Leonard Christmas Vacation 2012: Prague and Vienna

For the Leonard Christmas Vacation 2012, we chose Prague and Vienna for our travels.

Prague
Absolutely beautiful place.  The Christmas Markets are closer together and make it easier to travel around the center of the city. We enjoyed walking through the mix of old and new.  Excellent food and beer!

Vienna

Many of the smaller markets in Vienna close on Dec 23rd and so we missed them in 2011. In order to see more Christmas Markets, we decided to travel earlier.

The Christmas Market Spittelberg was our favorite. It is a funky little market that winds through the streets of the neighborhood. We loved the food, people, and crafts in this market.

Our next favorite was the Christmas Market at Karlskirche. This market focuses on European arts and crafts and the church made an excellent backdrop.

We went to many more markets and had a wonderful time. Vienna is our favorite Christmas destination, our Christmas mug collection is out of hand, and we have so many wonderful memories!

Lists keep me focused!

In order to not miss a description of our travels, I am utilizing the power of the LIST.  Hopefully, this will remind me to post! So, here is a list of the places we have traveled that I have yet to post about. Crossed out names now have entries!

2011
Skopje, Macedonia

2012
Munich, Germany
Istanbul, Turkey
Prague, Czech Republic
Vienna, Austria.

Bulgaria: Plovdiv, Melnik (Zlatoleest), Veliko Turnovo, Varna, Nessebar, Asenovgrad, Leshten, Kovachavitsa, Ognyanovo, and Seven Lakes of Rila.

2013
Budva, Kotor, & Herzig Novi Montengro
Belgrade, Serbia
Paris, France
Manchester & Lake District, United Kindgom
Thessaloniki, Greece
Tirana, Albania
Budapest, Hungary

Leonard Christmas Vacation 2011: Vienna!

WOW, time flies when you are ignoring your blog!  Now that I feel like posting again, I figure I should finish our story of Christmas trip 2011.

When we mentioned to folks that we were headed to Vienna for Christmas we were warned that the town shuts down for Christmas. After seeing how Bratislava closes up, we were a bit concerned as we boarded the bus for Vienna.  However, we were pleasantly surprised to find quite a vibrant Christmastime in Vienna. We found a great list of the Christmas Markets with the opening/closing times and Underground stops nearby.  The tourist information also included restaurants and entertainment that was open after Dec 24.  While we did miss many of the Christmas Markets, we could see the bigger markets like Rathauspark, Schonbrunn, and Praterstern. These gave us a great view of different styles of markets.

Rathauspark Christmas Market 2011

Rathauspark is the market that turns up most in pictures from tourists and is probably the largest and most commercial. All of the food is huge: giant donuts and pretzels the size of your head, huge sausages, and candy galore. It took some doing, but we also found the booth with the best punch (best being strongest!). Good thing we had all that food!

Schonbrunn 2011

Schonbrunn is the more traditional market with fewer Christmas lights, more bows of greenery and a beautiful palace and grounds to tour. It was a cold day with a clear blue sky and the grounds were breathtaking even is the dormant state. We didn't go into the palace, instead choosing to walk around the grounds. The punch was good and the baked potatoes with tons of toppings helped nourish us for the walks.

Praterstern 2011

Finally, Praterstern is an amusement park and the market is in the entrance of the park. We were able to ride the enclosed car Ferris Wheel revealed a beautiful panoramic view of Vienna. We were getting a bit worn out on Christmas Markets by this time, but it was fun to tour the museum to the Ferris Wheel that is at the base of the ride.





In terms of restaurants, there was quite a lot of choice. We were very lucky to eat at Der Kuckuk with no reservations. I had tried to email the restaurant Christmas morning, but there was no reservation when we went to the restaurant that night. Luckily they squeezed us in at the overflow table toward the front of the restaurant. The meal was amazing and the cozy, wine-cellar shaped restaurant was overflowing with good cheer. Overall, our trip to Vienna in 2011 was amazing and marked the city in our minds as a place for a return visit.

Leonard Christmas Vacation 2011 part 2: Beautiful Bratislava

Bratislava Old Town Christmas Market

When we last heard from our intrepid travelers, they were stressed out from the misadventures in Bulgaria.  They have now safely arrived in Vienna and are on their way to the Bratislava Christmas Market. The story continues...

The notes I had found about the Vienna airport made it seem like it would be pretty straightforward to find the bus company to get tickets for the bus to Bratislava, Slovakia. After getting through the passport check, changing some money, and a few false starts down wrong hallways, we figured out how to read the signs and headed out to the front of the airport.  We found the sign for the bus company and were prepared to mime our need for tickets.  If you only speak one language with a smattering of menu French, Spanish, German, Italian (Mark and I are pretty fluent in restaurants. We couldn't negotiate peace throughout the world, but we could host a great party!), it helps to be willing to make a fool of yourself with a Marcel Marceau impression. Luckily for the beautiful Austrian desk clerk she spoke perfect English and our alternative communication skills were not needed. A few Euro later, we were on the bus and heading to Bratislava.

The bus is very warm and comfortable and I tried to stay awake as we went through sleepy Austrian villages on our way to Bratislava. For those of a trivia mind, Vienna and Bratislava are the closest national capitals in the world; only 40 miles/64 km between them.  Though it was night, we were able to see this huge bus navigate the tiny European streets. There was an arch commemorating something, our menu German failed us in translating what, that did not seem to be big enough for the bus. In an effort to make the bus smaller, I scooted closer to Mark. That must have helped, because we made it through.

