Last day

Leaving Chiprovtsi was difficult. The morning of my departure was beautiful. I woke up early and said sent off Palma and Ivan (the seventh grader who won the local spelling) on the early bus to go to Vratsa for the regional bee. Then I walked through town for coffee with Elsa and Stalin before the 10 am bus. The center filling with activity for sabor (town reunion). I returned to my apartment to double-check that nothing was plugged in or turned on (like the refridgerator and boiler), and was met by Jordanka, Ivo, Gogo, and Velin ready to help with my luggage.

I’m not sure how (…carpets, knit socks, national costume…), but despite giving away and discarding most items I arrived with, I’ve accumulated a lot. We carried the bags to Gogo’s car and drove the 100 meters to where the bus usually stops. Dimi and Tsetska  and Jordanka’s family came to say goodbye. My bags were loaded and I departed. There were tears. When the bus drove through Zhelezna, the school director was there to say goodbye and waved. More tears. 

Goodbyes in Zhelezna

The village 1 kilometer from Chiprovtsi, Zhelezna, is where one of my closest friends and the local English teacher, Palma, is from. I spent a lot of time with her and friends in the village. We celebrated holidays (and my 25^th birthday!) together, pickled vegetables, and went for hikes and picnics. I can’t count the many days I spent chatting, gossiping, and venting with Palma. Though I probably would have survived, the stressful times in my service were more tolerable and the good times were much richer thanks to Palma and my friends in Zhelezna. With them, I felt I had a break from always being the “American,” and am so grateful for it.

 

During my last few weeks in Chiprovtsi, I spent several evenings in Zhelezna. 

We played soccer in center and Palma made dinner for a group of us making way better use of the microwave than I ever did. 

I introduced jello shots to the village. This was clearly part of the Peace Corps 2^nd goal: increasing the understanding of Americans in the host country. I also brought frozen daquiris. 

No worries, there weren’t any girls gone wild moments; we spent the evening playing games like modified charades and the one where everyone gets a famous name on their forehead and has to ask yes/no questions to guess their person. I was Michael Jackson.

We also had a bonfire to get rid of all my unnecessary Peace Corps files (and law school personal statement drafts!). And I made banitsa in Bulgaria one last time.

  

Municipality Farewell

My colleagues at the Municipality organized a send off with coffee and sweets. They gave me a hand woven pillow and the Mayor read a letter of appreciation. 

Farewell at Petar Parchevich School

The school threw me a goodbye celebration, it was fantastic! The best goodbye gift was the notebook the kids filled with letters and pictures to give to me. Working at the school was one of my favorite parts of Peace Corps service and I will treasure the book and memories with the kids for a long time. 

...with two of the teachers and the director....they provided snacks, I brought Twizzlers and other candies to try.

...after drinks and snacks we played frisbee and drew outside.

Saying goodbye to the school was difficult. Before Bulgaria, I’d never spent time with kids, now I look forward to working with youth. No matter what was going on in my life at the time, it always made me smile when I would go to the school. The kids would see me coming and lean out the window to yell my name. Little things make them happy and their demands are easy to meet. We played games, talked, laughed, and were happy.  Whatever I do next, I will hold on to the good memories I made during dodgeball games, arts and crafts activities, and spending time with them. 

Summer Soup: Kiselina

I think I've already posted a recipe for Tarator, my favorite cold dish for summertime. Recently, I learned a new cold summer soup that is perfect for hot weather.

Kiselina:
  Garlic
  Parsley
  Dill (if desired)
  Salt
  Vinegar
  Cucumbers (chopped or grated)
  Water

Mix together according to taste. It's a really easy and refreshing dish to bring along on a hike, adding water to it when wanting to eat.

Slavavitza

On Monday I hiked up to a waterfall and picnicked with Jordanka and her family. The weather was perfect and it was a beautiful way to spend one of my last days in the community.

