This blog thing is hard stuff!

Again, I have severely lacked in blogging pretty much at all. Which I suppose is fine due to the fact that no one reads this thing! But still, I like to have it and, therefore, should keep it up to date. Some recent changes in my life include:

-Being hired on full-time at the University of Utah Commuter Services. I do pretty much the same work I did before, only now I make more money and have great benefits.

-Ventsislav and I celebrated (as best we could being 10,000+ miles apart!) our 1st Anniversary in July. I cannot believe we have been together a year, and when I think about it, we have been apart more then together since we met. Thankfully I can see the big picture and know that one day all of the waiting will pay off.

-My parent's divorce is final. Sad, but for the best in the long run, I am sure.

-And best of all.... My Mediterranean Cruise! Vince, my mom, Amy, and I all went and it was fantastic. Not the best way to see such amazing parts of the world, granted. But I liked the relaxed atmosphere of the ship and I didn't worry about much besides what pool to go to or when Vince and I might be able to squeeze in a little alone time together. All in all I would do it again, but next time maybe to somewhere like the Caribbean or Asia.

I guess that is all I can think of, I know more has happened since I last wrote in February, but it escapes me now!

On the horizon for me is continuing to work hard to make money to pay off my debts. Moving to Bulgaria is my priority and that cannot happen until I am relatively debt-free. I am also trying to get my mind back into finishing my BA at the U. I am SO close (only one class-an outdoor one no less-and an internship away) to graduating. I WILL have my degree by the end of summer 2010, no ifs, ands, or buts about it!!

Anyway, hope there are a few of you out there who read this, if not. Oh well!

Cheers!

P.S. Will post some pics of our cruise soon. Well, soonish! That could mean another 7 months! :)

CRUISE!

Vince gave me the BEST news the other day, he got his Mediterranean cruise with Princess! Why am I excited... Well, I get to go! My mom will also be coming along, which will be awesome because she and Vince will finally get to meet. We set sail from Barcelona, Spain on September 1st. The cruise is 12 days long and is on Princess' newest ship, The Ruby! We also visit:

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Florence/Pisa, Italy

Naples/Capri, Italy

Rome, Italy

Venice, Italy

Mykonos, Greece

Athens, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey

I cannot wait for September! Not only do I get to go on an amazing cruise to places I have always dreamed of visiting, but I get to do it with the two greastest people in my life.

Oh dear, SO EXCITED!!

For my own amusement, I am posting a few pics of some of the stops.

Goodbye Bulgaria...

So, as predicted, I was a huge slacker on the whole blog thing while I have been in Bulgaria. I am leaving in two days, and I have only done one post. Oh well, such is life. I thought that I should at least post a few more pictures of some stuff from the past three weeks. I am definitely going to miss being here with Vince. A lot of people here have asked me if I like Bulgaria, when I say yes, they always roll their eyes, as if I must be lying. I truly do like it here though. It is drastically different from anywhere else I have been and certainly different from home, but that is what I like most about it. It has been hard not knowing the language, but I love being immersed in a new culture and not knowing anything, just learning as I go, learning by fire. There are a few things, however, that I will not miss about this country. The staring, Bulgarians seem to have no issue with staring at you for an unreasonable amount of time, we simply don't do that in America. I will not miss the small roads with their hazerdous pot holes and insane drivers, passing whenever they feel the need. I will miss waking up every morning to the sweetest man on this planet, watching whatever movie I feel like watching (Bulgarians are the masters of pirating films), even if it is still in the theaters back home in America, trying to decipher the signs using the English alphabet (it's humerous), and mostly just being away from everything I know, truly experiencing such a unique and genuine country.

First Week in Bulgaria

December 28th-January 4th

I arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday, December 28th. It was a long and sleepless 18-hour flight. After nearly missing my connections in Seattle and Paris, I was so thankful to finally be on my way to Bulgaria. Most of the flight was on Air France, so I had to deal with weird food and the language barrier (I guess a preparation for what I am experiencing now!). Customs was insanely easy. They official just asked me why I was here, "'to see my boyfriend." Where is he from? ''Smolyan.'' Where did you meet him? "In Alaska over the summer, we worked together.'' Do you know So and So Popov? He worked in Alaska too. "Ummmmm. Well probably not, a lot of Bulgarians work in Alaska.'' Ok, enjoy your stay!

My luggage was out when I got to the baggage claim, I was happy to see that my bags stayed closed during the 3 plane changes, but the bottom of my large bag is completely destroyed, the wheels and everything. I grabbed my bags and headed out of the airport. There, waiting just outside the doors, was my favorite boy in the entire world, Venci! He had the biggest smile on his face and gave me really pretty flowers. We hugged and kissed and then hit the road in his adoreable little Volkawagon, of which he is so proud.

I didn't see much of Sofia, we wanted to get to Smolyan, Vince's hometown, as soon as possible. The drive was about 4 hours long. My first impressions of Eastern Europe are not what I thought they would be. It is not as "communist'' looking as I had pictured. The buildings are sort of sparse and utilitarian looking, but no huge bronze statues of long dead leaders or propoganda speeches blaring from speakers. And while we did pass through some smallish villages to get to Smolyan, I did not see any farmers driving horse-and-buggies. I suppose I sort of expected to enter a complete time warp, which to an extent is true, but not quite that bad.

Smolyan is a lot bigger than I had imagined. It has a population of about 30,000 people and is located in a canyon in the Rhodope Mountains. It is very long and surrounded by woods and mountains. There was some snow on the ground when I got here, but it has since snowed quite a bit and it is very beautiful.

For the first time in my life (and after quite a few long flights), I think I finally experienced jetlag. My first few days here were not the greatest. I couldn't, and still can't, sleep through the night, but I have no problem sleeping during the day. It was hard adjusting to the food, Vince keeps trying to force feed me cheese, NOT a good idea!

For New Years we went to Rudozem, a small town about a 40 minute drive away. We went to spend the night at Vince's parents house. Sadly, the day after I arrived, Vince's Grandmother passed away, so I wasn't able to meet her on our visit. It was freezing cold out so our plans to spend a lot of time in the town square were cut short. All in all it was a great night and I was so happy to welcome in 2009 in style (in Europe with my great boyfriend by my side).

After spending my first few days, ok first week really, being a lazy butt. We have since gone on some drives into the mountains, taken some walks through the snow, visited the house and land which Vince bought last year, had a fun night out with Vince's friends (including Radoslav, one of my coworkers from Alaska, visited some monuments, watched A LOT of pirated movies, and just generally had a great time finally being here and getting to be with Ventsislav.

I have been here over a week now, and while I am still struggling with things like the HUGE language barrier (I can go days without anyone but Vince speaking to me in English), food issues, the biting cold, and a little bit of homesickness, I am SO SO SO grateful to have the chance to be here and experience such a unique part of the world. I will definitely be heartbroken to leave here in just a few weeks...

In the woods near Smolyan

Out with Vince's friends

Smolyan

Vince and I at the Polkovnik Serafimov Monument