You Cheaters!!!

Shouts of Bulgarian slander ringing in my ears. Ne pipai! Byagai! Mooshenik! Luzhets!

What am I doing here?.......Oh ya I am playing a board game that has absolutely no skill involved. Simply rolling the dice to see who is luckiest. I should try my luck in Vegas the way I am playing tonight.

6, 6, 5, 1, 6, 4, 5. The high rolling doesn't stop. I am making this game my......ugh ya! The excitement doesn't stop there. My unofficial partner in crime, Radi, and I are ganging up on the girls. You see, when you play board games, friendships are forgotten and gender alliances form only for the benefit of watching the others become frustrated with our tag-team efforts. I almost felt bad, then I realized how much I hate losing. Not saying I am a sore loser, but hey lets face it, winners (at least with board games) get all the glory. However miniscule that glory may be.

The night started with the intention of me teaching an english lesson to my new friends at the, what I refer to as, house next to the police station. But really it is an transitional facility for former orphans who are too old for an orphanage but still do not have the means to be out on their own. Either way, the formal english lesson was scrapped for a cooking lesson.
Why not learn english and cook at the same time. It worked and it definitely was better than me sitting there pointing to a worksheet and saying the word over and over. We cooked, we learned food items in English, we tested cologne, and we cleaned. And then we tryed not to cheat......sure, right O!!

If you play with Bulgarians you better know the words, cheater, liar, don't touch, and get the hell out of here! Thankfully I did.

"Wan, tu, tree, fow, fife, seex." I don't want to sound condescending but at least we learned the numbers one through six really well. In fact, I love these kids. They actually enjoy learning english and it is nice to have an informal class room of a home. I know they loving have me around too, based on the smell of my clothes from the cologne testing. My favorite kid (he is actually 21) goes around saying "You are" all the time, and whenever it most inapplicable. Haha, now if I can get him to just finish that sentence.......

Okay now back to the game. "No cheating!!! You mooshenik!!!" I plan on winning or at least helping my ally defeat the evil feminine empire.

This is what you do when you win.

Jump for joy and land softly!!!! (and take a blurry picture)

Here's Some Advice For You.

I haven't blogged in so long my fingers are stiff and I need to once again re-tap into my "train of thought" which creates much of the blogging brillancy you read. Today's train = _________ hold on...I'm thinking. Ah yes, advice.

I have always been one to offer advice whether the advisee wanted it or not. I can't control myself sometimes. I have also been told that I am a good at reading people. So far, so good. Advice, is not really something anyone wants to hear unless they specifically ask for it. Americans especially don't like "un-asked-for" advice. It takes a special trust to ask for and also receive worthwhile advice.

Recently, relationship advice has been a topic of discussion between myself and one of my great friends in the states. So far, we have basically called each others shots from afar and predicted what was going to happen eachothers lives. We also have offered eachother advice that was trusting and productive. The funny thing is...we don't even know the person that we are advising about. I mean I know my friend and she knows me but the other factors in the equation are unknown to either of us, other than a brief description the people and a bit of the situation. What is really cool though, is that we both knew exactly what to say to eachother. And this leads me to my point.

Advice is really helpful. (Wow, Right? Deep!!!) Instead of living through life thinking that we can handle any situation that comes our way is really....well....stupid. Life is meant to be lived together and shared. Here is the real kicker though. While my friend and I are exchanging advice, we are seeking more information about but the whole time we really are focused the person we are advising not the situation at hand. Knowing that person better and better and finding out new peculiarities about their personality is unexplainably addictive. Discovering new and fun facts about our friends that, even though they may 6,000 something miles away, is something that I have enjoyed in my life recently.

So this brings up another point that I mentioned briefly earlier. I mentioned that we both have a very little information about the situations we are both in. But, what is fascinating is, that we both have been really good at calling the shots in these respective situations. You know why? Because we know eachother. We know eachother well enough to know how these situations will most likely end up. I don't credit for being a fortune-teller but I do take credit for being a friend, and vice-versa for her.

We did not need to know the entire situation to know the truth, the outcome. We knew eachother, our tendencies, personality.

-Do we need every fact about everything before making a decision?
-Do we know enough about ourselves to make a decision? If we don't, are we confident and trusting enough to ask someone?
-Do we have to be doctors to lend someone meaningful advice?
-Are we bold enough to give advice that hurts? Not, just be a "YES" man.
-Are we bold enough to act on someone else's advice and not our own intuition?

