(6130,1,'2012-01-16 08:41:09','2012-01-16 06:41:09','[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market veggies\"]<a title=\"Borough Market veggies by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702162421/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6702162421_c02878a318_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market veggies\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702175823/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6702175823_d90613b9da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701933639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6701933639_9639bfb029_z.jpg\" alt=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Shopping at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Shopping at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701831033/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6701831033_c264f544ec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\"]<a title=\"Borough Market and a car in the air by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701800187/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6701800187_3b835a86e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Pot Pie\"]<a title=\"Pot Pie by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701894529/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6701894529_94ceacb70d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pot Pie\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\"]<a title=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701955655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6701955655_ac76fdc59f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701835741/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6701835741_6dc5a62098_z.jpg\" alt=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nMy friend S. suggested that Borough Market is the market for food lovers. Hey, that\'s me. The first time I tried to go the market was closed for a couple of days around the New Year but I was determined and went back a few days later.\n\nI am glad that I did. The colors were wonderful. The flavors both sweet and savory. The whole experience was delicious.\n\nIt was so interesting to see people doing clever things with food but I liked the sense that I got that this market was a mix of tradition and innovation. Moreover, everyone was having fun. There were tons of people but no one was pushy. There were lines but people stood in them. There were samples and people politely took one and then talked to the vendor.\n\nI\'d wished that I had access to a kitchen of any sort because everything looked so good. The American in me also just about died when I saw fresh cranberries. I love cranberries during the holidays and they just aren\'t that easy to come by in Bulgaria. Last year I saw them once at Hit. This year I never saw them.\n\nThe crazy person in me thought about buying some but really, what I am going to do with a bag of cranberries while traveling!? It\'s not like I am going to be eating them straight out of the bag.\n\nSo I admired.\n\nI also bought a big dish of stew. Guinness stew to be exact. I guess the base of the stew is made out off Guinness beer and to this chunks of beef, cubed potatoes, carrots and leaks are added. This was really tasty and heartwarming. I was a little nervous about spilling this stew right down the front of my coat. I was given a big dish of it in a styrofoam container with a wooden spoon/fork combo. Given the fact that the container was very full, the market was crowded and I know myself I thought I was doomed but somehow I escaped unscathed.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Hot Mulled Cider\"]<a title=\"Hot Mulled Cider by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702194535/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6702194535_95bbf5599e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hot Mulled Cider\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThen I had a cup of hot mulled cider. Yum, yum.\n\nI\'d definitely go back to the Borough Market. It felt local and accessible. Sure there were plenty of tourists there but it wasn\'t too much. Yes you could easily eat too much but the market itself was very do-able in terms of size and scope.','Borough Market: a whole lot of great food','','inherit','open','open','','6127-revision-3','','','2012-01-16 08:41:09','2012-01-16 06:41:09','',6127,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/16/6127-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6129,1,'2012-01-16 08:40:09','2012-01-16 06:40:09','[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market veggies\"]<a title=\"Borough Market veggies by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702162421/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6702162421_c02878a318_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market veggies\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702175823/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6702175823_d90613b9da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701933639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6701933639_9639bfb029_z.jpg\" alt=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Shopping at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Shopping at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701831033/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6701831033_c264f544ec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\"]<a title=\"Borough Market and a car in the air by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701800187/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6701800187_3b835a86e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Pot Pie\"]<a title=\"Pot Pie by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701894529/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6701894529_94ceacb70d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pot Pie\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\"]<a title=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701955655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6701955655_ac76fdc59f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701835741/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6701835741_6dc5a62098_z.jpg\" alt=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nMy friend S. suggested that Borough Market is the market for food lovers. Hey, that\'s me. The first time I tried to go the market was closed for a couple of days around the New Year but I was determined and went back a few days later.\n\nI am glad that I did. The colors were wonderful. The flavors both sweet and savory. The whole experience was delicious.\n\nIt was so interesting to see people doing clever things with food but I liked the sense that I got that this market was a mix of tradition and innovation. Moreover, everyone was having fun. There were tons of people but no one was pushy. There were lines but people stood in them. There were samples and people politely took one and then talked to the vendor.\n\nI\'d wished that I had access to a kitchen of any sort because everything looked so good. The American in me also just about died when I saw fresh cranberries. I love cranberries during the holidays and they just aren\'t that easy to come by in Bulgaria. Last year I saw them once at Hit. This year I never saw them.\n\n\nThe crazy person in me thought about buying some but really, what I am going to do with a bag of cranberries while traveling!? It\'s not like I am going to be eating them straight out of the bag.\n\nSo I admired.\n\nI also bought a big dish of stew. Guinness stew to be exact. I guess the base of the stew is made out off Guinness beer and to this chunks of beef, cubed potatoes, carrots and leaks are added. This was really tasty and heartwarming. I was a little nervous about spilling this stew right down the front of my coat. I was given a big dish of it in a styrofoam container with a wooden spoon/fork combo. Given the fact that the container was very full, the market was crowded and I know myself I thought I was doomed but somehow I escaped unscathed.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Hot Mulled Cider\"]<a title=\"Hot Mulled Cider by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702194535/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6702194535_95bbf5599e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hot Mulled Cider\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"450\" caption=\"Sweets at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Sweets at Borough Market  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702168871/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6702168871_10a60e1415.jpg\" alt=\"Sweets at Borough Market \" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701914103/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6701914103_bf9dd7b1df_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThen I had a cup of hot mulled cider. Yum, yum.\n\nI\'d definitely go back to the Borough Market. It felt local and accessible. Sure there were plenty of tourists there but it wasn\'t too much. Yes you could easily eat too much but the market itself was very do-able in terms of size and scope.','Borough Market: a whole lot of great food','','inherit','open','open','','6127-revision-2','','','2012-01-16 08:40:09','2012-01-16 06:40:09','',6127,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/16/6127-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6132,1,'2012-01-16 08:45:25','2012-01-16 06:45:25','My friend S. suggested that Borough Market is the market for food lovers. Hey, that\'s me. The first time I tried to go the market was closed for a couple of days around the New Year but I was determined and went back a few days later.\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market veggies\"]<a title=\"Borough Market veggies by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702162421/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6702162421_c02878a318_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market veggies\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\nI am glad that I did. The colors were wonderful. The flavors both sweet and savory. The whole experience was delicious.\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702175823/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6702175823_d90613b9da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\nIt was so interesting to see people doing clever things with food but I liked the sense that I got that this market was a mix of tradition and innovation. Moreover, everyone was having fun. There were tons of people but no one was pushy. There were lines but people stood in them. There were samples and people politely took one and then talked to the vendor.\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701933639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6701933639_9639bfb029_z.jpg\" alt=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\nI\'d wished that I had access to a kitchen of any sort because everything looked so good. The American in me also just about died when I saw fresh cranberries. I love cranberries during the holidays and they just aren\'t that easy to come by in Bulgaria. Last year I saw them once at Hit. This year I never saw them.\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Shopping at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Shopping at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701831033/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6701831033_c264f544ec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\nThe crazy person in me thought about buying some but really, what I am going to do with a bag of cranberries while traveling!? It\'s not like I am going to be eating them straight out of the bag.\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\"]<a title=\"Borough Market and a car in the air by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701800187/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6701800187_3b835a86e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\nSo I admired.\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Pot Pie\"]<a title=\"Pot Pie by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701894529/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6701894529_94ceacb70d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pot Pie\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\"]<a title=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701955655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6701955655_ac76fdc59f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI also bought a big dish of stew. Guinness stew to be exact. I guess the base of the stew is made out off Guinness beer and to this chunks of beef, cubed potatoes, carrots and leaks are added. This was really tasty and heartwarming. I was a little nervous about spilling this stew right down the front of my coat. I was given a big dish of it in a styrofoam container with a wooden spoon/fork combo. Given the fact that the container was very full, the market was crowded and I know myself I thought I was doomed but somehow I escaped unscathed.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Hot Mulled Cider\"]<a title=\"Hot Mulled Cider by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702194535/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6702194535_95bbf5599e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hot Mulled Cider\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Sweets at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Sweets at Borough Market  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702168871/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6702168871_10a60e1415_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweets at Borough Market \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThen I had a cup of hot mulled cider. Yum, yum.\n\nI\'d definitely go back to the Borough Market. It felt local and accessible. Sure there were plenty of tourists there but it wasn\'t too much. Yes you could easily eat too much but the market itself was very do-able in terms of size and scope.\n','Borough Market: a whole lot of great food','','inherit','open','open','','6127-revision-5','','','2012-01-16 08:45:25','2012-01-16 06:45:25','',6127,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/16/6127-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6131,1,'2012-01-16 08:44:22','2012-01-16 06:44:22','My friend S. suggested that Borough Market is the market for food lovers. Hey, that\'s me. The first time I tried to go the market was closed for a couple of days around the New Year but I was determined and went back a few days later.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market veggies\"]<a title=\"Borough Market veggies by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702162421/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6702162421_c02878a318_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market veggies\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nI am glad that I did. The colors were wonderful. The flavors both sweet and savory. The whole experience was delicious.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702175823/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6702175823_d90613b9da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nIt was so interesting to see people doing clever things with food but I liked the sense that I got that this market was a mix of tradition and innovation. Moreover, everyone was having fun. There were tons of people but no one was pushy. There were lines but people stood in them. There were samples and people politely took one and then talked to the vendor.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701933639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6701933639_9639bfb029_z.jpg\" alt=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nI\'d wished that I had access to a kitchen of any sort because everything looked so good. The American in me also just about died when I saw fresh cranberries. I love cranberries during the holidays and they just aren\'t that easy to come by in Bulgaria. Last year I saw them once at Hit. This year I never saw them.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Shopping at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Shopping at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701831033/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6701831033_c264f544ec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nThe crazy person in me thought about buying some but really, what I am going to do with a bag of cranberries while traveling!? It\'s not like I am going to be eating them straight out of the bag.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\"]<a title=\"Borough Market and a car in the air by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701800187/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6701800187_3b835a86e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nSo I admired.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Pot Pie\"]<a title=\"Pot Pie by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701894529/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6701894529_94ceacb70d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pot Pie\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\"]<a title=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701955655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6701955655_ac76fdc59f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701835741/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6701835741_6dc5a62098_z.jpg\" alt=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n\r\nI also bought a big dish of stew. Guinness stew to be exact. I guess the base of the stew is made out off Guinness beer and to this chunks of beef, cubed potatoes, carrots and leaks are added. This was really tasty and heartwarming. I was a little nervous about spilling this stew right down the front of my coat. I was given a big dish of it in a styrofoam container with a wooden spoon/fork combo. Given the fact that the container was very full, the market was crowded and I know myself I thought I was doomed but somehow I escaped unscathed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Hot Mulled Cider\"]<a title=\"Hot Mulled Cider by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702194535/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6702194535_95bbf5599e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hot Mulled Cider\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Sweets at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Sweets at Borough Market  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702168871/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6702168871_10a60e1415_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweets at Borough Market \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThen I had a cup of hot mulled cider. Yum, yum.