It's been long over due since my last post and I have been really busy in that time. June 2nd is a national holiday in Bulgaria when the people remember a war hero named Hristo Botev. Our group was lucky enough to score tickets to the exclusive opera that was honoring Botev which was in Vratsa on June 1st. There were a lot of big wigs at the opera, or at least thats what people were telling us. The president of Bulgaria was sitting right above us in a suite and after the opera we were less than an arms length from him which was pretty cool. Speeches and fireworks concluded the night. The next day we took a bus to the top of the mountain we live on to partake in the days festivities. People from local villages brought food and drinks and set up tents to sell them. It was a lot of fun.
Around the 8th of June, our group had a community meeting in which we discussed ideas for a community activity/project. Leading up to the meeting, we made invitations and handed them out to community leaders, our families, and other people throughout pavolche. We emphasized that there would be AMERICAN SWEETS in hopes that more people would show up. Our group made rice krispy treats, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies. They were awesome! Anyways, we had about 30 people show up to our meeting, which we thought was a good result. The project we decided on was to clean up the area near the small river in town and install benches so people can utilize the area. The local factory owner said he would donate 4 benches, which cost between 100-180 leva each and our total budget is 100 leva. We were stoked! We passed around a signup sheet for people who wanted to help us with the clean up the following saturday.
Saturday, June 12th we had our clean up day. We started at 9am with about 21 volunteers, not including the 6 of us. This included the mayor, 6-7 kids, 2 baba's (grandmothers) along with some of our host family members. It was slow in the beginning, but after a half hour or so, everyone took on different roles. The adults would use tools to cut the grass (there are no lawn mowers) and the kids would pick up the waste and trash and wheelbarrow it to the designated spot. After an hour or so we moved a little closed to the river and began taking out the trash (plastic bottles, broken glass, other general trash). This was fun because it was a really hot day and the water is super refreshing. We are going to put 3 of the 4 benches at this spot. At 11:30 or so we took a break and bought the kids ice cream to show our appreciation for their hard work. Afterwards, we moved our clean up to a nearby spot that has a natural spring and where baba's take clothes/carpets to clean. We did some nice landscaping and made the area more accessible. Along with beautifying the area, we build stairs that led from the sitting area down to the spring so that the older people would have an easier time of accessing the water. This actually took a few hours because we had to cut wood, wheelbarrow tons of rocks and dirt to make sure the stairs were usable and flat. It was an awesome project with a lot of help from the locals and it didn't cost us a thing!! I have some pictures on facebook from the day and ill try to throw some on here. So, we finished working about 4pm and tom's parents had us over later for chicken wings and some beers. It was one of the more rewarding days I've had since I've been here.
Last week we had a 3 day conference with all the PC trainees in Vratsa. We got to learn where we each would live for the next two years of PC service. I am living in a town called Brusartsi which is 90 minutes northwest of vratsa. During the conference we met with our counterparts who we will be working with for the next two years. After the conference we each went to our perminent sites for 3 days to find out more about the town and what we will be down. As I said, Brusarti is only 90 minutes away and I have a direct train from Vratsa. Its really nice. The town is pretty small and has a population of 1,300 people. I will be working in the municipality, or at least thats where my desk will be. I am the first PCV in the town, so I will be working with a lot of the businesses in town. I talked with people at the pensioner's club, cultural center, library, and school and they are all excited for me to work with them. Currently, there are not any after school programs at the school so I look forward to setting up some sort of activities. The library is expecting 3 new computers (they have 0 now) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and they want me to teach some computer classes. I will also be teaching English at the school is some capacity. It was Brusartsi's first time applying for a PCV so they were sort of shocked when they found out I would be living there, so right now they don't have any projects set up for me. Hopefully, this will allow me to be flexible and work on projects that I want to work on. We will see. I got to check out the house I will be living in. It is right across from the Mayor's house and has a really big garden. The inside of the house was a bit scary. There are no cupboards, counters, fridge, over, toilet, or anything. They tell me it will be ready in a month. Keep your fingers crossed. During my 3 days there, I stayed at a hotel in Lom, which is 30 minutes away. It was nice there. My hotel was 15 feet from the Danube River and across it is Romainia! Yesterday I got back from Brusartsi and was welcomed home to a big meal from my family. It is good to be back and I was excited to sleep in my own bed. I've got a busy week coming up with projects and presentations so wish me luck. I hope you all are enjoying the Summer! Talk to you soon!
