It’s been a bit strange for me here lately. First off, I’ve been told quite a lot recently how necessary it is that I find a man as soon as possible.
The first attack was from my friend, Marietta, who, point-blank, told me, “You’re almost twenty-seven. You need to get married and have babies.”
Um. Wow.
Then, our local policeman, Vladi, told me that I need a boyfriend. He offered to post a big sign along our main road saying, “Local American accepting applications. Pictures and CV must be included. Interviews to follow upon selection.” He offered to be one of my judges. I accepted his offer, saying I trusted his judgment explicitly. But really it’s because he can put me in jail.
He then asked me a series of questions:
“Do you smoke?”
No.
“Do you drink alcohol?”
No.
“Do you have a boyfriend here in Bulgaria or in America?”
No.
“OK. You don’t smoke. You don’t drink. You don’t have a man…what do you do?”
Ummmm…
Then, today, three of my co-workers asked me what I look for in a man. I won’t tell you the fuss they put up when I quoted the tall, dark, and handsome phrase we often use in America. But, after we discussed the few other adjectives I know in Bulgarian: smart, funny, nice, blah, blah, blah, they said that I should be on the look-out. “No, seriously. You need to look. If you find him, grab him. Seriously.”
OK.
Even my principal, my boss, told me it was necessary to have a man if for nothing more than to keep me warm in the winter.
“I have blankets. And a heater!”
“Men are better.”
I really enjoyed each conversation immensely.
Another reason the past few weeks have been strange relates to my lack of contact with other PCV’s. I usually see someone at least every other weekend. But, it’s been awhile. Two weekends. At home. Doing…not a whole lot. I’ve been bored and lacking in the silly, American antics that allow me a sense of release.
I’m pretty sure this is why I’ve been having wild daydreams and fantasies lately.
Nothing scandalous. Nothing related to the topic above. My fantasies have more to do with being a huge rock star or world-renown author or something like that. I mean just the wildest, detailed fantasies. I have to shake myself out of these sometimes, laugh at myself, and go back to work. It’s silly. I think I’m just absolutely bored out of my mind. I need to do something fun. Soon.
Also, the weather has been AMAZING! It’s sunny and warm and beautiful. I have to admit, it greatly effects my mood – I’ve been quite cheerful despite the boredom. Apparently this is very unusual for Bulgaria and it will most likely change soon, just like THAT. Cuz that’s how it is in Bulgaria. No warning, just extreme changes in weather that make you catch you breath and say, “Aw, crap, it’s snowing again.” I keep telling myself that I’m half-way through winter. Six more weeks and we’ll be past it and I no longer have to fear the impending doom that is below-zero temperatures.
Anyway, that’s all that’s going on with me.
-Age
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
20/20 Special
There has been a lot of talk lately regarding the special 20/20 has recently aired discussing the Peace Corps and its safety. I was aware that it did not show Peace Corps in a positive light and I thought, “What poor timing to degrade Peace Corps right before they celebrate such a monumental anniversary, 50 years of service.” Though, whether their motive was to increase ratings while Peace Corps is in the news or whether they honestly wanted to make people aware of this serious issue, it's an important topic and one to think about. What I’m about to write in no way reflects the thoughts or opinions of the Peace Corps or the US government.
Update: I've been informed that the Kate that was murdered while serving in the Peace Corps was killed during March of 2009 - so the girl I had referred to in a paragraph that I have just deleted from this exact spot is someone else entirely. I apologize. I made an assumption and you know what they say about those. In the future I'll put a bit more effort into researching "facts" that I pluck from the back of my dusty brain. (Though I still find the death of the 20-something girl who died of "natural causes" while serving in the Peace Corps a bit suspicious.)
This isn’t the place to get too far into my thoughts and opinions regarding the safety and security of volunteers here in Bulgaria but I will say that if our safety is their number one priority than Peace Corps should not hesitate for a second to do what is right and necessary regardless of how it may reflect on their image or reputation. In fact, being open about their lack of tolerance for any form of harassment would be more reassuring then the hushing up of situations that are later heard through the grapevine…or aired on national television. If a female volunteer feels unsafe and has perfectly good reasons for wanting to be moved from her site or even just her current living situation, then it should happen. Period. Regardless of whether she came home a half-an-hour after dark or she had a beer at the local restaurant. She should not have to endure any behavior that makes her feel uncomfortable or unsafe in any way. I certainly wouldn’t.
