J Brian Murray

2005-07-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

My group from the Roma camp 2005!

Sofia belle of the Balkans - Los Angeles Times Article

2005-06-15T05:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-sofia12jun12,1,1016309.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Just another Saturday night in this capital so long disparaged as a Balkan backwater. Just another wine bar with a 24-page wine list. Just another grand opera. Just another glamorous piano bar.

Before my eyes, scaffolding was coming down all over the city, like a box of bonbons being unwrapped.

I arrived in Sofia one Friday night in October with a plan to spend most of two weeks visiting Bulgaria's historic villages, riding the rails and rooming in mom-and-pop inns. I was in Bulgaria because I had heard it was cheap, pretty and fun. I started in Sofia only because that's where the airport is.

After 24 hours here, I scrapped my plan. No trains, no historic villages. Just Sofia.

What captivated me was a lovely, vibrant, stylish city, filled with flowers, fountains, statues, monumental architecture, broad boulevards, richly landscaped parks, good restaurants, friendly people — all for a bargain.

Prices were a third of what they were at home in Los Angeles, a fourth of what they were in most of Europe. A cup of coffee costs about 20 cents in Sofia, a fine three-course meal with a couple of glasses of good wine, $9 to $12.

"I thought of Sofia as a run-down Vienna when I first arrived here three years ago," international accounting consultant Bernard J. Thompson told me one day at breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel Sofia Balkan. "But that was before the reconstruction commenced."

Sofia and, to a lesser degree, the rest of Bulgaria, awoke from a slumber of many centuries only four years ago, when voters tossed out most of the remaining Communists in the National Assembly. Parliamentarians chose as their new prime minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the former boy king who had lived in exile in Spain since 1946.

The new prime minister brought in a brain trust of young Bulgarian expatriate bankers from London and New York and turned the tax code upside down. International investment poured in. Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and is hoping to be admitted to the European Union in 2007."

Things are going well," Thompson said. "They have some distance to go in terms of rooting out corruption, but they speak our language."

At the peak of Sofia's colossal makeover in August, the city's unemployment rate had dropped to 3.26%, and international tourism had increased by 50%. After the city's massive face-lift, the once-cratered sidewalks and the pitted streets are smooth, the dome on the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences golden again.

Exploring on foot

You won't need a car or a taxi if you visit, and you can save the colorful trolleys for rainy days. Sofia was the most walkable city I have found in more than 30 years of foreign travel.

The walker's Sofia is shaped like a gull with wings outstretched, with the Balkan Sheraton and the neoByzantine St. Nedelya Church forming St. Nedelya Square as its head. The lobby of the Sheraton, the grande dame among Sofia's six ultra-luxurious hotels, is a tourist attraction in itself, filled with antique chalices, ornamental clocks and expansive oils. A boulevard that changes official names from block to block but is called the Yellow Brick Road — paved in 1917 with yellow bricks from Vienna — is the gull's right wing.

Fashionable Vitosha Boulevard, where you'll find shops bearing names such as Versace, Ermenegildo Zegna, Chanel and Donna Karan, is the left wing.

On my first morning in Sofia, I followed the Yellow Brick Road. Nearly all of Sofia's landmarks are on or near this boulevard, which is seven-tenths of a mile. The first three blocks, called the Largo, are lined with bright green lawns and the flags of NATO nations.

At my left was TSUM, once a grim department store modeled after Moscow's GUM. Today, it's a gleaming glass-and-marble four-story complex of elegant shops — Swarovski, Nautica, Calvin Klein, Limoges, Victorinox.

I walked down the Yellow Brick Road until it became an aisle through a valley of Hapsburg wedding cakes, white and yellow neo-Baroque buildings including the Presidency, the National Art Gallery, the National Ethnographic Museum and, ahead on my left, the onion-domed emerald-and-gold St. Nicholas Russian Church.

When I peeked in, the church was filled with smoke from pots of burning incense and packed with worshipers, mostly young people.

I soon came to an enormous black equestrian statue of Russian Czar Alexander II, who freed Bulgaria from the Turks in 1878. Alexander faces the National Assembly on his right and the stunning Russo-Byzantine St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the symbol of Sofia, on his left. At his backside is the Radisson Grand and Flannagan's Irish Pub, a hangout for parliamentarians as well as tourists.

No walker should miss the Theater District, just south of St. Nedelya Square, a pedestrian haven surrounding the red, white and gold neo-classical National Theater Ivan Vazov, set amid a pool and fountains and filled with sidewalk cafes. Whenever I was lost at night, which was often, I could count on a customer at the outdoor Café Theater to point me to my destination.

Crossing the Yellow Brick Road is Rakovsky Street — party central, with nightclubs, restaurants, bars and the National Opera.

Early one afternoon, I headed to Rakovsky Street in search of wine and a light lunch.

I found both at Vinobar, which was to become my hangout. I checked out the 24-page wine list, gave up and turned to the bartender, Milana Harlacheva, for help. She recommended the No Man's Land merlot, a full-bodied wine from Melnik, heart of one of Bulgaria's five wine regions. "No Man's Land" was the name for the barren three-mile-wide strip between Bulgaria and Greece to which refugees from Communism once fled, risking death at the hands of Soviet soldiers. Today, No Man's Land is filled with grapevines.

Another history lesson came with dinner, at chic Checkpoint Charly's in the shadow of the National Theater. Place mats were copies of Cold War-era front pages from the Bulgarian Communist Party newspaper, Rabotnichesko Delo, or Workers' Daily. Mine led with student demonstrations in Warsaw against U.S. actions during the Vietnam War. The room was painted half black, half white, with a sign in the middle saying — in English, Russian and German — "You are entering the American sector."

As a jazz trio played "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," I feasted on katak — red pepper stuffed with feta, yogurt and walnuts — and chicken seasoned with parsley, dill and cilantro and baked in yogurt. I had a bottle of fine Cabernet Sauvignon from a vineyard near the Black Sea and, for dessert, a huge caramel sundae. My bill: $21.

The city's dawning

Bulgaria, a Cinderella forced to scrub the floors while her sisters were having a grand time at the ball, is trying to make up for a lost childhood. Under the Ottoman heel from 1393 to 1878, the Tennessee-size nation was bypassed by the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Isolated from the West by the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1989, Bulgaria missed out on the Age of Aquarius as well. The rest of the country is still in the horse-drawn-cart age, but not Sofia.

Its better hotels and restaurants are full much of the time. Sophisticated, Modernist works fill its art galleries. When I attended a performance of "Aida" (front row center, $12) at the opulent National Opera, every one of the 1,200 seats was taken.

Theater is flourishing. Nightclubs are packed. I needed a reservation 24 hours in advance to sit on a barstool on a weeknight at Jack's Piano Bar on Rakovsky Street.

Its all-Bulgarian clientele was smartly dressed, with all the hallmarks of the country's trendsetters — flame-red hair and leather jackets with fur collars on the women, frosted hair and cable-knit preppy sweaters on the men.

Most Sofians earn an average of only $250 a month, so how do they live so well? Many live rent-free in three-room apartments that their families received under Soviet rule. Their sophisticated wardrobes come discounted from a rabbit warren of hundreds of tiny shops under the National Palace of Culture, the city's main convention and entertainment hall, on Vitosha Boulevard.

There I found beautiful men's silk ties for $4, designer sunglasses for $3 and gorgeous women's ski sweaters for $13. My fellow shoppers were full of good cheer: "Hello, mister. You speak English? Have a nice day."

Sofia's cosmopolitan flair was evident at Machu Picchu, a bustling Mexican restaurant. Before I left the States, I had studied the Cyrillic alphabet and memorized a few hundred phrases in Bulgarian. But I didn't have to. The waitress handed me a 32-page menu in English and asked me whether I wanted corn or flour tortillas. The guacamole was rich and dense, better than I usually get at home.

I put Sofia's cuisine to a test at L'Étranger, Bulgaria's top French restaurant, where I stopped one day for lunch. L'Étranger looked like a small-town bistro in Provence, France, with an ancient dumbwaiter down to the kitchen and walls painted tomato and lemon.

My starter was a superb terrine of salmon on a bed of tomatoes, arugula and peppers. My entrée, beef Wellington with foie gras, arrived steaming, wonderfully fragrant. The crust was crispy and browned. On the side in five symmetrical mounds were perfect purées of carrots, eggplant, peppers, zucchini and potatoes.

"I buy all my ingredients at the supermarket," owner-chef Olivier Roche told me, "except for the duck. I have to go [300 miles] to get good duck."

Roche had been an accounting major in France and fell in love with a Bulgarian exchange student. They married and opened L'Étranger.

For dessert, a waitress brought me grapes flambéed in Cointreau with slices of prune and pear and a dish of cinnamon ice cream with orange peel. And finally, some of Roche's father-in-law's homemade apricot brandy.

The meal cost $29, including a bottle of No Man's Land.

A lunch like that called for a long walk. I walked past the laughing coffee vendors of St. Nedelya Square, the serious old men who played chess in City Park in front of the National Theater, the booksellers at Slaveikov Square, who wished me "dobur den," or good day, past the schoolgirls filing into the cathedral, the fruit seller at Doctors' Park, the icon-sellers on Shipka Street, the accordionist at the Serdika Metro station, the tequila-sunrise tipplers at the Happy Bar & Grill, the young artists painting portraits at the entrance to the Museum of Foreign Art.

Sofia was a feast not only of food and wine but, above all, people

2005-06-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

A typical Bulgarian meal in the mountains

2005-05-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

St. George's day is a family affair.... or at least as much of the family as we can fit on horse drawn carriage!

2005-05-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

Taking the horse and carriage into the river... another St. George's tradition...

2005-05-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

Partying with the Roma youth group in Pazardjik for St. George's day and for Aneesa's birthday (my old site mate/volunteer in bright colored shirt)

2005-05-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Taking a jump in the river for St. George's Day... a Roma/Gypsy tradition to clean ourselves from evil and for health in the new year

Counterpart International - Bulgaria

2005-05-05T02:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.counterpart-bg.org/news.php?id=16

Bulgaria-Sweden

2005-03-28T02:35:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I attended the Bulgaria-Sweden World Cup Qualifier match here in Sofia at the national stadium (same one I played in for the pictures below!). It was a big match because a win would almost guarantee that Bulgaria would be going to the World Cup in Germany in 2006.
I managed to score tickets (about 5 bucks each) and as it turned out, I was pretty lucky because no other volunteers were able to do so. I wasn't sure what to expect for the game but I donned by Bulgarian football jersey and headed out with Eric. Half of Sofia was shut down for the game and we found ourselves in a mob of people rushing to get into the stadium. Our tickets were the cheapest available so we knew that we would be pretty far up... but as it turned out we were actually in the very last row! As we made our way up (translation pushed, shoved and elbowed)to our seats I was confonted by a policeman all equiped in riot gear... helmet with retractable plasic cover included.

"Excuse me, but where do you think you are going?" he barked at Eric and I.

"Well... our seats, we have tickets for this last...."

"Sorry, no more seats."

"What?" I not very surprisingly asked him.

"There are no more seats... sorry, you have to stand here (in the stairwell)... those D#$@ Swedish fans took... mumble mumble... seats... mumble mumble... sorry, nothing I can do about it, I'm just a security guard." Sure, that explanation made sense...

Great. I displayed my displeasure to show him that not only did I speak Bulgarian but I can display Bulgarian expressions of anger and disgust as well. It was a pretty good act I guess, because minutes later... suddenly... out of the blue... 3 empty seats opened up. We jumped at the opportunity and although we found ourselves in the last row, we were able to stand on our seats and had a great view of the "pitch".

There was still an hour till the match but we were all standing, pumping our fists in the air, screaming at... well, just screaming... maybe for our team, maybe against the opponents. I wasn't too sure. The crowd was scattered with Bulgarian flags (Red, white and green)... some the size of pools, all of them glistening and wavering like multi-colored waves crashing down on crowds of ants. The chants began... "You nat-si, bul-gar-i!" "You nat-si, bul-gar-i!" which I was relieved to learn had nothing to do with Nazis... but apparently, according to our well knowledgable neighbor at the game, during the World Cup 1994 in the states... Americans thought it was about Nazis (huge controversy, according to him). Actually, the original cheer is "Vie Nat-si, Bul-gar-i" (Vie = You) which means "You Heros, Bulgarians!" -- but they decided to change the "vie" to english. Makes sense? Nah, not for me either...

But, this was my first taste of international and European soccer and it met all my expectations... fiesty fanatical fans, stoic riot police, smell of stale alcohol, chanting that sounds more like religious humming than any coherent words (the whole time was like "uhhh-ohhh-ummm, oooo-daaa-gooo!"), peanuts, oh.. and lots of national pride... and if that doesn't work... curse the other country for being uneducated animals...

We lost 3-0. D#$@ Swedes.... come on, lets go drink this one off and find us some Swedish fans to beat up.

Advice if you plan on coming to Bulgaria

2005-03-21T01:02:00.000-08:00

I am totally plagerizing again but I thought this was pretty funny. This was some advice on what new volunteers can do to prepare for Bulgaria:

Try peeing into a solo cup while wearing heels, nice pants, a winter jacket, long scarf, a purse AND holding your own TP at the same time (something at which I was no expert in before I got here) all on a floor covered in murky water. Then make sure to throw the TP in the trash can when you are done

Practice patience. Let at least 10 people get in front of you when you arrive first to the counter at your local 7-11 (which is the size of most "grocery stores" here).

Walk a lot! (it's fun!) Only buy what you need for one day and repeat for two years.

Want to feel like a goldfish for a day? Try wearing some of the latest Bulgarian fashion NOW: dress from head to toe in pinks and mauves, or for spring, neon green or orange and watch the stares. That is what you will probably look like to the locals here when you walk down the street in your American threads and sporting hiking boots and Chacos.

