Three Cheers We're Volunteers

Three Cheers We’re Volunteers!
So I've had this typed on my computer for a bit but finally have the chance to post so here it is.

Friday, July 23rd I was officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Eighty-five of the eighty-seven of us to arrive in May swore in as volunteers in an official ceremony. I felt the ceremony was excellent as everyone who spoke did an excellent job and truly made the ceremony worthwhile. It was great to bring along two members of my host family (plus we got our Peace Corps pins so we are able to represent the organization). I will admit, I cried as this truly was a dream come true and took so long to get to (however it also didn’t help that my Baba was crying). After the ceremony there were refreshments and appetizers. We all chatted before many of my fellow B-26 (26th group in Bulgaria) left for their permanent sites. Then I stayed in Vratsa with a fellow volunteer to run some errands and have a celebratory beer! We had a wonderful time chatting and spending some quality time before we were all “on our own”.

Friday night I had a delicious dinner with my host family. The salad was fantastic and we had watermelon and sipping liquor for dessert. I received some flowers from neighbors plus 2 jars of honey! Then came Saturday, aka the day I moved to my permanent site. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to be in my permanent site now but it was tough leaving my family. They have been excellent and I will truly miss them.

One final time they again made sure I was planning on coming to their house for Christmas. They drove me to the bus stop, I bought my ticket, we had some cola, and I was off. But not before we all cried. It has been one emotional week. We finished training, had our language proficiency interviews (I passed!), we had our last group HUB, we were sworn in and I’m now living on my own in my own apartment in a brand-new city, of which I cannot speak the language fluently. In my mind, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done though I cannot wait for what comes next. As the Peace Corps commercials go, the toughest job you’ll ever love.

My new apartment is nothing glamorous; however, it is a step up from the other apartment I saw though not in the same neighborhood as my school. I guess that just means more exercise for me which I’m completely satisfied with. I have a 30 minute walk from my building to my school. It is a one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and miniature bathroom. Though I do have a washing machine and a small terrace! I will be buying some things this week to get it to being livable as I’m missing some necessary items (food, detergent, hangers, etc.). Thank goodness my Baba gave me some sheets. Think of USA furniture about 60 years ago and that is what mine looks like, I will be covering it in sheets and/or blankets. I also live very close to the bus and train stations so that will be nice when I need to travel. I spent the night I got here rearranging furniture and going through my mound of luggage I brought with. Sunday I continued to organize my things and figure out the best place to keep things as my storage it limited. Plus, I need to buy a vacuum cleaner since it’s quite dusty in the rugs/carpeting. I also figured out how to work the washing machine after I gave it a thorough cleaning (the place where the detergent goes was disgusting).

I’ll be running many errands this week not only to buy things but to meet with the police to get my ID card process started, to sign my apartment contract, to figure out my rest of summer schedule, and who knows what else. It will also be nice to buy some groceries and start cooking for myself again though I will miss my Baba’s homemade meals and tasty vegetables. Oh, and here’s what happened in the last days with my host family: