Blagoevgrad

I can now say this city...as in I can actually pronounce it. It has taken me months of calling it "Blago", with all of the US connotations associated with it. But, I can now pronounce Blagoevgrad!
Blagoevgrad is a small, college town in the mountains. I love it here. I'm not a sandy-beachy type of person, but I do love being in the mountains. We arrived yesterday, had a wonderful dinner with new friends Jim made of 2 professors at the American University here, along with Toni, Martin (Toni's brother, and our incredibly adept driver) and Slavka, Toni's aunt. Marcus and Savina, our new Professor friends, have offered to find a student or two at the university who would be willing to donate their time to start teaching "Matt" some English. More than that, we want him to be loved, hugged, cuddled and played with.

Our first visit was this morning. The orphanage is up further in the mountains, on roads that are clearly waiting to be repaved. WE first met with the social worker and then the doctor came to tell us about Screech. He comes from a good pedigree, they said, where his parents are teachers and a grandmother is a nurse. He is a good boy, and we will be happy with him. He has a scratch on his face, that we should not worry about. He did it to himself, but he is not "auto aggressive" . He loves music and is "singing" some.  He LOVES to go outside, and likes to be held.......

Then they brought him in. He is walking well independently, but does like to take your hand. He let both of use hold him. They took us to a small room in the basement where we will have our meetings, and the social worker will observe and make notes. IT is a small room. We played a little ball, picked him up and set him down, got out what toys we had brought and went through most of what they had there. IN the end, he was very intent on working on gross motor skills, and enjoyed a game of stepping up on a small chair, over the back of the chair onto the bed, and then reversing course. When this gets old, he does it backwards! He is a determined young man,, a man on a mission, and his mission right now is improving climbing ability.

He is a great addition to our family, and I can't wait to get him home with Dido! (Who may become "Scooter" for obvious reasons).

Be sure to check out the photos and videos here.

Off to our 2nd visit for the day.
Mary