Check out a website in a foreign language you only know a few words in (preferably in non-Latin script). Try to read and understand it!

Turn off your heating in your homes now to grow accustomed to the inside temps. Practice sitting in rooms filled with cigarette smoke and maintaining a smile.

Hang out in a Cafe for hours!

Spend time with friends over long dinners and fun(5 hours min.) on weeknights!

Eat the freshest veggies ever during respective seasons. Marvel in the ability to get Kiwis and Bananas in the dead of winter, but not green peppers.

Practice congratulating your friends on any new purchase and reminding them it is their duty to treat you to some coffee or candy

Take four hour bus rides through beautiful landscapes

Watch the guy with Horse and Cart cut off the tinted windowed Mercedes during the middle of the local rush hour (a personal favorite)

Eat macaroni with sugar for breakfast

Eat pancakes and omlettes in the evening

Have a friend drop you off in the middle of nowhere, and try to get home using only the words please, what, and "umm".

Go to bed a few nights in a row wearing wool hat, scarf and socks, a fleece lined track suit and gloves. Sleep well.

Practice immunity to bad breath. Hang around abandoned truck stop bathrooms until you can stand the smell and keep smiling.

Ladies! To be truly acculturated, seek out hair dye that will give you just the right shade of cotton-candy blue, or "balkan red".

Stop using spices and flavorings now, that way it will be less of a shock to your tongue when you arrive.But on the other hand......prepare to be humbled, by the sight of a people trying their best in a world that won't slow down and thinks their language is "obsolete".

Learn the little joys of everyday, the vegetable lady who gives you extra heads of elephant garlic with a wink and calls you sweetheart, the children who call out to you from across the street as you walk, and the colleagues who fold your jacket perfectly when your not looking so that it doesn't drag on the floor.

Understand the true meaning of satisfaction, understanding, peace, contentment. What you truly need in life and what you are (shockingly) able to do without.

Oh, and learn to love the black lace thong with tight white pants.

2005-03-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

A clean slide tackle....

2005-03-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

The team shot...

2005-03-10T15:22:00.000-08:00

I almost look professional here...

2005-03-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

The team with Balukov - next to me

Quote

2005-03-10T05:24:00.000-08:00

"Traveling is a fool's paradise... I pack my trunk, embrace my friends, embark on the sea and at last wake up in Naples, and there beside me is the stern fact, the sad self, unrelenting, identical, that I fled from." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Birthday Bash

2005-03-10T02:21:00.000-08:00

Frustration! Just fell victim to the "I just wrote a huge post and lost it because I didn't save it!"

So again:

This past weekend I celebrated my last birthday in the 20's. Even though the years are piling on I really am feeling younger every year. I am not sure why that is except that I feel I am taking life by the horns... and I feel great. I am not gloating... on the contrary... Physically, it has a lot to do with putting as many years between the present and the last time I destroyed my body in the pool, becoming a vegatarian and learning to listen to my body (as well as the time to be able to listen to it)

I recently had an email exchange with a friend of mine and I told him that things were going well and felt like I was in the prime of my life... half joking, half not... mostly just to say things are great. Of course, like any good friend... he shot me down... but I am serious.

So this past weekend I went to the heart of the Rhodopy Mountains which borders Greece. The Rhodopies are "lost in time" and I think because of this I have a special place in my heart for them. The mix of old Turkish culture and the village life of Bulgaria mixes (with a sprinkle of Greek culture) into this potent and intoxicating aroma of smells and sounds, such as the call to prayer that on a clear day can be heard echoing from one valley to the next, the pristine forests or the clak-ity-clack of a horse pulling a load of hay.

We celebrated the famous "Kookeri" festival in the small village of Shiroka Luka (Wide Valley). The Kookeri festival is very similiar to the Mummers parade that every Philadelphite knows quite well. Based on the same concept, the Kookeri is an ancient pagan tradition of "scaring" the evil spirits of winter away and to usher in the coming spring. We of course ushered in the spring with 6 inches of snow.

Although it is not clear from the pictures below, local villagers dress up in these crazy outfits and dance around with masks and large bells in a ritual dance... they are usually very drunk, firing guns into the air and then the craziest group jumps into the icy cold river (as well as one volunteer). Hundreds of people descend on this tiny town (pop.500) to witness and partake in the festivities. After the formal rituals are done... 4 or 5 hours of dancing begin.

Traditional Bulgarian dancing is a line dance called the "Horo". From Ukraine to Greece the "horo" is very similiar. Even at my buddy's wedding (a greek), I found many of the dances exactly the same. If you have ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding then you know what I am talking about. The dancing at the Kookeri involves hundreds of people and just continues non-stop for 4 hours... it is quite amazing. I danced for about 3 hours with small breaks for beer and water... but then I collapsed from exhaustion!

Part of trip down to the Rhodopies was to visit my friend Eric and his cozy village of Smiliyan (famous for Smiliyanski Bob - Smiliyan style Beans). My favorite food in Bulgaria, unfortuantely for Eric, I ate lots of beans when I was down there. The village life is quite different from my life in Sofia and I really enjoyed the time to relax.

Note: The pictures that I am posting above are from about a year ago. We had a benefit soccer match with some famous Bulgarian soccer players... Buluchkov and Lechkov. Buluchkov is featured above. Both of them were on the 1994 World Cup team that took 4th. They are legends. Buluchkov was receiving an award from the International Organization of Migration, a partner that I and other volunteers work with on a anti-sexual slavery project. I guess they thought it would be funny to have an American team to laugh at and beat up on... but... we actually played quite well (although we lost to the Ministry of Sport and Youth) and were big hits because we had Trisha, the only girl to play.

2005-03-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

A volunteer braves the elements with the locals in the traditional "jump in the river because we are crazy and drunk"

2005-03-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

An inviting sign for the festival greets us as we hitchhike into the village of Shiroka Luka...

2005-03-07T04:48:00.000-08:00

Kookeri guys from Slovakia...

2005-03-07T04:47:00.000-08:00

No related to the Kookeri but when I was leaving Sofia I saw this... it is a 5 foot pothole... and to make sure no one drives in it, they stuck a branch in it... quite a road sign!

2005-03-07T04:45:00.000-08:00

The Kookeri Festival!!! A pagan holiday to scare away the evil spirits before spring...

2005-03-07T04:44:00.001-08:00

Eric and I in the local "Kruchma" in Smiliyan

2005-03-07T04:44:00.000-08:00

Hanging out on my birthday... no messing with the pigtails (Me and Eric)

2005-03-07T04:43:00.000-08:00

The beautiful village of Smiliyan where my buddy Eric lives - population 3,000?

2005-03-03T23:54:00.000-08:00

nice moustache, right?

2005-03-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

My Cat Paz!

My first trip to the Bulgarian Theatre

2005-03-01T01:48:00.000-08:00

The other day I was invited by a colleague of mine to the theatre. I didn’t know her that well but as I was walking out of a meeting we had together she asked if I was interested in going with her and some friends. I was excited for the main reason that it is not always easy to meet good people. People assume in Sofia, because it is a big city, that you already have a circle of friends and never invite you out or for a “nagosti” (over for dinner). For example, this girl who invited me is from another organization that I am working with on an anti-human trafficking project but from my own organization, CEGA, I have never once been invited anywhere! Although that is another story….

