Day 25 - GREECE!

Today we went to Thessaloniki, Greece which is the northern capital of Greece. It was quite interesting. It's quite modern, and is also one of the major port cities of the country. This trip made it all hit home, because most of my notes over Greece covered this city. So - that was nice.

We mostly had a bus tour of the city, so I can't really give you much of a description of everything. . . or anything really. The city was modern and crowded, but had an "older" feel to it. Other than that, I don't have much to offer in terms of history or content . . . when I get home I'll post all my pictures up and maybe I'll remember so stuff.

So, this is the blood castle. I don't really remember why they call it that - but they do.

I made an A in my study abroad class . . . which completes my journey. Tomorrow I have nothing to do but pack and enjoy my last day in Blagoevgrad - and then we leave EARLY Thursday morning. Till then . . . . sleep tight America.

Day 24 - Monday

I did absolutely nothing productive today, simply because I didn't have to. 'Nuff said - goodbye. lol

Brother and Sister

My nephew Austin and little niece Breanne :- )

I cannot wait to see them both!

Bulgaria loves their Roses!

Day 23 - On the Road again . . .

Woke up at 7:30, and got to enjoy a very nice English breakfast . . . . eggs and all that jazz. Coffee was quite good for the first time. Today we are heading to Sofia to drop off Dr. Hall so that he can head back to Americus. He has to go and grade some AP tests somewhere on the west coast next week . . . kinda interesting. It's now 9:25 and we're leaving V.T. - who knows when we'll get back in Blagoevgrad.

We stopped at McDonalds in Sofia for lunch . . it tasted just like McD's back home, so there was no surprise there. I really hated eating there - but hey . . . gotta do whatcha gotta do. It's now 2:15 and we're almost outside of Sofia. So, I'm thinking we'll be back around 3:30 - 4:00 . . . . and now I'm going to take a nap!!

Got back at the university at 3:35 . . . gotta love it!! Now, it's time to get some dinner. FINALLY!

Finally in Veliko Tarnovo

This hotel is pretty intense. We got here at 1ish and the hotel wasn't ready for us - so we packed back up and went to lunch. I got chicken and rice, and it was delicious. Something about having something so uniquely Southern here made my day a little better.

After lunch we came back to the hotel and got to our rooms. My room is perfect. It overlooks the city, and I get to see this massive city statue from my balcony!

A close up of the statue from my balcony.

My first hotel on this trip with a balcony, and it's the best way to end my Bulgarian hotel experience. I'd rate this place tied for second place among our hotels . . . haha

At 4 o'clock we went out for one of our last walking tours - and it helped to complete our Bulgarian sight seeing. I got to see - at Bulgarian eye level - a castle that was used to fight off the Turkish invasion. It was definitely a nice way to end our Bulgarian experience.

Tomorrow we are expecting to leave around 9 a.m. so we are getting up around 7:15 to get breakfast and a possible massage!! How nice would that be?!

There's still talk of us going to Greece next week - so who knows which day we'll actually leave. I'm hoping that it'll be Tuesday so we can get our last good night of rest on Wednesday before leaving on Thursday.

Well - here's to goodnight!!

Random Thoughts on the Bus

It's the idea of the unbeliever to believe that Christian believers believe in some crazy divine being such as our wonderful Maker. He is A Father to the sick and the lame. He offers Complete Comfort that can reach the depths of the human heart. He brings All the Joy to cover all of man's sins. He also can give us Lasting Love to embrace the human condition of pain. Why can't an unbeliever believe in the majestic power of Grace that's forgiven all our sins?

Shipka - Random stop on top of a mountain!

Shipka Monastery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shipka_Pass

This is a place that we stopped, and if you want to take a moment to read that article . . . it's quite good. We learned a lot of cultural history about this place.

still Day 22 - culture stuff

Martenitsi - Bulgarian Culture

There are all these little pieces of red & white things all over the country, so I decided to spend my bus ride doing some research in some guide books and write down what they were. . .

Red & White Martenitsi

These unique Bulgarian traditional pieces are giving to people as a wish for good health on March 1st. This day is connected with the coming of Spring, with the beginning of nature's renewal after a hard winter. The traditional Martenitism is made of red and white yard. These martenitsi are also placed on pets, farm animals, and fruit trees.

Day 22 - Saturday in a new town?!

We are leaving from Stara Zagora right now and it's 9:15. I totally didn't know that we were going to another town, so I walked down with just my day bag, and Dr. Szmedra said "Mr. Willis, go get your bag - we're leaving." Definitely didn't know that we were going to Veliko Tarnavo.

Also, last night when we went to Dr. Iordanova's hometown - she and her family actually cleaned up the are from the street where we would park our bus over to her house. She said that on the way to her house. She then said that the locals were asking them why they were cleaning up the area, and that they were actually telling her to stop because it was not her place to clean the streets. She said that under the Communist rule that there were more community centered and that they actually cared about how the area looked - I guess they wanted to try and appear as "normal" as possible for the outside world.

