Plovdiv

On weekends during my internship I’m planning to take trips to different cities in Bulgaria. For the 4 weekends I have left I’ve planned on going to Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna or Burgas, and then a weekend going to a nearby monetary or if that does not workout, then maybe a weekend to Ruse which is right on the Danube & the border of Romania.

           

            Last weekend we started off with going to Plovidv: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plovdiv  I thought it would be a relatively easy ride getting there since it’s only 2 hours from Sofia, but alas no. We started off on Saturday after working in the morning at the orphanage. I thought that the bus came through Razliv 3 times an hour so we got to the bus stop at 1:45 and did not leave until 3:30. Apparently buses only go trough the village every 2 hours on weekends. All the waiting was pretty depressing. We even tried to call 3 different taxis because it’s only around 1,50 more to take a taxi into the town. But for different reason they were not available. Once we got to Botevgrad instead of Pravets we waited 30 minuets for the bus to Sofia. Half way to Sofia the bus overheated which made the trip an hour longer while we were waiting for another bus. Then we ended up in a small bus station on the other side of Sofia, not the main one. So, then we took another bus to the main station and had to wait another half hour for a bus to Plovdiv. We left at 1:45 and did not make it to Plovdiv until 9PM. Normally the trip would have taken 2 ½ hours with a car, or around 3 to 4 with a bus (and that includes a bit of waiting) between all of this, a flat tire on another bus trip this week, and also that we keep on missing the bus to town I’m afraid we don’t have luck with the buses.

            Once we got checked into Hostel Mostel, which is located in the city center we went out for dinner in a nice authentic restaurant. I’m sure going to miss Bulgarian wine for 1 Euro! That evening we went to bed around 12am, and at 3ish we were awakened by a group of Dutch guys. A bit later we were again woke up by the most unnatural snoring I’ve ever heard of my life. Let’s just say it was not a smooth night, but the next night was much better! If you really want to know the details, check out Nathalie's, my fellow intern, and travel companion's blog, she gives a perfect description: http://nathalieinbulgaria.tumblr.com/ . 
In the morning we toured around the old city and I have to say that I was highly impressed by how well kept, and how touristy the old city was. I would definitely recommended going to Plovdiv. We were just there for one full day but I definitely feel like we covered all the main attractions. On our way back we stopped in Sofia, I met up with Valya (my roommate from AUBG) and we had coffee. Then we all headed back to Razliv.

Vidrare & Razliv Orphanages

            Last Tuesday I met up with the 2 other girls that I’m working with here in Razliv, along with Nickolai who is the go between One Heart Bulgaria and the orphanages they work with. He took us by car to Pravets, which is a small town. The place that had been arranged for us to stay at was the “guest room” (I use this term very loosely) of a language dorm. The thing is, I’ve stayed in various places in Bulgaria and I know what a fair price for things is. They wanted to charge us 7 Leva each for a horrible, dirty, smelly room with no mirror, place to wash our clothes, broken sink, and to top it off it only had extremely hot water for our shower since the cold water was not working. I tried to take it all in, but then when I realized they were charging us 588 Leva (Around 300 Euro) for the month, which in Sofia would get us a lovely furnished apartment I became a bit irritated and felt like we were getting an unfair price. The girls felt the same about the conditions of the place and we asked if there was an apartment or house for us to rent for a month.

The shower that only had horribly hot water, so that I ended up having to wash my hair in the nasty sink.

Clearly, where all the fun is at.

Maybe we paid for the view?

             The next day Nickolai said he searched for us but could not find a decent apartment so the solution they came up with was to place us with one of the orphanage workers nearby the orphanage who has 2 spare rooms since her daughters are all grown up. The way Nickolai explained it was that we’d have our own house, so I was a bit surprised when we came and we were really renting rooms from these people. However the conditions are soooooo much better. We have our own bathroom, wireless, a washer, kitchen access, a beautiful garden and a really sweet couple we are renting from. There always giving us food. =) I’m sharing a room with a girl from Estonia, and then the other American girl has her own room with a foldout futon. The situation will be fine for the month.