So, to play it cool, I told her that I was snowboarding all day on Saturday(which I was) but that I would “try” to make it back for the theatre. I had her GSM and would drop her a line when I knew… or at least I thought I had her GSM. I called a friend of mine, an American blok named Matt, and told him I needed some support on my trip to the theatre. Matt, always up for an adventure, agreed… So, on Saturday, I dropped my colleague, Antoanet, a line telling her that I and a friend were coming. No response. A few hours passed and I gave her a call but no answer… hmmm… I know where the theatre is and what time the show is starting… haide! Let’s go there anyway.

So Matt and I met at the theatre around 7:30 but my friend and her friends were not to be found. Well, we did come a little late so we thought maybe they were already inside. Matt and I bought our tickets and heading in. I couldn’t see my colleague and friends but Matt pointed out to me that there seemed to be a lot of girls at the theatre… and good looking ones at that. Yea, who would have thought the theatre would be a great place to meet women? We took our seats and awaited the show….

3 ladies took the stage… an older one, a very butch looking one, and a pretty one….

The Old Lady began.

“My Vagina is like a flower…” (in Bulgarian)

Matt shot me a quick look (he is part croatian and has been in bulgaria for 3 years so he understands as well as I do)… “no way man.” … but he was right… not only did we not meet up with my colleague (who was not there) but we were now committed to a 2 hour show of …

The Vagina Monologues in Bulgarian…

2005-02-10T06:44:00.001-08:00

“There are times we must do what we cannot do.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Finally through January

2005-02-01T02:03:00.000-08:00

When the month started for sure there was no where to go but up, although I couldn't have anticipated most of it:

For one... I have finished my one and only business school application. I am anxiously awaiting an answer but the relief of finishing my GMAT and finishing the essays and application was enormous. Special thanks to Joey, Dave and my aunt Terry for helping me on my essays.
The Job at CEGA is still kind of drag but I have found a very specific focus -- the organization PAKIV, a Roma European Fund Organization... what does that mean? Well, based out of Budapest this organization has taking promising Romi (plural of Roma) from all over eastern europe - trained them in English and Community Development skills. They are an active group and I work with several here in Bulgaria. www.pakiv.org -- My role is to help them develop and find money for a 3rd training group.
I will start working with the organization Counterpart International -- www.counterpart.org - They are a very interesting organization. More on this later but I believe that I might be helping them develop the first social enterprise Business Plan Competition here in Bulgaria
I started snowboarding classes. Every Saturday for 5 weeks... 4 hours each day... all equipment... all transportation -- 125 leva (80 dollars) It is soo much fun. Very difficult to understand the balance but I think I am catching on pretty quickly. I am taking the class with 4 people from the British Embassy (2 brits & 2 bulgarians) and one American from Colorado.
I started Latin dancing classes. With 10 guys and 30 girls in our class how can I go wrong! Salsa, Merengue, Mamba...
A new cat -- Now don't say it.... I know... I told myself I was done with cats here in Bulgaria but I got suckered into taking a beautiful black and white cat who was living in the stairwell of a friend of mine. She is cute and besides when she is heat we get along real well.
E A G L E S -- Eagles! Wow. I have had the opportunity to catch all the games here in Sofia which has been totally exciting. I am planning the superbowl party here at the local irish bar... so if you happen to be passing through Sofia... :)

New Year, Same S#$t

2005-01-03T01:57:00.000-08:00

ahh.. the New Year.. seems just as dark and dreary as the previous year! I am fiddling around here at work, doing nothing, and thought that with a new year comes a new attitude on writing on my "blog" or whatever you call this thing. Who came up with that word anyway? Seems kind of appropriate in some strange way... like a way to un"clog" thoughts or "bog" down more important things. Ok. maybe not.

Anyway, trip home was a great one... friends, family, jet lag. Nothing like jet lag to spit you right into the post holiday blues. woke up at 4 am this morning. watched a movie, Before Sunset, which officially made me realize that I am no longer right out of college because I could relate to it and really enjoyed this "adult" film (no. not that kind of adult film).

Now, with my Gmat test finally behind me, the mundane will start to catch up to me again. Hopefully, it will allow me to settle in to a good pace of reading and relaxing. Although, i got to find something to do at work. I found plenty to do outside of work with some anti-human trafficking projects, tutoring at the orphanage and now maybe working at another organization 2 or 3 days a week but as far as CEGA goes (my organization), nothing, nada, nishto.

Although right before I left I met up with the a Bulgarian who just happens to be married to an american ex-peace-corps volunteer-from-guatamala (about 15 -20-years-ago). She is the founder of my organization and they are both incredible. Both her and her husband seem like a great resource for me and are really willing to help me out someway.

Other than that I am probably going to go out and pick up a guitar, commit to bulgarian (again), take salsa dancing classes and start smoking... ;) ... the year has just begun!

2004-12-02T02:05:00.000-08:00

Iliya and my 3rd cousins in NYC.

2004-11-23T04:36:00.000-08:00

such the ladies man...

2004-11-23T03:45:00.000-08:00

Iliya lands in Philadelphia... takes lots of pictures of horse carriages, limosines and sky scrapers!

So this is how democracy begins...

2004-11-20T07:54:00.000-08:00

Its been 15 years since the fall of communism here in Bulgaria and if you walk around the capital, Sofia, you can see new wealth being creating, building being erected, protests demanding higher wages and where would any young, fledging democracy be without a few packs of mafia strongnecks breaking traffic laws in their tinted bmws. (Just the other day "The Russian" got whacked by a professional sniper on the main street in Sofia)

Despite this "progress", in small, hidden pockets, between mountains and rivers, democracy is trying to gain its footing. I was fortunate to be a part of some baby steps last weekend in a small village of Rakitovo (pop. 11 K). In the Roma (Gypsy) neighborhood here operates one of our partners, "Budeshte (the future)" Foundation, part of CEGA's "web" of partners.

Yanko, the director of the organization, is a good, kind man with a droopy face and dark skin. His hair, despite losing a lot, would have been cool in the 70s. He is a man who has seen and been through a lot and it shows. When I learned he had two daughters who were only in 4th and 5th grade, I was stunned. Even more stunned, when I learned how well they spoke english. There goal is to go the Langauage school in Pazardjik! ... but I'm getting off topic.

So Yanko came to our organization (CEGA) and the other partners (14 of them) and needed help. Apparently, Every Child, a large international organization, had stopped its free breakfast program. The Roma community was blaming Yanko and angry about it. Yanko's organization is a small organization that provides support and informal education outside of the schools to children. The community felt that he was working against the "Roma" school (there are two schools in Rakitovo - one predominately bulgarian and the other predominately Roma). Truth was that he was just encouraging gypsy students to go to the other school to get a better education.

