Bulgaria, America, and Home

The Final Blog/Reflection Journal from Willem after his 6 weeks of volunteering with PINK.

After staying here for the 7 allotted weeks I can confidently say I have learned a lot about the people and culture here in Bulgaria and how it relates to America. Being gone for such a long time can have its effects on you but you are what you make of it. I really enjoyed my time here and would definitely recommend it to others.  It was definitely a big time commitment but I learned and experienced so much. 

For example the kids we worked with were generally happy and out going even though they may have been dealt a poor set of cards per say. There were of course some upsets and some kids were not the greatest but that was to be expected and working with them was a great learning experience. 

Going back to Tran was a lot of fun too because we got to see the volunteers that helped us the first week but this time instead of kids we got to help the community. We cleaned up an old building so that it could be used by the people of Tran. We also got to do some trail maintenance on a very popular park trail. I would say that this was a very influential week and the other camps we went to were just like this. 

Of course being away from friends and family for this long is also no easy ask and you should really understand the depth of the situation. I personally had some troubles up keeping some relationships due to the time difference. Of course the people you meet here do in a sense become your new family and you will of course meet new friends. I personally miss out of some events happening back home but over all an experience like this is like no other. 

I had a great time here and if I would definitely recommend others to go and check it out. Like I said previously it is an experience like no other and understanding what other people do outside of what you are used to is a great learning experience and a great way to step outside of your comfort zone. If you’re given the opportunity to come to Bulgaria I would 100% take it and you will never look back. 

Things I kind of learned just as time went on and things I changed in the first week to the last week really boil down to communication. I was pretty shy the first few weeks mainly due to a language barrier but I was also just very tired. As the weeks went on I got more accustomed to the people and got included more with just talking to the kids more. I mean after 4 weeks of doing the same thing you kind of get used to the rhythm of everything. 

Since my time in Bulgaria, I’ve gained a deep understanding of the people and culture and how they compare to America. Despite the challenges of being away from home, this experience was highly rewarding and educational. I learned a lot, particularly from working with children who, despite difficult circumstances, were generally happy and outgoing. Though maintaining relationships back home was tough due to the time difference, the connections made here were invaluable. I highly recommend this experience to others it's a unique opportunity to step outside your comfort zone and learn about a new culture.