\r\n\r\nI\'d definitely go back to the Borough Market. It felt local and accessible. Sure there were plenty of tourists there but it wasn\'t too much. Yes you could easily eat too much but the market itself was very do-able in terms of size and scope.','Borough Market: a whole lot of great food','','inherit','open','open','','6127-revision-4','','','2012-01-16 08:44:22','2012-01-16 06:44:22','',6127,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/16/6127-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6133,1,'2012-01-16 08:45:40','2012-01-16 06:45:40','My friend S. suggested that Borough Market is the market for food lovers. Hey, that\'s me. The first time I tried to go the market was closed for a couple of days around the New Year but I was determined and went back a few days later.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market veggies\"]<a title=\"Borough Market veggies by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702162421/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6702162421_c02878a318_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market veggies\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nI am glad that I did. The colors were wonderful. The flavors both sweet and savory. The whole experience was delicious.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702175823/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6702175823_d90613b9da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nIt was so interesting to see people doing clever things with food but I liked the sense that I got that this market was a mix of tradition and innovation. Moreover, everyone was having fun. There were tons of people but no one was pushy. There were lines but people stood in them. There were samples and people politely took one and then talked to the vendor.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701933639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6701933639_9639bfb029_z.jpg\" alt=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nI\'d wished that I had access to a kitchen of any sort because everything looked so good. The American in me also just about died when I saw fresh cranberries. I love cranberries during the holidays and they just aren\'t that easy to come by in Bulgaria. Last year I saw them once at Hit. This year I never saw them.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Shopping at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Shopping at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701831033/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6701831033_c264f544ec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nThe crazy person in me thought about buying some but really, what I am going to do with a bag of cranberries while traveling!? It\'s not like I am going to be eating them straight out of the bag.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\"]<a title=\"Borough Market and a car in the air by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701800187/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6701800187_3b835a86e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nSo I admired.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Pot Pie\"]<a title=\"Pot Pie by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701894529/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6701894529_94ceacb70d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pot Pie\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\"]<a title=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701955655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6701955655_ac76fdc59f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI also bought a big dish of stew. Guinness stew to be exact. I guess the base of the stew is made out off Guinness beer and to this chunks of beef, cubed potatoes, carrots and leaks are added. This was really tasty and heartwarming. I was a little nervous about spilling this stew right down the front of my coat. I was given a big dish of it in a styrofoam container with a wooden spoon/fork combo. Given the fact that the container was very full, the market was crowded and I know myself I thought I was doomed but somehow I escaped unscathed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Hot Mulled Cider\"]<a title=\"Hot Mulled Cider by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702194535/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6702194535_95bbf5599e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hot Mulled Cider\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThen I had a cup of hot mulled cider. Yum, yum.\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Sweets at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Sweets at Borough Market  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702168871/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6702168871_10a60e1415_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweets at Borough Market \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nI\'d definitely go back to the Borough Market. It felt local and accessible. Sure there were plenty of tourists there but it wasn\'t too much. Yes you could easily eat too much but the market itself was very do-able in terms of size and scope.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701835741/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6701835741_6dc5a62098_z.jpg\" alt=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]','Borough Market: a whole lot of great food','','inherit','open','open','','6127-revision-6','','','2012-01-16 08:45:40','2012-01-16 06:45:40','',6127,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/16/6127-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6134,1,'2012-01-16 08:46:43','2012-01-16 06:46:43','My friend S. suggested that Borough Market is the market for food lovers. Hey, that\'s me. The first time I tried to go the market was closed for a couple of days around the New Year but I was determined and went back a few days later.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market veggies\"]<a title=\"Borough Market veggies by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702162421/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6702162421_c02878a318_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market veggies\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI am glad that I did. The colors were wonderful. The flavors both sweet and savory. The whole experience was delicious.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702175823/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6702175823_d90613b9da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nIt was so interesting to see people doing clever things with food but I liked the sense that I got that this market was a mix of tradition and innovation. Moreover, everyone was having fun. There were tons of people but no one was pushy. There were lines but people stood in them. There were samples and people politely took one and then talked to the vendor.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701933639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6701933639_9639bfb029_z.jpg\" alt=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI\'d wished that I had access to a kitchen of any sort because everything looked so good. <!--more-->The American in me also just about died when I saw fresh cranberries. I love cranberries during the holidays and they just aren\'t that easy to come by in Bulgaria. Last year I saw them once at Hit. This year I never saw them.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Shopping at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Shopping at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701831033/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6701831033_c264f544ec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe crazy person in me thought about buying some but really, what I am going to do with a bag of cranberries while traveling!? It\'s not like I am going to be eating them straight out of the bag.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\"]<a title=\"Borough Market and a car in the air by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701800187/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6701800187_3b835a86e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nSo I admired.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Pot Pie\"]<a title=\"Pot Pie by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701894529/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6701894529_94ceacb70d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pot Pie\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\"]<a title=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701955655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6701955655_ac76fdc59f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI also bought a big dish of stew. Guinness stew to be exact. I guess the base of the stew is made out off Guinness beer and to this chunks of beef, cubed potatoes, carrots and leaks are added. This was really tasty and heartwarming. I was a little nervous about spilling this stew right down the front of my coat. I was given a big dish of it in a styrofoam container with a wooden spoon/fork combo. Given the fact that the container was very full, the market was crowded and I know myself I thought I was doomed but somehow I escaped unscathed.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Hot Mulled Cider\"]<a title=\"Hot Mulled Cider by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702194535/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6702194535_95bbf5599e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hot Mulled Cider\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThen I had a cup of hot mulled cider. Yum, yum.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Sweets at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Sweets at Borough Market  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702168871/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6702168871_10a60e1415_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweets at Borough Market \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI\'d definitely go back to the Borough Market. It felt local and accessible. Sure there were plenty of tourists there but it wasn\'t too much. Yes you could easily eat too much but the market itself was very do-able in terms of size and scope.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701835741/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6701835741_6dc5a62098_z.jpg\" alt=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]','Borough Market: a whole lot of great food','','inherit','open','open','','6127-revision-7','','','2012-01-16 08:46:43','2012-01-16 06:46:43','',6127,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/16/6127-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6135,1,'2012-01-16 08:46:46','2012-01-16 06:46:46','My friend S. suggested that Borough Market is the market for food lovers. Hey, that\'s me. The first time I tried to go the market was closed for a couple of days around the New Year but I was determined and went back a few days later.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market veggies\"]<a title=\"Borough Market veggies by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702162421/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6702162421_c02878a318_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market veggies\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI am glad that I did. The colors were wonderful. The flavors both sweet and savory. The whole experience was delicious.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702175823/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6702175823_d90613b9da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIt was so interesting to see people doing clever things with food but I liked the sense that I got that this market was a mix of tradition and innovation. Moreover, everyone was having fun. There were tons of people but no one was pushy. There were lines but people stood in them. There were samples and people politely took one and then talked to the vendor.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701933639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6701933639_9639bfb029_z.jpg\" alt=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d wished that I had access to a kitchen of any sort because everything looked so good. <!--more-->The American in me also just about died when I saw fresh cranberries. I love cranberries during the holidays and they just aren\'t that easy to come by in Bulgaria. Last year I saw them once at Hit. This year I never saw them.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Shopping at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Shopping at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701831033/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6701831033_c264f544ec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe crazy person in me thought about buying some but really, what I am going to do with a bag of cranberries while traveling!? It\'s not like I am going to be eating them straight out of the bag.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\"]<a title=\"Borough Market and a car in the air by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701800187/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6701800187_3b835a86e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSo I admired.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Pot Pie\"]<a title=\"Pot Pie by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701894529/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6701894529_94ceacb70d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pot Pie\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\"]<a title=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701955655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6701955655_ac76fdc59f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI also bought a big dish of stew. Guinness stew to be exact. I guess the base of the stew is made out off Guinness beer and to this chunks of beef, cubed potatoes, carrots and leaks are added. This was really tasty and heartwarming. I was a little nervous about spilling this stew right down the front of my coat. I was given a big dish of it in a styrofoam container with a wooden spoon/fork combo. Given the fact that the container was very full, the market was crowded and I know myself I thought I was doomed but somehow I escaped unscathed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Hot Mulled Cider\"]<a title=\"Hot Mulled Cider by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702194535/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6702194535_95bbf5599e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hot Mulled Cider\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThen I had a cup of hot mulled cider. Yum, yum.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Sweets at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Sweets at Borough Market  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702168871/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6702168871_10a60e1415_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweets at Borough Market \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d definitely go back to the Borough Market. It felt local and accessible. Sure there were plenty of tourists there but it wasn\'t too much. Yes you could easily eat too much but the market itself was very do-able in terms of size and scope.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701835741/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6701835741_6dc5a62098_z.jpg\" alt=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]','Borough Market: a whole lot of great food','','inherit','open','open','','6127-revision-8','','','2012-01-16 08:46:46','2012-01-16 06:46:46','',6127,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/16/6127-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6136,1,'2012-01-16 08:46:47','2012-01-16 06:46:47','My friend S. suggested that Borough Market is the market for food lovers. Hey, that\'s me. The first time I tried to go the market was closed for a couple of days around the New Year but I was determined and went back a few days later.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market veggies\"]<a title=\"Borough Market veggies by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702162421/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6702162421_c02878a318_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market veggies\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI am glad that I did. The colors were wonderful. The flavors both sweet and savory. The whole experience was delicious.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702175823/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6702175823_d90613b9da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIt was so interesting to see people doing clever things with food but I liked the sense that I got that this market was a mix of tradition and innovation. Moreover, everyone was having fun. There were tons of people but no one was pushy. There were lines but people stood in them. There were samples and people politely took one and then talked to the vendor.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701933639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6701933639_9639bfb029_z.jpg\" alt=\"Owl Shortbread at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d wished that I had access to a kitchen of any sort because everything looked so good. <!--more-->The American in me also just about died when I saw fresh cranberries. I love cranberries during the holidays and they just aren\'t that easy to come by in Bulgaria. Last year I saw them once at Hit. This year I never saw them.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Shopping at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Shopping at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701831033/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6701831033_c264f544ec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shopping at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe crazy person in me thought about buying some but really, what I am going to do with a bag of cranberries while traveling!? It\'s not like I am going to be eating them straight out of the bag.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\"]<a title=\"Borough Market and a car in the air by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701800187/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6701800187_3b835a86e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Borough Market and a car in the air\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSo I admired.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Pot Pie\"]<a title=\"Pot Pie by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701894529/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6701894529_94ceacb70d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pot Pie\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\"]<a title=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701955655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6701955655_ac76fdc59f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yum, yum Guinness Stew\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI also bought a big dish of stew. Guinness stew to be exact. I guess the base of the stew is made out off Guinness beer and to this chunks of beef, cubed potatoes, carrots and leaks are added. This was really tasty and heartwarming. I was a little nervous about spilling this stew right down the front of my coat. I was given a big dish of it in a styrofoam container with a wooden spoon/fork combo. Given the fact that the container was very full, the market was crowded and I know myself I thought I was doomed but somehow I escaped unscathed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Hot Mulled Cider\"]<a title=\"Hot Mulled Cider by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702194535/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6702194535_95bbf5599e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hot Mulled Cider\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThen I had a cup of hot mulled cider. Yum, yum.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Sweets at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Sweets at Borough Market  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6702168871/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6702168871_10a60e1415_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweets at Borough Market \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d definitely go back to the Borough Market. It felt local and accessible. Sure there were plenty of tourists there but it wasn\'t too much. Yes you could easily eat too much but the market itself was very do-able in terms of size and scope.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\"]<a title=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6701835741/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6701835741_6dc5a62098_z.jpg\" alt=\"Oliveologly at Borough Market\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]','Borough Market: a whole lot of great food','','inherit','open','open','','6127-revision-9','','','2012-01-16 08:46:47','2012-01-16 06:46:47','',6127,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/16/6127-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6161,1,'2012-01-23 22:49:12','2012-01-23 20:49:12','The thing is, no matter where you live, sometimes you get sick. It\'s just easier to feel bad for yourself when you\'re under the weather and living abroad. Everything seems harder. And it is.\r\n\r\nWhen I\'m well and communicating in Bulgarian there\'s an element of fun and achievement upon getting what you need or want across to someone who doesn\'t speak English. When you\'re not well, there\'s nothing fun about it. It\'s not a game and no, I don\'t feel like coming up with another creative way to try to express myself.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: things attached to the head\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750874599/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6750874599_a57e140f71_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLuckily for me I\'ve never been seriously sick in Bulgaria. To date, I thought I had strep throat once, I had a flu that kept me home in bed for three days and most recently I\'ve had a urinary tract infection (twice). All things considered, this isn\'t bad for three years living in Bulgaria. Oh and I also <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/03/ive-got-pneumonia/\" target=\"_blank\">got pneumonia (and a chest x-ray) last Christmas in the States</a> but that doesn\'t really count because there I speak the language.\r\n\r\nAnyhow I got a comment on my last post about <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/a-trip-to-the-doctors-office/\" target=\"_blank\">visiting the doctor\'s office</a> and my inability to integrate in Bulgaria. I read the comment, rolled my eyes, sighed and then I didn\'t approve the comment for 24 hours. In the meantime, I talked about my unwillingness to approve the comment with my parents during our standing Sunday night skype date. My MoM wisely (and rightly) pointed out that I never get worked up about comments on my blog and must still be recovering.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: irregular plurals and the body\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750892795/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6750892795_607e8d381f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShe\'s right. I never get worked up about what people write. I don\'t approve spam or racist/homophobic comments but pretty much everything else ends up on my blog. By in large, people are really kind and supportive. Well, aside from the people who take the time to write me some version of the-if-you-don\'t-like-it-here-then-leave comment.\r\n\r\nSo we started joking about the whole thing. Me at the doctor\'s office armed with my textbook Bulgarian and the various sentences I have command of (or not) as the case may be.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe first time I had a UTI, I went by myself on a weekend. <em>Ug</em>.\r\n\r\nOf course the thing is that when you have a UTI, you know it. There just aren\'t any external signs. The result of this is that you get to say things like: it hurts me here and gesture. But if you stop and think about it for a minute the emerging problem is that there is a lot that you could be gesturing at. It\'s not a having a sore throat or needing stitches. It\'s all internal.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750885673/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6750885673_ac9e0cbb77_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nFor me, it was about this point that I realized that this all I could say because I realized that I don\'t know verbs either in the perfective or imperfective form for to pee in Bulgarian. I know how to eat and to drink in Bulgarian but apparently nothing\'s coming out of my body in Bulgarian. This was about the time I started cursing at myself for not looking some some words I might need before heading to the doctor\'s office or for not having a smart phone.\r\n\r\nBut, <em>really</em>, who thinks about these things when they\'re sick?!\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: some internal organs\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750879733/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6750879733_040a3986dd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe result is that your forced to put on a smile, the best you can, and say things like: I have to go to the toilet, at lot. Then you try the it hurts me here business again. Another semi-reliable trick seems to pronouncing English words related to the body with what you think might be Bulgarian emphasis. Hello, sinus and синус. This however is an imperfect science.\r\n\r\nMind you, I got pretty far with this exchange in Bulgarian (if you\'re dying to know the specific details, I got all the way to giving a urine sample--in the same kind of cup that my morning .70 leva coffee comes in--don\'t think about that too much) but then the doctor started asking me questions in Bulgarian.\r\n\r\nQuestions that I didn\'t <em>really</em> understand. This is of course the worst part because you actually want to give the right answers at the doctor\'s office. The smile and nod business that I can sometimes get away with just doesn\'t cut it here. Sure, I am not allergic to any medicine that I know of but I\'d like to know that I\'m taking the <em>right</em> medicine.\r\n\r\nSo I got my cellphone out and tried to figure out which of my female Bulgarian friends I could call on a Saturday morning to talk to the doctor for me. I actually have a fairly large circle of Bulgarian friends but one who would be up on a Saturday morning and know enough medical English to help me narrowed my list significantly. Needless to say, I caught a friend at home who gladly helped me. Or at the very least, I was glad that she helped me. This was the stuff that comedy is made of. There was a lot of back and forth--me to my friend, my friend to the doctor, the doctor to my friend, and my friend back to me. And we played that game few times. <em>Phew</em>. I was glad when that was over and I had a prescription for antibiotics in hand.\r\n\r\nAt <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">the pharmacy near my house</a>, I had an awesome back and forth with the pharmacist about whether or not I was pregnant. I, of course, didn\'t understand what she was asking me and she was unprepared to give me the prescription without confirmation that I was not pregnant. She somehow dug out a picture of a pregnant woman--advertising of some sort and pointed at the picture and then me. Luckily I am good at both pictionary and charades (you definitely want me on your team. Just saying).\r\n\r\nNeedless to say, this time around, I was very happy to have an appointment with an English speaking doctor under control before I arrived at the clinic on Friday. Could I have managed without this? Well, pretty clearly the answer is yes. Would it have been easy? No but I\'d have done it.\r\n\r\nSo that\'s that. Sometimes you get sick. It happens. But I think it\'s ultimately how you handle the whole thing that really matters.','Sometimes you get sick ','','publish','open','open','','sometimes-you-get-sick','','','2012-01-23 22:49:12','2012-01-23 20:49:12','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6161',0,'post','',10),(6138,1,'2012-01-19 06:36:42','0000-00-00 00:00:00','Since Thanksgiving, I\'ve been teaching Truman Capote\'s non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, in English 11. The super brief summary of the novel is this: an all-American family of four is brutally murdered in the middle of the night, there are no suspects but the parallel narrative structure leads us to believe that two men who\'ve been recently released from prison are our murders. They very nearly escape and at one point are even in Mexico. However a lack of money and poor impulse control leads them back to the States and into the hands of the police. They are caught found, confess (although they probably shouldn\'t have), are found guilty and then they are hung.\n\nCapote complicates things in his narrative making us as readers connect to and sympathize with the main characters (and murders). He humanizes these two men forcing us to question the accessibility of the American Dream, the fairness of the American legal system and the morality of the death penalty. For a single novel, Capote covers a lot of ground.\n\nI am always interested in the prurient nature of the crime and the novel. We want to know more about the murders and the murders. We don\'t feel the kind of disgust that we expect to given the nature of the crime. In fact, we feel empathy for the murders when the state kills them. It\'s strange and wonderful all at once that a novel can do this.\n\nWe finished the novel last week. This coincided with a murder that\'s been receiving a lot of press recently about  a teenage girl from Pernik who was kidnapped after a marshal arts class and subsequently murdered.\n\nMy basic understanding is that her body was found recently and shortly there after two men were picked up on','Capote\'s In Cold Blood & a recent murder case ','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-01-19 06:36:42','2012-01-19 04:36:42','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6138',0,'post','',0),(6139,1,'2012-01-17 07:01:02','2012-01-17 05:01:02','Since Thanksgiving, I\'ve been teaching Truman Capote\'s non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, in English 11. The super brief summary: all-American family of four is brutally murdered in the middle of the night, there are no suspects but the parallel narrative structure leads us to believe that the two men who\'ve been recently released from prison are our murders. They nearly escape and at one point are even in Mexico. However a lack of money and poopr impulse control leads them back to the States and into the hands of the police. They are caught found, confess (although they probably shouldn\'t have), are found guilty and then they are hung.\n\nCapote complicates things in his narrative making us as readers connect to and sympathize with the main characters (and murders). He humanizes these two men forcing us to question the accessibility of the American Dream, the fairness of the American legal system and the','Capote\'s In Cold Blood & a recent murder case ','','inherit','open','open','','6138-revision','','','2012-01-17 07:01:02','2012-01-17 05:01:02','',6138,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/17/6138-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6140,1,'2012-01-18 10:55:10','2012-01-18 08:55:10','It\'s winter in Sofia.\r\n\r\nHow do I know this? Well, it\'s snowing right now. And, for the last few days the temperature has been hovering below zero (you know in celsius). I\'ve had to wear my boots everyday this month.\r\n\r\nIt snowed more than a week ago. Our school quickly shoveled the sidewalks and main paths. It seems relatively safe to walk around. The rest of a the city seems like a death-trap or at least the world\'s most poorly maintained ice-skating rink. Then there are the three steps at the front gate of school. These are the worst.\r\n\r\nThere are exactly three steps. Each is domed with ice. This ice used to be snow but none of the men who guard the gate could be bothered to shovel the snow from the steps when it was just snow so now it\'s a good two inches of ice. These are the men who are supposed to be checking identification of everyone who comes and goes. They are supposed to be guarding the police academy and the Mladost police station. I haven\'t had my ID checked in weeks. It seems like the least they could do is shovel three steps. But they don\'t.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nIt\'s snowing again today and I can\'t help wondering if theses steps will be coated in ice until spring.\r\n\r\nOf course the problem is that recently I\'ve begun dreaming of my ballerina flats and imagining outfits for early spring. Floaty skirts and tights, my three-quart length sleeved coat and skinny jeans, flower prints and bright colors. The reality is that I am bundled up. I\'ve layered myself into a semblance of warmth and then I top the whole thing off with a scarf. Because scarves make everything better, <em>right</em>?\r\n\r\nToday I find myself sneezing. I wonder if it\'s psychosomatic or if I am actually getting sick. I hope it\'s the first because I don\'t want to be sick. I tell myself that coffee can (and will) work wonders on my sneeze so I move on to my third cup for the day.\r\n\r\nAnd maybe some orange juice.\r\n\r\nI\'ve got to try to fortify myself somehow.','Some thoughts on winter in Sofia ','','publish','open','open','','some-thoughts-on-winter-in-sofia','','','2012-01-22 11:06:24','2012-01-22 09:06:24','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6140',0,'post','',2),(6141,1,'2012-01-18 09:34:12','2012-01-18 07:34:12','Ug. It\'s winter in Sofia.\n\nHow do I know this? Well, it\'s snowing right now. And, for the last few days the temperature has been hovering below zero (you know in celsius). I\'ve had to wear my boots everyday this month.\n\nIt snowed more than a week ago. Our school quickly shoveled the sidewalks and main paths. It seems relatively safe to walk around. . The rest of a the city seems like a death-trap or at least the world\'s most poorly maintained ice-skating rink. The three steps at the front gate of school. These are the worst.\n\nThere are exactly three steps. Each is domed with ice. This used to be snow but none of the men who guard the gate cou\n\nI\'ve begun dreaming of my ballerina flats and imagining o. utfits for early spring. Floaty skirts and tights, my three-quart length sleeved coat and skinny jeans, flower prints and bright colors. Instead I am bundled up. I\'ve layered myself into a semblance of warmth and then I top the whole thing off with a scarf.\n\nToday I find myself sneezing. I wonder if it\'s psychosomatic or if I am actually getting sick. I hope it\'s the first because I don\'t want to be sick. I tell myself that coffee can (and will) work wonders on my sneeze so I move on to my third cup for the day.','Some thoughts on winter in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6140-revision','','','2012-01-18 09:34:12','2012-01-18 07:34:12','',6140,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/18/6140-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6142,1,'2012-01-18 09:40:12','2012-01-18 07:40:12','Ug. It\'s winter in Sofia.\n\nHow do I know this? Well, it\'s snowing right now. And, for the last few days the temperature has been hovering below zero (you know in celsius). I\'ve had to wear my boots everyday this month.