Floods, Another Let Down, and Unexpected Visitors

ok, i wasnt really planning on posting tonight, but heck - its been quite an interesting 24 hours or so. lets start where i left off. stick with me, this has been quite the day. so last night, after i got home from work, i sit down on the computer and start talking to my lovely sister, Molly, on skype. we get chatting for a while about the joys of peace corps and how she is doing in life. It's her birthday tomorrow, or in less than 2 hours for me, so wish her a happy birthday. anyways, we are talking it up and i start hearing water dripping in my apartment. well, it was a sunny and beautiful day yesterday so i start wondering whats going on. i let it continue for a bit becuase i dont really want to start investigating. i know it only means disaster and as everyone knows, ignorance is bliss. so after 10 or so minutes, i finally decide to see whats going on. i live on the second floor here, in this beautiful soviet concrete socialist blok apartment. It's an architects dream. i leave my second floor apt and start heading upstairs. i know that no one lives above me, so i go to the 4th floor where i find a Baba standing outside her open door. she says, "hubavo li e?" which means, beautiful isnt it? and i kinda chuckle, glance in her apartment and notice the multiple buckets that are under all the leaks. her apartment is like a big shower. i say sorry, and continue to the next floor where i find a significant amount of water coming from under the door and heading down the stairs. i knock on the door a few times and try opening it. its locked. i start calling all the people i know here that can help, but to no avail. no one answers. so i go back to my place on the second floor and continued talking to molly. later i heard people fixing the water while the Baba screamed. everything is a-ok now.

and for today... well, i woke up excited because i was going to be heading to the school to meet the people and start my project of teaching english! what a day! so i got up, dressed in my sunday best, and headed to work. only to find out that today was a day for painting the inside and staining the furniture! i asked why we werent going to the school and i was told that there is a problem with some forms and what not and i might not be able to teach there all year. granted, i was not happy. I was told i needed to help paint. i was dressed in good clothes, and angry about what i recently discovered, and told them i would not help them and i had work to do. so i wrote an email asking for help from my boss here at the PC headquarters. I was not happy. and i think things will work out eventually... I didnt paint, and i didnt do much of anything

sorry if all that was rushed, i want to get to the craziest thing that just happened moments ago. still on a little bit of an adrenaline rush from it. so, im on skype, talking to my buddy Dan who is out here with me and we are using skype like a phone. no video, just talking. after a while, he says, "hey, i think i hear something outside. it sounds like people, but they are being too quite to be close. but they sound close" a few moments later, he decides to check it out. so he says to me, "hold on a second". i start hearing him talking. it sounds like a cell phone call - calm, relaxed, in control. but soon it turns to him saying in english "Get the f@ck out of here!" and i hear another voice. then i hear him repeat this, each time getting a little more urgent. then after a few seconds... nothing... then a few seconds later, a loud crash.... then nothing at all.... then, after what seemed an eternity, i hear dans voice start screaming " GET THE F*CK OUT OF HERE!" and more of the same. the noise drifted off for a bit. then the drifting of the sound became silence. and a bit became 30+ seconds.... i started getting pretty nervous. (not that i wasnt nervous already...) I called dans phone only to hear it ring on the other side of the computer... So i called again, and again. still nothing. after about a minute or so, i heard someone enter the room. i was a "send" button away from calling the PC main security office to get the US Marine Corps out there to raise all sorts of hell. I yelled out, "Dan - is that you?" he said, yea. Anyways, after he called the police and the PC we had a moment to chat. 

I guess 3 guys scaled his balcony, broke in, asked for food and money, and when he obliged to them for the food, they followed him into the kitchen, brought weapons like a shovel and some pieces of wood to beat him with, and dan quickly controlled the situation like the awesome guy he is by grabbing a better weapon, a kitchen knife, to keep them at bay. he demanded again that they "get the F out." to which they started to listen. He actually had to toss one of them on the floor, while wielding the knife, before they actually started moving. He eventually got them to leave.

