It's Been Awhile

My vacation in America was pretty effing fantastic. The best part being that I got to see my friends and family again and remember why I love them SO MUCH! When I was sitting in the back seat with my two best friends in the front making jokes, being ridiculous, and cracking me up I couldn't help but tell them how much I missed them. My best friend, Amanda, who I've known since we were both 7 (something we brag about often) is more like a sister to me than anything else and I don't think anyone will understand me quite like she does. We're going to be little old ladies together - it's gonna be a blast. I also spent a lot of time with my mom who was a great sport and took me anywhere I wanted to go - we had a lot of fun, spent a lot of money, and ate some damn good food. It was fantastic to see everyone and to enjoy Cali once again.

I thought going home would be so strange. I thought I would get culture shock and freak out. Nope. It was as if I'd never left. And that's what everyone kept saying, "Adrienne, I feel like we were just doing this exact same thing last week. Freaky." What was most strange to me was how much I enjoyed being just another girl. I chatted up every person I came in contact with simply because I was just an American. I spoke English like everyone else, I looked like everyone else and no one would ever guess where I live or what I was doing. The anonymity was refreshing. I didn't expect that.

I returned to Bulgaria just in time to celebrate the 4th of July with two new volunteers who have just moved to towns so close to mine I could cry. I've always been jealous of volunteers with site-mates and now I kinda have some. People to have coffee with when I just need to speak with an American. People to plan projects with, help with events, and collaborate. Should be great.

Then it was off to our Mid-Service Conference in a beautiful city named Tryavna. The town was amazing and getting to see everyone again was such a blast. In the past, I've always felt kinda overwhelmed when our entire group gets together cuz there are so many of us but this time wasn't like that at all. It was as if our group shrank and there were only a few people there that I didn't know well. Amazing what can happen in a year. The conference was inspiring and helped to give me the push I needed to really take this second year head-on. Also, after dinner on the last day, Tom planned a talent show for us all in the main hall of our hotel. It was awesome. People sang, danced, read original poetry, fought to the death, and joined together to end the show with an amazing combination of the songs "Friday" and "Baby" - sounds awful but it wasn't. It was great. I remember sitting there and thinking, "I'm always going to remember this. This is one of those moments." Bravo Tom!

Katelyn was the host of the talent show and did her own small performances in between each act until...she injured herself during an interpretive dance to "All By Myself." I can't make this up. She finished the song but then had to be lead away so her foot could be wrapped and iced, ready for an x-ray in Sofia the next morning. She didn't break anything but she gets to wear a cool boot for awhile. Injuries at these types of events end up making some of the best stories. Also, she finished hosting the show surprisingly enough, just with a bit of a limp and no more costume changes which is too bad cuz one of them was a hospital gown and I was really interested to know exactly how she planned to pull that off.

Now I'm back at my site and making plans. It feels good to be back and I realize I really miss my students. Well, most of my students. I have some integration plans that put me a bit out of my comfort zone (something we were all highly encouraged to do at the conference) so I'll keep you updated on how all that goes. Other than that, I hope to write something interesting or funny on my next post instead of this updating bull that you probably couldn't even finish reading. I'm back in the blogging mode and I like it. Ciao for now.

-Age