Bulgarian Daze

Isn’t the job of a consulate to assist people in applying for visas/passports/other official documents?  That was my understanding, but then again, I’ve been wrong before.  Clearly, the Bulgarian Consulate in L.A. is not there to help anyone.  Not.a.single.person.EVER.  So here’s the story:

Yet again, we drove up to L.A. to attempt to apply for work visas.  This time, we were sure we were adequately prepared with all our paperwork.  We had them all checked before we left Bulgaria, made sure we ordered fresh “original” copies from the U.S. lawyers and Secretary of State, had new pictures taken at Kink0s, and so on…

We were wrong.

We turned in all our papers and the ladies again insisted they were fraudulent or fakes.  They couldn’t be originals, she explained, because the stamps were not in the right place on the papers.  I tried to calmly tell her that perhaps someone should notify all the Bulgarian attorneys and accountants how to stamp their papers, because that is the way we got the papers.

Oh no no.  They know what to do and if it isn’t done, it must mean we forged the documents and we are really just trying to cheat the government in some way or other.  On and on this went.  Until we called the people who helped us back in Bulgaria, who then talked to the Consulate (at the rate of $2 a minute) to explain that all the documents had been shown to the appropriate ministries and previously approved.

Ahhhh……so we know people.  Muwahahahaha.  We thought we had her.

But no. we did not.  She kept yelling at us that they were making a BIG exception for us, blah blah blah.  I asked her for some of my original documents back (she insisted before that they NEVER keep them), then she refused to give them back.  She told me I didn’t need them.

Well, this was the end of my patience.  I yelled back.  YELLED.  I told her to stop yelling at me and that it was her job to be helpful.  Then……silence.  She stopped yelling at me, collected our money, moved the process forward.  Apparently these Consulate flies DO like vinegar more than honey.

Maybe it’s their mullet hairdos that prevent them from thinking clearly or answering any questions in a helpful, kind tone of voice…

But my favorite part…we owed $50, we handed over $60, and in true Bulgarian fashion, they did not have change.

“I’ll give you the difference when you come back to get the visas”, she said.

“Okay.  Could you just write me a receipt then?”

“I wrote it on your file.  They will know when you get here.”

“But I have no proof. I want something in my own hands that says you owe me money.”

“What? You think we are making a deal here?”

“No.” I said. “ I think I want to make sure you aren’t stealing from me”.  Huff, puff, and BAM! I got a receipt. (Get it?  She had been accusing us of stealing from the country all along and then I accused her of stealing from us…get it? Get it? Pure genius on my part!)

I will have the last laugh.  I hope.

And that’s just what we’ve been doing. We have decided that our mission while we are here at home is to add a layer of blubber that will insulate us for the winter. Think of a whale, as it prepares for its time in the icy Arctic waters. Yes, that’s us! We have eaten our way through San Diego and all our food cravings have been filled. Well….mostly. I mean, can you ever get enough of these:

or these:

The weather has been crazy warm here. Even though I could hardly wait to be here and feel the sunshine, the heat in November makes me worry about global warming. Seriously, it does. They spotted an iceberg off the coast of New Zealand the other day, so who knows when we could see one here? I am even more convinced I need to switch to a hybrid car…just as soon as our money begins to sprout on trees…
We have at least another week and a half here, depending on the Consulate and their ability to process our visa (that is a whole other story to tell…our day at the Bulgarian Consulate in L.A….look for it soon!). I have visited nearly everyone at least once, and I am going on to Round 2, once I get through my To-Do List:

1. Eat more food to gain more blubber.
2. Get skis out of storage. Have them tuned.
3. Buy food products to put in suitcase and smuggle back.
4. Find ski clothes in storage and pack them with said skis.
5. Buy cotton tights to wear under pants in freezing cold Sofia snow.
6. Eat more food to gain more blubber.
7. Look through classroom supplies to bring back some teaching aids for my (keep your fingers crossed) hopefully new job teaching a few classes at a high school.
8. Check daily on visas (see visit to Consulate) in order to obtain above job.
9. Eat more food to gain more blubber (at this point, perhaps a seal or small shark?)

Well that about sums it up. What I have left to do here: my list, have a social life akin to Paris Hilton, warm up alongside the planet, and eat.

Yes, yes, we made it home! Perhaps you were worried that our plane crashed or something, since the blog has been markedly silent for….nearly a week (man, has it been that long?). But no…the plane made it here safely, as did we.

