V is for Varna but V is written as B in bulgarian

Hi everyone,
I have been in the seaside city of Varna since last saturday. I took the bus from sofia to varna, which took about 6 hours. It was not bad except for the lady with bad breath next to me. She kept yawning for a part of the trip, so I was stuck on the other end of my seat, praying that it would stop.
When I arrived, a friend of our family came to pick me up and took me to his and his wife's apartment. They were really glad to have me since they were saying that all their children and grandchildren are abroad so i could be like their graddaughter. It was really nice for me to have that transition from being with family to being on my own. I learned a really easy cake recipe from the lady (and how to modify it with various toppings). The weather has been really similar to the one in Van - bout 10deg and rainy. I am hoping to get at least a few beach days before I leave though.
I started my placement at Karin Dom on Monday which is located in a long park right next to the sea. My new "granddad" took me to work on the first day, and I felt a bit more like one of the children rather than one of the staff, but again it was more comforting to know that I wouldnt get lost or be late for work. The day went by really quickly, I was introduced to pretty much everyone at the center, so it was a lot of names and a lot of faces all at once. Thankfully there is a board by the reception area with pictures and names of most of the staff, so I sometimes go by there and take a peek at some of the names again.
Over the past week I have spent some time with the physio's and rehab staff who do a lot of the typical stretching and stengthening exercises with the kids. They also incorporate some educational things like name the object or differentiating between colours.
What's been catching my attention is the work of the speech-language pathologists, which resembles the work of Canadian OTs at these kind of child development centers: from learning to speak, alternative ways of communicating with pictures, involving all the child's senses and handwriting. They were really excited when I gave them all the toys that I brought with me, and they have already incorporated some of them into their work.
The kids at the center are super cute, the ones I have seen are about 2-8 years old and each one is unique and wonderful in their own special way. I have been working with one of them more closely and that kid has suprised me with his motivation, adaptability,patience, williness to listen, wanting to succeed which is something that I dont see in many adults even.
I've managed to get somewhat lost coming back from work because I have to go through the park or between the buildings so its a bit disorientating at first. Today I managed to get home in about 20 min (as opposed to 35min on monday) and I knew where I was the whole time.
I took these pics on my way back from work:

This is the view walking on the upper "seawall" from the center back home. I think it would be more impressive when the weather gets more summery.

The cherry trees in the park are in full bloom and they fill the park with a lovely scent. People put "martenitsi" on the trees when they see storks as a sign of spring ??? (actually I dont remember the whole story with these martenitsi but I'll investigate)

In terms of the language, its been easy to chat with staff and the kids about everyday things but when it comes to saying something more technical or medical, it has definitely been a bit of a struggle. I am slowly learning and people are being patient with me and good at figuring out what I want to say so I am not as anxious as I was before leaving Canada. However, i'm finding that it sometimes takes a bit of time to remember english words as well when I write.....so looks like i might end up struggling for words in both langages.
Alright, thats probably enough for now
missing everyone lots
V