My PCPP - Peace Corps Project Proposal - was reviewed, accepted, published and funded relatively recently and we've since started construction. And because I'm the big money-holder I get to tag along when we buy everything which has included treats such as sitting in the front seat of a car all the way to Pazardzhik (45 kick-ass minutes away), visiting a home supply store not unlike a mini Home Depot, and unloading a windowless white van illegally (I know, I laughed at the thought of anything being illegal in Bulgaria too) parked in front of our school. Jealous? I wouldn't doubt it.
All the desks, chairs, cupboards and remaining furniture have been taken to Kostenets to be refurbished, the floor torn up, and the radiators removed from the walls. The floor tiles have been bought, the cement purchased, the fancy light fixtures picked out, and the new lacquer for the cabinets is ready to rock and roll. The lacquering of cabinets will be the extent of my counterpart, Reni, and I's physical contribution to this whole new classroom thing - we'll be wearing old clothes and painting all day tomorrow with the two smallest paint brushes you've ever seen cuz my counterpart is thrifty (originally she only wanted to buy one and then trade off) so when I say "all day" that is precisely what I mean.
I often find that when I am in a situation in which my help or input is not needed and Bulgarian is spoken in so rapid a way and with so many unfamiliar words and phrases that I simply tune out...to everything. It's like I'm in my own little world and only occasionally do I snap out of it long enough to realize I may resemble a nicely dressed (and apparently full since I'm not trying to eat anyone) zombie or a person who's been lobotomized and seems to really enjoy blankly staring at bathroom fixtures and occasionally touching something shiny with a raise of the eyebrows as if to say, "Ooo, I liked touching that shiny faucet." In case I'm confusing you, this is what it was like for me at the Krez (Bulgarian Home Depot) we visited. At the end, I bought a .49 cent measuring cup for myself and handed over my bank card so my colleagues could purchase almost a thousand leva worth of materials. I even said "here you are" in Bulgarian which probably shocked all the store workers who, up until that point, were probably considering calling someone to come take me somewhere safer.
This zoning out thing happens a lot and I think it must be some kind of defense mechanism that keeps my brain from overheating when too many incomprehensible words are trying to be comprehended all at once and shiny things are present to distract. My brain doesn't want to blow up. Which is understandable so I don't complain when people look at me like I'm a cross-eyed two-year-old. My Bulgarian is at about the same level as a cross-eyed 2-year-old (with a speech impediment) so it's fitting as opposed to insulting.
Anyway, the construction has only just begun and I'll have fun pictures and a nice breakdown on here within the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping my kids absolutely love it and show the new room the respect it deserves, i.e. no more throwing chairs or trying to set stuff on fire. One can only hope.
-Age
I've been trying to learn some English for all of my life and now that I'm in the USA I realize how bad my English really is. They all know you're a foreigner (no matter there are so many of those).
ReplyDeleteAll Bulgarians think foreigners are rich and some try to rip them off or swindle them and take their money somehow :p .
Foreigners on the other side don't consider themselves rich (time, sex and money are never enough) just how nobody consider themselves rich. They may happen to have some more money than middle class Bulgarians due to the fact they come from a more developed country with a higher standard of living.
People are obsessed with money, but I would say as Bulgarians typically say: the most important thing for us is to be alive and healthy! :) If so we can even integrate and adapt to some totally different cultures.