I've been watching the news this afternoon--the BBG that's not to be confused with the BBC as these are two different things.  The BBG is the Bulgarian Broadcasting something or other which starts with a G.  If I knew more Bulgarian I could probably tell you what the G stood for but for right now, you'll just have to trust me or maybe you'll get lucky and one of my new Bulgarian friends will read this and post the answer.  Anyhow, this post isn't actually about the BBG it is really about Barack Obama in Bulgaria.

Okay, he's not even in Bulgaria.  Actually, I am not even sure that he has ever stepped foot in Bulgaria but that doesn't really matter.  He's here. He's all over the news and he looks great.  I have been watching clips of him at the convention and listening to speeches on YouTube and I can't help but to think wow. Even watching BBG, I am impressed and I don't know what the news commentary is but he looks like presidential material to me. And I am strangely proud of him.

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The thing that stands out to me after the last two weeks in Tryavna is how much my vote counts.   What has become clear to me is that I am not just voting for myself.  I have one vote--one vote in Washington State.  A vote that I expect will count much more in Washington State than my vote in Washington DC would have counted.  But for the first time, I am not just voting for myself. In the past, I thought one vote, one man probably because this is what our high school civics class teaches us and later college courses reinforce this.  But after talking with and listening to all of these really smart and well informed Bulgarian and more generally European college students about the US elections it became pain to me that these were people who knew as much as or more than many of my friends in the states about the upcoming election even though they don't even have a vote.  They care deeply about the outcome of the election and in fact have a serious stake in the election but don't have a vote.  As a result, I have been reminded over and over how important my vote is.

I was thrilled to vote in my first presidential election at 19 and felt great responsibility in this vote but it didn't matter much.  George Bush won the election.  I voted a second time four years later once again against Bush and was disappointed a second time.  But this disappointment stop me from voting in the next elections. I am looking forward to these and to seeing what kind of (hopefully new) direction we decide to take the country.

I know that this will not come as a surprise to anyone but this election matters not only domestically but also internationally and it seems like everyone is paying attention. I know that I shouldn't be surprised by how much my peers in Bulgaria know about the election and specifically about Barack Obama but I have to admit that at times I am.  I consider myself a "Barack-o-phoile" and that makes this whole thing that much more interesting to me.  I love to hear what other people think and I was especially interested in the responses to Joe Biden being named Barack Obama's running mate.  When it was announced, many of the twenty-something students I was discussing this with had assumed that Hilary Clinton would be named the Democratic vice presidential candidate.  I think they assumed this more because of her name recognition than an understanding of the political system in the United States.

This reminded me however that no one really understands this screwy election system that we have in the United States and this certainly includes both Americans and foreigners.  It makes me wonder if I really get <em>it</em> and how competent I will be in the fall explaining the up coming election to my high school students.  This worry is, I think, unfounded but it has sent me to both the New York Times and the Washington Post trying to keep up with all of the campaign election news.

Given the fact that it is not yet September I can only assume that more posts on this topic are sure to follow and I'd love to hear what others think seeing as this is the first presidential election I will not be in the states for. If nothing else, I know that for sure that in November, I'll be casting my one vote not only for myself but also for all of these who are vote-less and thus voiceless here in Bulgaria. I can only hope that my small campaign donation to Barack Obama and my absentee vote in November will make a difference.