I feel very opinionated on this subject because I’ve felt in the past that I wasn’t receiving the whole truth from Peace Corps. Not lies, necessarily, and nothing as important as major safety and security issues but I do wish that they were a bit more open with volunteers and the public. I was not at all surprised that they asked a woman who had been gang-raped to tell her fellow volunteers that she was going back to Washington to have her wisdom teeth pulled. The fact that I was not at all surprised is what worries me.
Despite what I’ve written, I have in no way ever felt unsafe here in Bulgaria. I think the staff are amazing people who are great at their jobs and each one of them believes in Peace Corps and its mission which fills me with admiration for our work here. The vast majority of my views towards the Peace Corps are positive. It is a wonderful organization doing truly incredible things all over the world and I’m proud to be a part of it. But it is not perfect. The flaws that have been presented, though unfortunately timed, need to be addressed and I would very much like to hear more from Peace Corps regarding these matters. The statistics are strong, Peace Corps is a safe organization. But, when there are warning signs, safety should come before image, before reputation, in all circumstances.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Kate Puzey and her family for all they have been through. I hope she has found peace and that her bravery is remembered by the people and community in which she served. She truly was a hero just as her father said, as are all people who stand up for the rights of women and minors despite how difficult it may be to come forward and be the one who has to take action. I’m very impressed by all who have done this, those of whom I know personally and those of whom I do not.
“Doing what’s right isn’t always positively accepted and doing what’s positively accepted isn’t always right.”
20/20 Special
-Age
Update: I've been informed that the Kate that was murdered while serving in the Peace Corps was killed during March of 2009 - so the girl I had referred to in a paragraph that I have just deleted from this exact spot is someone else entirely. I apologize. I made an assumption and you know what they say about those. In the future I'll put a bit more effort into researching "facts" that I pluck from the back of my dusty brain. (Though I still find the death of the 20-something girl who died of "natural causes" while serving in the Peace Corps a bit suspicious.)
This isn’t the place to get too far into my thoughts and opinions regarding the safety and security of volunteers here in Bulgaria but I will say that if our safety is their number one priority than Peace Corps should not hesitate for a second to do what is right and necessary regardless of how it may reflect on their image or reputation. In fact, being open about their lack of tolerance for any form of harassment would be more reassuring then the hushing up of situations that are later heard through the grapevine…or aired on national television. If a female volunteer feels unsafe and has perfectly good reasons for wanting to be moved from her site or even just her current living situation, then it should happen. Period. Regardless of whether she came home a half-an-hour after dark or she had a beer at the local restaurant. She should not have to endure any behavior that makes her feel uncomfortable or unsafe in any way. I certainly wouldn’t.
I feel very opinionated on this subject because I’ve felt in the past that I wasn’t receiving the whole truth from Peace Corps. Not lies, necessarily, and nothing as important as major safety and security issues but I do wish that they were a bit more open with volunteers and the public. I was not at all surprised that they asked a woman who had been gang-raped to tell her fellow volunteers that she was going back to Washington to have her wisdom teeth pulled. The fact that I was not at all surprised is what worries me.
Despite what I’ve written, I have in no way ever felt unsafe here in Bulgaria. I think the staff are amazing people who are great at their jobs and each one of them believes in Peace Corps and its mission which fills me with admiration for our work here. The vast majority of my views towards the Peace Corps are positive. It is a wonderful organization doing truly incredible things all over the world and I’m proud to be a part of it. But it is not perfect. The flaws that have been presented, though unfortunately timed, need to be addressed and I would very much like to hear more from Peace Corps regarding these matters. The statistics are strong, Peace Corps is a safe organization. But, when there are warning signs, safety should come before image, before reputation, in all circumstances.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Kate Puzey and her family for all they have been through. I hope she has found peace and that her bravery is remembered by the people and community in which she served. She truly was a hero just as her father said, as are all people who stand up for the rights of women and minors despite how difficult it may be to come forward and be the one who has to take action. I’m very impressed by all who have done this, those of whom I know personally and those of whom I do not.
