(4506,1,'2011-03-10 21:41:05','2011-03-10 19:41:05','So I don\'t know where I\'ve been for the past three years. Okay Sofia, Bulgaria. But apparently I\'ve been living under a rock.\n\nSomehow until last night I\'d never had homemade yogurt.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4501\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4501\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4501\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4501 \" title=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7249-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nSure I\'ve eaten lots of store bought yogurt. Heck I\'ve had so much that I know which brands in the store that I prefer.  I\'ve eaten really thick creamy yogurt in traditional Bulgarian restaurants.\n\nBut not until last night did I finally eat homemade yogurt.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4502\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4502\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4502\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4502 \" title=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7250-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI wasn\'t really sure what to expect. I got the jar of yogurt and a jar of really-thick yogurt from a colleague at work who knew that I like both yogurt and honey.  I guess that her father has bees and her step-mother makes yogurt.\n\nI got the yogurt and honey home and thought: Oh, no, what if I can\'t get the jars open?! The yogurt opened up pretty easily but the honey look a little bit more work.\n\nThen I stood in my kitchen eating yogurt by the spoonful straight from the jar and alternating ever few bites with honey.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4503\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yogurt and Honey\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4503\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4503\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4503 \" title=\"Yogurt and Honey\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7253-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nLuckily, I didn\'t eat it all last night.\n\nHello, breakfast!!','It\'s Friday I am in Love','','inherit','open','open','','4500-revision-3','','','2011-03-10 21:41:05','2011-03-10 19:41:05','',4500,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/10/4500-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4507,1,'2011-03-10 21:45:49','2011-03-10 19:45:49','So I don\'t know where I\'ve been for the past three years. Okay Sofia, Bulgaria. But apparently I\'ve been living under a rock.\r\n\r\nSomehow until last night I\'d never had homemade yogurt.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4501\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4501\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4501\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4501 \" title=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7249-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSure I\'ve eaten lots of store bought yogurt. Heck I\'ve had so much that I know which brands in the store that I prefer.  I\'ve eaten really thick creamy yogurt in traditional Bulgarian restaurants.\r\n\r\nBut not until last night did I finally eat homemade yogurt.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4502\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4502\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4502\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4502 \" title=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7250-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI wasn\'t really sure what to expect. I got the jar of yogurt and a jar of really-thick yogurt from a colleague at work who knew that I like both yogurt and honey.  I guess that her father has bees and her step-mother makes yogurt.\r\n\r\nI got the yogurt and honey home and thought: Oh, no, what if I can\'t get the jars open?! The yogurt opened up pretty easily but the honey look a little bit more work.\r\n\r\nThen I stood in my kitchen eating yogurt by the spoonful straight from the jar and alternating ever few bites with honey.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4503\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yogurt and Honey\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4503\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4503\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4503 \" title=\"Yogurt and Honey\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7253-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLuckily, I didn\'t eat it all last night.\r\n\r\nHello, breakfast!!\r\n\r\nOh and for the record, while writing this post I got so pumped up about yogurt that I looked up how to make yogurt at home. Then I realized that I don\'t make yogurt at home because it\'s a question of money and time. It\'s not so expensive and requires a lot less time to buy at the store than to make.','It\'s Friday I am in Love','','inherit','open','open','','4500-revision-4','','','2011-03-10 21:45:49','2011-03-10 19:45:49','',4500,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/10/4500-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4508,1,'2011-03-10 21:45:49','2011-03-10 19:45:49','So I don\'t know where I\'ve been for the past three years. Okay Sofia, Bulgaria. But apparently I\'ve been living under a rock.\r\n\r\nSomehow until last night I\'d never had homemade yogurt.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4501\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4501\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4501\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4501 \" title=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7249-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSure I\'ve eaten lots of store bought yogurt. Heck I\'ve had so much that I know which brands in the store that I prefer.  I\'ve eaten really thick creamy yogurt in traditional Bulgarian restaurants.\r\n\r\nBut not until last night did I finally eat homemade yogurt.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4502\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4502\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4502\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4502 \" title=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7250-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI wasn\'t really sure what to expect. I got the jar of yogurt and a jar of really-thick yogurt from a colleague at work who knew that I like both yogurt and honey.  I guess that her father has bees and her step-mother makes yogurt.\r\n\r\nI got the yogurt and honey home and thought: Oh, no, what if I can\'t get the jars open?! The yogurt opened up pretty easily but the honey look a little bit more work.\r\n\r\nThen I stood in my kitchen eating yogurt by the spoonful straight from the jar and alternating ever few bites with honey.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4503\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yogurt and Honey\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4503\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4503\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4503 \" title=\"Yogurt and Honey\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7253-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLuckily, I didn\'t eat it all last night.\r\n\r\nHello, breakfast!!\r\n\r\nOh and for the record, while writing this post I got so pumped up about yogurt that I looked up how to make yogurt at home. Then I realized that I don\'t make yogurt at home because it\'s a question of money and time. It\'s not so expensive and requires a lot less time to buy at the store than to make.','It\'s Friday I am in Love','','inherit','open','open','','4500-revision-5','','','2011-03-10 21:45:49','2011-03-10 19:45:49','',4500,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/10/4500-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4509,1,'2011-03-10 21:45:51','2011-03-10 19:45:51','So I don\'t know where I\'ve been for the past three years. Okay Sofia, Bulgaria. But apparently I\'ve been living under a rock.\r\n\r\nSomehow until last night I\'d never had homemade yogurt.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4501\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4501\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4501\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4501 \" title=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7249-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSure I\'ve eaten lots of store bought yogurt. Heck I\'ve had so much that I know which brands in the store that I prefer.  I\'ve eaten really thick creamy yogurt in traditional Bulgarian restaurants.\r\n\r\nBut not until last night did I finally eat homemade yogurt.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4502\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4502\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4502\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4502 \" title=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7250-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI wasn\'t really sure what to expect. I got the jar of yogurt and a jar of really-thick yogurt from a colleague at work who knew that I like both yogurt and honey.  I guess that her father has bees and her step-mother makes yogurt.\r\n\r\nI got the yogurt and honey home and thought: Oh, no, what if I can\'t get the jars open?! The yogurt opened up pretty easily but the honey look a little bit more work.\r\n\r\nThen I stood in my kitchen eating yogurt by the spoonful straight from the jar and alternating ever few bites with honey.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4503\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yogurt and Honey\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4503\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4503\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4503 \" title=\"Yogurt and Honey\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7253-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLuckily, I didn\'t eat it all last night.\r\n\r\nHello, breakfast!!\r\n\r\nOh and for the record, while writing this post I got so pumped up about yogurt that I looked up how to make yogurt at home. Then I realized that I don\'t make yogurt at home because it\'s a question of money and time. It\'s not so expensive and requires a lot less time to buy at the store than to make.','It\'s Friday I am in Love','','inherit','open','open','','4500-revision-6','','','2011-03-10 21:45:51','2011-03-10 19:45:51','',4500,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/10/4500-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4510,1,'2011-03-10 21:47:54','2011-03-10 19:47:54','So I don\'t know where I\'ve been for the past three years.\n\nOkay Sofia, Bulgaria.\n\nBut apparently I\'ve been living under a rock.\n\nSomehow until last night I\'d never had homemade yogurt.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4501\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4501\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4501\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4501 \" title=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7249-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nSure I\'ve eaten lots of store bought yogurt. Heck I\'ve had so much that I know which brands in the store that I prefer.  I\'ve eaten really thick creamy yogurt in traditional Bulgarian restaurants.\n\nBut not until last night did I finally eat homemade yogurt.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4502\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4502\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4502\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4502 \" title=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7250-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI wasn\'t really sure what to expect. I got the jar of yogurt and a jar of really-thick yogurt from a colleague at work who knew that I like both yogurt and honey.  I guess that her father has bees and her step-mother makes yogurt.\n\nI got the yogurt and honey home and thought: Oh, no, what if I can\'t get the jars open?! The yogurt opened up pretty easily but the honey look a little bit more work.\n\nThen I stood in my kitchen eating yogurt by the spoonful straight from the jar and alternating ever few bites with honey.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4503\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yogurt and Honey\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4503\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4503\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4503 \" title=\"Yogurt and Honey\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7253-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nLuckily, I didn\'t eat it all last night.\n\nHello, breakfast!!\n\nOh and for the record, while writing this post I got so pumped up about yogurt that I looked up how to make yogurt at home. Then I realized that I don\'t make yogurt at home because it\'s a question of money and time. It\'s not so expensive and requires a lot less time to buy at the store than to make.','It\'s Friday I am in Love','','inherit','open','open','','4500-revision-7','','','2011-03-10 21:47:54','2011-03-10 19:47:54','',4500,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/10/4500-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4511,1,'2011-03-10 21:48:21','2011-03-10 19:48:21','So I don\'t know where I\'ve been for the past three years.\r\n\r\nOkay Sofia, Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nBut apparently I\'ve been living under a rock.\r\n\r\nSomehow until last night I\'d never had homemade yogurt.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4501\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4501\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4501\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4501 \" title=\"Homemade Yogurt in a Jar\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7249-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSure I\'ve eaten lots of store bought yogurt. Heck I\'ve had so much that I know which brands in the store that I prefer.  I\'ve eaten really thick creamy yogurt in traditional Bulgarian restaurants.\r\n\r\nBut not until last night did I finally eat homemade yogurt.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4502\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4502\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4502\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4502 \" title=\"Yum, yum, yum yogurt!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7250-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI wasn\'t really sure what to expect. I got the jar of yogurt and a jar of really-thick yogurt from a colleague at work who knew that I like both yogurt and honey.  I guess that her father has bees and her step-mother makes yogurt.\r\n\r\nI got the yogurt and honey home and thought: Oh, no, what if I can\'t get the jars open?! The yogurt opened up pretty easily but the honey look a little bit more work.\r\n\r\nThen I stood in my kitchen eating yogurt by the spoonful straight from the jar and alternating ever few bites with honey.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4503\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Yogurt and Honey\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4503\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4503\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4503 \" title=\"Yogurt and Honey\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7253-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLuckily, I didn\'t eat it all last night.\r\n\r\nHello, breakfast!!\r\n\r\nOh and for the record, while writing this post I got so pumped up about yogurt that I looked up how to make yogurt at home. Then I realized that I don\'t make yogurt at home because it\'s a question of money and time. It\'s not so expensive and requires a lot less time to buy at the store than to make.','It\'s Friday I am in Love','','inherit','open','open','','4500-revision-8','','','2011-03-10 21:48:21','2011-03-10 19:48:21','',4500,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/10/4500-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4566,1,'2011-03-19 10:48:58','2011-03-19 08:48:58','The good thing about Saturdays is that if you want to you can to stay at home.  You don\'t have to get up before the sun. You don\'t have to make a little pot of coffee and slug it down before rushing out the door in an outfit that you hope matches.\r\n\r\nNope, on Saturdays you can do whatever you want.\r\n\r\nMe for example?\r\n\r\nI didn\'t set my alarm clock last night. So I slept in. Until 7:45am. But hey that\'s sleeping in when you normally get up at 5:45am. I read my emails, checked to see what the state of the world is on the NYT (not good in either Japan or Libya), bemoaned the fact that very shortly I\'ll have to buy a subscription to the electronic version of the newspaper and scanned facebook to see what my friends are up to (or alternately what I\'m missing out on living abroad).\r\n\r\nBetween facebook and twitter it looks like most of my guy friends are obsessed with basketball and March Madness and that most of my single late twenty-something friends didn\'t get that into St Patrick\'s Day this year but those with babies dolled their kids up in green and shamrocks.\r\n\r\nThen I figured I should do some life maintenance kind of things. By 9:30am I\'d made a large pot of coffee, started a load of laundry, swept my apartment, done my dishes, put my books away, taken out the garbage and thought about cleaning my toilet. It\'s 10:30 or so right now and I\'ve made a big dent in my pot of coffee, thrown together a half batch of banana oatmeal scones, set out some homework to grade and I am in the process of writing a blog post. The toilet? Well, I am still thinking about that. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nAnd truth be told, grading homework is so low on my list of things to do I have a hunch that I\'ll clean the toilet before I sit down to grade. Yep. That\'s how much I want to grade. Cleaning the toilet seems better than grading.\r\n\r\nAll of this said, I\'m just happy not to be working today as many Bulgarians are. Remember our four day weekend at the beginning of March? Well, now today is a work day to make up for the Friday that we were \"given\" as a part of the March holiday. Luckily my school isn\'t making me work on Saturday.\r\n\r\nMe? I\'ll be working on Sunday. We\'re giving our entrance exam to nearly 400 7th grade students then. So I\'ll be at school by 7:45am on Sunday morning to proctor the exam. As an English speaker, I have a pretty limited role on Sunday. Seeing as we don\'t expect the kids to know English, all of the exam and directions are in Bulgarian. So for me, it\'s basically stroll in the park. I mean this almost literally. I\'ll be wearing comfy shoes and walking around the classroom for two and a half hours watching kids take a test that I can\'t even read.\r\n\r\nLast year after the first hour, I wondered if I could say walk around the classroom doing lunges. That would be good exercise. But I decided that would be distracting and not very professional. So instead I practiced conjugating as many Bulgarian verbs as I could think of in my head.  I know a lot more verbs now so maybe I\'ll run through these again this year.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, you really shouldn\'t feel bad for me because in exchange for proctoring the exam on Sunday, I get Monday off. That\'s not bad. Sure, it\'s kind of strange to have your weekend broken up over three days--Saturday and Monday--but at least I get two days off!!\r\n\r\nSo to everyone at work today, hope that you\'re having a great day and that you don\'t have too much work to do.','Saturdays ','','publish','open','open','','saturdays','','','2011-03-19 10:48:58','2011-03-19 08:48:58','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4566',0,'post','',2),(4514,1,'2011-03-12 16:42:55','2011-03-12 14:42:55','My goodness it\'s a beautiful, sunny day in Sofia. It might be the most beautiful day we\'ve had in months--but I guess that depends on what you consider beautiful as there were a few rather beautiful snowy days. The big difference is the temperature.\n\nIt\'s actually warm today.\n\nTwo days ago I was bundling up in my winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots and today a light jacket and tennis shoes are fine. Maybe that\'s because spring is the process of finding its way to Sofia.\n\nAnyhow, I went out with my camera to take some pictures this afternoon. I took some but then I realized, how can you really capture the first day of spring in photos?! Most people are still wearing coats that are slightly to heavy for the weather and the real sense of spring is in peoples attitudes and the energy in the air.\n\nSo in honor of this lovely day, I had a coffee <em>outside</em> with a friend.\n\nWhat a good day.','It\'a a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! ','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision','','','2011-03-12 16:42:55','2011-03-12 14:42:55','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/12/4513-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4515,1,'2011-03-13 20:40:10','2011-03-13 18:40:10','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate.\r\n\r\nI ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/belgian-chocolate/img_7254/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet.\r\n\r\nThis was a direct result of some wonderful memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise and waffles with whipped cream.  After a couple of hearty vegetable-rich salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\r\n\r\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/belgian-chocolate/img_7257/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\r\n\r\nOut of sight, out of mind.\r\n\r\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/belgian-chocolate/img_7258/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\r\n\r\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\r\n\r\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4535\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4535\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/belgian-chocolate/img_7256/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4535 \" title=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7256-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\r\n\r\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','publish','open','open','','belgian-chocolate','','','2011-03-13 20:40:10','2011-03-13 18:40:10','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4515',0,'post','',0),(4516,1,'2011-03-12 18:11:36','2011-03-12 16:11:36','','Cafe!!','Cafe!!','inherit','open','open','','img_7262','','','2011-03-12 18:11:36','2011-03-12 16:11:36','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7262.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4517,1,'2011-03-12 18:12:51','2011-03-12 16:12:51','','Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)','Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)','inherit','open','open','','img_7259','','','2011-03-12 18:12:51','2011-03-12 16:12:51','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7259.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4518,1,'2011-03-12 18:14:00','2011-03-12 16:14:00','My goodness it\'s a beautiful, sunny day in Sofia. It might be the most beautiful day we\'ve had in months--but I guess that depends on what you consider beautiful as there were a few rather beautiful snowy days. The big difference is the temperature.\n\nIt\'s actually warm today.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4516\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Cafe!!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4516\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4516\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4516 \" title=\"Cafe!!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7262-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nTwo days ago I was bundling up in my winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots and today a light jacket and tennis shoes are fine. Maybe that\'s because spring is the process of finding its way to Sofia.\n\nAnyhow, I went out with my camera to take some pictures this afternoon. I took some but then I realized, how can you really capture the first day of spring in photos?! Most people are still wearing coats that are slightly to heavy for the weather and the real sense of spring is in peoples attitudes and the energy in the air.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4517\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4517\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4517\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4517 \" title=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7259-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nSo in honor of this lovely day, I had a coffee <em>outside</em> with a friend.\n\nWhat a good day.','It\'a a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! ','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-2','','','2011-03-12 18:14:00','2011-03-12 16:14:00','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/12/4513-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4522,1,'2011-03-12 18:16:06','2011-03-12 16:16:06','My goodness it\'s a beautiful, sunny day in Sofia. It might be the most beautiful day we\'ve had in months--but I guess that depends on what you consider beautiful as there were a few rather beautiful snowy days. The big difference is the temperature.\n\nIt\'s actually warm today.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4516\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Cafe!!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4516\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4516\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4516 \" title=\"Cafe!!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7262-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nTwo days ago I was bundling up in my winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots and today a light jacket and tennis shoes are fine. Maybe that\'s because spring is the process of finding its way to Sofia.\n\nAnyhow, I went out with my camera to take some pictures this afternoon. I took some but then I realized, how can you really capture the first day of spring in photos?! Most people are still wearing coats that are slightly to heavy for the weather and the real sense of spring is in peoples attitudes and the energy in the air.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4517\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4517\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4517\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4517 \" title=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7259-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nSo in honor of this lovely day, I had a coffee <em>outside</em> with a friend.\n\nWhat a good day.','It\'a a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! ','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-6','','','2011-03-12 18:16:06','2011-03-12 16:16:06','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/12/4513-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4519,1,'2011-03-12 18:14:16','2011-03-12 16:14:16','My goodness it\'s a beautiful, sunny day in Sofia. It might be the most beautiful day we\'ve had in months--but I guess that depends on what you consider beautiful as there were a few rather beautiful snowy days. The big difference is the temperature.\r\n\r\nIt\'s actually warm today.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4516\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Cafe!!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4516\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4516\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4516 \" title=\"Cafe!!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7262-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nTwo days ago I was bundling up in my winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots and today a light jacket and tennis shoes are fine. Maybe that\'s because spring is the process of finding its way to Sofia.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I went out with my camera to take some pictures this afternoon. I took some but then I realized, how can you really capture the first day of spring in photos?! Most people are still wearing coats that are slightly to heavy for the weather and the real sense of spring is in peoples attitudes and the energy in the air.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4517\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4517\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4517\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4517 \" title=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7259-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSo in honor of this lovely day, I had a coffee <em>outside</em> with a friend.\r\n\r\nWhat a good day.','It\'a a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! ','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-3','','','2011-03-12 18:14:16','2011-03-12 16:14:16','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/12/4513-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4520,1,'2011-03-12 18:14:16','2011-03-12 16:14:16','My goodness it\'s a beautiful, sunny day in Sofia. It might be the most beautiful day we\'ve had in months--but I guess that depends on what you consider beautiful as there were a few rather beautiful snowy days. The big difference is the temperature.\r\n\r\nIt\'s actually warm today.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4516\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Cafe!!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4516\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4516\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4516 \" title=\"Cafe!!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7262-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nTwo days ago I was bundling up in my winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots and today a light jacket and tennis shoes are fine. Maybe that\'s because spring is the process of finding its way to Sofia.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I went out with my camera to take some pictures this afternoon. I took some but then I realized, how can you really capture the first day of spring in photos?! Most people are still wearing coats that are slightly to heavy for the weather and the real sense of spring is in peoples attitudes and the energy in the air.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4517\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4517\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4517\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4517 \" title=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7259-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSo in honor of this lovely day, I had a coffee <em>outside</em> with a friend.\r\n\r\nWhat a good day.','It\'a a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! ','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-4','','','2011-03-12 18:14:16','2011-03-12 16:14:16','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/12/4513-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4521,1,'2011-03-12 18:14:58','2011-03-12 16:14:58','My goodness it\'s a beautiful, sunny day in Sofia. It might be the most beautiful day we\'ve had in months--but I guess that depends on what you consider beautiful as there were a few rather beautiful snowy days. The big difference is the temperature.\r\n\r\nIt\'s actually warm today.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4516\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Cafe!!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4516\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4516\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4516 \" title=\"Cafe!!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7262-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nTwo days ago I was bundling up in my winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots and today a light jacket and tennis shoes are fine. Maybe that\'s because spring is the process of finding its way to Sofia.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I went out with my camera to take some pictures this afternoon. I took some but then I realized, how can you really capture the first day of spring in photos?! Most people are still wearing coats that are slightly to heavy for the weather and the real sense of spring is in peoples attitudes and the energy in the air.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4517\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4517\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4517\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4517 \" title=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7259-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSo in honor of this lovely day, I had a coffee <em>outside</em> with a friend.\r\n\r\nWhat a good day.','It\'a a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! ','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-5','','','2011-03-12 18:14:58','2011-03-12 16:14:58','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/12/4513-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4523,1,'2011-03-12 18:16:12','2011-03-12 16:16:12','My goodness it\'s a beautiful, sunny day in Sofia. It might be the most beautiful day we\'ve had in months--but I guess that depends on what you consider beautiful as there were a few rather beautiful snowy days. The big difference is the temperature.\r\n\r\nIt\'s actually warm today.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4516\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Cafe!!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4516\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4516\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4516 \" title=\"Cafe!!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7262-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nTwo days ago I was bundling up in my winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots and today a light jacket and tennis shoes are fine. Maybe that\'s because spring is the process of finding its way to Sofia.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I went out with my camera to take some pictures this afternoon. I took some but then I realized, how can you really capture the first day of spring in photos?! Most people are still wearing coats that are slightly to heavy for the weather and the real sense of spring is in peoples attitudes and the energy in the air.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4517\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4517\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4517\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4517 \" title=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7259-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSo in honor of this lovely day, I had a coffee <em>outside</em> with a friend.\r\n\r\nWhat a good day.','It\'a a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! ','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-7','','','2011-03-12 18:16:12','2011-03-12 16:16:12','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/12/4513-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4524,1,'2011-03-12 18:17:18','2011-03-12 16:17:18','My goodness it\'s a beautiful, sunny day in Sofia. It might be the most beautiful day we\'ve had in months--but I guess that depends on what you consider beautiful as there were a few rather beautiful snowy days. The big difference is the temperature.\n\nIt\'s actually warm today.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4516\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Cafe!!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4516\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/11/ita-a-beautiful-day-in-the-neighborhood/img_7262/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4516 \" title=\"Cafe!!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7262-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nTwo days ago I was bundling up in my winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves and boots and today a light jacket and tennis shoes are fine. Maybe that\'s because spring is the process of finding its way to Sofia.\n\nAnyhow, I went out with my camera to take some pictures this afternoon. I took some but then I realized, how can you really capture the first day of spring in photos?! Most people are still wearing coats that are slightly to heavy for the weather and the real sense of spring is in peoples attitudes and the energy in the air.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4517\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4517\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/11/ita-a-beautiful-day-in-the-neighborhood/img_7259/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4517 \" title=\"Vitosha Cake (in the shape of Vitosha Mt. kind of)\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7259-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nSo in honor of this lovely day, I had a coffee <em>outside</em> with a friend.\n\nWhat a good day.','It\'a a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! ','','inherit','open','open','','4513-autosave','','','2011-03-12 18:17:18','2011-03-12 16:17:18','',4513,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/12/4513-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4526,1,'2011-03-13 20:21:20','2011-03-13 18:21:20','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate. I ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece. Now before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet. This was a direct result of some memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise.  After a couple of great salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\n\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\n\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\n\nOut of sight, out of mind.\n\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\n\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elizabeths are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\n\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\n\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\n\nGood thing, I\'ve got a few left still.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision','','','2011-03-13 20:21:20','2011-03-13 18:21:20','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4528,1,'2011-03-13 20:23:39','2011-03-13 18:23:39','','A box of chocolates','A box of chocolates','inherit','open','open','','img_7254','','','2011-03-13 20:23:39','2011-03-13 18:23:39','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4529,1,'2011-03-13 20:26:51','2011-03-13 18:26:51','','Elisabeth Chocolates','Elisabeth Chocolates','inherit','open','open','','img_7257','','','2011-03-13 20:26:51','2011-03-13 18:26:51','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4530,1,'2011-03-13 20:28:39','2011-03-13 18:28:39','','Belgian Chocolates ','Belgian Chocolates ','inherit','open','open','','img_7258','','','2011-03-13 20:28:39','2011-03-13 18:28:39','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4536,1,'2011-03-13 20:34:55','2011-03-13 18:34:55','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate.\n\nI ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet.\n\nThis was a direct result of some wonderful memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise and waffles with whipped cream.  After a couple of hearty vegetable-rich salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\n\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\n\nOut of sight, out of mind.\n\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\n\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\n\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\n\n\n\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\n\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\n\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-6','','','2011-03-13 20:34:55','2011-03-13 18:34:55','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4531,1,'2011-03-13 20:31:45','2011-03-13 18:31:45','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate. I ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet. This was a direct result of some memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise.  After a couple of great salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\n\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\n\nOut of sight, out of mind.\n\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\n\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\n\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\n\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\n\nOh Brussels. What a great holida','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-2','','','2011-03-13 20:31:45','2011-03-13 18:31:45','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4532,1,'2011-03-13 20:31:50','2011-03-13 18:31:50','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate. I ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet. This was a direct result of some memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise.  After a couple of great salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\r\n\r\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\r\n\r\nOut of sight, out of mind.\r\n\r\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\r\n\r\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\r\n\r\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\r\n\r\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\r\n\r\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-3','','','2011-03-13 20:31:50','2011-03-13 18:31:50','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4533,1,'2011-03-13 20:31:50','2011-03-13 18:31:50','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate. I ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet. This was a direct result of some memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise.  After a couple of great salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\r\n\r\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\r\n\r\nOut of sight, out of mind.\r\n\r\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\r\n\r\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\r\n\r\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\r\n\r\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\r\n\r\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-4','','','2011-03-13 20:31:50','2011-03-13 18:31:50','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4534,1,'2011-03-13 20:31:52','2011-03-13 18:31:52','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate. I ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet. This was a direct result of some memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise.  After a couple of great salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\r\n\r\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\r\n\r\nOut of sight, out of mind.\r\n\r\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\r\n\r\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\r\n\r\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\r\n\r\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\r\n\r\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-5','','','2011-03-13 20:31:52','2011-03-13 18:31:52','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4535,1,'2011-03-13 20:36:00','2011-03-13 18:36:00','','Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate','Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate','inherit','open','open','','img_7256','','','2011-03-13 20:36:00','2011-03-13 18:36:00','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7256.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4537,1,'2011-03-13 20:37:47','2011-03-13 18:37:47','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate.\r\n\r\nI ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet.\r\n\r\nThis was a direct result of some wonderful memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise and waffles with whipped cream.  After a couple of hearty vegetable-rich salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\r\n\r\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\r\n\r\nOut of sight, out of mind.\r\n\r\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\r\n\r\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\r\n\r\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4535\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4535\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4535\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4535 \" title=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7256-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\r\n\r\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-7','','','2011-03-13 20:37:47','2011-03-13 18:37:47','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4538,1,'2011-03-13 20:37:47','2011-03-13 18:37:47','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate.\r\n\r\nI ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet.\r\n\r\nThis was a direct result of some wonderful memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise and waffles with whipped cream.  After a couple of hearty vegetable-rich salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\r\n\r\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\r\n\r\nOut of sight, out of mind.\r\n\r\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\r\n\r\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\r\n\r\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4535\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4535\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4535\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4535 \" title=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7256-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\r\n\r\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-8','','','2011-03-13 20:37:47','2011-03-13 18:37:47','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4539,1,'2011-03-13 20:37:48','2011-03-13 18:37:48','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate.\r\n\r\nI ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet.\r\n\r\nThis was a direct result of some wonderful memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise and waffles with whipped cream.  After a couple of hearty vegetable-rich salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\r\n\r\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\r\n\r\nOut of sight, out of mind.