“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”―Marcus Aurelius
Before deciding where to go next, it was time to rest. Adrenaline from the past few weeks slowly drained out of us as we drove deeper into Bulgarian backcountry. The mountains beckoned, and we embraced them.
Now that we were certain of keeping the van, we named her GG, after the initials of our family names. And also because she is our golden girl. And away we went on our golden chariot to discover Bulgaria! (Finally).
Hearty meals of stew and grilled meats braced us for sleeping under the chill of new constellations. Crumbling soviet monuments were intimidating, and roman ruins were melancholy. Natural hot springs in Velingrad, and isolated hiking trails in the Balkan mountains made being outdoors feel luxurious. In honor of the new company, I picked up local flower and vegetable seeds for future gardens.
Eventually we applied to a workstay placement on a homestead. Our lovely British host welcomed us to the fold of Dan, Dad and Dog. A day after we arrived, 4ft of snow covered the entire valley in white, and cemented us even more inside the hold.
Time sharing stories, ideas and meals made time in the backcountry feel like home. A few days later, we were house sitters on the homestead as Dan, Dad and Dog had obligations in western Europe to attend to.
In the quiet of our private valley, my mind had time to catch up to where I was, and why I was here in the first place. I began to contact refugee organizations all over the continent, to see whether they would accept me as a volunteer. Some only accepted those staying at least 6 months. Others requested a large fee to join. Still more were just too full.
Initially it seemed like a good sign that they had such strict rules for joining, but over time I began to feel like my goal was even more out of my reach.
Whatsmore, I had already used half of my allotted time in Europe under the Schengen Visa (90 days), so volunteering in Greece would not be possible.
In this beautiful, solitary house craddled by forest and field, I felt sad. Like I was failing.
“Not on my watch”, said Chance.
It made a world of difference to be reminded that I came here to try, not just to send e-mails and hope from afar.
And so we spent the whole day cooking and cleaning, and preparing for the road.
Turkey was a long ways away.