I will say, the police in his town (i had video chat on at this time) responded within a matter of a few minutes and were combing the area. Dan is now at the headquarters filling a report, and helping identify the perpetrators. I also just received a call from our main safety and security officer here to make sure i was ok and to hear what i heard while i listened to this scuffle. We are all happy that dan is ok and was able to not only thwart the attempt, but to control the entire situation. Dan is in fact, The Man. Thank God he is ok and unharmed from what could have turned out very poorly. Good thinking Dan and way to keep control! 

Anyways, hope that doesnt scare anyone out there. I am ok and I don't have any easy to access balconies here. Plus, the quick response of both the local police and the PC themselves was very comforting. Everything is ok and the night turned out well. but it was pretty interesting to say the least. 

On another note, i think i have lived maybe 5 years of experiences in the 4.5 months ive been here. 

I'm headed to sleep. what a day.

Rory

no water and bad "dreams?"

Well it's nice to see that i have like 25ish people already signed up and approved! Thanks! It makes me feel like i got some good followers here, people that actually care! yay :) This blog is giving me something to do during the day. I don't have a ton to say right now though. hmm - I went to bed last night and the water was not running and when i awoke it still wasnt on. i havent showered since sunday... everytime it is more than a couple days without showering, the water runs out! its like they just wait. i think there is a spy actually... someone walks by me or sits near me and takes a whiff... says "hey, he kinda smells. and looks like he will probably want a shower tonight... lets kill the water!" there is a diabolical plan out there. i am sure of it! the water only seizes when i have a sink full of dishes that i want to wash, dirty clothes that i need to clean, or a filthy body that needs some washing. hopefully when i return home this evening, the water will be running and i can smell nice again. i did brush my teeth this morning with a bottle of water i had laying around. but i also needed to use the toilet this morning... that little present is still waiting for the water to come back before he heads to his rightful home down the pipes.... pleasant.

Speaking of diabolical plans, i had a really nasty dream last night. ever seen harry potter? the newer ones? what are those things called that attack harry a couple times? they look like grim reapers and they suck the air out of the room and make everything really cold - they make all the happy feelings go away. well i had one of those visit me last night, i swear. i was having this pleasant dream about my family and we were just hanging out and what not. and i literally remembering thinking, wow -this is a pretty nice dream. well right when i thougth that, the dream went blank. just blank. and i felt something in my room - it was a black figure. and as it came closer to me, i got more paralyzed and scared. i felt the air go out of the room and i couldnt breath. i felt the figure lean over me while i was sleeping and i could see it there. i struggled to gain control of my muscles again as i laid in bed watching this thing and finally i was able to snap my eyes open and take a breath. it was pretty odd. pretty scary. maybe my ghost in the room got angry with me about something. he has only aided me this far, but that was kinda freaky last night. the rest of the evening i had crappy sleep and ended up waking at about 5am to just sit on the internet and email friends from the states becuase it was only like 9pm there.

my toast came quickly today. that was a happy moment.

Pepi is back - he was on vacation (in town) for the last 3.5 weeks. It's nice to have him back because he adds order.

I was told that a local newspaper wants to interview me. i wonder if/when this will happen. ill let you know.

Still havent gone to the school to start teaching. Still doing nothing.

Yesterday I negotiated a cell phone contract without using english. and i got the plan i wanted and talked her out of upselling me other phones/contracts. made me feel like i was in control! not a feeling i have been used to for a while. the first of many future successes, im sure.

I found a funny website that made me miss home. www.peopleofwalmart.com check it out. its so america.

if you know anyone that cant read this that might want to, let me know their email - ill get them signed up. (look, i have control of that too!)

I skyped like crazy last night. i talked to Rita for like an hour, my dad called me, i talked to my mom for an hour or so on there and then Mr. Bill Hilbish of Hudson Ohio, an old customer of mine, gave me a ring and we talked (like usual) for like an hour. Reminded me of our old conversations. i was a sales man then and i think we would talk technology for a whopping 2 minutes during an hour long chat. i wasnt the best sales guy.

Enjoy the states, enjoy the day, eat a cheeseburger with ranch fries for me if youre in the midwest, on the east coast, eat either an eggie or some new york pizza. and if you are near aunt cookies - have one for me ;)

Til another time.

Oh - and you are reading all about me. tell me what you are up to. im interested. skype me at roryjnolan or send me an email at roryjnolan@gmail.com. tell me whatever you want. i tell you whatever i want - its only fair. and i want to hear from you.