After an uneventful bus ride, we arrived in Bratislava. Again my notes said it would be a short walk to the hotel, couldn't miss it, easy as pie given the location of the bus stop. After the day I had, I was skeptical. We looked around and thought we could see the pedestrian area mentioned in my notes just across the on ramp to the highway.  We headed across the on ramp and sure enough our hotel was in sight! I was SO happy that something went right that day. It is possible that there were some places open for dinner, but we were just too worn out at 10:00pm to bother.  We checked into the hotel, found our room with a view of the Danube, nibbled on the snacks our landlady gave us in Sofia, and then fell asleep hopeful that tomorrow would be a better day.

Cafe front from Christmas Market

The next day dawned with a heavy fog which made our view of the Danube a bit compressed, but it was still the Danube and I was rested and excited for more adventures. We eschewed the hotel breakfast because my internet research indicated there were plenty of places to find a reasonable breakfast just a few steps from the hotel. Continuing the roll we were on with the airport and bus information, we found a great cafe for breakfast and planned our day.



The square outside wasn't this busy when we were there in the morning, but as you can see it soon was hopping with locals and some tourists. There wasn't much snow, but it was freezing. We survived by drinking hot chocolate inside the most wonderfully warm cafe. 

Very cold Leonards

Best hot chocolate ever!

Inside Warm Cafe

We didn't come to Bratislava to just sit in a a cafe though and so we ventured out into the city. It is a beautiful city with plenty of old world charm. The old town area has great pedestrian space and there is a more modern pedestrian area with good shopping next to it. We were able to find gloves for Mark at a ski shop. Once we had the proper equipment, we spent a good deal of time in the Christmas Market enjoying the potent punch and snacks. Some of the Bulgarian we had learned was useful here. They don't use the same alphabet, but some words were the same and we could easily order and pay for the delicious food and drink. Locals frequent this market more than tourists and we thoroughly enjoyed the people watching and the homey feel.

Mark with provisions!

Tasty!

We enjoyed Bratislava and it was a good thing we decided to start there as the Old Town area pretty much shuts down on Dec 24th. We were lucky to find a place for breakfast and then we were off to Vienna. The talk before we left is that Vienna also shuts down for the Christmas holiday. We were trusting my internet research that showed some activities still available, but we also had a comfy hotel with a good breakfast so that if nothing was open we could at least survive. The worst case scenario would have us walking around Vienna enjoying the architecture and nature. To find out, come back for Leonard Christmas Vacation 2011 part 3: Vienna.

Christmas in August?...Leonard Christmas Vacation 2011 part 1

This winter I missed the window to post about our Christmas travels (I figure it is like the decorations, they just feel wrong if they are up too long).  Then I came up with the idea for posting in July ala Christmas in July craziness. Then July became August and well anyway here it is, the extended 3 part version of the Leonard Christmas Vacation 2011!

The first installment of our tale begins with waking up to a snow storm in progress on the day we are to leave.  The picture above is the light beginning of what became a code yellow storm across our region of Bulgaria.  The 12 or so inches of snow on the gutter outside the window caused a bit of panic, but we set off for the bus station determined to make it to Sofia for our flight.  For some insane reason, I thought we should walk the 30 minutes in the driving snow rather than get a cab to the bus station.  This happens some times when I get into trip mode. I had planned for us to walk and so we would walk. 

We arrived to the bus station on time, but we were very cold and tired. Never will I do that again (I hope!). We had taken the bus between Blagoevgrad and Sofia before and so we were not worried about it today. Unfortunately, we had the time wrong for the large bus and so the only bus there was the mini-bus that travels between the ski regions here (Sofia-Bansko). The mini-bus is essentially a 15 person passenger van and not the most comfortable ride, but we were worried about waiting for the next big bus.

The trip was a bit harrowing with the blowing snow and icy roads, but the mini-bus made pretty good time. About 20 km outside of Sofia the driver received a phone call and then we pulled off the road into a gas station. We sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out what was going on. The road was still open and filled with cars. The bus driver spoke no English and we only had our Bulgarian phrasebook and weren't sure we would understand the answer even if we could ask "Why have we stopped." We got a bit more nervous when one of the passengers and his small daughter got out of the mini-bus and went to the road to hitchhike into Sofia. Another English speaking passenger asked us if we knew what was going on. We had no idea, but decided to try to work it out the three of us. About 15 minutes passed and it was cold in the mini-bus so we (the English speakers) followed the bus driver and the other Bulgarian passenger inside the gas station.

After a few minutes of WTF, we decided to see if anyone spoke English in the gas station and could find out what was going on. We found someone to ask and he approached the driver, spoke to him for a moment, and then walked off. Apparently we needed to be more specific in our request and make it clear that not only did we want him to talk to the bus driver and find out what was going on but to then TELL US what he learned. I really had to work hard not to laugh at this point. I was also getting worried that we would miss our flight to Austria. Finally I had the brainstorm of calling our landlady and getting her boyfriend (who was fluent in Bulgarian and English) to do some translating for us.

