Tuesday, August 28, 2007

-Thoughts & Opinions-

8-20-2007
It is getting ridiculously hot again!!!! I am constantly sweating profusely……and finding it increasingly difficult to escape the brutal heat. On the other hand, my misery is at least partially self induced. I have not had a haircut since last Octobe,…..and the mop on my head seams to not only annoy me constantly, but also trap in body heat. My brilliant, and well thought out game plan is to grow out my hair until I return to the USA…….and that obviously; will not be for quite some time.

I have been getting a bit frustrated lately with certain aspects of Bulgarian life. I feel that I have definitely used a lot of self restraint and patience over the years,……..but my patience lately has been limited. The many cultural differences I am faced with daily can really wear down your morale. I become a bit frustrated at times with the way I am often viewed by other Bulgarians. I am often looked at as a rich naïve tourist……..but in fact I am the opposite……..I am not the easiest mark these days. I consider myself quite aware…..and comfortable in this country. I speak Bulgarian……and once this is known I am not looked at as a target anymore. Of course usually only encounter this sort of sketchiness when I am in large cites and tourist areas. This is because tourism in Bulgaria is a bit new, and all foreigners here are immediately assumed to be naïve-ignorant tourists. The money changers and cab drivers can be ruthless and persistent. I have had to yell at cab drivers on several occasions in order to get my correct change back, or to dispute the inflated cab fair. This type of constant annoyance hit close to home last weekend……………….
To my shock and amazement someone tried to rip me off in my own town. I am not much of a stranger in Chirpan; in fact pretty much everyone knows me or knows of me. In a small town a foreigner sticks out like a sore thumb.
What happened was………..I was in the local disco in Chirpan. My crew and I showed up at 2:30am which is right when the place gets going. The door man charged me the usual 2BGL cover……. and I entered. After dancing around with my friends for a while…….I was informed by my buddy that the cover for the disco was actually only 1BGL. The punk bastard at the door had charged my double the price for entry. Even though it was only an extra 70cents………I became furious. I immediately walked out side and approached the bouncer. I then proceeded to yell at the bouncer and demand he give me my money back. After a short moment pretending he was innocent and confused……he realized the seriousness in my face and immediately returned the money he had stolen from me. It was actually quite a liberating experience……..it felt great to regain my role as an equal in the community. I also made the guy look like a jerk in front of all the other security guys. This is obviously not a great story……but for me it made me feel great. It feels wonderful to be able to become irate and yell at someone in a foreign language. Perhaps next time I am in the states and am in a fit of anger; I will yell at them in Bulgarian…….and leave them in a half angry…mostly confused state.
Less than two more months in the Bulg! The clock is winding down and the excitement for my big trip has been building…………….OK…..well…….I ran out of things to ramble on about…….so…. over and out.

8-28-2007

Well…….I am again in the office………and once again bored out of my mind. What should I do with myself? Well what can I write about that I have not written about 100 times before????
I am getting really excited about my long journey after I complete my Peace Corps assignment. I may have mentioned this before, but in case I have not…….here is the game plan.
-October 10th leave for a quick tour of Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo. I will travel this stretch solo and possibly hitch hike between the countries…this is tentative according to weather.

-October 24th my buddy Max and I will join forces in Bulgaria and travel down to Istanbul; from here we will hitchhike or bus-it through Turkey counter clockwise until we reach Adana (southern Turkey)……..from Adana we take a bus to Syria. We will make our way down to Damascus and eventually cross into Lebanon and spend a few days in Beirut. And then we reverse our trek and head north to Turkey to finish the counter clockwise Turkey trek. We will pop into Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia before making our way back up to Istanbul.

-Next we will take a ferry from Istanbul to Odessa Ukraine, and while in Ukraine will pop over to Moldova for a few days. After the Ukraine we head west to Slovenia-Hungary, and then on to Czech Republic.

-Then we head to Poland, and eventually north east to Lithuania-Latvia-Estonia and then off to St. Petersburg Russia. We will take a train from Moscow to Mongolia, and after Mongolia we will head to Beijing.

- From Beijing we will head into Tibet (by the way this whole trip is pretty much by train). We will spend time in Lhasa and eventually head west to the Himalayas. After we arrive in Katmandu Nepal, We will trek for up to a month in order to make it to Mt. Everest base camp 18,000+ ft). From Nepal we are forced to Fly to Bangkok (because the countries in route are Closed.(Bhuttan, Burma).

