"You don't have a refrigerator, a washing machine, or internet...but you have MTV!"

I'm sorry that I've been so negligent of my postings but PST is quite the time-suck. But, I am happy to report that I'm COMPLETELY finished with PST and I'm now OFFICIALLY a Peace Corps Volunteer! Whoo! The past two months really haven't been that bad and I managed to make some good friends in that time. I'll miss my PST group, but I'm not going to lie, I'm really really really excited to have my own apartment in a new village.

Though PST has a reputation for being the most intense training...ever, we still had some really good times these last few weeks. We had to do a community project for Byala Slatina, so we thought some sort of festival thing would be a good idea. We had to meet with the Vice Mayor and propose our ideas and be willing to listen if she had any suggestions or be ready with another idea in case she hated ours. We went to meet with her and she was, actually, excited about our idea. She thought it was a good idea and liked that it would give the youth something to do instead of just going to the cafes and drinking. We also managed to get an invite to a dinner that evening with a bunch of youth from Byala Slatina, as well as youth from Romania and Serbia. We gladly accepted the invitation and made plans to meet back in front of the municipality (obshtina) later that evening. Wehn we came back to the obshtina, we found people dressed in traditional Bulgarian clothing and knew that it was going to be quite the part (koopn [yes, it's pronounced like "coupon", we had a lot of fun with this]). We followed the Vice Mayor into the reception hall and watched as everyone in the room turned to look at all the Americans. We stood in front of everyone for what felt like forever, but was probably really only about 15 minutes. The Vice Mayor was talking to all the guests and all we could do was wait until we were told what to do. We ended up getting front row seats for the show with the Vice Mayor. There was a salad that we pretended to eat and a fantastic show of dancing and singing from the three countries represented there. The dinner didn't even start until after 8pm, so none of us could stay for the actual entree. We gave our regards to the Vice Mayor and made our way back to our homes.

The actual community festival ended up being a success as well. We had about five different stations of activities. We had food and drinks, crafts, bobbing for apples, card games, and American football. We started it later in the day because it was so hot; we wanted to make sure people would actually show up. We also had music playing (that was my job) so that it would get people's attention. We had planned to end the festival with soem games with water balloons because it was so hot. We started out doing a water balloon toss to see what team could stand the furthest apart and toss their balloon without breaking it. As soon as the first balloon broke, though, it was war. Those kids went crazy and started throwing balloons at everyone. It was great. Once all of the balloons were busted, that didn't stop them and they started filling up cups and wash bins full of water and throwing the water onto people. It was the best thing ever. Everyone had a good time and there wasn't a single person who walked away from that fiasco dry. Even Tanya got a little wet. All of the Trainees had water guns that we had bought at a little store. Those were fun and I plan on using mine in the classroom for management purposes.

That weekend we had a "na gosti" at Vinny's house. A na gosti is when you go over to someone's house to hang out. Bulgarians go all out, though. There's almost always food and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and you always stay for at least three hours. We all wanted to hang out with Vinny's host dad and see this man in action. His host mother had been preparing all weekend for our dinner and it was amazing. We had rakia, homemade wine, beer, shopska salada (the national salad), lutinitza (peppers and tomatoes mashed up and put on bread), bread, bbq ribs, chicken, banitza (national pastry), and cake. It was all delicious. We all talked and laughed and watched the final World Cup game. It was great and Vinny's host dad definitely lived up to our expectations. He ddn't bother with wearing a shirt and I don't think I ever saw him without a cigarette in his mouth or a glass of beer in his hand. He and Vinny have a special relationship where they don't really talk to each other, but throw insults at each other. It was hilarious and you can tell how much they actually adore each other through their insults. Vinny's host family is truly amazing.

