So. Nathan and I slept about 17 hours last night and I'm ready to let you know what's been going on here in the BG. By the way, whenever anything new or exciting happens I like to refer to it as occuring in the BG. You know, like the OC. Remember the first episode? Well this week has been a little like that.
We got in in the late afternoon on Tuesday and went to sleep. Wednesday started orientation and Wednesday night we ate at a delicious Bulgarian restaurant with our new Bulgarian friends and ordered through pictures. I had feta-stuffed red peppers. Pictures to follow when we get internet in our rooms.
On Thursday we finally got email and started the frustrating process of trying to get BG ID cards. Yes--we already have visas. Yes--we had to register with the police immediately upon arrival. And yes--we have to get one more form of ID before we can leave the country. So to get a BG ID you have to open up a bank account with 1,000 Leva. Unfortuantely, in Bulgaria you can't get a joint account even if you are married, so Nathan and I had to deposit 2,000 Leva to get our (separate) accounts.
You also have to have new passport photos taken and--OH MY GOODNESS--we both look like we killed someone right before the photo because you can smile or show your teeth in a BG ID photo.
The rivers here are dirty, but the mountains are beautiful. Everything is also REALLY cheap. Not only does our money go farther, but things are just cheaper. We bought 4 days worth of groceries (bread, clementines, milk, granola, juice) today for 6 Leva (or about $4.00).
That's awesome. All of the Bulgarians think things are really expensive though because recently food prices shot up a lot because of some economic thing that you can ask Nathan about. He understands it.
Oh! We can drink the water! That's a major plus.
I still haven't found a yarn shop or a cup of chai. I've found plenty of bags of hot tea, but oh well.
Today we attempted to eat in a restaurant by ourselves. The menu was in English (or Engleski) and Bulgarian (Bulgarski) which was great. We're taking Intro to Bulgarian starting on Monday which is great because so far we can say:
Neh Bulgarski. Engleski. Smartke molya.
No Bulgarian. English. Check, please.
We're pretty proud of our few phrases, but both can't wait to pick up more. We got really excited when we figured our the letter "phi" makes an "f" sound and we could recognize signs for "Phi"OTO and KA"Phi"E (Photo and Coffee).
Small victories make us very happy. People walking goats also make us happy.
Stay tuned for pictures in a few weeks. It takes a while for them to approve your request for internet in your room.
Until then..."Welcome to the BG..."
Newlyweds!
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2 comments:
Great to hear that you guys made it to BG finely. We know how you feel. Thanks so much for the update. Let us know when you might be planning a trip to France B/c we are planning trips and want to be here. We have a cottage in Grasse now a phone, and a car first part of the week. I am teaching a punch this semester but it ends first week in April so we will have some time April, May and June. All the best Dad and Mohini
I lost track of you for a few days, but am catching up on posts today. Wow! lots of exciting stuff. Also glad to see that Gene & Mohini are safe and sound in France. :-) Just looked through all the wedding pics online ... made me a little misty. the one of Stephanie dancing with Maree! I remember exactly when Leah snapped the shot. So sweet! Exciting to be livng vicaroiusly through the your adventures in BG. Be safe ... XXX & OOO to you, both.
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