Kate in Bulgaria

Experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer and some adventures on the side

A Final Farewell

Well, today is it.  The day I have been anticipating yet now find myself oddly sad over.  Today is my last day in Letntisa.  I will head into Sofia tomorrow morning to finish the process of ending my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Most of the difficult stuff is already finished (medical checks and tons of paperwork) so tomorrow will be about turning in any PC stuff I have and giving back my Bulgarian ID.   I fly out early Monday morning and will arrive in Jacksonville by 7pm (we are 7 hours ahead.)  I can honestly say I didn't think I would ever see this day.  But here it is, I made it the entire two years even though there were many times I wasn't sure I could.   The apartment is all clean and my bags are packed.  I have a couple more goodbyes to say this afternoon and a few more pictures of the town to take. 

My Municipality had a little going away party for me on Tuesday.  They gave me a few presents and talked about how difficult it must have been to leave my home and come to a strange place not knowing what to expect.  The funny thing is, that is what I feel like I am doing now.  For better or worse Letnitsa and Bulgaria has become home to me and to say I'm not a bit nervous about going back to NC would be a lie.   When I was home for Christmas I was able to treat it like a vacation.  At the end of the 2 weeks I knew I would be returning home.  But as of Monday, I'll be forever closing this chapter of my life.  People here have been asking me what specifically I will miss.  Whether it be food or certain places but the truth is, I will miss the life I have here.  The friends I have made and the family that has grown out of my closest friends. 

Part of me is scared about rejoining life in NC.  When we leave our homes none of us really think about the fact that while for us life at home has been put on hold, for those left behind, it keeps moving right along.  For these reasons and quite a few others, I am not planning to move back to NC.  I'll stick around for a few months of course, I have quite a bit of visiting to do.  But my life and myself require something new.  I left NC because I realized one day I was already not happy with the way my life was going.  Joining the Peace Corps might have been a pretty extreme thing to do to fix that, but it was the right choice.  I have found a new independence and strength that I didnt' know I was capable of.  For lack of a better way to explain what these last two years have done for me, I have grown up. 

So, as of December I will be leaving NC yet again for my newest adventure.  This time however, I'm not planning on going quite so far away.  Matt and I will be moving to the San Diego area.  I can honestly say I never thought I would live on the West Coast, but then again I never thought I would speak Bulgarian either. 

So, this will be my last entry from Bulgaria.  This blog has been a great tool for me to not only keep a record of my service, but to share with those interested my reflections of life in Bulgaria.  I'm not sure if I will keep up with it after I get back, but I will have at least a couple more posts to bring my service to an end.  After that, I'll have to see. 

Well then, I have a small list of things I have to finish before tomorrow, so I wish you all a fond farewell from Bulgaria.  I am so glad I have been able to share my experiences with you and I thank you for all of your support and encouragement. 

posted by: ksension at September 07, 2006 13:03 | link | comments (4) |

Template by motime.com  |  header image credit: Markus Gann © www.begann.de