I got me a dog! He is crazy. His name is Scooter and he is a rescued dog from a shelter in Sofia. He is a small black lab mix. I am not sure exactly what his bloodline is, but he is not very big, he is black, skinny and he is strong. His hind legs look like a pit bulls, but his face is nothing like one. So who knows. Anyways, he has a lot of energy, loves to run and jump and play. He is territorial and has kind of freaked out a couple times when there are other people over. He doesn't have a single interest in balls or other toys. He steals my socks and puts them in his "bed" so he can smell my delicious feet. His bed is made of extra blankets that I had. It is set up in the kitchen. He has been peeing and pooping all over the apartment. I have recently trained him to at least go on the balcony when I am not home or its during the night. But now he likes that spot and basically refuses to go outside. I guess that works for me, for now. During the summer when the weathers better, I'll take him outside more. For now, it's still too cold and unpredictable outside, so the balcony works. During this week, as he is getting more used to living indoors, I will start actually training him. For now, I taught him "watch me" where he stops all the wandering and running and jumping and just stares at me. That is the first step. Once I can get him to pay attention to me, then I can get him to sit, come, lay down, etc...
He has been the main concern of mine for the past 2 weeks. But on March 1st, there was a holiday here called "Baba Marta" literally meaning "Grandmother March". The holiday is celebrated by exchanging red and white bracelets with your friends and colleagues. These bracelets are to be worn until you see a stork. When you see a stork, you take the bracelet off and put it on the branch of a tree. A fruit tree is preferred, but if there isn't one around, then any tree will do. This is for your health. An interesting holiday, but a fun one. I helped make over 200 bracelets to give to the students in kindergarten through 3rd grade and then to the staff of the town offices. It was fun in a mundane sort of way. On that day, I walked around with a Baba dressed as Baba Marta and a couple kids. The kids and Baba Marta gave out the Martenitsi (bracelets) while I took pictures.
I also made a website for pictures from town. The site is www.picasaweb.google.com/koynare. You can check them out.
Other than this jazz, I don't really have much else to say believe it or not. So enjoy your day. It's snowing here again.
Rory
Monday, March 8, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Scooter's coming... along with 5 strangers.
Last Friday I went to Sofia to visit the dog. I went with Cveti and she wanted to see some cats while we were down there. Well, while we were looking at cats, at a different shelter than the dog I went to look at, I noticed the dogs they had there. There were about 6-7 dogs hanging out in separate fenced in areas with their dog houses. All of them were either going crazy that I was there, or they were completely uninterested. They were barking and climbing and running and jumping... except for one. He was in the way back and he was just standing with his front paws on the chain link fence looking at me. He had black hair, with a darling face and his ears were kind of cocked-up in curiosity. As I walked around a little, he would lose sight of me. He would quickly find a new spot where he could see me and pop his head back up. I was impressed by his attentiveness, curiosity, and self control (because he wasn't barking or going crazy). I asked if I could see him. When they brought him around, I saw that he was a small black lab mix of 2 years old. He was super cute and incredibly friendly. I fell in love with him immediately. We did go look at the other dog, the one I originally went to see. He was super cute as well, but smaller and more like a lap dog/princess. When I returned home, I wrote to the organization and told them I wanted to foster the first dog I saw on accident. The name they gave him is Bruno, but he looks more like a Scooter to me... They were very happy that I wanted to take him into my apartment and they are dropping him off tomorrow (Friday the 26th). I am super excited! I get to spend all weekend with him. He is really attractive and very athletic. He seems to be really smart. We will see!
Buuuttt... If you want to meet Scooter, call me on Skype this weekend. I'll be around all weekend with the dog training him on how to live in a house and what not.
I also got news that is really exciting for me. Peace Corps is looking at Koynare to host 5 new trainees from mid May until the end of July! It is not 100% certain yet that Koynare will be a site for them, but they are strongly considering it. I hope that Koynare gets 5 new volunteers! It will be awesome to have 5 more Americans here who are enthusiastic about starting their service as volunteers. If you know me, you know how much I enjoy welcoming people who feel out of place and how I like to assist in their adjustments to their new environment. I am going to have a lot of fun helping and working with this new volunteers with their adjustments to life as a volunteer and living/working in Bulgaria! WOOO!!!
