Greece!

So quick update from us courtesy of BabyMac and the free wireless of the Thessaloniki airport.

Yesterday, we caught a bus to "Solon" by a tree. Uh huh...not at a bus stop, but rather, a tree on the side of the road. The bus was 20 minutes late and we freaked out a little thinking that this whole "travel cheap by a tree" thing wasn't going to pan out. However...a bus finally stopped, we got on and for 33 leva each were on our way to Greece.

At the border Nathan and I had to go through two checkpoints (one for Greece and one for the EU). We finally got to Greece around 10:30 pm and got on public transit to get to our hotel. We made a fun new Greek friend who even bought us our tickets!

Our hotel was a block from the beach, but we had no time for fun. We were totally exhausted and, unfortunately, had a terrible night's sleep. Seriously. Hotels are not so swanky here.

So after rising with the sun (I mean, Nathan woke up at 7:30 am--that's bad sleep), we caught a taxi to the airport where I realized we had left BabyMac's charger in the hotel room. So 2 taxi rides later we show up at the airport (again), get our tickets, go through the shortest and fastest security line of my life and have a delicious breakfast of ham and cheese pie (Nathan) and tomato and feta bread roll (me).

And now we're waiting....almost to Rome...almost to Nice!

Can't wait to tell you what happens next!

A Very Happy Post

Nathan fixed BabyMac!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Sad Post...

Last night something terrible happened to BabyMac. Do you remember BabyMac? My beautiful, cute, shining little white Macbook. Well, BabyMac suffered a very serious injury. Unfortunately, Nathan and I drink bottled water differently and paired with some unfortunate distractions courtesy of The Office BabyMac took a bath in half of a bottle of water. I'm sure you understand how awful this is. The good news is that BabyMac can be fixed (for $500 once we're back in the US). The bad news is that parenthetical.

There is a slight chance that BabyMac will be okay. About 2% of Macbooks this happens to come out great. However, we have to let it sit and evaporate for the entire time we're in France. That means you (and I) will have to wait for one week to find out what BabyMac's fate is.

Also, it means no more uploading pictures in Bulgaria, no picture posts and no posts from France this week.

So...see you in a bit...have a great spring break and think good thoughts for BabyMac.

Recent photos...

So I realized that we haven't shared pictures in quite a while...so here we go!


So I took a panoramic picture of Nathan, but I still cut off his feet. Oh well, I think it's cute. And yes, he stretches from one side of the room to the other.
And this is us playing with the self-timer...just in case you forgot what we looked like.

The weather was so nice this weekend (sorry for those of you in the cold) that we had the windows open (it was 70 F!). Anyway, something smelled smoky, which is really not big news because I always think Bulgaria smells smoky because burn their trash (plastics, styrofoam, everything). Anyway, apparently some fire spread because the hill next to our dorm caught on fire! It was super exciting and here's a picture of the firetruck!
So while we had the window open, we also noticed people walking around on the buildings across from ours. And look! It is a pair of chimneysweeps!
And finally, because I love pictures of food, I present to you the leftovers from a delicious meal hosted by the Provost, Dean of Students and International Student Coordinator. We had poppy rolls, rice and olives, stuffed cabbage leaves, shopska salad and fried feta bites. Yum. Oh, and the decorative tomato rose to top it all off!

Ready to be jealous?

So Nathan and I have done lots and lots of hunting for jobs and apartments this week. Here's what we've realized:
1. Boston needs tutors. And he found another job he's super interested in, so if you know anyone in the math textbook industry please put in a good word for my husband.
2. We have too much stuff. Way too much stuff. More stuff than could fit in a lifetime of Fenway studio apartments. So what to do? Well, when we get back home, in the midst of recovering of jet lag and celebrating at Larry and Beverly's wedding, we are going to give away 3/4 of our stuff. Lofty goal--I know. However, it is completely essential.

So...I have big yard sale dreams...so I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be doing in late May. Getting rid of stuff, making price spreadsheets (because not being the Summit intern has meant that I have no inspiration to justify making daily spreadsheets) and, after the sun goes down, watching that TLC show where the people sell all their stuff in a yard sale to make money to redecorate. Only our money will go to, you know, paying for our move.

