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)