LG's Excellent PC Adventure

If any of you are thinking of joining the Peace Corps, and I wholeheartedly endorse the idea, there are one or two things you'll have to understand. First, the PC has an excellent training program that begins by moving you in with a Host Family. In Saedinenie we have five Host Families and five very different experiences. One thing we all have in common is the stated goal of each of our Host Mothers to feed us all the remaining food in Bulgaria at each and every meal. Veneta piles my plate high with double or triple the amount she and Stoil eat and if I'm ever so foolish as to actually empty a dish or glass, it is immediately filled back up. In addition to the food on my own plate, there are always a wide variety of "side" dishes who's number and weight cause the table to buckle in the middle. I'm expected to constantly take food from these plates as well as my own. Veneta watches like a hawk and if I take a forkful of feta cheese, she immediately points out that I've missed the salami. If I go for olives, the feta cheese is pushed over to me. No matter how much I eat, Veneta always asks me to "have just a little more..." It seems that all the Host Mothers live in a very real dread of having one of their volunteers starve to death in their homes. Fat Chance!!

In my opinion, Bulgarian drivers are, by and large, careful and considerate. They take great pride in owning a car, which could be the most expensive thing they ever buy, and they don't take unnecessary risks with them. Stoil will push his ancient Lada up to sixty or sixty-five mph, but only on good, straight and empty roads. I've also witnessed no instances of road rage or other acts of stupidity. This goes against my own stereotype of drivers in developing countries as machismo driven maniacs. If the PC allowed it, I'd feel very comfortable driving here. Driving any motor vehicle, however, is cause for immediate dismissal and a one-way ticket home. It really isn't a problem and we all learn to work the bus and train system, just like the vast majority of Bulgarians. Stara Zagora, my permanent site and the city I'll be moving to in two weeks, has blocked off several streets in the Center of town for pedestrian traffic only. It really makes the city a nicer and quieter place to live.

When I arrived here in August, Veneta and Stoil were constantly harvesting one crop or another from their garden. Everything is preserved in jars and bottles for the Winter. Lately they've been jarring and pickling a mixture of cauliflower, carrots and cabbage that will be consumed throughout December, January & February. The grapes are all down and Stoil's oldest son, Ivalyn, will make this year's batch of wine and rakiya with them. I think I've been invited to join in on the work in a week or so, but I'm not certain that I'll be able to because of my move to Stara Zagora. I've definitely been invited back to Saedinenie for the pig roast in December. There's always a big party when the pig is slaughtered and butchered. Nothing on the animal is wasted. Veneta even makes soap from some of the fat. I've tried the soap, expecting it to smell like bacon, and was surprised to find that it's really pretty good. It doesn't smell at all because there are no chemicals or perfumes in it. It's just like pure glycerin soap and can also be used as shampoo. I plan on bringing a chunk with me to Stara Zagora so my guests can use it. Other than soap, the meat is processed in the usual ways. Bacon, chops, loins, etc. are all taken and frozen. Some of the meat is dry cured and becomes 'Babek' which is a very delicious pork jerky and is eaten all year long. Sausages are made from almost any part that can't be readily identified. One pig will feed the family for the rest of the year. Of course, it isn't the Bulgarian way to have meat at every meal or every day.

We are continually reminded that our primary job here is to become goodwill ambassadors for America. Our objective is to let host nationals get to know Americans other than the ones they see in the movies and on TV. We've been very fortunate in Saedinenie in that the community seems to have enjoyed having us here as much as we've enjoyed being here. People greet us when we walk down the streets and if we leave town for a day or two, people ask us where we've been. Often, we don't even know the people talking to us, just that they are part of the town and they are aware that we're here and they like it. When we sit in a cafe, people strike up conversations with us and express interest in what we're doing. They all ask how we like Saedinenie and don't we wish we could live here for our whole time in Bulgaria? It's a great place to be right now.