It was really interesting to experience all her culture had to offer - the best part - we all connected on a family level. Towards the end of the party last night, it started to rain. Literally, we all jumped in and started moving stuff inside - and Dr. Iordanov said that we were just like his family. It was a nice feeling to be accepted like that.

Day 21 - Stara Zagora

Today we are in Stara Zagora, and it's simply beautiful. The idea of a town this wonderful could not be seen in America. The town is somewhat modern in their trash disposal, and everything in town is made for walkers. Most of the streets are blocked off from car traffic so that walkers may actually cross the streets . . . it's just nice.

We were suppose to leave this morning at 9, but that was pushed back 2 hours due to unforeseen circumstances . . . . but we left promptly at 11:00 a.m. and we got to Stara Zagora some 5 hours later. As soon as we arrived, Dr. Iordanova invited us to come down to her town . . . which was maybe 5 miles outside of Stara Zagora. I'm not entirely sure of the name of the town, but it was nice. It was quite a cultural shock to see it all. I actually got to see a full family farm/plant garden in action. ** How about Dr. Iordanova and her family actually cleaned up the entire town - mowed grass, picked up trash, and the whole 9 yards.**

This evening by far was the highlight of the trip for me. We got to experience a lot of culture and food. I took enough pictures to last a lifetime, and to cover it all. I'm hoping that everything will blow over, and when we get back "home" it'll feel like a family again.

Dr. Iordanova with her first grade math teacher!!

Another Bre photo that's stealing my heart . . .

She's just beautiful :- )

Day 20 - It's all over!!

Class is now officially over . . . and I'm so excited. I have one week left here in Bulgaria, and now we're all getting ready for a festive evening of Bulgarian culture. I'll try to post some pictures or something later on, but I'm not entirely sure. We'll be having a traditional Bulgarian dinner, and then there will be song and dance afterwards. It'll be quite interesting, and hopefully everyone will enjoy themselves.

Until then . . . . бъе! (bye)

Day 19 - Final Exam and Wine!

The final was pretty insane. . . it was just 3 questions, but took a full 2 hours to complete. It was intense, but it's all over. I won't know for another week how I did, because we're busy with stuff until Sunday - and then my professor is actually flying back to America. So, he said he probably won't begin grading them until Sunday or even Monday. But, it's all over and now my mind is vacation for another week!! It's a nice feeling to finally say that I'm on vacation!

After class, we all went to a local winery. Those of us of legal age got to taste the wine that's made here in Bulgaria! We got a tour of the winery, and then we got to taste 2 different types of white wines and then 2 types of red wines. I personally enjoyed the fruity white wine, and the deeper and smoother red wines . . . but I bought a bottle of the fruity white, and hopefully I'll be able to take it back to the States. I'm going to try and see if there's some way that I can wrap it up and make sure that it won't bust while on the way back.

Once we got back, Kevin and I went to one of our favorite local restaurants and enjoyed a wonderful meal with live music!! What a great way to wrap up the day . . . .

The view from the winery's front door. Crazy beautiful, eh?

Me right before the wine tasting. The chocolate and cheese

are there to cleanse your pallet between wines. Just wonderful.

And Kevin took the picture while I was laughing . . . horrible

Kevin right before the tasting . . .

Our winery tour guide, and he's also the wine master.
He was really cool, we had a connection going. It was weird,
but interesting to say the least.

Some of the many wine containers they had.

Plovdiv Hotel and Views

I sat out here every morning and enjoyed the morning breeze,

and on Sunday I got to see the sun finally rise!! It was either

rainy or cloudy the entire weekend, but it was still a lot of fun!

View from the front part of the hotel . . . gotta love the streets!

They sucked walking up and down though . . . but nice to look at!

The view from the front door of the hotel. Nice, eh?

Me right outside our hotel in Plovdiv - that window opened right to our room.

Day 19 - Warring Wednesday

Today is the day. . .. just a few more hours of studying and then it's all downhill from there. I honestly cannot wait until 2 p.m. to walk in, write for 2 hours, and then walk out. I'm seriously considering sleeping for about 36 hours after it, simply because my body is worn out. This evening will be fun though . . . we're going to go to a wine tasting, which will be new and different.

Well, until later . . . wish me good luck.

Day 18 - Terrible Tuesdays

It's labeled that for a number of reasons, but mostly because tomorrow is my final . . . which means that this study abroad is almost over. I probably won't blog much until after the final - in which I hope I'll be able to add some detail about the cities I've visited so far along with detail info on Stara Zagora.

It's on to breakfast and studying . . . not looking forward to either, but hey - gotta do whatcha gotta do.