CEGA and our partners decided to send an all star team of different Roma leaders from all over the country to help Yanko out. The first order of business was to meet with the municipal parliment members, then on to the neighborhood and meet with some parents, sleep on it, then wake up and have a much larger meeting at the evangelical church.

In typical Bulgarian fashion... nothing worked like it was supposed. In fact, it looked like a disaster. Although the mayor came, only 4 or 5 other parliment members came, no pricipals and almost everyone left early. We were very poorly organized and our delivery was awful. The only interesting to come out of this meeting, is the bulgarian population of Rakitovo seemed to show a real care towards their Roma that I haven't seen before.

At our parents meeting later that night, gathering people was impossible. And some who did come, left when they saw there wasn't alcohol or food. Plus, our own reasons for being there seemed to shift from talking about losing breakfast to primarily talking about the importance of education. As an observer here, I couldn't speak up and say what I wanted, it was really frustrating.

The next day, the church was in repair and we couldn't organize anyone there... so we decided to just split up and start talking to the locals in the cafes. It was here, in one or two brief conversations that I saw a small spark...

and its when I began to realize some things...

In America, we have a particular mentality that we don't even realize we have. If something seems not right to us, for example some restaurant doesn't have ketchup... we do something about it either subconsciously or openly, like going to a different restaurant or filling out a feedback questionaire or bringing in the cavalry if the situation is serious enough.

Here, there is no such mentality because one, there is a feeling that nothing can change and two, they just don't have the skills to see it through. Whether from communism or from the void left after communism, this community understood only one thing, how to play the victim. "Things are so awful for us." "Bulgarians have all the money and don't want to give it to us."

But here were these leaders from all over the country, listening to what they had to say, then saying no, you can do something about it. You want a better education for your child? You want breakfast for your children? Let me tell you about what we did... that's right a Gypsy community... in our town. It just takes some effort, some help and a belief that things can change.... it was real grassroots democracy at work!

Baby steps. Time. And lots of good people reaching out helping hands.

NY Times article on Bulgarian Youth

2004-11-16T02:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/15/international/europe/15sofia.html?oref=login&oref=login&oref=login

2004-11-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

Dananne at 9 or 10 months...

Oh, It's raining outside

2004-11-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

This article is contributed by my friend, Steve Daly. Steve also works in Pazardjik and the foundation that he is talking about is that one I worked with everyday. His email made me laugh (sadly I guess) because it was a great observation about the everyday comings and goings in the "Mahala" that can be mind blowing at times...

How y'all do'in. It's been a while since I've written to you all. Ithink that since my last correspondence I have been to Austria,Slovakia and have begun the implementation of the first environmentalmanagement system for a municipality in all of Central and EasternEurope, but all of this pales in comparison to what I witnessed today.

As many of you know, I have been helping out at a Roma foundation here in Pazardjilk. The Roma, for those of you that don't know, are anethnic minority in Bulgaria and are found all over Europe. Theyoriginally migrated from India hundreds of years ago, and physicallystill look a great deal Indians.

They are among the most impoverished of all groups in Europe, and the situation is certainly no different here in Pazardjik. Only 10% are officially employed, and perhaps about 20% are employed in the"underground" economy (I'll talk about that later). They are largelyuneducated and most have not studied past 8th grade. About 80% of theRoma in Pazardjik do not know how to speak Bulgarian, and speak either Roma or Turkish.

Ok, so that's the background. So I'm making my daily trip through the "Makala", the Roma neighborhood, to get to the Foundation. It is conveniently located past the vegetable market and sheep slaughtering pavilion, between the police station and welfare office. Periodically the Foundation is flooded with women that need help for something. Usually it is because they need help filling out their monthly welfareforms (which are in Bulgarian), but sometimes it is for something more interesting, like a chain letter: "Send this letter to 13 of your friends or when you die you wont go to paradise and meet Allah". There is nothing like a well written chain-letter to get the truebelievers out and photocopying.

Today was different. I walked up to the foundation and found that itwas once again flooded with women. I asked a couple of my colleagueswho were sitting among them what it was this time (welfare day waslast Thursday). They just said that they would leave soon. I askedagain just to make sure that they didn't misunderstand my Bulgarian. Again, they just ignored my question and said that they will probablyleave soon.

Fine. I went inside and asked my girlfriend who is the accountant forthe Foundation. She calmly, in a disinterested manner, and in perfectEnglish told me that: "They are all hookers, their pimps have ameeting inside the station with the Police", and then went back towork."Hookers"--"Pimps", how she knows these words is beyond me. And why is this not a big deal? No one in the Foundation found this strange at all. She may as well have just said, "Oh, its raining outside".

Nobody knows exactly why the Police rounded up the prostitutes off ofthe highway and are meeting with their pimps. Although prostitutionis "illegal" in Bulgaria, its one of those laws that is not enforced like littering. My bet is that the Police want a cut of the profits, and that it why they are talking to the pimps. You have to love economics in a developing country.

This is the country that I live in. You can have a gaggle of 60 prostitutes chillin' outside of your place of work while their pimpshave a meeting with the Police and no one bats an eye.

The election

2004-11-03T22:42:00.000-08:00

Ok. This probably violates some copyright laws but I have admittedly been a little upset after the end of the election and searching for some way to express that. Bulgarians have been asking me all day, what happened? Another 4 years? What else is he going to do? --And I can't help but feel that we are reaffirming their belief that they can't relate with American anymore--

Below is a good column from NY Times that nailed one aspect of my hangover. It is a column from Thomas Friedman, who is a man I really respect. He has an amazing perspective and realism to his books and columns.... (Beirut to Jerusalem) (The Lexus and the Olive Tree)... read on...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/opinion/04friedman.html?hp

Two Nations Under GodBy THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Well, as Grandma used to say, at least I still have my health. ...

I often begin writing columns by interviewing myself. I did that yesterday, asking myself this: Why didn't I feel totally depressed after George H. W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis, or even when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore? Why did I wake up feeling deeply troubled yesterday?
Answer: whatever differences I felt with the elder Bush were over what was the right policy. There was much he ultimately did that I ended up admiring. And when George W. Bush was elected four years ago on a platform of compassionate conservatism, after running from the middle, I assumed the same would be true with him. (Wrong.) But what troubled me yesterday was my feeling that this election was tipped because of an outpouring of support for George Bush by people who don't just favor different policies than I do - they favor a whole different kind of America. We don't just disagree on what America should be doing; we disagree on what America is.

Is it a country that does not intrude into people's sexual preferences and the marriage unions they want to make? Is it a country that allows a woman to have control over her body? Is it a country where the line between church and state bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers should be inviolate? Is it a country where religion doesn't trump science? And, most important, is it a country whose president mobilizes its deep moral energies to unite us - instead of dividing us from one another and from the world?