\r\n\r\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\r\n\r\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\r\n\r\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4535\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4535\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4535\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4535 \" title=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7256-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\r\n\r\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-9','','','2011-03-13 20:37:48','2011-03-13 18:37:48','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4540,1,'2011-03-13 20:39:53','2011-03-13 18:39:53','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate.\n\nI ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet.\n\nThis was a direct result of some wonderful memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise and waffles with whipped cream.  After a couple of hearty vegetable-rich salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\n\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.<!--more-->\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\n\nOut of sight, out of mind.\n\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\n\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\n\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4535\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4535\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4535\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4535 \" title=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7256-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\n\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-10','','','2011-03-13 20:39:53','2011-03-13 18:39:53','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(4541,1,'2011-03-13 20:40:10','2011-03-13 18:40:10','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate.\r\n\r\nI ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4528\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet.\r\n\r\nThis was a direct result of some wonderful memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise and waffles with whipped cream.  After a couple of hearty vegetable-rich salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\r\n\r\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4529\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\r\n\r\nOut of sight, out of mind.\r\n\r\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4530\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\r\n\r\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\r\n\r\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4535\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4535\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4535\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4535 \" title=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7256-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\r\n\r\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-revision-11','','','2011-03-13 20:40:10','2011-03-13 18:40:10','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(4542,1,'2011-03-13 20:41:16','2011-03-13 18:41:16','This weekend I broke into my box of Belgian Chocolate.\n\nI ate two pieces on Saturday and I am about to eat another piece.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4528\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"A box of chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4528\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/belgian-chocolate/img_7254/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4528 \" title=\"A box of chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7254-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nNow before you think my self-control is super human or something I guess that it should be noted that for a couple of days after getting back from Brussels I was on a salad diet.\n\nThis was a direct result of some wonderful memories that kept flashing through my head: french fries with mayonnaise and waffles with whipped cream.  After a couple of hearty vegetable-rich salads I felt great. I mean sometimes a girl has got to do these things.\n\nThen I sort of forgot about the chocolates.<!--more-->\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4529\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4529\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/belgian-chocolate/img_7257/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4529 \" title=\"Elisabeth Chocolates\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7257-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI know that for some of you this unimaginable but it really happened. In part this is because while I like chocolate I don\'t obsessive-love love it.\n\nOut of sight, out of mind.\n\nBut on Saturday afternoon I caught a glimpse of the bright orange box and that was that. I had one chocolate and took some photos for my blog, then I had another one.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4530\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Belgian Chocolates \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4530\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/belgian-chocolate/img_7258/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4530 \" title=\"Belgian Chocolates \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7258-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThese chocolates are pretty incredible. Move over Hersey\'s chocolate. Move over Ghirardelli.  These chocolates even give Godiva a run fro there money. The chocolates from the shop Elisabeth are some of the best chocolates I\'ve ever eaten.\n\nThey are intense.  For their size they are substantial. They also have a lot of mouth appeal the chocolate is rich and creamy, the texture is delightful and the chocolates are well balanced when it comes to the different flavors.\n\nThe truth is while I\'ve never really considered myself a chocolate person, these are exactly the kind of chocolates that could make me a chocolate person. Or they will ruin me forever and I\'ll always be on the lookout for comparable chocolates.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4535\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4535\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/belgian-chocolate/img_7256/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4535 \" title=\"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_7256-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nGood thing, I\'ve got more than 3/4 of a box left!!\n\nOh Brussels. What a great holiday.','Belgian Chocolate ','','inherit','open','open','','4515-autosave','','','2011-03-13 20:41:16','2011-03-13 18:41:16','',4515,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/13/4515-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4572,1,'2011-03-22 07:02:27','2011-03-22 05:02:27','For almost a year, I\'ve been waiting for my cell phone to die. It\'s at least four and a half years old. The thing is I want a new one but I can\'t justify buying a new one seeing as my current (but aging) phone is still working. Somehow, it continues to plug along. Alternately this makes me proud and frustrated. But I do have a lot of respect for my phone. A lot of other phones would have given up the ghost by now.\r\n\r\nNot mine.\r\n\r\nIt has lived in both Bulgaria and the United Sates. It has have traveled extensively with me from Morocco to the Ukraine, Amsterdam to Sarajevo and Kosovo to Istanbul. This phone has served me well. The thing until recently I haven\'t really been able to figure out why it has survived for so long. It\'s not like I treat it especially well tossing it into my bag, dropping it on the floor and the like--but it\'s not like I\'ve tried to drown it or dropped it from an obscenely tall building.\r\n\r\nThen over the weekend I read this piece that ran in the NYT Style Section titled: <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/fashion/20Cultural.html?src=me&amp;ref=homepage\" target=\"_blank\">Don\'t Call Me, I Wont Call You</a>. I read it and thought: Yes. This is exactly right.\r\n\r\nMy current cell phone hasn\'t died because I don\'t use it. <!--more-->Sure once in a while I check the time on it but more often than not just carry it around. Sometimes I jot out a quick text message but my phone doesn\'t ring that much. And it\'s not like I don\'t have friends. We just set up most of our plans via email, in person or via text message.\r\n\r\nI think that this is because the majority of my friends are expats. I also think that there\'s a sense that no one wants to be the one to impose. As the article bluntly states:\r\n<blockquote>Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward.</blockquote>\r\nGranted I haven\'t lived in the States for two and a half years but when I lived in Washington DC the telephone trend was already headed this way. You emailed. You sent a text message. You called if you were going to be late and only then if you were not meeting in a bar or at a club where you\'d be challenged to hear someone. Basically there was no need to call anyone.\r\n\r\nBut it wasn\'t as if you weren\'t in touch with people. You were just in touch with them on your own time.\r\n\r\nThis slightly hands off approach is similar among expats in Bulgaria too.  You can set up dinner, pick a restaurant and include a link to a map in your email more quickly than calling all of your friends and trying to describe where you are going. It\'s easy.\r\n\r\nBasically, I don\'t know what my friends are up to or when they are working and I don\'t want to interrupt them. Likewise, when I am at work it\'s awkward to take a call. So email me and if need be then we can follow up via telephone.\r\n\r\nOnly after living in Bulgaria, did this habit this struck me as a very American action. In the States, the basic assumption is that phone calls are rude or that you might be interrupting  someone by calling them. Enter email and gmail chat.\r\n\r\nHowever in Bulgaria, people take calls all of the time. It doesn\'t really matter when or where. How young or how old they are. Everyone seems to be on the phone.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really understand the phenomenon.   I like that Bulgarians like their phones. There\'s something personal about phone calls but I don\'t like that they are willing to take calls anywhere. While doing anything. This the habit that seems rude, intrusive and awkward.\r\n\r\nThe difference is that it doesn\'t seem rude or intrusive for the receiver of the call (the call-ie if you will as opposed to the caller). It\'s everyone else. It\'s when you take a call on the bus, in a movie theater, in a crowded restaurant, on the metro platform or when it\'s just the two of us out for a coffee and the phone rings and you take it. In my mind,  this is when the phone call is intrusive and awkward.\r\n\r\nBut, Bulgarians and I are clearly not on the same page when it comes to this issue. And that\'s okay. <em>I guess</em>.\r\n\r\nMaybe it will happen all in good time.\r\n\r\nNow if I think about it this way, I guess that I don\'t really need my phone die because it\'s not like I am really using it. I am just carrying it around on the off chance that someone might call and maybe I\'ll even pick up the call, that is if my phone isn\'t on silent.','To Call or Not to Call ','','publish','open','open','','to-call-or-not-to-call','','','2011-03-22 07:02:27','2011-03-22 05:02:27','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4572',0,'post','',8),(4544,1,'2011-03-15 07:04:51','2011-03-15 05:04:51','On Sunday, my Bulgarian tutor Ivet told me that this was our 50th lesson together.\r\n\r\n<em>What?!</em>\r\n\r\n50 lessons. That\'s a lot.\r\n\r\nHad I known maybe I would have baked a cake or brought champagne to celebrate.\r\n\r\nBut I didn\'t know. So we just did what we always do. I reviewed my homework with Ivet. This past week: Reflexive verbs in the past indefinite tense or възвратни глаголи в минало неопределено време. Yep. It\'s a mouthful in either language. And, yep. I did a quick google search to make sure that I actually understood the past indefinite tense in English before jumping into the Bulgarian homework two weeks ago.\r\n\r\nThis whole thing got me thinking, why do I study Bulgarian?\r\n\r\nThe simple answer: Because it\'s good for me.\r\n\r\nSo this week, in honor of my 50th lesson, I am going to focus on Bulgarian on my blog.','50th Bulgarian Lesson ','','publish','open','open','','50th-bulgarian-lesson','','','2011-03-15 07:04:51','2011-03-15 05:04:51','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4544',0,'post','',2),(4545,1,'2011-03-15 07:02:22','2011-03-15 05:02:22','On Sunday, my Bulgarian tutor Ivet told me that this was our 50th lesson together.\n\n<em>What?!</em>\n\n50 lessons. That\'s a lot.\n\nHad I known maybe I would have baked a cake or brought champagne to celebrate.\n\nBut I didn\'t know. So we just did what we always do. I reviewed my homework with Ivet. This past week: Reflexive verbs in the past indefinite tense or възвратни глаголи в минало неопределено време. Yep. It\'s a mouthful in either language. And, yep. I did a quick google search to make sure that I actually understood the past indefinite tense in English before jumping into the Bulgarian homework two weeks ago.\n\nThis whole thing got me thinking, why do I study Bulgarian?\n\nThe simple answer: Because it\'s good for me.\n\nSo this week, in honor of my 50th lesson, I am going to focus on Bulgarian on my blog.','50th Bulgarian Lesson ','','inherit','open','open','','4544-revision','','','2011-03-15 07:02:22','2011-03-15 05:02:22','',4544,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/15/4544-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4546,1,'2011-03-16 19:04:17','2011-03-16 17:04:17','After nearly three years in this country, I\'ve become the queen of cash. I like to keep a variety of bills in my wallet--from 2\'s and 5\'s to 10\'s and 20\'s. This gives me the most flexibility but I know where I can break a twenty without having anyone blink an eye (Onda) and I know where I need to pay in small bills (lunch line cafeteria).\r\n\r\nFor the record, sometimes even if you try to  pay with a 5 the lunch lady will demand smaller change in Bulgarian a few times, each time getting increasingly louder. This is embarrassing. Especially when there\'s a line. It\'s best to try to pay with exact change.\r\n\r\nI know where my favorite ATM is and I know which ones to avoid because sometimes they spit out 50 leva notes. What\'s a girl to do with a 50 leva bill--even the girls in Onda raise their eyes at that one. I generally try to avoid being the girl who only has big bills--you know 20\'s--because it\'s harder to split bills in restaurants and pay for cabs among other things.\r\n\r\nSo it was interesting to see a piece recently about Bulgarians and debit/credit card use.\r\n\r\nApparently only 49% of Bulgarians have a debit card and something like 9% have a credit card. This is incredible to me.\r\n\r\nThat means that more than half don\'t have a debit card. I have a hard time imagining that. It seems as if it would be difficult to function even in Bulgaria without a debit card.\r\n\r\nI am not surprised by this fact: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126261&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_self\">Those using bank cards more frequently have higher education and income, and live in the largest cities</a>. But in addition to education and income levels, I do wonder if age is also a factor. It seems that potentially young people are more accepting of new(-ish) technology like a debit card--as if a debit card is new technology.\r\n\r\nUnless it is new-<em>ish</em>.\r\n\r\nWhich is an interesting question. How long after the changes did debit cards appear in Bulgaria? I\'d guess within the last 20 years but that\'s just because it seems like a reasonable to assume.','Bulgaria and the Debit/Credit Card','','publish','open','open','','bulgaria-and-the-debitcredit-card','','','2011-03-16 19:04:17','2011-03-16 17:04:17','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4546',0,'post','',8),(4547,1,'2011-03-16 06:59:39','2011-03-16 04:59:39','After nearly three years in this country, I\'ve become the queen of cash. I know where I can break a twenty without having anyone blink an eye (Onda) and I know where I need to pay in small bills (lunch line cafeteria). The lunch lady will demand smaller change in Bulgarian a few times each time incresingl','Bulgaria and the Debet/Credit Card','','inherit','open','open','','4546-revision','','','2011-03-16 06:59:39','2011-03-16 04:59:39','',4546,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4546-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4548,1,'2011-03-16 18:47:32','2011-03-16 16:47:32','After nearly three years in this country, I\'ve become the queen of cash. I like to keep a variety of bills in my wallet--from 2\'s and 5\'s to 10\'s and 20\'s. This gives me the most flexibility but I know where I can break a twenty without having anyone blink an eye (Onda) and I know where I need to pay in small bills (lunch line cafeteria).\n\nFor the record, sometimes even if you try to  pay with a 5 the lunch lady will demand smaller change in Bulgarian a few times, each time getting increasingly louder. This is embarrassing. Especially when there\'s a line. It\'s best to try to pay with exact change.\n\nI know where my favorite ATM is and I know which ones to avoid because sometimes they spit out 50 leva notes. What\'s a girl to do with a 50 leva bill--even the girls in Onda raise their eyes at that one. I generally try to avoid being the girl who only has big bills--you know 20\'s--because it\'s harder to split bills in restaurants and pay for cabs among other things.\n\nSo it was interesting to see a piece recently about Bulgarians and debit/credit card use.\n\nApparently only 49% of Bulgarians have a debit card and something like 9% have a credit card. This is incredible to me.\n\nThat means that more than half don\'t have a debit card. I have a hard time imagining that. It seems as if it would be difficult to function even in Bulgaria without a debit card.\n\nI am not surprised by this: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126261&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_self\">Those using bank cards more frequently have higher education and income, and live in the largest cities</a>.','Bulgaria and the Debit/Credit Card','','inherit','open','open','','4546-revision-2','','','2011-03-16 18:47:32','2011-03-16 16:47:32','',4546,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4546-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4549,1,'2011-03-16 19:01:57','2011-03-16 17:01:57','After nearly three years in this country, I\'ve become the queen of cash. I like to keep a variety of bills in my wallet--from 2\'s and 5\'s to 10\'s and 20\'s. This gives me the most flexibility but I know where I can break a twenty without having anyone blink an eye (Onda) and I know where I need to pay in small bills (lunch line cafeteria).\n\nFor the record, sometimes even if you try to  pay with a 5 the lunch lady will demand smaller change in Bulgarian a few times, each time getting increasingly louder. This is embarrassing. Especially when there\'s a line. It\'s best to try to pay with exact change.\n\nI know where my favorite ATM is and I know which ones to avoid because sometimes they spit out 50 leva notes. What\'s a girl to do with a 50 leva bill--even the girls in Onda raise their eyes at that one. I generally try to avoid being the girl who only has big bills--you know 20\'s--because it\'s harder to split bills in restaurants and pay for cabs among other things.\n\nSo it was interesting to see a piece recently about Bulgarians and debit/credit card use.\n\nApparently only 49% of Bulgarians have a debit card and something like 9% have a credit card. This is incredible to me.\n\nThat means that more than half don\'t have a debit card. I have a hard time imagining that. It seems as if it would be difficult to function even in Bulgaria without a debit card.\n\nI am not surprised by this fact: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126261&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_self\">Those using bank cards more frequently have higher education and income, and live in the largest cities</a>. But in addition to education and income levels, I do wonder if age is also a factor. It seems that potentially young people are more accepting of new(-ish) technology like a debit card--as if a debit card is new technology.\n\nUnless it is new-ish.\n\nWhich is an interesting question. How long after the changes did debit cards appear in Bulgaria? I\'d guess within the last 20 years but that\'s just because','Bulgaria and the Debit/Credit Card','','inherit','open','open','','4546-revision-3','','','2011-03-16 19:01:57','2011-03-16 17:01:57','',4546,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4546-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4550,1,'2011-03-16 19:02:40','2011-03-16 17:02:40','After nearly three years in this country, I\'ve become the queen of cash. I like to keep a variety of bills in my wallet--from 2\'s and 5\'s to 10\'s and 20\'s. This gives me the most flexibility but I know where I can break a twenty without having anyone blink an eye (Onda) and I know where I need to pay in small bills (lunch line cafeteria).\r\n\r\nFor the record, sometimes even if you try to  pay with a 5 the lunch lady will demand smaller change in Bulgarian a few times, each time getting increasingly louder. This is embarrassing. Especially when there\'s a line. It\'s best to try to pay with exact change.\r\n\r\nI know where my favorite ATM is and I know which ones to avoid because sometimes they spit out 50 leva notes. What\'s a girl to do with a 50 leva bill--even the girls in Onda raise their eyes at that one. I generally try to avoid being the girl who only has big bills--you know 20\'s--because it\'s harder to split bills in restaurants and pay for cabs among other things.\r\n\r\nSo it was interesting to see a piece recently about Bulgarians and debit/credit card use.\r\n\r\nApparently only 49% of Bulgarians have a debit card and something like 9% have a credit card. This is incredible to me.\r\n\r\nThat means that more than half don\'t have a debit card. I have a hard time imagining that. It seems as if it would be difficult to function even in Bulgaria without a debit card.\r\n\r\nI am not surprised by this fact: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126261&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_self\">Those using bank cards more frequently have higher education and income, and live in the largest cities</a>. But in addition to education and income levels, I do wonder if age is also a factor. It seems that potentially young people are more accepting of new(-ish) technology like a debit card--as if a debit card is new technology.\r\n\r\nUnless it is new-<em>ish</em>.\r\n\r\nWhich is an interesting question. How long after the changes did debit cards appear in Bulgaria? I\'d guess within the last 20 years but that\'s just because it seems like a reasonable to assume.','Bulgaria and the Debit/Credit Card','','inherit','open','open','','4546-revision-4','','','2011-03-16 19:02:40','2011-03-16 17:02:40','',4546,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4546-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4551,1,'2011-03-16 19:03:48','2011-03-16 17:03:48','After nearly three years in this country, I\'ve become the queen of cash. I like to keep a variety of bills in my wallet--from 2\'s and 5\'s to 10\'s and 20\'s. This gives me the most flexibility but I know where I can break a twenty without having anyone blink an eye (Onda) and I know where I need to pay in small bills (lunch line cafeteria).\n\nFor the record, sometimes even if you try to  pay with a 5 the lunch lady will demand smaller change in Bulgarian a few times, each time getting increasingly louder. This is embarrassing. Especially when there\'s a line. It\'s best to try to pay with exact change.\n\nI know where my favorite ATM is and I know which ones to avoid because sometimes they spit out 50 leva notes. What\'s a girl to do with a 50 leva bill--even the girls in Onda raise their eyes at that one. I generally try to avoid being the girl who only has big bills--you know 20\'s--because it\'s harder to split bills in restaurants and pay for cabs among other things.\n\nSo it was interesting to see a piece recently about Bulgarians and debit/credit card use.\n\nApparently only 49% of Bulgarians have a debit card and something like 9% have a credit card. This is incredible to me.\n\nThat means that more than half don\'t have a debit card. I have a hard time imagining that. It seems as if it would be difficult to function even in Bulgaria without a debit card.\n\nI am not surprised by this fact: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126261&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_self\">Those using bank cards more frequently have higher education and income, and live in the largest cities</a>. But in addition to education and income levels, I do wonder if age is also a factor. It seems that potentially young people are more accepting of new(-ish) technology like a debit card--as if a debit card is new technology.\n\nUnless it is new-<em>ish</em>.\n\nWhich is an interesting question. How long after the changes did debit cards appear in Bulgaria? I\'d guess within the last 20 years but that\'s just because it seems like a reasonable to assume.\n\nIs the other assumption that','Bulgaria and the Debit/Credit Card','','inherit','open','open','','4546-revision-5','','','2011-03-16 19:03:48','2011-03-16 17:03:48','',4546,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4546-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4552,1,'2011-03-16 19:05:44','2011-03-16 17:05:44','After nearly three years in this country, I\'ve become the queen of cash. I like to keep a variety of bills in my wallet--from 2\'s and 5\'s to 10\'s and 20\'s. This gives me the most flexibility but I know where I can break a twenty without having anyone blink an eye (Onda) and I know where I need to pay in small bills (lunch line cafeteria).\n\nFor the record, sometimes even if you try to  pay with a 5 the lunch lady will demand smaller change in Bulgarian a few times, each time getting increasingly louder. This is embarrassing. Especially when there\'s a line. It\'s best to try to pay with exact change.\n\nI know where my favorite ATM is and I know which ones to avoid because sometimes they spit out 50 leva notes. What\'s a girl to do with a 50 leva bill--even the girls in Onda raise their eyes at that one. I generally try to avoid being the girl who only has big bills--you know 20\'s--because it\'s harder to split bills in restaurants and pay for cabs among other things.\n\nSo it was interesting to see a piece recently about Bulgarians and debit/credit card use.\n\nApparently only 49% of Bulgarians have a debit card and something like 9% have a credit card. This is incredible to me.\n\nThat means that more than half don\'t have a debit card. I have a hard time imagining that. It seems as if it would be difficult to function even in Bulgaria without a debit card.\n\nI am not surprised by this fact: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126261&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_self\">Those using bank cards more frequently have higher education and income, and live in the largest cities</a>. But in addition to education and income levels, I do wonder if age is also a factor. It seems that potentially young people are more accepting of new(-ish) technology like a debit card--as if a debit card is new technology.\n\nUnless it is new-<em>ish</em>.\n\nWhich is an interesting question. How long after the changes did debit cards appear in Bulgaria? I\'d guess within the last 20 years but that\'s just because it seems like a reasonable to assume.','Bulgaria and the Debit/Credit Card','','inherit','open','open','','4546-autosave','','','2011-03-16 19:05:44','2011-03-16 17:05:44','',4546,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4546-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4553,1,'2011-03-16 21:33:20','2011-03-16 19:33:20','Over the course of the last three years it\'s become clear that Bulgarian isn\'t an easy language. Sure I knew this going in. But I figured that after learning German, Bulgarian couldn\'t be <em>that</em> hard.\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, it turns out that I am not really a natural when it comes to learning Bulgarian. Sometimes this is frustrating but I try to remind myself that it\'s not the end of the world. In fact it\'s a good challenge to do things that you\'re not necessarily inclined to. The other thing I try to remind myself is that learning the language takes work and I haven\'t always had the time to commit to it.\r\n\r\nStill I\'ve been giving it go.\r\n\r\nHere\'s a run down of my on-going pursuit of Bulgarian:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>I track down a Bulgarian to teach me some basic Bulgarian in Washington DC. As luck would have it D. is one of the nicest people that I know and she graduated from ACS--where I now teach. She taught me my numbers, the alphabet, some basic verbs, food/drink nouns and convinced me that I was not in fact crazy to move to Bulgaria. That last part might not have been true but I\'ve found everything else very, very helpful.</li>\r\n	<li>Through the Fulbright I end up taking a four week (or maybe it was only three week) course for beginners at ИЧС--a language school which is part of Sofia University. I buy a very expensive text book and learn how to conjugate some verbs, tell people where I am from, what kind of work I do and I label all of the things in my apartment in the hopes of learning some new nouns. I earn a 6 in the course. That I\'ll have you know is the highest grade one can earn in Bulgaria! Only everyone in my class was given a copy of the test the day before the actual exam. We just weren\'t supposed to write on it. The next day surprise, surprise I knew everything on the test. I would have anyway.</li>\r\n	<li>The rest of my first year in Bulgaria on the Fulbright, I studied a little Bulgarian willy-nilly and picked-up things that I needed for everyday life. I wasn\'t convinced at that point that I would be able to stay any longer than my Fulbright year so I didn\'t push myself to learn the language.</li>\r\n	<li>However when I found out that I\'d gotten a job at ACS and that I\'d be in Bulgaria for a second year, I thought: I\'ve got to really try to learn this language. I committed myself to this goal on my blog and that\'s how I found my tutor Ivet!! This was a very lucky moment indeed.</li>\r\n	<li>At school I have two 40-minute Bulgarian lessons a week with a Bulgarian named Lora. She teaches all of the foreigners at ACS Bulgarian. <!--more-->I\'ve been working pretty steadily through a Bulgarian text book with her. I am in chapter 14 right now. Probably next month I\'ll have to buy the second book in the series. But many of our lessons these days are just conversations now. That\'s pretty great.</li>\r\n	<li>I also have two student tutors at school. I see each of them once a week for 40 minutes. They are really funny. I especially like when they tell me Bulgarian is hard.</li>\r\n	<li>These days I also try to speak as much Bulgarian as I can. This tends to be easier said than done. I have the same conversation with the woman who cleans my classroom everyday, the woman who works in the snack-line, the woman who makes photocopies on campus and the campus guards. But I don\'t speak Bulgarian to my students which is the right thing to do considering the fact that I\'m their English teacher but it cuts down on the sheer number of people that I can practice with.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nIn these pursuits I\'ve learned a few things.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>I am shy when it comes to speaking Bulgarian. I am not very confident and really I hate making mistakes.</li>\r\n	<li>Most Bulgarian text books are laughably bad. I guess that\'s because the market isn\'t very big.</li>\r\n	<li>When you\'re blond and speak some Bulgarian you can really surprise people.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s often difficult to make people speak Bulgarian to you who speak better English than you speak Bulgarian.</li>\r\n	<li>I kind of dislike it when Bulgarians tell me my accent is cute but at the same time I kind of like it.</li>\r\n	<li>Always let your students think that you know more Bulgarian than you actually do.  And surprise them with this knowledge. This way you can keep them guessing. (And know when they haven\'t done the reading before class!!)</li>\r\n</ol>','In Pursuit of Bulgarian ','','publish','open','open','','in-pursuit-of-bulgarian','','','2011-03-16 21:33:20','2011-03-16 19:33:20','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4553',0,'post','',4),(4554,1,'2011-03-16 21:13:58','2011-03-16 19:13:58','Here\'s a run down of my on-going pursuit of Bulgarian:\n<ol>\n	<li>I track down a Bulgarian to teach me some basic Bulgarian in Washington DC. As luck would have it D. is one of the nicest people that I know and she graduated from ACS--where I now teach. She taught me my numbers, the alphabet, some basic verbs, food/drink nouns and convinced me that I was not in fact crazy to move to Bulgaria. That last part might not have been true but I\'ve found everything else very, very helpful.</li>\n	<li>Through the Fulbright I end up taking a four week (or maybe it was only three week) course for beginners at ИЧС--a language school which is part of Sofia University. I buy a very expensive text book and learn how to conjugate some verbs, tell people where I am from, what kind of work I do and I label all of the things in my apartment in the hopes of learning some new nouns. I earn a 6 in the course. That I\'ll have you know is the highest grade one can earn in Bulgaria! Only everyone in my class was given a copy of the test the day before the actual exam. We just weren\'t supposed to write on it. The next day surprise, surprise I knew everything on the test. I would have anyway.</li>\n	<li>The rest of my first year in Bulgaria on the Fulbright, I studied a little Bulgarian willy-nilly and picked-up things that I needed for everyday life. I wasn\'t convinced at that point that I would be able to stay any longer than my Fulbright year so I didn\'t push myself to learn the language.</li>\n	<li>However when I found out that I\'d gotten a job at ACS and that I\'d be in Bulgaria for a second year, I thought: I\'ve got to really try to learn this language. I committed myself to this goal on my blog and that\'s how I found my tutor Ivet!! This was a very lucky moment indeed.</li>\n	<li>At school I have two 40-minute Bulgarian lessons a week with a Bulgarian named Lora. She teaches all of the foreigners Bulgarian. I\'ve been working pretty steadily through a Bulgarian text book with her. I am in chapter 14 right now. Probably next month I\'ll have to buy the second book in the series. But many of our lessons these days are just conversations now. That\'s pretty great.</li>\n	<li>I also have two student tutors at school. I see each of them once a week for 40 minutes. They are really funny. I especially like when they tell me Bulgarian is hard.</li>\n	<li>These days I also try to speak as much Bulgarian as I can. This tends to be easier said than done. I have the same conversation with the woman who cleans my classroom everyday, the woman who works in the snack-line, the woman who makes photocopies on campus and the campus guards. But I don\'t speak Bulgarian to my students which is the right thing to do considering the fact that I\'m their English teacher but it cuts down on the sheer number of people that I can practice with.</li>\n</ol>\nIn these pursuits I\'ve learned a few things.\n<ol>\n	<li>I am shy when it comes to speaking Bulgarian. I am not very confident and really I hate making mistakes.</li>\n	<li>Most Bulgarian text books are laughably bad. I guess that\'s because the market isn\'t very big.</li>\n	<li>When you\'re blond and speak some Bulgarian you can really surprise people.</li>\n	<li>It\'s often difficult to make people speak Bulgarian to you who speak better English than you speak Bulgarian.</li>\n	<li>I kind of dislike it when Bulgarians tell me my accent is cute but at the same time I kind of like it.</li>\n	<li>Always let your students think that you know more Bulgarian than you actually do.  And surprise them with this knowledge.</li>\n</ol>','In Pursuit of Bulgarian ','','inherit','open','open','','4553-revision','','','2011-03-16 21:13:58','2011-03-16 19:13:58','',4553,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4553-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4555,1,'2011-03-16 21:14:57','2011-03-16 19:14:57','Here\'s a run down of my on-going pursuit of Bulgarian:\n<ol>\n	<li>I track down a Bulgarian to teach me some basic Bulgarian in Washington DC. As luck would have it D. is one of the nicest people that I know and she graduated from ACS--where I now teach. She taught me my numbers, the alphabet, some basic verbs, food/drink nouns and convinced me that I was not in fact crazy to move to Bulgaria. That last part might not have been true but I\'ve found everything else very, very helpful.</li>\n	<li>Through the Fulbright I end up taking a four week (or maybe it was only three week) course for beginners at ИЧС--a language school which is part of Sofia University. I buy a very expensive text book and learn how to conjugate some verbs, tell people where I am from, what kind of work I do and I label all of the things in my apartment in the hopes of learning some new nouns. I earn a 6 in the course. That I\'ll have you know is the highest grade one can earn in Bulgaria! Only everyone in my class was given a copy of the test the day before the actual exam. We just weren\'t supposed to write on it. The next day surprise, surprise I knew everything on the test. I would have anyway.</li>\n	<li>The rest of my first year in Bulgaria on the Fulbright, I studied a little Bulgarian willy-nilly and picked-up things that I needed for everyday life. I wasn\'t convinced at that point that I would be able to stay any longer than my Fulbright year so I didn\'t push myself to learn the language.</li>\n	<li>However when I found out that I\'d gotten a job at ACS and that I\'d be in Bulgaria for a second year, I thought: I\'ve got to really try to learn this language. I committed myself to this goal on my blog and that\'s how I found my tutor Ivet!! This was a very lucky moment indeed.</li>\n	<li>At school I have two 40-minute Bulgarian lessons a week with a Bulgarian named Lora. She teaches all of the foreigners Bulgarian. I\'ve been working pretty steadily through a Bulgarian text book with her. I am in chapter 14 right now. Probably next month I\'ll have to buy the second book in the series. But many of our lessons these days are just conversations now. That\'s pretty great.</li>\n	<li>I also have two student tutors at school. I see each of them once a week for 40 minutes. They are really funny. I especially like when they tell me Bulgarian is hard.</li>\n	<li>These days I also try to speak as much Bulgarian as I can. This tends to be easier said than done. I have the same conversation with the woman who cleans my classroom everyday, the woman who works in the snack-line, the woman who makes photocopies on campus and the campus guards. But I don\'t speak Bulgarian to my students which is the right thing to do considering the fact that I\'m their English teacher but it cuts down on the sheer number of people that I can practice with.</li>\n</ol>\nIn these pursuits I\'ve learned a few things.\n<ol>\n	<li>I am shy when it comes to speaking Bulgarian. I am not very confident and really I hate making mistakes.</li>\n	<li>Most Bulgarian text books are laughably bad. I guess that\'s because the market isn\'t very big.</li>\n	<li>When you\'re blond and speak some Bulgarian you can really surprise people.</li>\n	<li>It\'s often difficult to make people speak Bulgarian to you who speak better English than you speak Bulgarian.</li>\n	<li>I kind of dislike it when Bulgarians tell me my accent is cute but at the same time I kind of like it.</li>\n	<li>Always let your students think that you know more Bulgarian than you actually do.  And surprise them with this knowledge. This way you can keep them guessing. (And know when they haven\'t done the reading before class!!)</li>\n</ol>','In Pursuit of Bulgarian ','','inherit','open','open','','4553-revision-2','','','2011-03-16 21:14:57','2011-03-16 19:14:57','',4553,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4553-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4556,1,'2011-03-16 21:31:56','2011-03-16 19:31:56','Over the course of the last three years it\'s become clear that Bulgarian isn\'t an easy language. Sure I knew this going in. But I figured that after learning German, Bulgarian couldn\'t be <em>that</em> hard.\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, it turns out that I am not really a natural when it comes to learning Bulgarian. Sometimes this is frustrating but I try to remind myself that it\'s not the end of the world. In fact it\'s a good challenge to do things that you\'re not necessarily inclined to. The other thing I try to remind myself is that learning the language takes work and I haven\'t always had the time to commit to it.\r\n\r\nStill I\'ve been giving it go.\r\n\r\nHere\'s a run down of my on-going pursuit of Bulgarian:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>I track down a Bulgarian to teach me some basic Bulgarian in Washington DC. As luck would have it D. is one of the nicest people that I know and she graduated from ACS--where I now teach. She taught me my numbers, the alphabet, some basic verbs, food/drink nouns and convinced me that I was not in fact crazy to move to Bulgaria. That last part might not have been true but I\'ve found everything else very, very helpful.</li>\r\n	<li>Through the Fulbright I end up taking a four week (or maybe it was only three week) course for beginners at ИЧС--a language school which is part of Sofia University. I buy a very expensive text book and learn how to conjugate some verbs, tell people where I am from, what kind of work I do and I label all of the things in my apartment in the hopes of learning some new nouns. I earn a 6 in the course. That I\'ll have you know is the highest grade one can earn in Bulgaria! Only everyone in my class was given a copy of the test the day before the actual exam. We just weren\'t supposed to write on it. The next day surprise, surprise I knew everything on the test. I would have anyway.</li>\r\n	<li>The rest of my first year in Bulgaria on the Fulbright, I studied a little Bulgarian willy-nilly and picked-up things that I needed for everyday life. I wasn\'t convinced at that point that I would be able to stay any longer than my Fulbright year so I didn\'t push myself to learn the language.</li>\r\n	<li>However when I found out that I\'d gotten a job at ACS and that I\'d be in Bulgaria for a second year, I thought: I\'ve got to really try to learn this language. I committed myself to this goal on my blog and that\'s how I found my tutor Ivet!! This was a very lucky moment indeed.</li>\r\n	<li>At school I have two 40-minute Bulgarian lessons a week with a Bulgarian named Lora. She teaches all of the foreigners at ACS Bulgarian. <!--more-->I\'ve been working pretty steadily through a Bulgarian text book with her. I am in chapter 14 right now. Probably next month I\'ll have to buy the second book in the series. But many of our lessons these days are just conversations now. That\'s pretty great.</li>\r\n	<li>I also have two student tutors at school. I see each of them once a week for 40 minutes. They are really funny. I especially like when they tell me Bulgarian is hard.</li>\r\n	<li>These days I also try to speak as much Bulgarian as I can. This tends to be easier said than done. I have the same conversation with the woman who cleans my classroom everyday, the woman who works in the snack-line, the woman who makes photocopies on campus and the campus guards. But I don\'t speak Bulgarian to my students which is the right thing to do considering the fact that I\'m their English teacher but it cuts down on the sheer number of people that I can practice with.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nIn these pursuits I\'ve learned a few things.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>I am shy when it comes to speaking Bulgarian. I am not very confident and really I hate making mistakes.</li>\r\n	<li>Most Bulgarian text books are laughably bad. I guess that\'s because the market isn\'t very big.</li>\r\n	<li>When you\'re blond and speak some Bulgarian you can really surprise people.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s often difficult to make people speak Bulgarian to you who speak better English than you speak Bulgarian.</li>\r\n	<li>I kind of dislike it when Bulgarians tell me my accent is cute but at the same time I kind of like it.</li>\r\n	<li>Always let your students think that you know more Bulgarian than you actually do.  And surprise them with this knowledge. This way you can keep them guessing. (And know when they haven\'t done the reading before class!!)</li>\r\n</ol>','In Pursuit of Bulgarian ','','inherit','open','open','','4553-revision-3','','','2011-03-16 21:31:56','2011-03-16 19:31:56','',4553,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4553-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4557,1,'2011-03-16 21:32:13','2011-03-16 19:32:13','Over the course of the last three years it\'s become clear that Bulgarian isn\'t an easy language. Sure I knew this going in. But I figured that after learning German, Bulgarian couldn\'t be <em>that</em> hard.\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, it turns out that I am not really a natural when it comes to learning Bulgarian. Sometimes this is frustrating but I try to remind myself that it\'s not the end of the world. In fact it\'s a good challenge to do things that you\'re not necessarily inclined to. The other thing I try to remind myself is that learning the language takes work and I haven\'t always had the time to commit to it.\r\n\r\nStill I\'ve been giving it go.\r\n\r\nHere\'s a run down of my on-going pursuit of Bulgarian:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>I track down a Bulgarian to teach me some basic Bulgarian in Washington DC. As luck would have it D. is one of the nicest people that I know and she graduated from ACS--where I now teach. She taught me my numbers, the alphabet, some basic verbs, food/drink nouns and convinced me that I was not in fact crazy to move to Bulgaria. That last part might not have been true but I\'ve found everything else very, very helpful.