Bulgarian Daze

No, just kidding.  Nobody went overboard.  But we were on a boat for four days and it could have happened, what with all the raucous behavior.  My sister got married on a cruise down to Mexico.  The wedding was held before the ship left the port and then we spent the next three and a half days “celebrating”.  I was her Maid of Honor.  Here is a picture of Mark and I.  I cropped it out of the whole family photo since all the other people may not want their ugly mugs shown here:

Of course, I would have more photos if Mark and I hadn’t forgotten our camera.  Again.  Did I mention we did this when we went to Costa Rica, too???  But I will get some from the other photogs in the family and then I will post them up here.

The best part of the cruise (besides the wedding, of course–though I am obligated to say that ) was the day we were in Mexico.  Granted, Ensenada is kind of like the armpit of Baja California.  But I just loooooove Mexico.  We hung out in a restaurant with an oudoor patio and plenty of warm sunshine.  I ate a few fresh fish tacos with all the authentic toppings and Mark had some shrimp tacos, also delicious.  Both of our families (ours and my sister’s new in-laws) were  there, so we had a group of like 30 people all around the table and there was so much joking and laughing that my sides hurt. Plus I got a small, almost unnoticeable tan on my face and arms.  Wouldn’t want to get skin cancer.

Oh.  And the second highlight had to have been Mark singing a Madonna song at karaoke.  Man, he should have been a performer.  He just loves to show off in front of people, especially strangers.  It was really hilarious.

Even though it was a vacation, we didn’t get much rest.  There was always something to do or people to hang out with.  So when we got home, Mark and I promptly spent the afternoon napping.  You know, recovering.  From vacation. Heh.

**I’ll let you know when there are more wedding pics to show–I’ll make an album for them.

I’m still here. Here as in San Diego here. But I have begun substitute teaching and we are still preparing for taxes and my sister’s wedding, so life has been a bit crazy around this place.

This weekend will be the wedding cruise to Mexico, I’m sure we will have plenty of photos. Also, I plan on telling you all about my new life as a substitute teacher. I have never subbed a day in my life until last week. See, I knew Spanish, so I got hired before I even finished my student teaching. This is all new to me….

This week, so far, I have taught Kindergarten and sixth grade,my two least favorites. Which was worse???? Stay tuned….

I was flying…again! This time with a hound and nearly all of our belongings from Bulgaria. You know, just in case we can’t ever get back there. I’d hate to leave all our good stuff there forever.

So, we left on Monday morning at very early o’clock and checked in at Lufthansa. With the “kuche” (dog in Bulgarian). The girl at the counter asks us if his cage is too small.

“Ummmm, no. It’s the largest kennel your airline allows”, we respond.

After about a half an hour of her figuring out how to put the proper stickers in the proper places on the kennel, she sends me over to yet another counter to pay. Here, the lady charges me double. One charge for the dog and one because the dog is heavy. Does that make any sense to anyone??? Really??? But whatever. The plane is supposed to leave in like 20 minutes, so now is not the time to argue. I’ll get the refund later.

Then she informs me that she cannot access United’s system to make sure there is a doggie reservation. I explain to her that if she has a doggie reservation on Lufthansa, there MUST be one on United because we ONLY called United. The Lufthansa flight is one of those “United, operated by Lufthansa”, so United handles our reservations and all that. Since we NEVER called Lufthansa, and they know about the dog, well then common sense would say that United must have TOLD them about the dog. She isn’t following my logic. She insists on calling United. With 20 minutes to go.

But…she doesn’t have the right number. Seriously. I’m not kidding. All her numbers don’t work. So she has to make a life and death decision of whether to allow the hound on to the plane. I tried to soothe her by saying, “Look, we have 6 hours of layover time in Frankfurt to work this out. How about if you just board the hound and we will deal with it there?” Finally, she agreed.

