I'm Famous in Krichim!

Эдравей!!

I write at last. Life has been busy here in Bulgaria. We left Borovets last week to go to our satellite sights where we will spend the next 10 weeks studying language and doing various other training sessions and activities. My group of four is staying in Trude, a small town located between Pazardjik and Plovdiv. People have cars and motorbike here but I still see many with their horse and cart during the day. Tonight I saw the mayor go by in his with a large bale of hay. I also saw someone herding goats down the street this evening.

I am nearly at the end of my first week in Trude and have been loving every minute of it. My family is great! Vladislav, my new Bulgarian father, is awesome or as he always says "Sup-ar!" He speaks no English and is very fun. He tries to tell me what every thing is in Bulgarian all at once. Ivanka, my Bulgarian mother, is very nice as well. She does speak some English but is trying to use it sparingly so that I can work on my language skills, which at the moment only rely consist of introducing myself and discussing what I like and do not like. I also have a Bulgarian brother or as they say here "brat" - no really. And as an older sister I am his "Kaka!" It is hilarious. Someone was explaining to their child who I was and they said "Valantine's Kaka." It makes me laugh.

The house that I am in has three levels. We are on the second. Below us lives My host Dad's grandmother. She is 77 years old and reminds me of the grandmother in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." I must seem cute like a small child because she likes to pinch my chin a lot. It is probably because I have the vocabulary of a small child. Living above us is Vladislav's brother, his wife and their daughter Alexandra, or "the cutest child I have ever seen." The first day I was here she put on the Cardinals hat and foam finger that I brought and kept saying "Jenay . . . Jenay." The way she says my name reminds me of "Forest Gump." Speaking of my name. I was introduced to a woman at the mayor's office earlier this week and she said, "Oh 'Jennifer,'mnogo hobav (very pretty)." That was a first for me since every other girl my age seems to be a Jennifer in America.

The uncle is very funny. He wants to learn English so he comes to study with me sometimes when I sit on the bench outside. Our conversations are hilarious because we both know some French so when we speak it is a little French, a little Bulgarian, and a little English.

A few nights ago I was sitting and talking with my host mom and the aunt and they told me that I was very interesting in Trude. They looked up the word 'Gossip' in the dictionary and pointed it out to me. There is definantly that. Another volunteer, Holly, did not know they sip vodka here and when offered some at her host house simply took a shot. We were walking past some other people a few days ago and they stopped us to talk and when she introduced herself one man said "Oh, Holly vodka."

There are many animals here in Trude. On a typical day I am either awoken by the roosters or the sound of horses feet clapping against the pavement. A number of us have chickens and one of the volunteers lives with a family that raises pigs. He is up the street so sometimes the smell wafts over my way in the evening. A few days ago I was outside chatting as best I could with my family and the Baba who lives across the street became very excited, I had no idea why, but she led me to her back yard where I saw the biggest cow I have ever seen. It was huge! With it was one small calf but I was pretty sure there must be another on the way. She also had a rely cute rabbit. I mentioned this to another volunteer and he teased me that they are going to eat it. I hope not. There is also the cutest dog that has made the local cafe/restaurant ("The Station") his home. I would love to pet him but he probably has fleas so I compensate by feeding him a lot. Today he followed me most of the way back to my house - I wonder why. I would love to adopt him. All he needs is a good flea bath and a few shots but then I would never be able to go anywhere.

This past week has consisted mostly of school, either in our class room in the mayor's building or at "The Station," studying, and getting to know the local children. We went by the cultural center in town and made the acquaintance of some children there who were studying English. One is fairly good but the others are just beginning. We had our language instructor Ani there to interpret. It was very cute, some of the cirls chased me down to give me their email addresses. Yes email. There are a few local internet cafes. Well not so much internet cafes as just a room with a few computers where kids go to play games. I also plays football (Soccer to those in the states) with the other volunteers at my site and some of the local Roma children.

Yesterday we went with a large group of children to Krichim, a larger town near by. The kids had been invited to perform at the local festival and when we visited one of their practices we were invited to go. It was a great time! I was very popular with the children because of my digital camera. The all wanted their picture taken every other second. It was also nice to head to Krichim because some of the other volunteers are staying there and we got to visit with them during the festivities. The funniest this also happen. A girl, probably around 12, asked me for my autograph!! She also took a picture of me with her camera phone - yes 'her' phone. I think more people have cells here than in America. It was a very interesting experience. I am still not quite sure who she thought I was.

In the bus on the way back we listened to some of the latest Bulgarian hits. The girl next to me tried to show me some dance moves. After we got back and the kids wound down we headed to "The Station" to meet up with some Bulgarian girls our age one of which speaks English. We had run in to her earlier that day during language lessons and arranged to meet up and then hit the disco. There is not much in trude, maybe 4-5 place to eat, but there is a disco. We ended up dancing till around 3:30. The music was a mix of Bulgarian hits and a few random American songs including, 'Gangster's paradise' and 'It's My life,' among others. Going dancing reminded me very much of life in America but hoping to not step in horse poo while we were walking home in the dark brought me back to reality - Yes I am in Bulgaria. Every once in a while that clicks.

tomorrow I will be going in to Plovdiv with my host mom. We are going to see the old part of town which is supposed to be neat and then Monday and Tuesday I have HUB!! That is when all 50 of us come together for more training stuff. I am excited to see everyone again.

Oh, here is my new address for during training:

Jennifer Owens
Peace Corps
PO box 178
Central Post Office, Pazardjik, 4400
Bulgaria

I will have my permanent site address after assignment are made in a few weeks but feel free to write to this one in the meantime.

Well this entry is running long so I am going to bring it to a close. I will have to start writing more frequently so it wont be so much at once. Hope to hear from you all soon.

Photos from Borovets:

The B-18s: