Students, Spring

I recently spent a couple of days in Sofia, a couple more than I expected because of the flight delays. My reason for the trip was to pick up my friends who were on their way to visit me but are now stuck in Paris due to volcanic ash clouds.

On the bus ride home I ran into Stancho, a guy from my village who talks about Viet Nam and Asian women every time I meet him on the street. The grass is green, trees are budding and spring is here. It felt good to see a familiar face and tomorrow it'll be nice to see the students. I'm always thinking about them and planning lessons for them. The brain never fills up. I know the names of almost all 150 students, 20 colleagues, countless people I have talked to on the street, at cafes or in book stores. Lots of these names are Bulgarian names that I'd never heard of before moving here. And, I still manage to think about nearly everyone I ever went to school with, played sports with or spent any time with.

One of my favorite things about each day is that I spend it in the presence of kids and old folks. That contact is good; never knew what I was missing.