I cried all last week...

I am long overdue for an update. Sorry readers!!! I was in Sofia for an entire week of …. Diversity training! Yup diversity training followed me all the way from America to Bulgaria. You know those seminars we got in college and high school teaching us how to be diverse in a diverse world? The ones people tend to fall a sleep in or get so angry and offended that they don’t know what to do? Well this workshop was nothing like that. I actually enjoyed myself! I cried the entire week as I confessed to the PC staff all the problems I am having trying to process the fact that people stare at me. For the first time I felt like the staff understood my perspective as an African American in Bulgaria! The PC staff was wonderful and gave me a lot of insight to what people think about me when they see me.

If you read my blog one of my major issues is how I am constantly stared at. Well one of the PC staff pointed out that people might be staring because they are interested in getting to know me. People in Bulgaria don’t see people like me in real life. They are curious to hear what my life is like, who I am, and what I am doing in Bulgaria. Furthermore, the men that yell out to me as I walk down the street might me interested in me in a romantic way. Sounds funny and ditsy but I had no clue what was going on!!! Maybe I should have known this from the beginning but I felt the stares were more hostel than anything else. I think I felt this way b/c I was bringing extra racial baggage from the U.S. I don’t need to take the staring so personal. However, I will not excuse all of the behavior from Bulgarians towards me! I know that there are some racist people here that hate non-Europeans like that one woman I encountered in my office. No country or groups of people are perfect. As my twin sister would say “You have to deal with people and their issues, if you can’t deal with their issues than don’t deal with them!” I plan on staying in Bulgaria so I guess I have to deal with the issues that are here. Finally I feel like I can breathe i.e. relax!!!!


Wiping the tears from my eyes so that I can see the dawning of a new day,

Crystal

I'm falling on my knees

Yup I changed a couple things on my blog to make it easier to read.

For some reason I am not feeling very well this week and it has nothing to do with being physically sick. I can't seem to get back into the flow of life in Bulgaria. I made ALOT of friends in Turkey the few nights I was there and I miss them already. Is something wrong with me? Uhhmmm. I feel kind of antsy. Well its only been three days so lets see how I am feeling in about a week or so.

Next week I have diversity Training with the PC so hopefully that will be fun. I am also braiding my PC friend's hair, which is always comforting to me.

Aww more updates. My language tutor is hilarious! After our lessons we usually walk together; I walk to the gym and she goes to English classes. For some reason she was in a really good mood on Monday which put me in a better mood. We were talking about the gorgeous men in Turkey and she was going on and on about dark skinned people and how she finds them attractive. When she was about 21 years old she ran in to a black man in Sofia. She stared at him the entire time while they were both waiting at the Bus stop. He was over six feet tall and very skinny. Once the bus arrived he could not board because she was blocking his pathway. She than made me get on my knees in the middle of the street in Veliko Turnovo to demonstrate how this man kissed her on her forehead to get her to move out of his way. She never forgot the kiss! We both laughed so hard! I am just excited that I could understand her because the entire conversation took place in Bulgarian.

This goes to show you that the small things in life can mean a lot,


On my knees in the middle of the street in VT,

Crystal

Here are a couple pictures that you all might find interesting.

Istanbul

Istanbul was absolutely wonderful! The people were great and the nightlife was even better! I can't believe I had so much fun there. I was truly surprised that I did not get sick from the food considering I have been sick in Bulgaria about 3 times over the past seven months. I absolutely loved the food and most of the culture. Who could go wrong with rice and lamb?

I saw more black people in Istanbul than I have seen in a long time. It was comforting not to have people stare at me as I walked down the streets. Literally the black people there were from all over the world! Although I did not meet up with the Turkish volleyball team I did meet a couple guys that played on the Turkish basketball team. One guy was even from Chicago! I met a black girl from Canada and a bunch of people from the UK. I was in heaven in Istanbul. Ohh yeah I forgot to mention that there is a black hair salon! Guess who is going to Istanbul to get her hair did?


There are more pictures on the link to the side.
Enjoy the pictures…

Corectnig my Blogg!

Ok the person that keeps correcting my blog is starting to get on my nerves. On my last post she (or he) corrected my use of "technically" instead of "technology". I made the correction but I thought to myself why? I have never claimed to be a writer or perfect! I know there are mistakes in my random posts but that is a part of who I am. Life is full of mistakes! I am not writing a thesis here, I did that in Grad School!!! Enjoy my blog for what it is... I am a random Peace Corps Volunteer talking about my experiences. I love to hear what you have to say but the person that is correcting me is getting on my nerves. Obviously you want my attention! So you have it!!! Person, as I told you before thanks for reading....

Trying to prepare for my trip but some idiot keeps dsitracting me, ;-)

Crystal

Ohh Happy Women's DAY!!!!! March 8th is Women's day in Bulgaria. I prob will not have a chance to say it so better early than never!!!!

Random updates...

I don’t know if I said this before but I decided to run a marathon. I originally wanted to do the Berlin marathon but I couldn’t get a group of friends to join me so I decided to do the Greece marathon instead. Next year I am doing Berlin with or without friends. I love training for the marathon because I always feel empowered. I am searching for training methods so if you have any suggestions please hit me up.

Ok my camera is completely broken now. A couple weeks ago I got frustrated and decided to open it to fix it. Let’s just say that now it will not turn on. I give up! On top of that my computer is giving me problems. I don’t know what happened but the entire thing shut down and now I am getting this message that I need to reinstall something or another. It will not turn on at all! I am pissed! I just got this computer and I only had my camera for six months! Urggh technology is great but sometimes it sucks. I could possibly live without a camera because so many PCVs take pictures at every event we attend and they are great with posting them. However I CAN NOT live without a computer. This is one thing that will drive me insane. I am trying to find someone to fix it while I am in Turkey but we will see.

You probably will not hear from me because I will be out of my site and the country (Bulgaria) for some time. A couple friends and I decided to use our vacation for some much-needed travel. We are not traveling that far from Bulgaria but nonetheless it’s outside of the country. Ohh I almost forgot to mention the Turkish Volleyball team! During one of our training events the Turkish (male) volleyball team stayed our hotel. They started a conversation and invited us to visit them in Turkey! Hehehehehe… that is all I am saying. I will give updates when we return.

;-),

Crystal

Happy Baba Marta!

Today is Baba Marta holiday in Bulgaria. It’s the day to celebrate the coming of spring and health for the future. Everyone walks around giving people bracelets, necklaces, or pins made from red and white string.

At first I was really skeptical about this holiday because I did not like the red and white strings. I even found myself getting annoyed with the vendors spread throughout the center of town with their huge stands blocking the sidewalk. I am not one to collect useless objects that take up space and time. However, after I received my first one I was sold. I felt so special as the random women placed a martinista on my arm and wished me all these wonderful things for the future. Even the lady at the Laundromat (yeah I know I am in the Peace Corps and I get me laundry done at the cleaners) gave me one. Now I have eight on my arms and counting.

Happy Baba Marta!!!! I wish you all love and happiness for the future.