This post will be dedicated to sharing the small and big kindnesses people have shown while I have been here. Sometimes I think about my life and I am surprised by the adventure I am on. Not many people have their first real jobs post college and first apartments in Bulgaria. But mine are! What that means though - is all the ordinary first job, first apartment, first time truly on your own, problems are happening to me - in a foreign country - in a language I don't understand.
What I have learned is that people are really kind and if your surround yourself with the right kind of people - they will prove themselves to be amazing.
Some of the stories I will tell - may be repeats but I want to chronicle in one place all the kind wonderful things people have done for me.
Lets begins with Margo - my mentor teacher! She has been amazing!
First: when I moved into my apartment - she picked me up from the bus and helped move me in. Then when she realized that my apartment did not come with any dishes or things like that she came over with extra dishes she had in her house to give to me. She also set up my internet for me and when my landlord was not taking care of the leak in my apartment she sent her wonderfully kind husband over to fix it!
She also is my go between with the principle - since he doesn't speak english and spent an hour trying to register me with the police and is taking me again next week to try again!
Seriously, I lucked out - Margo is wonderful!
Then there is Roni - she is another english teacher at the school. She is so sweet to me - always checking in to see how I am doing and worried about things going smoothly for me. Roni also is setting me up with her friends son - not as a date - as a friend, because she is worried I am not meeting enough people my age.
Today, Tania, another english teacher took me to buy my monthly pass for the bus. It was freezing out and we had to make two trips since they were on lunch break when we first got there. Her husband, who is also really nice, drove us and then drove me home. It sounds small when I write it out - but they took almost an hour out of their day to help me! Also, she bought me tea - which was really nice since it was freezing!
Another really nice person I met is Dobi - I met her at the polygot cafe - she lives right near me and is just really nice and helpful. After the cafe we took the bus back together and she stayed on for two extra stops to make sure I got home okay. She also offered to give me a bus tour and to show me where the closest swimming pool is. I am having her over for dinner tonight and I am really excited!
I would feel remiss not mentioning Juliana - the girl who did fulbright in Varna last year. She left me really nice things - for my classroom and myself and made sure to set me up with her friends from last year and wrote me a whole list of awesome advice.
Finally, there are all the little things: people giving directions, people stopping to explain something or just people being patient while I work out a sentence incredibly slowly in Bulgarian.
Patience is important and you never know how your small kindness can change someone's day. When people are nice to me sometimes I just want to cry!
