June 2007 Heatwave and Still waiting for the Renovation to Finish

The Renovation in Progress

June came in with a flourish of very hot weather, something we in the UK are really not use to so again it was watch the locals and follow them as much as possible. When you enter into a new culture my best advice is to watch, learn, and listen. Watching is easy, learning by watching is easy, however listening is not quite so easy when you don't speak the language. This is something else one should take into account when thinking of living in a different country. We set about trying to learn Bulgarian. Not an easy task but we try our best and the locals are such friendly and helpful people, if you show them you are trying they will offer you all the help they can. When all else fails explanation and demonstration always come in handy. Sometimes much hand waving and charade type actions and much laughter would get the point across. We don't beat ourselves up that the learning process of the language is a slow one. Each day we try hard to learn another word or two. We know it will be a long and sometimes frustrating process. Having said this the joy of learning a word and using it and being understood is worth all the effort. the locals are by now getting to know us and us them. We feel very much at home and are still keeping a close eye on our house renovation.