-After Thailand we will head to Cambodia-Nam-Laos (possibly a few more countries; depending on funds) and then back through China up to Hong Kong.

-From Hong-Kong to the Philippines, and from the Philippines to Taiwan.......and then back into China and north to Shanghai.
From Shanghai we head to South Korea and from there to Japan. After some Sushi and Karaoke we fly from Tokyo to the USA…………………so that is the trip………
Expect to see me in the states late spring of 2008………the schedule is not set in stone…….so I may return sooner or later. And obviously if I get malaria right away or get mugged the trip may end sooner.

So I have been in Bulgaria for over two years; and now I suppose it is time to reflect on my time here. I have observed many changes in this country over the last two years; some good……..some bad. The infrastructure of this country has been drastically changing for the better……Bulgaria is starting to look more and more like a developed country. However, the swift economic changes in Bulgaria produce a brutally challenging life for many. For example the pensioners: because of inflation and their ridiculously low pension ($50 a month)…….they are in really bad shape, and are feeling a constant decrease of happiness and hope.
I must also mention that (in my opinion) the ethnic tolerance in Bulgaria has taken absolutely zero strides forward. Bulgarians have continued to foster crippling prejudices toward the Roma population. I honestly have a hard time visualizing change and progression in curbing this problem. It seams like such a simple and basic concept,……..equality… humanity…respect…cultural acceptance…..however, history has shown these to be disabling and always subjective issues.

For the Sake of clarity I will present you a few news headlines from the last couple weeks. These headline stories should paint a pretty clear picture of the problems I am writing about. Basically the discrimination, prejudice, and hatred between Bulgaria’s minority groups and Bulgarians has been fiercely escalating lately. And in my opinion……..things do not seem to be improving. I personally do not see there being an acceptable level of equality, and ethnic tolerance in Bulgaria’s near future.

-A 17-year-old Roma was beaten to death by a group of Bulgarian youngsters in Samokov on Tuesday night. Euroroma leader Tsvetelin Kunchev is quoted as saying that he’s going to demand the most severe punishment for the perpetrators

-Three underage Romas beat and robbed a 39-year-old man in Pleven.

-At least 200 Roma gathered Monday night in the district, including children under ten, who carried axes, cudgels, pitchforks and stones, chanting "Death for the Bulgarians". The policemen apparently did not know how to react and decided to watch passively the scenes of violence.

- The police are still investigating the circumstances of the brawl, but Roma witnesses claimed it was retaliation for a clash the previous night, when 30 skinheads reportedly attacked three Roma teenagers, one of whom was badly beaten.

- Roma residents in Pazardzhik are gearing up to respond to Boyan Rasate’s National Guard by forming their own units of defense. Euroroma regional leader Borislav Daskalov said they were not planning to remain passive. He added that they had already started to train Roma youngsters to join what they call it Organization of the Minorities for Protection Against Violence. Euroroma leader Tsvetelin Kanchev called his party fellow’s statement “pure nonsense.”

-There is no reason for ethnic tension in Bulgaria and those who will be trying or are trying to use ethnic differences for their own political agenda are not doing this nation a favor, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ivaylo Kalfin told reporters in Kavarna yesterday. Kalfin said though that he was concerned over what was happening: "It is unacceptable to have Bulgarian citizens -- Roma or others -- walking about aggressively, axe in hand."

-A TV journalist of Roma origin was not allowed in the Leda swimming pool area on Friday. She went there together with her sister and nephew but was asked to leave because it was as the guards told her “a private property.” Draganova called the Police which made the swimming pool manager show up saying that everybody was allowed into that recreation complex.

-An opinion poll carried out by Mediana polling agency according to which 67.3% think that there is racial discrimination in Bulgaria, 10.2% said - there isn’t, and 22,4% said they were not certain about that. According to 94.1 % of the respondents the state should take care of all of its citizens. Only 5.9% think that everybody should be responsible for his or her own life

-Bulgaria was placed among the relatively violent nations according to the Global Peace Index run on the Vision of Humanity home page. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated 121 countries by their ‘absence of violence’ and Bulgaria is under number

- The Bulgarian People's Union, self-proclaimed as modern nationalists, plan to set up voluntary teams for self-defence of the population under extreme circumstances. The leader of the union Boyan Rasate announced Sunday that the teams will run to the protection of citizens in case of "abuse, tensions, natural disasters, failures and etc." The teams will be the first step toward establishing Bulgarian National Guard, Rasate said. The initiative is a response to the recent Roma revolt in Sofia's Krasna Polyana district. At least 200 Roma, including children under ten, carrying axes, cudgels, pitchforks and stones, tried to retaliate against a group of skinheads, who injured a Roma teenager last Sunday. With policemen afraid to intervene so as not to be accused of using excessive violence and watching from afar, the mob set fire to garbage bins and chanted "Death to Bulgarians."