The Girl Back Home

Blogger friends, this is Breanna McKayla Willis. She was born the day before I left to come to Europe, and I cannot wait to get back and spend some time with her. To be perfectly honest, I was too nervous the day she was born to even hold her. I was worried about the plane flight, and didn't want my nerves to get the best of me when she was in my arms. There definitely will be a lot of hugs and kisses when I get home though. This makes me an uncle times two. hehe

Day 17 - Class and then News!!

Class was interesting . . . we found out that we're definitely going to have our final on Wednesday, that will be something interesting. I hope that it will go smoothly . . . but who knows. I've got a few days to study, so I'll put them to good use.

After class, we found out that we might be going to Greece next week. I'll keep y'all updated.

Day 16 - Monday Morning Moans

Woke up this morning, and I'm kinda feeling like blah. Overslept, but that's ok - class doesn't start till 2 anyways. This is our last full week here at the university, and Thursday is suppose to be our final. We don't really know if we're going to have a final now, because on Wednesday we're suppose to go and experience a wine tasting, those of us that are legal - and then on Thursday we're going to have a traditional Bulgarian dinner. Doesn't leave a lot of time for studying, so I'm not sure if I'll be going out any this week - not even for dinner. I'll probably just grab something nearby instead of looking through town for something.

I cannot wait for this weekend trip. We're going to Stara Zagora. It's one of our professor's hometowns, and she's got some BIG stuff planned for us. She isn't really telling us much, but what she has told us will be sick. Sick is a good word now a days, so don't freak out.

Well, gonna get some breakfast and then off to studying!

more pictures from moses' birthday

Moses eating his brithday cake, after I put my finger in it.

This is Moses literally as the cake came out . . . full of joy.

We're Back!!

We got back to the school at 4:30, and I just finished all the blogs. Make sure to read up . . . ok, now it's time to go study for the final that's on Thursday.

Day 15 - Sunday in Plovdiv

The idea of the Sunday morning blues does not exist in Europe. Even though I have not gone to church in quite awhile, I've got a feeling that the church is very alive here in Europe. Everywhere we go there are some amazing hotels and then there are these grand churches just blocks away from them. I've got this urge to try and find a church next Sunday when we go to the next weekend town visit and see how alive the church is here.

I'm actually sitting outside and enjoying this cool, windy European morning. The only thing that would make this morning better would be a nice dark cup of Cafe Campesino coffee. I'm really missing my job. I was getting pretty good at it, and I hope I don't lose that touch that I had going. Maybe when I get back I'll spend some time running through he recipe book that I made . . . . who knows.

Last night I got to enjoy the sounds of jazz again, and that literally lifted my spirits. The idea of hearin European jazz fusion was wonderful. I wish I could have recorded some of it, but that would have killed my photo card memory . . . I'll never leave "home" without having the camera supplies again.

I bought a necklace yesterday, but it caused my skin to break out. I guess I still cannot wear silver jewelry without breaking out. Woke up this morning with a reddish tint to my neck, and it sucks. I really liked the necklace, but I guess I'll give it to my little nephew when I get home.

I'm actually listening to my professors talk right now, and sometimes you just forget that they are human, too. I wish they were more like this during the actual school year - but I can understand why they aren't. It's been really nice getting to know them all. By far, Dr. Martin has been one of my favorite professors here. I keep forgetting that she is actually my professor back at GSW.

This town is quite beautiful. All these houses have such beautiful Spanish roof tiles, and they are so close together. We stayed in what they call "The Old Town," and it's simply another time period. The streets were made of stone, and it would only be better if there wasn't cars that lined the streets. I honestly didn't imagine that all these cars would be here - I kinda hoped there would be some historical beautification protection thing and outlaw cars in certain areas of town - but no.

It's so cool hearing Dr. Szmedra speaking french with his wife. I'm really enjoying this Bulgarian language, and I want to do something with it. I love the idea of having an educated mind in such a foreign place. It allows you to make conversation all the while being completely ignorant of the world around you.

I've got about 30 minutes until we head back to the school, so I guess I'll go pack.

Day 14 - Saturday in Plovdiv

Morning started at 7:30 with a wonderful traditional Bulgarian breakfast. . . yogurt with strawberries, and honey on top! It was wonderful . . . . After this we started our walking tour of Old Town Plovdiv. We visited a lot of the "old homes," which have been converted into museums. I bought some things for my parents and brother back home, and I actually got to meet the people who made them! It was quite exciting to meet the artists behind the pieces . . . The tour lasted about 2 hours and ended back at the Roman Amphitheater . . . and then we walked over to the hill which overlooks the entire city. There, one could see the entire stretch of the newer part of town, and it was simply breath taking. Literally, you're walking up a mountain only to be at the top where the air is quite thin. . . haha!

After this little trip, we found lunch . . . and then we all slip off and went our own ways for the day. A group of us went and explored the city, and we found the river which flows all throughout the Balkan Peninsula, some more memorial places, and some good food. Around 4:30ish, we all went back to the hotel . . . and I took a nap. Lets just say walking up mountains will make you quite tired, and I slept till 6.