Once we arrived in Frankfurt, we found the United counter and asked the lady to check on the hound situation. She made a few phone calls, and BAM. What d’ya know? The dog IS allowed on the plane. Go figure. But when she was talking on the phone, she said “ein hund”, pronounced AYN HOOOnd, which means “a hound” in German. Well, we loved that name for Guiseppe, so all day we kept asking about “ein hund”.

Our 6 hour layover turned into 8 hours. During the wait, Mark went to check that ein hund was in the right place. Good thing. Because ein hund was missing. MISSING, people. But after about 20 minutes, they located him. Where? In Baggage Claim. Yeah, no one had claimed him yet, I guess. Probably because he was supposed to be on a plane. But who am I to mention that little fact??

Since we were late in from Frankfurt, we missed our flight from San Francisco to San Diego. I was hoping we would get to stay the night because I LOVE San Francisco, and I know, just given the chance to explore, that ein hund would love it there, too. But alas, there was another flight out at 10:15pm. So we got on that. (Don’t ask Mark about how the airport changed gates on us right before the flight and how we had to hoof it all the way to the other side of the airport with him carrying a couple of very heavy bags. Don’t ask him. He seemed….I don’t know….agitated about the whole situation.)

We got into San Diego at 11:30 and there was ein hund, as happy as could be. He seemed so well-adjusted that we thought he was just meant to take trans-Atlantic flights. But then we heard from his new keepers that he had jet lag ALL DAY on Tuesday, and has just recently been snapping out of it. I wish I could snap out of it. I keep waking up at 3:30am and can’t go back to sleep. So after days of insomnia before leaving Sofia, and now a few days of weird hours, I am a zombie. I can barely remember my own name.

But see how I remembered to update you all…my faithful readers? That’s just solid love for ya!

Errrrr….it was my birthday. On Monday. You know, when we found out about the visas and had to begin making moving plans??? Kind of a bummer to find out on my birthday, but we are not ones to dwell on such things. Oh noooooo!

Mark Cassanova woke me up in the morning with a very yummy breakfast:

Who knew he could make the perfect egg? It’s as if he has been waiting for the entire 17 years we have been together to let me in on his little hidden skill.

Then we laid in bed (mostly because the couch is SO uncomfortable) and read books. And instead of getting ready for work, Mark Cassanova informed me he took the whole day and night off to hang out with me. Awww…so cute! He had done some research and found a nice restaurant at the top of a hotel where you can overlook the whole city.

Of course when we arrived at the restaurant, and we asked for a window seat, we got the typical Bulgarian response of “they are all full”. Ummm….they were actually all quite empty. VERY EMPTY. Like I can hear an echo in here empty.  Perhaps they are reserved and people will come a bit later, we thought. But alas, the whole time we were there–which was a long time because meals here take a looooooong time–only a few tables filled up. And sure enough, as we were leaving, we noticed there were still a few empty ones. Oh well. We got a seat just a little ways away from the window so we were still able to enjoy the view.

We had a huge meal and dessert, of course!, then headed home to watch a movie and crash. A very nice evening indeed.

Oh, and for those of you wondering how old I am, well, let’s just say that my age now has the same digit twice, and as much as I would prefer that it be 22, it is not.

Yup.  We women have our own day over here in Bulgaria.  Technically it is an international holiday.  What is the conspiracy theory as to why we don’t know about it in the United States???

Anyways, here it used to be a bigger holiday during Communist times, but everyone still celebrates it.  When I was walking Vladi the hound (how sad–he will only be Vladi for 3 more days until he returns stateside and then he will return to being Guiseppe) I saw everybody walking with flowers…men had flowers to give to women and women were carrying home flowers they had received at work.

And yes, Mark Cassanova also celebrated.  He brought me a tulip and and a hyacinth and a little crate of fresh strawberries that were oh so delicious! I asked Mark’s partners when Day of the Man is, and they said there is no such thing, that around here only women get days.  Mark has his own take on it.  He has decided that every other day of the year is now decreed Man Day.  We get one, they get 364.  I tried to explain to him that it’s already this way, no need to decree anything. Heh.

