Transport is arranged

Today Liz told me that mornings make her miss Bulgaria. She said she misses seeing goats, old women in the gardens, and small shops long her walk to work. I completely get what she is saying. Waking up to the decor of new cars, vinyl siding and parking lots doesn't give me the same gumption.

I've been trying to narrow down what it is about other places and cultures that makes them seem so much more charming or interesting or whatever you want to call it. And the biggest factor I can see is space. We have a problem with space in America, we have too much of it. We spread out big houses over vast amounts of land, our cities cover more ground than others, but hold fewer people.

This space issue has lead to, and in some ways is caused by what has been called our Car Culture. Walking, biking, or taking public transportation is, in many other places, the norm. Here, it is the exception. And so, if everyone is driving everywhere, why not spread out? And when everthing is spread out, why on earth would you walk anywhere? Just drive.

One thing I loved about Bulgarian cities, towns, and even villages is that they almost always have a town "center" that was blocked off to cars, and was full of businesses. People would go there to do their shopping, eating, banking, and other business, all on foot. It was so much more communal. You got to see everyone else who lived in your town, because everyone else was there too. There's something so isolationist about drive thru services, or even private parking lots.

This is one reason I enjoy living in Ypsialnti. I can take a bus or bike to work, I can walk to a food co-op for groceries, great coffee shops, bars, and restaurants, and also my friends' houses. The only time I drive is when I leave town or have to do laundry.

It's still not like waking up to goat herds and mountains, but it's about as good as it can get right now.

Аз Пътувам със Автобус!

So last week my grandma had surgery on her back. Her Parkinson's has been getting worse and she fell hard enough to break it. I'm not sure exactly what breaking your back entails, but it sounds horrible. She has not been recovering well and so I am driving down to Florida with my family on Saturday. It could very well be the last time I see her.
It's not going to be a fun Christmas.

In other news. I ride the Ypsilanti bus almost every day, and almost always something interesting happens. I thought the public transportation in Bulgaria was insane, and it was, but some of the stuff I have seen gives it a run for it's money.

1. College age girl talking on cellphone at station:
"I don't eat hamburger meat unless I have a hamburger, and I only eat hamburgers if I have a George Forman grill because I don't like greasy food... And I only like chicken if it's fried... And I don't like fresh vegetables except corn on the cob." I can't even count the contradictory statements here. I mean does she really eat corn on the cob fresh? Like straight off stalk?

2. A grown man an woman were having a quite argument behind me, when out of nowhere the man grabs her, hits her, and push/throws her over the seat. She gets up, says she will press charges and leaves. He leaves too. I assume to call his lawyer, or his babymomma.

3. I thought that only in Bulgaria did people carry around ridiculous shit in plastic bags, but no. There is usually at least one person who takes up the isle with a few giant garbage bags full of god knows what. And the crazy part is that they always get off the bus, jump on their bikes with the bags and take off. This is a feat I cannot figure out how to manage, but somehow they make it work.

4. At the complete opposite end of the socioeconomic spectrum: There was a man sitting across from me, wearing a really expensive looking coat and hat, with his iphone in one hand and in the other, a giant wad of cash. I mean really. Come on

Крупник

In Bulgaria each town has it's own town holiday called a Sabor [сабор]. This past weekend I attended the Sabor in Krupnik, the village we trained in for three months. It was my first time back since training and I had a really great time. I drank too much, ate too much, drank too much, danced to much, and slept too little.
Here are a few pictures.

Perin Mountains and rooftops

Friends

Folk Dancing

Going back really made me feel better about living in Bulgaria. As nice of a town Botevgrad is, there is still a really big part of me that wishes I was back in a village. It was also really refreshing to see my host family and all the people I became friends with there. Maybe someday I will feel the same way here.

Горе, На Там!

Yesterday Liz and I had to go into Sofia for a pre-school-year meeting with the Education staff. So we got up early, I made omelets, and we headed out.

Note about Omelets.

Omelets are way underrated. This was a zucchini and kashkaval omelet that only took about as long as the toast. I've started making them for lunches too. They really are perfect when you want something delicious, filling, and really quick. Also, in America most places use at least three eggs which I think is complete overkill. Two eggs is more than enough to cover any number of toppings.

So we catch the bus into Sofia, catch the tram to the other side of town and had our meeting. It was a bit boring, but we got some really good info and gradebooks/schedules that will come in really handy. All though this meeting quelled some of my fears about teaching, it also intensified others. Apparently it's really common for the first month or so of school to not know what hours you are teaching until the day of. The first day for teachers is this Monday but no one from my school has called me or let me know I should come in. I have no idea what grades I'm teaching, what books we are using, or even how many classes, and apparently I won't know these things for some time.

After the meeting a few friends met us near the historic end of Sofia and we took a mini tour. We saw the oldest Mosque in Europe, a giant cathedral, the main government buildings and monuments and had a drink at this ridiculously expensive cafe. (My fault guys, I will never trust the NYT about Bulgaria again.)

After that Liz and I went back to our bus station only to find out that there is a problem with the 7:00 bus and we would have to wait an extra hour for the next one. This leaves plenty of time to make up for the expensive cafe by drinking really cheap rakia at the bus station. By the time we got home, exhaustion took hold. But we felt pretty accomplished. До После. Чaу.