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!

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.