I have finally tired of CNN (although I confess to being riveted by King Abdullah II’s speech before Congress today) and have moved on to Animal Planet while I clean out cupboards and begin packing.  Last night I watched a whole documentary on elephants.  Perhaps you would like to know a few facts???  Mark just fell asleep at 2:00 this morning (after work) when I was trying to tell him my newfound learnings:

* An elephant can hold 9 liters of water in its trunk at a time.  This is more than three times the amount of liquid humans drink in a day.

* In 5 minutes, an elephant can drink a whole bathtub full of water.

* The elephant loses 5 liters of water through its skin every hour of the day.

* There are special vibration sensors in the elephant’s feet and trunk.

* Speaking of the trunk, there are more than 100,000 muscles in the elephant trunk and it is the most versatile appendage in all of mammalia, acting as a nose, arm, and hand.

* Baby elephants drink 25 liters of milk from their mother every day.

* Baby elephants eat other elephants’ poop (yes I said the word poop!) in order to jumpstart its digestive system.

Aren’t you fascinated?  I know I was.  Tonight:  Sloths.  I’ve already learned that the only time a sloth is in a hurry is when it has to go….poop!  Ha.  The word again.

Stay tuned!

You know that movie…where he keeps waking up and repeating the same day over and over again? That’s pretty much how my life here is going. Since last June, we have been trying to get the visa that allows us to enter and exit the country as often as we would like. As it is now, we have to play this fun game where we are here for a while and leave for a while, hence the trip to Austria.

We have contacted lawyers, the immigration department, “consultants”, and the US Embassy to get help with this. According to every law, we have a right to be here with Mark’s company. Everyone agrees on this. What they cannot agree on is what papers need to filed with whom. We attempted several times in the summer to file the documents and we were told they were the wrong ones, or they were not the originals, or they had a stamp on the wrong side of the paper, so they must be fraudulent.

Then we came here and “hired a consultant” (read into that what you will, you are probably right) who was supposed to guarantee that our documents were indeed the right ones and usher our paperwork through the process. Well, something went awry. The “consultant” did not understand the type of business arrangement we have here and therefore, did not properly advise us about our documents and so we were denied yet again. Furthermore, she offered us a money back guarantee but we have never heard from her since. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Why do you think that is?

When we returned in December we contacted several lawyers to help us. We have one guy who has been so helpful and who Mark uses for all the business stuff anyways–he is a friend of the partners here. The other guy wanted us to pay $7000 U.S. Dollars for him to basically make a few phone calls and fill out a couple of applications for us. You see, they think Americans are rich. What with shows like the O.C. and all the images Hollywood puts out, many people here think all Americans are like that. So they overcharge you FOR EVERYTHING. From fruits and vegetables to taxi rides to legal work. You have to be careful. I always buy my produce from the same trusted people and we only use one taxi company that is known for its honest metering. Clearly we were not going to pay this type of money when we could come home for free.

Finally I contacted the US Embassy and they agreed to help. The lady I was dealing with promised me a meeting with the director of the immigration whatever whatever and said that he would make an exception and accept our application from right here in BG. This is unusual because normally you have to leave the country to apply for a visa. I explained that we were re-filing some documents with the court system here, as advised when we got denied the last time. She assured me that this is no problem, they can wait, and even plan a meeting with short notice. Great!

So about two weeks ago I contacted her to please plan the meeting as were are pretty sure we are ready. Her “people” were out of the office that week. Then when I asked her to make sure it is this week because we were heading back to the U.S., she talked to her “people” and they decided we should just apply from the U.S. Need I remind you of the Mullet in the LA Consulate? We would have to deal with her again. Ummm….NO!

We are back to where we were last summer. Not 100% sure if we have exactly the right documents and having to deal with the LA Consulate. Groundhog’s Day.

But I busted out my mad math skills again and did some counting. The deal here is this. You get 90 out of 180 days. That means we are allowed 90 days out of every 6 months. So, basically on May 1st, if we come back, we will get 90 more days which will allow us to stay until August. We just have to stay home until May 1st. And so we will. With pleasure!

