Traveling on the bus

I just remembered this conversation I had with this Bulgarian guy on the bus. Of course, he did not expect me to speak Bulgarian so he kept attempting to translate with his broken English things the announcing lady was saying. It was actually really sweet of him. Once he figured out that I could understand Bulgarian we started a great friendship that lasted throughout my bus ride.

One of the interesting things he asked me was if I liked Bulgaria. My response to this question is typically "yes" even though I do not think Bulgarian is the best place to live for a person from a developed country. I answer "yes" because I do not want to get into the discussion of what I think is wrong with Bulgaria. As a guest in Bulgaria I do not think it is right to complain to Bulgarians about the things that are wrong with their country. I hate when people do it to me as an American so I do not want to do the same to others. However, when the guy made the state "Bulgaria is just like America" I had to disagree with him in a non argumentative way... which is not very typical of me. I simply said "There are many differences between America and Bulgaria. Have you travelled to Germany or Holland? America is as developed as Germany and Holland". I left the conversation at that and we enjoyed to rest of the 16 hour bus right to Vienna.

Drinking Viennese Coffee,


Crystal

Pictures are coming.

Travelling

Hey All,

I made it to Vienna and checked into my hostel!

Vienna is a beautiful clean city so far as I can see. I am planning to do some sightseeing to get a better perspective. It is very interesting to travel alone from Bulgaria (the Balkans) to Central Europe as an African American. I get the feeling that people really want to know more about me. I hope I make some friends soon...

Actually I am meeting a friend tomorrow for coffee. I met her in Bulgaria and I will spend a couple days with her at her family village.

Moving slowly to the developed world... Is that bad to say?

Crystal

I am done

My Peace Corps service ended today! Wow three years and 3 months in Bulgaria who would have known.

Being in Bulgaria has caused me to see life in a new way. Being Peace Corps Volunteer has also caused me to see myself in a new way. I am very happy to have had the chance to experience this....

For some reason I cannot go into more detail about my life these past three years. I have a lot to process so I decided to take a little trip in Central Europe alone! I am traveling by bus, train and no planes. Traveling this way will hopefully give me the chance watch the roads pass by and think.

Crystal