The strange miming that Mark had to do to get the bus driver to talk on the phone was rather hilarious, but at this point I think a mild panic might have set in and I was a bit unhinged. We finally found out that the bus company pulled him off the road because the bus depot in Sofia was packed and the roads were very busy. We were waiting for a phone call allowing him to get back on the road. At this point, there was no way we could make it to the bus station and then to the airport to make our flight. A plan was hatched to get us to a different point and then our landlady would drive us to the airport.

Talk about trains, planes, and automobiles. We were dropped off at the Metro Underground train station with our English speaking tag-along all trying to make our flights. We took the Metro to a stop closer to the airport, but found out that our landlady's car was snowed in. They said to grab a cab and if we had troubles they would come help us out.  Our tag-along had to be at the other terminal for an earlier flight, so we gave the first cab to him. Never found out if he made it, but I would like to think someone did. We couldn't find an unoccupied cab until our landlady and her boyfriend found us and helped us on our way. They were really sweet and brought us some Christmas goodies to take on our trip.

The cab sped away to the airport, but traffic was horrible. We had 40 minutes until our flight was due to leave and on a good day that would have been more than enough. As soon as we got to the airport, we ran to the check-in desk hoping to still make the flight. They looked up our information, made a phone call, looked at our information again, and asked if I was the only one flying. I seriously considered it for a moment, and then said no, it was both of us. At this point, they looked genuinely sad to tell us that we missed the flight and would have to go to the sales desk to reschedule a later flight. I am not proud to say that I had a bit of a flip out when I was told how much it would cost to reschedule. So much for the supersaver tickets I scored online. Rather than rescheduling immediately, we went to the cafe for me to calm down and get some information.

For those of you who know me, you know I love having as much information as possible when we change plans and I wanted to make sure we would make the next leg of our journey if we rescheduled for that day or if we needed to just book for the next day. I didn't want to get out of Sofia and then be stranded in Austria for a night. This is where Mark came to the rescue. Well Mark and wifi. We found out that the bus to Bratislava ran quite late in the evening and we should have no trouble on that end. Calmed down with some hot tea and good information, we rescheduled our flights and settled in for a 5 hour wait for the next flight. It took me actually getting on the bus to Bratislava to calm down and believe that our travel adventure was successful.

Looking back, it is easy to say "well this is Bulgaria," but that is too simplistic. After traveling extensively and reliably through Bulgaria on the bus and train systems this year, I believe the problem began in part with my stubbornness to save a few dollars and take the bus when we had a scheduled flight AND with the mini-bus company. We have heard many stories about their incompetence and plan never to use them again.  Now we either schedule a private car or head out the night before when flying. The first part of our trip resulted in a valuable learning experience and a rather funny story!

Come back for Part 2: Beautiful Bratislava!

Catching up on BG Travels: Razlog 2011

Mountain view east from resort outside Razlog, Bulgaria

We were lucky in November 2011 to visit Razlog, Bulgaria to attend a faculty retreat for the Economics department.  I should probably say I was lucky, as Mark had to attend meetings and I read, worked on my knitting, and generally enjoyed myself.  By all accounts of the Economics faculty though, their meetings were productive so we were all happy.

Razlog is a small mountain valley town in Bulgaria close to the more popular ski destination Bankso. The resort outside of Razlog is possibly very active during the ski or golf season, but in early November it is a modern day ghost town. A casualty of the financial crash and the vacuum of British investments, most of the hotels here are in varying states of completion. Despite the majestic vistas, the place feels more like a set of a post-apocalyptic horror flick than a vibrant ski/golf community. The pictures of the completed buildings below give the sense of what it could be if situations turn around.

Signs of recently renewed construction seem to suggest that there is still hope for this area.  We had intended to visit Razlog during ski season, but with the worst winter in 50 years we tired quickly of cold and a ski vacation did not sound fun.  Hopefully this year the weather will be good for skiing but not miserable in Blagoevgrad and then we can visit again and report back on any changes.

View looking west..Razlog in the valley

First Year as an Academic Writing Professor DONE!

Teaching academic writing to freshman ESL students confirmed the attitude I developed for grammar in my high school freshman English class - it is out to get me. The only way I survive is by taking a pragmatic approach focusing on readability rather than stiff rules. Luckily there are a number of great English teachers out there who are breaking out of the grammar police mold and so I can say I am in good company. It still takes me a long time to grade essays to confirm why something doesn't sound right and what the correct choice should be. 

My grading paradigm can be summed up in three phrases: Scooby Doo, pet peeves, and bad habits. The Scooby Doo approach to grading writing is when something I read makes me go "rut ro" in the classic Scooby Doo voice. When this occurs I circle or underline the problem and then check the rule books for the explanation why. Having taught senior and graduate courses that are writing intensive, I have developed a series of pet peeves about student writing. Teaching freshman has become my way of attacking the problems at the root. Finally, I notice all of my own bad writing habits and hear the voices of my teachers as I grade. I love commas and use them like Bulgarian's use parsley - all over the place whether they are needed or not. I know this about myself and try to practice restraint. Therefore, I am sensitive to students with the same problem. And by sensitive I mean brutal with the marking pen (have to break them of the habit early so they don't become me). That/Which is another problem of mine. There are some great blog posts out there about That/Which, but I still have to check every time I grade.