I'm setting up connections with schools and students in the US to teach them about Bulgaria, Peace Corps, and all the fun that I am having. It's just the beginning of the relationships with the schools, so nothing has come to fruition quite yet, but I envision great things happening! At least I can be a dreamer...
And Britt... I still haven't talked to you on Skype yet... yep. That is a call out. A straight up call out. Even Catherine called me yesterday to talk. On Sunday last week, I got to talk to Mom, Dad, Kelly, Jay, Haley, Emma, and Molly... Yesterday I got Catherine... Still waiting for my big brother to step up and make the call... Ok Ok... Sorry Britt. I'm just messin with ya.
Buuuttt... If you want to meet Scooter, call me on Skype this weekend. I'll be around all weekend with the dog training him on how to live in a house and what not.
Take care and enjoy the American coffee... I miss it.
Rory
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The temperature scale: as according to Rory. and - a new friend?
another entry for the sake of having another entry. winter appears to be giving us a bit of a break here in northern bulgaria. today is sunny and 4 degrees celsius... i guess thats near 40 maybe? and towards the end of the week the weather is supposed to get up to 11 degrees! which is like around 50? i know that 15 degrees is 60 fahrenheit... so yea. its going to get nice. here is my celsius scale. we will start from Evaporation to Glacier.
40+ = standing in front of a fan in a puddle of sweat, in my underwear, drinking water, taking salt tablets and waiting for the sun to go down.
35-40 = 8 liters of water consumed in a day, sweating from every pore in my body. ice in my freezer turns to water.
25-30 = hey look, im sweating while doing nothing!
20-25 = ahhhhh... i love wearing shorts!
15-20 = THE BEST WEATHER EVER! Rory performs at his best in these temperatures.
10-15= a nice walk around town in a sweatshirt and smile.
5-10 = hey, this aint so bad.
0-5 = hmm, its a little cold out there, i better put on a hat.
-5-0 = walk quicker, but stop to say hello to the familiar faces. carry tissues in my pocket for my runny nose. food is left in the kitchen, as it is basically a giant refrigerator.
-10 - -5= quick walk and a quick wave with a smile. (conversations outside are limited to "studeno li e?" translation: "are you cold?" conversations inside become "are you cold in your apartment?")
-20 - -10 = standing by the fire burning stove to escape the chill and willing my beard to grow faster and thicker.
-20 - -25 = quick inventory check of the amount of wood/inflammable items i have. make a fire, and sleep next to it. also, consumption of red wine increases to warm the fingers. computer usage limited in fear of frostbite. food and toothpaste in the kitchen freeze solid.
-25 and below = contemplate burning furniture and unneeded clothing for heat. wear everything that is made of cloth and then get in the sleeping bag and wait.
So we are exiting the frigid scary times of cold and loneliness. and entering the times when the birds sing again in the morning. actually, this morning i awoke at 4am due to a restless brain and i read until it was time for work. the songbirds have actually returned already, and i was pleasantly excited to hear them singing in the wee hours of the morning. it wont be long though before i curse them as the arouse me from needed slumber in the spring and summer...
I recently found a website that is dedicated to rescuing the abused, abandoned and homeless dogs in Bulgaria. The need foster homes for them since they cannot house all of them. I showed interest in fostering one. They sent me a link for a dog who they found in the street a few months ago. the dog was starving because he used to be a house dog and didnt know how to fend for himself on the streets. They nursed him back to health, neutered, vaccinated and dewormed him. He is a small black shaggy dog of about 2 years. he is about the ugliest dog i've seen, which makes him all that much cuter. haha! I am going to meet him on Friday to see if we are a good fit. I am excited to get a dog. The companionship is much needed on both our ends!
I talked to my mom and dad on skype the other day. it was good to catch up and see where everyone is. now i just want to hear from my siblings... hint hint... :) and of couuuursee i want to hear from other family and friends likewise!
be good, be warm and hug your central heating units today.
Rory
40+ = standing in front of a fan in a puddle of sweat, in my underwear, drinking water, taking salt tablets and waiting for the sun to go down.
