Heya, this is the beginning of year three. Holy smokes!

I've lived in Bulgaria for two years and now I am embarking on year three. That's pretty cool.

Two years ago, I never imagined that I'd still be here. But guess what?

I am. I am still here.

Bulgaria is beginning to seem second nature. It's strange and great all at once.

Things that used to seem like big achievements in my first few months here have become second nature--buying fruits and veggies, crossing busy streets, not tripping cracks on the sidewalks, ordering food in restaurants, topping off my pre-paid cell phone and even taking public transportation.

Today these things are pretty straightforward. I can do most of them without even thinking about it well except for the not tripping on cracks in the sidewalk thing. This continues to trip me up. (<em>Ha, ha</em>.)  <!--more-->As uneven as the sidewalks are everywhere in Sofia, I still don't have this one under control.  I am not sure why I can't get my act together when it comes to sidewalks but if that's the only thing I am still struggling with two years latter, I don't think it so bad.

I try to remind myself, Carolyn, pick your feet up when you walk. I remember to do this for a few blocks but then without fail I begin thinking about other things, checking out architecture, people watching, reading signs and what not and then all of a sudden I am stumbling on a crack trying to keep upright.

I guess that's what I spend a lot of time in Bulgaria doing--trying to keep upright.  And while, it's not the easiest job on a whole I think I've been managing quite nicely. I've got a great group of friends, a job that I like a lot, an apartment that is light and airy with a nice sized kitchen and I am finally actually learning Bulgarian.

Is my Bulgarian great? Heck no!

But I am using it.

That's probably the biggest change over the last two years. I think that in part this is because Bulgarian comes to mind a little faster than ever before. My vocabulary is a little bigger, words come to the tip of my tongue more easily and I'm able to put more complex sentences together.

I've also learned to just smile and try to string sentences together. I still hate hearing myself make mistakes but somewhere in the last six months I've gotten over trying to be right.  The result of all of this? Well, I speak a lot more Bulgarian than I used to and lots of random Bulgarians that I interact with tell me how great my Bulgarian is. I don't know about this but it's really nice to hear.

Now here I am with three year three in front of me and so far so good.  I am looking forward to traveling more throughout Bulgaria, teaching 10th and 11th grade for a second year, continuing with Balkan dance, making more new friends and learning more Bulgarian!

So, here's to year three!!