A brief synopsis of our time here so far–though I will detail all this much later. I’m just enjoying San Diego too much now to write anything decent:

We arrived Tuesday night, had some fresh avocados and tortilla soup, then promptly crashed in perhaps the most comfortable bed we have ever been in. Ok, ok, perhaps that is an exaggeration. But after 3 months of springs popping into our ribs at random intervals, it felt like the most comfortable bed ever. On Wednesday I went up to school and got mobbed by all my old students. Funny how they love you so much when you aren’t their teacher, but when you are their teacher….not so much. Thursday, well, that day I spent snoozing on the beach. On Friday, I helped my friend in her classroom, then had a pedicure (the feet seriously needed a cleaning) and dinner. And today, Saturday, I finally visited my little girl dog, Lola, and watched my niece’s soccer game in the hot, hot sun.
Where’s Mark in all this, you ask? Working, of course! Too bad for him…though he did see our other dog, Dakota, for a little bit the other night.
Of course we have already indulged in most of the foods we missed so much, particularly Mexican food, and been down to the beach a few times for walks.

I think it will be hard to return…but we’ll survive!

…jiggety jig! We’re on our way back, and not a moment too soon. With gusting freezing air blowing through the city, I could use a little sunshine. So please, nobody wash your cars. I don’t want to return to rain.

Well, it’s off to pack. We are T minus 14 hours to plane takeoff, and I have yet to unzip a suitcase. See you soon!

As promised, a recap on our trip to Rila Monastery…

Of course, first you must know a little history (click here or here for more in depth history) of the place. In the 10th Century, a hermit named John lived in a cave and prayed near to where Rila is now located. The scholars who followed his teachings began building the monastery, particularly a guy named Ivan Rilski. Many priests and leaders in the world donated to the monastery during the first few hundred years it was built. Then the Turks invaded Bulgaria and raided the monastery in the 13th Century. Even so, the monastery was saved by the Russian Orthodox church who would send books and money to the church.

During the time of the Ottoman Empire (when the Turks had taken over), the monastery became a refuge for Bulgarian culture. Because it was in the mountains and a bit difficult to get to, the monks here were able to keep much of the culture alive during this time. For this reason, Rila Monastery is perhaps the most beloved and respected place in Bulgaria.

In the 1880s, as the Turks were being forced out of Bulgaria by the Russians, they burned the monastery down. But…because the respect people had for the place, they raised enough money and rebuilt the place in one year. This may not seem amazing to you, but this is a country that cannot even build a simple road in 5 years, let alone a huge monastery in one!

Our trip to the monastery actually began the night before, on our way home from Plovdiv. The taxi we took from the bus station was driven by a guy named Toni. We started asking about going to the monastery because I had read that it is difficult to go by bus in one day. Toni offered to drive us in his own car and we negotiated a price. My two friends, Mark and I split the price.

On Monday morning, Toni came and picked us up in his own car. He told Mark that he would be Mark’s Bulgarian teacher and Mark would be his English teacher. And that’s pretty much how the day went—those two trying to communicate in the front seat with my friend and me trying to translate between the two of them (using our Bulgarian/English dictionary, of course) from the back seat. Toni stopped at the place where the nuns stayed:

And he stopped for us to take some scenic shots:

(a frozen waterfall) (snow-capped mountains)

Then we got to the monastery and it was all snowy, in the mountains, and BEAUTIFUL!! Really, truly amazing. The monastery itself is bright and colorful and every inch of it is covered in artwork and…well….words really cannot convey….take a look!

Toni walked us all around, into the monks’ quarters and up to the top to the scenic views, and he even bought us little icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. (Soooo nice of him!!! I mean, we were strangers to him!!) Of course, we had to have a snowball fight.  Mark thinks he won, but we both know that really, I WON!!! Then we headed down the mountain, stopped for lunch/dinner, and headed home.

I think this was definitely the best day I have had since we moved here!
**There are meeeeeeeellions more Rila pictures in the Gallery, though I removed some of the artwork pictures which were not kid-friendly.

I know living in San Diego where there is only one type of weather (sunny) does not properly prepare me to deal with Autumn. But surely, even people who are used to having seasons and changing weather are scratching their heads over our past week. Last week, we had snow and ice. Then rain. Then big gusts of freezing cold wind. And today…sunny. San Diego sunny. Sunny like I can wear flip flops sunny. Turn off all the heaters we waited so long to work sunny. Take the hound to the park sunny.

And I think that’s just what I’ll do. Because, who knows? There could be a blizzard tomorrow!

Plovdiv should be called P-love-div. It is such a beautiful city. We loved visiting, and we will definitely return!

Some Plovdiv background: Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria, second behind Sofia (where we live). The Ottoman Empire (the Turks) controlled Bulgaria for 500 years, until the Russians helped free Bulgaria from Turkish rule in the 1880s. Unfortunately, at the time the first treaties were being signed, Plovdiv was still considered part of the Turkish Empire, so it was NOT named the capital of Bulgaria. This is their claim to fame, that they should have been the capital city. Plovdiv is the Sausalito of Bulgaria. It is where the artists and intellectuals hung out, but sadly, were killed during the Communist era for being against the regime. Think reverse McCarthy-ism.

