Dear American patriots (and the few Bulgarian patriots on this list):

   The thunder has finally stopped but the rain is steadily falling outside. A big lightning storm blew in around noon today, making for a nice dark and rainy afternoon. Last night there was another thunder storm – the kind that wakes you up and makes you jump out of bed.

   Yesterday was the first day of work for me as a teacher, signaling the end of the summer as I know it. Sure, they’ll be good weather until early October, but my carefree days are over. Instead of quiet afternoons it will be kids screaming “Mr.! Mr.! Mr.!” If I seem a bit sad, you’re quite perceptive.

   Actually, I very excited for the final year here in Bulgaria (actually, 10 months). We are about to finish the resource room at the school. I feel 100 hundred percent better about teaching. There are still many places in Bulgaria I want to see. I hopefully will travel to Turkey, Serbia and Croatia soon.

   The summer has been good, but somewhat uneventful, so I’ll just pass on some observations and mini-stories that might be of interest for you. Lastly, I want to thank everyone who donated money to the children’s camp this summer. I will send your letters with a slideshow of pictures from the camp on Monday. The kids had a great time as well as everyone else involved.

Cheers,

Matt

PS- I uploaded some new photos. You can look at them here:

Top 10 Most Interesting Summer Moments

10. Slaughtering the lamb – This happened last week when we took 80 kids to a park in the woods. It’s a place where many Turks go for family picnics. As we all unloaded off the bus I looked to my left and saw two men with a dead sheep strung up. They were just getting ready to take off all the skin. Then, these old grandmas were cutting off the heads of these chickens. One of the roosters was still running around with no head. That was our “Animal Planet” lesson for the children that day.

9. Sending a package – I don’t complain too much about the bureaucracy here, but I had to here. I was in Razgrad and wanted to send posters back to the US. I had a special tube for them. I found the Post Office. After waiting in line, a woman filled out some forms and told me to go to another building down the block. I found that and eventually the correct floor. Then I knocked on doors looking for someone to help me. After two mistakes a man found me. He asked me what was inside the tube. I told him. He looked at me, then the package and then decided it wasn’t a bomb or anything dangerous. He signed my paper and sent me back to the Post Office. I got back there, waited in line only to find out that my package was an “unusual size” so I had extra paperwork and I had to pay 35 leva, instead of 8 leva. I ran to the ATM, got money, waited in line and finally sent my package. It’s never simple here. Never.

8. Naked kids – This is more of an observation, but at the beach kids run around naked all the time. Not just little kids, but kids who are maybe 11 or 12 years old. I inquired about this with my friend on the beach. He said it was normal. I know I wouldn’t be caught dead naked in front of people when I was 12. It just seems weird. Not here.

7. The Big Concert – Zavet concluded its city holiday and international folk dance festival with a concert by pop singer, Preslava. She’s a famous singer who, how can I put it nicely, is very well endowed – and she’s not afraid to show it. Anyway, she came on stage and was animated. She sang, and at one point wanted the crowd to participate and finish the lyric, yet no one really knew them. All the kids stood in the front and a man sitting in the stands couldn’t see so he threw water at them. She only sang for 45 minutes before someone threw a lighter that hit. She got into her car in huff and sped off. It cost the city municipality more than 2000 leva for her to sing that night – and it can’t even pay for someone to mow the stadium grass or buy books for its students. Great priorities!

6. Bucharest Taxis – Romania is still drowning in corruption, and Bucharest is at the center of it. I needed to get from the airport to the train station and had about and hour and a half. The buses were packed and it’s at least a half hour ride to the train station. So, a taxi was the obvious option. BUT, the taxis that are allowed into the airport are part of a state monopoly and charge 20 times more than the legal fair. I didn’t have enough money. So, coming out of the gate some guy found me and said he had a taxi. We got to his car and I asked how much. He said he’d tell me. I repeated, “How much?” A Romanian on the plane had told me what the standard cost should be. This guy’s price was much higher and I didn’t have enough. So I said farewell and went to find a bus. After a minute he ran after me and directed me to another man, who had a car, but not a taxi. He said he’d drive me there for the amount I had. He was older and seemed nice, so I took it. I got there on time.

5. Sunglasses – For my birthday I bought sunglasses in Nessebur. I ate lunch at a nice restaurant looking out over the Black Sea. Later in the day, just before I was about to get on a bus I remembered I didn’t have my glasses. I sprinted back to the restaurant, which was on the other side of this tiny island. After questioning the people endlessly, I found out that my waiter had picked them up, but instead of leaving them he had taken them home. His boss yelled at him to come. While waiting they peppered me with questions about why I was in Bulgaria. How do you know Bulgarian? Where do work? How much do they pay? Who pays you? Why are you here? Finally, the man came. He said I should buy him a drink. I said goodbye and ran back to the bus with literally one minute to spare.

4. “Excuse Me!!” – After barely making the bus, I was sweaty and hot from running and from the humidity. We rode from Nessebur to Sunny Beach, about a 10-minute ride and then changed buses to go to Obzor. It was the last bus of the day. There were a lot of people. A minibus came and the people sprinted toward it like Tom Cruise was sitting inside. I was aggressive, but courteous and let a grandmother and mother with her two children cut in front of me. I stepped up onto the bus and another woman (mid-50’s) stepped up too, shoving her body into mine. I was clearly there before her, yet she was intent on getting on the bus before me. I stepped up again and she continued to push. I said firmly, “Excuse me.” It didn’t faze her a bit as she elbowed me. “Excuse me. Excuse me,” I said, getting louder each time. Then she mimicked me with a thick accent. She sat down and then ignored me. What a woman.

3. The Wind – If that wasn’t enough, I was stuck in the back of this bus. I big fat guy was sitting next to me with his child on his lap. I was sweating so bad that it felt like I had just got out of the shower. Once we hit the open road I felt the wonderful breeze from the ceiling pop-out vent shower me with cold air. I was in heaven. It felt wonderful. But it was short-lived. After six minutes the woman in front of me had had enough. The magnificent viater (wind) would get her sick. So, she closed it, and again I sweated for the hour bus ride home.

2. Guys and Dolls – I got to see Guys and Dolls in London starring Ewan McGregor. We got front row seats, dead center for the Saturday night performance. This was great, and I still can’t believe how we got the tickets. The show had been selling out for the past month and was the West End’s hottest ticket. But at one of the box office’s there was two tickets left. We nabbed them for 75 pounds a piece, but it was worth it. McGregor can really sing. And he had many fans in the audience. The girl, a young American, sitting next to me would sigh and her eyes lit up every time he gave his lines.

1. Seeing my parents for the first time in over year. I saw my dad’s bright red face inside that steamy train and he tried to crack a smile, but I could see how exhausted they were. It was wonderful, yet strange to see a familiar face. It was fun to hear their impressions of Bulgaria and show them what life is like here. Our time in London and Amsterdam was filled with good food, good conversation, and good rest.