Safe and Sound.

We are here in cold, wet, rainy Raleigh!

So far we've eaten bagels, smoked salmon, chai and white mochas and lots and lots of berries and yummy salads. I just can't get enough berries.

The next few weeks are filled with BFF's wedding, our yard sale and packing up for Boston. We have so many errands to run in the next few days!

Also, my Uncle Steve broke his back a few days ago, so prayers for him would be greatly appreciated as we wait to find out what his situation holds.

And remember, if you want to follow our adventures, we'll be over at BFFs in Boston from now on. It is much more mundane but, hey, we weren't cut out to be life-long world travelers. What I can promise is that we will always have fun.

*The link to the new blog is the words "BFFS in Boston" above.

Packed.

4 episodes of The Hills, Season One

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2 pieces of pink luggage

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1 pieces of black luggage

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1 piece of red luggage

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1 black carry-on bag

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1 brown leather tote

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We are packed. See you States-side!

Loose Ends

Nathan and I are about to walk out the door to collect signatures, pay the $150 we apparently owe the University and say goodbye to Blago.

We're coming back here tonight to pack, take pictures of everything we put in our suitcases*, and hopefully we some semblance of a good night's sleep before we depart verrrrry early tomorrow morning. We take a taxi to the bus station, a bus to Sofia, another cab to the airport, a plane to London, another plane to JFK, have an overnight layover in the States (!), call in to BFF Bev's Bachelorette Bash, drink a chai, hopefully have a smoothie of some sort and then fly home to Raleigh!

I'm hoping to take a picture of me in my traveling outfit (black yoga pants, Lilly-inspired AXiD shirt, Chacos, Red Sox hat with a french braid) to compare to my fabulous Bridesmaids' Luncheon outfit on Sunday (I'm thinking polka dots or Vineyard Vines).

So check back here tomorrow morning...and then on Monday for the second outfit. After that, all the magic happens at BFFs in Boston!

*You should always take pictures of EVERYTHING you check. If your luggage every gets lost, then you have time-stamped proof of all the things that we in there so that you can fill out your form in very detailed way. I'm always super nervous about luggage getting lost--especially with such complicated international travel (3 countries, 2 airlines).

One Down, One To Go

I just finished my Bulgarian exam. I'm so glad that's over!

Poor Nathan had to stay up all night to get his Bulgarian projects done and he still has a bit of math to finish. He's been doing math non-stop for the past few weeks. He's doing some independent research, studying for the Math GREs and trying to finish his regular schoolwork. That's hardcore.

It's all paying off though--yesterday he Linear Algebra professor complemented him by pointing out that Nathan proved something much more elegantly (and harder!) than the professor himself did. Way to go!

I still have to take my Byzantine History exam in an hour, so what am I doing as a good little student? Reading Byzantine Empire articles on Wikipedia (Hey--I already read two scholarly general histories! This is just a refresher.) and then reading Glamour because I love reading free Glamour and I love how the AUBG library smells like my elementary school library.

Tomorrow is all about packing and getting a crazy number of signatures on paperwork so AUBG will release our transcripts. Seriously, you have to get the signatures in order and the offices are about a kilometer apart! We have to walk from Main Building to Skapto to Main Building to Skapto! I'm not looking forward to it.

So this is it, kids. By 1:00 today I'll be donedonedone with college. Saturday morning we fly back to the States. Sunday afternoon kicks off BFF's wedding week and from there on out it is a blur of busyness until we move into the new apartment of June 1st. Still no jobs, but I've now applied to over 60 positions! Come on!

Oh, Bulgaria.

Did you know I love rainy days? I really do--as long as no driving is involved. A lot of really great things happened last night (that I can't discuss right now) and I woke up this morning to the sound of rain and I really knew it was going to be okay and that my prayers were being answered. Rain speaks to me.

After our exams this morning, Nathan had a meeting with his math professor so I got to walk home by myself in the rain. I had dressed for the occasion--cuffed jeans, long sleeve tee, navy blue Mary Jane style Crocs and Vera Bradley apple green umbrella. I love how walking in the rain can clear your head. Since we fly home Saturday and we start packing tomorrow, I've obviously been thinking a lot about Bulgaria. I got to talk to my best friend for hours yesterday and it was amazing. While talking to her, I came to number of conclusions about things Bulgaria has taught me and how I've changed and things I'm going to miss.

So, in no particular order....
I'm going to miss 2 leva bills. Seriously, they are such a good idea.

I'm going to miss ATMs that will give you 10s instead of just 20s.

I'm going to miss how I often catch smells in the air that remind me of my grandmothers.

I'm going to miss how you don't have to constantly hear cars here. There are no cars in the city center. None. Zip. It's wonderful. You're downtown and you hear birds and old men playing violin.

I'm going to miss how it is perfectly okay here to sit an outdoor cafe and talk with friends and family. Most college students have this kinds of luxuries, but here it is not limited to students. Everyone can have some leisure in the day.

I'm going to miss the wicker furniture of outdoor cafes. Easily some of the most stylish things in my life I've seen at cafes.

I love all the things that Bulgaria has taught me. I eat a lot less now and while I wish I was mostly eating fruits and vegetables, it is still a useful thing to have picked up. And the fruits and vegetables are waiting for me in Raleigh!

I love that here I took up jogging. I can do a 5K now and I truly couldn't have done that a few months ago.

