rivers, bets and a crazy little thing called love

I spent this last mini-break in my former Host Site of Krichim. I had a great time. I celebrated Orthodox Easter, saw some friends and ate a lot of eggs. I also learned some valuable lessons. In no particular order, the following are …
Five Lessons Learned:

1. “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”  Okay, I’ll admit, I didn’t come up with this one. But this weekend, as I visited my host family for probably the fourth time, I realized that each time I come back I expect things to be exactly the same as when I left last July. They’re not. Of course they’re not. Children are a little bit taller, people are a little bit older, friends are a little less familiar, and the town is a little bit different. I am different. But still, I am a little disappointed when I find out how much things have changed. Like my home back in the states, I want everything to be preserved in a state of deep freeze until I make my (triumphant) return. I want things to cease to function without me. I want a place where everything is simple, understood and predictable. But alas, this doesn’t happen.


2. Krichim is still the most beautiful town in Bulgaria. I might be a little biased, but I am amazed every time I come back to Krichim and see the beautiful farms, nature, houses, church, mosque and mountains. We went on a hike yesterday to the top of the mountain above the city and as usual I looked down at the town and thought, “this is it.” I watched some men water their cherry orchard, a young family picking lilacs, and some kids having a picnic and I thought that I was in some kind of heaven that the modern world had missed. Even when it rains it is perfect. My friend Tsvetana and I got caught in an afternoon thunderstorm and took refuge in a kindergarten playground. We watched the rain pour down around us and afterwards we watched the sun break through, letting us know that he was sorry for disturbing our walk and we were free to continue.


3. My home, however, is Bobov Dol. While I think that Krichim is beautiful, and I have a family there, Bobov Dol has become my home. Krichim has become a place to visit. And while this is sad, it is part of the change I talked about. I am happy with my life in Bobov Dol and being a part of the community here. Here I have friends, people who I consider like family, a job, projects, I know shop-owners, and people honk at me. I am happy here and happy when I return after a trip away.


4. My stubbornness wins out over my pride. I learned this this weekend, when what started out as a simple comment evolved into a bet-to-beat-all-bets. I won’t get into the specifics but suffice it to say that I was right, and even though I might have had to sacrifice my self-respect, my fidelity to the truth won out and I think we are all better for it. And I am 5 dollars richer.


5. Love never ceases to surprise me with its complexity. I know this isn’t some groundbreaking idea but still, this fact always seems to come up and bite you when you least expect it. I have been dating girls since I was in 4th grade, and yet I still expect love to be simple. It’s not. Things never work out the way you want and nothing is ever perfect. Just when you think you know what you want, something happens, someone looks at you in a certain way and you fall flat on your face. All you can do is give in, give yourself and hope that someone, somewhere is guiding this big ol’ mess we call love.    

peter gunn vs audrey hepburn

So what do you do when you are stuck in the Athens International Airport for 6 hours, and are unable to leave because you have NO (zero, nada, ziltch) money? You sit. And you read. And you listen to your MP3 player. If you are lucky, like me, you have a large collection of some weird stuff. Official Soundtrack for today: the varied works of Henry Mancini. Every one of his songs fits a different possible mood you may have over 5 hours. Nothing makes the seemingly endless boredom more fun than seeing who, in the bustling mass of people who constantly walk by, is walking in step to the Baby Elephant Walk. Next, wanna feel like an international spy typing important messages into your laptop? Why, click over to the theme from the Pink Panther, or just as good, the theme from Peter Gunn. Suddenly that fat woman who only a song ago made you laugh because she was “the baby elephant” is now Helga Vitripchova, Head Undercover Agent of the Greek Wing of the KGB.

Once you are done saving the world from those nefarious double-agents, the “Sweetheart Tree” comes on and makes you think, once again, about that new girl who since yesterday has never been far from your thoughts. After this beautiful little song ends, “Moon River” comes on and you try to act like you are a tough guy and not listening to the most poignant song ever written.

Finally once you get all in the lovey-dovey, life-is-all-roses-and-wine mood, the second greatest movie theme-music composer, John Williams, comes on and you become Darth Vader!! Love flies right outta your head and your only desire is to rule the Universe!! “Wooooh-hoooh {Darth Vader sounds} What is thy bidding, my Master?”