Give me some advice on what I should write about next. Funny, sad, poetic, artsy, deep, story, real life, etc.

Lord of The Rings in Bulgarski

Forrest Gump once said, "Stupid is as stupid does." That quote rang so very true last night at my bulgarian language tutoring session. My tutor is trying a new learning strategy with me and, well, needless to say, it is really tough.

Together we are reading Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring. Now...I have read this book and watched the movies several times during famous Lord of The Rings marathons. Throw all that previous knowledge and understanding out the window when trying to read novels in bulgarian.

Bilbo 'Torbins' (not Baggins) is the main character of the first part of the book. Don't ask me why Baggins is not a direct translation. Must be because the word for "bag" in bulgarian is "torbichka", therefore Torbins. Haha I got a laugh when I actually figured that out too. Either way, we all how the story goes and so did I when I read it...back in high school...in english. Yesterday however, it was like I had amnesia and just forgot the entire plot. Or maybe because it is such a familiar text to me that when I saw it distorted in bulgarian, I became confused about what I was reading. Maybe I am not as good at bulgarian as I thought. Or maybe, because I haven't had a tutoring session in 3 weeks, eeeeekkk.

However, this humbling experience is teaching me way more words than a silly grammar or vocab lesson. The prose of the book uses words that are really useful...and then again some not so useful, for example НЕИЗЧЕРПАЕМА (inexhaustible) and ГРАФСТВОТО (shire). I will probably never use either of these words again, but hey it is actually kinda fun learning things indirectly like this. After only 4 paragraphs we stopped. Tired from one hour of reading, translating and re-reading we called it quits.

Bilbo Torbins hasn't even had his birthday party yet. Gandalf hasn't been introduced. And I await to see how may days it takes us to actually set out on our journey to Mordor! I am not sure two years will be enough time to even finish the first half of the first book in the trilogy. Ugh, but if there are more unuseful words like неизчерранамфнаосдгиагкнг;ахг, then it may take even longer.

Last night I never felt more stupid in my life. But I think that will be a one time event ;)

I'm saying goodbye and leaving it behind.

Is he leaving Bulgaria? Is he quitting Peace Corps? Is he depressed? After reading the title of this post I am sure that you are a bit interested in what it is I am talking about. Well, I will tell you.

There are some things in my life that are beneficial, useful, fun, and even necessary. No, I have not decided to leave PC or Bulgaria or Life. I just have decided to disconnect my TV. I really see it as a hinderance and distraction to my life hear in Bulgaria. Sure, it has it perks. I can watch CNN in English. I can watch discovery channel in Bulgarian or catch every soccer match...EVER. I can even catch up on the lastest Romanian Lifetime channel, which is in English surprisingly.

However, the upside of a TV does not outweigh the downside of it. I find myself glued to it when it is sunny and beautiful outside because there is some great episode about sharks coming on in 30 minutes. Don't wanna miss that! No, really, the TV is taking away from my experience here. The everpresent ability to turn it on and watch something is a real distraction, not only from Bulgarian life but from my life in general.

The worst part about it is the "late night programming". I am not gonna go into it because I know we all know what I am talking about. This distraction has hurt most of all and therefore it is time for the TV to go. It will now sit in the part of the house that I rarely access. Out of site out of mind!

For all of those PC volunteers that don't have a TV...please don't ever want one during your service! Forgive me for you not being able to relate to the reality that TV, is a major distraction and hinderance.

Due to all my free time now I will devote more of my time to learning my guitar, reading my library, and becoming the next chef-boyardee! I will probably write more on my blog too.

I know I won't regret this decision. I promise. I just regret that I didn't do this about 3 months ago.

I am saying goodbye and leaving it behind!!!

Any EVERYDAY Activity

Listening to music (Shout out to "Mumford and Sons"), playing a guitar, singing, facebooking, and writing. My ADD has struck once again!!! And it will most likely take 3 hours to write this entry when it easily could be written in 20 minutes. I like it this way because it has become my stereotypical "ADD wanna ride bikes" scapegoat. 6 activities at once, if you include thinking as one. Some would call this multi-tasking yet others just scoff at the unproductiveness of my activities. I call it being thankful!