At 6:30, Kevin and I went to dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Let me go ahead and warn you . . . Europe is NOT like America. The people eat dinner later, and the workers know how to entertain you while you eat. We actually were the first customers to walk in for the night, and we surprised them. Our hostess was quite lovely. She spoke very good English, and was able to communicate whenever she didn't understand a word - at which we learned a couple of expressions, as well. Dinner was simply delicious, but it was what went on after dinner that was even better. Towards the end of our meal our professors actually came in, and they were so surprised to see us there. They thought that most of the college students would go out and try to experience the American night clubs, which some have, but Kevin and I are on this study abroad for greater things.

After the professors came in, we got to exchange casual conversation with them . . . and then our desserts came out. I got the pancake (or crepe) with figs, and Kevin got the pancake (crepe) with honey - and they simply brought pure joy to the evening . . . . . and then the night really began. We actually got live music during dinner . . . two older women, one played the piano while the other play the violin! It was a complete surprise . . . and Kevin and I knew that we had finally found what we were searching for: European culture at its best!

We took about ten minutes to eat this simple desserts, and wanted more . . . not more food, but more music. So, we started to decide on ordering a bottle of wine . . . at which we asked our professors which would be a good choice, and we got just that. We ordered a wine that is actually made just a few miles outside of Plovdiv in a town called Asenovgrad . . it was the most delicious red wine ever. I didn't know that red wine could be good, but this local wine was great. It was from 2004, but tasted much older than that.

So, we started eating dinner at 6:30 and we didn't leave the restaurant till after 10:00. It was great, but then we started hearing jazz music . . . or at least I did, and I had to find it. Come to find out, it was just a building away - and then we were at a jazz club. It was great hearing jazz fusion in Europe . . . it made me feel at home again.

We stayed there for a little bit, and then Kevin wanted to go and sit at the Roman Amphitheater one last time. I'm glad we did, because we got to experience something a lot of people will never get to. Plovdiv - 11:30 p.m. - Roman Amphitheater - cold night - and just looking out over Plovdiv, thinking what it must have felt like to be in complete power for so long, only to fall.

Oh well, Plovdiv was great.

Day 13 - ride over to Plovdiv

*I actually wrote in my journal on the ride over, so I'm just going to copy & paste on to here*

On our way to Plovdiv, and this ride is quite interesting. we actually took the more scenic route, and we actually were riding on roads that were built during the Communist period - and now they are filled with pot holes. These roads weren't just over hills or whatever . . . but thousand foot mountains, so pot holes were to be expected. The professors said that these roads hardly ever get any work done to them simply because there's no way to shut down the roads to work on them. . . . who knows, maybe one day they'll get fixed. Something tells me this road trip will never be forgotten. It'll definitely take some time to recover and read all this because of these pot holes, but maybe I'll figure it all out.

*Written once at the hotel in Plovdiv*

So, this bus ride took about 5 hours. It was fun though. We stopped at some war historic towns, and that's when all the material began to soak in. Tomorrow, we are goin to walk around Plovdiv, which will be fun. Also, I started writing a song that Meagan and I might perform next year for her last dance recital. It'll be a good way to end this chapter of our college friendship, and move into our adult lives. . .. that's deep.

Dinner was amazing, but incredibly difficult to get to. I wasn't expecting this, but we actually had to climb a mountain in order to get to the newer side of Plovdiv. We stayed in the "Old Town," which was simply beautiful. On our way to the town we actually passed by this,

Straight out the 2nd century, a Roman Amphitheater. How cool?! They were actually setting it up to have a ballet dancers there in a few days, but hey . . . . you do what you got to do :- ) After seeing this one, we kept walking to town only to find more Roman ruins.

This is Phillip II, who did something in Plovdiv - can't remember off the top of my head. I'll do an edit later once I remember, but below him actually was another amphitheater. It was neat.

After searching the "strip" we found a place to eat, and then we toured the town for about an hour or so. Kevin and I actually headed back to the dorms and passed out around 10:30 p.m.

Day 12 - GLORY!!

Got my midterm back . . . made a 91!! I won't lie, I was quite nervous to get my grade back for the sheer fact that I thought I wouldn't make an A. I went over my essay again after I got it back, and I left out so many key details that I knew. I felt like an idiot. . but hey - 1.5 hours for 2 questions was pretty intense. I'm shooting to make a 100 on the next one though, so I can tell everyone I made a 100 on a Dr. Hall essay . . . so I'm starting tonight with preparing my questions & answers.

I'm looking forward to this weekend . . . going to a medieval town, and that will be fun!

I'll try to blog one last time in the morning, but I'm not sure if it'll happen or not. We're leaving at 9 a.m. so who knows.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOSES!

Mastermind behind the cake - Phil

Happy birthday Moses! You got to turn 21 in Europe . . . woooho!

Group Pic!

