Rock Music and Me?
I have been here since August 2006 which would make it 8 months! If you look above you will see that I have 18 more months left in the Peace Corps that is only a year and a half! I am starting to think that the time here will go by very quickly and before I know it I will be on a plane out of Bulgaria. Anyhow, before we jump forward to me leaving Bulgaria I am still here and I want to share a story about something that happened on Monday.
Monday I had to run home from work to get some personal items for lunch. I grabbed what I needed from my apartment, ate a little food, and walked to the corner store to get some sunflower seeds. I was feeling real good b/c I was completing so many tasks. The little corner store, which is really like a tiny hallway, was crowded with about four people. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a 6’5” 200 lbs man grab something from the freezer and put it back. He than walked towards me and that’s when I noticed his clothes! He had on a dingy white shirt with wet stains all over it. His black pants were stained with white and green guck that looked like dried urine. I took a couple deep breathes so that I didn’t have to smell him and waved him to stand in front of me. I smiled at him to cover up the fact that I didn’t want him to be near me. (I know this sounds mean but it is the brutal truth). He smiled back and we waited for the two people in front of him to purchase their items.
The entire time we were in line I was listening to Fantasia’s “Hood boy” on my mp3 player trying to get hyped to go back to work. When his turn came to pay I noticed that he didn’t have any items to purchase. I took one earplug from my ear to hear the conversation he was having with the saleswoman. He wanted coffee from the coffee machine but he only had a 10 leva bill. The hand he moved towards the cashier was stained with dirt and white crumbs. He was asking her for change. I thought this was another ploy for a homeless person to get coffee for free so I offered him the change in my hand. (You can take the person out of Chicago but you cant take the Chicago out of the person…hahaha). I figured that since my New Year’s resolution was to give more than I received it was proper for me to give him 0.20 stotinki (penny) for coffee. He looked at me as if I were God and refused to accept my offer. He thanked me but eventually the cashier gave him change. I walked back to work without giving him a second thought.
On my way home from work I was listening to my MP3 player again minding my own business. I reached my door and something told me to turn around. The man from the corner store was behind me! My heart started to beat a little faster and I could feel the sweat trickle down my back. I felt like every nerve in my body was alert. I stopped what I was doing and said hello (in Bulgarian). He did a double take and walked closer. The first thing I noticed was the fact that he didn’t look homeless anymore. His clothes were clean and neat. In fact he looked like a rocker dude. He walked closer (a little too close for my comfort) and proceeded to apologize for being dirty earlier. Apparently he works at the restaurant on top of the corner store. He then asked me what I am doing in Bulgaria and my purpose here. I didn’t feel comfortable telling him where I worked (he already knew where I lived) so I said I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bulgaria for two years. Afterwards we had this conversation about rock music for about five minutes in front of my doorstep. He had this random DVD of his friend’s rock music that he insisted I hold. He invited me to one of their concerts and I am thinking about going.
Trying to discover the “rock” side of me?
Crystal
