I'm in кърджали, бетч!

First off, I must apologize for typing "bitch" into the title in Cyrillic (the alphabet developed in Bulgaria in the 9th century and used in Slavic national languages).  Although it may not actually translate to "bitch," phonetically, to me, it says bitch.

How about another topic?  GREAT.  Basically I'm now in the city for which I shall live for the next 2 years.  кърджали is a lovely city in south central Bulgaria, about an hour bus ride from Greece, right at the base of the Rhodopes mountains; which means that winters here are no problem!!  It's just a bummer because I've already purchased 12 Alaskan huskies puppies to pull my sled...but with minimal snow to sled in my only other option now is simply to eat them when winter rolls around...and I plan too.

So when you think of a Peace Corps adventure, what comes to mind?  Trudging into the bush?  Living without water, electricity, a big ol' fridge or toilet? (Sorry Michelle...)  Basically, living in 3rd world conditions. Kardzhali (how it's spelled in Latin alphabet) is not these things (at least my situation isn't).  I do not have a "Turkish toilet," in fact I'm living in a 5th floor apartment, complete with 4 rooms: Living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom...plus 2 balconies!  I'm a 10 minute walk from any of the organizations I'll be working with, as well as from any of the numerous shops, cafes, or restaurants Kardzhali (I'll now refer to her as, "Big K") has to offer.

Where am I working?  That's a good question.....well, where?  That wasn't a rhetorical question, I'm seriously asking where will I'll be working?  What?  You mean you don't know either?!  BOOM, kidding.  That was a joke.  A terrible joke.  Well, as an apology, here's a cold hard fact to make up for it: I'm working in 3 organizations.  My host organization, the Children's Complex or младежки дом; a kindergarten or детца градина, and an organization that works with kids who have mental and physical disabilities or дом за детца със оврешдане.  For August, the kids are on break, so I'm in the organization that works with mentally and physically disabled kids until September, then I'll mainly be in the Children's Complex.  "WAIT," you may ask yourself, "don't the disabled children also get a break?"  No...no they don't (some do) (if they want) (but they can still come every day) (if they want).  They're little angels, I've enjoyed my time there so far.

OKAY, lets wrap this up shall we?  No?  You want me to go on?  WELL OKAY, LETS DO THIS!

How about a Bulgarian tradition to end things?  In Bulgaria, the people hold very dear a liquor by the name of "Rakia."  In many cases, Rakia is homemade.  But, it's also in every store or restaurant.  ANYWAY, in Bulgaria, Rakia is the cure-all solution for daily dilemmas.  For instance, you can drink it (and they do) with your meal.  Simple.  BUT, what if your windows are dirty?  Clean them with Rakia.  Do you have a back ache?  Massage some Rakia into the skin.  Do you have an irregular heart beat?  Promptly go home and take a shot of Rakia. SIMPLE solutions!!  It saves you money; because instead of having a medicine cabinet stocked full of pills, or a cleaning shelf cluttered with "Mr. Reliable" (Bulgaria's version of Mr. Clean), you just need one bottle...a bottle of your favorite Rakia.

всичко хубаво!  (all is good!)
шон (Sean)

Dobre Dosh'li V Varshets! (Welcome to Varshets!)

Dobur Den (good afternoon)!  

I now live in the beautiful town of Varshets; located in North Eastern Bulgaria, Varshets is about 30 minutes outside the city of Vratsa and has a population around 7,000 Bulgarians and Roma.

Bulgarians from around the country travel to Varshets to kupoo (bathe) and piy (drink) in its rejuvenating natural mineral water.  There are spas (old and new) around Varshets, as well as, many ornate water “fountains.”  They are more like statues with spigots and free flowing natural mineral water.  Today was my first experience drinking it and I think it’s already relieving me of the crippling arthritis in my hands ;-)  Just like Sycamore springs in San Luis Obispo, the mineral water here has a hint of sulfur and local Bulgarians say not to drink it every day, but every other day, because you don’t want intense sulfur deposits in your body.  Supposedly it can kill you, lood (crazy) Bulgarians!

My home is right across the street from the biggest mineral water fountains, how shtactliv (lucky) I am! 

Weather in Varshets right now is chilly.  I’m wearing pants, shirt, and a thermal top during the day.  Hopefully the cluntse (sun) begins to do its job soon.

SO, each morning I’m woken by my families petel (rooster) around 6:30 am, I first thank it for acting as my alarm clock then rise to begin my day.  Zakoocka (breakfast) is at 8am, and I head to the Training Center (5 minute walk) for 3 hours of Bulgarian ezik (language) izoochavam (study).  We then break to yam (eat) so much obed (lunch) that I want to povrushtam (vomit).  I yam with my dyado (grandfather) and baba (grandmother) at our kushta (home).  My host parents both rabota (work) in the municipality and cannot join us for obed.  After obed we have 4 hours of project training/more ezik izoochavam/culture izoochavam/or some other training.  We are done with training at 5pm and have free time to go for a byagane (run) or use the internet.  Also, making friends with local café workers and those that work in the local tourist center (where I use the internet). 

Most used phrases:

Eden café, molya (one coffee, please)

Da, razbierham (yes, I understand)

Preyatin Den! (have a good afternoon!)

Kolko stroova, koorva? (how much, whore?)  (haha, kidding.)

Dovishdane! (goodbye)

On a plane to Philly

Good morning all!

So this morning I am headed to Philadelphia to begin the "staging" process, signaling the beginning of my Peace Corps training.

After a day of orientation, several meetings, and meeting fellow Bulgarian PC trainees, we all will depart for Sofia, Bulgaria on May 11th (arriving on the 12th).

Once there, we spend 4 days receiving more shots, country and culture orientations, as well as just touring around the city on our own.

After 4 days we bus up to Vratsa to begin 3 months of daily culture and language training.  During this time I will be staying with a host family and studying in a group of 5 other PC trainees.  Each week we coordinate community projects to practice our language and cultural understanding, as well as traveling to different sites to engage in other forms of training.

The country looks beautiful and the hiking plenty.  This I cannot wait to explore!

If you would like to Skype, just add me: Sean Michael Michetti, and we can stay connected through this adventure!

Be well,
Sean