Regardless, the good BG lawyer here recommends that we attempt again with the LA Consulate because then we would be on record with the company and people/employees who would come here after us would have an easier time. Plus Mark could come back and forth as often as he wants to check on operations here. And so we will. But of course, not without problems.

See, the consulates like to take your passport during the whole process. So you file on one day and await the answer, which usually takes about a month. So they like to have your passport for the enitre month. Problem. My sister is getting married in Mexico while we are there and we need our passports. So we will have to apply at the end of March, get an answer at the end of April, thereby coming here again….oh yes….at the beginning of May, same time as my previous calculation. Groundhog’s Day.

But we will do it. Because on the very slight, miniscule, basically non-existent chance that we actually get approved (once again, I reiterate that legally we have a right to be here with the company and that all this is a game of which documents go to whom) then it will be much easier in the future.
I have not discussed the visa problem here on this blog because many people who I don’t know read this. Which is cool. But I was afraid of jeopardizing our chances of getting the visa. But, here is the reality: No matter what we do, we cannot get any help or answers in this process. It is like rolling the dice or playing the lottery. There are laws here governing this process. The problem is nobody seems to know ALL the laws. Some people know some of the laws, but it seems that nobody knows all of them. And so we keep getting different information.
And the decision depends on who looks at which documents on which day.

So I just don’t care anymore. I was trying not to slam anyone here, but I am SO over that. The ministries here are no help, the consulates there are no help and my own US Embassy is useless. We have been made to pay bribes, attempted to be extorted from, called frauds and liars. I give up.

Sadly, this hurts this country the most. We are honest people with an honest business that is expanding and pays excellent wages. Really…our employees are all paid well enough that they surpass what was determined to be “the wealthy level” here. Ok, they are not rolling in Mercedes or flashing the bling, but they can afford to live nicely here. And yet the government agencies and corruption make it impossible for us to work here. So in the end, while this is a hassle for us, it will only result in our apprehension to continue to expand the operations here in this country. Bulgaria says it wants foreign investment, but really, judging by their actions, they don’t.

Regardless, all this doom and gloom actually results in something great! We get to stay home for a couple of months and enjoy all the freedoms and temperate weather San Diego has to offer. Woooooohooooooooooo! Comida mexicana here I come!!!!!!!!

Since Mark was in pain from skiing wanted me to experience a little more Austrian culture, he insisted we take the sixth day off from our Olympic training and head to Salzburg by train.  He had visited Europe when he was a teenager and he remembered liking Salzburg, though he couldn’t recall exactly why.  For those of you who may not know about Salzburg, its two claims to fame (among others) are that Mozart was born and raised there and there are salt mines—hence the name Salzburg.

We paid for a night of internet to do a little investigating (also when I stole some minutes to post) and figured out the train schedules and made a list of things we wanted to see.  Since the tour of the salt mines takes at least half a day, we ruled that out.  It would just give us an excuse some time to go back.

We woke up bright and early, 6:45, dressed and headed for the train.  It’s been many years since I rode a train in Europe…since my honeymoon, in fact, which was eight years ago.  Clearly I don’t categorize the Bulgarian train system as European.  It most assuredly is not, and here are a few reasons why:
1. In Europe, it is clearly marked where you buy your tickets.  In Bulgaria, some sketchy looking man with a photocopied ID card and few teeth offers to walk you to the ticket booth which so happens to be downstairs, around the corner, and virtually sign-less.
2. In Europe, you can simply buy your tickets from a machine.  It is nearly as easy as getting cash from the ATM.  Just pick your destination, swipe the card and voila! A ticket spits out.  In Bulgaria, you try to explain what you need, it usually takes about 3 tries, and then you remember you need to get a first class ticket (because oh sweet Jesus, you DO NOT want to ride in the other compartments, you have NEVER smelled such a smell before!) and then the lady gets mad at you because she has to press an extra button to get the first class ticket.
3. In Europe, the signs are clear and you know exactly which platform you are on.  There is also a sign that tells which train is coming on that track so you can make sure you get on the right one.  In Bulgaria, well…you might find the right platform, but the only way to know for sure if you are on the right train is to ask every single person around and hopefully more than one reassures you, or at least understands you.
4. In Europe, people ride trains regularly and the process is calm.  People board and de-board with few problems.  In Bulgaria—it’s EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF.

