Oh, the Places You'll Go!

I know a while back I griped about train travel. Now, it's probably one of my favorite things about being in Bulgaria. Yes, it's long and seemingly cumbersome at times but I feel closer to the wanderlusters that came before me. Most recently I returned from a 7 hour trip from another volunteers house. 7 hours. That is almost as long as it will take me to get to America. However I can't complain as I didn't even have to travel the farthest. We do that here. Travel great distances just for the chance to hang out with other volunteers. We pack ourselves into each others apartments claiming beds, floor space, couches, kitchens, balconies....Wherever there is room. I never regret it. I'm lucky here, I have really good friends. I love laughing and for some reason being around these fools invokes some sort of deep guttural laugh I never knew existed inside of me. 
The way back home this past weekend was more of the more enjoyable trips I've had. Relatively speaking, I'm always excited to go somewhere but rarely excited to journey back home. I ran into a friend on the train and we went in search of a train car with more leg room. We were hesitant to join what my friend dubbed as "The Grumpy Old Men" car, but we did and spent the next 5 hours with two men that bore a similar resemblance to these guys:

One of the men was the most talkative Bulgarian I've ever come across. I don't think he stopped speaking during the 5 hours I was on the train. Our car filled up some so I was able to take naps while he regaled newcomers with his stories or interrogated them accordingly. Our conversation jumped from questions about America, to Bulgarian children's songs, to questioning why I'm a vegetarian, to a lesson on Bulgarian history. It was ridiculous, and I'm lucky that someone could share in the absurdity that the situation was. I've never had anyone pantomime snails for me before, it was incredible to watch. But this is what makes train travel exciting. Isn't that why we travel? Isn't that why we joined the Peace Corps? Not to just see the world, but to live it, to experience it. No one interacts on airplanes, the setting is hardly conducive to it, here you're sitting face to face with mere inches between you and the next person. It's more intimate. I think what I found most fascinating was towards the end of this journey one of the men got off and it was only then that I realized that the two old men had only just met. They seemed like old friends but their friendship was only that of however many hours.  When I got off the train we said our goodbyes and that was that. No trying to exchange phone numbers or emails, no concerns about whether or not he was going to try and find me on facebook. We left each other taking with us only the stories of people we met on our travels. 

Ouch. European Burn

Watching this clip made me think of the times that people made fun of my brother. It's only okay if I do it, when other people do it I get offended. David Cameron did you really have to go there?

Ignorance is Bliss

I'll be honest, there are many Bulgarian things that I don't understand. Why does shaking your head mean yes while nodding your head means no? Why do they like to serve food that should be hot cold, but will not hesitate to microwave pickles which should be cold? Why does my school give 15-20 min breaks between classes so kids can get food but then are shocked when the kids are late since 736 people are all standing in line trying to get snacks at the same time. I don't understand any of this. However the latest fetish to boggle my mind is mostly occurring in America and its name is Chatroulette. The basic premise of this website is that you can randomly video chat with strangers all across the world, clicking next as you please. A friend of mine mentioned that he had seen a satire of this site on South Park and had to check it out. He was so shocked and horrified that a group of us had to see what the fuss was all about. After a few libations we all gathered in front of the computer and decided to test our fate. We were so excited to see people at first but were being quickly nexted by one person to the next until we landed on a girl in a very compromising position. I expected to see men being voyeurs but not a lady. She remained this way until she dexterously used her foot to click the next button without every revealing her face. Also I should have been careful what I wished for because it seemed like from then on out every guy was sitting with the camera positioned at seductively to accomplish what I don't know. It just seemed to ridiculous to me that I couldn't stop laughing. Maybe I just don't have that voyeuristic instinct in me. I've taken an accidental foray into this arena when I didn't realize for about a week after moving into my apartment that my curtains were indeed see through. I immediately bought blinds, I didn't install a webcam and make a show of it.

Luckily the internet went down and we focused our attention back to more productive activities and conversations, which is what friends are supposed to do when they are together. I think our biggest problem with this site and the people on it, who are mostly American, is that they have the opportunity to go out and meet and interact with each other. Living abroad in small towns we don't have the same luxury and use the internet as an outlet to keep our relationships and friendship alive. It seems that this site is just another hinderance to actual human connection. I wonder what they'll think up next.

Who knew Larry King would bring so much joy to my life?

You're welcome.

Me Fail English? Umpossible.

By now you've all probably heard me rant and hate on Stephanie Myers. I've found an ally in this fight for the mind of the teenager in an article recently published on The Daily Beast. 

How to Make American Teens Smarter

First of all, if you don't know The Daily Beast, check it out. It's smart, entertaining, informative, and while it does have a liberal slant there are plenty of conservative opinions offered. 

Anyhow,

I'm so glad to know that I'm not alone in people so sick of the "Harry Potter Defense". When someone argues that at least we're getting kids to read. I don't buy it.  Reading Twilight does not count as reading any more than reading the back of a cereal box.  I think part of the reason why this topic infuriates me to no end is the fact that I am now a teacher and see first hand what this is doing to children in Bulgaria. Last week I gave a test in which they had to spell words in Bulgarian. Some of them failed to spell "fruit" and "rice" correctly,  points for me for recognizing that they were spelled incorrectly.  I know the brain isn't technically a muscle (thank you wikianswer for making me not look stupid), but it still needs to be challenged and stimulated. I've taken to the extremely dorky habit of reading with post-its instead of bookmarks so I can write down words that I don't know the exact definition of and look them up later. Am I taking the GRE soon? Yes. Will I continue this practice when I'm done? Maybe. Do I hope that I will? Definitely. 

I don't know if there was a point to this post other than me wanting to stick it to Stephanie Myers and her battered wife at 18 heroine. Seriously Bella, if your boyfriend finds it hard not to KILL you that's when it's time to get out of the relationship. I'm pretty sure Scruff McGruff had a PSA about that. 

Bust-A-Rhyme

Me: This test is going to be easy breezy.
Kaloyan: Freezy
Ivan: Cheesy
Tsvetomir: Young Jeezy


Like you wouldn't die laughing. I live for little moments like this...

Happy Women's Day

So today is apparently not just a Bulgarian holiday but an international holiday. Who knew? I dedicate today to the most absolute amazing woman I know. My mom. It may be cliché  but it's true. What can I say? She's awesome. So mom know that I love you and that this song will forever make me think of you.