            Once a week we go to an orphanage about a 20 minuet car ride, or a 40 minuet bus ride away. We work with the local Peace Corps volunteer with the disabled children. The Peace Corps volunteer has proven to be a lot of help, and very welcoming. At first I was surprised by how “nice” the orphanage was. It was brightly painted and seemed ok, not what I’d come to expect from all the YouTube clips, and the BBC documentary on Bulgarian Orphanages. But then taking it all in and actually staying there for a few hours, you start to see the issues. Issues such as the fact that the children are fed mush everyday in & out that can’t be very full of nutrients. The kids that can eat on their own are fed a soup, but the others are fed very quickly and I’ll say without much care by the attendants. Of course it’s understandable when there’s one of you and 10 kids to feed you can’t spend much one on one time. Anyways I was under the impression that all the people at the institute were in fact kids. I was really surprised then that a lot of these tiny looking bodies belong to 20, 25, 30, even 35 year old people. I’m not an expert, and don’t pretend to be but I believe that this is due to a lack of nutrition, and a lack of specialized care for each “patient.”

            The kids that can’t walk on their own are often left in their beds, or in their rooms to lay on mats, in corners, in beds, in chairs, etc all day long with little interaction with others. The common theme of body-rocking, and hitting their head that I’ve seen in videos which occur due to lack of human touch is evident here. What really breaks my heart is the realization that if any of these kids lived in the US, UK, etc it would be totally different for them. Given the chance and proper care I think some of these kids would have led a relatively normal life. There are 2 blinds girls particularly I’m thinking about. I’m not sure if they have other disabilities, I’m assuming so since they can’t talk, but given the chance when they were born to have been brought up in the US, I bet it would have made a world of a difference. I’m thinking of so many cases I want to share. For example one little boy curls up in a ball in the corner of his bed, and stays there day in and day out hitting his head. We put him in a blanket and made a sort of hammock to swing him on. The smiles and giggles that came from his mouth were priceless. The attention, specialized care, and just a human presentence and touch these kids need are heartbreaking. The underfunded, underpaid, untrained, and lack of staff and training opportunities is also sad. It’s easy to see why the employees become so unenthusiastic and hopeless about the situation. The director seems like a nice guy, and I’m told he’s really into looking for funding from NGOs, charities etc.

            One of the problems he personally mentioned to us is what happens to the children who can walk, and have slight disabilities, once they need to be phased out. There’s a lack of housing, and programs for these children to go to. Behind the institute there’s a semi built building that was meant to be a house where these people can go and live once they are old enough, and learn how to live in a community setting (things such as cooking, laundry, day to day things.) However this project was funded by the Greek Embassy (cough, cough, I’ll try not to make an EU related jokes here) and has been put on hold the last 2 years. What I’ve noticed about Bulgarians in general, is that when I bring up orphanages and explains to them what happening in them there’s a lot of shock, sadness and headshaking, along with disbelief. I had a group of Bulgarians tell be how horrible it would be for me, how the children will take my things, and hit me etc. Oh, also how most of them were Roma. All of the above are of course stereotypes they’ve come to believe. I think that the issue of these institutes are tucked away in small villages so that there not noticeable by the public.

            The other orphanage I work at 4 days a week is a 10 minuet walk away from where I’m staying, here in Razliv. Our hours are pretty short, from 2 to 6 but after 4 hours I’m always tired because these kids are a handful. First off, the kids are all adorable, sweet and of course yearning for attention. They don’t really listen to us, they hit each other a lot and don’t have any discipline so that’s hard to deal with. But there are always hugs and smiles from all. =) The problem with working here is that we are expected to have activates planed for the kids, which I don’t mind at all doing! But this week we submitted our schedule for the next week keeping in mind that the orphanage would only have basic supplies. On Tuesday we were told all they had was a couple of balls, plain paper, crayons, and get this…. surgical scissors for the kids to use. That can make planning stimulating activities for kids very challenging. Without supplies so far we’ve played games such as tag, duck, duck, goose, musical chairs, heads up seven up, kick ball, a couple simple art projects involving paper, and we’ve gone on walks. I think the children have enjoyed the time with us, but they can definitely be overwhelming. I just think about all the supplies a normal American classroom has and how I’ve always taken all of that for granted. Pictures of some of the kids are below.