I am not sure if I am becoming a better writer in the process, but teaching freshman to write in an academic style does not feel like torture. There are some great changes I want to make for next year and I am anxious to try them out. It takes teaching something twice for me to get a feel for my attitude toward it, so look forward to my post a year from now.  I might just be a grammar convert!

Ne Razbeerum Bulgarski Mnogo Dobre (I don't know Bulgarian very well): But I am learning!

Thursday was a big day for my Bulgarian skills. Here is a brief recounting of my linguistic adventure.

Cab driver: I have so far avoided most taxi cabs. Not because there are any problems with them, but because Blagoevgrad is very walkable and we just haven't needed them. However, I was attending a lecture at the other university in town and I needed a cab to get there. Luckily we just covered talking to the taxi driver in Intro to Bulgarian and with some help on pronouncing the school and building I needed, I had my phrase! I was ready, but secretly scared. Many of you may not realize how nervous I get when communicating. This is especially true when I know there will be an expectation of actual conversation. I am not that great at small talk and small talk in another language was a daunting thought. Anyway, I got into the cab, stated the destination in Bulgarian, and off we went.

Then the cabdriver said Kude Ste? and my brain froze. I remembered we covered this in class but I honestly blanked. I stupidly stated the my destination phrase. He repeated Kude Ste? So I used another phrase I have memorized "Angleeskee" in a very apologetic tone. He was kind and repeated Kude Ste and listed different places in Bulgarian that I recognized. I finally understood: "Where are you from?" I had those answer phrases memorized, so I was able to say I was from the USA, Kansas! Oh, Kansas City! he said and then I think he asked if it was as hot in Kansas as it is here! Anyway, we muddled through and I made it to the university for a fascinating talk on Digital Narrative (thankfully in English!).

Grocery Store: So from that pathetic, but triumphant conversation I headed to the grocery store. Unfortunately, I completely failed to understand the cashier. Major language fail, but I got my purchases without being arrested and decided to chalk it up as a win.

Reception with City Officials: With the mixed results from the day, I was not entirely thrilled about the AUBG reception for city officials that evening. We have fabulous students who were acting as translators, but I was still worried. I shouldn't have. I am not sure if it was the protein at dinner or what, but I was able to follow some of the conversations, remember some Bulgarian phrases, pronounce them correctly, AND use them at the correct time. I left the event with a request to be interviewed by the local Blagoevgrad paper and a feeling of accomplishment.

All in all, I feel good about finally having conversations (actual back and forth) in Bulgarian with people who did not speak English. Learning a new language is a bit like graduate school-the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.

But I will triumph at some functional level. I promised a student that by the time she graduates we will be able to have a conversation about Bulgarian literature in Bulgarian, so I have to.

Luckily I didn't specify graduating from AUBG...I really hope she is considering graduate school!

Bulgarian Moussaka-wonderful fall and winter meal!

There has been demand for my food blogging and I hate to disappoint, so here is my attempt at Bulgarian Moussaka.

Looks tasty, doesn't it? Kind of like a deep dish pizza, but it is very different. Important note, Bulgarian Moussaka does not have eggplant. This causes much consternation on the part of some of our international colleagues, but I still love it.


I learned how to make this when I had the opportunity to host the AUBG Bulgarian cooking team for the International Festival. These are the dishes that the team made. I am still waiting to make banitsa (the large rectangular dish in the center), but I took on the moussaka and shopska salad. By the way, the team was great! We had fun and they even taught me a dance (horo). I was able to impress some folks at the AUBG Christmas party with my Bulgarian dance cred!

Bulgarian moussaka is a very simple and hardy meal that makes great leftovers and could be great for a potluck dinner. The ingredients include potato, ground pork or beef, onion, summer savory, garlic, fenugreek, paprika, crushed tomato, water, yogurt, egg and flour. I have tried to remember best as I could what the students did and with some help from delish adventures, I muddled through to an amazing dish. Here is the recipe I use for those interested.

Bulgarian Moussaka--as adapted by an interloping American
Equipment: large round or square baking dish, medium size pot, oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ingredients:
1 kilo (2 lbs) potatoes (usually about 4 medium size potatoes diced in about 1 inch cubes)
1/2 kilo (1 lb) ground pork or beef
1 medium onion diced in about 1 inch pieces
3 gloves of garlic diced (can reduce this if you aren't keen on garlic, we happen to love it)
1 egg
Salt, pepper, paprika, summer savory, fenugreek (about 1 tsp of each)
3 cups plain yogurt (for those in the states, Bulgarian yogurt is amazing and thicker than ours. Greek yogurt is probably the closest you can get).
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp oil
2 medium cans crushed tomatoes (fresh diced tomatoes is best, but canned will work too).
Water to help cover potatoes if crushed tomatoes are not juicy enough

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

Place diced potatoes in the baking dish.

In medium pot, brown the ground pork/beef. Add the onions, garlic, and spices to the browning meat. Once meat is brown, add the cans of crushed tomatoes and simmer for about 3 minutes.

Pour the mixture over the potatoes in the baking dish. I mix everything together because I think the potatoes cook better this way, but you can also just layer. You might need to add water (usually not more than 1/4 cup) to cover the potatoes here, but don't go overboard or the dish will be soggy.

Place baking dish in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

When close to the end of the 45 minutes, mix the yogurt, flour, and egg.