</li>\r\n	<li>Through the Fulbright I end up taking a four week (or maybe it was only three week) course for beginners at ИЧС--a language school which is part of Sofia University. I buy a very expensive text book and learn how to conjugate some verbs, tell people where I am from, what kind of work I do and I label all of the things in my apartment in the hopes of learning some new nouns. I earn a 6 in the course. That I\'ll have you know is the highest grade one can earn in Bulgaria! Only everyone in my class was given a copy of the test the day before the actual exam. We just weren\'t supposed to write on it. The next day surprise, surprise I knew everything on the test. I would have anyway.</li>\r\n	<li>The rest of my first year in Bulgaria on the Fulbright, I studied a little Bulgarian willy-nilly and picked-up things that I needed for everyday life. I wasn\'t convinced at that point that I would be able to stay any longer than my Fulbright year so I didn\'t push myself to learn the language.</li>\r\n	<li>However when I found out that I\'d gotten a job at ACS and that I\'d be in Bulgaria for a second year, I thought: I\'ve got to really try to learn this language. I committed myself to this goal on my blog and that\'s how I found my tutor Ivet!! This was a very lucky moment indeed.</li>\r\n	<li>At school I have two 40-minute Bulgarian lessons a week with a Bulgarian named Lora. She teaches all of the foreigners at ACS Bulgarian. <!--more-->I\'ve been working pretty steadily through a Bulgarian text book with her. I am in chapter 14 right now. Probably next month I\'ll have to buy the second book in the series. But many of our lessons these days are just conversations now. That\'s pretty great.</li>\r\n	<li>I also have two student tutors at school. I see each of them once a week for 40 minutes. They are really funny. I especially like when they tell me Bulgarian is hard.</li>\r\n	<li>These days I also try to speak as much Bulgarian as I can. This tends to be easier said than done. I have the same conversation with the woman who cleans my classroom everyday, the woman who works in the snack-line, the woman who makes photocopies on campus and the campus guards. But I don\'t speak Bulgarian to my students which is the right thing to do considering the fact that I\'m their English teacher but it cuts down on the sheer number of people that I can practice with.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nIn these pursuits I\'ve learned a few things.\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>I am shy when it comes to speaking Bulgarian. I am not very confident and really I hate making mistakes.</li>\r\n	<li>Most Bulgarian text books are laughably bad. I guess that\'s because the market isn\'t very big.</li>\r\n	<li>When you\'re blond and speak some Bulgarian you can really surprise people.</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s often difficult to make people speak Bulgarian to you who speak better English than you speak Bulgarian.</li>\r\n	<li>I kind of dislike it when Bulgarians tell me my accent is cute but at the same time I kind of like it.</li>\r\n	<li>Always let your students think that you know more Bulgarian than you actually do.  And surprise them with this knowledge. This way you can keep them guessing. (And know when they haven\'t done the reading before class!!)</li>\r\n</ol>','In Pursuit of Bulgarian ','','inherit','open','open','','4553-revision-4','','','2011-03-16 21:32:13','2011-03-16 19:32:13','',4553,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/16/4553-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4558,1,'2011-03-17 06:58:27','2011-03-17 04:58:27','Recently, I\'ve been feeling stuck.\r\n\r\nLike, I know enough Bulgarian to get around in my day to day life but not enough to be able to figure out what people are talking about on the news. So I hover in this in between place. I keep adding words to my vocabulary but it doesn\'t seem to be making a very big difference to my overall fluency.\r\n\r\nI realized this week: its like I am plateauing.\r\n\r\nHum. I don\'t really know what this means when it comes to a language but I do when it comes to sports.\r\n\r\nIn sports, if you hit a plateau and can\'t seem to improve most experts seem to recommend switching up your running program, increasing your mileage, adding strength training and not giving up. The idea is that your body has gotten comfortable in your current routine and as a result the program is no longer a challenge.\r\n\r\nBasically, to break out of this plateau you switch up your workout. You increase the length of the work out or you add sprints. You add weights. You push yourself to work differently so that you are once again challenging your body.\r\n\r\nGreat. I know how to deal with a plateau in sports but what\'s the connection to learning a language?\r\n\r\nWell, now I guess I  need to figure out how to push myself in new and different ways. In other words, it\'s time to define for myself what the equivalents of a sprint-work out and weight lifting are in language learning and make a plan to mix up my current approach to the language.\r\n\r\n<em>Thoughts? </em>','Stuck in the Middle with You','','publish','open','open','','stuck-in-the-middle-with-you','','','2011-03-17 06:58:27','2011-03-17 04:58:27','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4558',0,'post','',14),(4559,1,'2011-03-17 06:55:32','2011-03-17 04:55:32','Recently, I\'ve been feeling stuck. Like, I know enough Bulgarian to get around in my day to day life but not enough to be able to figure out what people are talking about on the news. So I hover in this in between place. I keep adding words to my vocabulary but it doesn\'t seem to be making a very big difference to my overall fluency.\n\nI realized this week: its like I am plateauing.\n\nHum. I don\'t really know what this means when it comes to a language but I do when it comes to sports.\n\nIn sports or when exercising, if you hit a plateau and can\'t seem to improve most experts seem to recommend switching up your running program, increasing your mileage, adding strength training and not giving up. The idea is that your body has gotten comfortable in your current routine and as a result the program is no longer a challenge.\n\nBasically, to break out of this plateau you switch up your workout. You increase the length of the work out or you add sprints. You add weights. You push yourself to work differently so that you are once again challenging your body.\n\nGreat. I know how to deal with a plateau in sports but what\'s the connection to learning a language?\n\nWell, now I need to figure out what the equivalents of a sprint-work out and weight lifting are in language learning and make a plan to mix up my current approach to the language.\n\nThoughts?','Stuck in the Middle with You','','inherit','open','open','','4558-revision','','','2011-03-17 06:55:32','2011-03-17 04:55:32','',4558,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/17/4558-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4560,1,'2011-03-17 06:56:02','2011-03-17 04:56:02','Recently, I\'ve been feeling stuck. Like, I know enough Bulgarian to get around in my day to day life but not enough to be able to figure out what people are talking about on the news. So I hover in this in between place. I keep adding words to my vocabulary but it doesn\'t seem to be making a very big difference to my overall fluency.\r\n\r\nI realized this week: its like I am plateauing.\r\n\r\nHum. I don\'t really know what this means when it comes to a language but I do when it comes to sports.\r\n\r\nIn sports or when exercising, if you hit a plateau and can\'t seem to improve most experts seem to recommend switching up your running program, increasing your mileage, adding strength training and not giving up. The idea is that your body has gotten comfortable in your current routine and as a result the program is no longer a challenge.\r\n\r\nBasically, to break out of this plateau you switch up your workout. You increase the length of the work out or you add sprints. You add weights. You push yourself to work differently so that you are once again challenging your body.\r\n\r\nGreat. I know how to deal with a plateau in sports but what\'s the connection to learning a language?\r\n\r\nWell, now I need to figure out what the equivalents of a sprint-work out and weight lifting are in language learning and make a plan to mix up my current approach to the language.\r\n\r\n<em>Thoughts? </em>','Stuck in the Middle with You','','inherit','open','open','','4558-revision-2','','','2011-03-17 06:56:02','2011-03-17 04:56:02','',4558,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/17/4558-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4561,1,'2011-03-17 06:56:32','2011-03-17 04:56:32','Recently, I\'ve been feeling stuck. Like, I know enough Bulgarian to get around in my day to day life but not enough to be able to figure out what people are talking about on the news. So I hover in this in between place. I keep adding words to my vocabulary but it doesn\'t seem to be making a very big difference to my overall fluency.\n\nI realized this week: its like I am plateauing.\n\nHum. I don\'t really know what this means when it comes to a language but I do when it comes to sports.\n\nIn sports or when exercising, if you hit a plateau and can\'t seem to improve most experts seem to recommend switching up your running program, increasing your mileage, adding strength training and not giving up. The idea is that your body has gotten comfortable in your current routine and as a result the program is no longer a challenge.\n\nBasically, to break out of this plateau you switch up your workout. You increase the length of the work out or you add sprints. You add weights. You push yourself to work differently so that you are once again challenging your body.\n\nGreat. I know how to deal with a plateau in sports but what\'s the connection to learning a language?\n\nWell, now I need to figure out what the equivalents of a sprint-work out and weight lifting are in language learning and make a plan to mix up my current approach to the language.\n\n<em>Thoughts? </em>','Stuck in the Middle with You','','inherit','open','open','','4558-revision-3','','','2011-03-17 06:56:32','2011-03-17 04:56:32','',4558,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/17/4558-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4562,1,'2011-03-17 20:38:58','2011-03-17 18:38:58','Recently, I\'ve been feeling stuck.\n\nLike, I know enough Bulgarian to get around in my day to day life but not enough to be able to figure out what people are talking about on the news. So I hover in this in between place. I keep adding words to my vocabulary but it doesn\'t seem to be making a very big difference to my overall fluency.\n\nI realized this week: its like I am plateauing.\n\nHum. I don\'t really know what this means when it comes to a language but I do when it comes to sports.\n\nIn sports, if you hit a plateau and can\'t seem to improve most experts seem to recommend switching up your running program, increasing your mileage, adding strength training and not giving up. The idea is that your body has gotten comfortable in your current routine and as a result the program is no longer a challenge.\n\nBasically, to break out of this plateau you switch up your workout. You increase the length of the work out or you add sprints. You add weights. You push yourself to work differently so that you are once again challenging your body.\n\nGreat. I know how to deal with a plateau in sports but what\'s the connection to learning a language?\n\nWell, now I guess I  need to figure out how to push myself in new and different ways. In other words, it\'s time to define for myself what the equivalents of a sprint-work out and weight lifting are in language learning and make a plan to mix up my current approach to the language.\n\n<em>Thoughts? </em>','Stuck in the Middle with You','','inherit','open','open','','4558-autosave','','','2011-03-17 20:38:58','2011-03-17 18:38:58','',4558,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/17/4558-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4563,1,'2011-03-18 15:26:16','2011-03-18 13:26:16','When I read the headline, of this article in the Sofia Echo earlier this week, I thought Wow: <a href=\"Average pay in Bulgaria surged 186% in past 10 years\" target=\"_self\">Average pay in Bulgaria surged 186% in past 10 years</a>.\r\n\r\nThen I read the article.\r\n<blockquote>The official average salary in Bulgaria has soared 186 per cent over the past 10 years, with the highest growth registered in pre-crisis 2008, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) reported on March 12, 2011.\r\n\r\nAlthough a number of companies reduced or froze employee pay between 2008 and 2010, while others switched to part-time work, average salary in the private sector has increased by 27 per cent to 605 leva.</blockquote>\r\nThat\'s depressing. 605 Leva.\r\n\r\nThat\'s 302 Euro or $437 a month.\r\n\r\nThe thing is the stats are a little hard to read in the article because the first paragraph starts off talking about the official average salary and then the second paragraph states the average salary in the private sector. Does this mean that public sector salaries are not part of this 605 Leva average? So that in effect the average salary in Bulgaria is actually lower than 605 Leva?\r\n\r\nHow\'s that for depressing?','Salaries in BG','','publish','open','open','','salaries-in-bg','','','2011-03-18 15:26:16','2011-03-18 13:26:16','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4563',0,'post','',8),(4564,1,'2011-03-18 15:23:52','2011-03-18 13:23:52','When I read the headline, of this article in the Sofia Echo earlier this week, I thought Wow: <a href=\"Average pay in Bulgaria surged 186% in past 10 years\" target=\"_self\">Average pay in Bulgaria surged 186% in past 10 years</a>.\n\nThen I read the article.\n<blockquote>The official average salary in Bulgaria has soared 186 per cent over the past 10 years, with the highest growth registered in pre-crisis 2008, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) reported on March 12, 2011.\n\nAlthough a number of companies reduced or froze employee pay between 2008 and 2010, while others switched to part-time work, average salary in the private sector has increased by 27 per cent to 605 leva.</blockquote>\nThat\'s depressing. 605 Leva.\n\nThat\'s 302 Euro or $437 a month.\n\nThe thing is the stats are a little hard to read in the article because the first paragraph starts off talking about the official average salary and then the second paragraph states the average salary in the private sector. Does this mean that public sector salaries are not part of this 605 Leva average? So that in effect the average salary in Bulgaria is actually lower than 605 Leva?\n\nHow\'s that for depressing?','','','inherit','open','open','','4563-revision','','','2011-03-18 15:23:52','2011-03-18 13:23:52','',4563,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/18/4563-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4565,1,'2011-03-18 15:27:24','2011-03-18 13:27:24','When I read the headline, of this article in the Sofia Echo earlier this week, I thought Wow: <a href=\"Average pay in Bulgaria surged 186% in past 10 years\" target=\"_self\">Average pay in Bulgaria surged 186% in past 10 years</a>.\n\nThen I read the article.\n<blockquote>The official average salary in Bulgaria has soared 186 per cent over the past 10 years, with the highest growth registered in pre-crisis 2008, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) reported on March 12, 2011.\n\nAlthough a number of companies reduced or froze employee pay between 2008 and 2010, while others switched to part-time work, average salary in the private sector has increased by 27 per cent to 605 leva.</blockquote>\nThat\'s depressing. 605 Leva.\n\nThat\'s 302 Euro or $437 a month.\n\nThe thing is the stats are a little hard to read in the article because the first paragraph starts off talking about the official average salary and then the second paragraph states the average salary in the private sector. Does this mean that public sector salaries are not part of this 605 Leva average? So that in effect the average salary in Bulgaria is actually lower than 605 Leva?\n\nHow\'s that for depressing?','Salaries in BG','','inherit','open','open','','4563-autosave','','','2011-03-18 15:27:24','2011-03-18 13:27:24','',4563,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/18/4563-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4567,1,'2011-03-19 10:48:43','2011-03-19 08:48:43','The good thing about Saturdays is that if you want to you can to stay at home.  You don\'t have to get up before the sun. You don\'t have to make a little pot of coffee and slug it down before rushing out the door in an outfit that you hope matches.\n\nNope, on Saturdays you can do whatever you want.\n\nMe for example?\n\nI didn\'t set my alarm clock last night. So I slept in. Until 7:45am. But hey that\'s sleeping in when you normally get up at 5:45am. I read my emails, checked to see what the state of the world is on the NYT (not good in either Japan or Libya), bemoaned the fact that very shortly I\'ll have to buy a subscription to the electronic version of the newspaper and scanned facebook to see what my friends are up to (or alternately what I\'m missing out on living abroad).\n\nBetween facebook and twitter it looks like most of my guy friends are obsessed with basketball and March Madness and that most of my single late twenty-something friends didn\'t get that into St Patrick\'s Day this year but those with babies dolled their kids up in green and shamrocks.\n\nThen I figured I should do some life maintenance kind of things. By 9:30am I\'d made a large pot of coffee, started a load of laundry, swept my apartment, done my dishes, put my books away, taken out the garbage and thought about cleaning my toilet. It\'s 10:30 or so right now and I\'ve made a big dent in my pot of coffee, thrown together a half batch of banana oatmeal scones, set out some homework to grade and I am in the process of writing a blog post. The toilet? Well, I am still thinking about that. <!--more-->\n\nAnd truth be told, grading homework is so low on my list of things to do I have a hunch that I\'ll clean the toilet before I sit down to grade. Yep. That\'s how much I want to grade. Cleaning the toilet seems better than grading.\n\nAll of this said, I\'m just happy not to be working today as many Bulgarians are. Remember our four day weekend at the beginning of March? Well, now today is a work day to make up for the Friday that we were \"given\" as a part of the March holiday. Luckily my school isn\'t making me work on Saturday.\n\nMe? I\'ll be working on Sunday. We\'re giving our entrance exam to nearly 400 7th grade students then. So I\'ll be at school by 7:45am on Sunday morning to proctor the exam. As an English speaker, I have a pretty limited role on Sunday. Seeing as we don\'t expect the kids to know English, all of the exam and directions are in Bulgarian. So for me, it\'s basically stroll in the park. I mean this almost literally. I\'ll be wearing comfy shoes and walking around the classroom for two and a half hours watching kids take a test that I can\'t even read.\n\nLast year after the first hour, I wondered if I could say walk around the classroom doing lunges. That would be good exercise. But I decided that would be distracting and not very professional. So instead I practiced conjugating as many Bulgarian verbs as I could think of in my head.  I know a lot more verbs now so maybe I\'ll run through these again this year.\n\nAnyhow, you really shouldn\'t feel bad for me because in exchange for proctoring the exam on Sunday, I get Monday off. That\'s not bad. Sure, it\'s kind of strange to have your weekend broken up over three days--Saturday and Monday--but at least I get two days off!!\n\nSo to everyone at work today, hope that you\'re having a great day and that you don\'t have too much work to do.','Saturdays ','','inherit','open','open','','4566-revision','','','2011-03-19 10:48:43','2011-03-19 08:48:43','',4566,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/19/4566-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4568,1,'2011-03-19 10:50:05','2011-03-19 08:50:05','The good thing about Saturdays is that if you want to you can to stay at home.  You don\'t have to get up before the sun. You don\'t have to make a little pot of coffee and slug it down before rushing out the door in an outfit that you hope matches.\n\nNope, on Saturdays you can do whatever you want.\n\nMe for example?\n\nI didn\'t set my alarm clock last night. So I slept in. Until 7:45am. But hey that\'s sleeping in when you normally get up at 5:45am. I read my emails, checked to see what the state of the world is on the NYT (not good in either Japan or Libya), bemoaned the fact that very shortly I\'ll have to buy a subscription to the electronic version of the newspaper and scanned facebook to see what my friends are up to (or alternately what I\'m missing out on living abroad).\n\nBetween facebook and twitter it looks like most of my guy friends are obsessed with basketball and March Madness and that most of my single late twenty-something friends didn\'t get that into St Patrick\'s Day this year but those with babies dolled their kids up in green and shamrocks.\n\nThen I figured I should do some life maintenance kind of things. By 9:30am I\'d made a large pot of coffee, started a load of laundry, swept my apartment, done my dishes, put my books away, taken out the garbage and thought about cleaning my toilet. It\'s 10:30 or so right now and I\'ve made a big dent in my pot of coffee, thrown together a half batch of banana oatmeal scones, set out some homework to grade and I am in the process of writing a blog post. The toilet? Well, I am still thinking about that. <!--more-->\n\nAnd truth be told, grading homework is so low on my list of things to do I have a hunch that I\'ll clean the toilet before I sit down to grade. Yep. That\'s how much I want to grade. Cleaning the toilet seems better than grading.\n\nAll of this said, I\'m just happy not to be working today as many Bulgarians are. Remember our four day weekend at the beginning of March? Well, now today is a work day to make up for the Friday that we were \"given\" as a part of the March holiday. Luckily my school isn\'t making me work on Saturday.\n\nMe? I\'ll be working on Sunday. We\'re giving our entrance exam to nearly 400 7th grade students then. So I\'ll be at school by 7:45am on Sunday morning to proctor the exam. As an English speaker, I have a pretty limited role on Sunday. Seeing as we don\'t expect the kids to know English, all of the exam and directions are in Bulgarian. So for me, it\'s basically stroll in the park. I mean this almost literally. I\'ll be wearing comfy shoes and walking around the classroom for two and a half hours watching kids take a test that I can\'t even read.\n\nLast year after the first hour, I wondered if I could say walk around the classroom doing lunges. That would be good exercise. But I decided that would be distracting and not very professional. So instead I practiced conjugating as many Bulgarian verbs as I could think of in my head.  I know a lot more verbs now so maybe I\'ll run through these again this year.\n\nAnyhow, you really shouldn\'t feel bad for me because in exchange for proctoring the exam on Sunday, I get Monday off. That\'s not bad. Sure, it\'s kind of strange to have your weekend broken up over three days--Saturday and Monday--but at least I get two days off!!\n\nSo to everyone at work today, hope that you\'re having a great day and that you don\'t have too much work to do.','Saturdays ','','inherit','open','open','','4566-autosave','','','2011-03-19 10:50:05','2011-03-19 08:50:05','',4566,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/19/4566-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4569,1,'2011-03-20 20:06:17','2011-03-20 18:06:17','Spring is on it\'s way. Slowly but surely spring is coming to Sofia. In the mornings, I can smell spring.\r\n\r\nNow this is great news.\r\n\r\nBut the problem with spring is that I seemingly no clothes to wear. Currently wool sweaters, long-sleeved shirts and pants dominate my closet. I don\'t want to wear one of my four winter sweaters one more time. In fact, I am not sure that I can bear wearing them again.\r\n\r\nSo today at 6:30am standing in front of my (nearly full) closet I couldn\'t find a thing to wear.\r\n\r\nThe other problem was that I was up at 6:30 am on a Sunday trying to find something to wear. Thanks, entrance exam.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I managed to find to find something to wear but I have a burning desire to do some shopping tomorrow on my day off. Yep. Work on a Sunday, get Monday off. That\'s okay.','The problem with Spring ','','publish','open','open','','the-problem-with-spring','','','2011-03-20 20:06:17','2011-03-20 18:06:17','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4569',0,'post','',0),(4570,1,'2011-03-20 20:05:30','2011-03-20 18:05:30','Spring is on it\'s way. Slowly but surely spring is coming to Sofia. In the mornings, I can smell spring.\n\nNow this is great news.\n\nBut the problem with spring is that I seemingly no clothes to wear. Currently wool sweaters, long-sleeved shirts and pants dominate my closet. I don\'t want to wear one of my four winter sweaters one more time. In fact, I am not sure that I can bear wearing them again.\n\nSo today at 6:30am standing in front of my (nearly full) closet I couldn\'t find a thing to wear.\n\nThe other problem was that I was up at 6:30 am on a Sunday trying to find something to wear. Thanks, entrance exam.\n\nAnyhow, I managed to find to find something to wear but I have a burning desire to do some shopping tomorrow on my day off. Yep.','The problem with Spring ','','inherit','open','open','','4569-revision','','','2011-03-20 20:05:30','2011-03-20 18:05:30','',4569,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/20/4569-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4571,1,'2011-03-20 20:07:32','2011-03-20 18:07:32','Spring is on it\'s way. Slowly but surely spring is coming to Sofia. In the mornings, I can smell spring.\n\nNow this is great news.\n\nBut the problem with spring is that I seemingly no clothes to wear. Currently wool sweaters, long-sleeved shirts and pants dominate my closet. I don\'t want to wear one of my four winter sweaters one more time. In fact, I am not sure that I can bear wearing them again.\n\nSo today at 6:30am standing in front of my (nearly full) closet I couldn\'t find a thing to wear.\n\nThe other problem was that I was up at 6:30 am on a Sunday trying to find something to wear. Thanks, entrance exam.\n\nAnyhow, I managed to find to find something to wear but I have a burning desire to do some shopping tomorrow on my day off. Yep. Work on a Sunday, get Monday off. That\'s okay.','The problem with Spring ','','inherit','open','open','','4569-autosave','','','2011-03-20 20:07:32','2011-03-20 18:07:32','',4569,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/20/4569-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4573,1,'2011-03-21 12:54:49','2011-03-21 10:54:49','For almost a year, I\'ve been waiting for my cell phone to die. It\'s at least four and a half years old. The thing is I want a new one but I can\'t justify buying a new one seeing as my current (but aging) phone is still working. Somehow, it continues to plug along. Alternately this makes me proud and frustrated. But I do have a lot of respect for my phone. A lot of other phones would have given up the ghost by now.\n\nNot mine.\n\nIt has lived in both Bulgaria and the United Sates. It has have traveled extensively with me from Morocco to the Ukraine, Amsterdam to Sarajevo and Kosovo to Istanbul. This phone has served me well. The thing until recently I haven\'t really been able to figure out why it has survived for so long. It\'s not like I treat it especially well tossing it into my bag, dropping it on the floor and the like--but it\'s not like I\'ve tried to drown it or dropped it from an obscenely tall buildings.\n\nThen over the weekend I read this piece that ran in the NYT Style Section titled: <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/fashion/20Cultural.html?src=me&amp;ref=homepage\" target=\"_blank\">Don\'t Call Me, I Wont Call You</a>. I read it and thought: Yes. This is exactly right.\n\nMy current cell phone hasn\'t died because I don\'t use it. <!--more-->Sure once in a while I check the time on it but more often than not just carry it around. Sometimes I jot out a quick text message but my phone doesn\'t ring that much. And it\'s not like I don\'t have friends. We just set up most of our plans via email, in person or via text message.\n\nI think that this is because the majority of my friends are expats. I also think that there\'s a sense that no one wants to be the one to impose. As the article bluntly states:\n<blockquote>Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward.</blockquote>\nOnly after living in Bulgaria, this struck me as a very American assumption--that phone calls are rude or that you might be interrupting someone by calling them.\n\nanted I haven\'t live in the States for two and a half years but when I lived in Washington DC the telephone trend was already headed this way.','To Call or Not to Call ','','inherit','open','open','','4572-revision','','','2011-03-21 12:54:49','2011-03-21 10:54:49','',4572,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/21/4572-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4574,1,'2011-03-21 13:03:00','2011-03-21 11:03:00','On my day off today, I am going to see the film the King\'s Speech with a friend. It seems like the perfect way to spend a rather chilly, slightly gray, potentially rainy Monday afternoon.\r\n\r\nMall of Sofia here I come.\r\n\r\nCoffee first, movie second.\r\n\r\nThen maybe just maybe I\'ll come home and actually do my grading.','The King\'s Speech','','publish','open','open','','the-kings-speech','','','2011-03-21 13:03:00','2011-03-21 11:03:00','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4574',0,'post','',1),(4575,1,'2011-03-21 13:02:03','2011-03-21 11:02:03','On my day off today, I am going to see the film the King\'s Speech with a friend. It seems like the perfect way to spend a rather chilly, slightly gray, potentially rainy Monday afternoon.\n\nMall of Sofia here I come.\n\nCoffee first, movie second.','The King\'s Speech','','inherit','open','open','','4574-revision','','','2011-03-21 13:02:03','2011-03-21 11:02:03','',4574,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/21/4574-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4576,1,'2011-03-21 13:04:11','2011-03-21 11:04:11','On my day off today, I am going to see the film the King\'s Speech with a friend. It seems like the perfect way to spend a rather chilly, slightly gray, potentially rainy Monday afternoon.\n\nMall of Sofia here I come.\n\nCoffee first, movie second.\n\nThen maybe just maybe I\'ll come home and actually do my grading.','The King\'s Speech','','inherit','open','open','','4574-autosave','','','2011-03-21 13:04:11','2011-03-21 11:04:11','',4574,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/21/4574-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4578,1,'2011-03-21 21:32:13','2011-03-21 19:32:13','For almost a year, I\'ve been waiting for my cell phone to die. It\'s at least four and a half years old. The thing is I want a new one but I can\'t justify buying a new one seeing as my current (but aging) phone is still working. Somehow, it continues to plug along. Alternately this makes me proud and frustrated. But I do have a lot of respect for my phone. A lot of other phones would have given up the ghost by now.\n\nNot mine.\n\nIt has lived in both Bulgaria and the United Sates. It has have traveled extensively with me from Morocco to the Ukraine, Amsterdam to Sarajevo and Kosovo to Istanbul. This phone has served me well. The thing until recently I haven\'t really been able to figure out why it has survived for so long. It\'s not like I treat it especially well tossing it into my bag, dropping it on the floor and the like--but it\'s not like I\'ve tried to drown it or dropped it from an obscenely tall buildings.\n\nThen over the weekend I read this piece that ran in the NYT Style Section titled: <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/fashion/20Cultural.html?src=me&amp;ref=homepage\" target=\"_blank\">Don\'t Call Me, I Wont Call You</a>. I read it and thought: Yes. This is exactly right.\n\nMy current cell phone hasn\'t died because I don\'t use it. <!--more-->Sure once in a while I check the time on it but more often than not just carry it around. Sometimes I jot out a quick text message but my phone doesn\'t ring that much. And it\'s not like I don\'t have friends. We just set up most of our plans via email, in person or via text message.\n\nI think that this is because the majority of my friends are expats. I also think that there\'s a sense that no one wants to be the one to impose. As the article bluntly states:\n<blockquote>Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward.</blockquote>\nGranted I haven\'t lived in the States for two and a half years but when I lived in Washington DC the telephone trend was already headed this way. You emailed. You sent a text message. And you called if you were going to be late and only then if you were not meeting in a bar or at a club where you\'d be challenged to hear someone. Basically there was no need to call anyone.\n\nBut it wasn\'t as if you weren\'t in touch with people. You were just in touch with them on your own time.\n\nThis hands off approach is similar among expats in Bulgaria too.  You can set up dinner, pick a restaurant and include a link to a map in your email more quickly than calling all of your friends and trying to describe where you are going. It\'s easy.\n\nThe thing is I don\'t know what my friends are up to or when they are working and I don\'t want to interrupt them. Likewise, when I am at work it\'s awkward to take a call.\n\nOnly after living in Bulgaria, this struck me as a very American  assumption--that phone calls are rude or that you might be interrupting  someone by calling them. In Bulgaria, people take calls all of the time. It doesn\'t really matter when or where.\n\nMove','To Call or Not to Call ','','inherit','open','open','','4572-revision-2','','','2011-03-21 21:32:13','2011-03-21 19:32:13','',4572,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/21/4572-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4579,1,'2011-03-21 21:46:25','2011-03-21 19:46:25','For almost a year, I\'ve been waiting for my cell phone to die. It\'s at least four and a half years old. The thing is I want a new one but I can\'t justify buying a new one seeing as my current (but aging) phone is still working. Somehow, it continues to plug along. Alternately this makes me proud and frustrated. But I do have a lot of respect for my phone. A lot of other phones would have given up the ghost by now.\n\nNot mine.\n\nIt has lived in both Bulgaria and the United Sates. It has have traveled extensively with me from Morocco to the Ukraine, Amsterdam to Sarajevo and Kosovo to Istanbul. This phone has served me well. The thing until recently I haven\'t really been able to figure out why it has survived for so long. It\'s not like I treat it especially well tossing it into my bag, dropping it on the floor and the like--but it\'s not like I\'ve tried to drown it or dropped it from an obscenely tall buildings.\n\nThen over the weekend I read this piece that ran in the NYT Style Section titled: <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/fashion/20Cultural.html?src=me&amp;ref=homepage\" target=\"_blank\">Don\'t Call Me, I Wont Call You</a>. I read it and thought: Yes. This is exactly right.\n\nMy current cell phone hasn\'t died because I don\'t use it. <!--more-->Sure once in a while I check the time on it but more often than not just carry it around. Sometimes I jot out a quick text message but my phone doesn\'t ring that much. And it\'s not like I don\'t have friends. We just set up most of our plans via email, in person or via text message.\n\nI think that this is because the majority of my friends are expats. I also think that there\'s a sense that no one wants to be the one to impose. As the article bluntly states:\n<blockquote>Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward.</blockquote>\nGranted I haven\'t lived in the States for two and a half years but when I lived in Washington DC the telephone trend was already headed this way. You emailed. You sent a text message. And you called if you were going to be late and only then if you were not meeting in a bar or at a club where you\'d be challenged to hear someone. Basically there was no need to call anyone.\n\nBut it wasn\'t as if you weren\'t in touch with people. You were just in touch with them on your own time.\n\nThis hands off approach is similar among expats in Bulgaria too.  You can set up dinner, pick a restaurant and include a link to a map in your email more quickly than calling all of your friends and trying to describe where you are going. It\'s easy.\n\nThe thing is I don\'t know what my friends are up to or when they are working and I don\'t want to interrupt them. Likewise, when I am at work it\'s awkward to take a call.\n\nOnly after living in Bulgaria, this struck me as a very American  assumption--that phone calls are rude or that you might be interrupting  someone by calling them. In Bulgaria, people take calls all of the time. It doesn\'t really matter when or where. Everyone seems to be on the phone.\n\nI don\'t really understand the phenomenon.   I like that Bulgarians like their phones. There\'s something personal about phone calls but I don\'t like that they are willing to take calls anywhere. While doing anything.\n\n&nbsp;','To Call or Not to Call ','','inherit','open','open','','4572-revision-3','','','2011-03-21 21:46:25','2011-03-21 19:46:25','',4572,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/21/4572-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4580,1,'2011-03-21 21:49:57','2011-03-21 19:49:57','For almost a year, I\'ve been waiting for my cell phone to die. It\'s at least four and a half years old. The thing is I want a new one but I can\'t justify buying a new one seeing as my current (but aging) phone is still working. Somehow, it continues to plug along. Alternately this makes me proud and frustrated. But I do have a lot of respect for my phone. A lot of other phones would have given up the ghost by now.\n\nNot mine.\n\nIt has lived in both Bulgaria and the United Sates. It has have traveled extensively with me from Morocco to the Ukraine, Amsterdam to Sarajevo and Kosovo to Istanbul. This phone has served me well. The thing until recently I haven\'t really been able to figure out why it has survived for so long. It\'s not like I treat it especially well tossing it into my bag, dropping it on the floor and the like--but it\'s not like I\'ve tried to drown it or dropped it from an obscenely tall buildings.\n\nThen over the weekend I read this piece that ran in the NYT Style Section titled: <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/fashion/20Cultural.html?src=me&amp;ref=homepage\" target=\"_blank\">Don\'t Call Me, I Wont Call You</a>. I read it and thought: Yes. This is exactly right.\n\nMy current cell phone hasn\'t died because I don\'t use it. <!--more-->Sure once in a while I check the time on it but more often than not just carry it around. Sometimes I jot out a quick text message but my phone doesn\'t ring that much. And it\'s not like I don\'t have friends. We just set up most of our plans via email, in person or via text message.\n\nI think that this is because the majority of my friends are expats. I also think that there\'s a sense that no one wants to be the one to impose. As the article bluntly states:\n<blockquote>Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward.</blockquote>\nGranted I haven\'t lived in the States for two and a half years but when I lived in Washington DC the telephone trend was already headed this way. You emailed. You sent a text message. And you called if you were going to be late and only then if you were not meeting in a bar or at a club where you\'d be challenged to hear someone. Basically there was no need to call anyone.\n\nBut it wasn\'t as if you weren\'t in touch with people. You were just in touch with them on your own time.\n\nThis hands off approach is similar among expats in Bulgaria too.  You can set up dinner, pick a restaurant and include a link to a map in your email more quickly than calling all of your friends and trying to describe where you are going. It\'s easy.\n\nThe thing is I don\'t know what my friends are up to or when they are working and I don\'t want to interrupt them. Likewise, when I am at work it\'s awkward to take a call.\n\nOnly after living in Bulgaria, this struck me as a very American  assumption--that phone calls are rude or that you might be interrupting  someone by calling them. In Bulgaria, people take calls all of the time. It doesn\'t really matter when or where. Everyone seems to be on the phone.\n\nI don\'t really understand the phenomenon.   I like that Bulgarians like their phones. There\'s something personal about phone calls but I don\'t like that they are willing to take calls anywhere. While doing anything. This habit seems equally rude, intrusive and awkward.\n\n&nbsp;','To Call or Not to Call ','','inherit','open','open','','4572-revision-4','','','2011-03-21 21:49:57','2011-03-21 19:49:57','',4572,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/21/4572-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4581,1,'2011-03-22 07:02:18','2011-03-22 05:02:18','For almost a year, I\'ve been waiting for my cell phone to die. It\'s at least four and a half years old. The thing is I want a new one but I can\'t justify buying a new one seeing as my current (but aging) phone is still working. Somehow, it continues to plug along. Alternately this makes me proud and frustrated. But I do have a lot of respect for my phone. A lot of other phones would have given up the ghost by now.\n\nNot mine.\n\nIt has lived in both Bulgaria and the United Sates. It has have traveled extensively with me from Morocco to the Ukraine, Amsterdam to Sarajevo and Kosovo to Istanbul. This phone has served me well. The thing until recently I haven\'t really been able to figure out why it has survived for so long. It\'s not like I treat it especially well tossing it into my bag, dropping it on the floor and the like--but it\'s not like I\'ve tried to drown it or dropped it from an obscenely tall building.\n\nThen over the weekend I read this piece that ran in the NYT Style Section titled: <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/fashion/20Cultural.html?src=me&amp;ref=homepage\" target=\"_blank\">Don\'t Call Me, I Wont Call You</a>. I read it and thought: Yes. This is exactly right.\n\nMy current cell phone hasn\'t died because I don\'t use it. <!--more-->Sure once in a while I check the time on it but more often than not just carry it around. Sometimes I jot out a quick text message but my phone doesn\'t ring that much. And it\'s not like I don\'t have friends. We just set up most of our plans via email, in person or via text message.\n\nI think that this is because the majority of my friends are expats. I also think that there\'s a sense that no one wants to be the one to impose. As the article bluntly states:\n<blockquote>Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward.</blockquote>\nGranted I haven\'t lived in the States for two and a half years but when I lived in Washington DC the telephone trend was already headed this way. You emailed. You sent a text message. You called if you were going to be late and only then if you were not meeting in a bar or at a club where you\'d be challenged to hear someone. Basically there was no need to call anyone.\n\nBut it wasn\'t as if you weren\'t in touch with people. You were just in touch with them on your own time.\n\nThis slightly hands off approach is similar among expats in Bulgaria too.  You can set up dinner, pick a restaurant and include a link to a map in your email more quickly than calling all of your friends and trying to describe where you are going. It\'s easy.\n\nBasically, I don\'t know what my friends are up to or when they are working and I don\'t want to interrupt them. Likewise, when I am at work it\'s awkward to take a call. So email me and if need be then we can follow up via telephone.\n\nOnly after living in Bulgaria, did this habit this struck me as a very American action. In the States, the basic assumption is that phone calls are rude or that you might be interrupting  someone by calling them. Enter email and gmail chat.\n\nHowever in Bulgaria, people take calls all of the time. It doesn\'t really matter when or where. How young or how old they are. Everyone seems to be on the phone.\n\nI don\'t really understand the phenomenon.   I like that Bulgarians like their phones. There\'s something personal about phone calls but I don\'t like that they are willing to take calls anywhere. While doing anything. This the habit that seems rude, intrusive and awkward.\n\nThe difference is that it doesn\'t seem rude or intrusive for the receiver of the call (the call-ie if you will as opposed to the caller). It\'s everyone else. It\'s when you take a call on the bus, in a movie theater, in a crowded restaurant, on the metro platform or when it\'s just the two of us out for a coffee and the phone rings and you take it. In my mind,  this is when the phone call is intrusive and awkward.\n\nBut, Bulgarians and I are clearly not on the same page when it comes to this issue. And that\'s okay. <em>I guess</em>.\n\nMaybe it will happen all in good time.\n\nNow if I think about it this way, I guess that I don\'t really need my phone die because it\'s not like I am really using it. I am just carrying it around on the off chance that someone might call and maybe I\'ll even pick up the call, that is if my phone isn\'t on silent.','To Call or Not to Call ','','inherit','open','open','','4572-revision-5','','','2011-03-22 07:02:18','2011-03-22 05:02:18','',4572,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/22/4572-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4582,1,'2011-03-22 07:03:34','2011-03-22 05:03:34','For almost a year, I\'ve been waiting for my cell phone to die. It\'s at least four and a half years old. The thing is I want a new one but I can\'t justify buying a new one seeing as my current (but aging) phone is still working. Somehow, it continues to plug along. Alternately this makes me proud and frustrated. But I do have a lot of respect for my phone. A lot of other phones would have given up the ghost by now.\n\nNot mine.\n\nIt has lived in both Bulgaria and the United Sates. It has have traveled extensively with me from Morocco to the Ukraine, Amsterdam to Sarajevo and Kosovo to Istanbul. This phone has served me well. The thing until recently I haven\'t really been able to figure out why it has survived for so long. It\'s not like I treat it especially well tossing it into my bag, dropping it on the floor and the like--but it\'s not like I\'ve tried to drown it or dropped it from an obscenely tall building.\n\nThen over the weekend I read this piece that ran in the NYT Style Section titled: <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/fashion/20Cultural.html?src=me&amp;ref=homepage\" target=\"_blank\">Don\'t Call Me, I Wont Call You</a>. I read it and thought: Yes. This is exactly right.\n\nMy current cell phone hasn\'t died because I don\'t use it. <!--more-->Sure once in a while I check the time on it but more often than not just carry it around. Sometimes I jot out a quick text message but my phone doesn\'t ring that much. And it\'s not like I don\'t have friends. We just set up most of our plans via email, in person or via text message.\n\nI think that this is because the majority of my friends are expats. I also think that there\'s a sense that no one wants to be the one to impose. As the article bluntly states:\n<blockquote>Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward.</blockquote>\nGranted I haven\'t lived in the States for two and a half years but when I lived in Washington DC the telephone trend was already headed this way. You emailed. You sent a text message. You called if you were going to be late and only then if you were not meeting in a bar or at a club where you\'d be challenged to hear someone. Basically there was no need to call anyone.\n\nBut it wasn\'t as if you weren\'t in touch with people. You were just in touch with them on your own time.\n\nThis slightly hands off approach is similar among expats in Bulgaria too.  You can set up dinner, pick a restaurant and include a link to a map in your email more quickly than calling all of your friends and trying to describe where you are going. It\'s easy.\n\nBasically, I don\'t know what my friends are up to or when they are working and I don\'t want to interrupt them. Likewise, when I am at work it\'s awkward to take a call. So email me and if need be then we can follow up via telephone.\n\nOnly after living in Bulgaria, did this habit this struck me as a very American action. In the States, the basic assumption is that phone calls are rude or that you might be interrupting  someone by calling them. Enter email and gmail chat.\n\nHowever in Bulgaria, people take calls all of the time. It doesn\'t really matter when or where. How young or how old they are. Everyone seems to be on the phone.\n\nI don\'t really understand the phenomenon.   I like that Bulgarians like their phones. There\'s something personal about phone calls but I don\'t like that they are willing to take calls anywhere. While doing anything. This the habit that seems rude, intrusive and awkward.\n\nThe difference is that it doesn\'t seem rude or intrusive for the receiver of the call (the call-ie if you will as opposed to the caller). It\'s everyone else. It\'s when you take a call on the bus, in a movie theater, in a crowded restaurant, on the metro platform or when it\'s just the two of us out for a coffee and the phone rings and you take it. In my mind,  this is when the phone call is intrusive and awkward.\n\nBut, Bulgarians and I are clearly not on the same page when it comes to this issue. And that\'s okay. <em>I guess</em>.\n\nMaybe it will happen all in good time.\n\nNow if I think about it this way, I guess that I don\'t really need my phone die because it\'s not like I am really using it. I am just carrying it around on the off chance that someone might call and maybe I\'ll even pick up the call, that is if my phone isn\'t on silent.','To Call or Not to Call ','','inherit','open','open','','4572-autosave','','','2011-03-22 07:03:34','2011-03-22 05:03:34','',4572,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/22/4572-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4583,1,'2011-03-25 08:52:09','2011-03-25 06:52:09','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/the-road-to-school/dsc02411/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/the-road-to-school/dsc02412/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nThen I wondered this: Why-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably take up time lapse photography. But then I remembered: I don\'t have the time, energy or the desire. So you\'ll just have to settle for the few photos I snapped on may way to and from school.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/the-road-to-school/dsc02415/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.\r\n\r\nNow I am not an engineer (that\'s my brother) but I\'ve always been under the impression that it\'s better to repair/fix/pave the whole street rather than to leave (or create) patches because the patches automatically become the weakest part of the road and the thing that will need to be replaced next. This in the end creates an endless cycle of pot-holes and patches.\r\n\r\nAm I wrong?','The Road to School','','publish','open','open','','the-road-to-school','','','2011-03-25 08:52:09','2011-03-25 06:52:09','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4583',0,'post','',6),(4584,1,'2011-03-23 06:55:59','2011-03-23 04:55:59','','Patch-work road','Patch-work road','inherit','open','open','','dsc02411','','','2011-03-23 06:55:59','2011-03-23 04:55:59','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4585,1,'2011-03-23 06:57:29','2011-03-23 04:57:29','','More road work','More road work','inherit','open','open','','dsc02412','','','2011-03-23 06:57:29','2011-03-23 04:57:29','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4586,1,'2011-03-23 06:54:53','2011-03-23 04:54:53','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision','','','2011-03-23 06:54:53','2011-03-23 04:54:53','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4583-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4587,1,'2011-03-23 06:58:32','2011-03-23 04:58:32','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"368\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"277\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585\" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" /></a>[/caption]','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-2','','','2011-03-23 06:58:32','2011-03-23 04:58:32','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4583-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4588,1,'2011-03-23 06:58:53','2011-03-23 04:58:53','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"368\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"277\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? \n\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585\" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" /></a>[/caption]','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-3','','','2011-03-23 06:58:53','2011-03-23 04:58:53','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4583-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4589,1,'2011-03-23 07:01:39','2011-03-23 05:01:39','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"368\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"277\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right? \r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585\" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there. ','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-4','','','2011-03-23 07:01:39','2011-03-23 05:01:39','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4583-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4590,1,'2011-03-23 07:01:42','2011-03-23 05:01:42','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"368\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"277\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right? \r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585\" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there. ','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-5','','','2011-03-23 07:01:42','2011-03-23 05:01:42','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4583-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4591,1,'2011-03-23 07:02:40','2011-03-23 05:02:40','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"442\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584   \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"442\" height=\"332\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"819\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-6','','','2011-03-23 07:02:40','2011-03-23 05:02:40','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4583-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4592,1,'2011-03-23 07:02:41','2011-03-23 05:02:41','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"442\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584   \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"442\" height=\"332\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"819\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-7','','','2011-03-23 07:02:41','2011-03-23 05:02:41','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4583-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4593,1,'2011-03-23 07:03:23','2011-03-23 05:03:23','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"442\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584   \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"442\" height=\"332\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"819\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-8','','','2011-03-23 07:03:23','2011-03-23 05:03:23','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4583-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4594,1,'2011-03-23 18:04:40','2011-03-23 16:04:40','I think that there are a lot of things that Bulgarians love. Shopska Salad. Cigarettes. Yogurt. Rakiya. Driving too fast. Complaining. Plastic bags. Cucumbers--pickled or fresh. The Black Sea.\r\n\r\nOkay, okay. Before I get a number of comments about my sweeping stereotypes let me make it clear--I am exaggerating.<em> (Kind of.)</em>\r\n\r\nToday reading the newspaper, I was struck by the realization that the government is trying to strip two of these little pleasures from everyday hard-working Bulgarians.\r\n\r\nYes. I said it: watch out everyday hard-working Bulgarians!\r\n\r\nCigarettes and plastic bags, two of things that Bulgarians love the most, are currently under attack.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nFirst there\'s the on going issue of smoking cigarettes in public places. The push seems to be away from smoking inside. This seems to have resulted in larger establishments more or less offering smoke free areas in their restaurants. Although in practice even these smoke free areas are hardly smoke free. The smaller ones? Well it seems totally acceptable to smoke there still. Or it seems just as acceptable to go outside and smoke right in front of the door so that everyone has to walk through your smoke to get in.\r\n\r\nThen there are the plastic bags. These seem as pervasive in Bulgaria as cigarettes. At major grocery stores like Billa and Hit you have to buy your plastic bags but pretty much everywhere else in country shops use gratuitous numbers of plastic bags to pack up your purchases.  Want a few carrots and a kilo of oranges? Of course you\'ll get separate plastic bags. As a result, these plastic bags are now blowing all over the country. Enter <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126567&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">proposed plastic bag tax</a>.\r\n\r\nThe funny thing is I am actually in support of both of these measures. I don\'t smoke so the first is probably a given. And I know that I use too many plastic bags and that I should be smarter about that. It just really easy to be sucked into the plastic bag culture. Luckily I didn\'t get sucked into the smoking culture in the same way.\r\n\r\nStill, I\'ve only lived in Bulgaria for two and a half years but its pretty hard for me to imagine this country without clouds of cigarette smoke and plastic bags stuck in bushes.','Cigarettes and Plastic Bags ','','publish','open','open','','cigarettes-and-plastic-bags','','','2011-03-23 18:04:40','2011-03-23 16:04:40','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4594',0,'post','',16),(4595,1,'2011-03-23 16:28:49','2011-03-23 14:28:49','I think that there are a lot of things that Bulgarians love. Shopska Salad. Cigarettes. Yogurt. Rakiya. Driving too fast. Complaining. Plastic bags. Cucumbers--pickled or fresh. The Black Sea.\n\nBut today reading the newspaper, I was struck by the realization that the government is trying to strip two of these little pleasures from everyday hard-working Bulgarians.\n\nYes, in fact, cigarettes and plastic bags, two of things that Bulgarians love the most, are currently under attack.\n\nFirst there\'s the on going issue of smoking cigarettes in public places. The push seems to be away from smoking inside. This seems to have resulted in larger establishments more or less offering smoke free areas in their restaurants. Although in practice even these smoke free areas are hardly smoke free. The smaller ones? Well it seems totally acceptable to smoke there still. Or it seems just as acceptable to go outside and smoke right in front of the door so that everyone has to walk through your smoke to get in.\n\nThen there are the plastic bags. These seem as pervasive in Bulgaria as cigarettes. At major grocery stores like Billa and Hit you have to buy your plastic bags but pretty much everywhere else in country shops use gratuitous numbers of plastic bags to pack up your purchases.  Want a few carrots and a kilo of oranges? Of course you\'ll get separate plastic bags. As a result, these plastic bags are now blowing all over the country. Enter <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126567&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">proposed plastic bag tax</a>.\n\nThe funny thing is I am actually in support of both of these measures. I don\'t smoke so the first is probably a given. And I kn I\'ve only lived in this country for two and a half years and its pretty hard for me to imagine it without clouds of cigarette smoke and plastic bags stuck in bushes.','Cigarettes and Plastic Bags ','','inherit','open','open','','4594-revision','','','2011-03-23 16:28:49','2011-03-23 14:28:49','',4594,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4594-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4596,1,'2011-03-23 16:29:29','2011-03-23 14:29:29','I think that there are a lot of things that Bulgarians love. Shopska Salad. Cigarettes. Yogurt. Rakiya. Driving too fast. Complaining. Plastic bags. Cucumbers--pickled or fresh. The Black Sea.\r\n\r\nBut today reading the newspaper, I was struck by the realization that the government is trying to strip two of these little pleasures from everyday hard-working Bulgarians.\r\n\r\nYes, in fact, cigarettes and plastic bags, two of things that Bulgarians love the most, are currently under attack.\r\n\r\nFirst there\'s the on going issue of smoking cigarettes in public places. The push seems to be away from smoking inside. This seems to have resulted in larger establishments more or less offering smoke free areas in their restaurants. Although in practice even these smoke free areas are hardly smoke free. The smaller ones? Well it seems totally acceptable to smoke there still. Or it seems just as acceptable to go outside and smoke right in front of the door so that everyone has to walk through your smoke to get in.\r\n\r\nThen there are the plastic bags. These seem as pervasive in Bulgaria as cigarettes. At major grocery stores like Billa and Hit you have to buy your plastic bags but pretty much everywhere else in country shops use gratuitous numbers of plastic bags to pack up your purchases.  Want a few carrots and a kilo of oranges? Of course you\'ll get separate plastic bags. As a result, these plastic bags are now blowing all over the country. Enter <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126567&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">proposed plastic bag tax</a>.\r\n\r\nThe funny thing is I am actually in support of both of these measures. I don\'t smoke so the first is probably a given. And I know that I use too many plastic bags and that I should be smarter about that.\r\n\r\nStill, I\'ve only lived in this country for two and a half years and its pretty hard for me to imagine it without clouds of cigarette smoke and plastic bags stuck in bushes.','Cigarettes and Plastic Bags ','','inherit','open','open','','4594-revision-2','','','2011-03-23 16:29:29','2011-03-23 14:29:29','',4594,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4594-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4597,1,'2011-03-23 16:35:40','2011-03-23 14:35:40','I think that there are a lot of things that Bulgarians love. Shopska Salad. Cigarettes. Yogurt. Rakiya. Driving too fast. Complaining. Plastic bags. Cucumbers--pickled or fresh. The Black Sea.\n\nOkay, okay. Before I get a number of comments about my sweeping stereotypes let me make it clear--I am exaggerating.<em> (Kind of.)</em>\n\nToday reading the newspaper, I was struck by the realization that the government is trying to strip two of these little pleasures from everyday hard-working Bulgarians.\n\nYes. I said it: watch out everyday hard-working Bulgarians!\n\nCigarettes and plastic bags, two of things that Bulgarians love the most, are currently under attack.\n\nFirst there\'s the on going issue of smoking cigarettes in public places. The push seems to be away from smoking inside. This seems to have resulted in larger establishments more or less offering smoke free areas in their restaurants. Although in practice even these smoke free areas are hardly smoke free. The smaller ones? Well it seems totally acceptable to smoke there still. Or it seems just as acceptable to go outside and smoke right in front of the door so that everyone has to walk through your smoke to get in.\n\nThen there are the plastic bags. These seem as pervasive in Bulgaria as cigarettes. At major grocery stores like Billa and Hit you have to buy your plastic bags but pretty much everywhere else in country shops use gratuitous numbers of plastic bags to pack up your purchases.  Want a few carrots and a kilo of oranges? Of course you\'ll get separate plastic bags. As a result, these plastic bags are now blowing all over the country. Enter <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126567&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">proposed plastic bag tax</a>.\n\nThe funny thing is I am actually in support of both of these measures. I don\'t smoke so the first is probably a given. And I know that I use too many plastic bags and that I should be smarter about that. It just really easy to be sucked into the plastic bag culture. Luckily I didn\'t get sucked into the smoking culture in the same way.\n\nStill, I\'ve only lived in this country for two and a half years and its pretty hard for me to imagine it without clouds of cigarette smoke and plastic bags stuck in bushes.','Cigarettes and Plastic Bags ','','inherit','open','open','','4594-revision-3','','','2011-03-23 16:35:40','2011-03-23 14:35:40','',4594,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4594-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4598,1,'2011-03-23 16:42:02','2011-03-23 14:42:02','I think that there are a lot of things that Bulgarians love. Shopska Salad. Cigarettes. Yogurt. Rakiya. Driving too fast. Complaining. Plastic bags. Cucumbers--pickled or fresh. The Black Sea.\n\nOkay, okay. Before I get a number of comments about my sweeping stereotypes let me make it clear--I am exaggerating.<em> (Kind of.)</em>\n\nToday reading the newspaper, I was struck by the realization that the government is trying to strip two of these little pleasures from everyday hard-working Bulgarians.\n\nYes. I said it: watch out everyday hard-working Bulgarians!\n\nCigarettes and plastic bags, two of things that Bulgarians love the most, are currently under attack.<!--more-->\n\nFirst there\'s the on going issue of smoking cigarettes in public places. The push seems to be away from smoking inside. This seems to have resulted in larger establishments more or less offering smoke free areas in their restaurants. Although in practice even these smoke free areas are hardly smoke free. The smaller ones? Well it seems totally acceptable to smoke there still. Or it seems just as acceptable to go outside and smoke right in front of the door so that everyone has to walk through your smoke to get in.\n\nThen there are the plastic bags. These seem as pervasive in Bulgaria as cigarettes. At major grocery stores like Billa and Hit you have to buy your plastic bags but pretty much everywhere else in country shops use gratuitous numbers of plastic bags to pack up your purchases.  Want a few carrots and a kilo of oranges? Of course you\'ll get separate plastic bags. As a result, these plastic bags are now blowing all over the country. Enter <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126567&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">proposed plastic bag tax</a>.\n\nThe funny thing is I am actually in support of both of these measures. I don\'t smoke so the first is probably a given. And I know that I use too many plastic bags and that I should be smarter about that. It just really easy to be sucked into the plastic bag culture. Luckily I didn\'t get sucked into the smoking culture in the same way.\n\nStill, I\'ve only lived in Bulgaria for two and a half years but its pretty hard for me to imagine this country without clouds of cigarette smoke and plastic bags stuck in bushes.','Cigarettes and Plastic Bags ','','inherit','open','open','','4594-revision-4','','','2011-03-23 16:42:02','2011-03-23 14:42:02','',4594,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/23/4594-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4599,1,'2011-03-24 07:59:31','2011-03-24 05:59:31','I think that there are a lot of things that Bulgarians love. Shopska Salad. Cigarettes. Yogurt. Rakiya. Driving too fast. Complaining. Plastic bags. Cucumbers--pickled or fresh. The Black Sea.\n\nOkay, okay. Before I get a number of comments about my sweeping stereotypes let me make it clear--I am exaggerating.<em> (Kind of.)</em>\n\nToday reading the newspaper, I was struck by the realization that the government is trying to strip two of these little pleasures from everyday hard-working Bulgarians.\n\nYes. I said it: watch out everyday hard-working Bulgarians!\n\nCigarettes and plastic bags, two of things that Bulgarians love the most, are currently under attack.<!--more-->\n\nFirst there\'s the on going issue of smoking cigarettes in public places. The push seems to be away from smoking inside. This seems to have resulted in larger establishments more or less offering smoke free areas in their restaurants. Although in practice even these smoke free areas are hardly smoke free. The smaller ones? Well it seems totally acceptable to smoke there still. Or it seems just as acceptable to go outside and smoke right in front of the door so that everyone has to walk through your smoke to get in.\n\nThen there are the plastic bags. These seem as pervasive in Bulgaria as cigarettes. At major grocery stores like Billa and Hit you have to buy your plastic bags but pretty much everywhere else in country shops use gratuitous numbers of plastic bags to pack up your purchases.  Want a few carrots and a kilo of oranges? Of course you\'ll get separate plastic bags. As a result, these plastic bags are now blowing all over the country. Enter <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126567&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">proposed plastic bag tax</a>.\n\nThe funny thing is I am actually in support of both of these measures. I don\'t smoke so the first is probably a given. And I know that I use too many plastic bags and that I should be smarter about that. It just really easy to be sucked into the plastic bag culture. Luckily I didn\'t get sucked into the smoking culture in the same way.\n\nStill, I\'ve only lived in Bulgaria for two and a half years but its pretty hard for me to imagine this country without clouds of cigarette smoke and plastic bags stuck in bushes.','Cigarettes and Plastic Bags ','','inherit','open','open','','4594-autosave','','','2011-03-24 07:59:31','2011-03-24 05:59:31','',4594,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4594-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4600,1,'2011-03-24 22:24:35','2011-03-24 20:24:35','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nThis embarrasses me--but don\'t worry for some reason I am still writing about it.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/at-mccafe/dsc02405/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOh-oh-oh, the coffee!! As much as I hate to admit it here\'s the thing,  the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/at-mccafe/dsc02409/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','At McCafe ','','publish','open','open','','at-mccafe','','','2011-03-24 22:24:35','2011-03-24 20:24:35','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4600',0,'post','',2),(4601,1,'2011-03-24 22:07:56','2011-03-24 20:07:56','','McCafe','McCafe','inherit','open','open','','dsc02405','','','2011-03-24 22:07:56','2011-03-24 20:07:56','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4602,1,'2011-03-24 22:10:09','2011-03-24 20:10:09','','Done','Done','inherit','open','open','','dsc02409','','','2011-03-24 22:10:09','2011-03-24 20:10:09','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4603,1,'2011-03-24 22:15:30','2011-03-24 20:15:30','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\n\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601\" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI mean look at this coffee.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602\" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision','','','2011-03-24 22:15:30','2011-03-24 20:15:30','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4604,1,'2011-03-24 22:16:34','2011-03-24 20:16:34','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. As I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"819\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601 \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"819\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602 \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-2','','','2011-03-24 22:16:34','2011-03-24 20:16:34','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4605,1,'2011-03-24 22:17:30','2011-03-24 20:17:30','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\n\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. As I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI mean look at this coffee.\n\nThen I finished the coffee.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"819\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602 \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-3','','','2011-03-24 22:17:30','2011-03-24 20:17:30','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4606,1,'2011-03-24 22:17:49','2011-03-24 20:17:49','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. As I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-4','','','2011-03-24 22:17:49','2011-03-24 20:17:49','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4607,1,'2011-03-24 22:17:49','2011-03-24 20:17:49','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. As I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-5','','','2011-03-24 22:17:49','2011-03-24 20:17:49','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4608,1,'2011-03-24 22:20:23','2011-03-24 20:20:23','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nBut the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-6','','','2011-03-24 22:20:23','2011-03-24 20:20:23','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4609,1,'2011-03-24 22:20:23','2011-03-24 20:20:23','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nBut the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-7','','','2011-03-24 22:20:23','2011-03-24 20:20:23','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4610,1,'2011-03-24 22:20:23','2011-03-24 20:20:23','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nBut the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-8','','','2011-03-24 22:20:23','2011-03-24 20:20:23','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4611,1,'2011-03-24 22:21:32','2011-03-24 20:21:32','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\n\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nOh-oh-oh, the coffee!But the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\n\nThen I finished the coffee.\n\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-9','','','2011-03-24 22:21:32','2011-03-24 20:21:32','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4612,1,'2011-03-24 22:22:04','2011-03-24 20:22:04','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOh-oh-oh, the coffee!! As much as I hate to admit it here\'s the thing,  the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-10','','','2011-03-24 22:22:04','2011-03-24 20:22:04','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(4613,1,'2011-03-24 22:22:04','2011-03-24 20:22:04','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOh-oh-oh, the coffee!! As much as I hate to admit it here\'s the thing,  the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-11','','','2011-03-24 22:22:04','2011-03-24 20:22:04','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(4614,1,'2011-03-24 22:22:05','2011-03-24 20:22:05','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOh-oh-oh, the coffee!! As much as I hate to admit it here\'s the thing,  the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-12','','','2011-03-24 22:22:05','2011-03-24 20:22:05','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(4615,1,'2011-03-24 22:24:15','2011-03-24 20:24:15','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\n\nThis embarrasses me--but for some reason I am still writing about it. This might be something better kept a secret.\n\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nOh-oh-oh, the coffee!! As much as I hate to admit it here\'s the thing,  the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\n\nThen I finished the coffee.\n\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','At McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-13','','','2011-03-24 22:24:15','2011-03-24 20:24:15','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(4616,1,'2011-03-24 22:24:35','2011-03-24 20:24:35','I love coffee. But I don\'t love McDonald\'s.  This said, I kind of like McCafes.\r\n\r\nThis embarrasses me--but don\'t worry for some reason I am still writing about it.\r\n\r\nI don\'t really know where the McCafe came from. I don\'t think that we have them in the United States.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4601\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"McCafe\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4601\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4601\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4601  \" title=\"McCafe\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02405-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOh-oh-oh, the coffee!! As much as I hate to admit it here\'s the thing,  the coffee isn\'t half bad. I mean look at this coffee.\r\n\r\nThen I finished the coffee.\r\n\r\nIn my cup there was a drawing: coffee + smiling face = time. I wasn\'t really sure what to make of that but the coffee was fine.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4602\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"573\" caption=\"Done\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4602\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4602\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4602  \" title=\"Done\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02409-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]','At McCafe ','','inherit','open','open','','4600-revision-14','','','2011-03-24 22:24:35','2011-03-24 20:24:35','',4600,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4600-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(4617,1,'2011-03-24 22:27:58','2011-03-24 20:27:58','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"442\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584   \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"442\" height=\"332\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\n\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"819\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-9','','','2011-03-24 22:27:58','2011-03-24 20:27:58','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4618,1,'2011-03-24 22:28:41','2011-03-24 20:28:41','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"530\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584 \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-10','','','2011-03-24 22:28:41','2011-03-24 20:28:41','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(4619,1,'2011-03-24 22:28:41','2011-03-24 20:28:41','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"530\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584 \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-11','','','2011-03-24 22:28:41','2011-03-24 20:28:41','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(4620,1,'2011-03-24 22:28:41','2011-03-24 20:28:41','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"530\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584 \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-12','','','2011-03-24 22:28:41','2011-03-24 20:28:41','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(4621,1,'2011-03-24 22:29:48','2011-03-24 20:29:48','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"530\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584 \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\n\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-13','','','2011-03-24 22:29:48','2011-03-24 20:29:48','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(4622,1,'2011-03-24 22:29:48','2011-03-24 20:29:48','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"530\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584 \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\n\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-13','','','2011-03-24 22:29:48','2011-03-24 20:29:48','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(4623,1,'2011-03-24 22:30:35','2011-03-24 20:30:35','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-14','','','2011-03-24 22:30:35','2011-03-24 20:30:35','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(4624,1,'2011-03-24 22:30:35','2011-03-24 20:30:35','Yesterday morning, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle. How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. There\'s much more road that\'s been torn up but the the original strip of good asphalt is still there.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-14','','','2011-03-24 22:30:35','2011-03-24 20:30:35','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(4625,1,'2011-03-24 22:38:38','2011-03-24 20:38:38','','New road. More or less.','New road. More or less.','inherit','open','open','','dsc02415','','','2011-03-24 22:38:38','2011-03-24 20:38:38','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4626,1,'2011-03-24 22:37:44','2011-03-24 20:37:44','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\n\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\n\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\n\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\n\nWhy-oh-why don\'t I have more free time. I should probably have taken up time lapse photography.\n\nThen a day later','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-15','','','2011-03-24 22:37:44','2011-03-24 20:37:44','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(4627,1,'2011-03-24 22:39:41','2011-03-24 20:39:41','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nWhy-oh-why don\'t I have more free time. I should probably have taken up time lapse photography.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Then a day later, this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"819\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625 \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>\r\nThe road has been repaved. More or less.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-16','','','2011-03-24 22:39:41','2011-03-24 20:39:41','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(4628,1,'2011-03-24 22:39:44','2011-03-24 20:39:44','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\n\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\n\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\n\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\n\nWhy-oh-why don\'t I have more free time. I should probably have taken up time lapse photography.\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Then a day later, this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"819\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625 \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n</p>\nThe road has been repaved. More or less.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-17','','','2011-03-24 22:39:44','2011-03-24 20:39:44','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(4629,1,'2011-03-24 22:40:11','2011-03-24 20:40:11','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nWhy-oh-why don\'t I have more free time. I should probably have taken up time lapse photography.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Then a day later, this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>\r\nThe road has been repaved. More or less.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-18','','','2011-03-24 22:40:11','2011-03-24 20:40:11','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(4630,1,'2011-03-24 22:40:11','2011-03-24 20:40:11','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nWhy-oh-why don\'t I have more free time. I should probably have taken up time lapse photography.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Then a day later, this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>\r\nThe road has been repaved. More or less.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-19','','','2011-03-24 22:40:11','2011-03-24 20:40:11','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(4631,1,'2011-03-24 22:40:14','2011-03-24 20:40:14','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nWhy-oh-why don\'t I have more free time. I should probably have taken up time lapse photography.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Then a day later, this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>\r\nThe road has been repaved. More or less.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-20','','','2011-03-24 22:40:14','2011-03-24 20:40:14','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-20/',0,'revision','',0),(4632,1,'2011-03-24 22:41:19','2011-03-24 20:41:19','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\n\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\n\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\n\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\n\nWhy-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably have taken up time lapse photography.\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\n\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe road has been repaved. More or less.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-21','','','2011-03-24 22:41:19','2011-03-24 20:41:19','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-21/',0,'revision','',0),(4633,1,'2011-03-24 22:42:19','2011-03-24 20:42:19','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nWhy-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably have taken up time lapse photography.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-22','','','2011-03-24 22:42:19','2011-03-24 20:42:19','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/24/4583-revision-22/',0,'revision','',0),(4634,1,'2011-03-25 08:49:49','2011-03-25 06:49:49','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\n\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\n\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\n\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\n\nThen I wondered this: Why-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably take up time lapse photography. But then I remembered: I don\'t have the time, energy or the desire. So you\'ll just have to settle for the few photos I snapped on may way to and from school.\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\n\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.\n\nNow I am not an engineer (that\'s my brother) but I\'ve always been under the impression that it\'s better to repair/fix/pave the whole street rather than to leave (or create) patches because the patches automatically become the weakest part of the road and the thing that will need to be replaced next. This in the end creates an endless cycle of pot-holes and patches. ','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-23','','','2011-03-25 08:49:49','2011-03-25 06:49:49','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4583-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(4635,1,'2011-03-25 08:50:05','2011-03-25 06:50:05','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nThen I wondered this: Why-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably take up time lapse photography. But then I remembered: I don\'t have the time, energy or the desire. So you\'ll just have to settle for the few photos I snapped on may way to and from school.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.\r\n\r\nNow I am not an engineer (that\'s my brother) but I\'ve always been under the impression that it\'s better to repair/fix/pave the whole street rather than to leave (or create) patches because the patches automatically become the weakest part of the road and the thing that will need to be replaced next. This in the end creates an endless cycle of pot-holes and patches. Am I wrong? ','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-24','','','2011-03-25 08:50:05','2011-03-25 06:50:05','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4583-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(4636,1,'2011-03-25 08:50:06','2011-03-25 06:50:06','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nThen I wondered this: Why-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably take up time lapse photography. But then I remembered: I don\'t have the time, energy or the desire. So you\'ll just have to settle for the few photos I snapped on may way to and from school.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.\r\n\r\nNow I am not an engineer (that\'s my brother) but I\'ve always been under the impression that it\'s better to repair/fix/pave the whole street rather than to leave (or create) patches because the patches automatically become the weakest part of the road and the thing that will need to be replaced next. This in the end creates an endless cycle of pot-holes and patches. Am I wrong? ','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-25','','','2011-03-25 08:50:06','2011-03-25 06:50:06','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4583-revision-25/',0,'revision','',0),(4637,1,'2011-03-25 08:50:06','2011-03-25 06:50:06','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nThen I wondered this: Why-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably take up time lapse photography. But then I remembered: I don\'t have the time, energy or the desire. So you\'ll just have to settle for the few photos I snapped on may way to and from school.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.\r\n\r\nNow I am not an engineer (that\'s my brother) but I\'ve always been under the impression that it\'s better to repair/fix/pave the whole street rather than to leave (or create) patches because the patches automatically become the weakest part of the road and the thing that will need to be replaced next. This in the end creates an endless cycle of pot-holes and patches. Am I wrong? ','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-26','','','2011-03-25 08:50:06','2011-03-25 06:50:06','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4583-revision-26/',0,'revision','',0),(4638,1,'2011-03-25 08:51:11','2011-03-25 06:51:11','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\n\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\n\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?\n\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\n\nThen I wondered this: Why-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably take up time lapse photography. But then I remembered: I don\'t have the time, energy or the desire. So you\'ll just have to settle for the few photos I snapped on may way to and from school.\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\n\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.\n\nNow I am not an engineer (that\'s my brother) but I\'ve always been under the impression that it\'s better to repair/fix/pave the whole street rather than to leave (or create) patches because the patches automatically become the weakest part of the road and the thing that will need to be replaced next. This in the end creates an endless cycle of pot-holes and patches. Am I wrong?','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-27','','','2011-03-25 08:51:11','2011-03-25 06:51:11','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4583-revision-27/',0,'revision','',0),(4639,1,'2011-03-25 08:52:09','2011-03-25 06:52:09','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4584\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\r\n\r\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\r\n\r\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4585\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\r\n\r\nThen I wondered this: Why-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably take up time lapse photography. But then I remembered: I don\'t have the time, energy or the desire. So you\'ll just have to settle for the few photos I snapped on may way to and from school.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4625\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.\r\n\r\nNow I am not an engineer (that\'s my brother) but I\'ve always been under the impression that it\'s better to repair/fix/pave the whole street rather than to leave (or create) patches because the patches automatically become the weakest part of the road and the thing that will need to be replaced next. This in the end creates an endless cycle of pot-holes and patches.\r\n\r\nAm I wrong?','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-revision-28','','','2011-03-25 08:52:09','2011-03-25 06:52:09','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4583-revision-28/',0,'revision','',0),(4640,1,'2011-03-25 08:53:15','2011-03-25 06:53:15','Earlier this week, the road to school looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4584\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\" caption=\"Patch-work road\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4584\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/the-road-to-school/dsc02411/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4584  \" title=\"Patch-work road\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02411-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"478\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nReally? Check out the strip of asphalt that\'s remaining right down the middle.I stopped to document the street.\n\nPeople stared at me as they walked by. But I didn\'t care. Somethings have to be captured on film.\n\nAs I was snapping my photo I wondered: How can that possibly be useful? Someone is going to try to save that much \"good\" asphalt while re-doing all of the road around it? Can we not afford to just do the whole thing right?<!--more-->\n\nThen on the same day at 6:15pm walking home from school after yoga the road looked like this:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4585\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"655\" caption=\"More road work\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4585\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/the-road-to-school/dsc02412/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4585 \" title=\"More road work\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nYes. Much more road has been torn up but the the original strip of \"good\" asphalt is still there. Oh but if you look closely, the \"good\" asphalt has been paired back. Apparently someone decided that part of the original strip wasn\'t good enough.  And over the course of the day it was removed.\n\nThen I wondered this: Why-oh-why don\'t I have more free time!? As I should probably take up time lapse photography. But then I remembered: I don\'t have the time, energy or the desire. So you\'ll just have to settle for the few photos I snapped on may way to and from school.\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Because a day later, this was the outcome:</p>\n\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4625\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"573\" caption=\"New road. More or less.\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4625\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/the-road-to-school/dsc02415/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4625  \" title=\"New road. More or less.\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC02415-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"430\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nA new road. Kind of. I mean, the road has been repaved. More or less. I mean aside from the gray patch in the middle of the street. <em>Awesome</em>.\n\nNow I am not an engineer (that\'s my brother) but I\'ve always been under the impression that it\'s better to repair/fix/pave the whole street rather than to leave (or create) patches because the patches automatically become the weakest part of the road and the thing that will need to be replaced next. This in the end creates an endless cycle of pot-holes and patches.\n\nAm I wrong?','The Road to School','','inherit','open','open','','4583-autosave','','','2011-03-25 08:53:15','2011-03-25 06:53:15','',4583,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4583-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4641,1,'2011-03-26 11:48:14','2011-03-26 09:48:14','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\r\n\r\n<em>Funny</em>, me too.\r\n\r\nYou can see what <a href=\"http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/157178-carolyn\" target=\"_blank\">I\'ve read (and what I\'d like to have the time to read) on goodreads</a>. Friend me if you want! I\'ve also <a href=\"http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/157178?shelf=bulgaria-and-the-balkans\" target=\"_blank\">started a bookshelf for books that are Bulgarian and/or Balkan in scope</a> on goodreads check it out. This said, I am always looking for the next great book on Bulgaria, written by a Bulgaria or set in Bulgaria so let me know. The same goes for the Balkans.\r\n\r\nHow did this interest in Bulgaria start? Well, I currently live in the country and I like to read.\r\n\r\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet (thanks wikipedia) and got my hands on a couple of general books including the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Bulgaria-Country-Guide/dp/174104474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122289&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Lonely Planet Bulgaria</a> travel guide. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\r\n\r\nSure it\'s been a little bit haphazard. But that\'s just how my life has been since I moved to Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan. In a word, this is required reading if you\'re moving to the Balkans. Even better there\'s an excellent chapter on Bulgaria. Kaplan lived here as a young journalist and he paints a good picture of his life here. Oh and as an aside, the Bulgarian-journalist-mentor Kaplan finds upon moving to Sofia and references regularly throughout the book attended the American College of Sofia (where I currently work) before WWII.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova. This is a memoir that I love and I think is also required reading for anyone moving to Sofia. It\'s a look at life in the 1980\'s under communism for a teenage girl and then the act of return as a grown-up and a tourist to the country that she grew up in. It\'s bittersweet and I think it encompasses the complexities of change and national identity.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West. I know, I know. This a book about Yugoslavia and a tome of a book to boot but she\'s a story teller--an excellent one. And you can\'t (or you shouldn\'t) live in Bulgaria and not wander to Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia and Kosovo. Which is why you should read <em>Black Lamb and Grey Falcon</em>.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel. Is a collection of short stories written by a former Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria. It\'s set in an imagined village so you wont read these stories for a sense of place. Rather you\'ll read these short stories for a sense of the people in post-communist Bulgaria.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov. This is often considered <em>the </em>Bulgarian novel written by one of <em>the</em> Bulgarian authors. I\'ve read and re-read the first 75 pages a few time but I\'m afraid that I\'ve had a hard time getting into it. Basically, it\'s a look at life in Bulgaria under the Ottoman Empire with a dash of adventure, rebellion, life and love. The basic problem at the center of the novel is that Bulgarians have been living under foreign domination for 500 year and want to be free but have been unable to achieve this dream.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova. Kostova\'s novel <em>The Historian</em> is a book that you should read for the pure pleasure of it. It\'s a mystery, thriller set broadly in the Balkans. Characters find themselves in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, Greece and a number of other Balkan-ish countries as part of the adventure. While the story requires a decent dose of imagination, Kostova does a great job playing with the sense of mystery Westerners impose on Eastern Europe/the Balkans and an even better job capturing the physical place paper.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic.  This is another not-exactly-Bulgaria book but it\'s still worth reading. This memoir is written by a Croatian woman and spans the end of communism in the former Yugoslavia and the lead up to the war. Her look at women\'s lives during communism reads as both honest and thoughtful and the book gave me a better sense of life in the Balkans in the late 1970, \'80s and early 1990s.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic. This is a strange and wonderful novel that plays with the Baba Yaga myth and cris-crosses Eastern Europe from Croatia to Bulgaria (Sofia and Varna) to the Czech Republic. The women in the novel are wonderful and the parts of the novel set in Varna are heart-wrenching.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Bury me Standing\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bury-Me-Standing-Gypsies-Journey/dp/067973743X/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301132017&amp;sr=1-11\" target=\"_blank\">Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and their Journey</a> by Isabel Fonseca. The author decides to live with Roma across Eastern Europe in order to research this book--from Albania to Bulgaria to Poland and Romania and a number of countries in between. She identifies the kinds of problems that Roma minorities in Europe face from poverty, language to discrimination. It seems like a pretty honest straightforward look at life for this minority. At times though the structure of the book lacks purpose and direction. Each chapter is a country and Fonseca basically tells some version of the same story for the Roma people in whichever country is currently writing about. This narrative technique isn\'t very engaging but the content is.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov. This isn\'t normally my kind of a book. I don\'t generally do pulp fiction or crime noir but when it comes to current novels set in Sofia I\'ll make an exception. Good thing I did. I really liked this fast paced, gritty but still funny novel.  I recognized glimpses and snatches of Sofia today in the piece but at the same time I often felt like this was a city I\'d never been to and I\'ve lived here for nearly three years.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov. I devoured this book in an evening. The short stories are engaging, moving and at times incredibly sad. The only thing I felt meh about was the fact that Penkov seems to have a compulsion to work in every possible type of person found in Bulgaria into his short stories including the foreigner, gypsy, the Turkish Muslim minority and even the Bulgarian who has lived abroad and now returns to live in a village. This hit-list of characters felt a little forced but the individual stories are beautiful.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht. Is a novel that has been garnering a lot of attention and why not the author is young, beautiful and she has written a incredible story.  It\'s set in the former Yugoslavia and I couldn\'t get enough. I thought that the main character was wonderfully written and that the setting of the story matched my experiences in Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia. What I found most interesting was the way folk-tale and fairy-tale like elements were woven into this otherwise very realistic novel.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta.  There has been a lot of chatter about this book. I don\'t know what Dasgupta\'s actual relationship is with Bulgaria but by in large he gets the parts set in Bulgaria right from the people to the place and the atmosphere. The novel crosses more than a century and a number of different countries including Bulgaria and at the end the United States. At moments the novel is funny and at times incredibly sad. I\'m still not sure what to make of the ending and I am not sure that I loved the ending but I whole-heartedly recommend this book.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe Fulbright recommended these  books to me when I won my Fulbright (but most of them are close to 20 years old at this point):\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-Pictures-Visual-Geography-Second/dp/0822518902/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301122068&amp;sr=1-3\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria in Pictures</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Bulgaria-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521616379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121985&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Concise History of Bulgaria</a> (on Kindle and I book that I should probably read)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-at-Crossroads-Jacques-Coenen-Huther/dp/156072305X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121891&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria at the Crossroads</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Economy-Transition-Studies-Communism/dp/1852789948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301121836&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Bulgarian Economy in Transition</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Balkans-Laughter-Tears-Communism/dp/1565490363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121777&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Summer in the Balkans: Laughter and Tears after Communism</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Contributions-European-Civilization-Bozhkov/dp/B000BLS16I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121587&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Contributions to European Civilization</a></li>\r\n	<li>A History of Bulgaria. An Outline (only available from the St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 1998. Yep. A Bulgarian press)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Balkans-Maria-Todorova/dp/0195387864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121377&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Imagining the Balkans</a> (on Kindle)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarians-Civilizers-Slavs-Bojidar-Dimitrov/dp/9545000333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121310&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarians: Civilizers of the Slavs</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Gold-Thracians-Ivan-Marazov/dp/0810919923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121202&amp;sr=1-1-spell\" target=\"_blank\">Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Tracians</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Bulgaria-William-Meredith/dp/0948259396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122434&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Poets of Bulgaria</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Young-Poets-New-Bulgaria-Anthology/dp/094825971X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122580&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Young Poets of a New Bulgaria: An Anthology </a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\nOnly I never read a single one of them. Most of them are history books that are currently out of print. Some are available on Amazon.com. Most are out of stock and start at about $50 and seem to cost up to $120. And as much as I love books, even a $120 is too much for me. If you\'re in the States though, you might be able to grab some of them through inter-library loan.\r\n\r\n<em>Any other books that I should be reading? </em>','Works Cited ','','publish','open','open','','works-cited','','','2012-09-23 07:28:51','2012-09-23 05:28:51','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?page_id=4641',5,'page','',6),(4642,1,'2011-03-25 20:48:37','2011-03-25 18:48:37','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\n\nFunny, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\n\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet and got my hands on a couple of general books. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\n\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht</li>\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov</li>\n</ul>','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision','','','2011-03-25 20:48:37','2011-03-25 18:48:37','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4641-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4643,1,'2011-03-25 21:00:08','2011-03-25 19:00:08','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\n\nFunny, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\n\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet and got my hands on a couple of general books. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\n\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht</li>\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by</li>\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta</li>\n</ul>','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-2','','','2011-03-25 21:00:08','2011-03-25 19:00:08','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4641-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4644,1,'2011-03-25 21:00:19','2011-03-25 19:00:19','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\r\n\r\nFunny, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\r\n\r\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet and got my hands on a couple of general books. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\r\n\r\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta</li>\r\n</ul>','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-3','','','2011-03-25 21:00:19','2011-03-25 19:00:19','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4641-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4645,1,'2011-03-25 21:00:28','2011-03-25 19:00:28','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\r\n\r\nFunny, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\r\n\r\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet and got my hands on a couple of general books. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\r\n\r\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta</li>\r\n</ul>','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-4','','','2011-03-25 21:00:28','2011-03-25 19:00:28','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/25/4641-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4646,1,'2011-03-26 08:52:45','2011-03-26 06:52:45','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\n\n<em>Funny</em>, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\n\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet (thanks wikipedia) and got my hands on a couple of general books including the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Bulgaria-Country-Guide/dp/174104474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122289&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Lonely Planet Bulgaria</a> travel guide. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\n\nSure it\'s been a little bit haphazard.\n\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht</li>\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta</li>\n</ul>\nThe Fulbright recommended these  books:\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-Pictures-Visual-Geography-Second/dp/0822518902/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301122068&amp;sr=1-3\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria in Pictures</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Bulgaria-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521616379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121985&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Concise History of Bulgaria</a> (on Kindle and I book that I should probably read)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-at-Crossroads-Jacques-Coenen-Huther/dp/156072305X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121891&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria at the Crossroads</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Economy-Transition-Studies-Communism/dp/1852789948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301121836&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Bulgarian Economy in Transition</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Balkans-Laughter-Tears-Communism/dp/1565490363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121777&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Summer in the Balkans: Laughter and Tears after Communism</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Contributions-European-Civilization-Bozhkov/dp/B000BLS16I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121587&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Contributions to European Civilization</a></li>\n	<li>A History of Bulgaria. An Outline (only available from the St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 1998. Yep. A Bulgarian press)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Balkans-Maria-Todorova/dp/0195387864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121377&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Imagining the Balkans</a> (on Kindle)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarians-Civilizers-Slavs-Bojidar-Dimitrov/dp/9545000333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121310&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarians: Civilizers of the Slavs</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Gold-Thracians-Ivan-Marazov/dp/0810919923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121202&amp;sr=1-1-spell\" target=\"_blank\">Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Tracians</a></li>\n</ul>\nOnly I never read a single one of them. Most of them are history books that are currently out of print. Some are available on Amazon.com. Most are out of stock and start at about $50 and seem to cost up to $120. And as much as I love books, even a $120 is too much for me. If you\'re in the States though, you might be able to grab some of them through inter-library loan.','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-5','','','2011-03-26 08:52:45','2011-03-26 06:52:45','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4641-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4647,1,'2011-03-26 08:58:22','2011-03-26 06:58:22','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\n\n<em>Funny</em>, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\n\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet (thanks wikipedia) and got my hands on a couple of general books including the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Bulgaria-Country-Guide/dp/174104474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122289&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Lonely Planet Bulgaria</a> travel guide. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\n\nSure it\'s been a little bit haphazard. But that\'s just how my life has been since I moved to Bulgaria.\n\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht</li>\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta</li>\n</ul>\nThe Fulbright recommended these  books:\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-Pictures-Visual-Geography-Second/dp/0822518902/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301122068&amp;sr=1-3\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria in Pictures</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Bulgaria-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521616379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121985&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Concise History of Bulgaria</a> (on Kindle and I book that I should probably read)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-at-Crossroads-Jacques-Coenen-Huther/dp/156072305X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121891&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria at the Crossroads</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Economy-Transition-Studies-Communism/dp/1852789948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301121836&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Bulgarian Economy in Transition</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Balkans-Laughter-Tears-Communism/dp/1565490363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121777&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Summer in the Balkans: Laughter and Tears after Communism</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Contributions-European-Civilization-Bozhkov/dp/B000BLS16I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121587&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Contributions to European Civilization</a></li>\n	<li>A History of Bulgaria. An Outline (only available from the St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 1998. Yep. A Bulgarian press)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Balkans-Maria-Todorova/dp/0195387864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121377&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Imagining the Balkans</a> (on Kindle)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarians-Civilizers-Slavs-Bojidar-Dimitrov/dp/9545000333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121310&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarians: Civilizers of the Slavs</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Gold-Thracians-Ivan-Marazov/dp/0810919923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121202&amp;sr=1-1-spell\" target=\"_blank\">Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Tracians</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Bulgaria-William-Meredith/dp/0948259396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122434&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Poets of Bulgaria</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Young-Poets-New-Bulgaria-Anthology/dp/094825971X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122580&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Young Poets of a New Bulgaria: An Anthology </a></li>\n</ul>\nOnly I never read a single one of them. Most of them are history books that are currently out of print. Some are available on Amazon.com. Most are out of stock and start at about $50 and seem to cost up to $120. And as much as I love books, even a $120 is too much for me. If you\'re in the States though, you might be able to grab some of them through inter-library loan.','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-6','','','2011-03-26 08:58:22','2011-03-26 06:58:22','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4641-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4648,1,'2011-03-26 08:59:43','2011-03-26 06:59:43','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\n\n<em>Funny</em>, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\n\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet (thanks wikipedia) and got my hands on a couple of general books including the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Bulgaria-Country-Guide/dp/174104474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122289&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Lonely Planet Bulgaria</a> travel guide. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\n\nSure it\'s been a little bit haphazard. But that\'s just how my life has been since I moved to Bulgaria.\n\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht</li>\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta</li>\n</ul>\nThe Fulbright recommended these  books:\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-Pictures-Visual-Geography-Second/dp/0822518902/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301122068&amp;sr=1-3\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria in Pictures</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Bulgaria-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521616379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121985&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Concise History of Bulgaria</a> (on Kindle and I book that I should probably read)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-at-Crossroads-Jacques-Coenen-Huther/dp/156072305X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121891&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria at the Crossroads</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Economy-Transition-Studies-Communism/dp/1852789948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301121836&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Bulgarian Economy in Transition</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Balkans-Laughter-Tears-Communism/dp/1565490363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121777&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Summer in the Balkans: Laughter and Tears after Communism</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Contributions-European-Civilization-Bozhkov/dp/B000BLS16I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121587&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Contributions to European Civilization</a></li>\n	<li>A History of Bulgaria. An Outline (only available from the St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 1998. Yep. A Bulgarian press)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Balkans-Maria-Todorova/dp/0195387864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121377&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Imagining the Balkans</a> (on Kindle)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarians-Civilizers-Slavs-Bojidar-Dimitrov/dp/9545000333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121310&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarians: Civilizers of the Slavs</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Gold-Thracians-Ivan-Marazov/dp/0810919923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121202&amp;sr=1-1-spell\" target=\"_blank\">Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Tracians</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Bulgaria-William-Meredith/dp/0948259396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122434&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Poets of Bulgaria</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Young-Poets-New-Bulgaria-Anthology/dp/094825971X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122580&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Young Poets of a New Bulgaria: An Anthology </a></li>\n</ul>\nOnly I never read a single one of them. Most of them are history books that are currently out of print. Some are available on Amazon.com. Most are out of stock and start at about $50 and seem to cost up to $120. And as much as I love books, even a $120 is too much for me. If you\'re in the States though, you might be able to grab some of them through inter-library loan.','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-7','','','2011-03-26 08:59:43','2011-03-26 06:59:43','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4641-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4649,1,'2011-03-26 10:25:18','2011-03-26 08:25:18','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\n\n<em>Funny</em>, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\n\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet (thanks wikipedia) and got my hands on a couple of general books including the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Bulgaria-Country-Guide/dp/174104474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122289&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Lonely Planet Bulgaria</a> travel guide. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\n\nSure it\'s been a little bit haphazard. But that\'s just how my life has been since I moved to Bulgaria.\n\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova</li>\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht</li>\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta</li>\n</ul>\nThe Fulbright recommended these  books:\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-Pictures-Visual-Geography-Second/dp/0822518902/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301122068&amp;sr=1-3\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria in Pictures</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Bulgaria-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521616379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121985&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Concise History of Bulgaria</a> (on Kindle and I book that I should probably read)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-at-Crossroads-Jacques-Coenen-Huther/dp/156072305X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121891&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria at the Crossroads</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Economy-Transition-Studies-Communism/dp/1852789948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301121836&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Bulgarian Economy in Transition</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Balkans-Laughter-Tears-Communism/dp/1565490363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121777&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Summer in the Balkans: Laughter and Tears after Communism</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Contributions-European-Civilization-Bozhkov/dp/B000BLS16I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121587&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Contributions to European Civilization</a></li>\n	<li>A History of Bulgaria. An Outline (only available from the St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 1998. Yep. A Bulgarian press)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Balkans-Maria-Todorova/dp/0195387864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121377&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Imagining the Balkans</a> (on Kindle)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarians-Civilizers-Slavs-Bojidar-Dimitrov/dp/9545000333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121310&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarians: Civilizers of the Slavs</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Gold-Thracians-Ivan-Marazov/dp/0810919923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121202&amp;sr=1-1-spell\" target=\"_blank\">Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Tracians</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Bulgaria-William-Meredith/dp/0948259396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122434&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Poets of Bulgaria</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Young-Poets-New-Bulgaria-Anthology/dp/094825971X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122580&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Young Poets of a New Bulgaria: An Anthology </a></li>\n</ul>\nOnly I never read a single one of them. Most of them are history books that are currently out of print. Some are available on Amazon.com. Most are out of stock and start at about $50 and seem to cost up to $120. And as much as I love books, even a $120 is too much for me. If you\'re in the States though, you might be able to grab some of them through inter-library loan.','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-8','','','2011-03-26 10:25:18','2011-03-26 08:25:18','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4641-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4650,1,'2011-03-26 11:46:04','2011-03-26 09:46:04','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\n\n<em>Funny</em>, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\n\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet (thanks wikipedia) and got my hands on a couple of general books including the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Bulgaria-Country-Guide/dp/174104474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122289&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Lonely Planet Bulgaria</a> travel guide. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\n\nSure it\'s been a little bit haphazard. But that\'s just how my life has been since I moved to Bulgaria.\n\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan. In a word, this is required reading if you\'re moving to the Balkans. Even better there\'s an excellent chapter on Bulgaria. Kaplan lived here as a young journalist and he paints a good picture of his life here. Oh and as an aside, the Bulgarian-journalist-mentor Kaplan finds upon moving to Sofia and references regularly throughout the book attended the American College of Sofia (where I currently work) before WWII.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova. This is a memoir that I love and I think is also  required reading for anyone moving to Sofia. It\'s a look at life in the  1980\'s under communism for a teenage girl and then the act of return as a  grown-up and a tourist to the country that she grew up in. It\'s bittersweet and I think it encompasses the complexities of change and national identity.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West. I know, I know. This a book about Yugoslavia and a tome of a book to boot but she\'s a story teller--an excellent one. And you can\'t (or you shouldn\'t) live in Bulgaria and not wander to Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia and Kosovo. Which is why you should read <em>Black Lamb and Grey Falcon</em>.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel. Is a collection of short stories written by a former Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria. It\'s set in an imagined village so you wont read these stories for a sense of place. Rather you\'ll read these short stories for a sense of the people in post-communist Bulgaria.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov. This is often considered <em>the </em>Bulgarian novel written by one of <em>the</em> Bulgarian authors. I\'ve read and re-read the first 75 pages a few time but I\'m afraid that I\'ve had a hard time getting into it. Basically, it\'s a look at life in Bulgaria under the Ottoman Empire with a dash of adventure, rebellion, life and love. The basic problem at the center of the novel is that Bulgarians have been living under foreign domination for 500 year and want to be free but have been unable to achieve this dream.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova. Kostova\'s novel <em>The Historian</em> is a book that you should read for the pure pleasure of it. It\'s a mystery, thriller set broadly in the Balkans. Characters find themselves in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, Greece and a number of other Balkan-ish countries as part of the adventure. While the story requires a decent dose of imagination, Kostova does a great job playing with the sense of mystery Westerners impose on Eastern Europe/the Balkans and an even better job capturing the physical place paper.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic.  This is another not-exactly-Bulgaria book but it\'s still worth reading. This memoir is written by a Croatian woman and spans the end of communism in the former Yugoslavia and the lead up to the war. Her look at women\'s lives during communism reads as both honest and thoughtful and the book gave me a better sense of life in the Balkans in the late 1970, \'80s and early 1990s.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic. This is a strange and wonderful novel that plays with the Baba Yaga myth and cris-crosses Eastern Europe from Croatia to Bulgaria (Sofia and Varna) to the Czech Republic. The women in the novel are wonderful and the parts of the novel set in Varna are heart-wrenching.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Bury me Standing\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bury-Me-Standing-Gypsies-Journey/dp/067973743X/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301132017&amp;sr=1-11\" target=\"_blank\">Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and their Journey</a> by Isabel  Fonseca. The author decides to live with Roma across Eastern Europe in order to research this book--from Albania to Bulgaria to Poland and Romania and a number of countries in between. She identifies the kinds of problems that Roma minorities in Europe face from poverty, language to discrimination. It seems like a pretty honest straightforward look at life for this minority. At times though the structure of the book lacks purpose and direction. Each chapter is a country and Fonseca basically tells some version of the same story for the Roma people in whichever country is currently writing about. This narrative technique isn\'t very engaging but the content is.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov. This isn\'t normally my kind of a book. I don\'t generally do pulp fiction or crime noir but when it comes to current novels set in Sofia I\'ll make an exception. Good thing I did. I really liked this fast paced, gritty but still funny novel.  I recognized glimpses and snatches of Sofia today in the piece but at the same time I often felt like this was a city I\'d never been to and I\'ve lived here for nearly three years.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov. Okay this book hasn\'t been released yet so I haven\'t read it. <em>Yet</em>. Yet is the key word. I will be reading it.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht. Is a novel that has been garnering a lot of attention and why not the author is young, beautiful and apparently has written a incredible story.  It\'s set in the former Yugoslavia but who cares I\'ll be reading it over the next few weeks.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta.  There has been a lot of chatter about this book. I don\'t know what Dasgupta\'s actual relationship is with Bulgaria but given the range of reviews it\'s gotten, I can\'t not read this novel set in Bulgaria.</li>\n</ul>\nThe Fulbright recommended these  books to me when I won my Fulbright (but most of them are close to 20 years old at this point):\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-Pictures-Visual-Geography-Second/dp/0822518902/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301122068&amp;sr=1-3\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria in Pictures</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Bulgaria-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521616379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121985&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Concise History of Bulgaria</a> (on Kindle and I book that I should probably read)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-at-Crossroads-Jacques-Coenen-Huther/dp/156072305X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121891&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria at the Crossroads</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Economy-Transition-Studies-Communism/dp/1852789948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301121836&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Bulgarian Economy in Transition</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Balkans-Laughter-Tears-Communism/dp/1565490363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121777&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Summer in the Balkans: Laughter and Tears after Communism</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Contributions-European-Civilization-Bozhkov/dp/B000BLS16I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121587&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Contributions to European Civilization</a></li>\n	<li>A History of Bulgaria. An Outline (only available from the St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 1998. Yep. A Bulgarian press)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Balkans-Maria-Todorova/dp/0195387864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121377&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Imagining the Balkans</a> (on Kindle)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarians-Civilizers-Slavs-Bojidar-Dimitrov/dp/9545000333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121310&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarians: Civilizers of the Slavs</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Gold-Thracians-Ivan-Marazov/dp/0810919923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121202&amp;sr=1-1-spell\" target=\"_blank\">Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Tracians</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Bulgaria-William-Meredith/dp/0948259396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122434&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Poets of Bulgaria</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Young-Poets-New-Bulgaria-Anthology/dp/094825971X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122580&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Young Poets of a New Bulgaria: An Anthology </a></li>\n</ul>\nOnly I never read a single one of them. Most of them are history books that are currently out of print. Some are available on Amazon.com. Most are out of stock and start at about $50 and seem to cost up to $120. And as much as I love books, even a $120 is too much for me. If you\'re in the States though, you might be able to grab some of them through inter-library loan.\n\n&nbsp;','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-9','','','2011-03-26 11:46:04','2011-03-26 09:46:04','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4641-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4651,1,'2011-03-26 11:47:54','2011-03-26 09:47:54','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\n\n<em>Funny</em>, me too. I am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\n\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet (thanks wikipedia) and got my hands on a couple of general books including the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Bulgaria-Country-Guide/dp/174104474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122289&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Lonely Planet Bulgaria</a> travel guide. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\n\nSure it\'s been a little bit haphazard. But that\'s just how my life has been since I moved to Bulgaria.\n\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan. In a word, this is required reading if you\'re moving to the Balkans. Even better there\'s an excellent chapter on Bulgaria. Kaplan lived here as a young journalist and he paints a good picture of his life here. Oh and as an aside, the Bulgarian-journalist-mentor Kaplan finds upon moving to Sofia and references regularly throughout the book attended the American College of Sofia (where I currently work) before WWII.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova. This is a memoir that I love and I think is also  required reading for anyone moving to Sofia. It\'s a look at life in the  1980\'s under communism for a teenage girl and then the act of return as a  grown-up and a tourist to the country that she grew up in. It\'s bittersweet and I think it encompasses the complexities of change and national identity.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West. I know, I know. This a book about Yugoslavia and a tome of a book to boot but she\'s a story teller--an excellent one. And you can\'t (or you shouldn\'t) live in Bulgaria and not wander to Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia and Kosovo. Which is why you should read <em>Black Lamb and Grey Falcon</em>.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel. Is a collection of short stories written by a former Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria. It\'s set in an imagined village so you wont read these stories for a sense of place. Rather you\'ll read these short stories for a sense of the people in post-communist Bulgaria.