The Summer is pretty much over

Well Summer has ended in Bulgaria. Today the sky is dark and gloomy with the threat of rain. It has been like this since yesterday but I love this weather because I get to stay inside with warm tea and a nice book....

Ok so I have finished deadlocking my hair. Actually all I did was get another PCV to put tiny breads in my hair that will eventually turn into dreadlocks. She put them in Monday and Tuesday last week and this is the final result.


The back view...This is the first day that she actually braided my hair. It looks really funny and weird but I like it in a strange way. They say that the spaces will fill up once the hair actually starts to lock.




This is the front view. This pictures aren't doing my hair justice. It really does look better than what is portrayed here.



Before I had my locks put in I took a couple pictures with some of the children I work with at the Center. This is my last day working with them as I will be teaching at the University and they are starting school today. Wow that's right the children do start school today.



The picture is a little blurry because my battery was running low. These are the boys that always came bright and early at 8am to summer camp/daycare.





This little boy is truly an artist. He could draw almost anything and he is only 7 years old!!!


More of the children. We loved to do arts and crafts together.





Some of them were really camera shy.












This is the playground I wrote a project to get. The kids love the playground. Also that is me with my natural hair in a ponytail. I look so tired because week I had to get up at 6:30am to do the daycare. For a PC volunteer that is very early. Hehehe.

I know this post is getting long but here are pictures of me saying goodbye to my PCV friends that have completed their two years of service and went home or are going home in about a month. BYE FRIENDS!!!

This is dinner at a Moroccan restaurant in Sofia. A lot of Bulgarians do not like Sofia because it is dirty and all that but I love Sofia. It reminds me of the city lifestyle I had in Chicago before coming here.


I will call Kevin my "source of diversity". Sometimes living in a predominately white country can be overwhelming. I love seeing and being with diversity especially when I am not the only source of diversity. It will be sad to see Kevin leave Bulgaria. Who am I supposed to have staring contests with now? Kevin and I would always have contests to see who could get the most amount of stares in one day. Of course I always won... when Kevin put his sunglasses on. Hehehehe.


These are some other PC friends that I will def miss. Rock on peeps!!!


Drinking tea to the sound of thunder,

Crystal

Update

It has been a while since I wrote but I want you to know all is well in the land of Bulgaria. I have officially decided to extend my service with the Peace Corps for another year. I will not be working with the same organization but the move is for the best. It def is not easy being of African descent in Eastern Europe but I can’t let that stop me from reaching my dreams and being who I am. I feel that this is where I am supposed to be for this moment in time. Eastern Europe has a special place in my heart that I can’t seem to shake.


Yup I can’t get enough of this place and I feel like my work here isn’t done. Also, I have decided to dreadlock my hair!!!! I plan to do the actual work the Sept 7th with another volunteer. I will def post pictures of me with the new stages of my hair growth.

Here is a quick update in pictures of what I have been doing for the summer...

Getting to know my language tutor Stela.


Visiting long lost friends and meeting new friends. My PCV friend Alision and her friend from the village.


Teaching English


Saying Goodbye to PCV friends that are leaving between in about one month.






Helping out with Camp GLOW -Girls leadership Camp in BG







Working with little kids from the Center




Happy Gospel Music month to all the peeps that love Gospel Music!

loving it,

Crystal

Wow it is only 3 months to my official COS date however considering I am extending my service another year the timeline above doesn’t apply to me. I will miss my friends from the B20 group when they leave but I am looking forward to my extra time in Bulgaria.

Anyhow, this past Monday I went to meet a friend’s sister for her track meet in Sofia. She won the 400 m dash.. yea! Also, I had the best time ever because I finally got to see black people. I know it sounds funny but I haven’t seen such a large percentage of black people since I went home in December. They are all professional athletes with great bodies. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate being in Bulgaria but there is something special about seeing people with your skin color, hair and features.

The coolest part about seeing these people were that they were from all over the world. Literally we had blacks from Portugal (didn’t know there were black Portuguese until now), Guyana, Sierra Leone, England, America (me of course), Jamaica, South Africa, Barbados, and Turkey. Even though we came from so many different places our blackness brought us together to discuss some of the social issues we have in our prespective countries. Interesting enough most of the people so Barack Obama not only as a leader in America but a leader for blacks all over the world. I don't want to get into so many details but wow was it great…. The pictures tell the rest.

Crystal

The Track Star (My Friend's sister)





Us together



Warming up



Me in the Stadium


Before the run... getting ready to run



After the run... she was tired.