GPS Coordinates and elevation if you're in the area and looking for a day hike:

Слававица

43°22'65.0"N

 22°48'65.8"E

[977 meters]

Спасово Сало (waterfall)

N 43*22'46.9

E 022*48'28.9

[1069 meters]

Ранков Ръд

N 43*22'68.1

E 022*48'75.8

[945 meters]

Ристина Ливада

N 43*22'72.9

E 022*49'05.5

[824 meters]

English Group Goodbyes

Farewell get togethers with the advanced and beginner English groups in Chiprovtsi. 

Easter and Goodbyes in Kravoder

According to the Orthodox calendar, Easter fell a week later than celebrated by Catholic and Protestant churches. I celebrated part of the holiday, which lasts from Good Friday to Easter Monday with my host family in Kravoder. While in the village, I visited other host families and said goodbye. It was strange to see some of the kids in the village a foot taller than I remembered…a reminder that TWO YEARS have passed since I arrived in Bulgaria!!! Unbelievable!!

The house smelled amazing. I love the traditional lamb stuffing/casserole served at Easter. I don’t know the ingredients besides liver, rice, onions, and mushrooms, but whatever part of the lamb the reddish salty meat in the stuffing comes from, it is delicious. The dish is one of my favorites in Bulgaria.

I met the Cuban Ambassador in hair and makeup

I received a call last Friday from program staff asking if I would mind participating in an hour-long studio interview with Bulgarian National Television (BNT). BNT was putting together a series of impressions of Bulgaria from the perspective of its foreign residents and wanted to interview a Peace Corps Volunteer. My first reaction was to say no. After spending much of March speaking English with other PCVs, hanging out with Palma at site, and general departure planning anxiety-the thought of thinking critically in Bulgarian scared me. I didn’t want to embarrass Peace Corps or my community. Certainly there are volunteers with better language skills who would be better representatives. I changed my mind over the weekend, deciding it would be a great way to leave my community with a positive impression. And, since I would already be in Sofia for administrative appointments, I wouldn’t be taking additional time away from site. I agreed to the interview, emailed BNT for additional information, and began prepping my answers to the questions they sent me.

The actual interview was nothing like I'd anticipated. I arrived around 4 o’clock, spent an hour in hair and makeup and waiting. Then I joined the host and five other guests on set. For 90 minutes, we watched short clips of foreigners living in Bulgaria, discussing their motivations and offering our impressions. The eclectic group gathered for the interview included the Cuban ambassador to Bulgaria, an American actor living and working in Sofia, and a showman named Kofe Babone who is originally from Ghana, wore a du rag, and sang twice. It was more of a panel discussion than interview and none of the questions I’d prepped came up. But it was still a good experience, my first time doing something of the sort. I’m hoping the sparkly barrette, super tight ponytail, and orange glow face paint appears better on screen. The edited version will air on BNT 1 in a few weeks. 

Spelling Bee

Thirteen students from 4^th to 7^th grade participated in Chiprovtsi’s local spelling bee. It went pretty well. I made brownies from a box mix using a cupcake tray (less cleanup, easier transport). Notice the bee and flag designs, creative, right? Good luck to Ivan, the local bee winner! He will compete against other contestants in the regional bee on April 28^th. Winners of regional bees will go on to the national competition in Sofia. 

Close of Service Conference

Though I knew it marked the beginning of the end of my Peace Corps service and would be the last time I would see many of the other volunteers in Bulgaria, I did not expect it to be as much of an emotional upheaval as it was. I was fine for most of it, even the ceremonial stepping out of the circle and hand holding, but when I told the PC administration that I would be leaving Bulgaria early to begin Duke Law School in May, it became real and I completely lost it. I couldn’t stop crying. The group of 80 something PCVs I arrived in Bulgaria with was too big for me to get to know everyone, but the small group of volunteers in my training group and a few others feel like family. In addition to a great host community, the Peace Corps staff and volunteers have been an incredible support network. Saying goodbye to Bulgaria would also mean saying goodbye to them. Though they too will come back to the US over the next few months, we’ll be scattered across the U.S. and I don’t know how the bonds created during the intensity of Peace Corps service and training will translate into our future lives. I know that my service has to eventually come to an end and leaving early makes the most sense for my future plans, but the transition is going to be difficult. I will be losing the title that has been the key feature of my identity for the past two years: Peace Corps Volunteer. 