\n\nIt snowed more than a week ago. Our school quickly shoveled the sidewalks and main paths. It seems relatively safe to walk around. The rest of a the city seems like a death-trap or at least the world\'s most poorly maintained ice-skating rink. Then there are the three steps at the front gate of school. These are the worst.\n\nThere are exactly three steps. Each is domed with ice. This ice used to be snow but none of the men who guard the gate could be bothered to shovel the snow from the steps when it was just snow so now it\'s a good two inches of ice. These are the men who are supposed to be checking identification of everyone who comes and goes. They are supposed to be guarding the police academy and the Mladost police station. I haven\'t had my ID checked in weeks. It seems like the least they could do is shovel three steps. But they don\'t.\n\nIt\'s snowing again today a\n\nI\'ve begun dreaming of my ballerina flats and imagining outfits for early spring. Floaty skirts and tights, my three-quart length sleeved coat and skinny jeans, flower prints and bright colors. Instead I am bundled up. I\'ve layered myself into a semblance of warmth and then I top the whole thing off with a scarf.\n\nToday I find myself sneezing. I wonder if it\'s psychosomatic or if I am actually getting sick. I hope it\'s the first because I don\'t want to be sick. I tell myself that coffee can (and will) work wonders on my sneeze so I move on to my third cup for the day.','Some thoughts on winter in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6140-revision-2','','','2012-01-18 09:40:12','2012-01-18 07:40:12','',6140,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/18/6140-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6143,1,'2012-01-18 10:54:03','2012-01-18 08:54:03','Ug. It\'s winter in Sofia.\n\nHow do I know this? Well, it\'s snowing right now. And, for the last few days the temperature has been hovering below zero (you know in celsius). I\'ve had to wear my boots everyday this month.\n\nIt snowed more than a week ago. Our school quickly shoveled the sidewalks and main paths. It seems relatively safe to walk around. The rest of a the city seems like a death-trap or at least the world\'s most poorly maintained ice-skating rink. Then there are the three steps at the front gate of school. These are the worst.\n\nThere are exactly three steps. Each is domed with ice. This ice used to be snow but none of the men who guard the gate could be bothered to shovel the snow from the steps when it was just snow so now it\'s a good two inches of ice. These are the men who are supposed to be checking identification of everyone who comes and goes. They are supposed to be guarding the police academy and the Mladost police station. I haven\'t had my ID checked in weeks. It seems like the least they could do is shovel three steps. But they don\'t.\n\nIt\'s snowing again today and I can\'t help wondering if theses steps will be coated in ice until spring.\n\nOf course the problem is that recently I\'ve begun dreaming of my ballerina flats and imagining outfits for early spring. Floaty skirts and tights, my three-quart length sleeved coat and skinny jeans, flower prints and bright colors. The reality is that I am bundled up. I\'ve layered myself into a semblance of warmth and then I top the whole thing off with a scarf. Because scarves make everything better, <em>right</em>?\n\nToday I find myself sneezing. I wonder if it\'s psychosomatic or if I am actually getting sick. I hope it\'s the first because I don\'t want to be sick. I tell myself that coffee can (and will) work wonders on my sneeze so I move on to my third cup for the day.\n\nAnd maybe some orange juice.\n\nI\'ve got to try to fortify myself somehow.','Some thoughts on winter in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6140-revision-3','','','2012-01-18 10:54:03','2012-01-18 08:54:03','',6140,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/18/6140-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6144,1,'2012-01-18 10:55:03','2012-01-18 08:55:03','It\'s winter in Sofia.\n\nHow do I know this? Well, it\'s snowing right now. And, for the last few days the temperature has been hovering below zero (you know in celsius). I\'ve had to wear my boots everyday this month.\n\nIt snowed more than a week ago. Our school quickly shoveled the sidewalks and main paths. It seems relatively safe to walk around. The rest of a the city seems like a death-trap or at least the world\'s most poorly maintained ice-skating rink. Then there are the three steps at the front gate of school. These are the worst.\n\nThere are exactly three steps. Each is domed with ice. This ice used to be snow but none of the men who guard the gate could be bothered to shovel the snow from the steps when it was just snow so now it\'s a good two inches of ice. These are the men who are supposed to be checking identification of everyone who comes and goes. They are supposed to be guarding the police academy and the Mladost police station. I haven\'t had my ID checked in weeks. It seems like the least they could do is shovel three steps. But they don\'t.\n\nIt\'s snowing again today and I can\'t help wondering if theses steps will be coated in ice until spring.\n\nOf course the problem is that recently I\'ve begun dreaming of my ballerina flats and imagining outfits for early spring. Floaty skirts and tights, my three-quart length sleeved coat and skinny jeans, flower prints and bright colors. The reality is that I am bundled up. I\'ve layered myself into a semblance of warmth and then I top the whole thing off with a scarf. Because scarves make everything better, <em>right</em>?\n\nToday I find myself sneezing. I wonder if it\'s psychosomatic or if I am actually getting sick. I hope it\'s the first because I don\'t want to be sick. I tell myself that coffee can (and will) work wonders on my sneeze so I move on to my third cup for the day.\n\nAnd maybe some orange juice.\n\nI\'ve got to try to fortify myself somehow.','Some thoughts on winter in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6140-revision-4','','','2012-01-18 10:55:03','2012-01-18 08:55:03','',6140,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/18/6140-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6145,1,'2012-01-18 10:56:13','2012-01-18 08:56:13','It\'s winter in Sofia.\n\nHow do I know this? Well, it\'s snowing right now. And, for the last few days the temperature has been hovering below zero (you know in celsius). I\'ve had to wear my boots everyday this month.\n\nIt snowed more than a week ago. Our school quickly shoveled the sidewalks and main paths. It seems relatively safe to walk around. The rest of a the city seems like a death-trap or at least the world\'s most poorly maintained ice-skating rink. Then there are the three steps at the front gate of school. These are the worst.\n\nThere are exactly three steps. Each is domed with ice. This ice used to be snow but none of the men who guard the gate could be bothered to shovel the snow from the steps when it was just snow so now it\'s a good two inches of ice. These are the men who are supposed to be checking identification of everyone who comes and goes. They are supposed to be guarding the police academy and the Mladost police station. I haven\'t had my ID checked in weeks. It seems like the least they could do is shovel three steps. But they don\'t.\n\nIt\'s snowing again today and I can\'t help wondering if theses steps will be coated in ice until spring.\n\nOf course the problem is that recently I\'ve begun dreaming of my ballerina flats and imagining outfits for early spring. Floaty skirts and tights, my three-quart length sleeved coat and skinny jeans, flower prints and bright colors. The reality is that I am bundled up. I\'ve layered myself into a semblance of warmth and then I top the whole thing off with a scarf. Because scarves make everything better, <em>right</em>?\n\nToday I find myself sneezing. I wonder if it\'s psychosomatic or if I am actually getting sick. I hope it\'s the first because I don\'t want to be sick. I tell myself that coffee can (and will) work wonders on my sneeze so I move on to my third cup for the day.\n\nAnd maybe some orange juice.\n\nI\'ve got to try to fortify myself somehow.','Some thoughts on winter in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6140-autosave','','','2012-01-18 10:56:13','2012-01-18 08:56:13','',6140,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/18/6140-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6146,1,'2012-01-18 22:02:36','2012-01-18 20:02:36','Since Thanksgiving, I\'ve been teaching Truman Capote\'s non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, in English 11. The super brief summary: all-American family of four is brutally murdered in the middle of the night, there are no suspects but the parallel narrative structure leads us to believe that the two men who\'ve been recently released from prison are our murders. They nearly escape and at one point are even in Mexico. However a lack of money and poor impulse control leads them back to the States and into the hands of the police. They are caught found, confess (although they probably shouldn\'t have), are found guilty and then they are hung.\n\nCapote complicates things in his narrative making us as readers connect to and sympathize with the main characters (and murders). He humanizes these two men forcing us to question the accessibility of the American Dream, the fairness of the American legal system and the morality of the death penalty. Capote covers a lot of ground in a single novel.','Capote\'s In Cold Blood & a recent murder case ','','inherit','open','open','','6138-revision-2','','','2012-01-18 22:02:36','2012-01-18 20:02:36','',6138,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/18/6138-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6147,1,'2012-01-18 22:10:45','2012-01-18 20:10:45','Since Thanksgiving, I\'ve been teaching Truman Capote\'s non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, in English 11. The super brief summary of the novel is this: an all-American family of four is brutally murdered in the middle of the night, there are no suspects but the parallel narrative structure leads us to believe that two men who\'ve been recently released from prison are our murders. They very nearly escape and at one point are even in Mexico. However a lack of money and poor impulse control leads them back to the States and into the hands of the police. They are caught found, confess (although they probably shouldn\'t have), are found guilty and then they are hung.\n\nCapote complicates things in his narrative making us as readers connect to and sympathize with the main characters (and murders). He humanizes these two men forcing us to question the accessibility of the American Dream, the fairness of the American legal system and the morality of the death penalty. For a single novel, Capote covers a lot of ground.\n\nI am always interested in the prurient nature of the crime and the novel. We want to know more about the murders and the murders. We don\'t feel the kind of disgust that we expect to given the nature of the crime. In fact, we feel empathy for the murders when the state kills them. It\'s strange and wonderful all at once that a novel can do this.\n\nWe finished the novel last week. This coincided with a murder that\'s been receiving a lot of press recently about  a teenage girl from Pernik who was kidnapped after a marshal arts class and subsequently murdered.\n\nMy basic understandi','Capote\'s In Cold Blood & a recent murder case ','','inherit','open','open','','6138-revision-3','','','2012-01-18 22:10:45','2012-01-18 20:10:45','',6138,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/18/6138-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6148,1,'2012-01-19 14:51:46','2012-01-19 12:51:46','Today is my second Thursday this week. Yesterday was my first Thursday.\r\n\r\nThis happens sometimes.\r\n\r\nAt school we have a different schedule each day and sometimes one day of the week is hit especially hard given holidays and what not so then the school announces Wednesday is going to be a Thursday schedule.\r\n\r\nThis is exactly what happened yesterday.\r\n\r\nSo I taught my Thursday classes yesterday and today. The thing is I am a creature of habit so when I woke up this morning, it felt like a Friday. Only it\'s not. It\'s Thursday.\r\n\r\nHowever, I can\'t stop thinking: today\'s the last day of the week.\r\n\r\nBut it\'s not. Tomorrow is Friday. Tomorrow is the last day of the week. This seems especially cruel right now.\r\n\r\nThe only thing I have going for me this week is the fact that our school isn\'t observing the Saturday is a work day as the rest of Bulgaria is this week. The Bulgarian government in their<em> infinite</em> kindness gave an extra day off at some point between Christmas and the New Year and Bulgarians are now working on Saturday to make up for this.\r\n\r\nBut I\'m not.','My Second Thursday this Week ','','publish','open','open','','my-second-thursday-this-week','','','2012-01-19 14:51:46','2012-01-19 12:51:46','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6148',0,'post','',0),(6149,1,'2012-01-19 14:49:39','2012-01-19 12:49:39','Today is my second Thursday this week. Yesterday was my first Thursday. This happens sometimes.\n\nAt school we have a different schedule each day and sometimes one day of the week is hit especially hard given holidays and what not so then the school announces Wednesday is going to be a Thursday schedule.\n\nThis is exactly what happened yesterday.\n\nSo I taught my Thursday classes yesterday and today. The thing is I am a creature of habit so when I woke up this morning, it felt like a Friday. Only it\'s not. It\'s Thursday.\n\nHowever, I can\'t stop thinking: today\'s the last day of the week. But it\'s not. Tomorrow is Friday. Tomorrow is the last day of the week.\n\nThe only thing I have going for me this week is the fact that our school isn\'t observing the Saturday is a work day as the rest of Bulgaria is this week. The Bulgarian government in their infinite kindness gave an extra day off at some point between Christmas and the New Year and Bulgarians are now working on Saturday to make up for this.\n\nBut I\'m not.','My Second Thursday this Week ','','inherit','open','open','','6148-revision','','','2012-01-19 14:49:39','2012-01-19 12:49:39','',6148,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/19/6148-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6150,1,'2012-01-19 14:49:43','2012-01-19 12:49:43','Today is my second Thursday this week. Yesterday was my first Thursday. This happens sometimes.\r\n\r\nAt school we have a different schedule each day and sometimes one day of the week is hit especially hard given holidays and what not so then the school announces Wednesday is going to be a Thursday schedule.\r\n\r\nThis is exactly what happened yesterday.\r\n\r\nSo I taught my Thursday classes yesterday and today. The thing is I am a creature of habit so when I woke up this morning, it felt like a Friday. Only it\'s not. It\'s Thursday.\r\n\r\nHowever, I can\'t stop thinking: today\'s the last day of the week. But it\'s not. Tomorrow is Friday. Tomorrow is the last day of the week.\r\n\r\nThe only thing I have going for me this week is the fact that our school isn\'t observing the Saturday is a work day as the rest of Bulgaria is this week. The Bulgarian government in their infinite kindness gave an extra day off at some point between Christmas and the New Year and Bulgarians are now working on Saturday to make up for this.\r\n\r\nBut I\'m not.','My Second Thursday this Week ','','inherit','open','open','','6148-revision-2','','','2012-01-19 14:49:43','2012-01-19 12:49:43','',6148,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/19/6148-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6151,1,'2012-01-19 14:50:46','2012-01-19 12:50:46','Today is my second Thursday this week. Yesterday was my first Thursday.\n\nThis happens sometimes.\n\nAt school we have a different schedule each day and sometimes one day of the week is hit especially hard given holidays and what not so then the school announces Wednesday is going to be a Thursday schedule.\n\nThis is exactly what happened yesterday.\n\nSo I taught my Thursday classes yesterday and today. The thing is I am a creature of habit so when I woke up this morning, it felt like a Friday. Only it\'s not. It\'s Thursday.\n\nHowever, I can\'t stop thinking: today\'s the last day of the week.\n\nBut it\'s not. Tomorrow is Friday. Tomorrow is the last day of the week.\n\nThe only thing I have going for me this week is the fact that our school isn\'t observing the Saturday is a work day as the rest of Bulgaria is this week. The Bulgarian government in their infinite kindness gave an extra day off at some point between Christmas and the New Year and Bulgarians are now working on Saturday to make up for this.\n\nBut I\'m not.','My Second Thursday this Week ','','inherit','open','open','','6148-revision-3','','','2012-01-19 14:50:46','2012-01-19 12:50:46','',6148,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/19/6148-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6152,1,'2012-01-19 14:52:49','2012-01-19 12:52:49','Today is my second Thursday this week. Yesterday was my first Thursday.\n\nThis happens sometimes.\n\nAt school we have a different schedule each day and sometimes one day of the week is hit especially hard given holidays and what not so then the school announces Wednesday is going to be a Thursday schedule.\n\nThis is exactly what happened yesterday.\n\nSo I taught my Thursday classes yesterday and today. The thing is I am a creature of habit so when I woke up this morning, it felt like a Friday. Only it\'s not. It\'s Thursday.\n\nHowever, I can\'t stop thinking: today\'s the last day of the week.\n\nBut it\'s not. Tomorrow is Friday. Tomorrow is the last day of the week. This seems especially cruel right now.\n\nThe only thing I have going for me this week is the fact that our school isn\'t observing the Saturday is a work day as the rest of Bulgaria is this week. The Bulgarian government in their<em> infinite</em> kindness gave an extra day off at some point between Christmas and the New Year and Bulgarians are now working on Saturday to make up for this.\n\nBut I\'m not.','My Second Thursday this Week ','','inherit','open','open','','6148-autosave','','','2012-01-19 14:52:49','2012-01-19 12:52:49','',6148,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/19/6148-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6153,1,'2012-01-20 06:45:35','2012-01-20 04:45:35','I have many fewer clothes in Bulgaria than I did in the States so this morning when I went to my closet and pulled out my go-to gray cardigan sweater I was sad to find an inoperable hole in it. A big one.