Hello Everyone!
I wanted to send a note to let everyone know that we have arrived safely here in Bulgaria! We are living in a small town named Kyustendil. If you google this, you can see pictures of the area. We are doing quite well here and are enjoying experiencing a new culture. Here are some highlights:
We spent our first 5 days in a beautiful villiage on the top of a mountain. It is a good place for hiking and sightseeing. While we were there we had language and culture training, as well as getting to know the other Peace Corps volunteers and staff.
After this time, our group (40 volunteers) was split into smaller groups for language training. We are in a group of six and we all live with host families. Everyday we have language class from 9 am- 12:30 pm. Then in the afternoon we have cultural training and homework assignments. My host mom is a single lady and she is wonderful! She is a teacher and speaks quite a bit of English. We eat all our meals together and I am learning quite a bit of Bulgarian just living in the house. My worst experience so far was at her house- I bit into a pear from her own pear tree...and a live worm crawled out and jumped around on the table!! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!! Now my host mom calls worms my "special friends." Ha ha!
This weekend we are planning on doing two things: Going to a wedding with Jason's host family and going hiking with my host mom's student. Both should be good experiences... I heard that the weddings here are boring!! We'll find out...
I am planning on writing more soon and also sending some pictures- the area is beautiful. The weather is also perfect- it is warm during the day and cools quite a bit at night. The people are very warm and welcoming here and I am able to communicate very basic things. Most of the food is great...although the goat cheese is too much for me :) Please send us a note if you have a chance, we would love to hear from you! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers...
Sincerely,
Stacie and Jason
