Things To Love About Bulgaria

1) Shopska Salad: Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers cut up and topped with shredded cyrene cheese. Of course, accompanied by a glass of homemade rakia.

2) Boboshevo: The more I live in the town, the more I grow to love it. It's small, quaint and has some incredibly nice people.

3) The People: Walking home from a hike the other day we were startled by a Bulgarian screaming from the Rakia Hut "America! USA! Rakia!" What followed was a hour long discussion in broken Bulgarian learning about how rakia is made as well as trying some rakia which was just made.

4) Drivers: If you though the Italians were bad drivers, just wait until you see Bulgarians. While taking a taxi from Dupnitsa to Boboshevo last week I had the joy of riding with a cab driver who would reach the maximum possible speed at the top of a hill, then switch the car into neutral and turn off the car as we coasted down the hill. Meanwhile, he is passing cars in the middle of a two lane highway.

Currently Reading: "A Man in Full" by Tom Wolfe
Currently Listening to: "Rebels, Rogues, and Sworn Brothers" by Lucero

The Next Two Years...

Just hours ago I received my official assignment for the next two years of my life. I will be living and working in the municipality of Bratsigovo, a small town of around 5,000 in the south-central region of Bulgaria. It lies at the northern base of the Balkan mountain range. From previous projects in the municipality it looks as if I will be working on small-scale, local projects, grant writing, as well as working with Roma youth in schools and orphanages. One perk of this assignment is that nobody in the Obshtina speaks English so I will be forced to use and rapidly develope my Bulgarian. Although I know very little about the town at this point, I am incredibly excited for the next two years.

In a couple of hours I will be meeting my Bulgarian counterpart, with whom I will be working with the next two years. We will be training together for the next day and a half and on Wednesday I will travel to Bratsigovo for three days to learn about the town and municipality. It should prove to be an interesting couple of days with a lot of misunderstanding but I'm excited nonetheless.

Other than this new news, things have been great in Boboshevo. This weekend the group took a hiking trip to the Seven Lakes on Rila Mountain. We stated in a hija near the base of the lakes and spent the afternoon hiking to all the lakes. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen but sadly I am still unable to post my pictures. Language lessons are going well and I feel that I'm gradually picking up an ear for the language. Although I still often throw out an Italian word or two, I am beginning to think in a Bulgarian mindset when asking and responding to questions.

Currently Reading: "A Widow for One Year" by John Irving
Currently Listening To: "Across a Wire" by Counting Crows and "The Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" by Neko Case