\r\n\r\nI hung it back in my closet. Why I am not sure. It felt too hard at 6am to part with it. So now I have an unwearable sweater hanging in my closet. That probably says something <em>awesome</em> about me especially if I was Freud and knew how to read these things.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I find myself surprised by how sad I was to see the hole. Because really, it\'s just a hole, in a sweater, a light gray one. One that, in fact, I was never 100% happy with because the sleeves never fit exactly how I thought they should. So when a sweater meets the end of it\'s regular life, most people wouldn\'t worry about it. Out with the old and in with the new. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe thing is in my past life, in Washington DC,  it was always much more of: in with the new, in with the new, in with the new and out with a piece that I just don\'t love any more. It was out not because it was old, ripped, worn-out or otherwise damaged but because I just didn\'t feel like I wanted it any more. So I\'d give it away or donate it to a local women\'s shelter.\r\n\r\nMy life abroad has forced me to pare back.\r\n\r\nToday I have fewer clothes because I have what I need. I\'ve been forced to pick what I actually use over what I want or desire. Sure I could buy more clothes, many more in fact, but I don\'t because anything I buy I\'ll have to move at some point.  I\'ve downsized and I think that I am a better person for it. I try to buy only what I love <em>and</em> need.\r\n\r\nNow I find myself short one sweater in the middle of winter. This is clearly not a void that I can escape from filling so I\'ll have to buy another.\r\n\r\nAll of this said, it\' s nice the way that living abroad often challenges you to be a different (and maybe even better) person that you were at home. Even if it\'s just little things.','Life abroad: Clothes & Paring Back','','publish','open','open','','life-abroad-clothes-paring-back','','','2012-01-20 06:45:35','2012-01-20 04:45:35','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6153',0,'post','',3),(6154,1,'2012-01-20 06:45:01','2012-01-20 04:45:01','I have many fewer clothes in Bulgaria than I did in the States so this morning when I went to my closet and pulled out my go-to gray cardigan sweater I was sad to find an inoperable hole in it. A big one.\n\nI hung it back in my closet. Why I am not sure. It felt too hard at 6am to part with it. So now I have an unwearable sweater hanging in my closet. That probably says something <em>awesome</em> about me especially if I was Freud and knew how to read these things.\n\nAnyhow, I find myself surprised by how sad I was to see the hole. Because really, it\'s just a hole, in a sweater, a light gray one. One that, in fact, I was never 100% happy with because the sleeves never fit exactly how I thought they should. So when a sweater meets the end of it\'s regular life, most people wouldn\'t worry about it. Out with the old and in with the new.\n\nAnd in my past life, in Washington DC,  it was always much more of: in with the new, in with the new, in with the new and out with a piece that I just don\'t love any more. It was out not because it was old, ripped, worn-out or otherwise damaged but because I just didn\'t feel like I wanted it any more. So I\'d give it away or donate it to a local women\'s shelter.\n\nMy life abroad has forced me to pare back.\n\nToday I have fewer clothes because I have what I need. I\'ve been forced to pick what I actually use over what I want or desire. Sure I could buy more clothes, many more in fact, but I don\'t because anything I buy I\'ll have to move at some point.  I\'ve downsized and I think that I am a better person for it. I try to buy only what I love <em>and</em> need.\n\nNow I find myself short one sweater in the middle of winter. This is clearly not a void that I can escape from filling so I\'ll have to buy another.\n\nAll of this said, it\' s nice the way that living abroad often challenges you to be a different (and maybe even better) person that you were at home. Even if it\'s just little things.','Life abroad: Clothes & Paring Back','','inherit','open','open','','6153-revision','','','2012-01-20 06:45:01','2012-01-20 04:45:01','',6153,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/20/6153-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6155,1,'2012-01-22 11:05:35','2012-01-22 09:05:35','I\'ve been sick this week. The kind of sick where you think at first: ah, it\'s nothing. Then you ignore it for a little bit. Finally you realize: time for a trip to the doctor\'s office.\r\n\r\nBeing sick in a foreign country is especially hard. At home, you\'d know exactly what to do, who to call, where to go and/or what medicine to buy but abroad, everything is strange, different and difficult. Of course it doesn\'t help that you\'re sick and likely feel horrible.\r\n\r\nThe difference when you\'re living abroad is that you often have to ask for help.\r\n\r\nIn my case, I marched into the Deputy Director\'s office at school and explained my symptoms and what was going on. Mind you in the States, I would <em>never</em> do this. <!--more-->I believe in a pretty solid work-life divide where work is work and what\'s personal is personal and never shall the two meet. However sometimes (and this was one of those times) you have to take a deep breath and just get over whatever hang ups you have about these things and ask for help.\r\n\r\nSomehow, being sick makes it slightly easier to do this.\r\n\r\nLuckily, she was really gracious and recommended a doctor (who speaks pretty good English), called the clinic, made a same-day appointment for me and at the end of the day checked in with me once I was back at school.\r\n\r\nThe funny thing is that I\'ve been taking my antibiotics for only 48 hours and I already I feel a million times better. I didn\'t realize how un-good I was until today when I find myself feeling significantly better. Ah, medicine.\r\n\r\nIn hindsight, maybe I should have known sooner that I was sick and gone to see the doctor a little sooner given the fact that at one point last week I thought: I\'d rather go to sleep rather than cook dinner, blog, watch tv, grade papers or read a book.\r\n\r\nNow that I am on the mend, I still don\'t feel like grading papers but the other things seem don\'t seem so hard.','A Trip to the Doctor\'s Office','','publish','open','open','','a-trip-to-the-doctors-office','','','2012-01-22 11:05:35','2012-01-22 09:05:35','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6155',0,'post','',5),(6156,1,'2012-01-21 20:19:32','2012-01-21 18:19:32','','A Trip to the Doctor\'s Office','','inherit','open','open','','6155-revision','','','2012-01-21 20:19:32','2012-01-21 18:19:32','',6155,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/21/6155-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6157,1,'2012-01-22 11:00:41','2012-01-22 09:00:41','I\'ve been sick this week. The kind of sick where you think at first: ah, it\'s nothing. Then you ignore it for a little bit. Finally you realize: time for a trip to the doctor\'s office.\r\n\r\nBeing sick in a foreign country is especially hard. At home, you\'d know exactly what to do, who to call, where to go and/or what medicine to buy but abroad, everything is strange, different and difficult. Of course it doesn\'t help that you\'re sick and likely feel horrible.\r\n\r\nThe difference when you\'re living abroad is that you often have to ask for help.\r\n\r\nIn my case, I marched into the Deputy Director\'s office at school and explained my symptoms and what was going on. Mind you in the States, I would <em>never</em> do this. I believe in a pretty solid work-life divide where work is work and what\'s personal is personal and never shall the two meet. However sometimes you have to take a deep breath and just jump in.\r\n\r\nSomehow, being sick makes it slightly easier to do this.\r\n\r\nLuckily, she was really gracious and recommended a doctor (who speaks pretty good English), called the clinic, made a same-day appointment for me and at the end of the day checked in with me once I was back at school.\r\n\r\nThe funny thing is that I\'ve been taking my antibiotics for only 48 hours and I already I feel a million times better. I didn\'t realize how un-good I was until today when I find myself feeling significantly better. Ah, medicine.\r\n\r\nIn hindsight, maybe I should have known sooner that I was sick--given the fact that at one point last week I thought: I\'d rather go to sleep rather than cook dinner, blog, watch tv, grade papers or read a book. Now that I am on the mend, I still don\'t feel like grading papers but the other things seem don\'t seem so hard.','A Trip to the Doctor\'s Office','','inherit','open','open','','6155-revision-2','','','2012-01-22 11:00:41','2012-01-22 09:00:41','',6155,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/6155-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6158,1,'2012-01-22 11:00:54','2012-01-22 09:00:54','I\'ve been sick this week. The kind of sick where you think at first: ah, it\'s nothing. Then you ignore it for a little bit. Finally you realize: time for a trip to the doctor\'s office.\r\n\r\nBeing sick in a foreign country is especially hard. At home, you\'d know exactly what to do, who to call, where to go and/or what medicine to buy but abroad, everything is strange, different and difficult. Of course it doesn\'t help that you\'re sick and likely feel horrible.\r\n\r\nThe difference when you\'re living abroad is that you often have to ask for help.\r\n\r\nIn my case, I marched into the Deputy Director\'s office at school and explained my symptoms and what was going on. Mind you in the States, I would <em>never</em> do this. I believe in a pretty solid work-life divide where work is work and what\'s personal is personal and never shall the two meet. However sometimes you have to take a deep breath and just jump in.\r\n\r\nSomehow, being sick makes it slightly easier to do this.\r\n\r\nLuckily, she was really gracious and recommended a doctor (who speaks pretty good English), called the clinic, made a same-day appointment for me and at the end of the day checked in with me once I was back at school.\r\n\r\nThe funny thing is that I\'ve been taking my antibiotics for only 48 hours and I already I feel a million times better. I didn\'t realize how un-good I was until today when I find myself feeling significantly better. Ah, medicine.\r\n\r\nIn hindsight, maybe I should have known sooner that I was sick--given the fact that at one point last week I thought: I\'d rather go to sleep rather than cook dinner, blog, watch tv, grade papers or read a book. Now that I am on the mend, I still don\'t feel like grading papers but the other things seem don\'t seem so hard.','A Trip to the Doctor\'s Office','','inherit','open','open','','6155-revision-3','','','2012-01-22 11:00:54','2012-01-22 09:00:54','',6155,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/6155-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6159,1,'2012-01-22 11:04:54','2012-01-22 09:04:54','I\'ve been sick this week. The kind of sick where you think at first: ah, it\'s nothing. Then you ignore it for a little bit. Finally you realize: time for a trip to the doctor\'s office.\r\n\r\nBeing sick in a foreign country is especially hard. At home, you\'d know exactly what to do, who to call, where to go and/or what medicine to buy but abroad, everything is strange, different and difficult. Of course it doesn\'t help that you\'re sick and likely feel horrible.\r\n\r\nThe difference when you\'re living abroad is that you often have to ask for help.\r\n\r\nIn my case, I marched into the Deputy Director\'s office at school and explained my symptoms and what was going on. Mind you in the States, I would <em>never</em> do this. I believe in a pretty solid work-life divide where work is work and what\'s personal is personal and never shall the two meet. However sometimes (and this was one of those times) you have to take a deep breath and just get over whatever hang ups you have about these things and ask for help.\r\n\r\nSomehow, being sick makes it slightly easier to do this.\r\n\r\nLuckily, she was really gracious and recommended a doctor (who speaks pretty good English), called the clinic, made a same-day appointment for me and at the end of the day checked in with me once I was back at school.\r\n\r\nThe funny thing is that I\'ve been taking my antibiotics for only 48 hours and I already I feel a million times better. I didn\'t realize how un-good I was until today when I find myself feeling significantly better. Ah, medicine.\r\n\r\nIn hindsight, maybe I should have known sooner that I was sick and gone to see the doctor a little sooner given the fact that at one point last week I thought: I\'d rather go to sleep rather than cook dinner, blog, watch tv, grade papers or read a book.\r\n\r\nNow that I am on the mend, I still don\'t feel like grading papers but the other things seem don\'t seem so hard.','A Trip to the Doctor\'s Office','','inherit','open','open','','6155-revision-4','','','2012-01-22 11:04:54','2012-01-22 09:04:54','',6155,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/6155-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6160,1,'2012-01-18 10:55:10','2012-01-18 08:55:10','It\'s winter in Sofia.\r\n\r\nHow do I know this? Well, it\'s snowing right now. And, for the last few days the temperature has been hovering below zero (you know in celsius). I\'ve had to wear my boots everyday this month.\r\n\r\nIt snowed more than a week ago. Our school quickly shoveled the sidewalks and main paths. It seems relatively safe to walk around. The rest of a the city seems like a death-trap or at least the world\'s most poorly maintained ice-skating rink. Then there are the three steps at the front gate of school. These are the worst.\r\n\r\nThere are exactly three steps. Each is domed with ice. This ice used to be snow but none of the men who guard the gate could be bothered to shovel the snow from the steps when it was just snow so now it\'s a good two inches of ice. These are the men who are supposed to be checking identification of everyone who comes and goes. They are supposed to be guarding the police academy and the Mladost police station. I haven\'t had my ID checked in weeks. It seems like the least they could do is shovel three steps. But they don\'t.\r\n\r\nIt\'s snowing again today and I can\'t help wondering if theses steps will be coated in ice until spring.\r\n\r\nOf course the problem is that recently I\'ve begun dreaming of my ballerina flats and imagining outfits for early spring. Floaty skirts and tights, my three-quart length sleeved coat and skinny jeans, flower prints and bright colors. The reality is that I am bundled up. I\'ve layered myself into a semblance of warmth and then I top the whole thing off with a scarf. Because scarves make everything better, <em>right</em>?\r\n\r\nToday I find myself sneezing. I wonder if it\'s psychosomatic or if I am actually getting sick. I hope it\'s the first because I don\'t want to be sick. I tell myself that coffee can (and will) work wonders on my sneeze so I move on to my third cup for the day.\r\n\r\nAnd maybe some orange juice.\r\n\r\nI\'ve got to try to fortify myself somehow.','Some thoughts on winter in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6140-revision-5','','','2012-01-18 10:55:10','2012-01-18 08:55:10','',6140,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/18/6140-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6162,1,'2012-01-23 22:23:56','2012-01-23 20:23:56','The thing is, no matter where you live, sometimes you get sick. It\'s just easier to feel bad for yourself when you\'re under the weather and living abroad. Everything seems harder. And it is.\n\nWhen I\'m well and communicating in Bulgarian there\'s an element of fun and achievement upon getting what you need or want across to someone who doesn\'t speak English. When you\'re not well, there\'s nothing fun about it. It\'s not a game and no, I don\'t feel like coming up with another creative way to try to express myself.\n\nLuckily for me I\'ve never been seriously sick in Bulgaria. To date, I thought I had strep throat once, I had a flu that kept me home in bed for three days and most recently I\'ve had a urinary tract infection (twice). All things considered, this isn\'t bad for three years living in Bulgaria. Oh and I also <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/03/ive-got-pneumonia/\" target=\"_blank\">got pneumonia (and a chest x-ray) last Christmas in the States</a> but that doesn\'t really count because there I speak the language.\n\nAnyhow I got a comment on my last post about <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/a-trip-to-the-doctors-office/\" target=\"_blank\">visiting the doctor\'s office</a> and my inability to integrate in Bulgaria. I read the comment, rolled my eyes, sighed and then I didn\'t approve the comment for 24 hours. In the meantime, I talked about my unwillingness to approve the comment with my parents during our standing Sunday night skype date. My MoM wisely (and rightly) pointed out that I never get worked up about comments on my blog and must still be recovering.\n\nShe\'s right. I never get worked up about what people write. I don\'t approve spam or racist/homophobic comments but pretty much everything else ends up on my blog. By in large, people are really kind and supportive. Well, aside from the people who take the time to write me some version of the-if-you-don\'t-like-it-here-then-leave comment.\n\nSo we started joking about the whole thing. Me at the doctor\'s office armed with my textbook Bulgarian and the various sentences I have command of (or not) as the case may be.\n\nThe first time I had a UTI, I went by myself on a weekend. <em>Ug</em>.\n\nOf course the thing is that when you have a UTI, you know it. There just aren\'t any external signs. The result of this is that you get to say things like: it hurts me here and gesture. But if you stop and think about it for a minute the emerging problem is that there is a lot that you could be gesturing at. It\'s not a having a sore throat or needing stitches. It\'s all internal.