The next week, we took a group trip to Sofia to see the Peace Corps Office Headquarters. It was pretty legit. The offices were nice and you have to have and ID to get in. It was funny because the first thing you see when you walk in was the American flag and Kevin (a.k.a. Captain America goes "Man, I haven't seen one of those in a while." It was funny, but true. I thought it was pretty refreshing. the offices had everything you could ever need. We met all of the people who work there and everyone is so nice and supportive. We really couldn't ask for a better staff. There was also a library both for resources and for pleasure. We were with the group from Popitza, so we all decided to have lunch together. One of the women in the office told us about and Indian food place that was in Sofia. Everyone went crazy and decided that we would be eating there. I'm not too big on Indian food and all I really wanted was to go to Starbucks and have a frappuccino. We went to the Indian restaurant and I got some sort of chicken and spinach thing that was pretty good. Afterwards our group went one way and Popitza went another. I got my Starbucks and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It tasted just like back home! We were walking back to the bust station and getting ready to get on the trolley when Mary said "Evan, look over there!" I turned my head and saw two black guys standing by the trolley stop as well. My day was made right then and there. As much as I like Bulgaria, it isn't very diverse and I miss that in my life. I couldn't have asked for anything more from my trip to the capital than Starbucks and diversity.

This last week we had to take our LPI (Language Proficiency Interview). It's to make sure that we'll be able to survive in our permanant site. I'm glad to say that I passed with little to no problem. We just got into the room with the interviewer and talk. We talk about ourselves, our families, our homes (both here and in America), and our daily routines. They just let us talk until we can't talk anymore. Sometimes they ask you questions to help you along. Then you have a role play where you have to talk through a scenario that may or may not be something that you will actually have to deal with at your permanant site. These role plays can be anything from "invite your friend to a party saying when, where and what to bring" to "someone broke into your apartment and took all your stuff, now you have to call the police". I had to ask about an apartment that I was thinking of buying. I asked about the size, if I had internet connection, what floor it was on, if it had a balcony, and how much it costs. I was pretty satisfied with my performance. I mean, I know there's still a lot to learn, but I feel like I'll be fine until I can find a tutor.

We also had our very last HUB on Thursday. It was pretty much just a wrap up of everything we had gone over for the past two months. I think they also used it as one last time to actually get to see some people. It wasn't bad, except that it was so hot! I don't think there was a single breeze at all that day and every single window in the room was open. All 85 of us were just sitting there sweating and there was nothing anyone could do about it. After the HUB, we all headed to the restaurant one last time for drinks. James and Rob joined us for a farewell. It was a nice way to end PST.

The next day was our Swear-In Ceremony. Mary's host mother drove Mary, Jackie and myself to Vratsa for the ceremony. We took a group picture, got pins, swore in, listened to speeches and said our good-byes. The American Ambassador was there and he gave a speech as well. We nominated two volunteers to give a speech and it was very well done. They were the two volunteers who scored the highest on the LPU so they wrote it in English and Bulgarian. Then one of the volunteers sung a song in Bulgarian that had all of the Bulgarians in the audience in tears. It was a nice ceremony. Afterwards there was food but not everyone could stay and hang out because some of them had a whole day of travel ahead of them. We all said our good-byes and went our separate ways. Mary and I went back to Byala Slatina for one more night because neither one of us were going very far the next day. That night, my host family fixed me an amazing going away dinner. We had rakia, wine, juice, shopska salada, chicken, potatoes, and creme caramel. It was beautiful and so delicious. They also got me a beautiful scarf for a going away present. Nadka also wrote down how to make the creme caramel (and some of my other Bulgarian favorites) so that I'll be able to make it when I have people over for a na gosti. The only problem is that it's in Bulgarian...so I may be needing some help with that.

The next day Nadka and Hristo drove me to Koynare to begin my two years as a volunteer. We met Rory and his girlfriend and they all helped me get settled in. My apartment is nice. It's in the same block as Rory and it's right in the center of town. It's very close to the school and the chitalishte. I have a kitchen, a bathroom (with a toilet and a shower), a balcony and a living room/bedroom. When I get everything completely organized and unpacked I will give a virtual tour of my new crib. My couch doubles as a bed and I'm especially excited because I can actually flush my toilet paper. That's a luxury that I never thought I'd be so excited about. Nadka went with me to buy cleaning supplies and stuff like that. I still need to get a refrigerator and a washing maching, though. She and Hristo also gave me some tomatoes and cucmbers so that I wouldn't go hungry over the weekend. We said our good-byes and I thanked them for everything and promised and I would call and come back to visit. I honestly could not have asked for a better host family. I spent the rest of the day getting as settled in as I could. I still don't have clothes hangers so I can't actually unpack yet. I went out for dinner and drinks with Rory and his girlfriend and I feel like these next two years will be good. This is only the beginning of a great adventure!