But onwards with the Salzburg story.

We rode the train and saw beautiful scenery all the way over to Salzburg (2 hours).  It looks just like you probably imagine Austria to look, with large meadows of grass at the foot of the mountains.  Well-kept houses and wooden barns, piles of wood and neat farms.  You know, just like the Sound of Music.
When we arrived, we visited the tourist information booth, got ourselves a map and a little city book to read about some of the sights, and set off on foot.  Of course, we stopped at a little café to eat pastries and have a coffee to fortify ourselves for the day:

Here is a picture of the old part of the city, this is Judenstrasse:

We headed to the cathedral in Dom Platz first, which was amazing inside:

I sat for a while and contemplated the meaning of life while Mark insisted on getting photos, despite the fact that I told him you aren’t supposed to take photos in a church. Tsk, tsk.  After this we headed up to the fortress, which you can read about here.  The short story is that this is the old, OLD city.  They have the city walls and everything.  The fortress is so high up that you take this tram, which looked surprisingly like the Olympiabahn tram at the ski slopes.  Here is a picture of the tracks (see them behind the buildings??)

Once inside we did the walking audio tour.  There were amazing sites of the city there:

But, of course, our favorite room was the Torture Chamber (are we sick or what?)  It really was just like a medieval castle.  After the fortress, we decided we should walk out to the castle/house where the Von Trapps lived in Sound of Music.  We followed the map and walked quite a ways, only to learn that the place is in use and you can’t go inside.  Furthermore, you have to walk halfway around the pond to get a good photo.  Well, we didn’t come ALL the way to Austria to NOT get a picture of us and the Sound of Music house.  So, yes.  We walked around the pond and had a photo session, some of which were in a previous post:

At this point, we were getting a bit hungry.  We found an Irish pub (odd, I know, but Irish pubs are everywhere!) and had a hamburger and beverage.  Revitalized, we set out to retrace the steps of Mozart.  We started at the house where he was born:

I didn’t realize we weren’t allowed to take photos in there (no signs, nothing!), so I got a few good ones before I was reprimanded.  Here is a (slightly blurry) photo of one of his original scores:

Here is a picture of his piano:

The museum/house had a lot of original Mozart stuff, including original tickets to his concerts, awards he received as a child, and letters his parents wrote to each other about their son.  I definitely recommend a visit to this place should you get the opportunity.

By now, it was getting close to the time we should catch the train back to Innsbruck.  We did some shopping and got a pretzel because duh! You have to eat a pretzel in Austria.  Sheesh, everyone knows that!

It was dark on the train ride home, so the only scenery I got to see was the guy across the aisle from us picking his nose.  Seriously.  He was really digging for gold up there for nearly the entire two hour ride. Blech.  Why couldn’t I just look away????

And so this concludes our tour of Salzburg…. more photos in the gallery (the picture of the yellow church on the right hand side of this blog with the microscopic letters that say “Click here for pictures of Bulgaria”.  It lies.  There are pictures of other things, too.  But click there!)

We interrupt the regularly scheduled posting about Austria…

Today is a unique celebration here in Bulgaria called Baba Marta day. What happens is this: Everyone carries around these red and white yarn bracelets called martenitsa. They tie them on each other’s wrists to wish each other health and prosperity. Everyone keeps them on until they see the first stork in the air (kind of like the coming of spring), and then they take them off and tie them on to a tree branch. You can see old martenitsa tied to the trees all over town.

It’s kind of fun. And it is especially great today because it is sunny and warm outside, so everyone is out and about and cheerful. So…

Chestita Baba Marta to all of you (Happy Baba Marta Day)!!

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my mom, who would have been 62 years old today. Who knew she had such a famous birthday??

Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled posting about Austria…