When the 45 minutes are up, spoon the yogurt mixture over the top in an even layer and place back in the oven until the top is brown like the picture above. Sometimes this is 10 minutes, but it has taken up to 30 before to fully brown the top.

Let cool for about 10 minutes and then serve with a side of yogurt, chopped cucumber, chopped tomato or green onion.

Variation:
We added chopped mushrooms and carrots last time to up the veggie content. Turned out great. Just chop the mushrooms a bit bigger than the potatoes and the carrots the same size at the potatoes and add them to the potatoes in the baking dish.

I hope you enjoy the foodie update. More to come as I finally remember to update this thing!

Sofia (finally) continued--FOOD

Found the pictures and the time to continue to update everyone about our Sofia trip in October (wow, time really flies!).

When we last heard from our intrepid travelers, they were in the cab from the Централна Абтогара София (Central Bus Station Sofia) to the Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan (picture left). We had decided to splurge since travel was cheap and I also found a good deal on this luxury hotel (80 euro a night). The location was ideal as it was walking distance to good food, shopping, and the major sightseeing locations in city center. If you are on a budget but wanting to walk through an old world European city, then Sofia is your choice. Seriously, Bulgaria should be the travel destination for most people in this economy. To make this post a bit more manageable, I will separate them out into more posts. Starting with the most important: Food.

Food: The hotel had breakfast for 18euros each. I thought that was amazingly expensive for Bulgaria and was determined to find a cheaper breakfast. We got lucky the first night as we walked past what looked like a cafe and bakery. The next morning we each had two espresso and shared a small egg tart and pumpkin bantisa (Bulgarian pastry roll). The total cost of the meal was 12 leva which converts to approximately 6 euro.

Google maps performed much better in Sofia than it did in Blagoevgrad. We were able to get a map to the brew pub При кмета (The Mayor's Pub) Mark found out about on the banskoblog. Usually brew pubs are either good for the beer or the food, but not both. However, at При Кмета both the food and the beer were very good. Mark took notes, but then forgot to write them up. I am hoping we find them soon, as I would like to link to them (hint, hint, Mark!).





We stumbled upon another breakfast option--Dunkin' Donuts! Yes, we really did eat there. The chocolate glazed donut holes were surprisingly similar to those in America. The coffee was AMAZING. Now I don't want to slam Bulgarian coffee, but sometimes espresso is a bit much and I just want a large American style latte. I was able to get one here and I was very happy.



Google continued to be helpful in locating food options for us. We managed to find a great Indian Restaurant Kohinoor. I had been longing for a curry as Niveditha can attest too (I was actually looking out for ways to ship her mom's mulligatawny soup from Omaha to Bulgaria). This worked out well as a replacement. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera battery charger and by this time the camera was out of juice. Sorry I couldn't get pictures of the beautiful meal.

On the whole, eating in Sofia is cheap and really tasty. There are many options both for Bulgarian and International cuisine. Stay tuned for the next Sofia installment: Shopping and Sightseeing!

Miscellaneous...These are a few of our favorite things!

As it is the new year, we have begun reflecting on our lives and realize that we love it here in Bulgaria. We have been able to make major changes in our lives that we have talked about for ages: we don't have a car, we cook more at home, and we don't have a t.v. These changes have little to do with Bulgaria as all of the things we left behind are here. We could get a car (our apartment has a garage as part of the property), we could eat out more (there are great restaurants here), and we could have t.v. (as we have two in the apartment and there are cable and satellite t.v. services in town for international programs). Maybe knowing we could get them makes it easier to not have them, I don't know for sure. All I know is that there is very little that we miss about living in America. Here is the list.

1. Bacon. Honest to goodness, cold smoked, salty bacon. We did not realize how proper American bacon is only found in America. Seriously the Bacon Board needs to get on this. The world needs them.
2. Ziploc Bags. Luckily we have a supply and we are caring for them to help the supply stretch to the next time we go home. They just don't have thick plastic bags that seal here. At least we can't find them.
3. Maple syrup (or even the "maple flavored" variety I prefer).
4. Friends and family.

Maybe friends and family should be up top before bacon, but we get to hear from them with Skype and the social medias and we don't get bacon. We don't get to hear from bacon or see it or smell it. There are no bacon sensory experiences at all. So I think it stays on top. The list in priority order is then: bacon, family and friends, ziploc bags, and maple "maple" syrup.

Love to you all (but especially American bacon) and I will be updating from all our travels before the semester (and the grading) comes.
Lynnette

Expat thoughts on Thanksgiving

On Friday, November 25th 2011, I will be entering new and unfamiliar territory...the classroom. Okay so not entirely new. I have been in a classroom most days of my life either as student or teacher, but NEVER on the day after Thanksgiving! My students graciously offered to allow me to cancel class to avoid this unprecedented event. Alas, I declined and we will be meeting together on that fateful day.

Aside from going where no American teacher has gone before, I am also going to have a Thanksgiving day WITHOUT guilt. You heard me right. I will happily, mindfully, and without remorse eat my roast chicken (we can't find turkey), both kinds of stuffing (we like both my mom's and Mark's mom's recipes so we make both), brussel sprouts with parmesan, AND pumpkin pie. How have I achieved this monumental feat? I walked.

