Zdraveyte ot Bulgaria! I’ll have internet access only about once every two weeks until October, so sorry if I’m not very good about returning emails, but please write! It’s something to look forward to when I do get to check email. And if you would like to send me a letter in the mail, please let me know and I will send you my address. I’d love to get some mail!

I can’t believe that I’ve been in Bulgaria for only two weeks. It feels like it was such a long time ago that I got on a plane and flew to DC to meet the other 41 people who would be going to Bulgaria with me. Almost everyone in the group has just graduated from college or has been out for only a year or two. I think only six people are older than me. I’ve been saying for a while that I feel old in general, but now I really feel old. Eh, it doesn’t seem to get in the way. I seem to be getting along with a lot of them quite well.

I am now in a small rural village with a population of about one thousand, where I will spend nine more weeks with four other volunteers, with whom I will go through language and technical training. Apparently during Communist times it used to be quite the bustling town, but now there is only one restaurant/gas station, a few cafés, no internet, no bank, and sometimes no water on the weekends. Actually, there’s not very much here at all. My day usually consists of having language classes until mid-afternoon, hanging out at a café or at the restaurant/gas station, going home to eat dinner, and taking a walk around town afterwards. But you know what? I really like it. You would expect that someone who is used to living in a place like New York City for most of my adult life would feel quite the culture shock moving to a tiny village in Bulgaria. It’s been surprisingly easy to adjust. The slower pace of life seems to suit me. I’ve been helping a little in the garden and eating mostly fresh fruits and vegetables from there like plums, peaches, and melons, and tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. The produce is really amazing. The food is quite good, and I’ve been eating so much. My host mother seems to want to fatten me up. Supposedly everyone in the last training group in my village gained a decent amount of weight. I don’t think I have so far, but we’ll see how I am by the end of training.

I live with a retired widow who spends a lot of her time gardening and canning. It’s a little strange to be living with a complete stranger who doesn’t speak any English, but we seem to (kind of) be able to communicate the important stuff. Her daughter who speaks some English lives nearby with her family and often stops by for meals, so she translates for us.

In just two more weeks I’ll be finding out my permanent site, where I will be spending the next two years!

At this point it really does seem insane that we are expected to learn enough of the language after less than three months to be functional and work successfully in community development. I’m not so sure I could do this in the US in English, let alone in a new language in a completely foreign land. But at the same time I can’t believe that I know as much Bulgarian as I do after only four days of language classes.

I also don’t feel so much like I’m living in a fishbowl, like I was told I would, or maybe I’m just oblivious, which is a definite possibility. We do get stared at a lot, and we are the focus of a lot of attention, but it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.

I still have yet to really freak out about the whole thing. I’ve been surprisingly completely stress-free so far, which is weird, isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong. I still think, What the hell am I doing here? from time to time, but who wouldn’t, right?