Nathan keeps pointing out how getting rid of 3/4 of his stuff could happen just by throwing away old papers. Yeah...I get it. Nathan has about 1/100th of the stuff I have. Oh well.

I keep telling myself that being a grown-up means getting rid of junky college stuff and using fancy adult items that we received at the wedding like espresso makers. Also, I'd like to have room to live in Boston.

Oh and, um, could someone have told us how scary not having jobs is? Seriously. We're trying to make a budget but, you know, we lack jobs to fund this budget. Oh my.

And in other news, we've decided if we can afford a cat in Boston, we are going to get one with a funny face and name him Professor Rubik's. Uh huh--like the cube Nathan does all that research on.

So, to recap:
No more stuff. No jobs. Cat with a funny face and a geeky name.

I told you that jealousy was in your future.

Blah, Blah, Blah....BOOM!

For the past 3 days or so, I've had the blahs. I have the perfect wrong amount of stuff to do (enough that I feel I should do something, but not enough to stress me enough to motivate me). I'm still sniffly and coughy (but I probably will be until we land at RDU on May 11). I was excited about Boston, but have mounting frustrations about trying to get everything done from Bulgaria. Anyway, just blah blah blah.

Well today, we hit BOOM! I'm so excited about life. I'm pretty sure I had my first ever runner's high which is OH-MY-GOODNESS-AMAZING. It was the perfect mix of warmth, Donna Summer and endorphins. Wow. I'm now very excited to go to France, I'm excited to get all my schoolwork done, I'm planning out interior design ideas in my head and, generally, just really excited.

So...happy Monday everyone! May all your blahs be boomed away!

Spring has sprung...

Well, maybe not completely. I wouldn't want to jinx this awesome weather we've had the past few days, but man, is it making me superjazzed for spring.

Picture this: I jogged today with no running tights, no fleece, and, in fact, had part of my legs EXPOSED! And I was fine!

Nathan and I took an excellent walk today and we didn't wear coats! No coats!

I'm sure it will be like most mountain places and fool you into being happy before blasting you with negativetenthousand degree wind...but...for now it is great.

The oh-so-serious countdown to France has begun! Only thing standing in our way? Piles of work we have to get done before going to Thessaloniki on Thursday.

Wish us luck!

Busy, Busy Bees...

Today, Nathan and I ran a mess of errands. We had to figure out how to get packages (and we did--so mail away!), we mailed a letter, we bought a frying pan for Gene and Mohini, we bought lots of yarn for knit surPRIZES, and, most importantly, we picked up our Bulgarian IDs so we can now legally leave the country (and get back in). Hoorah!

Travels await! One week from today we are flying to France and I'm so excited I can hardly contain it.

And PS--On a completely unrelated note, I want to see Girls Rock! You can find out more about it at www.girlsrockmovie.com. The travel looks really fun and it is being released on International Women's Day!

Fakey McFakerson

In the past five weeks here in Bulgaria, I have craved, nay--missed, many a food. However, I have taken the stance that when in Bulgaria, eat like a Bulgarian. Besides, approximating non-Bulgarian foods with decidedly Bulgarian ingredients isn't the best.

I think it is best to embrace the few months I have to enjoy all things Bulgarian. For instance, I really wanted a chai to celebrate my graduate school acceptance...but chai is not to be found in the BG, so Nathan and I split a delicious Mura bar which is sort of like a Bulgarian, hazelnutty, coffeeish candy bar thing. It seemed appropriate (and it was midnight and we could only have something from the convenience store).

However, I am so freaking hungry. I am craving sugar which generally means there isn't enough protein in my diet. Good word....can I please get some fake meat? I don't want to turn this blog into my struggles with being a vegetarian, because, really and truly, until a few days ago I had no struggles.

So tonight, in an effort to try and absorb protein via happy thoughts about foodstuffs, I will toast my favorite fake meats:

To Tofu Pups, the most delicious ballpark snack.

To Morningstar Farms Cheddar Burger Grillers Prime, you make me want to have a cookout. Right now. Seriously, you would be delicious with some Bulgarian tomatoes and fresh lettuce from the Green Market. There is a lot of ketchup here. Come visit me--we can be happy together.

