The first thing was our Mid-Service Conference. This is pretty much what it sounds like. Our entire group (which is now down to 80) met in Tryavna, which is a gorgeous town right in the middle of the Balkans, and have a three day conference. At this conference we discuss our past year as volunteers and share our high and low points. We also have sessions that help us to know what to expect in the up coming year. It's also nice because we get to see everyone in our group. This conference was particularly interesting because it was the first time we got to meet our new Country Director who, from what I can tell, seems like a really great guy and I can't wait to continue to get to know him. Also at this conference we have all of our medical check-ups (I will live to see another year in Bulgaria) and have the opportunities to talk with our staff with anything that may be on our minds. It was a good conference filled with meetings, good food, advice, and lots and lots of socializing. We ended our time with a talent show on the final night in Tryavna. Our group is quite the talented bunch. There was singing, dancing, instrument playing, acting, and the night ended with a free-for-all karaoke session that lasted until about 4 in the morning. One thing that I found really interesting was that even though we've been here a year, I feel as though I'm still making new friends among our group. I got to hang out with people that I rarely get to see and I feel that it's almost not fair that we're so far away from each other. Then I remember that if all of the volunteers lived down the street from each other we'd never get any work done and it all makes sense to me.
The rest of the summer has been filled with little trips to visit people and say good-bye to the group of volunteers that are finishing up their service and moving on with their lives. The B-25 group is slowly leaving us and putting our group (B-26) in charge. It's a weird feeling. There are quite a few of them, however, that are staying. My sitemate, Rory, is one of them. He just got married to his Bulgarian girlfriend, Cveti, and will be staying here until they can get everything together with visas and green cards and all that. Now, I only told you that so that I can tell you about their wedding, which has definitely been of the high points of my summer. This was my first Bulgarian wedding, so I had no idea what to expect. It all started at about 9:30am when I went over to Rory's to get things started. Some people from the village and his host parents met us there and after a while we got started. Rory (along with his posse) went to Betty's house to get his bride-to-be. He had to offer her mother enough money before she could let him in the door. He ended up bursting through the door with Cveti nowhere in sight. He then had to search for her in Betty's apartment. Once he found her, he had to look for her shoe so that he could put money in it. After everything was found and "paid for", we sat for a little bit and had snacks and drinks, then it was off to the mayor's office. The ceremony was performed and it was very nice (from what I could tell, it was all in Bulgarian). There was an exchange of rings, breaking of bread to see who would "run" the relationship (they broke it pretty much down the middle, but Cveti kept saying that her half was bigger), and they drank champagne through interwoven arms. Then Rory carried Cveti out of the mayor's office and over broken glass (for good luck) and we were all off to the reception. The reception was at Betty's cafe and it was decorated to the nines. Everything looked beautiful with it's purple and white balloons and satin ribbons on the tables and chairs. There was more ceremonial bread breaking and champagne drinking, then the party got started. There was enough rakia (the national alcoholic drink of choice) at this party to drown a horse. There was good food and a lot of dancing. I think I continued my street cred by impressing the Bulgarians with my horroing skills. Everyone danced, laughed, ate, drank and celebrated until about 9pm. It was one of the best times I've had since I've been here and I'm glad to have been a part of Rory and Cveti's special day.
I've spent the rest of my summer making trips to see other volunteers and help with projects. We've all taken advantage of our time off and had some time to relax and recharge our batteries so that we'll be ready when September rolls around. I've also been spending more time in my village and that's a task that I plan on continue even once the school year starts. I want to be more available to my own community, so I will be. That's right, you heard it here first. And if you see me slacking off in this area, you have full right to call me out on it and make me feel like a bad volunteer (even though I'd really appreciate it if you could be kind of nice about it).