Apparently the sun got to me :- )

Day 11

Midterm went very well . . . I'm quite sure that I made at least a B, if not an A. It consisted of just 2 questions. I had 1 hour and 30 minutes to take the exam, and I used all but like 5 minutes. I seriously wrote everything that I possibly could remember, but I think I left out one or two key terms from one of my essay answers - which I think is ok. I mean, I literally have some answers that are straight from his mouth - written down on paper - and then analyzed by my own hand. HA HA!

Today was my good friend Moses' 21st birthday. Last night as soon as it hit midnight a group of us went running through the dorm to find him - and then I tackled him - and then we sang happy birthday to him. It was hilarious, and then he said it made his day. hehe

I stayed up till about 3 a.m. studying and what not, and I'm quite glad that I did. I'm quite sure that I passed that exam. Dr. Hall said he'd probably have them graded by tomorrow, and I seriously hope so. I'm kinda worried about it - seeing as how we have just two grades for the class. Depending on what I make on this midterm, I'll have to see exactly how much I need to study for the next exam. Regardless, I'm going to study my butt off for it. I enjoy this stuff. It's stuff that goes along with other Middle Eastern history that I know, and completes some of the questions that I had about Western European culture.

As far as the day, it was really good. We all went out for dinner to celebrate Moses' birthday, and then our friend Phil brought in the cake - it was in the shape of a soccer ball!! Moses' face was priceless. . . he completely freaked out. It was great . . . he said it was definitely a memorable birthday! woohoo!

I'm kinda looking forward to tomorrow's class . . . and then this weekend!! It'll be just like last weekend . . . I leave on Friday morning - and then I'll journal about the entire trip, and when I get back on Sunday, I'll blog about Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

That's all folks ~

Day 10 - Tuesday

Just another usual day. . . class, lunch, nap, studying, dinner, studying, and now blogging. Monday thru Thursday it's kinda a bore since we have to do classes and what not. Tomorrow is our midterm, so I'm going to make this one short. I've been studying since 3 p.m. this afternoon, and I just wanna go to bed. Couple more hours and I'll be set . . . then it's just up to my memory.

Anyways, I'm out.

Day 9 - Monday

Today was somewhat an interesting day. I overslept, but it's ok - I don't have classes over here till 2 p.m. which is great. I studied a little this morning, but did a lot of emailing. I love how I'll email a lot of people in the morning here and then have to wait till like 5 p.m. that day to get anything back from them . . . but hey, I guess that's what happens when there's a 7 hour time difference.

Class was amazing today. I love how Dr. Hall's teaching his class . . . it's by far the best way to teach classes for college students. It's hard to explain, but it just works.

Kevin and I went out and got dinner together. We went to some place from the first night, and we both got something called Drunk Spaghetti. It was like some cream based sauce with white wine, garlic, and onions. I loved it. I'm definitely going to try to cook it when i get home.

Now we're all hanging out and just having a good time together. Getting off for the night.

Pictures thanks to Cassie :- )

This is me inside the Jewish Signage - and all the guys had to wear a Jewish skull cap. Not entirely sure why, but I'll ask around to find out why.

Right after the signage, we all were standing outside waiting for word on our next adventure. This is Dr. Iordanov standing to my left. He's one of the professors with us on this study abroad, and he's also native to Bulgaria. By far one of the most interesting professors I've met while at GSW.

Sofia in Color!

Thanks be to Kevin that I can put these pictures up.

I blogged about the specifics in my previous blogs, but this will just let you get a feel for what Sofia had to offer. It was a beautiful city, but it was so packed with people. Literally, you'd be shoulder to shoulder with people. It was insane. I'm no longer scared of Atlanta. It's baby steps compared to Eastern Europe.

Another earthquake

So yea, it's 10:45 p.m. here and we just had another earthquake nearby - and I think we just got a little shock. Right after that, fireworks started going off . . . .

CRAZY EASTERN EUROPE!!

Bad Weather Sunday & My First Earthquake

Ok . . .

So we got back around 2:30 p.m. and then it started to rain. Kevin and I went down to the local supermarket to get a few things, and then had to walk back in the rain. Shortly after, there was an earthquake. Yes people - an earthquake. Here's the news report.


http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=103926

Read it, laugh at it, and then don't panic. It seriously felt like a semi-truck was going fast down the street or something - but it wasn't. It was an actual earthquake.

Strange Words

I put up a lot of stuff today, so enjoy!

The jealous driver

The drivers here are completely crazy. There will seriously be a line of cars coming in the opposite lane, and people will try to pass with just a mere second to spare. I enjoy having the freedom of the road, but DANG! Not at the cost of someone having to have a mild heart attack while going to work or something.

Another thing about the culture here, there seems to be a lot of down time during the day. It's completely accepted that working people will be out and about at random times during the day. Something that I haven't understood yet, but I'm trying.