To Chik'n Patties, the fundamental ingredient in Sally's Chik'n Parmesan delightfulness. Not only do you remind me of her and John, you also remind me of whole wheat pasta. Mmmm.

To fake pepperoni, thank you for many delicious at-home pizza nights with Nathan. Here's to many more!

To a non-processed chunk of tofu, I miss you the most. Whether grilled and marinated by Moe and stashed in a burrito, or sauteed with delicious vegetables and served with rice or used as a delicious filler on grilled vegetable sandwiches--you are the best. The very, very best. I miss you.

So that's that--just wanted to give a shout out to important protein sources in my life. And, believe it or not, I feel less hungry now.

Check it out...

I got my first acceptance letter to graduate school yesterday! Hoorah! Brandeis decided to let me in and if I go there I'll start June 23.

Nathan and I are now searching for an apartment and a job for Nathan. So if you know anyone hiring in Boston, let us know!

2 Issues

1. The food at the canteen has recently taken a nosedive. While I still eat delicious tomatoes daily, the other vegetarian options have been reduced to starch casserole. At. Every. Meal.

What is starch casserole? Potatoes and rice and corn mushed together, topped with Bisquick-esque topping and baked. Yes. 4 starches--1 casserole.

Yesterday I considered giving up being a vegetarian.

2. Nathan and I have become nocturnal. I blame him, but I'm not sure how it happened. I'm losing days, but gaining nights. I don't like it.

Chilling out...

We've had some very chill (and chilly) days here lately. Nathan has been writing a paper about Socrates and I've been knitting and, unfortunately, that doesn't add up to exciting post material.

Here's what has happened:

Saturday was international food day and we made breakfast burritos. Only one person told us she didn't like them and we ran out really, really quickly.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia and a grand party was thrown by the Kosovars. They asked if any of the American students had an American flag they could hang up at the party. None of us did...apparently we missed the "pack your flag" memo that everyone from highly nationalistic European countries got.

Nathan and I have been stopped three times by people asking us for directions. Apparently, we look Bulgarian. However, we still don't know where we are or speak Bulgarian, so it doesn't work out too well.

So that's the past few days. Hopefully things will pick up again soon. Only 10 or so more days until spring break!!!!!!!

Today's Ramblings

Ready for my ramblings today? Well...here they are (just as disconnected as always)...

1. Bulgaria celebrates International Women's Day on March 8. On this day, every woman is treated like a queen and pampered.

2. This is interesting because feminism, the way we think of it in the States, does not really exist in Bulgaria (according to a Bulgarian friend I had a conversation with about this yesterday). He was telling me how the US is obsessed with talking about feminism but he doesn't feel that we are ready for a female president because of the way we view women. I told him that I thought the idea of an African-American president was more radical, but that is neither here nor there. Anyway, in our conversation, I said something about how feminists were always trying to prove to the world blah blah blah. He quickly pointed out to me that I had made the very common American mistake of referring to the United States as the world. He was quick to point out that things that were non-issues in his world, like feminism, couldn't be generalized by me to be important to the entire world.

3. Found some cool fashion: oversized zippers. I hope this come to the US but I am decidedly not hip enough to rock one. Still, they are really, really cool.

4. Met Bulgarian Joe Pesci. Looked and sounded exactly like him--except, you know, he spoke Bulgarian.

5. Delicious lunch today with the Provost and Dean of Students. It is so odd to go from being a big deal, super involved, orientation intern engaged to a RA student to a visitor not really involved in anything or consulted about the inner-workings of the school. Anyway. Lunch was great and we got to talk about the fun adventures we've had so far in the BG (including our madcap hijinks to get visas).