Rory

added security, Tom's visit, and the pensionaires party.

howdy all. so i think i am going to password protect this blog because i got a comment on one of my posts that i dont think could possibly come from a friend of mine or anyone that i really care reading this. ill send an email to you with the password and if you dont get one... i dunno, because you wont be able to read this. sorry.

Well, i just did it and it looks more like an invite thing is sent to you. enjoy. and if you want to comment on my grammar, feel free because i invited you and dont mind if you do.

and now i can pretty much say whatever i want. that makes me feel better.

So Tommy Pattison came out here last weekend and it was awesome. I picked him up at the airport on Friday afternoon and we went to go visit my friend Ashley in a town about 1:30 away from the capital of bulgaria. We partied in Dolna Banya with her, but it was not as much fun as it could have been because within moments of arriving at her apartment, her kitten got loose and we couldnt find it all night. so there was kind of a dark cloud lingering. but in the end, everything is good- she found her cat. Anyways, on saturday Ashley, Tom and I went to Moravitsa. we met 3 other volunteers there. so the town of 800 hosted 6 americans! it was a lot of fun. i have a ton of pictures thanks to Krista stealing my camera and becoming the nights photographer. after a 5:30am bed time, we got up before noon on sunday and tom, ashley, dan and i went into sofia to check the place out. we stayed in a sweet hotel that tom paid for becuase we dont have any money. Thanks Tom! On sunday, we went and ate dinner at a MEXICAN restaurant that was full of americans from all over the states. and guess what they were watching. AMERICAN FOOTBALL! it was great! they were watching the giants game, and at half time they flipped the bears on for me. and it was just in time to watch Knox return a kickoff for a touchdown. just the way the bears like to do it. It made me happy. I had a burrito and a margarita there. mmmm... I've had a lot better mexican in my life, but never has it tasted so good! there was guacamole.

So Tom left on Monday and i headed back home exhausted. It was a great time and i was really happy to see him.

On Thursday night last week, so the night before Tom came to visit, I was invited to a party to celebrate the retired peoples holiday here. I wasnt really told much other than where the party was, that there would be music, food and beer for 5 leva and to show up at 7pm. i said ok, can do. well i got talking to Rita on skype and we were having a good conversation. so about 715 rolls around and i notice the time, dont really think much of it. then 745 comes around and i get a phone call from a guy i work with, he asks me where i am, i tell him im coming. then at 8pm, i finish talking to Rita and i head downstairs to the party. Well, i walk in the cafe and find that there is a nice long table set up with about 22 spots for dinner, 21 people were occupying 21 of the 22 spots. and they were all the retired individuals for whom this party was, and 2 people i work with. and my seat was empty, and they had all eaten dinner already... I felt like the biggest jerk in the world. i had no idea that it was THIS kind of party! so anyways, i eat a little, get a couple drinks and the music starts. off the 22 people, there were 5 guys. 2 that were not in the band. of the 2 men available to dance, i was the only one that wasnt retired. so needless to say, i was on my feet most of the night dancing with the Babas and getting sneak attack cheek kisses all night. it was pretty fun. i felt like the most popular person in the world!

so yea, life's good. the comment that i got on my one post annoyed me - so im sorry for having to add extra security or whatever. it was just uncalled for and i realized that if there are people that will take offense to me and my style, then its better they cant find this.

Hope you're well - till next time!

Rory

Shaving, The Usual, Sausages(again), and the Mysterious Visitor from AMERICA...

Did i tell everyone that i have a totally shaved face now? well - i do. and it sucks. i hate shaving. i shaved this morning and for the 100th time asked myself why almost every man in America and in Bulgaria and many other places, finds the need to shave. a beard is comfortable, warm and manly and incredibly easy to maintain. you dont have to do anything! why do we shave? i dunno. but again, it sucks.

oh - and i wanted to update you on the time it took for this mornings "toast" from the cafe. i arrived at 7:40 and didnt even have to say a word. i sat down, my coffee was brought to me and i knew the toast was coming. everyday this week ive done the same thing and now i am ordering "the usual" or "Obiknoveniyat" (literal transtlation to - the usual - i love when that happens.). and as usual, my usual made me 10 minutes late to work again. but i am a volunteer, so its hard for them to really reprimand me for being a little late... what are they going to do? reduce my pay? fire me? i guess they could just stop supporting me and seize all the projects i have going on... oh wait...