Pictures of Razliv & the Razliv Orphanage Children:

Flowers the kids picked for me. =)

Entrance to the Razliv Orphanage. 

Playing games with the kids.

Stork nest near the orphanage. 

My little monkey. He knows he's charming and a cutie. I wish I could take him home with me. =(

Children cherry picking on one of our walks in the village.

Our luck with buses! Best part was that the driver did not have a mobile. On our way back from working with the handicap children.

May: The End, Spain, Turkey, and starting my work with One Heart Bulgaria

I left Blagoevgrad on May 8^th, which was extremely sad for me. Packing up the room I’ve been living in since August, and saying goodbye to Blagoevgrad and all the friends I’ve made was hard. When my roommate’s parents packed up the car and as we were driving through Blagoevgrad I kept thinking, this is the last time I’ll see that store, or that park, or that restaurant, the dorms etc. The thing I learned from going back to Augsburg, Germany after a few years of not being there was that you can go back to a place you once lived but it will never be the same. Sure restaurants, and the streets will be the same, but it won’t be the same because it’s not the same experience. The people that you called your friends won’t be there, you won’t live in the same place, do the same things. The second time around your just a tourist more or less. So even if I do go back to Blagoevgrad someday (not at the top of my list but hey, if I’m ever in the area!) it will never be the same. I’m only a 2 hour bus ride away from Blago  at the moment and it feels so far. Even if I took a day trip to Blago and went and ate at my favorite restaurant (Frame), had my favorite chocolate soufflé, and walked around for the day, would it be the same? No. Not to be dramatic but it really felt like a chapter of my life was ending, and I did not want it to end! I realize in my life, at 22 I’ve already had more experiences, been more places then most will experience in their lives. I’ve lived here, and there, made a life in a few different countries, and left those lives to come back “home” to Washington and while each time I say to myself, wow I’ve learned so much, gained so much perspective on how the world works, met so many neat people who I consider good friends and .what now? I’ll go back home in 40 days after my internship, get my job back at good ole’ Red Lobster, go to school, and feel like I’m in the spot I was when I was 18? Yes I’ve gained a lot here, and wish I could not leave it, but I know I have the responsibility to myself to suck it up, and go back to shitty Cheney to finish my Bachelors. I know in life it’s not all fun and games and sometime you have to do things you don’t want to. Well, this is going to be one of them. But I know a year from now (praying) when I’m holding a piece of paper saying I have a Bachelors in International Affair and 3 Minors I’ll be very proud of myself and wonder what kinds of experiences and adventures I’ll go through even before 30.  I also have been thinking a lot about the future, and all the opportunities and possibilities that await me once I get this piece of paper. I’ve thought about internships in DC, and abroad, immediately joining the Peace Corps, or applying for a Fulbright, or even going straight to grad school at Central European University in Budapest, which I’m surprisingly really leaning towards. Ideally after graduation I’d want to do a summer internship in DC, then the Peace Corps, or a Fulbright, and then going to grad school in Budapest but I’ll try not to get ahead of myself here. ;)

Now back to what I’ve been doing the past month……

SPAIN & TURKEY. =)

Monday the 9^th I jumped on a direct flight to Barcelona, Spain and in a few hours was in the very tropical and lovely Barcelona. I was met at the airport by my good friend Goran (who the last post was about in Macedonia.) we dropped my stuff off at the hotel near the center and spent the day walking about and the evening we went out, and as expected of course, I was missing my Bulgarian Leva because 7 Euros for a drink is not fun! The next day I met a Canadian and Norwegian girl who had also just arrived and we promptly established a group. =) We are lunch, and then went to the Picasso museum which to be honest I found it a bit overrated but of course it’s a tourist must do! Goran and I ended up spending a lot of time on the beach which I found was like heaven especially coming from Bulgaria. I ended up getting a sunburn; even with my SPF 30 (I guess I need SPF 50!) I also went to the Catalonian History Museum which I thought was a great deal because it’s free for students and really interactive and fun!