You heard right and with these easy steps (hehe) you too can enjoy a guilt free Thanksgiving. Simply walk to the grocery store, buy all of your Thanksgiving ingredients, bag them up, attach them to your body in whatever fashion works for you (I carried mine over my shoulders and in my hands), and then walk home. Extra absolution for carrying said ingredients up 5 flights of stairs. I was winded and cursing much of the way home, but as you all are my witness I will never feel guilty about being full on Thanksgiving AGAIN!

BTW: I will get around to posting more about our fall break travels once the mountain of grading is down to a molehill.

Expat Awe: Sofia, SO FUN!

Fall break is a full week here at AUBG because in Bulgaria they don't have that pesky Thanksgiving break messing up the schedule. We decided to do some traveling during the week. I would like everyone to appreciate the situation we are in. We don't have cell phones yet. I repeat we DON'T have cell phones yet (they are coming sometime after we get our Bulgarian ID cards on Dec 8).

This complicates the travel picture a bit, at least for me who feels the need to have a stronger hold on potential emergency situations than some. Part of the issue is that the internet is not entirely reliable for hotels and transportation arrangements as it is in the US. The other part is, as mentioned above, my need to have confirmation of travel plans before setting off. Fall break helped the situation because if something went wrong we had a few days to deal with it before having to get back to class. So I braved travel in a foreign country with only Mark and a computer. It worked great!

The bus system in Bulgaria is excellent and there are hourly buses from Blagoevgrad to Sofia. The bus station in Blagoevgrad was easy to navigate once we found it. Everyone mentioned how conveniently located it is, but no one actually said WHERE it was and Google maps was not much help. Mark found an address but it didn't seem quite right. All I had was a vague memory of passing the station on my 3:30am shuttle to the airport when I went to Seattle (not particularly trustworthy). Rather than take our chances on our day of travel, I suggested we lace up and head out to visit both potential sites. After a very long walk, we found the bus station (Lynnette's sleep addled memory-1; Google maps Bulgaria-0). Both the state run and the private bus stations are a short walk from our apartment each with prominent bus schedules.

Confident in our abilities to find the bus and make it to Sofia, we tried booking a hotel online. Found some fabulous prices if you would pay in advance, only the site was done. Sent some emails and went to sleep hoping it would work out in the morning. Morning and no email, so I tried the online system again AND the cheap price was reserved just before we left. We swung by Mark's office to print out our hotel reservations and headed to the bus station.

We decided on the state run bus because of the times it was running. We couldn't figure out where to buy tickets, but in our broken Bulgarian managed to learn that we just needed to pay our bus driver. It was a great ride to Sofia Central Bus Station. Once we realized that lines at the taxi stands in Bulgaria are more of a suggestion than an order for getting a taxi, we were on our way to the hotel. The taxi driver had excellent English skills and she got us there quickly in the mid-day traffic. Total spent on transportation so far=25 leva ($17.50). Great price for the two of us.

More to come from our Sofia adventure (as soon as I find the pictures Mark loaded on my computer!).

Communication: Noticing Nonverbals

I am generally more attune to the interesting elements of language or symbolic communication of those around me. However, being a foreigner has shifted my perspective. The nonverbal communication similarities and differences between Americans and Bulgarians have been the most present to me as I am still very ignorant of the language. So here are some of the observations I have made while here in Bulgaria.

Differences:
1. This one is a bit of a mind freak difference and it has quite a list of online articles about it. Bulgarians shake their head for yes and nod for no. You heard me, the exact opposite of Americans and much of the rest of the world. Video of the difference.

This has caused some minor misunderstandings on our part but nothing on the scale of the stories you can find online. Just give it a google and be amazed.

The difficulty of this difference comes to the fore in the classroom. Most of the time they adjust and nod yes for me. But at other times, I have to check twice or even three times to make sure we have understood one another. It is a confusing tension for my brain and it is keeping me on my toes at all times.

2. Same gender closeness. Women of all ages will walk arm-in-arm. I like the thought of being a little girl again and walking arm-in-arm with my friends. Neat that they can do that here without anyone thinking anything about it. Also men stand and sit closer together than we find in America. Closeness just doesn't seem to have a sexual connotation or at least not as much of one.

3. Fathers/Grandfathers more nonverbally engaged with children. I am fascinated by this when I walk by the park on my way to work or lunch. Rather than yelling after the kids when the mother has exhausted herself as I have seen in the US, the men run after the kids, hold their hands, and push them on the swings or the merry-go-round. They also hold their children for purposes other than restraining them or tossing them in the air. The bonding is really beautiful and surprising for the age range. I do see young fathers doing this in the US, but not as much or as naturally as I see here.

4. Students are less territorial. In the US, students tend to claim a seat and stay their most of the semester. If someone makes the mistake of sitting in their spot, they will go through the range of passive-aggressive to aggressive means of informing the interloper of the offense. I have used this tendency in the past to learn my students names quicker. However, students here just aren't that concerned with their space. They move around quite easily, do not seem uncomfortable with the movement, and do not glare at someone who is sitting in the seat they had last class. This has made it a bit difficult to use my usual methods of recognizing students. Adaptation is key to survival and I am moving slowly to adjust.

Similarities:
There are a number of similarities though and I think this is why I feel relatively at home here.
1. Bulgarians, while not as smiley as Americans, do have a polite smile when engaging someone. When you try to speak Bulgarian, they seem pleased at the attempt and smile quite genuinely. They are quick to say that it is really difficult to learn Bulgarian and we are grateful for their indulgence and instruction.