OK………….so in conclusion Bulgarians and the Roma minority are not exactly on the same page these days. Both ethnic groups fear each other and are planning on building their own personal national guard. So what exactly does this mean: well……….it appears that the groups fear each other so much; that they now feel the need to be prepared for some sort of mini-civil war. I do not feel things will soon escalate to this level, however, I do believe that we have not seen the end of Bulgarian-Roma violent conflict.
I have had the last couple years to ponder these problems….but have not come up with any sort of realistic hypothetical solution. The problem is too large and complex to even suggest a simple solution. The prejudices run deep……..and the cultural differences and social norms of the two ethnic-social groups run even deeper. I guess we can just assume that someday there will be a Roma ‘Malcom X’ or ‘Martin Luthar King Jr’. who will start a much needed civil rights movement in Bulgaria. When will this happen? Will this ever happen? What happens if this never happens? Is it possible for the Roma and Bulgarians to live peacefully together, yet separate and independent? Ahhhhhhhh the future…………only time will tell what the outcome of this situation will be. I feel optimistic….based on my opinion that man is inherently good, peaceful harmony is an easier form of coexistence than war and conflict,……and that there will always be people who feel compassion for the different and depraved.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

-Boredom & Random Thoughts-

8-6-2007 3:13pm

I am really bored at the moment; I am having a really hard time occupying my time. What the hell am I going to do for the next two months? Things at work are ridiculously slow! I am seriously counting down the days until I am able to finish my assignment. I love Bulgaria……..and my community; but I can’t help but feel that my time here is finished.
Not a lot has happened lately…….however, my quality of life has overall been quite good. My social life has been through the roof lately…….which is nice. I made friends with a few middle aged English couples who have bought houses near Chirpan. It has become quite easy and popular for Britt’s to retire in Bulgaria and live of their pension. You can still buy a house in rural Chirpan for about $5,000. It really makes me consider selling my truck and buying a house here…(strictly as a vacation spot/investment). Also my friend Nolan has been in town the last few weeks. He is a Zulu from South Africa who is married to a Bulgarian girl from Chirpan. I met them a couple winters ago……and have stayed in touch with them ever since then.
Nolan and I have had a blast hanging out…….I have thoroughly enjoyed observing the reactions of the locals when they see Nolan around town. All of the hip-hop crazed teens treat Nolan like a celebrity….it is quite a treat and a novelty for them to actually speak with a black guy. Of course these kids think all black people are exactly like those portrayed on rap and hip-hop videos. Ahhhh the wonderful influence of MTV!
Well my Baba’s health has continued to decline…it has become obvious that her knee cancer is causing her a lot of pain. She has a hard time because she lives alone and basically has no one to help her out. I make an effort to help her out now and again with simple tasks, and I also throw a few bucks her way now and again in exchange for some laundry service. She is a pro at hand washing! I have been hand washing my clothes for 2 years, but have not mastered how to actually get the clothes clean. It usually takes me about 3 days to do a load, and I pretty much just keep the clothes in a bucket of soapy water and poke it with a wooden stick from time to time (not efficient of effective!). The Baba has been cooking for me quite a bit lately……..we usually have lunch together, and chat about how hard her life is and how I am a good boy. Haha……I suppose everyone needs to vent from time to time.
It is kind of funny how old people still have primitive views on ethnicity and race. Painka (my baba) found it completely bizarre that my friend Nolan was married to a white Bulgarian girl. Painka told me that she must have married him for money…….because why else would a white girl marry a black man? I took this statement lightly and wrote it off as age induced ignorance. I of course explained to Painka that this marriage was perfectly normal and that love was the key factor in this union; not money. She gently laughed off my statement as an impossibility,……and continued talking about how hard her life is. After a few minutes had passed Painka gave me a curious and doubtful smile while she asked me if I would ever marry a black woman. I smiled at her and gave here a cliché answer such as; Love is color blind. She laughed and shook her finger at me with disbelief. I actually did not find this situation very surprising or unusual;……….the generation gap is huge between Painka and I. It would be quite unreasonable for me to expect an old woman to understand the complexity and tolerance of my generation. Nonetheless I found it interesting and somewhat amusing to hear bits of blatant racism come from the lips of a sweet old lady.
Ohhh and I will also mention that I recently found out that the Roma were discriminated against harshly during communism. I have been told recently that during communism the Roma (gypsies) were not even allowed in the cafes and shops in Chirpan. The Roma were only allowed to enter the city’s center once a week; and during certain hours. To be more specific; Roma were only allowed into the center on market day, so they could pick up supplies for the week. I find it interesting that unconcealed discrimination and racism was so prevalent in ‘Europe’ as recent as 20 years ago. Of course obvious racism, prejudice and discrimination is nothing out of the ordinary in Bulgaria. Bulgaria clearly has deep and prevalent ethnic tolerance issues. This morning I read a news brief about how a Roma woman in Bulgaria died because the ambulance she had called took over two hours to come to her. She was living in a known gypsy slum……and it is speculated that the hospital did not prioritize her assistance because of her ethnicity. Obviously there is a problem when a group of people in an EU country are looked at as second class citizens and denied emergency health care.
My other Baba; or more specifically my host mother from Krichim is sick again. Her cancer came back recently, and she is now in the process of chemotherapy. She seems to be doing well at the moment; but I suppose a lot can change in little time.
Alright I will stop writing just to write………it has been hard to find anything to write about lately. And writing is something I have relied on lately to cure my boredom. Anyways……I hope all is well in the states. As I have previously mentioned; I plan on coming back to the USA next spring. I will travel the world in the mean time….and hopefully expand my mind during my journey. Seachko whobavo (I wish everything well for you)
Trevor

