Donkey Races

This weekend I was able to attend a festival in Gurkovo, Bulgaria. It turns out there is an annual holiday which not only includes donkey racing (with carts) but also a donkey tug-of-war and donkey football (soccer for all you Americans reading). All the events took place Sunday however I traveled there Saturday and stayed the night at a beautiful hotel near the town. It was a fabulous weekend.

For some more details, Saturday we all met in Gurkovo and the town provided a bus for us to all get to our hotel. At the hotel we hung out, had dinner, and spent the night dancing, laughing, and just being together. It was a great group of people, I feel very lucky to have met all the people I have here in Bulgaria. They truly make experiences that much better and make me want the night to last so much longer.

On Sunday, we all headed to the stadium on the outskirts of town for the festival. The volunteer who lives in Gurkovo, Aaron, had arranged for there to be a "Peace Corps" donkey and cart in the race so we went down to meet the donkey and socialize a bit. The first event of the day was introducing all the contestants and then the race started. The festival was obviously created for a fun way to compete. Many of the donkey's had funny names and most of the carts were themed. Each donkey, cart, and driver went around the track once individually with someone timing them. The winner was declared after everyone had raced. The second event was the donkey tug-of-war which was extremely interesting to watch. Some of those donkeys are so strong. Afterwards came donkey football. I didn't end up watching much of the football as it was very hot and went outside the stadium to sit in the shade and catch up with my fellow volunteers.

We ended up finding a great place to sit down and relax with food and tap beer. As there were over 15 volunteers there we made for quite the site to some of the local people who are not used to so many foreigners in one place. There was a lot of staring and introductions however there was also great hospitality. The people working behind the counter wanted to help us with anything we needed and most people just wanted to say hello and get a photo or two taken. I felt very comfortable and happy to be with friends. Sometimes it's hard to remember I'm living in a foreign place and this was not my normal all that long ago. I'm sure this year is going to fly by as I am so excited to get projects underway and take advantage of seeing more of Bulgaria through my connections with other volunteers. I want to make use of what time I have left here in Bulgaria as who knows how often I'll see some of my favorite PCVs once my time in Bulgaria is complete. Weekends like these make me realize how much I love being with good friends. Sitting around talking late into the night, having massage trains, feeling completely relaxed, and just the feeling of complete happiness make life so much more fun. I will remember the great conversations of the weekend and especially the reference to people being "kindred spirits". This weekend will definitely go down as one of the best thus far in Bulgaria. Thanks to everyone who was there for making it so wonderful! Now, for some photos and a video of the events:

I also have to send my love to my cousin and her family whose family dog died over the weekend. To Amber, Jason, Rowan, and Braden - I understand how hard it is to lose someone/something you love and I hope that you are all able to celebrate the good times you had together. I don't feel it's something you get over as much as something you learn how to deal with. I love you!

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.