All Before Noon*

As I sit down to write this post it is almost noon yet it feels much later since I had a bit of a busy morning. After I was ready to go I had some water and a nectarine and was out the door.

I took a bus to school so I wouldn’t be dripping with sweat once I got there and had English with a few kids who are finished with 3^rd grade from 9:00 – 11:00. Well we were meant to go until 11:00 however we got done at about 10:45. The kids did a Hidden Picture puzzle from highlights and all their vocabulary for the day was the list of items they needed to look for. We then made nametags, went through the word list, they wrote, they repeated, and then we went through the alphabet and played Alphabet Bingo. We also alphabetized all their vocabulary words for the day on a piece of paper so we can keep a running list of all new words for the week.

Then I left school for the post office where I paid my electricity and water bills for the last 2 months. My school actually pays for these things but I have to go pay and then I am reimbursed. After the post office, I walked to the smaller Billa (grocery store) in my school’s neighborhood in search for some Oreo Ice Cream. I broke down and bought some last week and after it was finished I was craving it, at least it’s on sale. Well, I got a few other items and it turns out that store was out of the Oreo Ice Cream. Not to fail though, there is a bigger Billa in town. Yes, you are reading correctly, I took another bus to head toward the center to the larger grocery store just to get the ice cream I wanted. There were only 2 containers left so I bought them both. I call that a score for the day. Plus I got some ciabatta bread and a few other items. I currently have a cheese, tomato, and onion sandwich grilling and am excited to have some rest time.

This afternoon is going to consist of lunch, cleaning my apartment, watching some online TV, and planning for tomorrow’s English class. Oh, and my cats are doing very well today, it’s almost as if they didn’t just have surgery Friday. Tumnina is chasing her ball around and Popitsa is taking a nap. I hope you’re all having a beautiful Monday!

*This would have been posted around noon on Monday however my internet didn’t work and finally is back working again today. And therefore I did not watch any television online but took a nap.

Since this is already a post from the past I thought I’d catch you up to speed.

Tuesday, I ended up calling my internet provider since it still wasn’t working and found out that the soonest a technician could be at my place was Thursday. Major bummer L however it did force me to catch up on my reading since I don’t really have any other forms of entertainment. I stream TV and movies instead of downloading so I really had nothing to fall back on. Therefore I’m writing this in a word document and waiting to post until I can be online. I’ll also let you know that since I have a pay as you go plan for my phone I had to run to the store to fill it back up with money in the process of calling the helpline for my internet. On the plus side, when I was walking back to my building I went past a group of boys playing football in their underwear, yes it’s very hot out and it was a funny sight to see. I’m sure they were having a wonderful time. I also enjoyed some of my Oreo ice cream.

Wednesday, was my regional meeting for Peace Corps which was held right here in Sliven. We have never had one of these in all my time here however with the new group of volunteers who went to site in June it was great to catch up and see how people are doing. I felt the meeting was successful as policies were clarified and we were able to share our opinions about or service thus far. Plus, several of us hung out afterward and were able to get to know one another that much more.

Finally, my classes this week went extremely well with a small group of kids at each session. We worked on words, spelling, and having fun. Bingo was a huge hit as well as the Highlights “Hidden Picture Puzzles” for the week. 

Overall it was a good week and a successful time spent here in Bulgaria. Plus, now my internet is working again thanks to the Vivacom technicians and I’ll be able to skype my wonderful mom and dad, get to some emails, catch up on some online TV, and maybe do a little knitting on this dreary day. Thanks to my thoughtful neighbor bringing me some tomatoes and peppers from her village garden I had a wonderful lunch. I just finished a wonderful toasted sandwich of tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic, and cream cheese.

All my love.

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.