Roamin', Roman, Rome-an(d)...Istanbul!

Trivia time:  How many months will pass before I will finally post something about an event in November?
Answer:  9 months.  That's right, 9 months...the time it takes to carry a child to term; the length of an entire school year; three-fourths of the entire time we've been in Bulgaria so far.  You know, when I say it like that, it actually makes me feel worse.

To make this post a little more interesting though, I'm going to try to do something even more impressive just to win you all back.  No long, rambling text citing place and experience with links urging you to see my photo page (you really should though, I've at least managed to do a better job of keeping that up to date).  Instead, I'm going to attempt to insert a movie that tries to capture the excitement and adventure of an event that is more than 9 months old, and I promise the only children in it are the ones who are old enough to have them, but are still acting like them.

But before I begin, a short recap:  in the lovely month of November, the plague hit Bulgaria.  And by plague I mean Swine Flu.  You remember the swine flu, don't you?  No?  That's because it's been 9 months since this actually happened, so please just play along!  After more then 30% of our student body stopped showing up to school (30% was the magic number for the Ministry of Ed to cancel classes), we were informed that ACS would be shutting its doors for a week until the epidemic had passed.  Naturally, it then occurred to us that the best thing to do during a world-wide epidemic was to get in a tightly-sealed steel-tube, with recirculated air and travel!  So to Rome, Italy we flew.

The first half of this video is from our trip to Rome.  However, in order to save time and space, and because we got another vacation less than two weeks later for Thanksgiving, I've included in the second half of the video our trip with the illustrious Jeff and Shannon to Istanbul, Turkey for Turkey-day.  That's right, folks, get it here first - two for one trip videos!  Have we piqued your interest?  Good!  Now, without further adieu, the November trips to Rome and Istanbul...

A couple of closing comments about Rome and Istanbul - first Rome:  Rome is beautiful.  If you have any interest in history and culture, Rome is a great place.  I was told by a few that Rome was dirty and crowded and full of tourists - well, not in November (having the foresight of nine months before posting, I can honestly say that Central Italy is HOT in the summer - mid- to upper-90's).  While there will still a few people, Rome was every bit as enchanting as you might think it is.  The drawbacks, Rome is also EXPENSIVE.  Not only is it on the Euro, but prices are inflated for the many people that do come to visit, and I'm sure it's worse in the summer.  We spent 4 days there, and aside from the magnificent churches and frescos, Roman and Renaissance art around every corner, and entertaining piazzas, Rome managed to drain our accounts pretty fast.  The lev never looked better.

Istanbul:  In comparison to Rome, it wasn't nearly as enchanting, but was definitely as exciting.  The mosques are very cool to see (the ones you can go into), the Bosphorous is beautiful to sail up and down, history abounds, and the Grand Bazaar is definitely an adventure.  The Turkish Lira is also much more affordable (comparable to the lev), and if you like haggling, you can get some really good deals on some beautiful goods.  Oh, and Topkapi Palace is magnificent!  The one drawback that I had with Istanbul was that since it is a city that thrives on tourism and trade, I found the vendors to be EXTREMELY aggressive!  To even stop outside of a shop was to invite a salesperson to attempt to pressure you into buying something.  And putting them off didn't seem to work either.  It turns out that when you tell a merchant you may come back, they will be looking for you to do just that - and will call you out on it if they see you in the street again.  However, if you don't mind a little high pressure sales tactic, Istanbul is quite lovely and exciting, and many people there are very friendly.

Ok, so maybe this wasn't the "short" post I had hoped, but I hope you appreciate the effort, and in return for you renewed confidence, I will attempt to fill you all in on the many wonders of our year before the end of the summer - that's right, multiple posts per week.  I hope we've whet you whistle...

Nazdrave!

Playing catch-up

Blogging is a habit; a habit that I really need to work on. The plan was, of course, to give periodic updates on how Amanda and I are spending out time in Europe, the challenges and adventures we're having, and have some way of connecting with those we love. Going over our last post, it occurred to me that so much has happened that we have not blogged about. So much so that it's actually a little intimidating to write about all we have done. Date of our last blog: Jan 2 - I promised that I would write more and post more pictures. I have done little in that regard as evidenced by the date of the blog before that - Nov. 10.