6. Yesterday, in one day and two sittings, read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Awesome and very thought-provoking book. Go read it. Be prepared for his discussions of evolution that make it seem like plants can think however. It is a major pet peeve of mine when people discuss evolution in incorrect ways, but if you can get over that then what he has to say is very interesting. He writes a scathing critique of the industrial food we eat every day in the United States. He critiques the industrial organic industry and really challenges us to eat locally and stop screwing around with natural processes. It inspired me to pledge that I will only eat local dairy and eggs from humane, natural-process farms from now on. I hope that if you read it then you will feel the same. What's great about the book is that he doesn't suggest we can the categories of food we eat (meat-eating is still a-okay), but rather change the way we think about the processes our food goes through. He discusses how much of our nation's oil consumption (one-fifth) is based on factory-farming and in my favorite section he talks about the dehumanization of factory-farm employees because they are asked to slaughter 400 animals an hour, 8 hours a day. One of the local farmers he interviews makes the excellent point that Old Testament laws about priests drawing lots for slaughter duty was that no person should do that repeatedly, for their own emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. Anyway, I'd love to chat with you about the book or you can read it. To whet your appetite, here are a few of my favorite quotes:

On the problems of industrial organics (like Whole Foods):
"Yet the organic label itself--like every other such label in the supermarket--is really just an imperfect substitute for direct observation of how a food is produced, a concession to the reality that most people in an industrial society haven't the time or the inclination to follow their food back to the farm, a farm which today is apt to be, on average, fifteen hundred miles away." page 137

On the connection between factory farming and global warming:
"If the 16 million acres now being used to grow corn to feed cows in the United States became well-managed pasture, that would remove 14 billion pounds of carbon from the atmosphere each year--the equivalent of taking 4 million cars off the road." page 198

Here, I should note that well-managed pasture still yields lots of meat. Granted, not as much as we have now, but still enough the Americans would be able to eat far more than the global average of meat (like we do now). The well-managed pasture simply means that animals would get to live outside and we wouldn't be decimating our land through monoculture of corn.

I should also add that the book is not dry, but very engaging. He writes the stories of four meals as a personal narrative. Facts and figures are simply sprinkled in.

Do I think this book is the end-all, be-all on food production and consumption in the US? No, but it is very thought-provoking, so read it and let me know what you think.

Bez Misoh

Today brought a very exciting development to my life. I learned how to say "without meat" and quickly put it to good use.

There is a restaurant in town called Fast Food that I have been dying to try, but they freak out when you say you are a vegetarian. So, I simply ordered the chicken dish Nathan gets, but bez misoh.

Delicious. Period. End of story. It is cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers and french fries rolled up in a pita topped with ketchup and tziki sauce. Sounds disgusting, I know, but it was oh so good.

They laughed at Nathan when he ordered mine without meat, but all went smoothly otherwise.

Oh, and Bulgarians that I asked how to say "without meat" were quick to point out that Bulgarian meat wasn't bad for you like US meat...while there are considerably less antibiotics here, we all know that I don't eat meat because it tastes bad to me. They really couldn't process that.

Things Are Looking Up...

It seems that I am coming out of my "I've been in Bulgaria for a month" funk. A number of factors have contributed to this:

1. Nathan resolved himself to make me smile. This is how he works. So...
2. We bought tickets to go to France at the end of the month for 8 days. Even more fun,
3. These tickets include a 14 hour layover in Rome so that we can walk around there and eat dinner in Romantic Rome.

I'm jazzed.

We also FINALLY (after a month of paperwork and waiting) got our meal plans yesterday afternoon. This is great. It pretty much means we don't have to spend any more out of pocket money on food for the rest of our time here. We can now devote our entire budget to travel.

Next hard decision: Athens or Istanbul with my Byzantine Empire class?

I also have a lot of rambly thoughts in my head right now that I cannot for the life of me put into a coherent flow (thanks, espresso). Thus, I will do a bulleted list of things in my mind:

1. Many people told me before I left to pay attention to fashion in Europe because it is the cream of the crop and the future of American fashion. If that is the case, let me be the first to tell you that soon we will also dress like Malibu Barbies. Watch out. Sequined baseball caps. I kid you not. Neon stirrup pants. Seriously. Remember 80s night at the club? How everyone dressed in really outlandish and stereotypical 80s garb? That's what we're talking about. Seriously. Someone design some new clothes before that floods our malls.

2. Meal plans mean more Bulgarian food. Today I had feta and tomato salad (domat zalata) with some spinachy rice dish. Delicious.