8-14-2007

Well it is another hot and unbearably boring afternoon in the office. Lately I have been daydreaming constantly about my future adventures. I am beginning to get a bit overly excited about my long journey to come. I have been spending an hour or two researching and planning my trip every day. Lately I have been feeling a bit more adventurous and daring; I feel that several countries may be safer than media and public opinion states.
In other news…..my social life has continued to skyrocket. I have been going out to dinner quite regularly with the village ex-pats, and have spent a bit of time on the Black Sea. I have really enjoyed spending time with my South African friend Nolan, and hearing him speak of all the dangers and differences of his homeland. I find it fascinating that he comes from a land where baboons rifle through your trash, and massive hippos creep into suburban neighborhoods. It makes my previous suburban wildlife encounters with raccoon and deer seem exceptionally insignificant.
Nolan speaks often of how unsafe it has become in South Africa; a place where it seams that life is insignificant to many. Apparently South African’s get robbed, raped and murdered frequently. Nolan has lived in South Africa most of his life, but has never lived without constant fear and anxiety. He refuses to go in certain areas after dark, and keeps a large knife under his pillow while he and his wife sleep.
I have been keeping up with the current events via internet…….what a crazy world we live in. Unfortunately I am not living in area submerged with Americans. I doubt most Americans realize just how poor the United State’s image has become. I find myself constantly confronted with ex-pats and locals who force me to defend the American government and our foreign policies………this is not an easy thing to do. I usually just explain that the US has a very diverse and large population, and that all 300,000,000 of us have our own ideas and opinions about American politics. This usually silences my confronters and allows me a swift and gently exit from annoying debate and conversation.
Personally I find it to be irritating that I have to constantly defend my country against slander and false information. Why is it that so many people feel completely comfortable insulting Americans and their nation? When did this become an appropriate thing to do? I would never consider blatantly insulting someone because of their nationality and governments policies. Discussion and debate are vital to communication and greater understanding, however; blatant prejudices and unjustified slander based on media based stereotypes is absolutely disheartening and wrong. What the hell happened to everyone? How did the United States go from friendly neighbor to arrogant bully overnight? Arguably/obviously; our government and policies have been a bit rough and tough on certain countries……..,in general I personally still believe in my country, and feel that many of the United State’s actions are indeed selfless and for the greater good of the world we all live in. Living in the spotlight has been tough for the USA…….nothing ever slips through the cracks. We are constantly criticized and scrutinized for our flaws but rarely praised for our humanitarian efforts and policies of peace, friendship, and democracy.
Democracy of course is up for debate as well………..it works for us, but is it necessarily vital for the rest of the world? For example the small family structure is a miniature dictatorship; and it works fine……….so what it comes down to is: If you have a good dictator who truly cares about the country and its people…….what is the harm in that?? I am just throwing out ideas and thoughts……..I am not in anyway promoting communism or dictatorships. Only because both have historically failed significantly; communism for example is great as a philosophy but a nightmare when practiced on a large scale. Free will is a powerful thing………and so is greed and laziness.
Americans in general seem to be a bit close-minded and uneducated when it comes to the differences between the USA and the rest of the world. What exactly makes us different? I can personally answer this question quite easily when comparing and contrasting other countries based on my experiences overseas. But can you? Do you know why America is great? It is easy to say that America is great because it is free……….but have you noticed that the UK is not exactly putting its citizens in jail for practicing Islam? Have you noticed that freedom and excellent health care is ridiculously prevalent in Europe and other regions? I feel people need to educate themselves more on what it means to be free, and what makes the USA significant.
The USA is great for many reasons besides the fact that we are “free”. Our significance and patriotism runs deeper than that……the financial upward mobility is there for those who strive for it! This in my opinion is one of the many reasons why our country should be proud, also the fact that we are free to speak our minds and even carry around fire arms is something to appreciate. How about the fact that you can get any type of food you desire…….try finding a pack of tortillas or a can of peanut butter in the Middle East or Eastern Europe. How about the fact that,……. police are there for you at any time of the day to protect and serve and of course firemen are always on hand to keep your house from burning to the ground. I will stop with this ranting about how the world should stop talking shit about America. As I have said before; judge one by his or her personal values and beliefs not by the ones of their government. Basically do not insult someone based on their government and their country’s unfavorable world opinion. Bias and unprovoked insults upon others based on generalizations and stereotypes; only show ones ignorance and lack of intellect.