\n\nFor me, it was about this point that I realized that this all I could say because I realized that I don\'t know verbs either in the perfective or imperfective form for to pee in Bulgarian. I know how to eat and to drink in Bulgarian but apparently nothing\'s coming out of my body in Bulgarian. This was about the time I started cursing at myself for not looking some some words I might need before heading to the doctor\'s office or for not having a smart phone.\n\nBut really, who thinks about these things when they\'re sick?!\n\nThe result is that you put on a smile, the best you can, and say things like: I have to go to the toilet, at lot. Then you try the it hurts me here business again. Another semi-reliable trick seems to pronouncing English words related to the body with what you think might be Bulgarian emphasis. Hello, sinus and синус.\n\nMind you, I got pretty far with this exchange in Bulgarian (if you\'re dying to know the specific details to a urine sample) but then the doctor started asking me questions in Bulgarian that I didn\'t <em>really</em> understand. This is of course the worst part because you actually want to give the right answers at the doctor\'s office. The smile and nod business that I can sometimes get away with just doesn\'t cut it here. Sure, I am not allergic to any medicine that I know of but I\'d like to know that I\'m taking the <em>right</em> medicine.\n\nSo I got my cellphone out and tried to figure out which of my female Bulgarian friends I could call on a Saturday morning to talk to the doctor for me. I actually have a fairly large circle of Bulgarian friends but one who will be up on a Saturday morning and know enough medical English to help me narrowed my list significantly. Needless to say, I caught a friend at home who gladly helped me. Or at the very least, I was glad that she helped me. There was a lot of back and forth--me to my friend, my friend to the doctor, the doctor to my friend, and my friend back to me. And we played that game few times. <em>Phew</em>. I was glad when that was over and I had a prescription for antibiotics in hand.\n\nAt the pharmacy near my house, I had an awesome back and forth with the pharmacist about whether or not I was pregnant. I, of course, didn\'t understand what she was asking me and she was unprepared to give me the prescription without confirmation that I was not pregnant. She somehow dug out a picture of a pregnant woman--advertising of some sort and pointed at the picture and then me. Luckily I am good at both pictionary and charades.\n\nNeedless to say, this time around, I was very happy to have an appointment with an English speaking doctor under control before I arrived at the clinic on Friday. Could I have managed without this? Well, pretty clearly the answer is yes. Would it have been easy? No but I\'d have done it.\n\nProbably this whole thing should','Sometimes you get sick ','','inherit','open','open','','6161-revision','','','2012-01-23 22:23:56','2012-01-23 20:23:56','',6161,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/23/6161-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6208,1,'2012-01-31 07:41:39','2012-01-31 05:41:39','This past weekend I did and tried a few new things. I went to the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/pernik-and-the-surva-festival/\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival in Pernik</a> and saw Kukeri dancing. This as I\'ve already recounted was pretty wonderful. I also tried slanina.\r\n\r\nI\'m not one to turn down new things so I tried it but I don\'t think I am a fan.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793907095/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6793907095_6e924b376b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nWhat\'s slanina you ask? It\'s piece of lard covered in a mixture of Bulgarian spices called chubritsa. I am not sure how the process of covering a square of lard in churbritsa works exactly. I mean how do you press the spices into the lard while keeping the lard semi-rectangular in shape? But there you have it that\'s slanina.\r\n<a title=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793916253/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6793916253_f89a7fb8fe_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nThe slanina was served on a plate in long fairly thin slices. You can apparently just eat it with a fork. I was told: it just melts in your mouth <em>and</em> don\'t chew it. Um,<em> okay?</em><!--more-->I was also told that slanina is kind of like bacon but only the fat. In my mind this description falls a little short of its mark. Bacon is usually crispy and hot. Slanina was neither of these things.  Then again I am living in a bacon-less country so I can\'t be too harsh.\r\n<a title=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793919807/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6793919807_1fcca08491_z.jpg\" alt=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nThe good news is that you can also eat  slanina on bread. The preferred method of slanina and bread consumption seems to be to sort of fold the bread around the slanina. I think that the bread makes the slanina much more palatable.\r\n<a title=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793922853/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6793922853_05e678779a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nOf course, I ate some. I didn\'t love it but I didn\'t hate it either. I think that I have a bigger problem with the idea of it than the actual dish. The idea being: you want me to eat a slice of lard?\r\n\r\nReally it\'s not that much different than butter but it\'s harder for me to get my head around it.\r\n\r\nApparently, no one noticed that I wasn\'t a huge fan because among other things, I ended up with my own newspaper wrapped chunk of slanina.  It\'s in my fridge now still wrapped in newspaper.','Eating Bulgaria: Slanina','','publish','open','open','','eating-bulgaria-slanina','','','2012-01-31 07:41:39','2012-01-31 05:41:39','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6208',0,'post','',10),(6164,1,'2012-01-23 22:47:00','2012-01-23 20:47:00','The thing is, no matter where you live, sometimes you get sick. It\'s just easier to feel bad for yourself when you\'re under the weather and living abroad. Everything seems harder. And it is.\n\nWhen I\'m well and communicating in Bulgarian there\'s an element of fun and achievement upon getting what you need or want across to someone who doesn\'t speak English. When you\'re not well, there\'s nothing fun about it. It\'s not a game and no, I don\'t feel like coming up with another creative way to try to express myself.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: things attached to the head\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750874599/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6750874599_a57e140f71_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nLuckily for me I\'ve never been seriously sick in Bulgaria. To date, I thought I had strep throat once, I had a flu that kept me home in bed for three days and most recently I\'ve had a urinary tract infection (twice). All things considered, this isn\'t bad for three years living in Bulgaria. Oh and I also <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/03/ive-got-pneumonia/\" target=\"_blank\">got pneumonia (and a chest x-ray) last Christmas in the States</a> but that doesn\'t really count because there I speak the language.\n\nAnyhow I got a comment on my last post about <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/a-trip-to-the-doctors-office/\" target=\"_blank\">visiting the doctor\'s office</a> and my inability to integrate in Bulgaria. I read the comment, rolled my eyes, sighed and then I didn\'t approve the comment for 24 hours. In the meantime, I talked about my unwillingness to approve the comment with my parents during our standing Sunday night skype date. My MoM wisely (and rightly) pointed out that I never get worked up about comments on my blog and must still be recovering.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: irregular plurals and the body\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750892795/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6750892795_607e8d381f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nShe\'s right. I never get worked up about what people write. I don\'t approve spam or racist/homophobic comments but pretty much everything else ends up on my blog. By in large, people are really kind and supportive. Well, aside from the people who take the time to write me some version of the-if-you-don\'t-like-it-here-then-leave comment.\n\nSo we started joking about the whole thing. Me at the doctor\'s office armed with my textbook Bulgarian and the various sentences I have command of (or not) as the case may be.<!--more-->\n\nThe first time I had a UTI, I went by myself on a weekend. <em>Ug</em>.\n\nOf course the thing is that when you have a UTI, you know it. There just aren\'t any external signs. The result of this is that you get to say things like: it hurts me here and gesture. But if you stop and think about it for a minute the emerging problem is that there is a lot that you could be gesturing at. It\'s not a having a sore throat or needing stitches. It\'s all internal.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750885673/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6750885673_ac9e0cbb77_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFor me, it was about this point that I realized that this all I could say because I realized that I don\'t know verbs either in the perfective or imperfective form for to pee in Bulgarian. I know how to eat and to drink in Bulgarian but apparently nothing\'s coming out of my body in Bulgarian. This was about the time I started cursing at myself for not looking some some words I might need before heading to the doctor\'s office or for not having a smart phone.\n\nBut, <em>really</em>, who thinks about these things when they\'re sick?!\n\n<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750879733/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6750879733_040a3986dd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nThe result is that your forced to put on a smile, the best you can, and say things like: I have to go to the toilet, at lot. Then you try the it hurts me here business again. Another semi-reliable trick seems to pronouncing English words related to the body with what you think might be Bulgarian emphasis. Hello, sinus and синус. This however is an imperfect science.\n\nMind you, I got pretty far with this exchange in Bulgarian (if you\'re dying to know the specific details, I got all the way to giving a urine sample--in the same kind of cup that my morning .70 leva coffee comes in--don\'t think about that too much) but then the doctor started asking me questions in Bulgarian.\n\nQuestions that I didn\'t <em>really</em> understand. This is of course the worst part because you actually want to give the right answers at the doctor\'s office. The smile and nod business that I can sometimes get away with just doesn\'t cut it here. Sure, I am not allergic to any medicine that I know of but I\'d like to know that I\'m taking the <em>right</em> medicine.\n\nSo I got my cellphone out and tried to figure out which of my female Bulgarian friends I could call on a Saturday morning to talk to the doctor for me. I actually have a fairly large circle of Bulgarian friends but one who would be up on a Saturday morning and know enough medical English to help me narrowed my list significantly. Needless to say, I caught a friend at home who gladly helped me. Or at the very least, I was glad that she helped me. This was the stuff that comedy is made of. There was a lot of back and forth--me to my friend, my friend to the doctor, the doctor to my friend, and my friend back to me. And we played that game few times. <em>Phew</em>. I was glad when that was over and I had a prescription for antibiotics in hand.\n\nAt <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">the pharmacy near my house</a>, I had an awesome back and forth with the pharmacist about whether or not I was pregnant. I, of course, didn\'t understand what she was asking me and she was unprepared to give me the prescription without confirmation that I was not pregnant. She somehow dug out a picture of a pregnant woman--advertising of some sort and pointed at the picture and then me. Luckily I am good at both pictionary and charades (you definitely want me on your team. Just saying).\n\nNeedless to say, this time around, I was very happy to have an appointment with an English speaking doctor under control before I arrived at the clinic on Friday. Could I have managed without this? Well, pretty clearly the answer is yes. Would it have been easy? No but I\'d have done it.\n\nSo that\'s that. Sometimes you get sick. It happens. But I think it\'s ultimately how you handle the whole thing that really matters.','Sometimes you get sick ','','inherit','open','open','','6161-revision-2','','','2012-01-23 22:47:00','2012-01-23 20:47:00','',6161,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/23/6161-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6165,1,'2012-01-23 22:47:44','2012-01-23 20:47:44','The thing is, no matter where you live, sometimes you get sick. It\'s just easier to feel bad for yourself when you\'re under the weather and living abroad. Everything seems harder. And it is.\r\n\r\nWhen I\'m well and communicating in Bulgarian there\'s an element of fun and achievement upon getting what you need or want across to someone who doesn\'t speak English. When you\'re not well, there\'s nothing fun about it. It\'s not a game and no, I don\'t feel like coming up with another creative way to try to express myself.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: things attached to the head\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750874599/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6750874599_a57e140f71_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLuckily for me I\'ve never been seriously sick in Bulgaria. To date, I thought I had strep throat once, I had a flu that kept me home in bed for three days and most recently I\'ve had a urinary tract infection (twice). All things considered, this isn\'t bad for three years living in Bulgaria. Oh and I also <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/03/ive-got-pneumonia/\" target=\"_blank\">got pneumonia (and a chest x-ray) last Christmas in the States</a> but that doesn\'t really count because there I speak the language.\r\n\r\nAnyhow I got a comment on my last post about <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/a-trip-to-the-doctors-office/\" target=\"_blank\">visiting the doctor\'s office</a> and my inability to integrate in Bulgaria. I read the comment, rolled my eyes, sighed and then I didn\'t approve the comment for 24 hours. In the meantime, I talked about my unwillingness to approve the comment with my parents during our standing Sunday night skype date. My MoM wisely (and rightly) pointed out that I never get worked up about comments on my blog and must still be recovering.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: irregular plurals and the body\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750892795/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6750892795_607e8d381f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShe\'s right. I never get worked up about what people write. I don\'t approve spam or racist/homophobic comments but pretty much everything else ends up on my blog. By in large, people are really kind and supportive. Well, aside from the people who take the time to write me some version of the-if-you-don\'t-like-it-here-then-leave comment.\r\n\r\nSo we started joking about the whole thing. Me at the doctor\'s office armed with my textbook Bulgarian and the various sentences I have command of (or not) as the case may be.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe first time I had a UTI, I went by myself on a weekend. <em>Ug</em>.\r\n\r\nOf course the thing is that when you have a UTI, you know it. There just aren\'t any external signs. The result of this is that you get to say things like: it hurts me here and gesture. But if you stop and think about it for a minute the emerging problem is that there is a lot that you could be gesturing at. It\'s not a having a sore throat or needing stitches. It\'s all internal.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750885673/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6750885673_ac9e0cbb77_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nFor me, it was about this point that I realized that this all I could say because I realized that I don\'t know verbs either in the perfective or imperfective form for to pee in Bulgarian. I know how to eat and to drink in Bulgarian but apparently nothing\'s coming out of my body in Bulgarian. This was about the time I started cursing at myself for not looking some some words I might need before heading to the doctor\'s office or for not having a smart phone.\r\n\r\nBut, <em>really</em>, who thinks about these things when they\'re sick?!\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: some internal organs\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750879733/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6750879733_040a3986dd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe result is that your forced to put on a smile, the best you can, and say things like: I have to go to the toilet, at lot. Then you try the it hurts me here business again. Another semi-reliable trick seems to pronouncing English words related to the body with what you think might be Bulgarian emphasis. Hello, sinus and синус. This however is an imperfect science.\r\n\r\nMind you, I got pretty far with this exchange in Bulgarian (if you\'re dying to know the specific details, I got all the way to giving a urine sample--in the same kind of cup that my morning .70 leva coffee comes in--don\'t think about that too much) but then the doctor started asking me questions in Bulgarian.\r\n\r\nQuestions that I didn\'t <em>really</em> understand. This is of course the worst part because you actually want to give the right answers at the doctor\'s office. The smile and nod business that I can sometimes get away with just doesn\'t cut it here. Sure, I am not allergic to any medicine that I know of but I\'d like to know that I\'m taking the <em>right</em> medicine.