The trip was everything I needed it to be. I had no planned itinerary besides walking around. This was my favorite kind of trip. Romania was great because everything was planned, but sometimes I like to be totally spontaneous, make my own plans, and get lost (which I did more than once. That's what happens when you don't have data roaming turned on).
I think the highlight of my trip was the first night. I took a bus from Blagoevgrad to Sofia, Metro'd to the airport, and then took a short flight to Belgrade. I arrived around 4:30 P.M. when the sun was already setting. The time zone shift surprised me, as the flight was about 45 minutes long. So that's one more thing Bulgaria has on Serbia: a little more sunlight.
The first night I arrived at the hotel, asked the desk receptionist if the city center was walkable from the hotel, and was met with a firm "No, it's almost 5 kilometers." I said, "Okay..." but in my head was thinking, "Challenge accepted."
I happily walked those 5k to the city center (what's a 5k walk?!). I did get a bit lost trying to cross the Sava River from New Belgrade to Old Beldgrade (the center). Many of the bridges didn't seem pedestrian-friendly, so I wandered around until I finally crossed. Luckily, the bridge I eventually crossed dropped me off right at the Belgrade Fortress, which was awesome to explore at night because I felt like the only one there, aside from the couples kissing on the benches overlooking the river.
The following day involved a lot of the same thing: walking around, simply exploring. The one thing I was determined to find was the preservation of the NATO bombing of Belgrade from 1999. It was truly surreal to see, as it was surrounded by beautiful old (and new) buildings but still looked like the bombing had happened yesterday.
More than anything, I'm glad that I worked up the courage to take a solo trip to a foreign country. That was a first for me (moving to Bulgaria aside, as there is a tremendous amount of support in Bulgaria). I wasn't sure that I could do it, or that I'd panic at the new language, etc., but I survived and am intact and happier for having gone.
I was, however, glad to get back to Bulgaria to see my Smokey. Smokey didn't seem to care that I was gone. He meowe'd for about 3.4 seconds and then got into my lap and started purring. He really is the easiest cat ever.
Except for when he got trapped in a fly trap...There's a fly trap (sticky tape) hanging from my ceiling, and as I was in the kitchen, it fell down. Poor Smokey got it wrapped around his whole tail. He ran around like a bat out of hell for a good 30 seconds and finally set up on my bed and looked up at me like, "WTF do I do, human?" I came over and slowly worked it out of his tail. It took a good 10 minutes to get off of his tail, but he stayed quiet and still the whole time. The problem was his tail was ridiculously sticky afterwards, so I used the trusty Google and found that olive oil can work wonders. I gave Smokey's tail an olive oil bath (again, he stayed still) and then washed it off with some soap. I think he liked the aftertaste of olive oil (what a Bulgarian cat), but hopefully he doesn't walk into any more fly traps.
The other exciting event of the week was Athena coming to visit. Athena is my predecessor who was here in Blagoevgrad for 3 years as an ETA and coach of the speech/debate team. We had a great "surprise" dinner for the students. I put "surprise" in quotations because a few of the students knew, and I'm a chronically bad liar, so I had a hard time keeping it a secret. My smile always gives it away. It was a great night seeing her surprise the students; you can tell how much they love her. Oh, and the food was good and cheap. Standard for Bulgaria.
Athena came by school on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I'll be the first to admit that it was a bit difficult. The kids so clearly love her, and for a good reason: she's a passionate teacher. I think I got a bit jealous - I want that kind of rapport with the students, but I have to remind myself that I've been teaching here for only about 10 weeks, and she had 3 years. It did make me miss my students in Las Vegas (especially the ones I had for the two years). But it also gives me motivation to work hard, be passionate about teaching/coaching, and do the best job I can - not at replicating what she did but at doing the best job I can at being myself, both in the classroom and outside of it. It worked in Las Vegas, and I have no reason to doubt that it will work here.
Thanksgiving's tomorrow, and this is the 2nd time I've been away from my family for the holidays. I was away from them in 2010, but that almost doesn't count because I couldn't have cared less that year. It's tough this year being so far from them, but I'm thrilled that they'll be visiting over Christmas (Christmas in Prague sounds perfect). I'm also glad that I'll get to spend "Friendsgiving" in Plovdiv with other Fulbrighters who are all in the same boat. Now I just have to figure out what I can bring besides Diet Coke.
But sometimes, Diet Coke (or in Eastern Europe's case, only Coke Zero) is all you need...
In honor of Thanksgiving, here are just a few of the things I'm grateful for:
- a kitty that's sound asleep on my back right now
- a family that's willing and able to visit me soon
- a group of people to join together and celebrate the holiday
- having a job and a roof over my head (2010, looking at you)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment