And once again I apologize for not updating my blog. It's the middle of June. For the past 2 weeks, it has been 90 degrees or more. No rain and barely any clouds. The fact that there are no air conditioners in the 30 mile vicinity to keep the climate in the perfect 72 degree range, has forced me to quickly adapt. In other words, I have been drinking liters of water every chance I get.
Not a lot of things have happened since I last updated my blog. But due to the high demand of people interested in my life, I'll give you a very detailed description of my typical day. I officially wake up anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30. Though the screaming roosters outside my window have woken me up many times before 5:00 AM! I wake up and make my Journey to the kitchen where a cup of coffee (professionally brewed by my Baba with her Espresso Machine) and Croissants, or Banichka, or fried eggs and bread are waiting for me.
After breakfast, I make my journey to the bathroom (I mentioned that It was an outhouse type building before). On my way, I greet my Dyado and Baba who are working in their garden. Once I'm ready, I take a 15 minute journey to the Uchileshte (School). It has become a custom for me to greet anyone I see on my way. So much so, every Bulgarian on my way, is expecting some kind of greeting.
In school, I teach 1 English class a day (7th or 10th grade). This is truly rewarding, since the kids treat me as a celebrity and listen to me (and pretend to understand me) no matter how good or horrible the lesson is. Once the class is over, I have a Bulgarian tutoring session (once a week) or have the only opportunity during the day to go online.
At 12:00, I make the voyage back to my home. Get stuffed with food. Lamb, goat, chicken, liver, soups, you name it, I probably ate it. To thank my grandparents for such food, I do the dishes. The first time I did this, I got wide open eyes. You see, in Bulgaria it is the women's job to do such chores. But my persistence has changed this at least for now.
I make my journey back to the school at 1:30, in pure heat and began a 3-5 hour Bulgarian learning session shortly afterwards with 4 other Americans in my town. As of today, I am able to make short sentences, ask simple questions, tell about my favorite and least favorite food, talk about my family, give and understand direction, and be able to ask, and buy a bus or train ticket anywhere in Bulgaria.
Once the Bulgarian is over, I go outside and search for free wireless internet. I think a lot of Bulgarians think I'm crazy because I randomly stop with my iPod Touch in the random-est places and begin talking to no-one. In reality, my evening is the only time I have to communicate with friends and family in the states and it is only possible with my IPod (microphone attached to the headphones) and Skype.
Once Im done, I go back to my house. Practice some Bulgarian, take a shower and go to bed by 10 pm. Though I often feel I'm going to bed at 7 PM instead, since the Sun in Bulgaria stays up until 9-10:30 during the summer.
So this is it for now. I promise to give you more updates. A lot of interesting things are coming up.
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