\r\n\r\nSo I got my cellphone out and tried to figure out which of my female Bulgarian friends I could call on a Saturday morning to talk to the doctor for me. I actually have a fairly large circle of Bulgarian friends but one who would be up on a Saturday morning and know enough medical English to help me narrowed my list significantly. Needless to say, I caught a friend at home who gladly helped me. Or at the very least, I was glad that she helped me. This was the stuff that comedy is made of. There was a lot of back and forth--me to my friend, my friend to the doctor, the doctor to my friend, and my friend back to me. And we played that game few times. <em>Phew</em>. I was glad when that was over and I had a prescription for antibiotics in hand.\r\n\r\nAt <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">the pharmacy near my house</a>, I had an awesome back and forth with the pharmacist about whether or not I was pregnant. I, of course, didn\'t understand what she was asking me and she was unprepared to give me the prescription without confirmation that I was not pregnant. She somehow dug out a picture of a pregnant woman--advertising of some sort and pointed at the picture and then me. Luckily I am good at both pictionary and charades (you definitely want me on your team. Just saying).\r\n\r\nNeedless to say, this time around, I was very happy to have an appointment with an English speaking doctor under control before I arrived at the clinic on Friday. Could I have managed without this? Well, pretty clearly the answer is yes. Would it have been easy? No but I\'d have done it.\r\n\r\nSo that\'s that. Sometimes you get sick. It happens. But I think it\'s ultimately how you handle the whole thing that really matters.','Sometimes you get sick ','','inherit','open','open','','6161-revision-3','','','2012-01-23 22:47:44','2012-01-23 20:47:44','',6161,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/23/6161-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6166,1,'2012-01-23 22:48:48','2012-01-23 20:48:48','The thing is, no matter where you live, sometimes you get sick. It\'s just easier to feel bad for yourself when you\'re under the weather and living abroad. Everything seems harder. And it is.\n\nWhen I\'m well and communicating in Bulgarian there\'s an element of fun and achievement upon getting what you need or want across to someone who doesn\'t speak English. When you\'re not well, there\'s nothing fun about it. It\'s not a game and no, I don\'t feel like coming up with another creative way to try to express myself.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: things attached to the head\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750874599/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6750874599_a57e140f71_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nLuckily for me I\'ve never been seriously sick in Bulgaria. To date, I thought I had strep throat once, I had a flu that kept me home in bed for three days and most recently I\'ve had a urinary tract infection (twice). All things considered, this isn\'t bad for three years living in Bulgaria. Oh and I also <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/03/ive-got-pneumonia/\" target=\"_blank\">got pneumonia (and a chest x-ray) last Christmas in the States</a> but that doesn\'t really count because there I speak the language.\n\nAnyhow I got a comment on my last post about <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/a-trip-to-the-doctors-office/\" target=\"_blank\">visiting the doctor\'s office</a> and my inability to integrate in Bulgaria. I read the comment, rolled my eyes, sighed and then I didn\'t approve the comment for 24 hours. In the meantime, I talked about my unwillingness to approve the comment with my parents during our standing Sunday night skype date. My MoM wisely (and rightly) pointed out that I never get worked up about comments on my blog and must still be recovering.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: irregular plurals and the body\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750892795/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6750892795_607e8d381f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nShe\'s right. I never get worked up about what people write. I don\'t approve spam or racist/homophobic comments but pretty much everything else ends up on my blog. By in large, people are really kind and supportive. Well, aside from the people who take the time to write me some version of the-if-you-don\'t-like-it-here-then-leave comment.\n\nSo we started joking about the whole thing. Me at the doctor\'s office armed with my textbook Bulgarian and the various sentences I have command of (or not) as the case may be.<!--more-->\n\nThe first time I had a UTI, I went by myself on a weekend. <em>Ug</em>.\n\nOf course the thing is that when you have a UTI, you know it. There just aren\'t any external signs. The result of this is that you get to say things like: it hurts me here and gesture. But if you stop and think about it for a minute the emerging problem is that there is a lot that you could be gesturing at. It\'s not a having a sore throat or needing stitches. It\'s all internal.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750885673/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6750885673_ac9e0cbb77_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nFor me, it was about this point that I realized that this all I could say because I realized that I don\'t know verbs either in the perfective or imperfective form for to pee in Bulgarian. I know how to eat and to drink in Bulgarian but apparently nothing\'s coming out of my body in Bulgarian. This was about the time I started cursing at myself for not looking some some words I might need before heading to the doctor\'s office or for not having a smart phone.\n\nBut, <em>really</em>, who thinks about these things when they\'re sick?!\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: some internal organs\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750879733/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6750879733_040a3986dd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe result is that your forced to put on a smile, the best you can, and say things like: I have to go to the toilet, at lot. Then you try the it hurts me here business again. Another semi-reliable trick seems to pronouncing English words related to the body with what you think might be Bulgarian emphasis. Hello, sinus and синус. This however is an imperfect science.\n\nMind you, I got pretty far with this exchange in Bulgarian (if you\'re dying to know the specific details, I got all the way to giving a urine sample--in the same kind of cup that my morning .70 leva coffee comes in--don\'t think about that too much) but then the doctor started asking me questions in Bulgarian.\n\nQuestions that I didn\'t <em>really</em> understand. This is of course the worst part because you actually want to give the right answers at the doctor\'s office. The smile and nod business that I can sometimes get away with just doesn\'t cut it here. Sure, I am not allergic to any medicine that I know of but I\'d like to know that I\'m taking the <em>right</em> medicine.\n\nSo I got my cellphone out and tried to figure out which of my female Bulgarian friends I could call on a Saturday morning to talk to the doctor for me. I actually have a fairly large circle of Bulgarian friends but one who would be up on a Saturday morning and know enough medical English to help me narrowed my list significantly. Needless to say, I caught a friend at home who gladly helped me. Or at the very least, I was glad that she helped me. This was the stuff that comedy is made of. There was a lot of back and forth--me to my friend, my friend to the doctor, the doctor to my friend, and my friend back to me. And we played that game few times. <em>Phew</em>. I was glad when that was over and I had a prescription for antibiotics in hand.\n\nAt <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">the pharmacy near my house</a>, I had an awesome back and forth with the pharmacist about whether or not I was pregnant. I, of course, didn\'t understand what she was asking me and she was unprepared to give me the prescription without confirmation that I was not pregnant. She somehow dug out a picture of a pregnant woman--advertising of some sort and pointed at the picture and then me. Luckily I am good at both pictionary and charades (you definitely want me on your team. Just saying).\n\nNeedless to say, this time around, I was very happy to have an appointment with an English speaking doctor under control before I arrived at the clinic on Friday. Could I have managed without this? Well, pretty clearly the answer is yes. Would it have been easy? No but I\'d have done it.\n\nSo that\'s that. Sometimes you get sick. It happens. But I think it\'s ultimately how you handle the whole thing that really matters.','Sometimes you get sick ','','inherit','open','open','','6161-revision-4','','','2012-01-23 22:48:48','2012-01-23 20:48:48','',6161,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/23/6161-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6167,1,'2012-01-23 22:50:21','2012-01-23 20:50:21','The thing is, no matter where you live, sometimes you get sick. It\'s just easier to feel bad for yourself when you\'re under the weather and living abroad. Everything seems harder. And it is.\n\nWhen I\'m well and communicating in Bulgarian there\'s an element of fun and achievement upon getting what you need or want across to someone who doesn\'t speak English. When you\'re not well, there\'s nothing fun about it. It\'s not a game and no, I don\'t feel like coming up with another creative way to try to express myself.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: things attached to the head\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750874599/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6750874599_a57e140f71_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nLuckily for me I\'ve never been seriously sick in Bulgaria. To date, I thought I had strep throat once, I had a flu that kept me home in bed for three days and most recently I\'ve had a urinary tract infection (twice). All things considered, this isn\'t bad for three years living in Bulgaria. Oh and I also <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/03/ive-got-pneumonia/\" target=\"_blank\">got pneumonia (and a chest x-ray) last Christmas in the States</a> but that doesn\'t really count because there I speak the language.\n\nAnyhow I got a comment on my last post about <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/22/a-trip-to-the-doctors-office/\" target=\"_blank\">visiting the doctor\'s office</a> and my inability to integrate in Bulgaria. I read the comment, rolled my eyes, sighed and then I didn\'t approve the comment for 24 hours. In the meantime, I talked about my unwillingness to approve the comment with my parents during our standing Sunday night skype date. My MoM wisely (and rightly) pointed out that I never get worked up about comments on my blog and must still be recovering.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: irregular plurals and the body\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750892795/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6750892795_607e8d381f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nShe\'s right. I never get worked up about what people write. I don\'t approve spam or racist/homophobic comments but pretty much everything else ends up on my blog. By in large, people are really kind and supportive. Well, aside from the people who take the time to write me some version of the-if-you-don\'t-like-it-here-then-leave comment.\n\nSo we started joking about the whole thing. Me at the doctor\'s office armed with my textbook Bulgarian and the various sentences I have command of (or not) as the case may be.<!--more-->\n\nThe first time I had a UTI, I went by myself on a weekend. <em>Ug</em>.\n\nOf course the thing is that when you have a UTI, you know it. There just aren\'t any external signs. The result of this is that you get to say things like: it hurts me here and gesture. But if you stop and think about it for a minute the emerging problem is that there is a lot that you could be gesturing at. It\'s not a having a sore throat or needing stitches. It\'s all internal.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750885673/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6750885673_ac9e0cbb77_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian: stick boy and body parts\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nFor me, it was about this point that I realized that this all I could say because I realized that I don\'t know verbs either in the perfective or imperfective form for to pee in Bulgarian. I know how to eat and to drink in Bulgarian but apparently nothing\'s coming out of my body in Bulgarian. This was about the time I started cursing at myself for not looking some some words I might need before heading to the doctor\'s office or for not having a smart phone.\n\nBut, <em>really</em>, who thinks about these things when they\'re sick?!\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Learning Bulgarian: some internal organs\"]<a title=\"Learning Bulgarian  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6750879733/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6750879733_040a3986dd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Learning Bulgarian \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe result is that your forced to put on a smile, the best you can, and say things like: I have to go to the toilet, at lot. Then you try the it hurts me here business again. Another semi-reliable trick seems to pronouncing English words related to the body with what you think might be Bulgarian emphasis. Hello, sinus and синус. This however is an imperfect science.\n\nMind you, I got pretty far with this exchange in Bulgarian (if you\'re dying to know the specific details, I got all the way to giving a urine sample--in the same kind of cup that my morning .70 leva coffee comes in--don\'t think about that too much) but then the doctor started asking me questions in Bulgarian.\n\nQuestions that I didn\'t <em>really</em> understand. This is of course the worst part because you actually want to give the right answers at the doctor\'s office. The smile and nod business that I can sometimes get away with just doesn\'t cut it here. Sure, I am not allergic to any medicine that I know of but I\'d like to know that I\'m taking the <em>right</em> medicine.\n\nSo I got my cellphone out and tried to figure out which of my female Bulgarian friends I could call on a Saturday morning to talk to the doctor for me. I actually have a fairly large circle of Bulgarian friends but one who would be up on a Saturday morning and know enough medical English to help me narrowed my list significantly. Needless to say, I caught a friend at home who gladly helped me. Or at the very least, I was glad that she helped me. This was the stuff that comedy is made of. There was a lot of back and forth--me to my friend, my friend to the doctor, the doctor to my friend, and my friend back to me. And we played that game few times. <em>Phew</em>. I was glad when that was over and I had a prescription for antibiotics in hand.\n\nAt <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">the pharmacy near my house</a>, I had an awesome back and forth with the pharmacist about whether or not I was pregnant. I, of course, didn\'t understand what she was asking me and she was unprepared to give me the prescription without confirmation that I was not pregnant. She somehow dug out a picture of a pregnant woman--advertising of some sort and pointed at the picture and then me. Luckily I am good at both pictionary and charades (you definitely want me on your team. Just saying).\n\nNeedless to say, this time around, I was very happy to have an appointment with an English speaking doctor under control before I arrived at the clinic on Friday. Could I have managed without this? Well, pretty clearly the answer is yes. Would it have been easy? No but I\'d have done it.\n\nSo that\'s that. Sometimes you get sick. It happens. But I think it\'s ultimately how you handle the whole thing that really matters.','Sometimes you get sick ','','inherit','open','open','','6161-autosave','','','2012-01-23 22:50:21','2012-01-23 20:50:21','',6161,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/23/6161-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6168,1,'2012-01-25 20:15:44','2012-01-25 18:15:44','There have been rumblings (and I might add grumblings) about the possibility of a \"flu vacation\" in the near future.\r\n\r\nWe had one last year. <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/22/flu-vacation-in-sofia-schools/\" target=\"_blank\">I wrote about it here</a>. I was bitter that the kids got to stay home for the week but as teachers, we had to go to school and sit at our desks. We had one <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/11/06/school-n1h1/\" target=\"_blank\">the year before that too</a>. The big different was that I was actually sick that year. Really sick.\r\n\r\nThere\'s <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/01/24/1752075_flu-epidemics-in-some-bulgarian-districts\" target=\"_blank\">this article in the Sofia Echo</a> which seems to suggest that a flu vacation is possible (if not imminent). The cheering kids at school in surgical-esque masks in the picture is pretty great. In my mind it seems to highlight the absurdity of the whole thing but maybe that\'s because I am a foreigner and we don\'t do flu vacations where I am from.\r\n\r\nThe good news is that I haven\'t noticed too many absent students. Then again this is the last week of the semester at school and the kids are desperate not to miss any review/preparation for final exams. Fingers crossed that everyone stays healthy and that there aren\'t any closures this year.','A flu-cation, maybe ','','publish','open','open','','a-flu-cation-maybe','','','2012-01-25 20:15:44','2012-01-25 18:15:44','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6168',0,'post','',0),(6169,1,'2012-01-25 06:54:31','2012-01-25 04:54:31','There have been rumblings about the possibility of a \"flu vacation\" in the near future. If this article in the Sofia Ech','flu-cation! ','','inherit','open','open','','6168-revision','','','2012-01-25 06:54:31','2012-01-25 04:54:31','',6168,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/25/6168-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6170,1,'2012-01-25 20:14:50','2012-01-25 18:14:50','There have been rumblings (and I might add grumblings) about the possibility of a \"flu vacation\" in the near future.