100 Days: 24 July—30 October

Saturday was my 100^th day as an ‘official’ Peace Corps volunteer. Time is going by so fast; it seems impossible that I’ve been in Bulgaria for six months. I absolutely love what I am doing. There are so many surprising, funny, and new experiences everyday…and I feel pretty good about how the last six months have gone. Although my Bulgarian is still a work in progress and there isn't a long list of concrete accomplishments I can point to, I have good relationships with people at my site and try to help where I can. And I’m lucky to be in a place where kids like to participate in activities, people want to attend my English classes, and colleagues are interested in my ideas.

My counterpart and I in our office.

It’s weird: 6 months in Bulgaria has gone by really fast, but it seems forever ago when the process to be here began. The application, acceptance, and arrival--huge deals in the moment, are nothing compared to the life they led to. I sent in my application in March 2009, after nearly two years of ‘thinking’ about it. The commitment of two years of my life to something so unknown had been scary (despite the tempting video clips of happy volunteers and bucolic images in my head of planting potatoes and digging wells). It’s one thing to imagine oneself living in an isolated village somewhere near the equator, playing soccer with shoeless children, and singing around a campfire, it’s quite another to imagine the impact this absence will have on one’s career, graduate school applications, personal relationships, etc. My desire to ‘become grounded in a wider reality,’ to live abroad in a culture/place outside of my comfort zone, and to be part of something larger than myself eventually outweighed my worries. When I sent in my application, it was without hesitation…then the real waiting began. It was a year later when I received my official invite.

While I waited, I worried that I had been wrong to delay sending in my application for so long. However, now, when look back, I’m glad I waited. During the 3 years between college and Peace Corps service, I had really great experiences, 2 awesome jobs, and a lot of growing up. My reasons for wanting to become a PCV and my expectations for service also became more realistic. Peace Corps mission is furthering world peace and friendship. But service is also about personal growth in a challenging environment, direct experience in grassroots development, and being in an environment where one can further define their identity, goals, and priorities. I don’t think I will change the world in the next few years, but I do think the experience will (and already has) teach me skills, professional and personal, that will stay with me forever.

My expectations of the intangible parts of service seem pretty accurate so far. I didn’t really know what to expect about the day to day life. Even after receiving my invitation, I still had a fuzzing image of well digging and limited electricity-Community and Organizational Development is a somewhat abstract job description. In Bulgaria, I have regular electricity and have yet to touch a shovel. It’s a complicated place and impossible to make generalizations about, especially after only 100 days. I see shepherds walking their animals down the street twice a day, but sushi and high-end shopping is a bus ride away. Homes that appear to be falling apart have satellite dishes and donkey drawn carts share the roads with fancy sports cars. Each day is a bit different and I don’t know what will come next.