Answers!

Thanks everyone for asking such interesting questions!! I thought four days was a long enough waiting period, so here are your answers!

From Jeff
1. What was your favorite part of living in Bulgaria? (not
including the
orphans)

2. What was your favorite part of
working with the orphans?

3. What was your least favorite part of
both of those.

1. My favorite part of living in Bulgaria was the simple life. I especially love and miss this now that I am back in America. Everyone in the town I lived in was so laid-back and friendly, and we didn't have a lot of stress to deal with. It was almost like a vacation! I really loved how relaxed everyone was, and especially how friendly they were despite the fact that we were Americans.

2. My favorite part of working with the orphans was having those small moments of "connection." Every once in a while as I would be talking with or playing with one of the kids, they would look up and give me this look. They all did it the same way, too! This huge grin with big, wide, sparkling eyes that spoke thousands of words they could never describe. That's when I knew that they loved me, that I was in the right place, and that I was with Heavenly Father's children. I don't think anything could ever replace that feeling.

3. My least favorite part of living in Bulgaria would have to be the language barrier. Obvious, I know, but not all of you realize how incredibly frustrating it is to have so many thoughts in your mind and no way to express them! I could have really taught some of these kids more, but because I didn't speak fluent Bulgarian, it was difficult.

My least favorite part about working with the orphans was seeing some of the workers treat the children badly. One experience that I still have nightmares about (and still breaks my heart) is the night we went a visited and played with Unii (I'm not sure how to spell it, I think she has a Turkish name).

I guess she had done some pretty bad things like stealing, and using the bathroom in the sink, which are things she should be punished for, I agree. But when we were there and Tony was holding her, one of the workers came over and was telling Tony all of the bad things Unii had done. She then began yelling at this poor little girl saying, "no one loves you when you do things like that. No one loves you!" Unii began crying her eyes out and the other kids began making fun of her telling her no one loved her.

Tony, being the handsome, sweet guy he is, told everyone that he still loved Unii even though she did bad things. He said "I know that I make mistakes all the time and I hope that people still love me when I do, because I'm trying to be better. I think Unii is trying to be better too, aren't you Unii?" Tony made this little girl so happy, and I really think he taught the kids something in that moment.

From Susan
How did your stomach adjust to eating new foods?

My stomach had a pretty difficult time adjusting to the new foods. I had stomach issues for the first couple of weeks there and it gradually got better. Sometime in our Bratsigovo stay I declared myself a Bulgaria Vegetarian. I couldn't stand the meat there, but I eventually got used to it. They don't have beef in Bulgaria, only mincedmeat. Their chicken is also very different, I'm not sure how to describe it, but I don't like it!

From Janet
1) Did your experience in Bulgaria change you in any way, and if so, how?

2) What does the air feel and smell like in Bulgaria? (I know this is a strange questions, but it's one of the things I notice about different places)

1. My experience DID change me, quite a bit. One strange way it's changed me is that now I don't use as much toilet paper. They don't really use a lot there, and it's kind of pricey to buy, so I somehow picked up this little habit.

ANOTHER way it's changed me is that it's given me an amazing perspective on differences in people. When I first arrived in Bulgaria, I felt like I was on Mars with a bunch of aliens who spoke some odd alien language. I was constantly in a daze and thought everyone was rude. As I lived in the country, I grew to love these once strange people. I've always said and believed the phrase "we're all God's children" but never before had it held so much meaning as it does now. I love the people of Bulgaria. They are my brothers and sisters. I've been able to take off my red, white, and blue USA goggles and look at these people for what they are....people! They're just like you and me. They love to laugh, hate to cry, have friends, family, fun. It helped me build a stronger testimony of the fact that we are all children of our Heavenly Father, and that he loves EACH of us.

I think I'm also more culturally aware and more accepting. I feel that I'm a more well-rounded person because of this experience. I don't regret going, not the least little bit.

2. This is kind of funny question. The air in Bulgaria STINKS! In Bratsigovo it smelled like manure and burning trash all the time, in Plovdiv it smelled of exhaust. The people there also have their own unique scent, very different from our heavily-purfumed USA scent. They contributed to the smell of the air as well.

As far as feel goes, it actually felt a lot like Indiana, humid. My hair was always frizzy and my lips never chapped (something I'm struggling with now that I'm back in the desert).

From Shannon
Did anything make you laugh so hard you almost cried? (I'm just thinking of some of the antics of our rest-home ladies in Mexico :)

Did anything just make you cry?

The only time I can think of where I laughed so hard I almost cried was when I was teaching some of the girls the Thriller dance. I told them one of the moves was called "Booty Bounce" and when I showed it to them, they all fell to the floor laughing (it's a little pelvic thrust). I began laughing with them and we couldn't stop for at least 5 minutes.

Yes, several things made me cry. I think the day I cried the hardest was when we moved into the orphanage. That was quite a shocker for me to live in the boys hallway of an orphanage. I was fine, though, just a little tired and shocked.

From Amy
What was something that you were not prepared for? How did it turn out?

I wasn't prepared to talk as much as I had to at the second home. When I taught Thriller, I did it all by my lonesome with no translators. Holy cow that was hard! I wasn't prepared to actually say much and I had to. It turned out wonderfully! As you can see here.

From Kimi
I heard that while Tony was gone he became $10,000 in debt and is in trouble for not paying child support...What can/are you guys doing about his identity being stolen? What are you most looking forward to about being home, in america, around family again?

*SIIIGGHHHH* It's true, it's all true. Word sure gets around fast! Let me explain: when we came home, both of our cars were looking death straight in the eyes so we decided to look for a new (used) car. We found a cute little Honda that we fell in love with so we skipped over to Zion's bank for some financing fun. Everything was going our way until the Loan Officer told us that Tony had a $10,000 judgement against him with Child Protective Services. ...Long Story Short....we went to the court and they actually had changed it last year when Tony called about a mysterious child support letter he got in the mail. They just never told us it was on his credit. We got enough proof to show the loan officer it wasn't Tony and we now have the Honda! Woo! We still have to call the credit agencies and get all of it cleared off. NO FUN.

Well, I was looking forward to settling in and relaxing but that sure hasn't happened. The floor has kind of fallen from beneath us with all of this credit stuff. Our apartment manager is kind of...excuse my tone...ignorant, and so we don't really have a place yet, but that's okay! We have two new (used) cars now!!!!

From BookLoss
What are your plans now? And what is this about identity theft?

My plans are to go back to BYU in January and begin another fun-filled semester. I keep leaning more and more towards being a social worker for my career, especially since the director at the orphanage said I'd be the best one, haha.

See above for answers on identity theft.

So, there you have it. I hope I answered your questions to your liking. If you have more questions, I suppose you can always ask me by leaving a comment or something.

I just want to say that I DO miss Bulgaria. I've been sitting here all day trying to finish up some homework for my internship and everytime I get into it begin to get teary-eyed. Everything was wonderful there, and with the luck we've been having lately....I REALLY miss that place!

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