At one level this election was about nothing. None of the real problems facing the nation were really discussed. But at another level, without warning, it actually became about everything. Partly that happened because so many Supreme Court seats are at stake, and partly because Mr. Bush's base is pushing so hard to legislate social issues and extend the boundaries of religion that it felt as if we were rewriting the Constitution, not electing a president. I felt as if I registered to vote, but when I showed up the Constitutional Convention broke out.
The election results reaffirmed that. Despite an utterly incompetent war performance in Iraq and a stagnant economy, Mr. Bush held onto the same basic core of states that he won four years ago - as if nothing had happened. It seemed as if people were not voting on his performance. It seemed as if they were voting for what team they were on.
This was not an election. This was station identification. I'd bet anything that if the election ballots hadn't had the names Bush and Kerry on them but simply asked instead, "Do you watch Fox TV or read The New York Times?" the Electoral College would have broken the exact same way.

My problem with the Christian fundamentalists supporting Mr. Bush is not their spiritual energy or the fact that I am of a different faith. It is the way in which he and they have used that religious energy to promote divisions and intolerance at home and abroad. I respect that moral energy, but wish that Democrats could find a way to tap it for different ends.
"The Democrats have ceded to Republicans a monopoly on the moral and spiritual sources of American politics," noted the Harvard University political theorist Michael J. Sandel. "They will not recover as a party until they again have candidates who can speak to those moral and spiritual yearnings - but turn them to progressive purposes in domestic policy and foreign affairs."

I've always had a simple motto when it comes to politics: Never put yourself in a position where your party wins only if your country fails. This column will absolutely not be rooting for George Bush to fail so Democrats can make a comeback. If the Democrats make a comeback, it must not be by default, because the country has lapsed into a total mess, but because they have nominated a candidate who can win with a positive message that connects with America's heartland.

Meanwhile, there is a lot of talk that Mr. Bush has a mandate for his far right policies. Yes, he does have a mandate, but he also has a date - a date with history. If Mr. Bush can salvage the war in Iraq, forge a solution for dealing with our entitlements crisis - which can be done only with a bipartisan approach and a more sane fiscal policy - upgrade America's competitiveness, prevent Iran from going nuclear and produce a solution for our energy crunch, history will say that he used his mandate to lead to great effect. If he pushes for still more tax cuts and fails to solve our real problems, his date with history will be a very unpleasant one - no matter what mandate he has.

What my organization does...

2004-11-03T07:10:00.000-08:00

It has been brought to my attention from a friend of mine that it is not exactly clear what my organization does. The web site uses a lot of terminology babble so I will do my best to answer in lamen terms... what the hell do they do.

They are a lobby organization for social disadvantaged people. For example, if there is a law in Bulgaria that says people with wheelchairs and bald heads can't go into strip bars (theoretical of course), then my organization trys to get that law changed. Most of these efforts deal with the Roma (gypsies) (which is like the segregated south was 60 years ago) but not only.

The other goal of my organization is to improve participation at a local level of government. What does this mean? It means finding and training young leaders to understand how to stand up for their rights, work with the government and the community to make changes, to write a grant to improve something in the community (literacy program for example), among many other things. The point is to help organizations and people understand what democracy is and how they can improve their lives and the community they live in... Make sense?

2004-11-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

The Halloween hiking crew plus... our friend and guide Nasa.

2004-11-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

Part of the "Bridges of Wonders(?)" (ok... it just doesn't translate that well.)

2004-11-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

The "Wonder Bridge" naturally formed over thousands of years.

2004-10-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

This is Julie. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in my town over two years ago! This is from people magazine!

The "Bulgarian" Terminal

2004-10-26T01:25:00.000-07:00

I went this past weekend to watch the movie, The Terminal. The Terminal is a movie based on a fictional Eastern European country and one man who gets caught at JFK airport, learns English, falls in love, becomes the hero of the airport, etc. etc. Anyway, it turns out that Tom Hanks is actually from Bulgaria! That's right, Tom Hanks speaks Bulgarian throughout the whole movie. The whole movie theatre was cracking up everytime he spoke! He even cursed in Bulgarian! His Bulgarian is not to shabby either. Ok... so I was just mentioning this to my colleague here at the office and he just told me the reason that they use Bulgarian is that his wife, Rita Wilson (originally Margarita Brahimoff) is a Bulgarian! Now, if you have seen the movie, I wouldn't say that he is a typical Bulgarian but gotta love a good image coming out of Eastern Europe!

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=36469

Above is an interesting article about it. I just got in an arguement with my colleague about it because I told him that Rita Wilson is actually a Turkish Bulgarian. He got kind of angry and said that isn't true... ahh... Bulgaria. I think she is from Madan in the Rhodopi mountain which means she is probably a Pomak... which is a Bulgarian Muslim. Ok. point is she is a Bulgarian.

New Roma Camp Web Site

2004-10-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

Our Roma camp web site is complete if you want to check out some information and some pictures.
www.geocities.com/romacampbg

Starting to have a clue?

2004-10-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

The job is coming to me and I think I am on my way to finding my nitch. Because one of CEGA (my organization) main goals is to be a lobby and advocacy group, why not start a new campaign? Because of my experience teaching in the Roma schools, I started to realize that if these schools were going to improve they would have to improve the teacher to student ratio. Having a teacher trying to teach 27 illiterate kids is just impossible, even for the best and most motivated teacher. If you could reduce the ratio to 1 to 15 or less, I think it would have a profound impact on keeping kids in school. This led me to do some research and it turns out that the states has been experimenting with this in many inner-city schools. Leading the charge is the Gates foundation (www.gatesfoundation.org/education). Additionally, George Soros and his organization Open Society, is starting the "Decade of Roma Inclusion"for 9 countries in Eastern Europe and one of its biggest priorities is education. The problem is that Bulgaria, with all of its committees doesn't look like they are prepared to do anything. They have been doing some bussing programs (bussing Roma kids out of the neighborhood) with very little effect. So, my idea is to start a campaign for small schools. Maybe that means bringing some people from the states here or vice versa. I have no idea yet.

The Magestic Vitosha

2004-10-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Vitosha Mountain looms ominously over the city of Sofia in the winter. Looking down on Vitoshka Boulevard, the different seasons reflect the many different personalities the mountain possesses. And the fall is no exception. For the first time, I saw a Bulgarian fall that came close to a New England fall. Today, I rode the lift up the mountain from the city. Although lacking a certain contradiction of colors, there is still a brilliant array of beauty. From a pleasing brown to a screaming yellow, the tree light up the path up the mountain even on a bright, clear day. On the top of the mountain, a grungy gang of Bulgarians lacksidasically prepare for another ski season. The restaurants are busy serving typical mountain food... kebache, kufte (both like hamburgers), bean, lentil and soup. I meander my way along some easy trails and sit down a cool rock to look over Sofia (which means wisdom in greek). Deep breathes, relax... soon its time to start another week...

Quote

2004-10-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

2004-10-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

Uncle Dave and Dani!

2004-10-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

Louie's Wedding

2004-10-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

Gearing up for the birds game

Home sweet home?

2004-10-14T01:40:00.000-07:00

I am back in Bulgaria. I have enjoyed my time in the states and am thankful to everyone who made me feel at home. From watching the Eagles "fly" to trying to bond with my new neice Dani, its been a trip that will hopefully carry me through the winter.

