps all over his body (sorry Porto). The whole time I kept thinking about the possibility of ‘West Nile virus’ I am still alive and well so I guess I dodged that bullet.
The Second night in Sharm we all took a bus to Mt Sinai at 10pm. We began hiking at 2am and reached the summit around 4:30am. It was a bit chilly at the top so I ended up renting a blanket from one of the Beduins working near the peak. We watched the beautiful sunrise at the peak at about 5:20am. I cannot even describe how incredible this experience was. It felt special to be there; and to be able to see the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains. As the sun rose we were able to witness the sunshine slowly lighting up the orange and red rocks of the mountain. It was an almost spiritual experience to watch the sunrise from a mountain of such biblical significance(ten commandments / Moses).



We began our descent at around 7:00am and by the time we arrived at the bottom we were all horribly exhausted. The lack of sleep was very visible in our appearance, moods and even our conversations. We all managed to stay awake through breakfast and a tour of the monastery. The monastery was quite interesting and supposedly had quite a bit of biblical significance…mostly relating to Moses. I found this tourist approach to be a bit tacky and illogical. As our tour guide pointed to a visibly old and large blackberry bush within the monastery; he told us that this was in fact the ‘burning bush’. I quietly laughed as I saw all the tourists take their pictures in front of this supposedly magical plant. I suppose this is the definition of religious tourism at its finest. Just another postcard and silly photo to show your friends…….but despite my skepticism…and exhaustion I will say that the monastery was beautiful and the original parts (4th century) were in fact well preserved. It was now around 11:00am and we were now on our way back to Sharm. After around 30 hours without sleep it was nearly impossible for me to communicate with other people. Beach and I tried halfheartedly to have a conversation and both gave up mid sentence……. We both laughed because neither of us had enough energy to continue speaking.
After spending way too much money in Sharm we all flew to Cairo. We arrived in Cairo around 8am and after checking into our hotel we headed to the Egyptian Museum. For me the highlights of the museum were the mummies, and the king Tut section. It was really cool to see all the pharaohs in the flesh. This was exciting for me because after seeing Ramses II’s mummy at the museum,…I was able to see large statues of him all over Egypt….I even saw where his tomb was in the valley of the kings. The Egyptian Museum was incredible; and by far the most interesting and unique museum I have ever visited. That evening we visited ‘Coptic Cairo’: a place of significance for the early years of Christianity.

The next day we hopped on a tour bus and headed to Giza. We started out with the large pyramids and the Sphinx. I had no Idea the pyramids were that big. 500ft high………..I was thinking they were more like 150ft high. I was very impressed……we did run into a bit of a problem with the weather however. We found ourselves right in the middle of a sandstorm; the winds were blowing hard and the sand made it difficult to see(or even breathe). We all ended up buying head scarves and our problem was then solved.





After the Pyramids we headed to Memphis where we saw another sphinx and a large fallen statue of Ramses II.

The last stop of the day was the step Pyramid and another temple with a small pyramid(We were actually allowed inside this pyramid)


Next stop Aswan……….After a 14.5 hour night train we arrived in Aswan. It was a long trip but not completley horrible; thanks to the reclining train seats and the highly effective Egyptian sleeping pills I had purchased. Aswan was ridiculously hot…..I was told that it has not rained in Aswan for 6 years. So yes the heat was a bit on the unpleasant side. We took it easy our first day in Aswan, and spent most of the day relaxing and walking along the Nile river.
- I should mention that at this point I am sick. I had been eating cheap street food………and I think it took its toll on my body. I learned right away that it is a good idea to bring toilet paper with you wherever you go……..and pepto is a gift from God.
So day two…… we woke up at 3am and took a bus to Abu Simbel temple(20km from Sudan) and guess what……….it turns out the farther South you go…… the hotter it gets. The bus driver said it was 40C!


Abu Simbel was unbelievable but the experience was slightly tainted because I was having stomach problems the whole time. My body lost all of its stability, and began to feel much more comfortable when I was within a 2min walking distance of a toilet. I conquered this problem by starving myself and popping pepto like it was candy. Game on……..after Abu Simbel we proceeded to Philae Island where we spent time wandering around the temple of Isis.

We made it back to Aswan around 3pm…….we had a couple hours to burn so we took a ferry to Elephantine Island. Porto and I walked around the Nubian villages while Meghan got a henna tattoo from a Nubian woman. The village was very poor and primitive yet very fertile and beautiful.

At 6pm we took a train to Luxor…….we arrived around 9pm and were all a bit too wiped out to do anything significant. Our Hostel had been overbooked so upon arrival we were moved to a 3 star hotel nearby. It was quite a blessing to have such a nice hotel room for the night. We were all exhausted and enjoyed the peaceful and pleasant rest. We all woke up energized(I was feeling much better)……We headed to the Carnac temple where we spent hours wandering around the amazing ruins.




The next day we rented bikes and cruised around Luxor visiting all the main sites including the Valley of the kings; (we all went inside king Tuts tomb), Nobles Tombs and other less significant sites. We all enjoyed riding the bikes……It was a lot of fun to cruise around the area at our own pace, and to enjoy the warm(scorching hot) air blow through our hair as we rode throughout the beautiful agricultural lands of Luxor.





Well this blog ran a bit long…..but I guess I had a lot to write about and now have enough free time to jot down a few of my thoughts and past experiences. Overall I thought Egypt was great….the only downside was the constant heckling of the locals. I was irritated daily by the dishonesty and the constant hassle of many of the locals. Even buying water on the side of the street took about 5 minutes because I had to bargain down the price. The locals however outside the tourist areas appeared to be very kind and warm people. We actually met up with a couple of Wills College friends (who live in Cairo) and were able to spend our last day resting / souvenir shopping in Cairo.
Alright friends and family that is all for now……….I hope all is well on the other side………and please keep the emails coming it is always great to hear from you guys.
Trevor Lewis Lake