Things that have happened since then: flu-vacation trip to Rome, Thanksgiving feast cooked for 150 Bulgarian teachers and family by an international staff of 20, Thanksgiving/Eid trip to Istanbul, the first snowstorm of the season, Christmas, the long awaited trip to Prague for New Years, the first ski trip, Valentine's Day, and my birthday trip to Munich to see Dave Matthews (and let's not forget the daily obligations of work - teaching, lesson planning, grading, assessing...)! For your benefit and mine, I will not recount all of these events in one post, but I thought I might get the ball rolling by talking about none of those things, and instead going back even further to the first week here in Bulgaria, and show you a little bit of Sofia.

It had been expressed to me by a fellow colleague, "Sofia is a great place to begin seeing European capitals." This is absolutely true. Sofia is definitely worth seeing on a European tour. It has quite a few historical sites to see, some lovely museums, and casinos aplenty! And if you like dogs, Sofia is the place to see them in their semi-natural habitat - living the pack life, roaming the streets. Attached are some pictures with links to my Picasa page showing some of the more interesting sites you can find in Sofia.

Sofia's most well known landmark - Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Simply stunning both inside and out.

Church of St. George - Built by the Romans in the 4th century. Welcome to real history.

National Theater...very theatrical.

And don't forget the obligatory communist statue.












The few shots that I was able to take this day only begins to scratch the surface of the rapidly growing hub of commerce, travel, pollution, excitement, crazy drivers, and adventure that is Sofia. A little rough around the edges, sure. Diamonds in the rough to discover, yep. And once the snow melts, and the weather heats up again, I'll try to dig a little deeper.

Nazdrave!

Something old (pics), something new (resolutions)

I'm not one to really make New Year's Resolutions. I find them to not very effective, nor do I find any particular reason that January 1st should be held separately from any other day in the year when you really are committed to improving something about yourself. As of the date of this post, it is January 2nd, which seems as good a day as any to begin making some improvements...about blogging. There will be more. That is all.

So, in my attempt to resolutely begin this resolution, here are some long overdue pics and words:

I took these pictures some time ago with the intent of giving everyone a peek at the campus, but haven't had the time to organize the pictures and post them. But, for those that are curious or care, here is a few snippets of shots that I took around the campus, as well as a link to more shots (there are too many to put on the page). Follow the link to my Picasa page for a brief caption for each photo, then feel free to search around my Public Album. You can even add me as a favorite (in the upper right had corner), letting you get an email when I upload new photos. All of these were taken in the Fall, and include the pics of the first snow! It didn't last long, and we had unseasonably warm weather, but it was beautiful while it was here, and yes, the cold temps and snow finally arrived in the middle of December.

Nazdrave!

When in Sofia...

Question:  What do you do when the Bulgarian Ministry of Education shuts your school down because you have too many sick kids, forcing you to take 5 consecutive days off?

Answer:  Go Rome-ing, of course!

Faced with the prospect of having to spend 5 work-free days in Mladost (the not-so-pretty neighborhood around the campus), Amanda and I decided that since flu-days aren't very common, we should take advantage of every one of them.  Certainly, we did not ask for these days off, and disturbingly, if given the choice, we would rather just have ridden out the time until Thanksgiving so that we didn't have to rearrange our lesson plans, testing schedules, and all of the other bureaucratic junk that comes with teaching in Bulgaria.  But, since we have no choice, let us not dwell on the past - let's go make some memories instead!

The question became where to make them?  Having lived in Sofia for more than two months now, I can't actually say that I know the city very well, nor have we been to the second biggest city in Bulgaria - Plovdiv, which we both hear is great for a day-trip.  So, that became our plan.  Go into and explore Sofia for a few days, then head out to Plovdiv for a nice getaway.

That was until one of our colleagues brought up the idea of going to Italy!  Did I mention that Monday was Amanda and my 3rd anniversary?  And while I'm sure that there have been a few people who have written love sonnets and epic romance stories about Sofia and Plovdiv, I can't admit to reading any.  But Rome!  Now were talking romance, passion, great food, rich history, and an emergency vacation well spent!  And in about 6 hours, Amanda and I will be spending the beginning of our 3rd year together in a little town that became the seat of the world's greatest empire.

I should be able to get some wi-fi internet on my phone while we're there, so if you have any ideas about where to go or what to see, send it along, we'd be happy to take any suggestions.  Otherwise, be sure to check back next week to see how the trip went and catch some pics (if there's actually anything to take pictures of...maybe one or two things).