            On Friday I took a 4 & ½ hour train down to Alicante which is near Valencia. I could have taken a plane for nearly the same price, but I wanted to see Spain and thought that taken the train would help with that. Spain reminds me soo much of taking the train in Brazil, I mean the train is a lot better condition, and had air-conditioning but the views were very similar. I guess it’s the same in any tropical country. The views were spectacular and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, even if it was a bit long. I was met at the train station by my friend Pau, who went to AUBG the year before me on exchange. He came back to Blagoevgrad a few times in the last year, so that how I know him. We dropped my stuff off at the hotel and went out for lunch. I think from Friday to Monday I ate the best food of my trip! The seafood, tapas and meat were to die for! The Sangria and wine, amazing! I think it’s easy to fall in love with Spain. After all what’s not to love about it? I think I got a good overview of Alicante and on my last day climbed up to the fort overlooking the city. The view was spectacular.

            Monday I took the train back to Barcelona, met up with Goran, went to the beach on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Goran and I went to a lovely park, and then I caught my 6PM flight back to Bulgaria. I stayed the night at my friends Rails’ flat near the airport and the next day met up with my roommate and her mom. I then spent a couple days at their house to catch up on sleep and hangout. Then on the 23^rd I took an overnight bus to Istanbul! If there’s anything I’ve learned about buses it’s that if it’s going to be a long trip, take an overnight bus! The sleep might be horrible, or near impossible but it sure goes a lot faster then having to take a bus at 12pm and arriving at 9:30pm. Plus it’s not nearly as hot on the bus at night, and border control goes a lot faster! We arrived at the Turkish border around 4am, and I had to pay $20 for a visa at the border that looks more like a sticker for a little kid. For $20 buck I expect at least an official looking visa! I was also the only one on the bus that needed one. They then making you take all your luggage out, open it, only to close it again because no one even check it. The whole process took about an hour, which I’ve heard is really good compared to 2 to 4 hours some have to wait at the border.

            When we arrived in Istanbul I was a bit nervous and not sure what to expect. I made sure I was wearing a sweater and long pants and a scarf to look conservative even though it was hot. I was also nervous about finding my hostel. I took the metro, and then a tram and managed not to get lost which I was very impressed by. I felt like I had a lot of guys staring at me on the metro, and I realized there were hardly any women and I felt nervous, but then I thought about it and  the fact that I was on the metro at 8am probably meant all these men were going to work. I managed to find the hotel easy enough, check in, shower and then went and took a ferry ride around the area. Later that night I went out for dinner and I have to say Turkish food is amazing! All the spices they use are so yummy.

            A few of the highlight of the trip, include going to the Asian side of Istanbul, getting to explore the Mosques, going to the Spice Bazaar, and the Grand Bazaar, eating in general, drinking Turkish tea, getting a proper scrub down at a Turkish bath, Archeological museum, Wi-Fi in the park, walking until my feat hurt…and I think that about sums it up. =) After 6 days exploring Istanbul I took a bus back to Bulgaria and have been staying here the last week just hanging about not doing a whole lot.

             Yesterday the 2 girls from One Heart Bulgaria who I’ll be working with for my internship flew in from the UK & the US. I went out for tea with them and we walked around the city a bit. Today (Sunday, June 5) I need to pack a bag and get ready to meet the director or the Orphanage on Monday or Tuesdays. I’m still not sure which day and am waiting for him to call me back. I’m also not sure if I’ll be living in the orphanage or an apartment, if I’ll be living in Pravets http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pravets, or Razliv which is a village near by where the orphanage is at. The whole things is a mystery, and for a person like me who likes to be organized that can be hard! =) Yesterday I went to Jumbo, which is the Greek version of Toys“R”US. I picked up a few things for the kids, but I really feel like I did not buy enough. Luckily my grandpa offered to send me some money to buy things for the kids. But now I wish I would have planned ahead a bit and tried to find a donor, or organization that would give us money for activities, and toys for the kids. Once I get to the orphanage I’ll be better able to assess the situation, and what the children’s needs are.

I’ll be going home July 13^th! I’ve already started the count down. =)