new year's resolution part I

Good thing one of my New Year’s resolutions isn’t to be more prompt. I usually don’t make New Year’s resolutions because I think we should be constantly trying to improve ourselves. But this year I felt like I would give it a shot and see how it works out. So here it goes… Basically, my resolutions fall into two categories. This year will be the year of the Two F’s for me: Friendship and Faith.

Friendship. I have learned a lot about friendship in 2005. I have learned a little more about what true friends are and I have learned how important they are. My friends and family from home have been integral in me adapting to my present circumstances. Though they do not know it, every little gesture they made towards me has been magnified over the many miles that separate us. Whether it is the weekly phone call I receive from my mom, talking to my father and stepfather on Google talk, talking to Jeff and Jessica on Google talk, the random conversations with my cousins, the packages from my brother and Meghan, the many emails from Dartmouth friends, the Christmas card and peanut butter cookies from the Clancy’s, all these actions have helped me to stay a happy, and mostly optimistic young man. Though I am slow getting back to all of them, I appreciate them more than I show.

I have also learned from my new friends. Since I have arrived in Bulgaria, I have made many, many friends. I have a host family in Krichim that love me and put up with me when I am moody and tired. They feed me, shelter me, give me raikia and love me more than would seem possible considering our differences in language and culture. I also love my friends Desi and Tsvetana in Plovdiv and Krichim who first had incredible courage to speak to a total foreign stranger in a tongue they do not feel completely comfortable using. Then they have continued to show courage by staying with me for 8 months now.

In Bobov Dol, I have been equally blessed. I have a town full of people who feed me, look after me, invite me to their homes, villages and excursions to the pool, or mountains. They greet me on the street and have a generosity that I have never before experienced. I want to especially mention Galya, my big sister here in town. I am also lucky enough to have her as my counterpart. She tells me when I am doing something stupid, helps me when I need it, makes me have fun when I would rather sleep and makes me laugh when I feel like killing every child younger than 18. Also my language tutor Gergana and her husband Spaz, my colleagues Snejana and Mitko. And my other friends Martin, Stefka, Vecelika, Maggie, Sonya, Vasco, Kraci and all the others.

I also must mention the other volunteers I have met. My training site members became like my American family away from home. And they showed me that love doesn’t have to take a long time but can happen over two months. Though I don’t see other volunteers as often, they have been there when I needed them, and they have commiserated with me when I felt overwhelmed. Especially my friends Sarah and Liz; they have been there on Google talk when I felt particularly low.

Not everything has been peachy though. I have learned what false friends look like. I have learned that some people are only meant to come into your life for a short time and though they teach you a lot about you and things much, much greater then you, they leave just as quickly as they came into it. I will always treasure what I have learned from them, but I am saddened that we could not be for each other what we needed.

All these experiences have made me value friendship more than ever before. I used to think that friends were important but in the end I was more important then these people who move in and out of your life. Hey, I also used to think that Carrot Top was funny, we all make mistakes. I now realize that real friends don’t really leave your life. Though you might not talk to them for a long time or see them, though you may forget their birthdays, or even call them mean names, when it really comes down to it, they are there for you. All you have to do is ask.

So my first New Year’s resolution is to be a better friend. I have been blessed with such good friends and family, that I have all too often taken them for granted. Living alone, in a foreign land, I have learned not to take anything for granted. I have been forced to rely on the goodwill of total strangers. In these times I see how truly lucky I am. I never want to lose the friends I have. These special people are in my life for a reason and to lose them would be a tragedy. I wish they could all meet each other, they would have a great time. I resolve to spend more time growing my friendships and understanding these people on a more profound level. If that means I have less time to prepare for work, or eat a big meal or even sit home and watch “Friends” so be it, I prefer the real Friends I have.

Part II: Faith. Stay tuned.