City #8 on the list - check.

Arrivederci and Nazdrave!

Vacations, vacations everywhere! They're falling like...students?

So it appears the country of Bulgaria has the flu. The whole country. Alright, maybe not every single person, but enough that it appears we're going to have a flu-vacation next week. Ever hear of a snow day? Well this is a flu day. And it might just smell of pork.

I haven't been able to figure out if most of the cases in Bulgaria have been swine flu, but here's what I do know:

1) A lot of people are sick! Today, in my class (I only teach one on Fridays) of 18, I had 7 students. Yep, 7. Supposedly, if the entire student body reaches 30% absent due to flu, they cancel school. I had 7 out of 18 present. For those playing along at home, that's a 61% absent rate!

2) This flu looks nasty! I'm not saying students and teachers are going to die from it, but those who have gotten it have looked like the walking dead for about 3 days, and don't fully recover for about 7.

3) The virus that is destroying the work and academic population is most likely H1N1 - the swine flu. What makes this one so bad? Nothing more than the regular flu, it's just that it was transmitted by animals; that's something that's pretty rare, so they are behind in making the vaccines. Can't blame them. You can't prepare for everything. The only people that really have to worry are the elderly, the very young who haven't developed their immune system yet, and those with compromised immune systems. The rest of us just get the flu.

4) Despite the jubilation of the students, I am not happy about this "vacation" for two reasons. First, it will be just my luck that I will get the damn thing at the beginning of next week, and spend the week actually being sick. So much for the "vacation". And second, students are required to be in school for a certain number of days. If the Ministry of Health closes the school, they will just have to add those 5 days on somewhere else - like Winter break, Spring break, Summer break, or even Saturday school. Swine flu, I am not impressed with you.

I find it somewhat fitting that I sign every blog at the end with the Bulgarian term "nazdrave", which literally means "too your health". Well dear readers, it with the utmost sincerity that I sign off on this one. May all your days be piggy-flu free!

Nazdrave.

A bad travel joke

What does a Southern Californian cow and Thanksgiving have in common...

Is-tan-bul, Turkey! And it where we're going for the break! Time to check another city off of the list.

Although maybe not all the way off. We're leaving Sofia by train on Wednesday night to arrive in Istanbul (not Constantinople; "Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks...") on Thursday morning, and we'll be there until Saturday night when we take the train back. The only problem is that we might not get to see all of the sights we want. Turns out that our break coincides with Eid, one of the high holy days of Islam. Down side: many things will probably not be open, like the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. Up side: while it's not quite like going to Jerusalem for Rosh Hashana, or the Vatican at Christmas, you can't beat going to a major destination site for a major religious holiday in terms of cultural exposure! Eid marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting in the Islamic calendar, so it holds a special significants for it's adherents. This should be quite the adventure, and I promise pictures and stories for everyone that reads this blog! So, tell a friend.

Nazdrave!

Czech this out!

It's official! In the spirit of making the most of our short time in Europe, Amanda and I have made the executive decision (and the required purchases) to stay in Sofia for Christmas and perhaps attend a service at Nevsky Cathedral, and then the day after leave for a week in Prague! That's right, New Year's in Prague people!

Before leaving for Europe, I made a mental checklist of all of the major cities that I want to get to before I came back to the US, here is but a brief excerpt:

1. Barcelona
2. Prague (For New Years, 2010!)
3. Amsterdam (thinking maybe Spring Break 2010)
4. Venice
5. Vienna
6. Istanbul (how about Thanksgiving 2009?; check back next week)
7. London (technically already done, but for only 4 hours...not enough)
8. Rome
9. Paris
10. Munich (sad that I missed my chance to meet Ed and Jodie for Oktoberfest)

You may notice that Sofia is missing from that list. If I had only known of it's exquisite beauty before leaving America, it for sure would have cracked my top 50.

Honorable Mention: Copenhagen (just barely didn't make the top 10 before I left, but is quickly moving up); Stockholm (why? because Dave Matthews Band is playing in February, and Amanda has promised the little child in me that we can go for my birthday! *giddiness*); Moscow (this could be harder than expected since the Russians just don't let you stop in for a visit); Florence (I'm not sure why this didn't make the top 10).

Got any more suggestions for me? Any other cities that are a "must see" before the end of the Summer 2010? Click the link below and let me know. (We're going to Prague. Sweet.)

Nazdrave!