2. Eye contact is expected to show sincerity and honesty. This similarity really does help me feel more comfortable and accepted.

3. Head nod of acknowledge when passing and wave to cars that stop when crossing the street. I was happy that this is done here because I don't even notice that I do these things. I don't think I could stop even if it was rude.

4. Holding the door for someone behind you. They hold the door for about the same distance away as in America. This helps make my days easier so that I am not running into doors or injuring others.

5. General personal space distance. It is about the same here as it is in the US. This helps make the classroom and shopping much more comfortable. Too small of personal space and I would feel crowded and uncomfortable. Too much personal space and I would feel lonely or as if I smelled.

Aside from the head nod/shake issue, the differences are charming and the similarities comforting. I really can't understand why this isn't a bigger tourist destination.

Expat MEH--Now recovered

Neither expat angst nor awe, I recently suffered a case of meh. Another beautiful sunset, yawn. More charming people, whatevs. Writing blog posts, who could really care. And then I went to Seattle for a conference and found out that my mom really does read my blog and wants to hear about the sunsets, charming people, and so on.

I also realized that I am loving this adventure. This came as a surprise, I thought I would realize all that I was missing in America when I came back for the AOIR conference. While I loved the conference and all of the wonderful people I got to hang out with (Adam, Kiley, Ryan, Sunny, and many more), I was happy to return home...to Bulgaria. I am not sure why I have not suffered from homesickness. It may have something to do with my home being a person rather than a place (shout out to Mark). Anyway, more posts will show up this week and updates will become a regular occurrence!

Expat Angst--Evil Appliances

I am a wimp. America and all of the regulations that govern what products can and can not do has made me weak. I am simply not used to evil appliances working to do me harm.

The evil trio of which I speak includes our toaster, coffee pot, and boiler. The toaster has no special "cool touch" sides or extra settings for different types of bread I might want to toast. It has a series of settings that at best are random in their toastiness. The heating element burns with the fires of Hades. There is no namby-pamby special toast release mechanism. The element waits as I decide whether to get the toast out with my fingers. I have learned to thwart its burning intentions and simply tip it over allowing gravity to free my toast from its evil clutches. I have outsmarted it this time, but it lurks in the kitchen preparing for the next battle.

Our house has not yet burned down, but our coffee pot is plotting as we speak. There is not a special "don't burn down the house" setting. No automatic shut off or special timer. It is on or it is not. And if we should turn our attention away from it and forget for a moment that it waits to wreak havoc on our lives, it will triumph.

Finally, our little evil empire is lead by the boiler. Our skin has paid the price of our ignorance of this danger. No special valves keeps the searing hot pain from our flesh. If it wishes, it can send near boiling water out of the taps. While it can sear tomato sauce neatly from our pans, it wants to sear the flesh from our bones. We must beware, ever vigilant as we go forth!

New Food Review-Aйран & Red Paprika Chips

Mark and I have the goal of trying many new foods while we are here in Bulgaria. Some are completely unknown and some are versions of at home favorites. I will be using a five star rating system and do my best to explain the whats and hows of these foods.


Star Rating: 1 star ; 2 star ; 3 star ; 4 Star ; and 5 star


First up we have Aйран (Ayran):
Wikipedia describes this as "a cold beverage of yogurt mixed with cold water and sometimes salt." Mark describes it as "drinking the liquid part of cottage cheese." Though it seems quite popular here, I do not not foresee us acquiring this taste.
We give it

Luckily we found a Wikipedia site about French Toast that described how Bulgarians prepare it with yogurt, so we decided to try use this for French Toast. It was DELICIOUS!!! SO as an ingredient

We give it !




Next we have Red Paprika Potato Chips from CHIO:These chips are crispy like Lays back in the states, but the flavor is unlike anything we have there. They are slightly sweet and have a mild tangy spiciness that strengthens toward the back of the tongue.

Mark and I LOVE these chips! We could do some major damage on a large bag of these. Thank goodness they come in small bags.

We give them






That is all for now. We promise to continue to eat strange things and let you know about them!

Nicholas the Flying Cat!

Hello! I, Nicholas, have highjacked the blog to tell the story of my trip here. (This is what happens when a computer is left unattended while still logged in! I believe Abbie Syrek knows something of this!)

I will begin my tale with the dreaded sight of luggage. Luggage is not a good sign and a cat carrier is even worse. I was nervous for days about these interlopers into our lives. As I knew it would be, I was bundled into the cat carrier one unsuspecting morning. The "feel good" spray on the carrier did not convince me this would be a calm trip. Instead it agitated me more because I knew something was different. I made my feelings known in the car ride to no avail. Really, while I love them, they just do not listen to me!

When the car stopped we were not at the vets nor at home. This strange building was very odd. The revolving doors seemed to cause much chaos with the 6 bags of luggage and myself. I tried to help by rolling around in the carrier seeming to want to move it of my own accord, but I was silenced brutally. There were the occasional admirer, but their offerings of kitty! kitty! cute kitty! did not appease me. Really, I am far above such paltry praise as was given me.