As some of you may know, I spent last week on vacation with a friend from my beautiful hometown. We traveled through Bulgaria and had a blast finding adventure every second of the day. Whether it be hitch-hiking, swim-suit optional mineral baths, hiking in the mountains in the dark, exploring old communist monuments, or sleeping in a cave, I am extremely thankful for the time that we got to spend traveling.

Again my appreciation overflows. This time however for the hospitality that all the awesome PC volunteers showed us as we traveled. A huge hug and thanks goes out to these people for letting us stay with them:
Lexi
Meg
Aaron
Semah
Aaron & Sara
Greg

(Guitar break)

If I forgot anyone I am sorry, but you know who you are, so give yourselves a super-sized pat on the back. ;0

Another thing that spurred me to write was the phone call that I had with my dad today. Among much of the struggle of life and the trials that we all go through I am so thankful that I have two amazing parents that still love each other and are TOGETHER.

Parent Glamour Shot

Divorce, death, arguments, betrayal, anything that seperates people, permeates this world. This devisiveness is "together" with the world. All of these things are present in my life. Not "with" me, but among people I know and people that are good. It makes me ask, well before Thanksgiving day, what am I thankful for?

(Singing break)

Here are some things. My family and wonderful parents. My friends that put up with my quirky and sometimes "brattiness". A loving God. Internet and all the amenities I have that bring my world together haha. Music that lifts my soul and writing that expresses it. And my soul itself.

Being together is a not just being with one another in person. It is connecting with the people and souls around you. I don't want to sound to much like "Avatar" but it is really the truth. I may not be 9 feet tall, blue, and have a pony-tail with a squid on the end of it, but I do know what it means to be together.

Again with so much seperation and loss in my life recently, I find it comforting to know that I am still together with what I love most. And for that I am thankful everyday, not just the last Thursday of November.

Now after writing this at the same time as facebooking, listening to music, playing guitar, singing, and thinking, I have freed myself to go be together with much more important aspects of life...reading and humbling ;)

I am thankful everyday. Let someone you know, know how thankful you are. Make it an everyday activity...

The Stuttering Writer

Stuttering Writer

I-I-I-I am telling you some truth, about a pers-s-son with great uniqueness. Whenever there happens to b-b-b-be something important worth writing, literary awesomenessssssss occurs. Off his uncontrolable lips comes faaascinaaating sounds from this man empowered with quirky skills. When he t-taaaaa-talks attention attracts towards him. Wh-wha-why? Repetition does not take place, just express-sh-sh-sions created deep inside. Nothing odd, nooooor strange. The infamous stt-stut-stutter-stutteriiiiiing writer never said more than one word twice in life.

Halloween Hike Tradition

Halloween is a time for get-togethers, costumes, zombies, pumpkin carving, and other traditions. My new tradition is the Halloween Hike. I initiated it last year when I was in Washington D.C. On Halloween, instead of partying in D.C. I high-tailed it out to the Applachian trail at 6 in the morning. I had done my trail research and hiked 13 miles up through Shenandoah National Park and to Blue Ridge Highway. I only lost the trail, which was covered in leaves, once. I saw an Appalachian black bear, plenty of deer, and other wildlife. I excruciatingly hiked the 13 miles back to my car with a bruised foot (I stubbed it on a rock hidden under the fallen leaves), aching joints and a fatigue that had made me so tired that I teared up when I got back to my car. Haha

~26 miles and 9 hours later I had completed the first annual Halloween Hike. The Appalachian trail is one of the most beautiful areas to hike and I would recommend it to anyone. However, this year I didn't want to make it a solo trip, but needed to expand the great experience to my fellow volunteers and Bulgarian friends. No Bulgarians were too keen on joining in on planned 20+ mile hike but me and my fellow adventurous volunteers were more than up to the challenge. However mother nature didn't cooperate and made the mountains impassable with 2 feet of snow.

But you can't stop a tradition once you start it and so PLAN B was inacted. A less grueling and more "passable" hike from the town of Gotse Delchev to the village of Delchevo and then to the monastery on top of the mountain. The pictures that follow are enough to explain the experience:










In total there were 7 adventurers who tackled the winding and steep road/trail to Delchevo and then on to the top of the mountain.
The views = amazing
The people = troopers
The feet = sore from walking on a road in hiking boots.

Next year we are going to keep the tradition going. I am hoping to have more people involved. I want suggestions on an awesome place to hike, in or outside of Bulgaria. This doesn't mean we can only hike on Halloween, but it does mean that this tradition will live on wherever I am.