Girl Meets Bulgaria: 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