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov. This is often considered <em>the </em>Bulgarian novel written by one of <em>the</em> Bulgarian authors. I\'ve read and re-read the first 75 pages a few time but I\'m afraid that I\'ve had a hard time getting into it. Basically, it\'s a look at life in Bulgaria under the Ottoman Empire with a dash of adventure, rebellion, life and love. The basic problem at the center of the novel is that Bulgarians have been living under foreign domination for 500 year and want to be free but have been unable to achieve this dream.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova. Kostova\'s novel <em>The Historian</em> is a book that you should read for the pure pleasure of it. It\'s a mystery, thriller set broadly in the Balkans. Characters find themselves in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, Greece and a number of other Balkan-ish countries as part of the adventure. While the story requires a decent dose of imagination, Kostova does a great job playing with the sense of mystery Westerners impose on Eastern Europe/the Balkans and an even better job capturing the physical place paper.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic.  This is another not-exactly-Bulgaria book but it\'s still worth reading. This memoir is written by a Croatian woman and spans the end of communism in the former Yugoslavia and the lead up to the war. Her look at women\'s lives during communism reads as both honest and thoughtful and the book gave me a better sense of life in the Balkans in the late 1970, \'80s and early 1990s.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic. This is a strange and wonderful novel that plays with the Baba Yaga myth and cris-crosses Eastern Europe from Croatia to Bulgaria (Sofia and Varna) to the Czech Republic. The women in the novel are wonderful and the parts of the novel set in Varna are heart-wrenching.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Bury me Standing\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bury-Me-Standing-Gypsies-Journey/dp/067973743X/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301132017&amp;sr=1-11\" target=\"_blank\">Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and their Journey</a> by Isabel  Fonseca. The author decides to live with Roma across Eastern Europe in order to research this book--from Albania to Bulgaria to Poland and Romania and a number of countries in between. She identifies the kinds of problems that Roma minorities in Europe face from poverty, language to discrimination. It seems like a pretty honest straightforward look at life for this minority. At times though the structure of the book lacks purpose and direction. Each chapter is a country and Fonseca basically tells some version of the same story for the Roma people in whichever country is currently writing about. This narrative technique isn\'t very engaging but the content is.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov. This isn\'t normally my kind of a book. I don\'t generally do pulp fiction or crime noir but when it comes to current novels set in Sofia I\'ll make an exception. Good thing I did. I really liked this fast paced, gritty but still funny novel.  I recognized glimpses and snatches of Sofia today in the piece but at the same time I often felt like this was a city I\'d never been to and I\'ve lived here for nearly three years.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov. Okay this book hasn\'t been released yet so I haven\'t read it. <em>Yet</em>. Yet is the key word. I will be reading it.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht. Is a novel that has been garnering a lot of attention and why not the author is young, beautiful and apparently has written a incredible story.  It\'s set in the former Yugoslavia but who cares I\'ll be reading it over the next few weeks.</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta.  There has been a lot of chatter about this book. I don\'t know what Dasgupta\'s actual relationship is with Bulgaria but given the range of reviews it\'s gotten, I can\'t not read this novel set in Bulgaria.</li>\n</ul>\nThe Fulbright recommended these  books to me when I won my Fulbright (but most of them are close to 20 years old at this point):\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-Pictures-Visual-Geography-Second/dp/0822518902/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301122068&amp;sr=1-3\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria in Pictures</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Bulgaria-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521616379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121985&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Concise History of Bulgaria</a> (on Kindle and I book that I should probably read)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-at-Crossroads-Jacques-Coenen-Huther/dp/156072305X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121891&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria at the Crossroads</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Economy-Transition-Studies-Communism/dp/1852789948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301121836&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Bulgarian Economy in Transition</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Balkans-Laughter-Tears-Communism/dp/1565490363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121777&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Summer in the Balkans: Laughter and Tears after Communism</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Contributions-European-Civilization-Bozhkov/dp/B000BLS16I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121587&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Contributions to European Civilization</a></li>\n	<li>A History of Bulgaria. An Outline (only available from the St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 1998. Yep. A Bulgarian press)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Balkans-Maria-Todorova/dp/0195387864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121377&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Imagining the Balkans</a> (on Kindle)</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarians-Civilizers-Slavs-Bojidar-Dimitrov/dp/9545000333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121310&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarians: Civilizers of the Slavs</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Gold-Thracians-Ivan-Marazov/dp/0810919923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121202&amp;sr=1-1-spell\" target=\"_blank\">Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Tracians</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Bulgaria-William-Meredith/dp/0948259396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122434&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Poets of Bulgaria</a></li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Young-Poets-New-Bulgaria-Anthology/dp/094825971X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122580&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Young Poets of a New Bulgaria: An Anthology </a></li>\n</ul>\nOnly I never read a single one of them. Most of them are history books that are currently out of print. Some are available on Amazon.com. Most are out of stock and start at about $50 and seem to cost up to $120. And as much as I love books, even a $120 is too much for me. If you\'re in the States though, you might be able to grab some of them through inter-library loan.\n\n<em>Any other books that I should be reading? </em>','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-10','','','2011-03-26 11:47:54','2011-03-26 09:47:54','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4641-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(4652,1,'2011-03-26 11:48:14','2011-03-26 09:48:14','Interested in Bulgaria? Moving to the country? Like to read?\r\n\r\n<em>Funny</em>, me too.\r\n\r\nI am interested in Bulgaria. I like to read and I currently live in the country.\r\n\r\nWhen I moved to Bulgaria in August 2008, I didn\'t know much of anything about the country. I read as much as I could on the internet (thanks wikipedia) and got my hands on a couple of general books including the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Bulgaria-Country-Guide/dp/174104474X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122289&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Lonely Planet Bulgaria</a> travel guide. Since then, I\'ve read much, much more about the country, the culture and the region.\r\n\r\nSure it\'s been a little bit haphazard. But that\'s just how my life has been since I moved to Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nSo here\'s a rundown of things I\'ve read, have been reading and have been intending to read.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Balkan Ghosts\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-Ghosts-Journey-Through-History/dp/0312424930/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Balkan Ghosts: a Journey through History</a> by Robert D. Kaplan. In a word, this is required reading if you\'re moving to the Balkans. Even better there\'s an excellent chapter on Bulgaria. Kaplan lived here as a young journalist and he paints a good picture of his life here. Oh and as an aside, the Bulgarian-journalist-mentor Kaplan finds upon moving to Sofia and references regularly throughout the book attended the American College of Sofia (where I currently work) before WWII.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Street without a Name\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Name-Childhood-Misadventures/dp/1602396450/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Street without a Name: Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria</a> by Kapka Kassabova. This is a memoir that I love and I think is also  required reading for anyone moving to Sofia. It\'s a look at life in the  1980\'s under communism for a teenage girl and then the act of return as a  grown-up and a tourist to the country that she grew up in. It\'s bittersweet and I think it encompasses the complexities of change and national identity.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Black Lamb and Grey Falcon\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lamb-Falcon-Penguin-Classics/dp/014310490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301077926&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: a Journey in Yugoslavia</a> by Rebeca West. I know, I know. This a book about Yugoslavia and a tome of a book to boot but she\'s a story teller--an excellent one. And you can\'t (or you shouldn\'t) live in Bulgaria and not wander to Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia and Kosovo. Which is why you should read <em>Black Lamb and Grey Falcon</em>.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Cold Snap\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Snap-Cynthia-Morrison-Phoel/dp/0870745611/ref=pd_sim_b_1\" target=\"_blank\">Cold Snap: Bulgaria Stories</a> by Cynthia Morrison Phoel. Is a collection of short stories written by a former Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria. It\'s set in an imagined village so you wont read these stories for a sense of place. Rather you\'ll read these short stories for a sense of the people in post-communist Bulgaria.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Under the Yoke\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=pd_sim_b_5\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Yoke</a> by Ivan Vasov. This is often considered <em>the </em>Bulgarian novel written by one of <em>the</em> Bulgarian authors. I\'ve read and re-read the first 75 pages a few time but I\'m afraid that I\'ve had a hard time getting into it. Basically, it\'s a look at life in Bulgaria under the Ottoman Empire with a dash of adventure, rebellion, life and love. The basic problem at the center of the novel is that Bulgarians have been living under foreign domination for 500 year and want to be free but have been unable to achieve this dream.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The Historian\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Elizabeth-Kostova/dp/B004E3XIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301078281&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Historian</a> by Elizabeth Kostova. Kostova\'s novel <em>The Historian</em> is a book that you should read for the pure pleasure of it. It\'s a mystery, thriller set broadly in the Balkans. Characters find themselves in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, Greece and a number of other Balkan-ish countries as part of the adventure. While the story requires a decent dose of imagination, Kostova does a great job playing with the sense of mystery Westerners impose on Eastern Europe/the Balkans and an even better job capturing the physical place paper.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"How I Survived Communism and Even Laughed\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=pd_sim_b_6\" target=\"_blank\">How I Survived Communism &amp; Even Laughed</a> by Slavenka Drakulic.  This is another not-exactly-Bulgaria book but it\'s still worth reading. This memoir is written by a Croatian woman and spans the end of communism in the former Yugoslavia and the lead up to the war. Her look at women\'s lives during communism reads as both honest and thoughtful and the book gave me a better sense of life in the Balkans in the late 1970, \'80s and early 1990s.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Baba Yaga\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Baba-Yaga-Laid-Dubravka-Ugresic/dp/0802145205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301078345&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Baba Yaga Laid an Egg</a> by Dubravka Ugresic. This is a strange and wonderful novel that plays with the Baba Yaga myth and cris-crosses Eastern Europe from Croatia to Bulgaria (Sofia and Varna) to the Czech Republic. The women in the novel are wonderful and the parts of the novel set in Varna are heart-wrenching.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Bury me Standing\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bury-Me-Standing-Gypsies-Journey/dp/067973743X/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301132017&amp;sr=1-11\" target=\"_blank\">Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and their Journey</a> by Isabel  Fonseca. The author decides to live with Roma across Eastern Europe in order to research this book--from Albania to Bulgaria to Poland and Romania and a number of countries in between. She identifies the kinds of problems that Roma minorities in Europe face from poverty, language to discrimination. It seems like a pretty honest straightforward look at life for this minority. At times though the structure of the book lacks purpose and direction. Each chapter is a country and Fonseca basically tells some version of the same story for the Roma people in whichever country is currently writing about. This narrative technique isn\'t very engaging but the content is.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Zift\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Zift-Noir-Novel-Vladislav-Todorov/dp/1589880595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301079542&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr\" target=\"_blank\">Zift</a> by Vladislav Todorov. This isn\'t normally my kind of a book. I don\'t generally do pulp fiction or crime noir but when it comes to current novels set in Sofia I\'ll make an exception. Good thing I did. I really liked this fast paced, gritty but still funny novel.  I recognized glimpses and snatches of Sofia today in the piece but at the same time I often felt like this was a city I\'d never been to and I\'ve lived here for nearly three years.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"East of the West\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/East-West-Country-Miroslav-Penkov/dp/0374117330/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2AHK2OU0NIWWT&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">East of the West: A Country in Stories</a> by Miroslav Penkov. Okay this book hasn\'t been released yet so I haven\'t read it. <em>Yet</em>. Yet is the key word. I will be reading it.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The Tiger\'s Wife\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Wife-Novel-ebook/dp/B004EPZ6CE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I1PY0IYFZAVBT0&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">The Tiger\'s Wife</a> by Tea Obreht. Is a novel that has been garnering a lot of attention and why not the author is young, beautiful and apparently has written a incredible story.  It\'s set in the former Yugoslavia but who cares I\'ll be reading it over the next few weeks.</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Solo\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Solo-ebook/dp/B004IPPIMI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I2WC8PGSCA630D&amp;colid=6TXOV5ELE9GB\" target=\"_blank\">Solo</a> by Rana Dasgupta.  There has been a lot of chatter about this book. I don\'t know what Dasgupta\'s actual relationship is with Bulgaria but given the range of reviews it\'s gotten, I can\'t not read this novel set in Bulgaria.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe Fulbright recommended these  books to me when I won my Fulbright (but most of them are close to 20 years old at this point):\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-Pictures-Visual-Geography-Second/dp/0822518902/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301122068&amp;sr=1-3\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria in Pictures</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Bulgaria-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521616379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121985&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">A Concise History of Bulgaria</a> (on Kindle and I book that I should probably read)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgaria-at-Crossroads-Jacques-Coenen-Huther/dp/156072305X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121891&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgaria at the Crossroads</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Economy-Transition-Studies-Communism/dp/1852789948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1301121836&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">The Bulgarian Economy in Transition</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Balkans-Laughter-Tears-Communism/dp/1565490363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121777&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Summer in the Balkans: Laughter and Tears after Communism</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarian-Contributions-European-Civilization-Bozhkov/dp/B000BLS16I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121587&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Contributions to European Civilization</a></li>\r\n	<li>A History of Bulgaria. An Outline (only available from the St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 1998. Yep. A Bulgarian press)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Balkans-Maria-Todorova/dp/0195387864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121377&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Imagining the Balkans</a> (on Kindle)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bulgarians-Civilizers-Slavs-Bojidar-Dimitrov/dp/9545000333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121310&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarians: Civilizers of the Slavs</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Gold-Thracians-Ivan-Marazov/dp/0810919923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301121202&amp;sr=1-1-spell\" target=\"_blank\">Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Tracians</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Bulgaria-William-Meredith/dp/0948259396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122434&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Poets of Bulgaria</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Young-Poets-New-Bulgaria-Anthology/dp/094825971X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1301122580&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Young Poets of a New Bulgaria: An Anthology </a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\nOnly I never read a single one of them. Most of them are history books that are currently out of print. Some are available on Amazon.com. Most are out of stock and start at about $50 and seem to cost up to $120. And as much as I love books, even a $120 is too much for me. If you\'re in the States though, you might be able to grab some of them through inter-library loan.\r\n\r\n<em>Any other books that I should be reading? </em>','Works Cited ','','inherit','open','open','','4641-revision-11','','','2011-03-26 11:48:14','2011-03-26 09:48:14','',4641,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4641-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(4653,1,'2011-03-26 12:01:03','2011-03-26 10:01:03','Hey, ya-all!!\r\n\r\nGreat news. I\'ve been updating my blog.\r\n\r\nAfter a whole pot of coffee and the entire morning, I\'ve put together a new tab called \"<a title=\"Works Cited\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/works-cited/\">Works Cited</a>.\" Say what?! <em>Works Cited</em>.\r\n\r\nI know. It\'s kind of nerdy. But I\'m kind of nerdy.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a list of more than two-dozen books related to Bulgaria as well as more broadly to life, history and culture in the Balkans. It\'s clearly not an extensive list but more of a collection of interesting novels, short stories, personal memoirs and history. I think there\'s a little something for everyone on the list.\r\n\r\nSo check it out. Let me know if I am missing something or give me the heads up if a new book about Bulgaria is coming out.\r\n\r\nOkay, <em>thanks</em>!!','Blog update: Books & Works Cited','','publish','open','open','','blog-update-books-works-cited','','','2011-03-26 12:01:59','2011-03-26 10:01:59','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4653',0,'post','',0),(4654,1,'2011-03-26 12:00:10','2011-03-26 10:00:10','Hey, ya-all!!\n\nGreat news. I\'ve been updating my blog.\n\nAfter a whole pot of coffee and the entire morning, I\'ve put together a new tab called \"<a title=\"Works Cited\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/works-cited/\">Works Cited</a>.\"\n\nSay what? <em>Works Cited</em>.\n\nI know. It\'s kind of nerdy. But I\'m kind of nerdy.\n\nIt\'s a list of more than two-dozen books related to Bulgaria as well as more broadly to life, history and culture in the Balkans. It\'s clearly not an extensive list but more of a collection of interesting novels, short stories, personal memoirs and history. I think there\'s a little something for everyone on the list.\n\nSo check it out. Let me know if I am missing something or give me the heads up if a new book about Bulgaria is coming out.\n\nOkay, <em>thanks</em>!!','Updates! ','','inherit','open','open','','4653-revision','','','2011-03-26 12:00:10','2011-03-26 10:00:10','',4653,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4653-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4655,1,'2011-03-26 12:01:03','2011-03-26 10:01:03','Hey, ya-all!!\r\n\r\nGreat news. I\'ve been updating my blog.\r\n\r\nAfter a whole pot of coffee and the entire morning, I\'ve put together a new tab called \"<a title=\"Works Cited\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/works-cited/\">Works Cited</a>.\"\r\n\r\nSay what? <em>Works Cited</em>.\r\n\r\nI know. It\'s kind of nerdy. But I\'m kind of nerdy.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a list of more than two-dozen books related to Bulgaria as well as more broadly to life, history and culture in the Balkans. It\'s clearly not an extensive list but more of a collection of interesting novels, short stories, personal memoirs and history. I think there\'s a little something for everyone on the list.\r\n\r\nSo check it out. Let me know if I am missing something or give me the heads up if a new book about Bulgaria is coming out.\r\n\r\nOkay, <em>thanks</em>!!','Blog update: Books & Works Cited','','inherit','open','open','','4653-revision-2','','','2011-03-26 12:01:03','2011-03-26 10:01:03','',4653,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4653-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4656,1,'2011-03-26 12:03:05','2011-03-26 10:03:05','Hey, ya-all!!\n\nGreat news. I\'ve been updating my blog.\n\nAfter a whole pot of coffee and the entire morning, I\'ve put together a new tab called \"<a title=\"Works Cited\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/works-cited/\">Works Cited</a>.\" Say what?! <em>Works Cited</em>.\n\nI know. It\'s kind of nerdy. But I\'m kind of nerdy.\n\nIt\'s a list of more than two-dozen books related to Bulgaria as well as more broadly to life, history and culture in the Balkans. It\'s clearly not an extensive list but more of a collection of interesting novels, short stories, personal memoirs and history. I think there\'s a little something for everyone on the list.\n\nSo check it out. Let me know if I am missing something or give me the heads up if a new book about Bulgaria is coming out.\n\nOkay, <em>thanks</em>!!','Blog update: Books & Works Cited','','inherit','open','open','','4653-autosave','','','2011-03-26 12:03:05','2011-03-26 10:03:05','',4653,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/26/4653-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4657,1,'2011-03-28 06:14:06','2011-03-28 04:14:06','This weekend I celebrated the 30th birthday of one my American colleagues. We met for dinner and then went dancing. It was great fun.\r\n\r\nAt some point in the middle of dinner it struck me: I\'m next. I am staring down 30.\r\n\r\nMy birthday is May 18th. I\'ve got about a month and a half left of my twenties.\r\n\r\nThen I\'ll be 30. None of this twenty-something business for me any more. The best part? Well that is I am not at all worried about this.\r\n\r\nIn the States, plenty of people freak out about turning 30. About leaving their 20s behind. About what they\'ve done (or haven\'t done). Not me. Not yet at least.\r\n\r\nI think that out culture in the States encourages it. It\'s linked directly to our obsession with youth and beauty as well as some vague sense of the American dream and our ability (or inability) to achieve more than our parents. These two things offer a pretty clear set of standards by which to measure yourself. If that wasn\'\' enough, there\'s also Facebook.\r\n\r\nHow am I doing? <em>Great</em>.\r\n\r\nThough not by any traditional set of standards. I am no closer to getting married, having children or buying a house than I was at 25 but I\'ve traveled more than I imagined possible at 25 and I am well on my way to learning Bulgarian.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, all of this has gotten me thinking about what it means to turn 30 as a Bulgarian. What expectations are there? What worries do you have? What pressures do you experience?','On my way to 30 ','','publish','open','open','','on-my-way-to-30','','','2011-03-28 06:14:06','2011-03-28 04:14:06','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4657',0,'post','',1),(4658,1,'2011-03-27 20:09:26','2011-03-27 18:09:26','This weekend I celebrated the 30th birthday of one my American colleagues. We met for dinner and then went dancing. It was great fun.\n\nAt some point in the middle of dinner it struck me: I\'m next. I am staring down 30.\n\nMy birthday is May 18th. I\'ve got about a month and a half left of my twenties.\n\n&nbsp;','On my way to 30 ','','inherit','open','open','','4657-revision','','','2011-03-27 20:09:26','2011-03-27 18:09:26','',4657,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/27/4657-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4659,1,'2011-03-28 06:12:53','2011-03-28 04:12:53','This weekend I celebrated the 30th birthday of one my American colleagues. We met for dinner and then went dancing. It was great fun.\n\nAt some point in the middle of dinner it struck me: I\'m next. I am staring down 30.\n\nMy birthday is May 18th. I\'ve got about a month and a half left of my twenties.\n\nThen I\'ll be 30. None of this twenty-something business for me any more. The best part? Well that is I am not at all worried about this.\n\nIn the States, plenty of people freak out about turning 30. About leaving their 20s behind. About what they\'ve done (or haven\'t done). Not me. Not yet at least.\n\nI think that out culture in the States encourages it. It\'s linked directly to our obsession with youth and beauty as well as some vague sense of the American dream and our ability (or inability) to achieve more than our parents. These two things offer a pretty clear set of standards by which to measure yourself. If that wasn\'\' enough, there\'s also Facebook.\n\nHow am I doing? <em>Great</em>.\n\nThough not by any traditional set of standards. I am no closer to getting married, having children or buying a house than I was at 25 but I\'ve traveled more than I imagined possible at 25 and I am well on my way to learning Bulgarian.\n\nAnyhow, all of this has gotten me thinking about what it means to turn 30 as a Bulgarian. What expectations are there? What worries do you have? What pressures do you experience?','On my way to 30 ','','inherit','open','open','','4657-revision-2','','','2011-03-28 06:12:53','2011-03-28 04:12:53','',4657,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/28/4657-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4660,1,'2011-03-28 06:13:33','2011-03-28 04:13:33','This weekend I celebrated the 30th birthday of one my American colleagues. We met for dinner and then went dancing. It was great fun.\r\n\r\nAt some point in the middle of dinner it struck me: I\'m next. I am staring down 30.\r\n\r\nMy birthday is May 18th. I\'ve got about a month and a half left of my twenties.\r\n\r\nThen I\'ll be 30. None of this twenty-something business for me any more. The best part? Well that is I am not at all worried about this.\r\n\r\nIn the States, plenty of people freak out about turning 30. About leaving their 20s behind. About what they\'ve done (or haven\'t done). Not me. Not yet at least.\r\n\r\nI think that out culture in the States encourages it. It\'s linked directly to our obsession with youth and beauty as well as some vague sense of the American dream and our ability (or inability) to achieve more than our parents. These two things offer a pretty clear set of standards by which to measure yourself. If that wasn\'\' enough, there\'s also Facebook.\r\n\r\nHow am I doing? <em>Great</em>.\r\n\r\nThough not by any traditional set of standards. I am no closer to getting married, having children or buying a house than I was at 25 but I\'ve traveled more than I imagined possible at 25 and I am well on my way to learning Bulgarian.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, all of this has gotten me thinking about what it means to turn 30 as a Bulgarian. What expectations are there? What worries do you have? What pressures do you experience?','On my way to 30 ','','inherit','open','open','','4657-revision-3','','','2011-03-28 06:13:33','2011-03-28 04:13:33','',4657,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/28/4657-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4661,1,'2011-03-28 06:13:34','2011-03-28 04:13:34','This weekend I celebrated the 30th birthday of one my American colleagues. We met for dinner and then went dancing. It was great fun.\r\n\r\nAt some point in the middle of dinner it struck me: I\'m next. I am staring down 30.\r\n\r\nMy birthday is May 18th. I\'ve got about a month and a half left of my twenties.\r\n\r\nThen I\'ll be 30. None of this twenty-something business for me any more. The best part? Well that is I am not at all worried about this.\r\n\r\nIn the States, plenty of people freak out about turning 30. About leaving their 20s behind. About what they\'ve done (or haven\'t done). Not me. Not yet at least.\r\n\r\nI think that out culture in the States encourages it. It\'s linked directly to our obsession with youth and beauty as well as some vague sense of the American dream and our ability (or inability) to achieve more than our parents. These two things offer a pretty clear set of standards by which to measure yourself. If that wasn\'\' enough, there\'s also Facebook.\r\n\r\nHow am I doing? <em>Great</em>.\r\n\r\nThough not by any traditional set of standards. I am no closer to getting married, having children or buying a house than I was at 25 but I\'ve traveled more than I imagined possible at 25 and I am well on my way to learning Bulgarian.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, all of this has gotten me thinking about what it means to turn 30 as a Bulgarian. What expectations are there? What worries do you have? What pressures do you experience?','On my way to 30 ','','inherit','open','open','','4657-revision-4','','','2011-03-28 06:13:34','2011-03-28 04:13:34','',4657,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/28/4657-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4662,1,'2011-03-28 17:51:50','2011-03-28 15:51:50','This weekend I celebrated the 30th birthday of one my American colleagues. We met for dinner and then went dancing. It was great fun.\n\nAt some point in the middle of dinner it struck me: I\'m next. I am staring down 30.\n\nMy birthday is May 18th. I\'ve got about a month and a half left of my twenties.\n\nThen I\'ll be 30. None of this twenty-something business for me any more. The best part? Well that is I am not at all worried about this.\n\nIn the States, plenty of people freak out about turning 30. About leaving their 20s behind. About what they\'ve done (or haven\'t done). Not me. Not yet at least.\n\nI think that out culture in the States encourages it. It\'s linked directly to our obsession with youth and beauty as well as some vague sense of the American dream and our ability (or inability) to achieve more than our parents. These two things offer a pretty clear set of standards by which to measure yourself. If that wasn\'\' enough, there\'s also Facebook.\n\nHow am I doing? <em>Great</em>.\n\nThough not by any traditional set of standards. I am no closer to getting married, having children or buying a house than I was at 25 but I\'ve traveled more than I imagined possible at 25 and I am well on my way to learning Bulgarian.\n\nAnyhow, all of this has gotten me thinking about what it means to turn 30 as a Bulgarian. What expectations are there? What worries do you have? What pressures do you experience?','On my way to 30 ','','inherit','open','open','','4657-autosave','','','2011-03-28 17:51:50','2011-03-28 15:51:50','',4657,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/28/4657-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4685,1,'2011-04-10 20:17:05','2011-04-10 18:17:05','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\r\n\r\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\r\n\r\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, set my alarm clock for 6 am and try to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead of me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4686\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4686\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/back-from-portugal/img_7310/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4686 \" title=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4690\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Tram in Lisbon\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4690\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/back-from-portugal/img_7685/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4690 \" title=\"Tram in Lisbon\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7685-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4691\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4691\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/back-from-portugal/img_7733/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4691 \" title=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7733-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>','Back from Portugal ','','publish','open','open','','back-from-portugal','','','2011-04-10 20:17:05','2011-04-10 18:17:05','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4685',0,'post','',0),(4666,1,'2011-03-30 21:02:22','2011-03-30 19:02:22','Sometimes I worry that I am falling out the habit of blogging. Sure, it\'s only been a day or two since I\'ve written last but recently it\'s been hard to find the time to blog. It\'s been hard to come up with things to blog about. It\'s been feeling forced.\r\n\r\nThat\'s when I realized that maybe I am in a little slump.\r\n\r\nThings have super-duper busy at work between grading, the quarter ending, a faculty talent-show/concert that I am participating in and then there\'s trying to find time to eat, sleep and do laundry. I just feel like I\'ve been running around and not actually getting anything done over the last week and then some. It\'s been a push to do everything I need to each day and my to-do list is growing longer rather than shorter.\r\n\r\nEven extra coffee isn\'t doing much for me.\r\n\r\nStill somehow, I\'ve managed scrape up enough time to talk to/email/chat with two of my blog readers. Granted these have been brief exchanges but they\'ve kind of made my week. One reader and I have mutual friends through Georgetown and she friended me on facebook after she realized. We tentatively have made plans to meet up in May when she\'s coming home to visit family. The other reader is in the process of adopting a Bulgarian child.\r\n\r\nNeedless to say, it\'s actually pretty cool that our shared interest in Bulgaria brought us together. These are people that I can only assume I never otherwise would have met.\r\n\r\nAnd as a side note, it\'s strange to think that just three years ago Bulgaria was not one of my interests. Oh the things a Fulbright scholarship can do. Speaking of which in the Sofia Metro I\'ve been seeing signs for the Fulbright. Maybe you have too. I think it\'s a really great program and worth checking out and now\'s the perfect time they are accepting Bulgarian <a title=\"Fulbright\" href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/\" target=\"_blank\">applications for the 2012-13 school year.\r\n</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Shared Interests ','','publish','open','open','','shared-interests','','','2011-03-30 21:02:22','2011-03-30 19:02:22','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4666',0,'post','',5),(4667,1,'2011-03-30 20:59:11','2011-03-30 18:59:11','Sometimes I worry that I am falling out the habit of blogging. Sure, it\'s only been a day or two since I\'ve written last but recently it\'s been hard to find the time to blog. It\'s been hard to come up with things to blog about. It\'s been feeling forced.\n\nThat\'s when I realized that maybe I am in a little slump.\n\nThings have super-duper busy at work between grading, the quarter ending, a faculty talent-show/concert that I am participating in and then there\'s trying to find time to eat, sleep and do laundry. I just feel like I\'ve been running around and not actually getting anything done over the last week and then some. It\'s been a push to do everything I need to each day and my to-do list is growing longer rather than shorter.\n\nEven extra coffee isn\'t doing much for me.\n\nStill somehow, I\'ve managed scrape up enough time to talk to/email/chat with two of my blog readers. Granted these have been brief exchanges but they\'ve kind of made my week. One reader and I have mutual friends through Georgetown and she friended me on facebook after she realized. We tentatively have made plans to meet up in May when she\'s coming home to visit family. The other reader is in the process of adopting a Bulgarian child.\n\nNeedless to say, it\'s actually pretty cool that our shared interest in Bulgaria brought us together. These are people that I can only assume I never otherwise would have met.\n\nAnd as a side note, it\'s strange to think that just three years ago Bulgaria was not one of my interests. Oh the things a Fulbright scholarship can do. Speaking of which in the Sofia Metro I\'ve been seeing signs for the Fulbright. Maybe you have too. I think it\'s a really great program and worth checking out and now\'s the perfect time they are accepting Bulgarian <a title=\"Fulbright\" href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/\" target=\"_blank\">applications for the 2012-13 school year.\n</a>\n\n&nbsp;','Shared Interests ','','inherit','open','open','','4666-revision','','','2011-03-30 20:59:11','2011-03-30 18:59:11','',4666,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/30/4666-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4669,1,'2011-03-30 21:01:58','2011-03-30 19:01:58','Sometimes I worry that I am falling out the habit of blogging. Sure, it\'s only been a day or two since I\'ve written last but recently it\'s been hard to find the time to blog. It\'s been hard to come up with things to blog about. It\'s been feeling forced.\n\nThat\'s when I realized that maybe I am in a little slump.\n\nThings have super-duper busy at work between grading, the quarter ending, a faculty talent-show/concert that I am participating in and then there\'s trying to find time to eat, sleep and do laundry. I just feel like I\'ve been running around and not actually getting anything done over the last week and then some. It\'s been a push to do everything I need to each day and my to-do list is growing longer rather than shorter.\n\nEven extra coffee isn\'t doing much for me.\n\nStill somehow, I\'ve managed scrape up enough time to talk to/email/chat with two of my blog readers. Granted these have been brief exchanges but they\'ve kind of made my week. One reader and I have mutual friends through Georgetown and she friended me on facebook after she realized. We tentatively have made plans to meet up in May when she\'s coming home to visit family. The other reader is in the process of adopting a Bulgarian child.\n\nNeedless to say, it\'s actually pretty cool that our shared interest in Bulgaria brought us together. These are people that I can only assume I never otherwise would have met.\n\nAnd as a side note, it\'s strange to think that just three years ago Bulgaria was not one of my interests. Oh the things a Fulbright scholarship can do. Speaking of which in the Sofia Metro I\'ve been seeing signs for the Fulbright. Maybe you have too. I think it\'s a really great program and worth checking out and now\'s the perfect time they are accepting Bulgarian <a title=\"Fulbright\" href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/\" target=\"_blank\">applications for the 2012-13 school year.\n</a>\n\n&nbsp;','Shared Interests ','','inherit','open','open','','4666-revision-3','','','2011-03-30 21:01:58','2011-03-30 19:01:58','',4666,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/30/4666-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4668,1,'2011-03-30 21:00:41','2011-03-30 19:00:41','Sometimes I worry that I am falling out the habit of blogging. Sure, it\'s only been a day or two since I\'ve written last but recently it\'s been hard to find the time to blog. It\'s been hard to come up with things to blog about. It\'s been feeling forced.\r\n\r\nThat\'s when I realized that maybe I am in a little slump.\r\n\r\nThings have super-duper busy at work between grading, the quarter ending, a faculty talent-show/concert that I am participating in and then there\'s trying to find time to eat, sleep and do laundry. I just feel like I\'ve been running around and not actually getting anything done over the last week and then some. It\'s been a push to do everything I need to each day and my to-do list is growing longer rather than shorter.\r\n\r\nEven extra coffee isn\'t doing much for me.\r\n\r\nStill somehow, I\'ve managed scrape up enough time to talk to/email/chat with two of my blog readers. Granted these have been brief exchanges but they\'ve kind of made my week. One reader and I have mutual friends through Georgetown and she friended me on facebook after she realized. We tentatively have made plans to meet up in May when she\'s coming home to visit family. The other reader is in the process of adopting a Bulgarian child.\r\n\r\nNeedless to say, it\'s actually pretty cool that our shared interest in Bulgaria brought us together. These are people that I can only assume I never otherwise would have met.\r\n\r\nAnd as a side note, it\'s strange to think that just three years ago Bulgaria was not one of my interests. Oh the things a Fulbright scholarship can do. Speaking of which in the Sofia Metro I\'ve been seeing signs for the Fulbright. Maybe you have too. I think it\'s a really great program and worth checking out and now\'s the perfect time they are accepting Bulgarian <a title=\"Fulbright\" href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/\" target=\"_blank\">applications for the 2012-13 school year.\r\n</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Shared Interests ','','inherit','open','open','','4666-revision-2','','','2011-03-30 21:00:41','2011-03-30 19:00:41','',4666,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/30/4666-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4670,1,'2011-04-01 06:01:22','2011-04-01 04:01:22','This has been a busy, busy week.\r\n\r\nI think the only thing that has gotten me through is the thought of spring break. <em>Spring Break</em>. Every time I think of those words it\'s like there\'s a choir of fat baby angels singing and carrying a white banner reading: \"x\" number of days left until Spring Break.\r\n\r\nAs of today, there\'s one day of school left and one day until I land in Lisbon, Portugal. I couldn\'t be more excited about going to visit Portugal. I understand that it is a beautiful country.\r\n\r\nToday was supposed to be the first day of spring break but thanks (if that\'s even possibly the right word) to the \"flu vacation\" in January, I am teaching today. Luckily it seems gray and cloudy today so the kids will be a little bit easier to teach than when it\'s warm and the sun is shinning outside my classroom window. (For the record, I never in a million years could have imagined myself writing that sentence three years ago. That must really make me a teacher. Apparently a<em> grumpy</em> one at that--or maybe just a pragmatic one.)\r\n\r\nBut back to the point. This may be my most poorly planned holiday in the last three years. I bought an airplane ticket in early March and then didn\'t book hostels until last weekend. <!--more-->I have no idea what the weather is supposed to be like and I have yet to print out a map of any sort.\r\n\r\nLast night I almost spent 40 leva (20 euro/$25) on a Lonely Planet guide book to Portugal because it seemed like the <em>easy</em> thing to do.  Frankly I am not sure when I became so lazy. Or busy. As I like to think of it.