The group on the bus...



At the hotel

Death

The director of PC Bulgaria sent an email informing us of the normal highlights for the week. The email really caught my attention towards to end when I read a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana had passed away. This particular volunteer was extending her service for one more year until her life was taken in a fatal car accident last week. I have never met this person or heard her name prior to the email but it made me think about life in general.

I am currently 26. What if my life ended today? What if I never returned home to my friends or family? I know anything is possible considering I lost my father only about 7 months ago. Geez… I hate reading or hearing about death. It only reminds me of the short time I am granted on this earth. A television personality from my town in Bulgaria committed suicide last week. She jumped off one of the high block buildings in the block neighborhood. They still can’t understand why she killed herself at the young age of 34. I remember interviewing with her a couple times throughout the year. Sad.

Conversely, hearing about death also makes be appreciate that I am alive. I am happy to be a live to see and hear from my family and friends. I am happy to be healthy in Bulgaria. I am happy to have so many blessings in my life. I am happy that I can continue to serve the people around me to make them reach their goals. I know that my life isn’t only about me but also about helping the people around me. In some ways it is good to hear about death because it reminds me to appreciate my life.

Crystal

On a happy note here are a couple more pictures...

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...

Ok finally I have gotten around to uploading pictures. I hope you enjoy...

(the text below the pictures apply to the pictures above them.)


This is a picture of me new the huge castle in Orhid, Macedonia. My hair is nature as you can tell.



Another picture of me. Yes, I am a tree hugger (with my designer bag).



Serving food for Bulgarian night in Struga, Macedonia.


Me working on music for the Bulgarian night presentation.


Beautiful Castle in Ohrid, Macedonia


This is also at the Castle in Ohrid, Macedonia. Also an upclose view of my Afro...

---------
The Zoos in Bulgaria are not the best but I think this was a zoo better than most. It is located in Levoch, Bulgaria


The lioness looks a little lonely.



Interesting...


My co-workers looking into the cage...

Ok that is all for now but I will upload more later.

Crystal

Its been a while

Its has been a while since the last time I posted anything to my blog. I dont know why but it hasnt been a desire of mine to write. A lot of things are going on in my life. I am happy, healthy, and feeling well but life has taken on a normalcy that wasnt there when I first arrived to Bulgaria. Also, my computer was not working for some time but it is fixed now.

Anyhow, I will continue to write on this blog and my desire to record my life in BG has come back! Today a friend and I will take a journey to Romania for about four days. This is going to be really exciting because it will be my first time in Romania.

Traveling throughout Eastern Europe only reminds me how much I really like this part of the world. It def has its problems but its still fun being here.

I am still sport'n my hair natural i.e. no braids or perms but I am considering doing locks but I am not sure yet. Again pictures will come soon...

All the best,

Crystal

Mah Fro

Hey all,

So I have decided to wear my hair natural while from now on. Once in a while I will wear braids but I will never perm my hair again. I kept going back and forth while I was in Bulgaria trying to decide if I would make the switch or not. I kept my hair in braids the entire time I was here because I didn’t want to perm my hair but I had no clue how to manage natural hair in a foreign country with no “Black” products. When I was home in Chicago in November I rocked my natural hair for about a week but put braids back in because I knew I was coming back to Bulgaria. I decide to simply wear my natural hair after I met this Bulgarian woman in Varna.

This particular woman had hair just like black people’s hair only she is Bulgarian. Literally she had an afro and coily hair. I talked to her about 15 minutes in the store and proceeded to tell her about all the products she could use to straighten her hair. She looked me in the eye and said “Why would I want to straighten my hair? God gave me this hair and made me who I am. I don’t want to change my hair. It is what makes me special.” At that moment I had a rude awaking and I understood that I needed to appreciate my hair and not straighten it or hid it with braids.

Now, I am running around Bulgaria with natural hair and I feel really good. Something about this change is making me appreciate who I am as an African American human being and individual. I am looking forward to styling my hair! Wahoo.

Awww about the Zoo! I went to the zoo with my colleagues and we had a great time. Actually, I was pretty surprised about the standards at the zoo because I heard from another PCV that zoo’s in Bulgaria are a terror for animal lovers. Apparently, the animals that they saw were rarely taken care of and lived in conditions that fostered diseases. I don’t know about the zoo they visited but the zoo we visited in Lovech was absolutely wonderful. The animals were taken care of and loved. I have pictures but I forgot my mp3 at home. I will post them later this evening.

Rockin mah fro,

Crystal