Getting back here has been a little bit more natural than I thought it would be. This week I have started work and am still in this awkward, how am I helping and what the hell I am doing (The english version of site is actually done! check it... www.cega.bg). Its pretty normal and I have gotten really good at relaxing in new situations and letting things come to me. During our training (when we first arrive in Bulgaria) we are given this "psychological rollercoaster" handout. It is a chart that details many of the thoughts, feelings and mood swings that we might deal with in our two years here. There is no chart for a 3rd year but I have a feeling it is just going to be a condensed two years. Initial excitement followed by a natural let down and reality check; months of spinning wheels; then some traction; 2nd letdown and home sickness; then... well who knows.

The biggest difference is probably thinking about next year already. I have some ideas but besides applying to some graduate schools, I will keep the rest to myself.

Another goal for this year will be to go skiing/snow boarding as much as I can/and can afford. Bulgaria has great skiing and it is very cheap. One of the main ski areas, Borovets, is only about an hour away. But with 5 different mountain ranges, finding somewhere close is not difficult. Check out www.bulgariaski.com

In other news, my friend Iliya is in the states (www.jbrianmurray.com/iliya.htm) . After receiving a full scholarship to attend the American University in Bulgaria with the 1st year just intensive English, Iliya decided to take that one year and come to the states. He is at the Faith School www.faithschool.org ... a evangelical school in Maine. I have tried hard to act as an advisor and nothing more. I have supported his decision but not agreed with it completely. But, he will manage fine and it will be a great learning experience.

This weekend I am off to our "Youth in Action" program training. We have 15 youth groups from all over Bulgaria who will converge and will learn about lobbying and advocacy for their causes. Because I am an "outsider" of the project, I will be acting as an observer. I have no idea what that exactly means but what else is new.

it's all over

2004-08-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

Venturing several hundred kilometers north of Athens I have now arrived "home". Things in Bulgaria have not changed much as evidenced in the local paper where one of the nation's top politicians is introducing legislature to "use local strongmen as paramilitary groups to control the rising criminal behaviour of the Roma". I suggested that they call it the "Peace Corps"... which kind of has a paramilitary sound or we could send the Peace Corps in to fight them... you know to secure... umm... the peace?

The Olympic swimming events wrapped up on a great note. I am lucky and happy to have been apart of it. On the last day of events, athletes traded shirts and clothes to get their hands on these very fashionable volunteer shirts. I am not sure I understand it nor did i believe that anybody would actually want these shirts (despite all my greek counterparts claiming what a collectable it was). Sure enough on the last day of events I exchanged two of my shirts for a Brasil and Spain shirt... very cool.

For the remaining days of the events, I found myself as an "extra" volunteer. Which means that I just had to "hide" myself, so I found a really comfy seat high above the athletes with great views and sat back and watched all the events. The bummer of all this is that i got no camera time. Even on the today show, I admitedly backed out when I saw all the mid-western us flag toting americans screaming "hello oklahoma from Athens... I love you Jimmy-bob". Sorry I just couldn't get up the steam to do it although Tricia did manage some good camera time but she's from colorado so maybe that's why ;) (Speaking of which I have added some great shots of hers from the Track & Field events)

I did get a picture with Gary Hall... he was actually quite nice (all because he loved the attention)... asked me what the hell I was doing in this dangerous part of the world (honestly).. I told him I was a PC volunteer in Bulgaria... he gave me a big thumbs up and told me to keep up the good work... I think I want to be a Peace Corps Volunteer the rest of my life now! Actually, he was nice. Also a nice guy was Aaron Piersol who took time to take a picture with me also when he was late for a team meeting... everyone else told me no.

The best part of the whole experience was that all of the athletes were humanized for me (is that a word?) and the experience was actually tangible, just like any old swim meet. They were just human beings, athletes... subject to the same emotions that a high school athlete might... not always social... angry and upset when things didn't work out... and exuberant when victorious...can you imagine dedicating your life to this then to fall short (particularly for the younger ones)? It seemed that most were professionals who understood losing/winning but even the best are subject to unbelievable pressure (Crocker)... and I make mention of this because I also had the opportunity to watch the NBC coverage (through the Air Force Network - want to talk about propaganda commercials? ask me about this one)... where everything was overdramatized... events I watched the night before I would watch the next day and find myself crying at the magnitude of what some athletes accomplished... for example... the 4 * 200 freerelay was "the greatest race ever"... everything was a show... additionally (sorry, i'll only be on the soap box for a sec) I am amazed that all they show is american. Another great thing about getting some other coverage was that I could actually watch some non-american events and learn some of the athletes' names from other countries.

Oh... one more thing, courtesy of Eric, the guy from the embassy, got to attend a Cuba-US matchup in women's volleyball... those Cuban's are crazy! They outnumbered the american spectators by 3 to 1 (but you would all be proud to know that I was waving an american flag). They were chanting the whole time! Of course we won and at the end some of the americans down in the 1st row got a little crazy and starting waving their flags at the cubans (most of them were young - in their teens or twenties). One cuban girl, with every ounce of energy was screaming at them... "F*%# you USA, F*%# you USA"... I quietly put my flag away and got out of there.

And what's up with protesting against Colin Powell?

So, now I'm desperatly catching up on email and preparing my stuff for home. I head home on the 4th of September. I am both a little nervous and very excited. I look forward to seeing most of you!

Brian

Also, got a shout out on Scott Goldblatt's web site... http://www.goldblatt.info/blogarchive/2004_08_08_archive.htm

he also has some good stuff (charity, olympic coverage) on there to check out.

2004-08-21T02:47:00.000-07:00

Me and Gary after his boxing match

2004-08-21T02:46:00.000-07:00

The Volunteer Crew

2004-08-19T01:56:00.000-07:00

TCNJ Connection

2004-08-19T01:51:00.000-07:00

the big race

Is Ian gay?

2004-08-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Wow. Well I feel much better about continuing to send emails, thanks for all the support and I won't take too much advantage of it, I promise.

Before I begin I need to answer some questions...

1) Is Ian gay? Well, I know that he wears a woman's suit and is definately a pretty boy (or a metrosexual depending on what decade you are in) but I am pretty sure that he is not gay (unlike our ex-NJ governer). The women are all in love with him (although that doesn't prove a thing) and he seems to eat it up.

2) Was I really on tv? My sister has made the claim that I was on tv the night of the big 200 freestyle event. Based on her description of exactly where I was I'm not sure it was. For the last two nights (the big phelps-thorpe match-up and the loss in the 4X100 relay) I have been on deck, next to lane one, right at the backstroke flags, opposite side of the starter, next to the camera pit. I am the only one usually sitting there. I will fight my way down there on thursday, friday and saturday as well (well at least one or two of the nights).

3) Who's this Trish girl? Trish is a friend from Peace Corps who signed up for the olympics too. When we found out that we both were going we decided to look for places together. It was her idea that we put an ad in the US Embassy newspaper and because of her we are both here...