3. Thursday is not significant in Bulgaria for being Valentine's Day. They have their own 14th of February festival. It is the day that everyone trims their vineyards in anticipation of spring. Then, on March 1st everyone ties red thread to trees and bushes to give them incentive to bloom.

4. Homemade wine is a huge deal here. It is what you do when you're old--take care of your grandchildren and make wine. They also like homemade liquor like plum brandy.

5. You know how you entice people to come to your school event by promising free food? Here it is free pizza and wine.

6. My Byzantine professor told us a personal story tonight that I want to pass on to you. When he was young, in the very early 1970s, he was riding a streetcar in Sofia next to a very old man. From the streetcar window they saw some people littering. The old man said, "Hey boy. In my day we had a name for hooligans like that--Communists." My professor freaked out and started looking over his shoulder to see if anyone heard. The man told him, "Calm down. No one can hear us. But listen. I will not see a free Bulgaria, but you will. I know you will. Just remember that even when Bulgaria is free it will not be like my Bulgaria from the 1930s. It will be forever ruined, never again clean or prosperous. Before Communism I could take my family, on my worker's salary, to Paris for a month on vacation." And the man stood up and left the streetcar.

7. I'm terrified of Russia. Every day when I go to class and discuss Russia more I become increased afraid. Cold War Phase Two, anyone?

8. Super big congratulations to my dear BFF Sally on her ubersuccessful grown-up achievements. I'm so jazzed for her!

Stay warm, Americans!

And then I found $5....

You know...the best way to end a lousy story is to say "and then I found $5."

Well, ladies and gentlemen, today Nathan and I came into some money.

Actually, we just didn't have to spend as much money for school as we originally thought. See, we checked our bills and then before we paid them they threw in some extra grants.

I just wanted to share our elation with all of you. Finances are something we've been trying not to stress about--and now we really don't have you!

Hooray!

Photos from Sofia...

Sorry I was such a bum and didn't add pictures to my first post about Sofia. After tidying up the room and chilling out all afternoon (I actually did some homework!) I'm ready to stop bumming and post pics. So here goes...

This is a picture of the original gates to the city when it was still Sardica, the military capital of the Byzantine Empire. Excavations were everywhere in Sofia and they weren't really roped off or anything. The new just mingles with the old. For example, these gate excavations are in the center of an underground public transit terminal. They are for everyone to enjoy as part of their daily life.Here is a picture of the ruins of a church built by Justinian. That's right--Justinian. The guy that made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. On the left you can see the new building. Unfortunately, Justinian's church was damaged by fire and earthquakes so these ruins are all that is left. The "new" building was built in the 1800s.
This is the yellow brick road you follow to all of the important sites in the central city. I'd also like to add (because I have no pictures of the church) that the church where we went to the Orthodox worship service was the site of the greatest act of terrorism of the 20th century. You see, during the first few (failed) Socialist revolutions in Bulgaria, the Socialists killed a very important government leader in their attempt to kill the King. When the entire government went to the church for the man's funeral, they blew up the church in an effort to wipe out the entire government at once. Fortunately, they again failed to kill the King, but they did kill many, many people--and so, you have the greatest act of terrorism (world-wide) of the 20th century.
Sofia was founded as a city because it has 7 natural mineral springs under it. The first settlers thought this was great. The water is hot and locals still get all of the water from the public fountains above the springs. This is a picture of Nathan filling up our water bottle with delicious warm water that was really welcome on a cold day. And no worries....we had to wait in line behind locals to get this water and, you know, when in Rome....
It tasted really great.
More ruins. This is behind the mosque and these are the excavated ruins of some of the original Turkish baths from the Ottoman Period.
This is the beautiful brickwork from around the Turkish baths. One of the things I love about Bulgaria is how the bricks you walk on are so beautiful (when they aren't covered with litter).
Remember Chupa Chups and how cool they were in middle school? Here's a building-sized ad for them...
So...in a nutshell...that's some Sofia sights. We didn't make it to the huge Orthodox church or the museums. We plan on doing that when we go back with my Archaeology class next month.

Response to Comments

I wanted to respond to some comments from past posts...