Coffee culture

This country is completely centered around coffee. There are little coffee machines all over the place, every restaurant serves coffee, and there are coffee shops on every street. It's quite an interesting culture, but it's also very unique and different. They don't do anything special with drink orders, which I'm kind of sadden by. I was expecting to come over and see some artwork inside coffee drinks - but I think the Americas and Western Europe are on the leading edge of all that.

Anyway, I cannot wait to get back to Cafe Campesino and get back to my job. I really miss you guys!!

www.cafecampesino.com - the place for Fair Trade, 100% Organic coffee. From crop to cup, it's the coffee that'll make you feel good.

ONE WEEK IN EUROPE!!

I've been in Europe for one week, and I definitely do not feel like a native - which is awesome. I love not being able to understand every word that someone says, and having to go completely with hand signals at times. I'm thinking about going further with this region for maybe my field of study - but that'll take some time to work out. I could definitely come over here and start a new counterculture of feminism - because God knows they need it.

It's been wonderful so far. I'm very thankful to have loving parents who trusted me enough to come over here and not be worried about my safety. I'm enjoying every moment, wishing there was some way to fully show my experiences more - but with limited computer time, and full schedules of things to do - it's kinda hard.

Day 7/8 - ENGLISH MOVIE IN BULGARIA?!

We just got back from watching a movie here in Sofia. We saw Angels and Demons with Tom Hanks - based around the book by Dan Brown - and it was entirely in ENGLISH!! No kidding. It had Bulgarian subtitles, but all of it was in English. Our professors said that it costs too much to convert movies over so they just type in subtitles. For me, I got to experience the movie for a second time. [I had a few sayings written in Bulgarian, but that'll have to wait till I figure out how to use this keyboard to write them.]

For the most part it was fun. We all had a busy morning with tours and walkabouts that Kevin and I actually took a two - to - three hour nap. It was funny because Leigh-Ann woke us up at 6 and said that we all were going out and then possibly going to see a movie. What was cool was that we all got to share a meal together and experience Sofia for all it's glory.

We went to this place called Happy Grill & Bar which was great. I got an Asian meal - was unlike any other Asian meal I've had before. We chilled there for about two hours and then started off to find the movie theater. What was pretty interesting was that we actually got lost!!

While we were having our adventure, we found this park and I got to experience my first break dancing show!! They were ok - but nothing like American break dancers I've seen on Youtube or the television. Another interesting experience - Phil talked to a Roma!! Roma is the more traditional name, but a Gypsy is the same thing. Very much a subculture here - but they are considered to be "the worst." I'm not entirely sure why so many cultures hate them, they've been pretty cool so far.

After this - we made our way to the movies, which was a blast. I think we all bonded - minus Eddie. He was sick and unable to go. The movies was fun, but the walk back was better. Come to find out, we actually were just 5 blocks away from the movie theater to begin with. If we would have taken just a few minutes to read a map before walking away from the restaurant, we could have saved 2 hours!! But hey, it was fun.

I'm really enjoying this language. It's completely different and exciting. I'm going to talk to my professors and see if there's any way I can continue with some language lessons when we get back. Hopefully, we'll be able to work something out.

Day 7 - still in Sofia

Saturday - May 23, 2009

Today we all went out on the town somewhat on our own. We woke up around 5:45, because Kevin's allergies were kicking in, and we were up till 7 with that. We got breakfast around 8:30 to 9:30 which was a wonderful taste of home. Finally got to eat eggs and that made my morning. As my diet changes, I'm quite sure I'll maintain it when I get back to the states. All the veggies begin to really clean ya, and this organic feeling is quite nice.

After breakfast we went on another walking tour of the city - which yet again, was amazing. we went to the the local market and then went to see "the changing of the guards . . . " - it was a lot like the changing of the guards at the Unknown Tomb in Washington, D.C. [ok - so while I was writing my journal this Saturday I fell asleep for 3 hours - so forgive me].

After that we went to a few museums, where I bought some gifts & stuff for my family. I learned a new coffee drink here!! It's a mixture between our version of a machiato and a con Panna. It's a single shot of espresso and whip cream on top. They call it a Vienna and I think I'm going to take this one back to the coffee shop with me. I made one small change to it and added honey, which completely made it wonderful.

For the coffee drinkers out there, I'm still experimenting with a new drink combination called "Nuttin' Honey" - and this may become the base for that drink. It'll be a new special when I get back, so be ready to try this :- )

Also for the coffee drinkers out there - this culture is surrounded by coffee. Everyone drinks the stuff here, and they drink it by the lake full. They are definitely a coffee culture. So Tripp, - maybe you'll want to think about getting Co-Op to come here for a test run!

Ate lunch at some amazing place that treated the drinks like art. I'm quite sure I'll take that back with me. I honestly cannot wait to get back to Americus to work - I have a new found love for being a barista.

After lunch, we went back to hotel and all took naps. The rest of that day / evening will be in Sunday's journal entry.

