Name: Jane Daly
Age: 58
From: Idaho, U.S.

Jane Daly has been living in Bulgaria for the past three years, helping smaller communities learn to make the economic transition necessary for the country to progress. However, she finds her thoughts, like those of Americans everywhere, have turned towards home as the U.S. recovers from the worst terrorist attack in its history.

As last week's tragedy in America echoes around the world, expats everywhere will never be the same.

Jane Daly was among the lucky - if that word applies - her family lives on the West Coast of the U.S., far away from the terrorist acts that brought New York and Washington to a horrific standstill. "In a personal way, each of us has lost our innocence and trust," she said. "We'll never see the world the same again."

Jane was in a van returning to Sofia when she received the news of the attacks. "The world stopped for a while," she said. "I had an immediate need to watch CNN, then I realized I had a higher need, and that was not to be alone."

She fulfilled this need upon her arrival in Sofia by walking over to a fellow expat's house, and watching the news there.

Fortunately, the events of last week haven't changed the way Jane feels about living abroad, so far from home. "I have a principle not to live in fear of anything," she said. "I'm very aware not to put myself in jeopardy by walking to places alone that aren't safe."

Jane came to Bulgaria three years ago as the program director for Pledge (Partners in Local Economic Development and Government Effectiveness). She works at the local level, helping the country's smaller communities address their economic needs and learn how to take charge of their futures. "We help them learn to `own' decisions," she explained. "To be responsible for what happens in the community."

Pledge teaches the 36 communities it is actively involved in not only how to acquire useful information, but how to analyze this information and make decisions which are right for them.

The model that Pledge uses to assist these Bulgarian communities was accepted and is supported by USAID, which asked Jane to take the helm in 1998. It wasn't her first trip to the country, however, as her previous work with an NGO called the Planned Giving Foundation brought her to Bulgaria two or three times a year since the early 1990s.

"I've had the real privilege of seeing Bulgaria at one of its dark times and now move to a lighter, brighter hope."

Her very first impressions of the country were bipolar - both wonderful and dismaying at the same time. During her early visits, things were quite different. "Every fourth hour, the electricity was turned off for an hour," she said. "You prepared for it, and didn't get into the elevator between 7pm and 8pm. Everyone knew it, and adjusted to it."

But from the very beginning, Jane never had any trouble seeing past the country's difficulties. "There are lovely, generous, open people," she said. "I think I'm very blessed to work in Bulgaria."

She's also witnessed a dramatic progression as the country began to make its economic transition. There are an abundance of new stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets. "There's been a huge explosion of commercialism. I'm not saying if that's good or bad," she said, adding that with new advances, come new problems.

"With a transition as large as this, there are always segments of people that don't make the transition - that's the sad part."

On this list of people are those who no longer possess relevant skills, or are unable to adapt and become self-dependent. "We must be very careful and thoughtful about our social programs," she said. "They must help today, but not create dependency."

Although Jane's picked up enough of the language to get by, she wishes she could communicate better with Bulgarians. "It's frustrating - never connecting in a personal way with people, who can't speak English, to a level I would like," she said, adding she has learned enough to connect with some people. "I can even tell taxi drivers they're awful and charge too much."

Jane has been fortunate enough to be able to head home twice a year, but she finds it's often not enough. "The only hard part of my choice is that it meant I'm not a grandmother to my grandchildren except for four weeks a year."

She also finds herself missing the convenience of home, and the ease which accompanies understanding the language of the country. "I miss overhearing and understanding things." Working for Pledge has allowed Jane to make her way all around Bulgaria. "Plovdiv is one of my favourite cities," she said. "But there isn't a village I don't love once I'm there."

And although Jane's quite happy where she is, looking down the road, she sees herself leaving the country within the next two years. "I'd like to implement this in a new place - maybe Asia or Africa," she said, content to let the cards fall where they may.

"I just trust that when I should step to the next area, it will come to me. It was never in my vision to be here, and this has taught me to just do whatever comes."