Ok... now that we have that straight, check out my quickly brought together web site at http://jbrianmurray.blogspot.com/ - there are some pictures and I will be adding some more later.

As for the dissappointing swimming start, I just have some words. There is just too much pressure on the US team to win everything. It sucks! It sucks so much they don't even have fun like all the other teams. Between the Greeks (OLE, OLE) and the Japanese victory celebrations, we just look like a bunch of dead beats... sitting solemely, dissappointed with 2nd and 3rd places. We seem to rarely cheer... I'm not really setting any blame just making an observation that we just don't seem to put too much pressure... wonder where that comes from...

The Phelps 200 free was an awesome race. Got to give Thorpe some serious credit for kicking ass, I honestly didn't think he had it in him after he collapsed the night before after his 400 freestyle (in the warm up pool). The air around the event was really electric and I am proud that Phelps stepped up to this race knowing that he could have opted for lesser challenges.

South Africa was fast....

Oh... small possibilty that I might be on the Today show tomorrow (wednesday morning). :)

Ashu

Brian!

2004-08-16T02:49:00.001-07:00

The Bronze medal... I was standing that close... on deck... next to photographers

2004-08-16T02:49:00.000-07:00

Raising the roof

2004-08-16T02:48:00.000-07:00

A few days before competition

2004-08-16T02:41:00.000-07:00

The Velodrome

2004-08-16T02:39:00.000-07:00

Evening sets on Athens

Olympic First Impressions

2004-08-15T02:16:00.000-07:00

Just some random highlights and thoughts...

First day of competition (today-saturday) and I was scheduled to work the preliminaries so chances are you won't see me. My job was exciting and I got the best seat in the house. I was battling to get a spot on the deck managing the photographers but got moved at the last minute (dissappointing my australian buddy "pete" who was trying to hook me up)... my new job is managing the athlete section (where they watch the events). I spent most of my time kicking all the slicksters who have been pretending like they were talking on cell phones when they cruise by me.... My spot was right above the pool next to the US swim team which was pretty cool... watched Phelps cruise this morning... and was amazed by his fluidness in the water... as well as Thorpes. Tomorrow night, and for the next 3 nights, I will be working the night sessions so I will be able to watch the Phelps-Thorpe-Hackett matchup in the 200 free which should be pretty amazing.

I learned that I am Greek. I have heard this before (from a Greek priest) but now I am convinced he might have been on to something. Everyone, and I mean everyone tries to talk to me in Greek... now I just start laughing at them. Maybe its the long hair... I don't know... but according to the Greeks, they populated the world...

Being back in the swimming world has been kind of strange. I forgot that respect is only gained by what you have done in the pool, which is kind of a bizaare way of judging people. When you are in that world you just get caught up in it as well. So standing on the outside looking in, I miss it and I don't miss it. there are many aspects that I miss about it but I am happy to have gotten away from it because it can be down right addicting and consuming.

The people that Tricia and I are staying with have been downright amazing. Eric and Lacey and their daughter Ember have been really outstanding and have opened their door to us. We feel in good hands and feel incredibly lucky. Trish was fortunate enough to work at the opening ceremonies and has managed to get on the main press platform. Our jobs are very similiar but we both feel fortunate that we have the views that we have.

Finally, you can look for me in the stands when they pan the athletes but I doubt you will see me.

Thanks for all the letters, I promise to get back to everyone when I have more time.

From the Olympics - Opening Ceremonies

2004-08-11T01:48:00.000-07:00

Definitely didn't think I would writing this quick but things seem to be flying at me and if I don't start writing now, I will forget most of them by the time it comes to wrap this party up.

I arrived in one piece after a very quick 12 hour bus ride from Sofia to Athens. The bus was half full of Bulgarian older women going down for work and a lunatic Greek bus driver who knew two words of Bulgarian (which required constant translation from my Bulgarian bus buddy, Maria. All the Bulgarians spoke Greek so I was at a disadvantage. The ride wasn't so bad except for the hour we sat at the border getting bombarded by mosquitoes. They were running constant kamikaze missions and I am still feeling the effects now. Maria (the 55 year old woman) feel asleep and was drooling on my shoulder for part of the trip but because she was such a big help I didn't wake her. We arrived at 6 am and I went straight to the Olympic facility to get accredited and get my uniform. I was early and so spent 2 hours at a coffee shop studying some Greek (efheristo, kalimera, kala, ena, dio, etc.). This has turned out to be quite a waste of time since most people speak English anyway (except for taxi drivers).

Anyway, got my uniforms (3 shirts, 2 pants, 3 socks, jacket, fanny pack) and headed to the pool which apparently I made quite a retarded entrance with all of my shit and not dressed in uniform. But it was sorted out and I met my "boss" Alexandros who swam for Greece in Barcelona. I felt a little out of place as it turns out all of the other volunteers are Greek and have been working for quite awhile. Alexandros explained our "duties", to keep all unauthorized people off the pool decks. So, easy enough or so I thought. But it seems a little crazy. There are all these crazy badges with infinity signs, or VIP signs, or all these numbers and colors that have different meanings... plus if they have a "NOB" escort, they can go anywhere. And everyone tries to violate the rules... especially the damn greeks! They strut around like they own the place. Anyway, besides that the job is real low pressure. I made an Indian friend (who has lived in the states, london and now in Paris) who will be doing the medal awarding stuff. Me and him hang out and do as little as possible.

The cool thing about the job is that it gives us front row seats to everything. I have met some coaches from team USA and have watched all the swimmers train and prepare... Phelps, Hall... and I don't think any of you know any others. I am the only American volunteer in the swimming events as far as I know so they have been pretty cool to me. Also, I have met Davy Bisllik who is swimming for Aruba. He swam at Trenton State for a couple years and we chit chatted about things back home. I am also looking forward to meeting Scott Goldblatt who swam for Scotch Plains. I remember the name and he was a couple years younger than me at the time when we swam them... i think i beat him... or maybe avoided him... i forget... we'll have to ask Weber on that one.

Ok... so enough swimming talk. Last night, they gave me a ticket to attend the Opening Ceremonies Final Rehearsal, which was like the real thing but minus the athletes. The stadium was packed and although it seemed like a big Greek flexing muscle show, it was really great and I recommend checking it out. I got to sit five rows behind Bjork when she did her song after all the competitors were brought out (this was one bizarre choice for the olympics).

The oddest (or perhaps most noteworthy) part of the whole ceremony was the reaction to the countries as they were announced. As each semi-major country was announced their seemed to be a small group of people from that country that would stand and get a little rowdy... australia, brazil, even small luxembourg. But the biggest applause (from everyone), with the exception of Greece, was Iraq and Palestine.... and there was complete silence for the United States (which is better than boos i guess). It was very sad and depressing knowing that there were probably Americans like me in the stands who were just too uncomfortable to give a good cheer. I don't really have much comment on this but thought is was worthy to pass on as info.

So finally, I'm not sure if my famous television appearance is going to happen. If it doesn't then it looks like I'll just be stuck being a small potato volunteer... which suits me just fine.

Ashu from Athens,

Brian