35-40 = 8 liters of water consumed in a day, sweating from every pore in my body. ice in my freezer turns to water.
25-30 = hey look, im sweating while doing nothing!
20-25 = ahhhhh... i love wearing shorts!
15-20 = THE BEST WEATHER EVER! Rory performs at his best in these temperatures.
10-15= a nice walk around town in a sweatshirt and smile.
5-10 = hey, this aint so bad.
0-5 = hmm, its a little cold out there, i better put on a hat.
-5-0 = walk quicker, but stop to say hello to the familiar faces. carry tissues in my pocket for my runny nose. food is left in the kitchen, as it is basically a giant refrigerator.
-10 - -5= quick walk and a quick wave with a smile. (conversations outside are limited to "studeno li e?" translation: "are you cold?" conversations inside become "are you cold in your apartment?")
-20 - -10 = standing by the fire burning stove to escape the chill and willing my beard to grow faster and thicker.
-20 - -25 = quick inventory check of the amount of wood/inflammable items i have. make a fire, and sleep next to it. also, consumption of red wine increases to warm the fingers. computer usage limited in fear of frostbite. food and toothpaste in the kitchen freeze solid.
-25 and below = contemplate burning furniture and unneeded clothing for heat. wear everything that is made of cloth and then get in the sleeping bag and wait.
So we are exiting the frigid scary times of cold and loneliness. and entering the times when the birds sing again in the morning. actually, this morning i awoke at 4am due to a restless brain and i read until it was time for work. the songbirds have actually returned already, and i was pleasantly excited to hear them singing in the wee hours of the morning. it wont be long though before i curse them as the arouse me from needed slumber in the spring and summer...
I recently found a website that is dedicated to rescuing the abused, abandoned and homeless dogs in Bulgaria. The need foster homes for them since they cannot house all of them. I showed interest in fostering one. They sent me a link for a dog who they found in the street a few months ago. the dog was starving because he used to be a house dog and didnt know how to fend for himself on the streets. They nursed him back to health, neutered, vaccinated and dewormed him. He is a small black shaggy dog of about 2 years. he is about the ugliest dog i've seen, which makes him all that much cuter. haha! I am going to meet him on Friday to see if we are a good fit. I am excited to get a dog. The companionship is much needed on both our ends!
I talked to my mom and dad on skype the other day. it was good to catch up and see where everyone is. now i just want to hear from my siblings... hint hint... :) and of couuuursee i want to hear from other family and friends likewise!
be good, be warm and hug your central heating units today.
Rory
Monday, February 15, 2010
SO MANY HOLIDAYS!
Happy Valentine's Day to you all. Yesterday Cveti and I celebrated not only one holiday, or two holidays... but FOUR holidays... all on the same day! Obviously yesterday was Valentines, but that wasn't the most dominant. There is a holiday called Trefon Zarezan. This holiday has a lot of tradition, but basically what it means for the average Bulgarian is that they go out to their gardens, trim their grape vines, and then drink wine all day and dance and play music and all sorts of other fun stuff. The other holiday... Sirni Zagovezni... is kind of like mothers day and fathers day and grandparents day all in one. It's like the beginning of Lent from what I understand too. The people celebrate with their families and the kids ask forgiveness for all the mistakes they made as kids and the parents and grandparents forgive them and what not. It's a nice holiday... Then the last but not least holiday we celebrated is called Kurban. This is a personal holiday for my wonderful Cveti. When she was a kid, she suffered a bad burn on her stomach from boiling water. She was in a hospital for a while and took a long time to recover. February 14th is the anniversary of this event. So, per tradition, when you survive a life-threatening situation or illness, you celebrate the yearly anniversary by cooking chicken and eating it for your health. SOOOOO... lets see. we did a lot of celebrating.