“Doing what’s right isn’t always positively accepted and doing what’s positively accepted isn’t always right.”
20/20 Special
-Age
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mimicking Without a License
My Christmas in Varna was wonderful. Great people, old and new. We had a gift exchange (I got a beautiful new scarf from Kerri along with some kick-ass American candy, which I consumed within 24-hours), ate amazing food, played games, and enjoyed the unique holiday atmosphere that is Peace Corps Bulgaria.
Italy was amazing. A stark difference from Bulgaria in terms of people and culture and I swear I actually experienced a bit of culture shock. But in a good way. We mostly ate. And ate and ate and ate. I pushed my stomach to the limit and am really proud of the amount of pizza I can eat in one setting and the fact that I can always manage to squeeze in some gelato. I’m like a pro.
I won’t go on and on about that trip cuz I know that type of thing gets boring so I’ll just highlight:
• There was a two-story, paper frog in the center of Bologna. This frog was set on fire at the stroke of midnight and we all cheered and kissed and watched it light the sky ablaze while Italian firefighters and policemen patrolled the area. It was surreal. Our new hostel friend, Richard kept saying, “There’s a f*ing frog on fire. I mean, there’s a f*ing frog on fire!” It was epic.
• An Italian boy ran past me when we were walking down the streets of Bologna so, naturally, I start to run after him in a mocking fashion. He suddenly turns around, sees me chasing him, and then I burst into convulsive laughter because I was totally busted. He mocks my laughter, grabs my shirt sleeve, and marches me down the street saying something about a “magistrate” before I realize he’s taking me to the police station. He’s basically putting me under arrest. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. We later saw the same little boy dancing the cha-cha in the town center surrounded by 50 or so people. I chose the right little boy to mock.
• We ate a lot of pizza. Pizza is good.
• Where’s Matt? We never knew.
• We saw the statue of David. Well, kinda.
• Lots of girl talk. It was fun.
• We found the most delicious beer in the world called Kwak. Yeah, Kwak.
All in all, I had an amazing vacation and have spent the entire day today in bed recovering from it. You always know it’s a good vacation when you need to take an extra day off just to sleep in until noon.
Italy was amazing. A stark difference from Bulgaria in terms of people and culture and I swear I actually experienced a bit of culture shock. But in a good way. We mostly ate. And ate and ate and ate. I pushed my stomach to the limit and am really proud of the amount of pizza I can eat in one setting and the fact that I can always manage to squeeze in some gelato. I’m like a pro.
I won’t go on and on about that trip cuz I know that type of thing gets boring so I’ll just highlight:
• There was a two-story, paper frog in the center of Bologna. This frog was set on fire at the stroke of midnight and we all cheered and kissed and watched it light the sky ablaze while Italian firefighters and policemen patrolled the area. It was surreal. Our new hostel friend, Richard kept saying, “There’s a f*ing frog on fire. I mean, there’s a f*ing frog on fire!” It was epic.
• An Italian boy ran past me when we were walking down the streets of Bologna so, naturally, I start to run after him in a mocking fashion. He suddenly turns around, sees me chasing him, and then I burst into convulsive laughter because I was totally busted. He mocks my laughter, grabs my shirt sleeve, and marches me down the street saying something about a “magistrate” before I realize he’s taking me to the police station. He’s basically putting me under arrest. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. We later saw the same little boy dancing the cha-cha in the town center surrounded by 50 or so people. I chose the right little boy to mock.
• We ate a lot of pizza. Pizza is good.
• Where’s Matt? We never knew.
• We saw the statue of David. Well, kinda.
• Lots of girl talk. It was fun.
• We found the most delicious beer in the world called Kwak. Yeah, Kwak.
All in all, I had an amazing vacation and have spent the entire day today in bed recovering from it. You always know it’s a good vacation when you need to take an extra day off just to sleep in until noon.
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