\r\n\r\nNeedless to say, I\'ve got a few things to look up before I hop on my airplane tomorrow afternoon.\r\n\r\nLike how to get to my hostel from the airport. What sights I should see in Lisbon. And I\'ve got to stock up on a new book or two for my Kindle!!\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I thought I\'d see if any of my loyal and wonderful (have I mentioned that before?! Yep. That\'s pure, unadulterated flattery) readers have recommendations for me of what to see/visit/eat/buy while I am in Lisbon and later in Porto. You could post your favorites below in the comments section. Hint, hint, hint.','Spring Break in Lisbon','','publish','open','open','','spring-break-in-lisbon','','','2011-04-01 06:07:59','2011-04-01 04:07:59','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4670',0,'post','',1),(4671,1,'2011-04-01 05:59:56','2011-04-01 03:59:56','This has been a busy, busy week.\n\nI think the only thing that has gotten me through is the thought of spring break. <em>Spring Break</em>. Every time I think of those words it\'s like there\'s a choir of fat baby angels singing and carrying a white banner reading: \"x\" number of days left until Spring Break.\n\nAs of today, there\'s one day of school left and one day until I land in Lisbon, Portugal. I couldn\'t be more excited about going to visit Portugal. I understand that it is a beautiful country.\n\nToday was supposed to be the first day of spring break but thanks (if that\'s even possibly the right word) to the \"flu vacation\" in January, I am teaching today. Luckily it seems gray and cloudy today so the kids will be a little bit easier to teach than when it\'s warm and the sun is shinning outside my classroom window. (For the record, I never in a million years could have imagined myself writing that sentence three years ago. That must really make me a teacher. Apparently a<em> grumpy</em> one at that--or maybe just a pragmatic one.)\n\nBut back to the point. This may be my most poorly planned holiday in the last three years. I bought an airplane ticket in early March and then didn\'t book hostels until last weekend. I have no idea what the weather is supposed to be like and I have yet to print out a map of any sort.\n\nLast night I almost spent 40 leva (20 euro/$25) on a Lonely Planet guide book to Portugal because it seemed like the <em>easy</em> thing to do.  Frankly I am not sure when I became so lazy. Or busy. As I like to think of it.\n\nNeedless to say, I\'ve got a few things to look up before I hop on my airplane tomorrow afternoon.\n\nLike how to get to my hostel from the airport. What sights I should see in Lisbon. And I\'ve got to stock up on a new book or two for my Kindle!!\n\nAnyhow, I thought I\'d see if any of my loyal and wonderful (have I mentioned that before?! Yep. That\'s pure, unadulterated flattery) readers have recommendations for me of what to see/visit/eat/buy while I am in Lisbon and later in Porto. You could post your favorites below in the comments section. Hint, hint, hint.','Spring Break in Lisbon','','inherit','open','open','','4670-revision','','','2011-04-01 05:59:56','2011-04-01 03:59:56','',4670,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/01/4670-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4672,1,'2011-04-01 06:09:05','2011-04-01 04:09:05','This has been a busy, busy week.\n\nI think the only thing that has gotten me through is the thought of spring break. <em>Spring Break</em>. Every time I think of those words it\'s like there\'s a choir of fat baby angels singing and carrying a white banner reading: \"x\" number of days left until Spring Break.\n\nAs of today, there\'s one day of school left and one day until I land in Lisbon, Portugal. I couldn\'t be more excited about going to visit Portugal. I understand that it is a beautiful country.\n\nToday was supposed to be the first day of spring break but thanks (if that\'s even possibly the right word) to the \"flu vacation\" in January, I am teaching today. Luckily it seems gray and cloudy today so the kids will be a little bit easier to teach than when it\'s warm and the sun is shinning outside my classroom window. (For the record, I never in a million years could have imagined myself writing that sentence three years ago. That must really make me a teacher. Apparently a<em> grumpy</em> one at that--or maybe just a pragmatic one.)\n\nBut back to the point. This may be my most poorly planned holiday in the last three years. I bought an airplane ticket in early March and then didn\'t book hostels until last weekend. <!--more-->I have no idea what the weather is supposed to be like and I have yet to print out a map of any sort.\n\nLast night I almost spent 40 leva (20 euro/$25) on a Lonely Planet guide book to Portugal because it seemed like the <em>easy</em> thing to do.  Frankly I am not sure when I became so lazy. Or busy. As I like to think of it.\n\nNeedless to say, I\'ve got a few things to look up before I hop on my airplane tomorrow afternoon.\n\nLike how to get to my hostel from the airport. What sights I should see in Lisbon. And I\'ve got to stock up on a new book or two for my Kindle!!\n\nAnyhow, I thought I\'d see if any of my loyal and wonderful (have I mentioned that before?! Yep. That\'s pure, unadulterated flattery) readers have recommendations for me of what to see/visit/eat/buy while I am in Lisbon and later in Porto. You could post your favorites below in the comments section. Hint, hint, hint.','Spring Break in Lisbon','','inherit','open','open','','4670-autosave','','','2011-04-01 06:09:05','2011-04-01 04:09:05','',4670,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/01/4670-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4673,1,'2011-04-01 06:01:22','2011-04-01 04:01:22','This has been a busy, busy week.\r\n\r\nI think the only thing that has gotten me through is the thought of spring break. <em>Spring Break</em>. Every time I think of those words it\'s like there\'s a choir of fat baby angels singing and carrying a white banner reading: \"x\" number of days left until Spring Break.\r\n\r\nAs of today, there\'s one day of school left and one day until I land in Lisbon, Portugal. I couldn\'t be more excited about going to visit Portugal. I understand that it is a beautiful country.\r\n\r\nToday was supposed to be the first day of spring break but thanks (if that\'s even possibly the right word) to the \"flu vacation\" in January, I am teaching today. Luckily it seems gray and cloudy today so the kids will be a little bit easier to teach than when it\'s warm and the sun is shinning outside my classroom window. (For the record, I never in a million years could have imagined myself writing that sentence three years ago. That must really make me a teacher. Apparently a<em> grumpy</em> one at that--or maybe just a pragmatic one.)\r\n\r\nBut back to the point. This may be my most poorly planned holiday in the last three years. I bought an airplane ticket in early March and then didn\'t book hostels until last weekend. I have no idea what the weather is supposed to be like and I have yet to print out a map of any sort.\r\n\r\nLast night I almost spent 40 leva (20 euro/$25) on a Lonely Planet guide book to Portugal because it seemed like the <em>easy</em> thing to do.  Frankly I am not sure when I became so lazy. Or busy. As I like to think of it.\r\n\r\nNeedless to say, I\'ve got a few things to look up before I hop on my airplane tomorrow afternoon.\r\n\r\nLike how to get to my hostel from the airport. What sights I should see in Lisbon. And I\'ve got to stock up on a new book or two for my Kindle!!\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I thought I\'d see if any of my loyal and wonderful (have I mentioned that before?! Yep. That\'s pure, unadulterated flattery) readers have recommendations for me of what to see/visit/eat/buy while I am in Lisbon and later in Porto. You could post your favorites below in the comments section. Hint, hint, hint.','Spring Break in Lisbon','','inherit','open','open','','4670-revision-2','','','2011-04-01 06:01:22','2011-04-01 04:01:22','',4670,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/01/4670-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4674,1,'2011-04-02 12:23:31','2011-04-02 10:23:31','I saw the Bulgarian movie <a title=\"Footprints in the Sand\" href=\"http://www.programata.bg/index.php?p=30&amp;l=2&amp;c=1&amp;id=60969\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints in the Sand (Стъпки в пясъка)</a> this past week.  I watched in Bulgarian with a Bulgarian friend. I didn\'t understand everything, far from it in fact, but I got the gist of things and these days that\'s good enough for me.\r\n\r\nThe basic plot is this: a guy Slavi escapes from Bulgaria during communism. He spends part of this time in Austria and part of this time in the United States. Ultimately, he returns after the wall falls and ends up retelling most of the story of his life in the Sofia Airport.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkXmIjOZF8Q\">Footprints in the Sand</a> (I have no idea why I can\'t get the youtube video clip to embed in my post. I\'ve tried to make it work for 20 minutes and now I am giving up. Sorry.)\r\n\r\nWhile the flash backs to life in Bulgaria during communism were interesting, I was most struck by the representations of the United States through a foreigner\'s eyes. Especially the moment in which Slavi is a truck driver in the States and in a truck stop using the bathroom and while watching the news. He is in the middle-of-nowhere America and sees on tv the Berlin Wall falling. He is ecstatic. Shouting. Jumping around. Singing. Another truck driver and a woman who is maybe a waitress come to see what the commotion is about. Slavi tries to explain but these two Americans don\'t understand what the big deal is. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, that scene seems to sum up much of America. The man and women were not rude to Slavi--they just get what the big deal was. They watched him but couldn\'t connect with him or share in his excitement.\r\n\r\nThere was an undercurrent of loneliness in this scene and those that followed. The solitary act of truck driving only enhanced this.\r\n\r\nAs a result, I\'ve found myself thinking about issues of place and home and how we put roots down as well as the complicated act of return.\r\n\r\nI was generally happy with the movie. I will say that it ended more abruptly than I thought it would. And then I found myself a little surprised to learn that this film was based on a true story. I think this is because in someways this story seems like it could be anyone\'s story. There\'s nothing really fantastic or unexpected about it.\r\n\r\nMy Bulgarian friend? Well, less impressed.\r\n\r\nFunny, I thought Bulgarians were <em>obliged</em> to like Bulgarian films.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I was interested in why this was the case. It boiled down to this: Slavi didn\'t <em>do</em> anything with his life (I\'ve  paraphrased). This I thought was interesting criticism and gets at the idea of what we owe ourselves and others who have made sacrifices for us or whom we have left behind.\r\n\r\nSo for those of my readers who have seen the film, what did you think?','Footprints in the Sand or Стъпки в пясъка','','publish','open','open','','footprints-in-the-sand-or-%d1%81%d1%82%d1%8a%d0%bf%d0%ba%d0%b8-%d0%b2-%d0%bf%d1%8f%d1%81%d1%8a%d0%ba%d0%b0','','','2011-04-02 12:36:23','2011-04-02 10:36:23','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4674',0,'post','',4),(4675,1,'2011-04-02 12:18:47','2011-04-02 10:18:47','I saw the Bulgarian movie <a title=\"Footprints in the Sand\" href=\"http://www.programata.bg/index.php?p=30&amp;l=2&amp;c=1&amp;id=60969\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints in the Sand (Стъпки в пясъка)</a> this past week.  I watched in Bulgarian with a Bulgarian friend. I didn\'t understand everything, far from it in fact, but I got the gist of things and these days that\'s good enough for me.\n\nThe basic plot is this: a guy Slavi escapes from Bulgaria during communism. He spends part of this time in Austria and part of this time in the United States. Ultimately, he returns after the wall falls and ends up retelling most of the story of his life in the Sofia Airport.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkXmIjOZF8Q\">Footprints in the Sand</a>\n\nWhile the flash backs to life in Bulgaria during communism were interesting, I was most struck by the representations of the United States through a foreigner\'s eyes. Especially the moment in which Slavi is a truck driver in the States and in a truck stop using the bathroom and while watching the news. He is in the middle-of-nowhere America and sees on tv the Berlin Wall falling. He is ecstatic. Shouting. Jumping around. Singing. Another truck driver and a woman who is maybe a waitress come to see what the commotion is about. Slavi tries to explain but these two Americans don\'t understand what the big deal is.\n\nFor better or worse, that scene seems to sum up much of America. The man and women were not rude to Slavi--they just get what the big deal was. They watched him but couldn\'t connect with him or share in his excitement.\n\nThere was an undercurrent of loneliness in this scene and those that followed. The solitary act of truck driving only enhanced this.\n\nAs a result, I\'ve found myself thinking about issues of place and home and how we put roots down as well as the complicated act of return.\n\nI was generally happy with the movie. I will say that it ended more abruptly than I thought it would. And then I found myself a little surprised to learn that this film was based on a true story. I think this is because in someways this story seems like it could be anyone\'s story. There\'s nothing really fantastic or unexpected about it.\n\nMy Bulgarian friend? Well, less impressed.\n\nFunny, I thought Bulgarians were <em>obliged</em> to like Bulgarian films.\n\nAnyhow, I was interested in why this was the case. It boiled down to this: Slavi didn\'t <em>do</em> anything with his life (I\'ve  paraphrased). This I thought was interesting criticism and gets at the idea of what we owe ourselves and others who have made sacrifices for us or whom we have left behind.\n\nSo for those of my readers who have seen the film, what did you think?','Footprints in the Sand or Стъпки в пясъка','','inherit','open','open','','4674-revision','','','2011-04-02 12:18:47','2011-04-02 10:18:47','',4674,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4674-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4677,1,'2011-04-02 12:22:06','2011-04-02 10:22:06','I saw the Bulgarian movie <a title=\"Footprints in the Sand\" href=\"http://www.programata.bg/index.php?p=30&amp;l=2&amp;c=1&amp;id=60969\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints in the Sand (Стъпки в пясъка)</a> this past week.  I watched in Bulgarian with a Bulgarian friend. I didn\'t understand everything, far from it in fact, but I got the gist of things and these days that\'s good enough for me.\r\n\r\nThe basic plot is this: a guy Slavi escapes from Bulgaria during communism. He spends part of this time in Austria and part of this time in the United States. Ultimately, he returns after the wall falls and ends up retelling most of the story of his life in the Sofia Airport.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhile the flash backs to life in Bulgaria during communism were interesting, I was most struck by the representations of the United States through a foreigner\'s eyes. Especially the moment in which Slavi is a truck driver in the States and in a truck stop using the bathroom and while watching the news. He is in the middle-of-nowhere America and sees on tv the Berlin Wall falling. He is ecstatic. Shouting. Jumping around. Singing. Another truck driver and a woman who is maybe a waitress come to see what the commotion is about. Slavi tries to explain but these two Americans don\'t understand what the big deal is. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, that scene seems to sum up much of America. The man and women were not rude to Slavi--they just get what the big deal was. They watched him but couldn\'t connect with him or share in his excitement.\r\n\r\nThere was an undercurrent of loneliness in this scene and those that followed. The solitary act of truck driving only enhanced this.\r\n\r\nAs a result, I\'ve found myself thinking about issues of place and home and how we put roots down as well as the complicated act of return.\r\n\r\nI was generally happy with the movie. I will say that it ended more abruptly than I thought it would. And then I found myself a little surprised to learn that this film was based on a true story. I think this is because in someways this story seems like it could be anyone\'s story. There\'s nothing really fantastic or unexpected about it.\r\n\r\nMy Bulgarian friend? Well, less impressed.\r\n\r\nFunny, I thought Bulgarians were <em>obliged</em> to like Bulgarian films.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I was interested in why this was the case. It boiled down to this: Slavi didn\'t <em>do</em> anything with his life (I\'ve  paraphrased). This I thought was interesting criticism and gets at the idea of what we owe ourselves and others who have made sacrifices for us or whom we have left behind.\r\n\r\nSo for those of my readers who have seen the film, what did you think?','Footprints in the Sand or Стъпки в пясъка','','inherit','open','open','','4674-revision-3','','','2011-04-02 12:22:06','2011-04-02 10:22:06','',4674,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4674-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4676,1,'2011-04-02 12:20:12','2011-04-02 10:20:12','I saw the Bulgarian movie <a title=\"Footprints in the Sand\" href=\"http://www.programata.bg/index.php?p=30&amp;l=2&amp;c=1&amp;id=60969\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints in the Sand (Стъпки в пясъка)</a> this past week.  I watched in Bulgarian with a Bulgarian friend. I didn\'t understand everything, far from it in fact, but I got the gist of things and these days that\'s good enough for me.\r\n\r\nThe basic plot is this: a guy Slavi escapes from Bulgaria during communism. He spends part of this time in Austria and part of this time in the United States. Ultimately, he returns after the wall falls and ends up retelling most of the story of his life in the Sofia Airport.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkXmIjOZF8Q\">Footprints in the Sand</a>\r\n\r\nWhile the flash backs to life in Bulgaria during communism were interesting, I was most struck by the representations of the United States through a foreigner\'s eyes. Especially the moment in which Slavi is a truck driver in the States and in a truck stop using the bathroom and while watching the news. He is in the middle-of-nowhere America and sees on tv the Berlin Wall falling. He is ecstatic. Shouting. Jumping around. Singing. Another truck driver and a woman who is maybe a waitress come to see what the commotion is about. Slavi tries to explain but these two Americans don\'t understand what the big deal is. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, that scene seems to sum up much of America. The man and women were not rude to Slavi--they just get what the big deal was. They watched him but couldn\'t connect with him or share in his excitement.\r\n\r\nThere was an undercurrent of loneliness in this scene and those that followed. The solitary act of truck driving only enhanced this.\r\n\r\nAs a result, I\'ve found myself thinking about issues of place and home and how we put roots down as well as the complicated act of return.\r\n\r\nI was generally happy with the movie. I will say that it ended more abruptly than I thought it would. And then I found myself a little surprised to learn that this film was based on a true story. I think this is because in someways this story seems like it could be anyone\'s story. There\'s nothing really fantastic or unexpected about it.\r\n\r\nMy Bulgarian friend? Well, less impressed.\r\n\r\nFunny, I thought Bulgarians were <em>obliged</em> to like Bulgarian films.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I was interested in why this was the case. It boiled down to this: Slavi didn\'t <em>do</em> anything with his life (I\'ve  paraphrased). This I thought was interesting criticism and gets at the idea of what we owe ourselves and others who have made sacrifices for us or whom we have left behind.\r\n\r\nSo for those of my readers who have seen the film, what did you think?','Footprints in the Sand or Стъпки в пясъка','','inherit','open','open','','4674-revision-2','','','2011-04-02 12:20:12','2011-04-02 10:20:12','',4674,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4674-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4680,1,'2011-04-02 12:29:33','2011-04-02 10:29:33','I saw the Bulgarian movie <a title=\"Footprints in the Sand\" href=\"http://www.programata.bg/index.php?p=30&amp;l=2&amp;c=1&amp;id=60969\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints in the Sand (Стъпки в пясъка)</a> this past week.  I watched in Bulgarian with a Bulgarian friend. I didn\'t understand everything, far from it in fact, but I got the gist of things and these days that\'s good enough for me.\r\n\r\nThe basic plot is this: a guy Slavi escapes from Bulgaria during communism. He spends part of this time in Austria and part of this time in the United States. Ultimately, he returns after the wall falls and ends up retelling most of the story of his life in the Sofia Airport.\r\n\r\n<a>Footprints in the Sand</a>\r\n\r\nWhile the flash backs to life in Bulgaria during communism were interesting, I was most struck by the representations of the United States through a foreigner\'s eyes. Especially the moment in which Slavi is a truck driver in the States and in a truck stop using the bathroom and while watching the news. He is in the middle-of-nowhere America and sees on tv the Berlin Wall falling. He is ecstatic. Shouting. Jumping around. Singing. Another truck driver and a woman who is maybe a waitress come to see what the commotion is about. Slavi tries to explain but these two Americans don\'t understand what the big deal is. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, that scene seems to sum up much of America. The man and women were not rude to Slavi--they just get what the big deal was. They watched him but couldn\'t connect with him or share in his excitement.\r\n\r\nThere was an undercurrent of loneliness in this scene and those that followed. The solitary act of truck driving only enhanced this.\r\n\r\nAs a result, I\'ve found myself thinking about issues of place and home and how we put roots down as well as the complicated act of return.\r\n\r\nI was generally happy with the movie. I will say that it ended more abruptly than I thought it would. And then I found myself a little surprised to learn that this film was based on a true story. I think this is because in someways this story seems like it could be anyone\'s story. There\'s nothing really fantastic or unexpected about it.\r\n\r\nMy Bulgarian friend? Well, less impressed.\r\n\r\nFunny, I thought Bulgarians were <em>obliged</em> to like Bulgarian films.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I was interested in why this was the case. It boiled down to this: Slavi didn\'t <em>do</em> anything with his life (I\'ve  paraphrased). This I thought was interesting criticism and gets at the idea of what we owe ourselves and others who have made sacrifices for us or whom we have left behind.\r\n\r\nSo for those of my readers who have seen the film, what did you think?','Footprints in the Sand or Стъпки в пясъка','','inherit','open','open','','4674-revision-5','','','2011-04-02 12:29:33','2011-04-02 10:29:33','',4674,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4674-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4678,1,'2011-04-02 12:37:30','2011-04-02 10:37:30','I saw the Bulgarian movie <a title=\"Footprints in the Sand\" href=\"http://www.programata.bg/index.php?p=30&amp;l=2&amp;c=1&amp;id=60969\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints in the Sand (Стъпки в пясъка)</a> this past week.  I watched in Bulgarian with a Bulgarian friend. I didn\'t understand everything, far from it in fact, but I got the gist of things and these days that\'s good enough for me.\n\nThe basic plot is this: a guy Slavi escapes from Bulgaria during communism. He spends part of this time in Austria and part of this time in the United States. Ultimately, he returns after the wall falls and ends up retelling most of the story of his life in the Sofia Airport.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkXmIjOZF8Q\">Footprints in the Sand</a> (I have no idea why I can\'t get the youtube video clip to embed in my post. I\'ve tried to make it work for 20 minutes and now I am giving up. Sorry.)\n\nWhile the flash backs to life in Bulgaria during communism were interesting, I was most struck by the representations of the United States through a foreigner\'s eyes. Especially the moment in which Slavi is a truck driver in the States and in a truck stop using the bathroom and while watching the news. He is in the middle-of-nowhere America and sees on tv the Berlin Wall falling. He is ecstatic. Shouting. Jumping around. Singing. Another truck driver and a woman who is maybe a waitress come to see what the commotion is about. Slavi tries to explain but these two Americans don\'t understand what the big deal is. <!--more-->\n\nFor better or worse, that scene seems to sum up much of America. The man and women were not rude to Slavi--they just get what the big deal was. They watched him but couldn\'t connect with him or share in his excitement.\n\nThere was an undercurrent of loneliness in this scene and those that followed. The solitary act of truck driving only enhanced this.\n\nAs a result, I\'ve found myself thinking about issues of place and home and how we put roots down as well as the complicated act of return.\n\nI was generally happy with the movie. I will say that it ended more abruptly than I thought it would. And then I found myself a little surprised to learn that this film was based on a true story. I think this is because in someways this story seems like it could be anyone\'s story. There\'s nothing really fantastic or unexpected about it.\n\nMy Bulgarian friend? Well, less impressed.\n\nFunny, I thought Bulgarians were <em>obliged</em> to like Bulgarian films.\n\nAnyhow, I was interested in why this was the case. It boiled down to this: Slavi didn\'t <em>do</em> anything with his life (I\'ve  paraphrased). This I thought was interesting criticism and gets at the idea of what we owe ourselves and others who have made sacrifices for us or whom we have left behind.\n\nSo for those of my readers who have seen the film, what did you think?','Footprints in the Sand or Стъпки в пясъка','','inherit','open','open','','4674-autosave','','','2011-04-02 12:37:30','2011-04-02 10:37:30','',4674,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4674-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4679,1,'2011-04-02 12:23:31','2011-04-02 10:23:31','I saw the Bulgarian movie <a title=\"Footprints in the Sand\" href=\"http://www.programata.bg/index.php?p=30&amp;l=2&amp;c=1&amp;id=60969\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints in the Sand (Стъпки в пясъка)</a> this past week.  I watched in Bulgarian with a Bulgarian friend. I didn\'t understand everything, far from it in fact, but I got the gist of things and these days that\'s good enough for me.\r\n\r\nThe basic plot is this: a guy Slavi escapes from Bulgaria during communism. He spends part of this time in Austria and part of this time in the United States. Ultimately, he returns after the wall falls and ends up retelling most of the story of his life in the Sofia Airport.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkXmIjOZF8Q\">Footprints in the Sand</a>\r\n\r\nWhile the flash backs to life in Bulgaria during communism were interesting, I was most struck by the representations of the United States through a foreigner\'s eyes. Especially the moment in which Slavi is a truck driver in the States and in a truck stop using the bathroom and while watching the news. He is in the middle-of-nowhere America and sees on tv the Berlin Wall falling. He is ecstatic. Shouting. Jumping around. Singing. Another truck driver and a woman who is maybe a waitress come to see what the commotion is about. Slavi tries to explain but these two Americans don\'t understand what the big deal is. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, that scene seems to sum up much of America. The man and women were not rude to Slavi--they just get what the big deal was. They watched him but couldn\'t connect with him or share in his excitement.\r\n\r\nThere was an undercurrent of loneliness in this scene and those that followed. The solitary act of truck driving only enhanced this.\r\n\r\nAs a result, I\'ve found myself thinking about issues of place and home and how we put roots down as well as the complicated act of return.\r\n\r\nI was generally happy with the movie. I will say that it ended more abruptly than I thought it would. And then I found myself a little surprised to learn that this film was based on a true story. I think this is because in someways this story seems like it could be anyone\'s story. There\'s nothing really fantastic or unexpected about it.\r\n\r\nMy Bulgarian friend? Well, less impressed.\r\n\r\nFunny, I thought Bulgarians were <em>obliged</em> to like Bulgarian films.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I was interested in why this was the case. It boiled down to this: Slavi didn\'t <em>do</em> anything with his life (I\'ve  paraphrased). This I thought was interesting criticism and gets at the idea of what we owe ourselves and others who have made sacrifices for us or whom we have left behind.\r\n\r\nSo for those of my readers who have seen the film, what did you think?','Footprints in the Sand or Стъпки в пясъка','','inherit','open','open','','4674-revision-4','','','2011-04-02 12:23:31','2011-04-02 10:23:31','',4674,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4674-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4681,1,'2011-04-02 12:30:34','2011-04-02 10:30:34','I saw the Bulgarian movie <a title=\"Footprints in the Sand\" href=\"http://www.programata.bg/index.php?p=30&amp;l=2&amp;c=1&amp;id=60969\" target=\"_blank\">Footprints in the Sand (Стъпки в пясъка)</a> this past week.  I watched in Bulgarian with a Bulgarian friend. I didn\'t understand everything, far from it in fact, but I got the gist of things and these days that\'s good enough for me.\r\n\r\nThe basic plot is this: a guy Slavi escapes from Bulgaria during communism. He spends part of this time in Austria and part of this time in the United States. Ultimately, he returns after the wall falls and ends up retelling most of the story of his life in the Sofia Airport.\r\n\r\n<a></a><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkXmIjOZF8Q\">Footprints in the Sand</a>\r\n\r\nWhile the flash backs to life in Bulgaria during communism were interesting, I was most struck by the representations of the United States through a foreigner\'s eyes. Especially the moment in which Slavi is a truck driver in the States and in a truck stop using the bathroom and while watching the news. He is in the middle-of-nowhere America and sees on tv the Berlin Wall falling. He is ecstatic. Shouting. Jumping around. Singing. Another truck driver and a woman who is maybe a waitress come to see what the commotion is about. Slavi tries to explain but these two Americans don\'t understand what the big deal is. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nFor better or worse, that scene seems to sum up much of America. The man and women were not rude to Slavi--they just get what the big deal was. They watched him but couldn\'t connect with him or share in his excitement.\r\n\r\nThere was an undercurrent of loneliness in this scene and those that followed. The solitary act of truck driving only enhanced this.\r\n\r\nAs a result, I\'ve found myself thinking about issues of place and home and how we put roots down as well as the complicated act of return.\r\n\r\nI was generally happy with the movie. I will say that it ended more abruptly than I thought it would. And then I found myself a little surprised to learn that this film was based on a true story. I think this is because in someways this story seems like it could be anyone\'s story. There\'s nothing really fantastic or unexpected about it.\r\n\r\nMy Bulgarian friend? Well, less impressed.\r\n\r\nFunny, I thought Bulgarians were <em>obliged</em> to like Bulgarian films.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I was interested in why this was the case. It boiled down to this: Slavi didn\'t <em>do</em> anything with his life (I\'ve  paraphrased). This I thought was interesting criticism and gets at the idea of what we owe ourselves and others who have made sacrifices for us or whom we have left behind.\r\n\r\nSo for those of my readers who have seen the film, what did you think?','Footprints in the Sand or Стъпки в пясъка','','inherit','open','open','','4674-revision-6','','','2011-04-02 12:30:34','2011-04-02 10:30:34','',4674,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4674-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4682,1,'2011-04-03 08:14:05','2011-04-03 06:14:05','I love you all but I won\'t be writing for a week because it\'s spring break and I am in Portugal.\r\n\r\nHere\'s my basic itinerary: three days in Lisbon, two in Porto and one day I am leaving open for wherever my adventure takes me.\r\n\r\nI\'ll be back next Saturday afternoon.\r\n\r\nTalk to you then. Okay?!','Spring Break: Portugal ','','publish','open','open','','spring-break-portugal','','','2011-04-02 13:14:27','2011-04-02 11:14:27','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4682',0,'post','',2),(4683,1,'2011-04-02 13:13:50','2011-04-02 11:13:50','I love you all but I won\'t be writing for a week because it\'s spring break and I am in Portugal.\n\nHere\'s my basic itinerary: three days in Lisbon, two in Porto and one day I am leaving open for wherever my adventure takes me.\n\nI\'ll be back next Saturday afternoon.\n\nTalk to you then. Okay?!','Spring Break: Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4682-revision','','','2011-04-02 13:13:50','2011-04-02 11:13:50','',4682,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4682-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4684,1,'2011-04-02 13:14:04','2011-04-02 11:14:04','I love you all but I won\'t be writing for a week because it\'s spring break and I am in Portugal.\r\n\r\nHere\'s my basic itinerary: three days in Lisbon, two in Porto and one day I am leaving open for wherever my adventure takes me.\r\n\r\nI\'ll be back next Saturday afternoon.\r\n\r\nTalk to you then. Okay?!','Spring Break: Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4682-revision-2','','','2011-04-02 13:14:04','2011-04-02 11:14:04','',4682,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/02/4682-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4686,1,'2011-04-10 20:02:12','2011-04-10 18:02:12','','Praca do Comercio and King Jose I','Praca do Comercio and King Jose I','inherit','open','open','','img_7310','','','2011-04-10 20:02:12','2011-04-10 18:02:12','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4687,1,'2011-04-10 19:56:52','2011-04-10 17:56:52','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\n\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\n\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\n\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, catch up on some sleep','Back from Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4685-revision','','','2011-04-10 19:56:52','2011-04-10 17:56:52','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/4685-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4688,1,'2011-04-10 20:07:12','2011-04-10 18:07:12','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\n\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\n\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\n\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, set my alarm clock for 6 am and try to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead of me.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4686\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4686\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4686\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4686\" title=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]','Back from Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4685-revision-2','','','2011-04-10 20:07:12','2011-04-10 18:07:12','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/4685-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4689,1,'2011-04-10 20:07:42','2011-04-10 18:07:42','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\r\n\r\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\r\n\r\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, set my alarm clock for 6 am and try to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead of me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4686\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4686\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4686\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4686 \" title=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>','Back from Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4685-revision-3','','','2011-04-10 20:07:42','2011-04-10 18:07:42','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/4685-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4690,1,'2011-04-10 20:11:03','2011-04-10 18:11:03','','Tram in Lisbon','Tram in Lisbon','inherit','open','open','','img_7685','','','2011-04-10 20:11:03','2011-04-10 18:11:03','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7685.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4691,1,'2011-04-10 20:14:48','2011-04-10 18:14:48','','Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle','Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle','inherit','open','open','','img_7733','','','2011-04-10 20:14:48','2011-04-10 18:14:48','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7733.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4692,1,'2011-04-10 20:08:12','2011-04-10 18:08:12','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\n\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\n\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\n\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, set my alarm clock for 6 am and try to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead of me.\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4686\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4686\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4686\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4686 \" title=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n</p>','Back from Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4685-revision-4','','','2011-04-10 20:08:12','2011-04-10 18:08:12','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/4685-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4693,1,'2011-04-10 20:16:22','2011-04-10 18:16:22','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\r\n\r\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\r\n\r\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, set my alarm clock for 6 am and try to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead of me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4686\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4686\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4686\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4686 \" title=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4690\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Tram in Lisbon\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4690\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4690\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4690 \" title=\"Tram in Lisbon\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7685-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4691\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4691\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4691\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4691 \" title=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7733-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>','Back from Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4685-revision-5','','','2011-04-10 20:16:22','2011-04-10 18:16:22','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/4685-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4694,1,'2011-04-10 20:16:23','2011-04-10 18:16:23','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\r\n\r\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\r\n\r\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, set my alarm clock for 6 am and try to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead of me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4686\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4686\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4686\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4686 \" title=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4690\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Tram in Lisbon\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4690\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4690\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4690 \" title=\"Tram in Lisbon\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7685-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4691\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4691\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4691\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4691 \" title=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7733-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>','Back from Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4685-revision-6','','','2011-04-10 20:16:23','2011-04-10 18:16:23','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/4685-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4695,1,'2011-04-10 20:17:05','2011-04-10 18:17:05','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\r\n\r\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\r\n\r\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, set my alarm clock for 6 am and try to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead of me.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4686\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4686\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4686\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4686 \" title=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4690\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Tram in Lisbon\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4690\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4690\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4690 \" title=\"Tram in Lisbon\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7685-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4691\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4691\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4691\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4691 \" title=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7733-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>','Back from Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4685-revision-7','','','2011-04-10 20:17:05','2011-04-10 18:17:05','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/4685-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4696,1,'2011-04-11 05:16:10','2011-04-11 03:16:10','I am back from my holiday to Portugal! I had a wonderful time. I took 846 photos. I ate a lot of great food. I met some interesting people. I climbed some serious hills.\n\nBut like all good trips, I am glad to be home. It\'s nice to sleep in my own bed. To eat a lot of vegetables. To talk to my MoM and dAd on skype.\n\nOnly problem is, I have to go back to work tomorrow. Funny how that works. To have a vacation means that you also must have a job.\n\nSo I\'ll leave you with some photos before I crawl into bed, set my alarm clock for 6 am and try to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead of me.\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4686\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4686\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/back-from-portugal/img_7310/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4686 \" title=\"Praca do Comercio and King Jose I\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7310-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4690\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Tram in Lisbon\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4690\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/back-from-portugal/img_7685/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4690 \" title=\"Tram in Lisbon\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7685-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4691\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4691\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/10/back-from-portugal/img_7733/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4691 \" title=\"Lisbon and the Sao Jorge Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7733-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]','Back from Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4685-autosave','','','2011-04-11 05:16:10','2011-04-11 03:16:10','',4685,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4685-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4697,1,'2011-04-11 06:14:11','2011-04-11 04:14:11','Even though Lisbon has a long rich history, it feels like a pretty young hip city and it\'s crawling with German tourists. Probably for a good reason. Lisbon is great but I only ran into a handful of other Americans.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4698\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Stairs and Tiles!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4698\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/lisbon-portugal/img_7705/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4698 \" title=\"Stairs and Tiles!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7705-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIt got me wondering why Portugal isn\'t more popular among American travelers/tourists and frankly I couldn\'t come up with a good reason. That\'s okay with me though. American tourists are often loud and while I think other tourists can be loud it\'s more annoying when you can understand everything that\'s being said--from which stop to get off at, to the price of meals, to which museum to go to, to perceived rudeness or slights in any shape or form.  It\'s tiresome and I get embarrassed easily for these tourists so it\'s better that the streets of Lisbon are relatively American-tourist free when compared to the Germans. <!