Back up jobs

Among the expectations I had coming into Peace Corps service was the one that I would develop various skills that I otherwise wouldn’t have time to practice.  This has been partially true: I can speak Bulgarian, juggle three tennis balls for about 20 seconds without dropping one, and have learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. One thing I have not done that I was certain I would is knit. When I departed from the U.S., I expected my bags to return after two years with handmade socks and hats for all my family and friends. As of two weeks ago, I had not knitted anything, but I brought yarn and needles with me on my road trip in Romania, and successfully knitted a scarf/neckwarmer AND a hat. 

Romania

I first visited Romania twelve years ago and spent several months in the country in the early 2000s, mostly in Bucharest. Wow has it changed. The apartment block on Piata Unirii where my father lived for three and a half years, though structurally the same, housed a fancy European bank on the first floor and looked across to a giant mall full of western stores. The sidewalks leading to the Palace of Parliament were free of the haphazardly parked cars I remember and even had a bike lane!

Palace of Parliament, built by Ceacescu in 1984, is the world’s second largest building, after the Pentagon. 1/6 of Bucharest was bulldozed to build the giant structure. Out front was a tethered hot air balloon with a woman wearing a wedding dress. It was part of a promotion-the train of her dress now hold’s the Guiness record for the longest in the world. (Ceacuscu was Romania’s long serving communist dictator 1965-89)

Romania’s Transylvanian mountains were home to many German settlers, aka Saxons. Seven of their walled citadels are still standing. One of these towns, Sighisoara, built in the 12^th century over a Roman settlement was home to Vlad Tepes (also known as Vlad the Impaler, inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel). Vlad was born in 1431 in a building that now houses a restaurant near the citadel square. Today Sighisoara is a UNESCO heritage site. The 14^th century clock tower in the Sighisoara has been continuously working since the Middle Ages.

 

Regularly inhabited for more than 2,000 years, Sibui, another Saxon town, has a beautiful old town with large squares, cafes, and pastel painted buildings.

 

Peles Castle (1875), near the town of Sinaia, Translylvania, was built as a summer resident for King Carol I, Romania’s longest serving monarch. During Ceaucescu era, the 160 rooms were used to host visiting leaders, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Muamar Gaddafi, and Yasser Arafat were among the guests.

 

Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle for tourists), located near the Saxon city of Brasov, was first mentioned in documents in 1377. Vlad Tepes, who ruled 1456-62, lived at Bran briefly, but is the source of much tourism. The castle was in use until 1957 (current heirs live in Ohio) and has been restored to display historic art and furniture collections for tourists.

 

In 1623 prisoners housed in Rasnov Fortress were tasked with digging a well for the fort. Upon completion, they would be freed. Digging the 470 foot deep well through solid rock took 17 years. The well enabled the fortress to be entirely self sufficient during attacks and was used for over 220 years. 

 

Copşa Mică earned its reputation as Romania’s “ugliest town” by ranking among the most polluted places in Europe for much of the 1990s despite closure of the offending factories. A carbon dye factory in operation for 60 years, covered the town and its surroundings with black soot while the smelting factory led to CM recording the highest infant mortality rate in Europe, 1000 times acceptable levels of lead in the air, and two thirds of children exhibiting signs of mental illness, and life expectancy that is still 9 years below the national average.

 

The Transfagarasan Highway was constructed in four and a half years in the 1970s as a means to transport Romanian soldiers and equipment in case of a Soviet invasion. We followed the road through small mountain villages to reach the “real” castle of Dracula, Poenari.

 

We were the only visitors to the 13^th century Poenari Castle, the out of the way route and 1,462 steps up to the ruins likely dissuading other potential tourists. In front of the castle, two bloodied mannequins, impaled from anus to mouth, demonstrate the favorite torture method of Vlad Tepes, who used the castle during his reign.

 

Romania has an excellent website with tourism resources:

http://www.romaniatourism.com/

Paris for the weekend

Paris, the most visited city in the world, covers 40 square miles of land and is home to 11.5 million people. So, of course, on a recent weekend trip there with my friends, we tried to see it all. Though we missed a few sites (most notably, going into the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa), we made up for it with the miles we covered on foot and bicycle.