Korrie: Went to Benneton in Sofia. Purchased nothing, but loved some 300 Leva boots. How's being a grown-up teacher? When do you hear from grad schools?

Stephani: Come to Bulgaria. Eat all the meat you want for cheap and they really, really love hotdogs. Hotdog RESTAURANTS (not stands) are everywhere. Seriously. I think you would really like it here. There is a type of music called Chalga that takes Bulgarian folk songs and puts them over rap beats. Then everyone dances to them really scandolously.

Beverly: I need to hear about wedding plans! I'm so jazzed.

Sally: I want to hear about your wedding too.

Celeste: Vegan--what? That's intense. How's school and Winston?

Sofia....eh....

Well, not to be the bearer of Debbie Downer news, but yarn was not purchased in Sofia. Or big knitting needles. I only found one yarn shop and everything was super handspun and so cost 60 Leva per kilogram. Whoa.

That means that I'm going to await needles and yarn from the US and knit something smaller wedding surPRIZES with yarn I can find here.

Hmpf.

Yesterday in Sofia we did get to see the changing of the guard ceremony and go to an Orthodox worship service which were both cool experiences. I also found a Lebanese restaurant and ate falafel and hummus so some cravings were silenced. The "Mexican" restaurant was, unfortunately, a non-vegetarian-friendly Taco Bell-esque thing.

The biggest disappointment was served up by Dunkin Donuts however--no bagels, no coffee, nothing I wanted from them. I got to buy a donut for Tanya and that was my only success with them.

It was so strange to see Bulgarians wolfing down KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts. And most definitely they were super popular. I mean, KFC is everywhere.

I don't want it to seem like Sofia was a downer experience. It was just that we spent a lot of money and didn't see a ton. We couldn't find the Methodist church or really much.

Our hotel was super cute however. The lady who owned it didn't speak English but she was super chatty and nice and it was clean.

I think we hit our culture shock/homesickness point this weekend. I just want to feel clean. It sounds so petty to write, but I just really want to not feel dingy and smelly and to not be surrounded by pollution and smoke. Sigh.

A Day of Firsts...

So today we did a number of things that we hadn't done before. We called the US to get Nathan's tax info (unsuccessful) and I talked to Mama and Daddy for a few minutes (successful).

We rode in a car and not just any car--A TAXI!

No doubt you are asking yourself--why a taxi? Because we went to Bulgarian Sam's Club! It is called Metro, we spent a lot of money and we got A LOT of cheese and granola. Yum.

We also saw some crazy Bulgarian food--like apple-lime flavored soy milk and a fun cereal called Pirate Breakfast.

No post tomorrow because we'll be in Sofia, but look for a fun post Sunday or Monday on our big city hijinks!

You're a vegetarian that doesn't eat chicken?

Yes. I was asked that last night. Apparently while it is believable that someone wouldn't eat lamb, it is totally unbelievable that someone wouldn't eat chicken. "All the vegetarians I know eat chicken." Oh well.

Yesterday Morgan and I went shopping while Nathan took our laundry to the grumpy Bulgarian lady in the basement. She's really grumpy, but you know, she washes, dries and folds my clothes for 5 Leva a load. She's great.

Anyway, whilst shopping, I found boots, knock-off Chanel everything, yarn and knitting needles. Hurrah! I bought nothing though because Nathan carries all of our money and I only had enough for a Lemon Fanta (delicious by the way).

The needles are tons smaller than what I need. Apparently the trend of huge knitting needles has not caught on in the BG. Everyone is still using practical size 7s to knit sweaters, hats and scarves.

Sofia this weekend--if I can't find them there then I guess this exciting present-surPRIZE will have to be dense and use a lot of yarn. I don't mind--there is so much less work here.

Have I told you about NOVA 101? It is really called Anthropology 110 (my Archaeology class). Still, we watch NOVA every day. I love it. I lovelovelovelovelove it.

Also, I received my first graduate school teaching assistantship offer. Now, Mama and Daddy, don't start beaming with parental pride yet. See, Mississippi State got confused. They sent me an email promising me full funding and an assistantship if I applied there. They even, thoughtfully, attached the syllabus. The offer, however, was to teach genetics. Too bad I don't know that. Or want a graduate degree in genetics.