First we wake up, say happy valentines to each other. Then we went and got coffee and breakfast at the cafe. The people there asked us which holiday we would celebrate today. We said valentines cause we are just THAT cute. But I found most people were interested in the wine holiday... of course. So after eating, we went shopping. We got an egg, some ground-up sweet wheat thing, and some other things. We got to the apartment and boiled the egg and cooked chicken that i had. when the egg was done (the egg was for the holiday about the parents and lent and all that stuff) we tied a string around it and hung it from a ceiling light at mouth level. tradition says that whoever can get the egg in their mouth first will be healthy all year or something like that. so cveti and i stood across from each other and without using our hands we had to try to get the egg. i won. i will be healthy for the year. luckily though, you do the same thing with that sweet wheat stuff. she won that time. so we will be healthy together. then we ate the chicken we cooked, and we had wine with that for the wine holiday. Unfortunately we didnt do too much for valentines though. i mean, i couldnt get flowers or anything like that. but we spent the weekend together being "valentine-y"... whatever that means.
Ohh... sorry - i want to step back to Friday the 12th... There was a party in town for the holidays and we went to a cafe/restaurant with like 30 other people. Cveti and i were the youngest ones there, as the others were mostly retired. We drank wine and rakia and ate lots of homemade food. we danced and told jokes and laughed and it was grand. then at the end, one guy decided he should interview me in front of everyone. he was already kinda... well. he had been really celebrating the holidays... so anyways, i couldnt understand a thing that he said. and i just kinda sat there going... uhhhhh..... what? haha it was pretty embarrassing, but funny im sure for the 30 other people in the room. ugh.
and last but not least, Pepi told me that his daughter, who lives in a nearby town, found a scorpion in her daughters room yesterday. just one more thing to worry about. i didnt even know scorpions lived here. the good thing is though, i am bigger than a scorpion and will surely win in if there is ever a battle between us. i just might be sore and slightly sick if the little bugger gets a strike in. and be sure, if he strikes, he wont perish comfortably under the sole of my boot. it will be slow and painful. i think maybe putting him in some cold water on the stove... then letting it slowly get hot... (to all the scorpions out there reading this: take this as a warning, for you will not get a second chance!)
That said, enjoy the day.
Rory
First we wake up, say happy valentines to each other. Then we went and got coffee and breakfast at the cafe. The people there asked us which holiday we would celebrate today. We said valentines cause we are just THAT cute. But I found most people were interested in the wine holiday... of course. So after eating, we went shopping. We got an egg, some ground-up sweet wheat thing, and some other things. We got to the apartment and boiled the egg and cooked chicken that i had. when the egg was done (the egg was for the holiday about the parents and lent and all that stuff) we tied a string around it and hung it from a ceiling light at mouth level. tradition says that whoever can get the egg in their mouth first will be healthy all year or something like that. so cveti and i stood across from each other and without using our hands we had to try to get the egg. i won. i will be healthy for the year. luckily though, you do the same thing with that sweet wheat stuff. she won that time. so we will be healthy together. then we ate the chicken we cooked, and we had wine with that for the wine holiday. Unfortunately we didnt do too much for valentines though. i mean, i couldnt get flowers or anything like that. but we spent the weekend together being "valentine-y"... whatever that means.
Ohh... sorry - i want to step back to Friday the 12th... There was a party in town for the holidays and we went to a cafe/restaurant with like 30 other people. Cveti and i were the youngest ones there, as the others were mostly retired. We drank wine and rakia and ate lots of homemade food. we danced and told jokes and laughed and it was grand. then at the end, one guy decided he should interview me in front of everyone. he was already kinda... well. he had been really celebrating the holidays... so anyways, i couldnt understand a thing that he said. and i just kinda sat there going... uhhhhh..... what? haha it was pretty embarrassing, but funny im sure for the 30 other people in the room. ugh.
and last but not least, Pepi told me that his daughter, who lives in a nearby town, found a scorpion in her daughters room yesterday. just one more thing to worry about. i didnt even know scorpions lived here. the good thing is though, i am bigger than a scorpion and will surely win in if there is ever a battle between us. i just might be sore and slightly sick if the little bugger gets a strike in. and be sure, if he strikes, he wont perish comfortably under the sole of my boot. it will be slow and painful. i think maybe putting him in some cold water on the stove... then letting it slowly get hot... (to all the scorpions out there reading this: take this as a warning, for you will not get a second chance!)
That said, enjoy the day.
Rory
Thursday, February 11, 2010
An Adventure in Sofialand
We have been getting plenty of snow here and the weather has stayed cold. But honestly, it has totally stopped being a problem. I've always enjoyed the cold as long as there is snow on the ground and I'm not having to sit in traffic.
