Sophia, birthdays, and painting

So, now that I have this up, it sort of feels like my journal. I've been keeping a journal since I've been here and it's almost all used up. Mom, you could send another one (I have a bunch in my bookshelf in the closet) if you want to. Anyway, I write in my journal every day, so I might start doing that here (maybe not quite every day).

So, we painted the school fence yesterday, and it was amazing. I think about 50 people showed up to help paint, and in a community of 1500, that's a lot. We had a lot of kids, and they were all laughing and having a good time. So, the project we had been working on for the last two months was a huge success, and that feels really good.

On Wednesday, my Kraynitsi group went to Sophia to visit the PC office there and to explore the capital. We had a lot of fun shopping and shopping, and eating. We ate at a restaraunt that served the best food I've had in Bulgaria. It was grilled chicken with a special sauce on top of lettuce (which I haven't had since coming to bulgaria) and mushrooms and warm pita bread. It actually didn't taste Bulgarian at all, but it was oh so good.

Sophia reminded me so much of Boston because it was a real city with lots and lots of buildings and people packed close together, lots of public transportation (subways, buses, trams, trolleys, and taxis) lots fo cars, stores, and restaurants with ethnic foods like Lebanese and Indian and stuff. And it even had a mall! The mall didn't have any benches to sit on placed throughout it, but it was big and American enough.

While in Sophia I bought my host mother a candle for her birthday. She absolutely loved it when I gave it to her and she thaked me in the Bulgarian way with a kiss to each cheek. I really feel like a part of the family now, and it's hard to leave them now, especially when I'm starting to be able to hold real conversations with them. But I'm coming back for Christmas and so is the volunteer who lived with them last time. That'll be a lot of fun, adn the other trainees in Kraynitsi will come back to their families for Christmas too.

Last night we celebrated my language trainer's birthday too. In Bulgaria, people buy a box of chocolates and give the people they know (coworkers and friends) a chocolate for their birthday. Daniela went through three boxes yesterday. We had a good time last night eating, talking, and playing belot. I left early, though (12:30), because I was tired. I feel like such an old lady sometimes, but I was up at 8:30 this morning and left everyone a text message asking if they were awake yet.