I love that Bulgaria has taught me that I don't need "stuff." Never once in our time here have we missed the stuff. Never. Never ever. It's true that I might miss scented bath products that I left at home, but I don't truly miss them. Here, we own things--they don't own us. I have never really gone shopping here. I don't need to. I'm so glad Bulgaria taught me this lesson.

I'm very excited to get back to some of the things I left at home (particularly all of the wedding presents we have yet to use), but I don't need those things. They are wonderful to have, but everything I truly need I already have.

I love all the time Bulgaria gave me to sit quietly with my thoughts or talk to Nathan. Without this time, I'd probably be headed to graduate school in the fall about to get involved in something that is not following my bliss.

I love that the unexpected travel surprises I've encountered here have calmed me down a lot. My patience has increased about a hundred fold.

Ah...rainy days. They really are the best.

Sighted in Blagoevgrad

I had all intentions of taking pictures of falafel and duners when Nathan and I took a study break today. (Side note--yes, we actually studied!)

I really, really wish I hadn't forgotten my camera because we passed quite the sight in the city center.

There were two guys, dressed up in super-stereotypical Sioux costumes (think: those guys on the side of the road in Cherokee, NC) playing drums and selling dreamcatchers!

It was bizarre.

Hapy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Today is Baby Girl #2's birthday. I was taking finals the day she was born and didn't get to meet her until a week later. Here's some pictures from the last few years (but no current ones)....

One week

So...only one week before I see my parents, my cat and my complete BFFs. This time next week I'll be poolside in a Vineyard Vines skirt, getting ready to eat some Bali Hai and soaking in some NC heat.

I.Can't.Wait.

Here's a list of things I will definitely miss about Bulgaria:
1. Falafel wraps (and Nathan will miss duners more than I can tell you)
2. Gelato stands
3. Being less than a 2 kilometer walk from everything
4. Cirene
5. Banitsa (especially yabulka (apple) banitsa)
6. Old stuff
7. Raspberry and pistachio frozen yogurt
8. Salt bake rolls
9. People resolving issues by saying "Dobre, dobre"
10. Cheap food and currency that's weaker than the dollar

Intl Food Court

Since we'll be spending about 10 hours in the JFK airport next Saturday (seriously--can we not just get home!), we decided to check out what the food offerings might be. You see, our first pivotal meals, our first meals back States-side are now going to be in an airport. Gag me!

Thankfully, my mother gave us each $15US before we left to spend on food coming back. This is great because our choices include:
Chile's
Mex and the City
Wok and Roll
Dunkin' Donuts
American Bagel Company

I'm not going to lie, I hope I get sushi. Or a vegetarian wrap of some sort. Or queso and chips.

Gracious, I hope we don't gain back 100 million pounds by having to eat processed American food again. One bowl of queso won't kill us, right?

And, if for some reason none of my dreams come true and I have neither a bagel or a bagel roll (mmm---sushi), then my dear BFFs are bringing me a bowl from Bali Hai to enjoy the next day since I'll be missing BFF Bev's Bachelorette Bash as I'll be stuck in the JFK airport just wanting to be home and eating a cold egg bagel and sipping a ginormous (seriously--16 oz is too much!) sugary chai from Starbucks.

One week!

Addict.

So here's the dealio. I got a little bit addicted to writing this. Since our adventures are not over yet, I've started a new blog to chronicle our transition to becoming full-blown Bostonians.

Word of warning, I plan on using the new blog for more personal, frivilous, silly stuff. I'll still post about our lives, but I'm also planning to post anything that tickles my fancy--my current hair product or movie reviews. I guess what I'm trying to say is that for many of you it won't be nearly as interesting as reading about our travels. I promise to not take it personally if you don't read.

Blogging is totally narcissistic anyway, but it sure is fun!

Anyway, the Princess and the Environmental Cop call our current blog "BFFs in Bulgaria." As a side note, my father calls it "Together in Bulgaria." Since Boston also starts with a B, the new blog is:
BFFs in Boston!

Whew...

So yesterday, our friend Tanya threw a pancake party to celebrate the graduation of another friend of ours, Oscar.

I went early to help her chop up fruit for fruit salad and Nathan came later (around 9 pm)--meals happen really late around here.

We ate pancakes with cinnamon syrup, fruit salad and eggs. Us silly non-Balkaners (me, Tanya, Nathan and Oscar) dug into our pancakes before the eggs were cooked. Apparently we violated some serious food rules. You always have to eat in the order of savory-->salty-->sweet. Who knew? So it was a big deal that we ate sweet pancakes before salty eggs.

Also, Oscar brought some crazy topping with him to eat pancakes with. He's superinternational having grown up in Mexico, the States and somewhere in Africa and now living in Bulgaria. He has a crazy accent! Anyway, I tried this Mexican topping. I was wary because the ingredients list named both goat's milk and white wine. It tasted like Nutella mixed with caramel apple dip. Ugh.

Anyway, after dinner we decided to head out to karaoke where Kostadin, Oscar, Tanya and I were planning on performing the Britney Spears' great "Hit Me Baby One More Time" while Nathan took pictures. Unfortunately, they wanted a 2 Leva cover charge and it was standing room only. Good thing Tanya and I sang every pop hit from our middle school years on the way to the Piano Bar.

After giving up there, we stopped for Nathan and Maria to get midnight duners and then we jumped over to Underground and stayed there for way too long. Needless to say, Nathan and I didn't go to sleep until 5 am!

So that's that. We fly home one week from tomorrow--whoa!