Once my paperwork was approved (really! as if anyone could doubt that I was worthy of travel to anywhere I wish! I tried not to be too offended by this.) we made our way to a gate of some kind. Would that I could be more eloquent in the description, but I have never seen the like and have no way of explaining it to you. I was resigned to my fate in the carrier when suddenly I was removed. My humiliating harness and leash for all to see. My embarrassment was acute and I was happy to be again in the carrier once Mark and I were through the strange doorway. Lynnette seemed to have trouble with the three computers that had to be put back in their bags (they are not nearly as helpful as I) and she seemed to be under some suspicion as her bags had to be checked thoroughly by a blue handed lady. Somehow we made it through and were able to sit in another room. So much sitting was done on this trip that I am almost tired of it. Luckily the absorbent pad placed in my carrier was able to catch my nervous eliminations and it was promptly removed. Again I had tried to explain to them my needs, but we are limited in our communication due to their absurd reliance on a single language.

There was a commotion again and we were moving. The small tube we were loaded into was comfortable and cozy (I like close accommodations) and felt safe there. A lovely conversation was held with the small tube we were in. My humans seemed to think I was talking to them, they could not recognize the language we exchanged. The visit was cut short and again we were moved to a different building to walk quite a distance. I was carried, but I would have helped if I had been allowed. Again we were in a line leading to that strange doorway. I sensed concern from Mark and Lynnette. Again the computers were removed their carrier as I was from mine. This time both came under suspicion! Mark for something around his waste and Lynnette set off some alarm. Mark was able to get through, but something was wrong in his bag. Lynnette was petted by another blue handed lady, though she did not purr as would be expected with such courteous behavior (I have tried to teach them both politeness and expectation with no success). When all seemed success, we were stopped again. Apparently there was concern over the weight of one of the pieces of luggage. This one held my food and litter, so clearly a most important cargo, and yet was removed to another part of the plane. Alas, Mark and Lynnette thought their computers and other materials more important. It seemed that they finally were approved to move on to another tube. A much larger tube though my accommodations under a seat were still snug and protected.

After a brief cleaning of may carrier (if they had just allowed me more notice of the trip I would have used the box before we left), I was left alone to have a wonderful conversation with the tube. I slept some, though to be truthful the tube just wanted to keep talking with all the hums, beeps, purrs, etc, but sometimes you just have to tune out a noisy travel companion and drift off. There was some light refreshment, but as I was unsure of the length of the confinement I only had a few sips of water and one or two pieces of food.

Before I knew it, we were leaving the tube and again in line for the strange doorway (why that doorway is in so many places I have no idea!). Once again, myself and the computers were let out of their carriers. Luckily Mark and Lynnette finally were able to placate those in charge of the strange doorway and we were allowed to pass untroubled. By now I knew the drill! We sat, walked, rode in a vehicle bigger than a car (they stayed standing...quite strange!), then sat in another tube. Having no interest in another conversation, I fell asleep. Rudely awakened, I was carried to another building. The luggage with my food and litter was recovered...oh and the bags Mark and Lynnette had were also there. We were conveyed to a line and a man shooed us away. Mark tried to say something about me and yet they were not concerned and waved us through. I am not surprised as any country is lucky to have me within its confines.

I was placed in a car with Mark, Lynnette, and a gentleman whom I do not know. The driver of the vehicle was worse than any I have been with before and I was happy to be stopped. Hopeful of a home, I got a small room (though it did have big windows). I was pleased with the reception of the people at this room. They were kind, carried me upstairs, and we held a great conversation as I am fluent in Bulgarian. We were in the small room for two days and now I am in my home. We have not moved again, so this must be my home. I have wide window sills to sit on and the view is amazing. I am concerned by the rooms out of doors. They interest me to some degree, but I am not quite sure I wish to know them better.

I have written at length and I can hear a key in the door so I must quit you now. Thank you for your kind attention,
Yours
Nicholas

Apartment Gatherers-Bulgarian Edition Part 3

Hello everyone, in the final installment of our brief program the apartment choice of Mark and Lynnette Leonard is revealed.

We know they did not choose Option #3 because it was too big and too old.

So did they choose Option #1 or Option #2? There seemed to be many votes for Option #1 from our fans out there in web land.

Option #1 was amazing, but those of you who know Lynnette know that while the idea of cleaning help is appealing it also feels wrong. She had trouble sitting in the living room when the men they hired to paint the trim of the house worked outside. Also the availability of a car sounded good, however, after seeing how they drive here in Bulgaria it is best the Leonards don't succumb to the pressure of driving anywhere on their own.

So Option #2 is the choice! The bathtub and the two terraces trumped the extra set of stairs. Also the more modern feel of the place just fit their style better than the traditional feel in Option 1. Finally, the true spare bedroom means that all the lovely people who want to come and visit will have a place to stay!

Pictures of the apartment:










That is all for our Bulgarian Edition of Apartment Gatherers. Stay tune to this blog for more information about the Leonard's life in Bulgaria. More pictures will be posted as soon as there is a way to charge the battery.
Lynnette AKA Lively

Apartment Gatherers-Bulgarian Edition part 2

In the same vein as the popular cable show we aren't mentioning, one of the options is ruled out. In this case, option 3 was removed from consideration.

Option #3 was just too big and out of date to be a home. Though the price and the location were both good, Lynnette could not see spending much time there and as her position is part time she will be spending more time at home.

Check back for the final decision and rationale!