Day 6 - Sofia

Today we went to Sofia, which is the capital of Bulgaria. We left around 10 a.m. and got to Sofia at noon. We actually were in the hotel by noon - and the staff was quite surprised. Once here we went to lunch - some of us went to a converted Turkish Bath House - which is now a mall. Some went to McDonalds which was ok, too - but I definitely went to the Turkish Bath House. After that, we saw an Islamic prayer service at the local mosque which was so interesting to witness. Then we went to a Jewish Synagogue. We actually got to walk around inside, and we had to wear the Jewish skull cap - but only the guys.

Then we walked around and then found this ancient Orthodox church. It dated back to the late Roman period. After that we walked by an open market which sold books, and I bought one called "The Bulgarian Civilisation" which I'll read sometime soon. Then we went over to a Russian Orthodox church - and then over to St. Alexandria Bulgarian Orthodox church.

After these churches, we went to the opera house expecting it to be closed - and come to find out we were there for the opening of the opera season!! We saw "The Tales of Hoffman" in French. It was so wonderfully amazing. First opera, and it was in eastern Europe!!


I'll come back in later and fill in some details! Plus, I've got 2 more days to write about, so stay tuned.

View from classroom

This is the view from our classroom . . . can't you just imagine how distracted we get?!

Turkish Toilet

So, this is a Turkish toilet - and this was actually at the monastery. There was this smell . . . I seriously cannot begin to explain what it smelt like, but it smelt like something straight out of hell.

That's all for the Turkish toilet.

This Weekend

I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to post this weekend, because we're going to Sofia. That's the capital of Bulgaria, and I'm not sure if we'll have internet access or not. So, I'm just letting all you that read this know that it may be Sunday before I'll blog again, but I'll try blogging about Friday, Saturday, and whatever we do Sunday.

Day 5 - The Evening Thoughts

These are the cherries we bought from the market - and they are so right!

So this is the walk back from class . . . not a bad view, eh?

Mountains in the background . . . GSW just doesn't have this.

Me standing in front of our class building.
It's one of the newest buildings on campus. Kinda nice, eh?

This is our dorm room on the right. I wish I could point to which room is ours - but I can't.
We're on the second floor, and we're the middle window there.

Moses, Kevin, and me at dinner. This place was cheap and great.

Austin, Leigh Ann, and Eddie. aka - the other side of the table.

So, I'm sorry if the pictures messed up or whatever. I'm extremely tired to blog, but today was great. Class was kind of short, and then we just went walking. It was great!

Day 5 - Just random thoughts of the morning.

There's a lot of really awesome "Green" things that the Bulgarians do. For one thing, they use every piece of land that they can to grow vegetables. We've driven past old run-down Communist buildings to find vegetable gardens in the front and the people working it. It's something quite amazing. Also, while they use vehicles in the cities - a lot of the country folk use donkeys and carriages still!! That was something to be on a massive bus and pass a donkey and an older man on the street. . . I honestly did not know what to think of that.

Also, they recycle EVERYTHING here. It's quite interesting. Definitely some good ideas we could bring back to the Cafe . . . I haven't had any coffee yet, but it's straight espresso here. It's been kinda cool to help people order their coffee drinks though so that they get exactly what they would back in the states - good 'ol Americano.

Another thing I found interesting was that the people here WANT to help you . . we're trying our best to speak the language with them, and they are so understanding when we get to a part in the sentence when we honestly don't know what to say next they start using hand signals to try and help. It's very different, but so wonderfully human. It's not often that I'm left in awe at mankind, but here these people are just wonderful.

Here's a shot from Bulgarian Air. . . at any given time we were between 36,000 or 38,000 thousand feet in the air. . . but this one was taken a little closer.

I'm thinking this will give a little better experience from the skies . . . . I won't lie - I loved every moment of it. Once we got to Paris, I knew we only had about 3 hours before we reached Sofia. I was jumping for joy then!!! Once on Bulgarian Air, I got a window seat and literally looked out the window the ENTIRE time!!

Class, The Market, and Dinner

Class was so chill today. Dr. Hall wore shorts and sandals, which just told me that this was going to be laid back and meant to be enjoyed.

There's a market here that's huge and green, and it's filled with local vegetables and fruit. It's wonder. I bought 1 kilo (roughly just over a pound) of cherries and a thing of bananas for like $2.50 American. I really wish American stores were like this . . . because here everything literally is sold when it's fresh. I'll try to load some pictures of how they use every avaiable piece of land to farm . . . it's so green.

Dinner we got at the local supermarket, and it was so good. We definitely are learning the language here, and the locals are loving it. Sometimes they speak a little too much and then we're lost - and so we go back to being American and show just how confused we are - - - and then the locals start using sign language or something to help us out. It's so nice here. The people are so incredibily friendly!

It's around 8:45 p.m. here, and we're all just hanging out . . . so I'm gonna go back and relax with them some more. Take care!

