Cabin fever is real...

So Nathan is still sick today. Actually, he's sicker than yesterday. We are pretty sure he has the flu..but...the other girl from Asheville who is here brought Oscillo so he started taking that today and should be fine in a few days. I love homeopathic medicine. I was sort of surprised they didn't sell it here.

Also, since our classes are pass/fail he skipped school today to sleep and drink warm fluids.

He'll be fine. This is great for 3 reasons:
1. I don't want him to be sick.
2. I had to go to school by myself today and while I feel perfectly safe, I also felt a bit lonely.
3. He has to get better because hospitals here are terrifying.

So not to alarm anyone back home, but student health is sort of...um...not with it (like most student health centers). And at the hospital here, you don't get a new syringe every time they take blood, etc. They simply label your syringe with your name and re-use it.

I'm seriously one of the least germophobic people I know, but GROSS!

Oh, for those of you who might be wondering, my cut is healing up nicely. It is probably going to scar because there is no Neosporin (!) but soap and water and gauze are doing the trick and it isn't infected.

So remember, if you come to see us in Bulgaria, pack:
1. Allergy medication (no clean air, even inside--everyone smokes)
2. Neosporin
3. Stomach that can handle greasy food

Anyway, the point is I have cabin fever right now because I don't want to go out by myself (and there aren't really hang out places besides discos here) and so I'm stuck inside, other than school, until Nathan gets better.

Right now he's downstairs watching Star Trek...so take heed concerned people--he's going to be fine!

Did I mention that I went to the Orthodox Church this weekend while Nathan was in the beginning throes of sickness? It's really beautiful, but I forgot to take pictures. I promise when we go back we'll photograph it.

Rather uneventful day, but I figured I'd show you some pictures from the walk that made us sick. Behold:
These mountains are bigger than my other mountains...look at the snow!
This is our delicious squash and honey pastry. Yum! One of the other American girls was a bit surprised that we would eat street vendor food. You know what I say? Well...we all know that I eat food of questionable nature. Oh well. It's good for you. Remember that....
Our school! It was built to be the Communist headquarters for Bulgaria...or our region in Bulgaria...Anyway, it is funny that now it is an American University.
And...I'm sure you noticed the new header of us in front of the school. Crafty!

Bulgarian cat! So the cats will not talk to me here...I thought I spoke International Cat Language, but here they all run away from me! It's quite sad...

One final word this evening (8:00 pm here) on what to pack if you come to Bulgaria. An arrogant sense of confidence in your sprinting abilities is necessary if you ever want to cross the street. You see, here in Bulgaria, pedestrians never have the right of way and taxis will run into you if you do not move quickly enough. Also, there is no speed limit, so you must sprint at all times because taxi drivers will, and do, speed up in order to hit you. I've almost been hit 3-4 times now. They will get as close as a meter before blowing the horn. Be forewarned. We've gotten really good at jumping out in front of cars and staying alive...you've got to be good--the hospital is scary!

The good news is, European walking+sprinting+being hungry a lot+not eating a lot of anything because it is unbelievably greasy and makes you feel dirty from the inside out=Nathan and Rachel Ann are both smaller people than they were two weeks ago. This is a good thing. Let's hope we keep it up.

Ciao, ciao!