Hey there Europe!

Здравей, ваканция! Hello, vacation!

At this time next week I will be here:
Milan, Italy

And a couple of days after that, here:
Zurich, Switzerland
(Both pictures from Google Images)

And there will probably be a lot of pictures like this:

I am SO excited about traveling outside of Bulgaria. I'm definitely missing the family back in the States but so excited to gallivant around Europe with Stephanie.

In a couple of days, I'll be heading back to stay with my original host family for Christmas. It'll be fun to see them - it's been five months since I last saw them.

Otherwise, not too much going on now. The weather is cold and we've had some snow but now it's mostly just icy and cold. I get scared for my life every time I walk out of my house. (Really it's because my "street" is a muddy, icy slushy hill which involves some serious slip and sliding. Today I had the thought that I'll get a sled and when there's real snow, I'll just slide down since I live at the bottom part.)

The week of teaching... It's over and we'll leave it at that if ya' feel me.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Весела Коледа и Честита Нова Година!

Ohhh Friday night.

It's Friday night and I'm writing a blog. Lame, but whatever.

I haven't updated because I've been too distraught over computers. Yes, yes... the UNTHINKABLE happened again. My laptop died. And this time, there was no drink spilled on it. Plus, it was the day after I wrote the entry about how thankful I was for my magicJack. A little irony, maybe? The day after T-Give my computer stopped working. Seriously, how does that happen?? Obviously the host family came to the rescue again and let me borrow their old laptop while I shipped mine back to the States since it's still under warranty.

Shoutout to the broski who recently turned 27! Yay for you Phil. We are very excited about what's to come for Philly, who has been doing some great things the past year. I'm very proud of you over the past year, dude! He was also a great roommate... ya know, when you're both living with your parents and older than 23. (No worries mom, you and dad are great roommates too!)


(PS. Doesn't he have naturally great eyebrows?! He got my mom's eyebrows. Jealous.)

Anyways, I'm apparently teaching 2nd-8th grade next week. I start at 745am Monday - Friday. The regular English teacher (who is a BG native) will be in Austria. When I agreed to this I didn't realize it was every day/all morning but I suppose this is part of the PC job. I have the time and no reason not to... should be... interesting.

More importantly, I'll be in Italy/Switzerland in a little over two weeks. (Once my trip gets officially approved, of course!) That's what I keep telling myself. IT. IS. TIME.

magicJack

This is what I'm super-thankful for this T-Give.

magicJack

I seriously don't know what I'd do without this. It's a landline phone that plugs into my USB. I registered it in the States so I have a 214/USA number and as long as I have an internet connection I can call anyone in the States. (It's a yearly fee that provides unlimited calls.) I've been lucky enough to be a PCV that has pretty decent/consistent internet and because of this I talk with my family all the time! And personally I think magicJack is way better than Skype!

So if you're going to live abroad this is awesome! Thanks mom and dad for finding out about this and buying it for me. :)

(You're welcome for this plug, magicJack!)




And for your amusement: I put in my friends extensions... looks nice with the blond, huh? NOT.

6 Months?? Seriously?!

As of this past weekend, I've officially been in Bulgaria for SIX MONTHS! I can't believe it. Of course I miss The Promised Land (also known as Texas) but I'm so thankful to be here and having a great time! Don't worry Dallas friends, I still plan on returning! Last week our entire B25 group was in Plovdiv for a conference - had a great time, got some good ideas and had a blast hanging out with everyone. And Plovdiv is a super cool city.

Other than that:
* I went shopping today and bought another scarf, big black purse (Bulgarian style) and a gray pea coat with a hood. I needed a nicer jacket, ya know!
* Recently I came in possession of ALL FOUR SEASONS OF SAVED BY THE BELL. Is everyone else excited as I am?!
* Lady Gaga "The Fame Monster" is currently on replay. Especially "Telephone" with Gaga and Beyonce. Two of my favorite singers - listen and you'll want to dance. Promise.
* For T-Give, I still don't know what I'll be doing. But I'm surprisingly okay with that.
* Christmas/New Years will be here soon which means I'll soon be in Switzerland! Although today Stephanie received an email from the museum in Italy which houses "The Last Supper" painting and said our ticket request was DENIED due to tour groups. We sent in our request TWO months ago. Uncool, Milan, uncool. But whatev. It's gonna be awesome either way.
* New Moon comes out in Bulgaria on 04.Dec.2009. Next Friday which will only be 2 weeks after the US premier! Trip to B-Grad, anyone?! Might be taking that one by myself (with no shame)!

Baba Excursion

The mystery excursion from last week ended up being me, the Mayor, her secretary, Maria and (no joke) 50 baba's from the village. We piled into a bus bright and early - keep in mind I still had no idea where we're going - and got on the road.

The Mayor's secretary speaks English well and told me we were going to
- Rozhen Monastery (Роженски Mанастир)
- Rupite (Рупите)
- Sandanski (Сандански)

The Rozhen Monastery is in the Pirin Mountains near Melnik. It was established in 1220, became neglected and was restored in 1597. Very pretty but much smaller than Rila Monastery.




Rupite is the place where Baba Vanga lived and was buried. Baba Vanga is a Bulgarian prophetess and healer. The story behind her abilities came when she was a young girl and swept up by a storm. When she was finally found her eyes were covered and dirt and sand and she became blind. "She is said to have foretold the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Chernobyl disaster, Boris Yeltsin’s electoral victory, the date of Stalin’s death, the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, and Topalov’s victory in the world chess tournament." (Wikipedia) There are many other things about here but that's the gist. She's got a temple on the land for her. The other thing is that Rupite is area is the crater of an extinct volcano. There are also thermal springs. (Thank goodness no one decided to start bathing in them.)



Sandanski is a really cool town in the SW part of the country pretty close to Greece. I did some shopping and walked around. Then I got back on a bus with all the ladies and came home. No pictures.

Snow wise, that's all gone. The temperature has been more mild (still super cold at night) but no snow. I'm actually kinda sad about it. The past few days have been dreary and rainy. Which means I've been spending a LOT of time inside.