‘BARRY BONDS’
Ahhhhh ……….so…………… he broke the home run record! I could go on all day about this little situation, however; I will attempt to make my opinions brief. Let’s go ahead and throw all the cards out on the table. Barry Bonds is in fact an excellent hitter, he proved himself at a young age to be an excellent power hitter, and undoubtedly one of the best of his era. However that does not mean that his drug use should be ignored. Steroids are in fact performance ENHANCING drugs. They are taken to give athletes an edge on their opponents. And according to piles of documents and testimony by credible sources……….Barry Bonds took steroids!
OK lets pretend that the BALCO case did not bring up loads of significant evidence against Barry…….how about I paint you a picture.

-Rookie Year: 1986 Barry was 22 year old and weighed in at a solid and strong 185lbs
-Between 1986 and 1996 his weight fluctuated between 185-190lbs
-In 1997 at age 33 he showed up to spring training weighing 206lbs
-hmmm a 16 pound gain in a few off season months…….interesting
- Between 1997-2000 he only gained 4lbs and finished the 2000 season at 210lbs
-Well it looks like he hit the gym hard again because at age 37 he gained a whopping 18lbs
-He showed up to spring training 2001 ridiculously swollen and at 228lbs
-Just in time for some record breaking swings of course!

So there is the visual evidence, it has been said that his teammates nick named him the incredible hulk because of how swollen he looked when he arrived at spring training in 2001. So there you have it………he took steroids and cheated. So in my opinion Barry’s home record has about as much merit as the women’s East German Olympic weight lifting team’s gold medals. If we can defame and shun a man who evaded taxes and bet on baseball(Pete Rose)………why not scrutinize illegal drug use? In short Hammering Hank is still the home run king in my eyes.
Of course we do have hope, and it comes drug free. Our knight in shining armor is none other than A-Rod. If all goes according to plan this guy will shatter the home run record and hopefully add a bit of prestige and honor back into the now cheapened and tarnished home run record.
By the numbers Alex is actually ahead of the pack.
i.e. – when you look at the first 14 seasons:
1954- 1967 Hank Aaron had 481 home runs
1986-2000 Barry Bonds had 445 home runs
1994-2007 Alex Rodriguez has 500+
So there it is……..good luck A-Rod. And Go Mariners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a picture from the last summer camp I worked at in the village of Zavet
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