So this weekend is Valentine's day and I will confess... I have no idea what to do for the girlfriend. Honestly. She is coming here this weekend. Typically a nice relaxing evening with a good meal, some wine and a movie sounds like something I would want to do on this holiday, but I live in a single room that is over-crowded with everything I own. We watch movies on my 15 inch laptop screen. It's really not as comfortable as I would like. The chairs I have to sit in are wooden school chairs and my table is about knee high off the ground. And the one restaurant in town to go to has made both of us kinda sick almost every time we go there... so I am at a loss of things to do. But I'm sure I'll figure something out!
This week I had to travel back to Sofia for some stuff with the PC office. Dan and I went down there on Tuesday afternoon. We arrived and decided that some Mexican food would be ideal. When we got to the one Mexican restaurant in town, we heard a group of very loud girls talking in the corner. Dan looks at me and says "That sounds like American English..." I agreed. Dan went over to say hello and ask where they were from and what they were doing here. They turned out to be 4 medical students from America studying in Bulgaria. They invited us to sit with them since it is so rare to meet another American in this country. These girls were (I hate stereotyping) typical American college students. They were so loud with no regard for those around them. Curse words were flung out colorfully as they tried talking over each other. We got into some conversations regarding sensitive topics such as the minority groups in this country and the opinions they delivered were clearly from a sheltered background. It was very interesting. We enjoyed their company and enjoyed being able to speak freely in American English with strangers. After the Swiss Burger with Mushrooms and a few cold beers, we all went our separate ways. Dan and I looked at each other and both agreed - we are glad we are here and we do not miss hearing that group sitting in the bar... It was definitely refreshing. I experienced "Culture Shock" from sitting with a group of 4 American girls in their early 20s. It was astonishing. It makes me really wonder what it will be like to step back onto my country's soil and walk down the roads paved in gold on my way back home.
How hard will it be to re-adjust to the life in the Home of the Brave where almost every aspect of life is perceived differently?
Be well out there, and keep your eyes and heart open to the lives of the others in the world.
Rory
So this weekend is Valentine's day and I will confess... I have no idea what to do for the girlfriend. Honestly. She is coming here this weekend. Typically a nice relaxing evening with a good meal, some wine and a movie sounds like something I would want to do on this holiday, but I live in a single room that is over-crowded with everything I own. We watch movies on my 15 inch laptop screen. It's really not as comfortable as I would like. The chairs I have to sit in are wooden school chairs and my table is about knee high off the ground. And the one restaurant in town to go to has made both of us kinda sick almost every time we go there... so I am at a loss of things to do. But I'm sure I'll figure something out!
This week I had to travel back to Sofia for some stuff with the PC office. Dan and I went down there on Tuesday afternoon. We arrived and decided that some Mexican food would be ideal. When we got to the one Mexican restaurant in town, we heard a group of very loud girls talking in the corner. Dan looks at me and says "That sounds like American English..." I agreed. Dan went over to say hello and ask where they were from and what they were doing here. They turned out to be 4 medical students from America studying in Bulgaria. They invited us to sit with them since it is so rare to meet another American in this country. These girls were (I hate stereotyping) typical American college students. They were so loud with no regard for those around them. Curse words were flung out colorfully as they tried talking over each other. We got into some conversations regarding sensitive topics such as the minority groups in this country and the opinions they delivered were clearly from a sheltered background. It was very interesting. We enjoyed their company and enjoyed being able to speak freely in American English with strangers. After the Swiss Burger with Mushrooms and a few cold beers, we all went our separate ways. Dan and I looked at each other and both agreed - we are glad we are here and we do not miss hearing that group sitting in the bar... It was definitely refreshing. I experienced "Culture Shock" from sitting with a group of 4 American girls in their early 20s. It was astonishing. It makes me really wonder what it will be like to step back onto my country's soil and walk down the roads paved in gold on my way back home.
How hard will it be to re-adjust to the life in the Home of the Brave where almost every aspect of life is perceived differently?
Be well out there, and keep your eyes and heart open to the lives of the others in the world.
Rory
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