A quick update:

Summer has arrived full on in Bulgaria and it feels good. It is hott- reaching mid 80's- and no rain means we have to water EVERYTHING at night. Right now, the garden is producing snow peas, green onions, garlic greens, swiss chard, romaine lettuce and beetroot- we are in salad heaven. I think the heat is getting to the chickens as well because I found one dead this morning. She wasnt looking so hott last night when I got back from Popovo but Dancho came over and said maybe she was just tired. I wanted to believe him but, inside, I knew it was darker than that. Sure enough, she was stiff as a board this morning. So I took her up the hill and left her for the vultures.

Cassie had her baby! She had a baby boy, quite unusual for a cat to have just one, but we think it is because she is young and small. If you are struggling to picture cassie- let me help you out. She is the pretty girl in highschool that has never had to develop a personality because she got by on her looks. Sweet girl but not the sharpest tool in the shed. Sure enough, she got knocked up at 16. At first she thought being a mom was cool, but now she seems over it. She wants to party at night with the other cats but we keep reminding her that she can't because she is a mom now. The kitten is adorable, hasnt opened his eyes yet so I like to play tricks on him. If you put your hand in front of his face, he thinks it's his mom so he tries to peck at it looking for the nipple. Its hillarious. I have started to enjoy the cats more if you cant tell, i even have one as a cuddle buddy at night.

Hurricane Malcolm has come and gone, leaving only stories and slightly offensive memories in his wake. Will I ever see him again? Who knows. But I wish him well in Saudi Arabia or Kazakhstan or Russia or here in Bulgaria, wherever he ends up.

There is another volunteer here now, named Sara. She is from Belgium and she is slowly driving me insane. She does not stop complaining. She says her dream is to live in a yurt, which she could easily do here in Bulgaria, but I have counted about 30 reasons she has made up as to why it will never work out. Her sentences almost always start with "I can't, I couldn't, I wouldn't, Yea, but..." It is exhausting. She is 37 and has never really built a life for herself because (as dad always says) she has paralysis through analysis, the worst case I have seen. It is interesting because I am reading a book right now about quantum mechanics and the idea that we are all aspects of one another and the universe. The idea is that the physical shell is intimately affected by our consciousness. Sara is a bit weak and sickly, obsessed with cleanliness, and paranoid about everything she doesn't know, and I really think it is a result of her constant negativity. Ive taken her on as a bit of a project, making her say something positive at the beginning and end of each day. When she says "I can't", I say "Why not?" and we talk through how silly her reason usually is. Hard to know if I am making a difference but it helps me stay positive too by making me follow my own advise.

I leave here on Friday- so weird. I will had to Sofia for one night probably and then take a train to Serbia to begin a two week vacation. I am really excited to see those areas and I am reading up on the history so I know what to look for.

I received an email from my Masters program the other day, explaining a bit more about the courses and goals of the degree- I got so excited. It is hard because school has consistently been in the back of my mind as the end point of this journey, and I dont want to be too excited about it and miss what is going on right now, but the more information that comes in, the harder that is.

This weekend is the Popovo fair so we are headed into town tomorrow to possibly ride some rides (Bulgarian fair rides are disadvantaged by a pre-conception that is hovering in my mind concerning structural soundness and safety, but we will see). There will be doner kabobs, fried donuts, ice cream and fireworks- everything required for a good fair.

Have a great weekend!

Lindsey