I slept really poorly last night. it was the kind of sleep i used to get when i was a working man at CDW. the kind where you are stressed out and stay up most the night with a mind that doesnt turn off becuase you are asking yourself a million questions. those nights in the past used to be about work, the expectations, goals, money, customer support and sales stuff. last night i think it was just based on the fact that i am so far away with such big goals and aspirations and receiving nothing but challenge after challenge with very little successes to date. hmmm... that actually kinda sounds like my old job... (sorry Tom, you are the greatest manager of all time, and John, the greatest academy manager ever.)(sorry Justin, Laura, Stan etc... you have my old customers.) except then i used to make a little bit of money, speak english, drive a car, tell jokes and talk all day, and eat american food. now i make just over 11 dollars a day here to buy food, drinks, pay for electricity, travel, internet bills etc... hahaha wow. next time you spend over 11 dollars for a meal, or ... i dunno, what costs 11 dollars? 3-4 gallons of gas? think about that. i used to pay like 15-20 dollars a day in gas just driving Rubi to and from work... poor Ruby, i hope she is doing well...

well, i like this posting thing now. hopefully i keep it up and dont bore you. its a good way for me to get out my thoughts on stuff because believe it or not, i dont really have anyone nearby to sit down and have a real in depth conversation with. I have skype too, if you have it let me know. we can chit chat.

Now for some pictures of me as a sausage in bulgarian fashion. Enjoy.

I wonder how much weight I've lost. i think those jeans are a 34. last i was in a 34 i was in like junior year of high school. mwa ha ha! how skinny can i get? i kinda like it - dont worry, i have many shops nearby and stuff that i can buy food if i want. its just that i am eating how i want to eat. and thats pleasant. lots of veggies and there arent any quick food options here (as you can see by the simple sandwich i order in the morning) so you cant really impulse eat. dig it.

uhm. yep. sitting in my office doing nothing. maybe ill go back to reading about the poor invisible Tonino.

Tomorrow starts a great adventure. Tom Pattison arrives at 330pm in Sofia and i must meet him at the airport. then we are going to the mountains to visit my good friend Ashley. on Saturday we are heading to Moravitsa and then returning to Koynare Sunday and then back to Sofia Airport on Monday to see Tom off... so it will be a good time with lots of time spent on trains.

Til next week (fingers crossed, i want to keep writing)

Rorcho

a day, or two, in the life of... (both my thumbs pointing at me) This Guy!

ok - im going to try to be better at sharing my everyday wacky experiences with you all.

so lets start with yesterday.

Yesterday i wake up, get dressed and head out to a local cafe before work with about 20-25 minutes to spare. i am greeted by the lady that works there, who i must say is incredibly cute, my age and married, but anyways i order a coffee and a "toast" which is just like a sandwich with some cheese, salami, tomatoes, cucumbers, mayo and ketchup, toasted. its pretty delicious and it costs a single lev. so like 75 cents. i get my coffee quickly and start sipping it at a table. then 20-25 minutes pass and i am hungry and now on the verge of being late for work. so i get up to pay assuming that they forgot my sandwich. they didnt. they then went to go get it. i thought it was strange that a simple sandwich would take 25 minutes to make in a near empty cafe with a few people working. oh well, i say, and head to work.

at work, i find that it is just me and the lady who cleans the place. she is very nice and loves to talk. the other people i work with are in another town far away doing business of some sort. so we sit and talk all morning and it was pleasant. mind you, no english has been spoken yet during this day. i am also told that i will be working at the culture center/library alone in the afternoon. i must have the doors open, but if anyone comes, to tell them its closed. i didnt follow the logic, but as a good volunteer, i did what i was told. I came in, opened it up and sat down to get to work. which is doing nothing. i flipped open my laptop and started watching a movie. during this time, the only visitor of the day shows up looking frantic. i tell her that i am here alone, assuming she knows who i am, and that the others will be back tomorrow and that i am sorry. she looks confused and then tells me she needs a book. i tell her again, that i dont know how to work the library and i dont know how to find books, because im the new guy that does nothing there. well, she tells me she is from another town and cant come back the next day, so please help her. i say, ok - why not, im a volunteer, i like helping. so i tried. and failed. after a few minutes i called pepi who is on vacation for assistance. i told him the name of the book - he said they didnt have it. i dont quite believe that he knew the book's availability off the top of his head, but the lady bought it and left after i apologized for the 100th time.