Day 4 - Classes begin!

I'm going to start this blog out with some pictures that I'm borrowing from Moses or Kevin, so thanks guys.
This here is my good friend Eddie and I waiting on the bus to take us to our connection terminal at Paris. We were making fun of the seats since they looked straight out of the 1970s, so we took a picture for kicks and giggles. So - once we took the bus over to the Air Bulgaria connection terminal, come to find out we didn't have tickets. Yes mom - I didn't tell you this part of the story. Thankfully our professors Dr. Iordanov and Dr. Iordanova got everything situation, and the flight attendants aboard the plane actually checked on our luggage. Something about the fact that we're probably the only Americans here in Bulgaria and they want to make sure that everything is perfect for us. In the picture, as you can see, my new friend Sarah and I are extremely happy that the French want to help us so much to get on the plane. (by the way - they didn't want to help at all . . . . )

Here's some of the guys walking to the local "Walmart." It's called Kaufland and sells anything from the computer desk to fresh meats and breads. It was an experience to see some super cheap common everyday items to an iron that cost the local over 120 (which is around $70 American.)

Ok, so it's the first day of classes - and to be honest I'm pretty excited about that. Something about having some order in the day will be nice. Our class starts at 2 p.m. and so Kevin and I slept till almost 9:30 (praise Jesus for 8+ hours of sleep finally!), and now we're working on getting breakfast and showers.

Last night was a lot of fun. Kevin and I went to dinner with our professors - which turned out to be a very fun evening. Normally, you wouldn't dream of being able to hang out with your professors - - - but in this situation it was. We all had a very casual conversation, ate some amazing food, and shared a lot of wonderful stories together. It's great being able to learn about your professors, and still being able to hang out with them!! By far, the two professors that are sticking out to me are Dr. Iordanov and Dr. Iordanova. They are so excited to be able to share their country with us while still teaching. It's one of those experiences that will never be forgotten -

We all ate some interesting local food, which was amazing. A salad here is nothing like an American salad. It's just fresh cucumbers, a pile of tomatoes, some fresh feta cheese, and maybe some onions. There's no salad dressings here in Bulgaria which is AMAZING! You're actually tasting the freshness of the vegetables, and you accent it with some oil and vinegar, salt and pepper and that's about it. It's truly the perfect salad which I'll definitely bring back to the States.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I've got about 4 hours till class starts - - - so, off to do homework.

Day 3 - tired

----> The picture is of me drinking HOLY WATER!

We just got back from dinner, and I'm really tired. I'll blog tomorrow morning about everything.

I had tongue tonight, and it was quite good.

OK! I'm going to bed. Here's a picture

Day 3 - Rila Monastery

This place was amazing. The ride over was completely stunning, because on the horizon there was snow covered mountains . . . . which was amazing. The ride up to the Monastery was up through mountains - and it was completely curvy. Once at the monastery, there was a well with thawed snow water coming out and it was amazing. The water was so cold and so tasty.

Also, we got a guided tour through the entire place - which just left me with this overwhelming sense of smallness. They had relics (which I found out to mean bones) from Constantine - yes, the ruler. They also had bones from other church leaders, which just shocked me knowing that these bones are still used for religious holidays.

Then, we got a tour through the museum downstairs which was amazing.

I know I'm using the word amazing a lot so I'll stop now and possibly blog more later.

Day 3 - Morning

Day 3 - 7:00 a.m.

So, Kevin and I both forgot to bring alarm clocks. . . so it made for an interesting first evening here. After going for 30+ hours without sleep, I was quite nervous that I wouldn't wake up before 6 p.m. the next day - but somehow we did.

By the way - Kevin talks in his sleep. Last night around 12:45 we all turned in and called it a night, and then we went to our rooms. Well, once there we had to have "the talk." "The talk" was about how situation with the restroom . . . in Bulgaria you cannot flush toilet paper. So, you go through the motions as normal . . but after the wipe - you have to throw the paper in a bucket that STAYS in the room.

Yes people . . . I'm being honest.

After our talk, we put away our stuff . . . and then Kevin got on into bed, and then began having a conversation with me - - - while he was asleep. It was by far one of the strangest things I've been a part of. I couldn't stop laughing at his nonsense.

After a quick shower - - got right on to sleep. Woke up around 3 a.m. to find that Kevin had woken up at the same time as me . . . we starred at one another, and said . . . "It's 3 a.m. . . . what do we do?" Kevin - "We go back to sleep." Tyler - "What if we don't wake up in time?" Kevin - "It'll be ok, we will."

So we did just that. . . and thankfully we woke up at 6:30 a.m. to the sounds of our good friend Eddie coming to save the day . . errrr, morning.

We're all just getting ready to eat breakfast, and then we'll have like 2 or 3 hours until we head to the Rila Monastery. Here's some pictures from Google - and hopefully I'll be able to load some personal pictures later tonight.