Parisian eco-friendly transport is impressive. Electric car charging stations were scattered around the city and the bicycle rental system was fantastic! For 1.30 Euro you are extended credit for 24 hours. The first half hour is free after which the rental cost is 1 Euro per hour. The extensive network of bike lanes and bike stations make it a super cheap, easy way to see, or get lost in, Paris. [velib.paris.fr] Figure it out and ride to Eiffel Tower. The roundabouts on the bicycles during rush hour were somewhat harrowing for the inexperienced. We circled the big roundabout near the Bastille at least six times before exiting onto the correct road.

 

The Pigalle neighborhood, though described as a seedy sex district in one guidebook, was a convenient and affordable place to stay. Our hotel was about a block from Moulin Rouge in the Pigalle neighborhood. It was more campy than the seedy sex district as described in a guide book and at night Parisian hipsters packed the nearby bars.

French people have an unfair reputation as being unfriendly and disdainful. Though our exposure was limited, we asked A LOT of directions, with “Bonjour” being the most of our French, yet everyone we met was super nice and helpful.

 

The Free Walking Tour was perfect. Especially after spending the first day and a half trying to navigate Parisian maps and apply the directions of well-meaning strangers (French words sound very different to an untrained ear than they appear on maps). Our guide, Phillipe, was full of jokes at the expense of everyone (mostly the British), shared local anecdotes like those of Dirty Bertie’s excesses in the city, and offered tips on skipping lines at the busiest museums.  

Parisian sites are everywhere and as beautiful as imagined. I do wish we'd known that listed closing times exclude the fact that last entry is an hour earlier. As a result, we missed seeing the Catacombs and the Cemetery of Pere Lachaise. The Catacombs were in use from 1786 to 1814 when Parisian cemeteries were closed due to hygiene and are home to the remains of 6 million Parisians.

Sainte Chapelle, accessed through the Palais de Justice , was built 1245-8. It is known for its stained glass windows fifty feet high depicting 1,134 biblical scenes were something else all together.

Jardin du Luxembourg is the second largest public garden in Paris and covers more than 55 acres. It was began by Marie de Medicis, regent for King Louis XIII, in 1611 who wanted a garden like those in her native city of Florence.  

 

Jardin des Tuileries (1666), where it meets the Place de la Concorde (1754) and looks down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. In the middle stands an Egyptian pillar from Luxor. Referred to by our Parisian guide as a gift the Egyptians have periodically asked to be returned, the same pillar was described by our Egyptian guide in Luxor as having been gifted in exchange for a large clock installation. The clock in Luxor broke after less than a year, whereas the Egyptian pillar still stands.

Palais-Royal was once home to Cardinal Richelieu and the dukes of Orlean. It now houses the Council of State, the Council of the Constitution, and the Ministry of Culture.

Construction began on Notre Dame, the super famous Gothic cathedral,  1163 and lasted until the 1240s. It was restored after being badly damaged during the French Revolution and upkeep is ongoing to keep it in working order. When we visited there was a crowd watching a discussion near the altar and plenty of priests. 

Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe

 The McDonald’s (I know, terrible, but I didn’t buy any food!) in Paris even had a Coke Lite fountain sodas!  I’ve been craving one for the past 18 months!

 

The July Column topped by the Genie de la Liberte, at center, honors the victims of the revolution of July 27-29th, 1830. The square became a symbol of the French Revolution after the 1789 storming of the Bastille.

Stairs in Montmartre and Sacre Couer was built in the 1870s to atone for the general hedonism of the era. Some believe it to be the source of the country’s geopolitical misfortunes; nevertheless, it has a fantastic view of the city.

 

Versailles, the center of French royal power from 1682 until the French Revolution of the 1790s, has more than 700 rooms and 1,250 fireplaces. When construction was complete on the initial building phase (which took 50 years), the palace could accommodate 5,000 people. 

 

The flea market of Le Marche aux Puces de St-Ouen de Clignancourt has more than 250 vendors with everything from modern cookware to old perfume decanters. It is part of the flea market complex on the city's northern side with over 2,500 open stalls.