By: Gail E. Kirkland
Parents are accustomed to going the extra mile for their children. The Lee family is taking that to a whole new level—and a whole new country. Daughter Kaitlyn, 22, is teaching English in Bulgaria as a Fulbright Fellow and will be in Vidin, Bulgaria, for 10 months as part of her commission. That time frame encompasses Christmas, a time when the Lee family (mom Joetta, dad Denny, Kaitlyn and brother Colin) have always been together. Yet, the Lees have never travelled beyond the United States . . . until now.
“I am so excited, so excited! All of the other ETAs, the teaching assistants, here think it’s really cool that my parents are going to travel—for the very first time—to Bulgaria,” Kaitlyn said with an immeasurable amount of enthusiasm. Having been abroad since early August, Kaitlyn was tuning in to the family interview via Skype, offering her perspective. “I don’t think Mom can go 10 months without seeing me,” Kaitlyn said with a slight chuckle. Her mom quickly affirmed that emotion. “It’s huge to me; it’s very huge,” Joetta said. Denny interjected, “She (Kaitlyn) is the world traveler.” Kaitlyn had previously gone to Strasbourg, France, for three months, as part of Centre College’s study abroad program. That opportunity helped ease her into a travelling abroad mindset, since it was with a larger group of fellow students transplanted abroad. Now this world travel experience is attracting the rest of her family. The Lees’ giant leap from having never left the States to going halfway around the world began quickly. “I think we talked about it from the time we knew she was going,” said Denny, who confirmed that Kaitlyn initiated the whole idea.
The more than 20-hour travel plan will mimic the same route Kaitlyn took to get there: Louisville to Chicago to London to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Although their itinerary is still in the works, they will tour Sofia before going on to Vidin, which is near the Romanian border. Vidin is a 4-hour tour bus ride from Sofia, 5 hours via the Communist-era train system. The city of Vidin is primarily pedestrian, with shops, schools and groceries all within a15-20 minute walk. Once they arrive, the family will stay at Kaitlyn’s apartment, which is provided as part of her Fulbright Fellowship. The Lees are excited to see where she lives and teaches, as well as meet her mentor teacher face-to-face. “What’s still up in the air is what we do after that, whether we stay in Bulgaria and go to a ski resort, or whether we travel to Prague (Czech Republic)…or Thessaloniki (Greece),” Joetta explained. They may opt for hostels as they travel throughout the countryside. The plans matter little. The being together matters most. “We’ve never travelled. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. . . “ Joetta said.
The added touring and travelling will occur before and /or after Christmas. On Christmas Day, the family plans to be at the apartment, simply celebrating the joy of being together, albeit 5,000 miles from home. “I just want to wake up on Christmas morning at Kaitlyn’s apartment and enjoy having all the family there together,” Joetta said. Kaitlyn hopes to have a small Christmas tree; she lives on the fifth floor with no elevator in the building. Small is the operative word. Joetta envisions the family cooking their traditional Christmas meal (including baked ham, sweet potatoes, vegetables or what’s available at the market) and just hanging out together that day. Christmas cookies, banitsa (a pastry filled with Bulgarian white cheese) and baklava are on the sweets list. Other family traditions include reading Luke 2, opening a few gifts, watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” and playing cards—especially Euchre. Since they wouldn’t understand the language, Joetta said it’s unlikely the family will be attending a Christmas Eve service.
If it were any other Christmas, the family would be travelling to Illinois, where Joetta’s family lives. Kaitlyn had jokingly said the whole family needed to come to Bulgaria so they all could be together for Christmas. Three are doing just that.
“It’s just been so cool listening to Kaitlyn, hearing about all her experiences, and seeing all her pictures. I’m just so thrilled that she’s having that experience, but I’m also a little envious. Gosh, I want to have some fun, too . . . plus, it’s Christmas and this would be the first time we would not be together, so we’ve got to be together,” said Joetta, whose voice trailed at the very mention of being apart at Christmas.