Jared's Speech

Zdraveytey everyone!

If you are reading this then the system works and I'm posting to the people of the FUUUUTURE!!!

A few things before I post Jared's speech.

1) If you plan on posting a comment on the speeches at the end of this (I doubt you guys will due to the near utter lack of comments from last week) please do not compare the speeches. At all. We have parents reading this. Last thing we want is to offend a family member and they get back to one of our authors and they get back to me with a crowbar.

2)On the right are the blogs of some of my fellow PCV's from my group. If there is a blog on that list I'm missing (and I'm positive there are a ton) please get back to me so I can post it up there next week.

3) Finally, I said this last week but I'll be going away for a few days to hang out at a summer camp. It'll be a good time. You'll hear from me whenever I get back.

Okay! Here is the next speech! It was written by Jared Golub. The Bulgarian was part of a separate document so Jared sent me the English half. I can assure you that it is easier to read :)

All you need to know is that 'Az obicham sirene' means 'I love sirene'. 'Sirene' will be defined in this speech better than I could ever articulate.

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Az obicham sirene. As we all began our individual adventures in Bulgaria two months ago, we learned this simple yet essential, three-word statement to convey our unverified love of a diary product composed milk, butter, and—probably—mayonnaise. This is the sentence that shaped the entirety of our future experiences in the Peace Corps, that goaded us with an unfamiliar tongue, that promised us future obsessions and delicacies beyond our combined collective consciousness.

Az obicham sirene—I can't think of a better phrase to sum up my pre-service training in Peace Corps Bulgaria. Az—I, you, he, she, anyone with the cognitive ability to refer to himself in the first person, together we share this word; in a land that discarded communism decades ago, we remain vigilant in our use of a single pronoun that transgresses language, nationality, and gender. Obicham—love, another word present in every language, because despite mankind's vast history of violence we will always have that innate ability to love; whether it be our fellow volunteers and the Bulgarians who have opened their hearts to us or the urban and natural beauty of this land itself or even just a funny-tasting cheese, we will always love. Sirene—I can't think of a deeper meaning for “sirene,” but, boy, does that stuff taste good.

For the past two months we've been bombarded with acronyms, handouts, and fleas. We've milked goats and decapitated chickens. We've been discriminated against and done some discriminating ourselves. We've made fools of ourselves trying to dance the Bulgarian horo, only to make bigger fools of ourselves teaching the American Hokey Pokey. We've eaten sirene, and other foods from other animals, animals we never knew could be food. We've made the day of a five year old simply by asking if he wanted to play frisbee. And we finally understand what Matthew McConnaughey meant when he promised, “Peace Corps—the toughest job you'll ever love.”

We've appreciated the immeasurable kindness from our host families, our Bulgarian neighbors and colleagues, our fellow trainees, and our Peace Corps staff. We've appreciated all of you and hope to return your kindness with our own. We hope to remain the diverse individuals we came here as with our various histories and personalities. Individuals predisposed to loving every food, culture, and person in Bulgaria. Individuals, but still one, mixed together, pasteurized, and chilled. Az obicham sirene.


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Thanks so much Jared for letting me post your speech. It was an honor to be able to do this with both yours and Nat's.

I'll see you all next week.

This is the Peace Corps and nie obichame sirene.

-Zack