Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 6): Countryside

The Lada Niva, our off-roading vehicle:

The driver with his grandpa's Russian-made 4x4:

View of the frozen lake: Posing in front of a massive cross at the top of a hill:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 7): New Years at the cottage in Vodni Pad (a.k.a. waterfall)

There wasn’t really a road, and we accidentally slid off the path in the 4x4:

On the bright side, the walk was quite scenic with the mountain stream running next to the path:

The village:

Standing in no-man’s land between Bulgaria and Greece:

Overlooking the village at dusk:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 8): New Years at the cottage in Vodni Pad (a.k.a. waterfall)

Petko and I enjoying the sunset from the hilltop:

The crew:

View of the moon just before sunrise:

Drinking fresh mountain spring water – these fountains were all over the place:

Standing next to the sign for Vodni Pad:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 9): The Journey Home

We drove back to Sofia in the middle of a snow storm:

The front of the car afterwards:

Somewhere over Europe during the flight back to Scotland:

Merry Christmas from Bulgaria!

Greetings Friends -

Just want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas from the Bulgarian mountains! This holiday trip has been quite a rewarding experience, and I can't wait to share pictures and stories with all of you.

Take care and happy holidays!

Best wishes -

Reflecting on a Wonderful Semester

Greetings Friends and Family –

Overview
School is wrapped up for the year, and Christmas vacation is here! After several weeks of intense mid-term assignments, it’s great to take a moment to reflect. Leaving Kilgore back in September seems so long ago. Three months have flown by faster than I would have ever imagined. The idiosyncrasies of the Scottish culture are becoming less and less noticeable as I gradually begin to blend in with the people here. Living in Scotland so far has opened my eyes to a beautiful country and a wonderful culture. So many friendships have been built with Rotarians, classmates, professors, roommates, and more. Interacting with people from so many different backgrounds has also increasingly taught me how to build friendships based on common ground.

I truly can’t imagine a better experience. Visiting with and presenting to Rotarians has been both a pleasure and an honor. The Rotary Club of Aberdeen Deeside has been a wonderful host and has made me feel right at home. My host sponsor, Ian Reid, has been particularly helpful and has been a wonderful tie to local Rotary. Ian and his wife Janice even invited me into their home this past weekend for a wonderful dinner. As I prepare to spend this Christmas away from home, their hospitality was particularly heart warming. I’ll look forward to seeing Ian next year, and will begin a speaking tour in January that will ultimately lead me to seven Aberdeen Rotary clubs.

It's also been great this semester to become involved with the Aberdeen Rotaract Club, which consists of students from the University of Aberdeen and the rival school, Robert Gordon University. It was a great experience to help Rotaract out with their Christmas shoebox appeal for impoverished youngsters. Next semester I’ll take on a more active role by serving as the community project coordinator for the club. It should be a challenging and rewarding experience.

Christmas in Bulgaria
Tomorrow, I’ll be traveling to Bulgaria with my roommate, Nick. He’s a native Bulgarian, so hopefully he'll be an excellent tour guide. After flying into Sofia, the nation’s capital, we’ll spend Wednesday and Thursday skiing and snow boarding in the Bulgarian mountains. On Friday, we’ll drive to Nick’s parents’ house in Haskovo (Nick’s hometown). Nick’s mom has friends in Rotary, and she has arranged for me to visit the Haskovo Rotary Club on Friday evening. Nick will also come along to translate, as it’s unlikely that many of the Bulgarian Rotarians will speak English. Should be an interesting experience! Of course, I’ve packed a Kilgore Rotary banner and will present it to the Haskovo Rotary club on Friday night.

After celebrating Christmas with Nick and his family in Haskovo, we're planning to drive the family SUV 4x4 to their cottage in the mountains in Northwest Bulgaria. The cottage is apparently in the middle of the wilderness, and Nick tells me that we’ll have a great time off-roading, hiking, and drinking fresh mountain spring-water. After several days in the mountains, we’ll likely drive back to celebrate New Years in Haskovo. We’ll fly back into Aberdeen, Scotland on January 4^th. At the very least, the trip should provide some breathtaking scenery. I think it will truly be an amazing experience, and I will be sure to post pictures for you to see along the way!

Before departing on vacation tomorrow, I want to thank all of you Rotarians, family, and friends that have helped to get me here. Studying as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Scotland has truly been a life-changing experience, and I look forward to spending the next six months here after the holiday.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and God bless!

- Nick

Working Hard and Having Fun

Greetings Friends –

Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday a few weeks ago. Celebrating Thanksgiving with friends here in Scotland was great, although I missed out on the turkey and dressing. The past few weeks have flown by and have been filled with Rotary presentations, school assignments, and the occasional Ceilidh (Scottish folk dance party).

Speaking at the Laurencekirk Rotary Club went really well. Laurencekirk is a small farming town located approximately 30 minutes south of Aberdeen, and the Rotary club has about 22 members. As you can see in the picture below, Laurencekirk has quite a friendly group:


School has been intense lately, and Friday golf lessons always provide a nice scenic break from the city:

The school has put a Christmas tree up in front of King’s College where my lectures are held. The chapel, which was built around the year 1495, is pictured in the background:

A friend invited me to go to another Ceilidh this past Friday night. I always enjoy the chance to dance, so of course I accepted the invitation. The band was excellent, and the bagpipe made the dancing even livelier:

Learning the folk dances was loads of fun, and the band wrapped up the night with a really fast, fun group dance that went on for 10-15 minutes:

With things staying busy, the last two weeks of the semester should fly by. Although there aren’t any Rotary visits this week, the Aberdeen Rotaract meeting on Tuesday should be fun. We’ve been collecting shoe boxes full of Christmas toys for kids, and tomorrow is the final collection day. Hopefully there will be a huge turnout! :)

That’s everything for now, friends. Thanks for checking in and have a wonderful week back in Texas!

Best wishes -