Now, they have a beautiful center of town with clean streets and brightly colored buildings. There is a whole area where cars are not permitted, so the streets art clear for walking.

There is also a section called Old Town where they have preserved the history. There are the original stones laid by the Romans during the Roman Empire and traditional Bulgarian houses from the Ottoman Empire.

So….here’s how the weekend went:

On Saturday afternoon, we took a bus from Sofia to Plovdiv, which took about an hour and a half. When we arrived at Plovdiv, we went to our hotel and checked in. One small problem, we didn’t bring out passports and the guy didn’t believe we lived in Sofia since we didn’t have address cards (what are those and how do we get them????) But since we were only staying one night, he let us in.

Well, we had planned to meet some of my new American friends who were also in Plovdiv later in the night, but come to find out, some of Mark’s friends were also in town that night. What a coincidence!! We met two of his friends—one American and one Bulgarian—for dinner and then we went out to play pool. Then we went out afterwards with my friends.

The next morning, we went and had brunch, then met with Mark’s friends to tour Old Town. The Bulgarian girl grew up in Plovdiv, so she took us around and told us all the history. For example, they have preserved the original stones laid by the Romans(if you would like to see the pictures better, click on them, they will enlarge):

There was also an amphitheater that was originally built by the Romans, then restored by the Bulgarians and is still used for operas and concerts today:

And during the time of Turkish rule, they built their houses in such a way so they could hide their children who were often taken by the Turks and turned into slaves or soldiers. They would have big walls or wooden doors and windows. Here is an example:

Some of the streets are narrow and the houses nearly touch each other across the streets:

While we were there, a potter came out and offered to give us a demonstration of how he makes his pots, cups, etc. He showed us in his book where he had done a demonstration for the US Ambassador and explained how the clay comes from the nearby river, the River Maritsa.

Of course, we bought a few items from him. This was one of the best parts of the day. He works in a little shop and sells his creations. And he had a speech in English that he knew and described everything that he was doing. Then he slammed one of the vases on to the table to show that it WILL NOT BREAK!! I already knew this because before I left I had taken a pottery class and I learned that little fact. Having tried pottery myself, it was extraordinary to watch this guy make a perfect milk vase in 2 minutes. My greatest achievement was a soy sauce dish that took 8 weeks to master, and even then, it was uneven! So I was very impressed.

After so much walking, we decided to have hot chocolate in a café and then shop for snow boots. I did not find any I liked (will have to look when I come home), so we left and headed to the bus stop, where we met up with some of my American friends. Now all this may seem amazingly coincidental to you, but Bulgaria is a very small country, so it is not unlikely that you will run into people you know.

We were lucky to have a Bulgarian with us during our tour because she could explain to us what everything was. Otherwise, we would have had to rely on guide books which don’t have as much information. One thing Mark and I have both noticed is that people here know their history well. Any Bulgarian could tell you about the main events in their country’s past, and they have thousands of years of history. It makes me that much more sad that so many Americans don’t know our basic history and we are only a couple hundred years old….

To sum it all up…we loved Plovdiv, and now call it P-love-div! We will definitely hang out there again!

***I finished the album of Plovdiv pictures—be sure to check it out!****

Or better yet, the places we went! All in one weekend! I have tons of stuff to write about Plovdiv and Rila, but we just got home, it’s night time and time to eat, and we’re exhausted. The short version is…IT WAS AWESOME!! WE LOVED IT!!! Both places were fantastic, way better than we even thought they would be…actually worth being here just to see these places. So, to hold you over until I can write the whole story tomorrow, I did take the time to upload a few Plovdiv pictures in the gallery on the right (you know…the one with the yellow church). Enjoy! We did!

Just thought you would like to see some pictures of the snow outside…since you’ll never see it there in warm, sunny San Diego!

I tried to get a picture of the actual snowflakes, but thats proved to be a little difficult. Oh, and check out the weather forecast on the side here…that’s MINUS 4, people, MINUS! And feels like MINUS 11.  Did I move to Siberia or something?
p.s. I added some new pictures to the photo gallery from a few months ago when we went to Vitosha Mountain (you’ll remember it from the Amazing Race story??). Check them out. Sorry it took so long, it’s just that the photo gallery thing is tedious and laborious and in my new retirement state of mind, I just haven’t got the energy…

Mark finally took a few days off and we are actually going to do a little traveling here in Bulgaria. On Saturday and Sunday, we will be in Plovdiv. Then on Monday, we are going to Rila, where they have a famous monastery. This is the most famous place in Bulgaria. It will surely be cold, even freezing!, but it will be fun. We should have lots of pictures when we return….

Have a nice weekend, all! We will!!