--more-->\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4699\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"The City and part of the Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4699\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/lisbon-portugal/img_7658/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4699 \" title=\"The City and part of the Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7658-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>\r\nI think one of the biggest lessons from all of the traveling I\'ve done is this speak softly, tone down your voice and consider the fact that you never, ever know who speaks/understands English near you. All in all, teenagers across Europe are loud but seemingly almost everyone else is much quieter on public transportation, in cafes or on the streets than we are in America.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4700\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"368\" caption=\"Greenery in the Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4700\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/lisbon-portugal/img_7676/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4700  \" title=\"Greenery in the Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7676-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"245\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nBut back to Lisbon, I spent a lot of time wandering around this town. There\'s so much to see.  I was impressed by all of the tourist sights but one unexpected thing were all of the beautiful, large, well maintained parks in the city. Lisbon seems to be a city that cares about green space and in a big city it\'s a pleasure to turn a corner and find a park, benches and an outdoor cafe.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4701\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Historic Downtown!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4701\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/lisbon-portugal/img_7752/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4701 \" title=\"Historic Downtown!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7752-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>\r\nI hit up all of the major sights in the city. The view from the castle is impressive. I spent a night drinking on the streets of Bairro Alto. This was intense with street after street packed full of people drinking and walking around. I did some shopping in Baixa. And I took my fair share of trolley rides. Hello #28 and #15!!','Lisbon, Portugal ','','publish','open','open','','lisbon-portugal','','','2011-04-11 06:14:11','2011-04-11 04:14:11','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4697',0,'post','',0),(4698,1,'2011-04-11 05:55:06','2011-04-11 03:55:06','','Stairs and Tiles!','Stairs and Tiles!','inherit','open','open','','img_7705','','','2011-04-11 05:55:06','2011-04-11 03:55:06','',4697,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7705.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4699,1,'2011-04-11 05:56:24','2011-04-11 03:56:24','','The City and part of the Castle ','The City and part of the Castle ','inherit','open','open','','img_7658','','','2011-04-11 05:56:24','2011-04-11 03:56:24','',4697,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7658.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4700,1,'2011-04-11 06:07:09','2011-04-11 04:07:09','','Greenery in the Castle','Greenery in the Castle','inherit','open','open','','img_7676','','','2011-04-11 06:07:09','2011-04-11 04:07:09','',4697,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7676.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4701,1,'2011-04-11 06:09:58','2011-04-11 04:09:58','','Historic Downtown!','Historic Downtown!','inherit','open','open','','img_7752','','','2011-04-11 06:09:58','2011-04-11 04:09:58','',4697,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7752.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4702,1,'2011-04-11 06:13:12','2011-04-11 04:13:12','Even though Lisbon has a long rich history, it feels like a pretty young hip city and it\'s crawling with German tourists. Probably for a good reason. Lisbon is great but I only ran into a handful of other Americans.\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4698\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Stairs and Tiles!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4698\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4698\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4698 \" title=\"Stairs and Tiles!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7705-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n</p>\nIt got me wondering why Portugal isn\'t more popular among American travelers/tourists and frankly I couldn\'t come up with a good reason. That\'s okay with me though. American tourists are often loud and while I think other tourists can be loud it\'s more annoying when you can understand everything that\'s being said--from which stop to get off at, to the price of meals, to which museum to go to, to perceived rudeness or slights in any shape or form.  It\'s tiresome and I get embarrassed easily for these tourists so it\'s better that the streets of Lisbon are relatively American-tourist free when compared to the Germans. <!--more-->\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4699\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"The City and part of the Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4699\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4699\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4699 \" title=\"The City and part of the Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7658-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n</p>\nI think one of the biggest lessons from all of the traveling I\'ve done is this speak softly, tone down your voice and consider the fact that you never, ever know who speaks/understands English near you. All in all, teenagers across Europe are loud but seemingly almost everyone else is much quieter on public transportation, in cafes or on the streets than we are in America.\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4700\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"368\" caption=\"Greenery in the Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4700\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4700\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4700  \" title=\"Greenery in the Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7676-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"245\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">But back to Lisbon, I spent a lot of time wandering around this town. There\'s so much to see.  I was impressed by all of the tourist sights but one unexpected thing were all of the beautiful, large, well maintained parks in the city. Lisbon seems to be a city that cares about green space and in a big city it\'s a pleasure to turn a corner and find a park, benches and an outdoor cafe.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4701\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Historic Downtown!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4701\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4701\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4701 \" title=\"Historic Downtown!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7752-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n</p>\nI hit up all of the major sights in the city. The view from the castle is impressive. I spent a night drinking on the streets of Bairro Alto. This was intense with street after street packed full of people drinking and walking around. I did some shopping in Baixa. And I took my fair share of trolley rides. Hello #28 and #','Lisbon, Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4697-revision','','','2011-04-11 06:13:12','2011-04-11 04:13:12','',4697,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4697-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4703,1,'2011-04-11 06:14:11','2011-04-11 04:14:11','Even though Lisbon has a long rich history, it feels like a pretty young hip city and it\'s crawling with German tourists. Probably for a good reason. Lisbon is great but I only ran into a handful of other Americans.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4698\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Stairs and Tiles!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4698\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4698\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4698 \" title=\"Stairs and Tiles!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7705-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIt got me wondering why Portugal isn\'t more popular among American travelers/tourists and frankly I couldn\'t come up with a good reason. That\'s okay with me though. American tourists are often loud and while I think other tourists can be loud it\'s more annoying when you can understand everything that\'s being said--from which stop to get off at, to the price of meals, to which museum to go to, to perceived rudeness or slights in any shape or form.  It\'s tiresome and I get embarrassed easily for these tourists so it\'s better that the streets of Lisbon are relatively American-tourist free when compared to the Germans. <!--more-->\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4699\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"The City and part of the Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4699\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4699\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4699 \" title=\"The City and part of the Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7658-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>\r\nI think one of the biggest lessons from all of the traveling I\'ve done is this speak softly, tone down your voice and consider the fact that you never, ever know who speaks/understands English near you. All in all, teenagers across Europe are loud but seemingly almost everyone else is much quieter on public transportation, in cafes or on the streets than we are in America.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4700\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"368\" caption=\"Greenery in the Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4700\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4700\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4700  \" title=\"Greenery in the Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7676-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"245\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nBut back to Lisbon, I spent a lot of time wandering around this town. There\'s so much to see.  I was impressed by all of the tourist sights but one unexpected thing were all of the beautiful, large, well maintained parks in the city. Lisbon seems to be a city that cares about green space and in a big city it\'s a pleasure to turn a corner and find a park, benches and an outdoor cafe.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4701\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Historic Downtown!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4701\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4701\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4701 \" title=\"Historic Downtown!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7752-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</p>\r\nI hit up all of the major sights in the city. The view from the castle is impressive. I spent a night drinking on the streets of Bairro Alto. This was intense with street after street packed full of people drinking and walking around. I did some shopping in Baixa. And I took my fair share of trolley rides. Hello #28 and #15!!','Lisbon, Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4697-revision-2','','','2011-04-11 06:14:11','2011-04-11 04:14:11','',4697,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4697-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4704,1,'2011-04-11 16:58:23','2011-04-11 14:58:23','Even though Lisbon has a long rich history, it feels like a pretty young hip city and it\'s crawling with German tourists. Probably for a good reason. Lisbon is great but I only ran into a handful of other Americans.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4698\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Stairs and Tiles!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4698\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/lisbon-portugal/img_7705/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4698 \" title=\"Stairs and Tiles!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7705-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nIt got me wondering why Portugal isn\'t more popular among American travelers/tourists and frankly I couldn\'t come up with a good reason. That\'s okay with me though. American tourists are often loud and while I think other tourists can be loud it\'s more annoying when you can understand everything that\'s being said--from which stop to get off at, to the price of meals, to which museum to go to, to perceived rudeness or slights in any shape or form.  It\'s tiresome and I get embarrassed easily for these tourists so it\'s better that the streets of Lisbon are relatively American-tourist free when compared to the Germans. <!--more-->\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4699\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"The City and part of the Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4699\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/lisbon-portugal/img_7658/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4699 \" title=\"The City and part of the Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7658-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI think one of the biggest lessons from all of the traveling I\'ve done is this speak softly, tone down your voice and consider the fact that you never, ever know who speaks/understands English near you. All in all, teenagers across Europe are loud but seemingly almost everyone else is much quieter on public transportation, in cafes or on the streets than we are in America.\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4700\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"368\" caption=\"Greenery in the Castle\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4700\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/lisbon-portugal/img_7676/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4700  \" title=\"Greenery in the Castle\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7676-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"245\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nBut back to Lisbon, I spent a lot of time wandering around this town. There\'s so much to see.  I was impressed by all of the tourist sights but one unexpected thing were all of the beautiful, large, well maintained parks in the city. Lisbon seems to be a city that cares about green space and in a big city it\'s a pleasure to turn a corner and find a park, benches and an outdoor cafe.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4701\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Historic Downtown!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4701\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/lisbon-portugal/img_7752/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4701 \" title=\"Historic Downtown!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7752-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI hit up all of the major sights in the city. The view from the castle is impressive. I spent a night drinking on the streets of Bairro Alto. This was intense with street after street packed full of people drinking and walking around. I did some shopping in Baixa. And I took my fair share of trolley rides. Hello #28 and #15!!','Lisbon, Portugal ','','inherit','open','open','','4697-autosave','','','2011-04-11 16:58:23','2011-04-11 14:58:23','',4697,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4697-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4705,1,'2011-04-11 21:21:29','2011-04-11 19:21:29','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/life-maintenance/mmm/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep.\r\n\r\nI am finishing year three and getting ready for year four. <em>Crazy, huna?!</em>\r\n\r\nThree-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of.\r\n\r\nLike a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me it would be a mess.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal!!\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos me un-smiling with my glasses falling down my nose, slightly greasy bangs and cardigan falling off one shoulder and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s <em>exactly</em> how I feel.\r\n\r\nOh, for the record, it\'s in my nature to smile for photos but this is forbidden for document photos in Bulgaria.','Life Maintenance ','','publish','open','open','','life-maintenance','','','2011-04-11 21:21:29','2011-04-11 19:21:29','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4705',0,'post','',7),(4706,1,'2011-04-11 21:12:35','2011-04-11 19:12:35','','My work permit photo','My work permit photo','inherit','open','open','','mmm','','','2011-04-11 21:12:35','2011-04-11 19:12:35','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4707,1,'2011-04-11 21:11:32','2011-04-11 19:11:32','I don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\n\nYep. I am looking at year four in Sofia, Bulgaria. Three-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\n\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of. Like a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me I would probably never get a work permit and without a work permit you can\'t get your residency permit/card which means you aren\'t allowed to stay in Bulgaria.\n\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\n\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal.\n\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\n\nI looked at my final photos and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s exactly how I feel.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision','','','2011-04-11 21:11:32','2011-04-11 19:11:32','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4712,1,'2011-04-11 21:17:43','2011-04-11 19:17:43','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep.\r\n\r\nI am finishing year three and getting ready for year four. <em>Crazy, huna?!</em>\r\n\r\nThree-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of.\r\n\r\nLike a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me it would be a mess.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal!!\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos me un-smiling with my glasses falling down my nose and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s exactly how I feel.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-6','','','2011-04-11 21:17:43','2011-04-11 19:17:43','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4708,1,'2011-04-11 21:13:12','2011-04-11 19:13:12','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"413\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706\" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"413\" height=\"531\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep. I am looking at year four in Sofia, Bulgaria. Three-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of. Like a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me I would probably never get a work permit and without a work permit you can\'t get your residency permit/card which means you aren\'t allowed to stay in Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal.\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s exactly how I feel.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-2','','','2011-04-11 21:13:12','2011-04-11 19:13:12','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4709,1,'2011-04-11 21:13:12','2011-04-11 19:13:12','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"413\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706\" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"413\" height=\"531\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep. I am looking at year four in Sofia, Bulgaria. Three-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of. Like a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me I would probably never get a work permit and without a work permit you can\'t get your residency permit/card which means you aren\'t allowed to stay in Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal.\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s exactly how I feel.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-3','','','2011-04-11 21:13:12','2011-04-11 19:13:12','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4710,1,'2011-04-11 21:13:46','2011-04-11 19:13:46','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep. I am looking at year four in Sofia, Bulgaria. Three-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of. Like a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me I would probably never get a work permit and without a work permit you can\'t get your residency permit/card which means you aren\'t allowed to stay in Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal.\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s exactly how I feel.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-4','','','2011-04-11 21:13:46','2011-04-11 19:13:46','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4711,1,'2011-04-11 21:13:46','2011-04-11 19:13:46','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep. I am looking at year four in Sofia, Bulgaria. Three-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of. Like a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me I would probably never get a work permit and without a work permit you can\'t get your residency permit/card which means you aren\'t allowed to stay in Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal.\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s exactly how I feel.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-5','','','2011-04-11 21:13:46','2011-04-11 19:13:46','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4713,1,'2011-04-11 21:17:43','2011-04-11 19:17:43','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep.\r\n\r\nI am finishing year three and getting ready for year four. <em>Crazy, huna?!</em>\r\n\r\nThree-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of.\r\n\r\nLike a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me it would be a mess.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal!!\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos me un-smiling with my glasses falling down my nose and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s exactly how I feel.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-7','','','2011-04-11 21:17:43','2011-04-11 19:17:43','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4714,1,'2011-04-11 21:17:45','2011-04-11 19:17:45','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep.\r\n\r\nI am finishing year three and getting ready for year four. <em>Crazy, huna?!</em>\r\n\r\nThree-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of.\r\n\r\nLike a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me it would be a mess.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal!!\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos me un-smiling with my glasses falling down my nose and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s exactly how I feel.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-8','','','2011-04-11 21:17:45','2011-04-11 19:17:45','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4715,1,'2011-04-11 21:20:50','2011-04-11 19:20:50','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\n\nYep.\n\nI am finishing year three and getting ready for year four. <em>Crazy, huna?!</em>\n\nThree-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\n\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of.\n\nLike a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me it would be a mess.\n\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\n\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal!!\n\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\n\nI looked at my final photos me un-smiling with my glasses falling down my nose, slightly greasy bangs and cardigan falling off one shoulder and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s <em>exactly</em> how I feel.\n\nOh, for the record, it\'s in my nature to smile for photos but this is forbidden for document photos in Bulgaria.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-9','','','2011-04-11 21:20:50','2011-04-11 19:20:50','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4716,1,'2011-04-11 21:21:29','2011-04-11 19:21:29','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4706\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\r\n\r\nYep.\r\n\r\nI am finishing year three and getting ready for year four. <em>Crazy, huna?!</em>\r\n\r\nThree-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\r\n\r\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of.\r\n\r\nLike a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me it would be a mess.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\r\n\r\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal!!\r\n\r\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\r\n\r\nI looked at my final photos me un-smiling with my glasses falling down my nose, slightly greasy bangs and cardigan falling off one shoulder and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s <em>exactly</em> how I feel.\r\n\r\nOh, for the record, it\'s in my nature to smile for photos but this is forbidden for document photos in Bulgaria.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-revision-10','','','2011-04-11 21:21:29','2011-04-11 19:21:29','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(4717,1,'2011-04-11 21:22:36','2011-04-11 19:22:36','[caption id=\"attachment_4706\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"248\" caption=\"My work permit photo\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4706\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/life-maintenance/mmm/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-4706 \" title=\"My work permit photo\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mmm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"319\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI don\'t know if I\'ve made this clear on my blog but here goes: I\'ve signed a contract to teach at ACS for this next school year.\n\nYep.\n\nI am finishing year three and getting ready for year four. <em>Crazy, huna?!</em>\n\nThree-plus years ago when I applied for my Fulbright I never imagined that I would still be here. Funny how that works.\n\nNow I\'ve got some life maintenance tasks to take care of.\n\nLike a work permit. Luckily for me, ACS really takes care of all of my paperwork. I am told what documents to bring, how many photos are needed and where to sign and I obligingly follow these commands. I am very happy to do these things because frankly, if it were up to me it would be a mess.<!--more-->\n\nAnyhow, today I had to go to Hit and get some passport photos taken for step one of the hoops I\'ll be jumping through over the next few months to renew my work permit and residency card. The good news is that I am becoming a pro at this after already having done three different times.\n\nSo I got my photo taken today. At Hit you get four passport sized photos and a cd with your photo on it--all for five leva. It\'s really a deal!!\n\nOnly today, I look pretty disheveled. It\'s the first day back from spring break so the students were a little riled up and by the end of the day no one wanted to sit still. On top of this, I taught six hours of classes, met with a handful of students, did some grading and wrote three different quizzes. That\'s a lot for one day between the hours of 8 and 4.  Then I marched over to get my picture taken.\n\nI looked at my final photos me un-smiling with my glasses falling down my nose, slightly greasy bangs and cardigan falling off one shoulder and thought: Yep. That sums up my day. That\'s <em>exactly</em> how I feel.\n\nOh, for the record, it\'s in my nature to smile for photos but this is forbidden for document photos in Bulgaria.','Life Maintenance ','','inherit','open','open','','4705-autosave','','','2011-04-11 21:22:36','2011-04-11 19:22:36','',4705,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/11/4705-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4718,1,'2011-04-20 06:00:00','2011-04-20 04:00:00','Maybe you remember that just a little over a week ago I was in Portugal for Spring Break. Maybe not. The thing is given how busy I\'ve been this past week, it\'s hard for me to remember that 10 days ago I was exploring an entirely different country. These days it seems like I\'ve always lived in Sofia.\r\n\r\nLuckily I have the pictures to prove that I was there!!\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4721\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Gardens!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4721\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/20/portugal-sintra-in-a-day/img_7450/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4721 \" title=\"Gardens!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7450-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nBut it turns out that I have some really beautiful photos which prove that I was in Portugal and took a day trip to this incredible little town called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintra\">Sintra</a>. A town my guidebook called \"the summer retreat of Portugal\'s kings.\" It\'s not a town that will let you down or disappoint you.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4719\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"View from upper street in Sintra\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4719\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/20/portugal-sintra-in-a-day/img_7389/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4719 \" title=\"View from upper street in Sintra\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7389-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nWhile a guidebook can give you plenty of names, dates and funny little stories they can never however do justice to the beauty of a place. In spring, the nature surrounding Sintra was a multitude greens. I couldn\'t get enough of it.\r\n\r\nLord Byron apparently also dug Sintra. I can see why.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4720\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Main Street of Sintra\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4720\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/20/portugal-sintra-in-a-day/img_7408/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4720 \" title=\"Main Street of Sintra\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7408-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThere are two great castles/palaces--the National Palace and Pena Palace--in and around the city. While climbing the hill to the second palace--Pena--for the first time in my entire life I wondered: what makes a building a castle? and what makes a building a palace?\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4722\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Fairy-tale Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4722\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/20/portugal-sintra-in-a-day/img_7503/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4722 \" title=\"Fairy-tale Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7503-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI think it\'s okay to wonder these things as an American. It\'s not like we do palaces or castles in America.\r\n\r\nBut do you want to know who does palaces well? The Portuguese.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4723\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"More Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4723\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/20/portugal-sintra-in-a-day/img_7554/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4723 \" title=\"More of the Pena Palace \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7554-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Pena Palace is amazing and I bet that Prince Ferdinand who built the palace was also amazing. I told my Portuguese friends that I wanted him to be my dad so that I could live in that palace. They told me that I probably didn\'t want him as my dad. I trust them on this one because, well, they know more Portuguese history than I do.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4724\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"View from the Palace to the Atlantic Ocean\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4724\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/20/portugal-sintra-in-a-day/img_7517/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4724 \" title=\"View from the Castle to the Atlantic Ocean\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7517-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThey also know where to buy the best pastries in Sintra. That\'s why it\'s important to have friends who are locals. They also speak the language which helps.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4753\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Pastries in Sintra\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4753\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/20/portugal-sintra-in-a-day/img_7576/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4753 \" title=\"Pastries in Sintra\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7576-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThey also knew that we should try ginjinha a sweet sour-cherry liquor in a chocolate cup.  Did I mention that you get to eat the cup once you\'ve finished the liquor? Who thought of that. So Clever. And tasty. Yum. Yum.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4754\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"614\" caption=\"Drinking Ginjinha\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4754\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/20/portugal-sintra-in-a-day/img_7579/\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4754 \" title=\"Drinking Ginjinha\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7579-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"409\" /></a>[/caption]','Portugal: Sintra in a Day','','publish','open','open','','portugal-sintra-in-a-day','','','2011-04-20 06:01:30','2011-04-20 04:01:30','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4718',0,'post','',1),(4719,1,'2011-04-12 05:45:39','2011-04-12 03:45:39','','View from upper street in Sintra','View from upper street in Sintra','inherit','open','open','','img_7389','','','2011-04-12 05:45:39','2011-04-12 03:45:39','',4718,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7389.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4720,1,'2011-04-12 05:47:40','2011-04-12 03:47:40','','Main Street of Sintra','Main Street of Sintra','inherit','open','open','','img_7408','','','2011-04-12 05:47:40','2011-04-12 03:47:40','',4718,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7408.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4721,1,'2011-04-12 05:56:25','2011-04-12 03:56:25','','Gardens!','Gardens!','inherit','open','open','','img_7450','','','2011-04-12 05:56:25','2011-04-12 03:56:25','',4718,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7450.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4722,1,'2011-04-12 05:58:23','2011-04-12 03:58:23','','Fairy-tale Castle ','Fairy-tale Castle ','inherit','open','open','','img_7503','','','2011-04-12 05:58:23','2011-04-12 03:58:23','',4718,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7503.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4723,1,'2011-04-12 06:01:30','2011-04-12 04:01:30','','More Castle ','More Castle ','inherit','open','open','','img_7554','','','2011-04-12 06:01:30','2011-04-12 04:01:30','',4718,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7554.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4724,1,'2011-04-12 06:03:22','2011-04-12 04:03:22','','View from the Castle to the Atlantic Ocean','View from the Castle to the Atlantic Ocean','inherit','open','open','','img_7517','','','2011-04-12 06:03:22','2011-04-12 04:03:22','',4718,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7517.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4725,1,'2011-04-12 06:02:02','2011-04-12 04:02:02','[caption id=\"attachment_4719\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"View from upper street in Sintra\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4719\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4719\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4719\" title=\"View from upper street in Sintra\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7389-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4720\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"Main Street of Sintra\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4720\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4720\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4720\" title=\"Main Street of Sintra\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7408-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4721\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"Gardens!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4721\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4721\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4721\" title=\"Gardens!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7450-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4722\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"Fairy-tale Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4722\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4722\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4722\" title=\"Fairy-tale Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7503-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_4723\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"More Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4723\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4723\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4723\" title=\"More Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7554-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]','A day-trip to Sintra','','inherit','open','open','','4718-revision','','','2011-04-12 06:02:02','2011-04-12 04:02:02','',4718,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/12/4718-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4726,1,'2011-04-12 06:05:50','2011-04-12 04:05:50','[caption id=\"attachment_4719\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"View from upper street in Sintra\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4719\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4719\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4719\" title=\"View from upper street in Sintra\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7389-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4720\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"Main Street of Sintra\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4720\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4720\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4720\" title=\"Main Street of Sintra\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7408-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4721\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"Gardens!\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4721\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4721\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4721\" title=\"Gardens!\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7450-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4722\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"Fairy-tale Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4722\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4722\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4722\" title=\"Fairy-tale Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7503-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4723\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"More Castle \"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4723\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4723\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4723\" title=\"More Castle \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7554-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4724\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\" caption=\"View from the Castle to the Atlantic Ocean\"]<a rel=\"attachment wp-att-4724\" href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?attachment_id=4724\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-4724\" title=\"View from the Castle to the Atlantic Ocean\" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_7517-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" /></a>[/caption]','A day-trip to Sintra','','inherit','open','open','','4718-revision-2','','','2011-04-12 06:05:50','2011-04-12 04:05:50','',4718,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/12/4718-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4727,1,'2011-04-13 22:01:34','2011-04-13 20:01:34','I just made it home from book club and I am on my way to bed but I couldn\'t help but write a quick post. <em>Why? </em>\r\n\r\nBecause it\'s the middle of April and it\'s snowing in Sofia. Okay, I know that\'s not so weird in many parts of the States this time of year but after living here in Sofia for the last two years, I have to say I\'ve never seen snow in April.\r\n\r\nI\'d heard there was rain in the forecast this week but snow!? Now that\'s just wrong.\r\n\r\nSo upon leaving book club tonight, my friend P. and I decide we need to fortify ourselves for the weather. As it turns out, this morning when it was 8 degrees Celsius, I decided it was okay to wear ballerina flats without socks, leggings, a skirt and my spring raincoat to work.  However tonight after book club, I had to borrow a pair of socks to make it home. P. had to borrow an umbrella.\r\n\r\nAnyhow we decided to take OK taxi home. Only every time I called no one picked up. And for the record, I called about five times. That\'s less than okay in my book.\r\n\r\nThat\'s when we decided that we\'d better just walk to the bus stop and hope that we can catch the 111 or the 76 bus. Luckily the 76 was rounding the corner and we just had to run a little bit to make it onto the bus. On the bus it turned out that you could see your breath. <em>Awesome</em>.\r\n\r\nOh and the bus was speeding. We made it home in record time.\r\n\r\nOnly thing I wonder now is do I have to go and collect the martenitsi that I hung in trees earlier this week because they were blooming?','Um, snow?! ','','publish','open','open','','um-snow','','','2011-04-13 22:01:34','2011-04-13 20:01:34','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=4727',0,'post','',5),(4728,1,'2011-04-13 22:00:44','2011-04-13 20:00:44','I just made it home from book club and I am on my way to bed but I couldn\'t help but write a quick post. <em>Why? </em>\n\nBecause it\'s the middle of April and it\'s snowing in Sofia. Okay, I know that\'s not so weird in many parts of the States this time of year but after living here in Sofia for the last two years, I have to say I\'ve never seen snow in April.\n\nI\'d heard there was rain in the forecast this week but snow!? Now that\'s just wrong.\n\nSo upon leaving book club tonight, my friend P. and I decide we need to fortify ourselves for the weather. As it turns out, this morning when it was 8 degrees Celsius, I decided it was okay to wear ballerina flats without socks, leggings, a skirt and my spring raincoat to work.  However tonight after book club, I had to borrow a pair of socks to make it home. P. had to borrow an umbrella.\n\nAnyhow we decided to take OK taxi home. Only every time I called no one picked up. And for the record, I called about five times. That\'s less than okay in my book.\n\nThate decided that we\'d better just walk to the bus stop and hope that we can catch the 111 or the 76 bus. Luckily the 76 was rounding the corner and we just had to run a little bit to make it onto the bus. On the bus it turned out that you could see your breath. <em>Awesome</em>. Oh and the bus was speeding. We made it home in record time.\n\nOnly thing I wonder now is do I have to go and collect the martenitsi that I hung in trees earlier this week because they were blooming?','Um, snow?! ','','inherit','open','open','','4727-revision','','','2011-04-13 22:00:44','2011-04-13 20:00:44','',4727,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/13/4727-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4729,1,'2011-04-14 05:22:27','2011-04-14 03:22:27','I just made it home from book club and I am on my way to bed but I couldn\'t help but write a quick post. <em>Why? </em>\n\nBecause it\'s the middle of April and it\'s snowing in Sofia. Okay, I know that\'s not so weird in many parts of the States this time of year but after living here in Sofia for the last two years, I have to say I\'ve never seen snow in April.\n\nI\'d heard there was rain in the forecast this week but snow!? Now that\'s just wrong.\n\nSo upon leaving book club tonight, my friend P. and I decide we need to fortify ourselves for the weather. As it turns out, this morning when it was 8 degrees Celsius, I decided it was okay to wear ballerina flats without socks, leggings, a skirt and my spring raincoat to work.  However tonight after book club, I had to borrow a pair of socks to make it home. P. had to borrow an umbrella.\n\nAnyhow we decided to take OK taxi home. Only every time I called no one picked up. And for the record, I called about five times. That\'s less than okay in my book.\n\nThat\'s when we decided that we\'d better just walk to the bus stop and hope that we can catch the 111 or the 76 bus. Luckily the 76 was rounding the corner and we just had to run a little bit to make it onto the bus. On the bus it turned out that you could see your breath. <em>Awesome</em>.\n\nOh and the bus was speeding. We made it home in record time.\n\nOnly thing I wonder now is do I have to go and collect the martenitsi that I hung in trees earlier this week because they were blooming?','Um, snow?! ','','inherit','open','open','','4727-autosave','','','2011-04-14 05:22:27','2011-04-14 03:22:27','',4727,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/14/4727-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),