So that's the BG life right now. Eating lots of delicious red pepper spread, tomatoes (as good as NC's--even though it is winter!) and trying to convince Nathan that it is possible to get lemon, lime and kiwi trees back to the US and can't I please buy them at the Green Market?

Oh well. Maybe I'll get a silly American lemon tree back home.

Scenes from the BG life...

Here's a fun cultural fact: if you are crossing someone's path, they don't wait for you to cross before they continue to walk. They simply dodge you and usually they hit you in the process. I get jostled all the time. No joke.

It has been a few very low-key days here. It's warming up some, but it is raining on and off all day. We're still both on the mend, lung-wise, and so we've been doing a lot of this:
This is a picture of Nathan reading to me. We're doing a 2-year reading plan of the Bible and we're also taking turns reading books to each other. I led off with Agatha Christie's An Overdose of Death and Nathan is now reading Ender's Game to me. After this we are going to re-read all of the Harry Potter books. We all know I'm not a huge fan of them, but it's a nice series that we've downloaded for free so it should give us enough reading material for the next year or so.

In Bulgaria, the word for store or shop is magazine and here is a sign advertising a "magazin" downtown.

And because I'm always taking pictures of Nathan--here's a picture of me and a Bulgarian telephone booth.

Bulgarians are very, very not religious, but here is a shrine by the Green Market.

And, to round it out, here is a picture of the ubiquitous BG sticker:

And I know I've mentioned it before, but history, as a discipline, is so different here. First of all, everything that anyone learns in school is a created myth. Also, no one learns about the underpinnings of western civilization. Seriously. There is no expectation of a general knowledge of Greeks and Romans.

Also, events that happened 1000 or 2000 years ago are still fresh in people's minds. It is just so shocking to me who comes from a place where our history is so young and yet we still don't know much about it. The massacre in Wilmington in 1896? Never heard of it until my second year of college. But Bulgarians still do things a certain way based on the way they interacted with the Byzantine Empire 1500 years ago!

There is a also a reverence here for the past--even if it is not your past. This is strange, I think, considering all of the "created" histories, but sites that were important to one civilization are still revered by another. For instance, the transformation of sites under the Turkish occupation from Christian to Muslim, but still very much holy and preserved. Interesting.

Nathan and I can't wait to see what happens in election news in the coming days. We're a bit disheartened about Obama, but jazzed about McCain. Keep us updated!

Random moments...

Because my mind is going every which way, here are some random moments from our lives lately:

1. Bulgarians love ALF. I mean, love. For real. It was one of the first shows to come to BG from the US and apparently the dubbed version is better than the original. It plays on more than one station. Love.

2. DentoKisss (no e) is the best toothpaste. Not better than Burt's Bees lavender, but close. It is lime and baking soda and costs 1 lev.

3. Bulgarians are very superstitious. They especially have this thing about drafts. Apparently they will kill you. Nathan and I have a draft under our door. No joke, people have told us that this is why we are getting sick and hurt.

4. Gypsy drum circles blow all other drum circles away. We had the privilege of watching and listening to one on Friday night from our balcony.

5. Bulgarian class is really frustrating when everyone knows the alphabet but you. 3 Americans vs. everyone else. No fun.

6. Apparently Sofia abounds in yarn and we are going to attempt to go this weekend and purchase some. They also have a Dunkin Donuts and a KFC. Gag...however, they also have a Mexican restaurant! Rejoice!

7. Make breakfast burritos last night with the tortillas.

8. The Superbowl came on at 1 am and was broadcast in Danish.

We're alive...

and (getting) well.

Sorry about the lack of response to emails, facebook posts, etc. lately.

The BGs have now got me. No no, I didn't catch Nathan's germs. Well, my throat is mildly scratchy, but I think between my flu shot, taking care of Nathan and lots of citrus that this is as bad as it is going to get.

My back has been a bit tight for the past few days so I haven't been sitting at the computer to type to you all. It hurts and one must take care of one's back.

So I'll be back later with a real post about toothpaste, aliens and drum circles.