so i leave work and head home. on my way, i decided that i wanted to do some laundry (in my fancy second hand automatic washing machine that i just bought!) and i didnt have detergent. so i went to the store and bought some. in the store, an older woman approached me and asked if i drink coffee in the afternoon. i think its an odd question and i tell her yes, sometimes i do. she asked if i would like to have some coffee now with her at her house. i saw no reason to decline, so i headed to her home with her. she served me a big cup of steaming hot coffee that was homemade, so it was like mud. and actually kinda tasty. so i had some coffee, some small cookies and some decent conversation. after the coffee, naturally, rakia was then brought out and served to me. i had a glass, thanked her for her hospitality and started to leave. this is when she presented me with a large bag of tomatoes and some peppers. i love it - they are so hospitable here. on my way to the apartment, i ran into a little friend of mine named Sisa. Sisa is about 10 years old, but looks 6. she is absolutely darling. she asked me when i was going to start teaching english to her. i said - heck, i have nothing to do ever at work, so come by tomorrow when you get out of school and we can start. i told her to bring any friends along too. i figured this was the best way to start my classes, word of mouth. get a couple kids in and tell them to invite whoever they want. a flawless plan. and not a word of english spoken all day by me. interesting.

the rest of that day is boring.

so then today happens. again, i wake up, head to the cafe with plenty of time, and order a coffee and a toast. again, the coffee comes quick and again i am late for work becuase i am waiting on the magical toast that takes 25 minutes to make. but while i was waiting at my table alone, enjoying the coffee and waking up, a gentleman sits down with me at the table, even though the place was at about 10% capacity. So i say good morning and he looks at me for a second and says, i dont know you. i responded, no you dont, my name is rory and it is nice to meet you. after which i extended my hand hopeful for a handshake and exchange of names. he just looked at me, smiled, and started drinking his coffee... it was strange and i left soon after.

So then i go to work, where i am greeted by the usual crew. i sit with them and after some time, i tell them that a person from Peace Corps is coming tomorrow to check out my place, see the town, where i work and to just assess my overall well-being. well they get all panicky and start cleaning like crazy. then they tell me to take the afternoon off so i can clean my 2 room apartment... as if it takes more than an hour to clean. but i tell them no, i am coming this afternoon because my friend Sisa is coming to study english with me and she is bringing friends. they say ok. then about an hour or so passes and they have a change of heart. they then tell me that Sisa is forbidden to come, and I will not teach her english today. because if i teach her english, then all the other kids will want to come and they will pester my coworkers as to why they werent invited. i replied that was exactly what i wanted, kids to show interest and to get my class started. but they said no - i would have to form a list of interested kids and start formally with this class. then they asked, how many students do i want. i said, i want as many as there are that want to learn english. they were baffled. i told them i will not refuse to teach a child english if the child wants to learn. again, they werent understanding. so i succumbed to their wishes, canceled the class for the day and spent the afternoon at home "cleaning" my apartment. again, no english words spoken out loud today.

oh, and i spent my morning reading a book in bulgarian about a small boy who wishes to be invisible on his birthday and gets his wish. he enjoys some small mischief around town and messing with his classmates, but then he becomes sad becuase none of his friends or family can see or hear him. im like 4 chapters in and understand maybe 25% of whats written, but i get the gist and its interesting for me to read a book in bulgarian. its not a small book either.

I guess maybe in a few weeks i will finally have something to do during the day that is meaningful, but until then, i just wait until this list magically appears or someone introduces me to the teachers/students so i can figure out who wants in my class.

So that's it - a snip-it of 2 days in the life of me.

everyday is an adventure out here.

everyday.

till next time!