Last weeks

I can't believe it but there is just over a week left of training. We swear-in on June 29th at headquarters and then we're off to our respective towns and villages. It was a helluva long two and a half months and I'm glad it's winding down, but then it did fly by and I'm not quite sure that I'm ready to go out on my own with the little bit of language skills I've acquired. I'm scared and worried and freaking out a little in my head. But they say it's only a matter of time before we find our groove. I just can't wait to get to site and have a week to relax, sleep-in for the first time in months, catch up on e-mails and the rest of the world, have a place to call my own, and cook for myself. There's only so much banitsa (famous Bulgarian cheese and fat-filled pastry) this body can take. I mean, c'mon, bikini season is fast approaching and I need to get in shape! Luckily, I haven't gained as much weight as some of the PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) said we would. Only a pound or two, but a few I can afford to shed.

The last few weeks have been plenty busy but fun. I had a few days to look around Sofia and visit another PCV in a small village in the Stara Planina (Old Mountains). The country is gorgeous wherever I go. Mountains are bountiful as well as flowers and fruits. The countryside is full of roses and poppies (June is rose season) and it's also cherry season. A few of us went cherry picking and they're sold on the side of every highway and in every market. Sofia is bustling always. George Bush came by last week for a visit. I think current PCVs went to go see him at the Embassy. Trainees weren't invited but I'm glad of it. I'd rather waste my time on a worthy president.

I'm sad to leave the little celo (village) that I'm currently in. Boboshevo is a beautiful little jewel between the Rila and Pirin Mountains so absolutely lush and overflowing with friendly faces. I love my host family and the school children I've befriended. The girls and I have actually made a few Bulgarian friends. There's Metodii- aka Iron Maiden, Daniel #1- aka Foxy, Boiko, Post office lady, Clara the disgruntled expat, Tom the skeezy expat, Daniel #2- aka Johnny who runs the pool and has a sweet hatchback mercedes, and some others. There may be no internet and only one working public telephone in the post office, a serious lack of decent public toilets, a major flea problem, scary stray dogs, goat and sheep poop on the streets, no street lights after midnight, and possible Mafia (aka Moulin Rouge) presence, but still, I'm sad to leave and I hope to visit again in the wintertime, maybe for Christmas and definitely if I have friends or family come visit me next year.

Our community outreach project was a success. We had a sports day for the kids in town at the stadium, beginning with stretches and relay races and some kickball. It was the perfect day for it and the last week of school. I think the kids enjoyed it and at the very least they got to see us make fools of ourselves. We finally ventured to the public pool dubbed "the plazhe" (the beach, in Bulgarian) in our bathing suits after sports day for a much needed cool down.
We also went on a hike of the Seven Lakes in the Rila mountains. The most beautiful place I've ever been. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

I have yet to feel incredibly homesick. There's always little bouts here and there, but nothing serious. I hope it stays away until the inevitable winter blues roll around. It's crazy that I probably won't see my family or friends until next year. I'm hoping to go to New York and Philadelphia for my brother's graduation in May 2008 and spend some time with the fam. There's always an open invitation for ya'll to visit me here. So let me know whenever. I actually have friends coming through this area next week so hopefully I'll run into them over the weekend. My uncle Don is also supposed to be on a cruise of the Black Sea and will be stopping in the Bulgarian seaside city of Varna. So maybe I'll catch a glimpse of him as well. As soon as my first 3 months of being an official PCV are over, I'm planning trips. Greece definitely, which is pretty easy to get to by train or plane. Istanbul, Bucharest and Transylvania, Budapest, Prague, Croatia, Slovenia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Cyprus are all on the list, we'll see where I can get to in the next two years. I'm also planning to get to Morocco since a certain someone will be starting Peace Corps service there in August and then the big trip to New Zealand to visit my dear Emily after the end of my service. It's early, I know, so we'll see where this goes... Exciting!!!!!