Leaving Iskar, Swearing In and the move to Shumen (Шумен)!

It has been many, many weeks since my last blog but it has been a busy and exciting transition to my permanent site in Shumen. I have tons of pictures to share so instead of writing about the transition to Shumen, my job, counterpart and friends here, I have instead sent an email to many of you with all of this info. So take a look at the pictures and in the future, I will likely blog more frequently about everyday occurances and cultural experiences rather than sending emails and blogs. When a new blog posts, I will be sure to send an email simply stating a post has been added. Enjoy!

The Last of Iskar and Swearing In Ceremony....

Ah, Iskar...how I miss you. There is just something about these old towns and villages.

The deserted but once bustling bus station in Iskar. I waited for many a bus outside this building.

The Iskar square one final time after a cultural day presentation from the students. Truly a beautiful and relaxing place.

A necessity in the villages is knowing how to can fruits and vegetables for winter. Many Americans could learn a thing or two from Bulgarians about growing their own foods and preserving them for when times are tough.

 

A sight common in rural Bulgaria, deserted houses are from what many would concider 'better times'.

 

I saw this awesome, old cummunist era car in the city center every day and I wanted to take it with me. Although it had seen many years, the paint was spotless and the chrome always polished. They are Russian made but look sort of like an old BMW 2002.

Here is a video of our Swearing In Ceremony, presided over by U.S. ambassador James Warlick where we all officially became employees of the U.S. Government. This is the oath of office we had to read:

I,  (name) do solemly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, domestic or foreign, that I take this obligation freely,  without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps, so help me God.

Due to the non-religious affiliation of our government, they were required to tell us that we did not have to say 'God' at the end so that everyone can feel comfortable taking thier oath.

My Peace Corps group, the B27s after the ceremony.



My buddy Abtin and I with Danielle from Kansas.

My new home in Shumen (Шумен)!....

Topographic Map od Bulgaria. Shumen is in the N.E. quadrant only about 80 km or 50 miles from the 'sea capitol' of Varna (Варна). In the late spring through early fall, there are flights directly to Varna from London and Paris...just throwing that out there. 

The first meal I cooked in my new home and in 12 weeks! It was basically a shopska salad (Шопска салада) of tomato, cucumber, onion, peppers, cirene cheeese, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper with the non traditional addition of meat. That and a glass of good juice...man did it feel good to be on my own again and cook for myself. I do miss my host family and the great food now though!

I've posted this before I believe but here is Shumen from the air. See below for details of where things are...

Like all Bulgarian cities, there is usually a center area where no cars are allowed and it is filled with shops, cafes, restaurants, businesses, etc. Here in Shumen, it is a long long 'walking street' with all businesses on one side and a terraced greenbelt on the other side. In the summer months, the cafes from the business side set up tables under the trees on the opposite side so you can enjoy your coffee, meal or drinks sitting outside under the beautiful trees, out of the scorching sun. The servers run back and forth across the walkway so you have to keep your eyes open to not run into them. All in all it is one of the most relaxing places I have ever been and incredibly beautiful. The following 5 or so pictures are all from this walking street:

They have the big path out in front of the shops, between them and the trees and then they also have this path under trees to avoid the sun on really hot days.

Here you can see how the cafes set up tables under the tree side of the street.

Shumen is also the home of the largest Mosque in Bulgaria and the second largest on the whole Balkan Penninsula. I was fortunate enough to visit and go inside by myself and see this beautiful sight. The following 3 pics are of the Tombul Mosque here in Shumen, the first being from the web because when I was there it was covered in skaffolding like the interior picture below. It is barely able to stand on its own and they unfortunately don't have the money to fix it, so it sits there being held up by modern methods until some unforseen date of repair.

Other than the Mosque, I have also had the opportunity on a few occasions to go to the amazing Shumen Monument or 'Monument to 1300 years of the Bulgarian State'. It was build during communism in 1981 and never in my life have I seen something so amazingly large and impressive. Washington D.C. in the states is the only place with anything comporable to the size of this monument in Shumen. To get there you can drive or walk from the city center taking some 1300+ steps to the top of the plateau where it sits looming over the city. In one of the below pics you can see the end of the stairs we took to get there my second time.

The monument sits over the city and can be seen from anywhere, including up to 20 km away as you approach Shumen.

An airial picture with the end of the staircase in the center.

Some of the historical sculptures inside the pavillion of the monument...for a size comparison, that is a 5'10" girl approaching the statue of Khan Asspurah.

Some frescoes of historical moments in Bulgaria's history-arrival of Christianity, the crusades, etc.

A depiction of Bulgarian knights/leaders with old Cyrillic script is seen throughout the monument.

Friends and colleagues....


This was my counterparts birthday party at her parents house in Shumen. A true на гости (na gosti), we had salads and rakia for 3+ hours, then various meats and potato dishes and dessert for another 3 hours. It was a great night and I think I left for home around 4:30 am after much merriment and great discussions in Bulgarian and English. Truly a great memory for me!

Here is my counterpart Stella at her party, smilling for the camera.

Here is my housewarming party in Shumen with some of my new friends. there are three other volunteers in Shumen-Jessica, Brittney and Vinnie. From left to right: Andrea (another volunteer visiting Shumen that night), Jessica, Chuckie (a Bulgarian teacher from Vinnie's school), Victor crouched below(a university student here in Shumen), Brittany and Vinnie. It was a great night and everyone enjoyed hanging out at my apartment for the first time. Later that night, we went to the disco as a group and danced to Bulgarian Chalga music...look it up, ha.  

Well folks, that's it for now...it has been a crazy month and a half travelling and getting settled here in Shumen but things are becoming stable so I look forward to posting here more frequently and not as long. Sorry for the length and if you made it this far, thanks for looking. Don't be afraid to post a comment on a pic and let me know what you think, I love hearing from everyone. If you are interested in more details of my school, counterpart and fellow PCVs here in Shumen, be sure to read the last long email sent covering some of what I've been experiencing. In the future, look for more blogs and less emails as I plan to cover both in this format with email notifications. Coming up in the next blogs-my apartment, my school and more crazy cultural experiences here in Bulgaria. Take care and enjoy your summer!