\n\nWe had one last year. <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/22/flu-vacation-in-sofia-schools/\" target=\"_blank\">I wrote about it here</a>. I was bitter that the kids got to stay home for the week but as teachers, we had to go to school and sit at our desks. We had one <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/11/06/school-n1h1/\" target=\"_blank\">the year before that too</a>. The big different was that I was actually sick that year. Really sick.\n\nThere\'s <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/01/24/1752075_flu-epidemics-in-some-bulgarian-districts\" target=\"_blank\">this article in the Sofia Echo</a> which seems to suggest that a flu vacation is possible (if not imminent). The cheering kids at school in surgical-esque masks in the picture is pretty great. In my mind it seems to highlight the absurdity of the whole thing but maybe that\'s because I am a foreigner and we don\'t do flu vacations where I am from.\n\nAnyhow, I haven\'t noticed too many absent students but it the last week of the semester at school and the kids are desperate not to miss any review/preparation for final exams. Fingers crossed that everyone stays healthy and that there aren\'t any closures this year.','A flu-cation, maybe ','','inherit','open','open','','6168-revision-2','','','2012-01-25 20:14:50','2012-01-25 18:14:50','',6168,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/25/6168-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6171,1,'2012-01-25 20:16:53','2012-01-25 18:16:53','There have been rumblings (and I might add grumblings) about the possibility of a \"flu vacation\" in the near future.\n\nWe had one last year. <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/01/22/flu-vacation-in-sofia-schools/\" target=\"_blank\">I wrote about it here</a>. I was bitter that the kids got to stay home for the week but as teachers, we had to go to school and sit at our desks. We had one <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/11/06/school-n1h1/\" target=\"_blank\">the year before that too</a>. The big different was that I was actually sick that year. Really sick.\n\nThere\'s <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/01/24/1752075_flu-epidemics-in-some-bulgarian-districts\" target=\"_blank\">this article in the Sofia Echo</a> which seems to suggest that a flu vacation is possible (if not imminent). The cheering kids at school in surgical-esque masks in the picture is pretty great. In my mind it seems to highlight the absurdity of the whole thing but maybe that\'s because I am a foreigner and we don\'t do flu vacations where I am from.\n\nThe good news is that I haven\'t noticed too many absent students. Then again this is the last week of the semester at school and the kids are desperate not to miss any review/preparation for final exams. Fingers crossed that everyone stays healthy and that there aren\'t any closures this year.','A flu-cation, maybe ','','inherit','open','open','','6168-autosave','','','2012-01-25 20:16:53','2012-01-25 18:16:53','',6168,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/25/6168-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6229,1,'2012-02-03 07:09:03','2012-02-03 05:09:03','This week has been a busy one.\r\n\r\nSo two nights ago I decided to paint my nails. I am not sure what exactly this says about me that during a time of stress I decide to paint my finger nails. I didn\'t head out to the gym or turn to drinking. Nope I thought: coral pink and red that would be nice.\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I do know, sometimes it\'s nice to be totally in control of a project from start to finish. The rules are pretty simple. Paint on the nail. Only on the nail. Sit while the first coat dries and don\'t touch anything. Paint a second coat. Sit and wait for this one to dry as well. Carefully remove any paint that might have ended up on your cuticle.\r\n\r\nFinally, admire your handy work. And get back to work.\r\n<a title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nThe quarter ended last Thursday. I gave my 10th grade semester exam on Friday morning last week. I\'ve got exams and projects to grade in both 10th and 11th grade. I\'ve proctored four exams at 2 hours and 15 minutes each. I\'ve been preparing for next semester which starts on Monday.\r\n\r\nOn top of this, students have already started asking me about their quarter and semester grades. I wish they were ready too, I really do. But they aren\'t.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAnd to make this all that much more interesting, my classroom currently isn\'t my own given the fact that students are taking exams there so I\'ve been camped out in a rather chilly storage room for the past week grading and drinking coffee when I am not proctoring that is. Oh and there\'s no internet there so I haven\'t been able to procrastinate or motivate myself (as I like to think about it) like I normally do. (Woe is me. <em>Right</em>?!)\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I\'ve still got a lot to do before next Friday when grades are due. The end is not currently within sight. I hope by the end of this weekend it will be.\r\n<a title=\"Coral and red nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810317043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6810317043_1bdd7b65b8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coral and red nails\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nSo I took a little time for myself recently and painted my nails. I\'ve gotten a lot of compliments from colleagues on the the two different tones but what I like best is that my nail polish coordinates nicely with my red grading pen!!\r\n\r\nPS. The photos of my fingernails are strange for me to look at because when I look at my finger nails in person they seem to be nearly perfect but when I look at them in the photo already the edges are worn down a little bit.','Sometimes it\'s the little things ','','publish','open','open','','sometimes-its-the-little-things-2','','','2012-02-03 07:09:03','2012-02-03 05:09:03','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6229',0,'post','',0),(6175,1,'2012-01-26 21:05:02','2012-01-26 19:05:02','This is a quick little post about my ongoing love affair with Mladost 1A.\r\n\r\nBetween the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/25/my-new-metro-stop-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">new metro stop set to open this year</a>, the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/27/my-neighborhood-sladkarnitsa/\" target=\"_blank\">new  skaldkarnitsa</a>, me finding <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/12/17/a-second-package/\" target=\"_blank\">the post office (block 555)</a> and a<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/29/what-what-a-bike-path-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\"> bike path</a>cutting through greater Mladost, there\'s a lot for a girl to do, to see and to eat.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"I heart Mladost 1A\"]<a title=\"I heart Mladost 1A by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6761511023/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6761511023_174121e2a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"I heart Mladost 1A\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'ve been busy supporting local business. There\'s the corner shop I call my own and the guy who works there laughs at me every time I fail to open the door correctly--is it push? is it pull? I don\'t even know now. I\'m in the process of single handily keeping <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">my drugstore</a> in business. Plenty of times over the last few weeks I\'ve thought about getting my hair cut but I\'ve been too busy to make an appointment at my salon across the street. I must remember to do this. I\'ve worn my hair in a ponytail for the last week.\r\n\r\nThough recently, we\'ve had one loss. The hardware, plumbing supply shop that opened in my building about a year ago closed over Christmas. This of course was a shop I never went it but it was a comfort knowing it was there. The good news is that the sex shop which moved in about the same time still seems to be going strong. Okay I see the girl who works there out front smoking and drinking coffee more often than not so I am not sure how good business is but whatever.\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I know: things are happening in Mladost 1A. And now I have a t-shirt to prove it.','Mladost 1A + Me','','publish','open','open','','mladost-1a-me','','','2012-01-26 21:05:02','2012-01-26 19:05:02','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6175',0,'post','',4),(6176,1,'2012-01-26 21:03:56','2012-01-26 19:03:56','This is a quick little post about my ongoing love affair with Mladost 1A.\n\nBetween the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/25/my-new-metro-stop-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">new metro stop set to open this year</a>, the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/27/my-neighborhood-sladkarnitsa/\" target=\"_blank\">new  skaldkarnitsa</a>, me finding <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/12/17/a-second-package/\" target=\"_blank\">the post office (block 555)</a> and a<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/29/what-what-a-bike-path-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\"> bike path</a>cutting through greater Mladost, there\'s a lot for a girl to do, to see and to eat.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"I heart Mladost 1A\"]<a title=\"I heart Mladost 1A by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6761511023/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6761511023_174121e2a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"I heart Mladost 1A\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI\'ve been busy supporting local business. There\'s the corner shop I call my own and the guy who works there laughs at me every time I fail to open the door correctly--is it push? is it pull? I don\'t even know now. I\'m in the process of single handily keeping <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">my drugstore</a> in business. Plenty of times over the last few weeks I\'ve thought about getting my hair cut but I\'ve been too busy to make an appointment at my salon across the street. I must remember to do this. I\'ve worn my hair in a ponytail for the last week.\n\nThough recently, we\'ve had one loss. The hardware, plumbing supply shop that opened in my building about a year ago closed over Christmas. This of course was a shop I never went it but it was a comfort knowing it was there. The good news is that the sex shop which moved in about the same time still seems to be going strong. Okay I see the girl who works there out front smoking and drinking coffee more often than not so I am not sure how good business is but whatever.\n\nHere\'s what I know: things are happening in Mladost 1A. And now I have a t-shirt to prove it.','Mladost 1A + Me','','inherit','open','open','','6175-revision','','','2012-01-26 21:03:56','2012-01-26 19:03:56','',6175,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/26/6175-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6177,1,'2012-01-26 21:03:56','2012-01-26 19:03:56','This is a quick little post about my ongoing love affair with Mladost 1A.\n\nBetween the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/25/my-new-metro-stop-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">new metro stop set to open this year</a>, the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/27/my-neighborhood-sladkarnitsa/\" target=\"_blank\">new  skaldkarnitsa</a>, me finding <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/12/17/a-second-package/\" target=\"_blank\">the post office (block 555)</a> and a<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/29/what-what-a-bike-path-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\"> bike path</a>cutting through greater Mladost, there\'s a lot for a girl to do, to see and to eat.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"I heart Mladost 1A\"]<a title=\"I heart Mladost 1A by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6761511023/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6761511023_174121e2a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"I heart Mladost 1A\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI\'ve been busy supporting local business. There\'s the corner shop I call my own and the guy who works there laughs at me every time I fail to open the door correctly--is it push? is it pull? I don\'t even know now. I\'m in the process of single handily keeping <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">my drugstore</a> in business. Plenty of times over the last few weeks I\'ve thought about getting my hair cut but I\'ve been too busy to make an appointment at my salon across the street. I must remember to do this. I\'ve worn my hair in a ponytail for the last week.\n\nThough recently, we\'ve had one loss. The hardware, plumbing supply shop that opened in my building about a year ago closed over Christmas. This of course was a shop I never went it but it was a comfort knowing it was there. The good news is that the sex shop which moved in about the same time still seems to be going strong. Okay I see the girl who works there out front smoking and drinking coffee more often than not so I am not sure how good business is but whatever.\n\nHere\'s what I know: things are happening in Mladost 1A. And now I have a t-shirt to prove it.','Mladost 1A + Me','','inherit','open','open','','6175-revision','','','2012-01-26 21:03:56','2012-01-26 19:03:56','',6175,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/26/6175-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6178,1,'2012-01-26 21:04:10','2012-01-26 19:04:10','This is a quick little post about my ongoing love affair with Mladost 1A.\r\n\r\nBetween the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/25/my-new-metro-stop-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">new metro stop set to open this year</a>, the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/27/my-neighborhood-sladkarnitsa/\" target=\"_blank\">new  skaldkarnitsa</a>, me finding <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/12/17/a-second-package/\" target=\"_blank\">the post office (block 555)</a> and a<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/29/what-what-a-bike-path-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\"> bike path</a>cutting through greater Mladost, there\'s a lot for a girl to do, to see and to eat.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"I heart Mladost 1A\"]<a title=\"I heart Mladost 1A by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6761511023/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6761511023_174121e2a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"I heart Mladost 1A\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'ve been busy supporting local business. There\'s the corner shop I call my own and the guy who works there laughs at me every time I fail to open the door correctly--is it push? is it pull? I don\'t even know now. I\'m in the process of single handily keeping <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">my drugstore</a> in business. Plenty of times over the last few weeks I\'ve thought about getting my hair cut but I\'ve been too busy to make an appointment at my salon across the street. I must remember to do this. I\'ve worn my hair in a ponytail for the last week.\r\n\r\nThough recently, we\'ve had one loss. The hardware, plumbing supply shop that opened in my building about a year ago closed over Christmas. This of course was a shop I never went it but it was a comfort knowing it was there. The good news is that the sex shop which moved in about the same time still seems to be going strong. Okay I see the girl who works there out front smoking and drinking coffee more often than not so I am not sure how good business is but whatever.\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I know: things are happening in Mladost 1A. And now I have a t-shirt to prove it.','Mladost 1A + Me','','inherit','open','open','','6175-revision-2','','','2012-01-26 21:04:10','2012-01-26 19:04:10','',6175,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/26/6175-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6179,1,'2012-01-26 21:06:12','2012-01-26 19:06:12','This is a quick little post about my ongoing love affair with Mladost 1A.\n\nBetween the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/25/my-new-metro-stop-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">new metro stop set to open this year</a>, the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/27/my-neighborhood-sladkarnitsa/\" target=\"_blank\">new  skaldkarnitsa</a>, me finding <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/12/17/a-second-package/\" target=\"_blank\">the post office (block 555)</a> and a<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/29/what-what-a-bike-path-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\"> bike path</a>cutting through greater Mladost, there\'s a lot for a girl to do, to see and to eat.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"I heart Mladost 1A\"]<a title=\"I heart Mladost 1A by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6761511023/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6761511023_174121e2a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"I heart Mladost 1A\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI\'ve been busy supporting local business. There\'s the corner shop I call my own and the guy who works there laughs at me every time I fail to open the door correctly--is it push? is it pull? I don\'t even know now. I\'m in the process of single handily keeping <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/06/20/buying-sunscreen-at-the-drugstore/\" target=\"_blank\">my drugstore</a> in business. Plenty of times over the last few weeks I\'ve thought about getting my hair cut but I\'ve been too busy to make an appointment at my salon across the street. I must remember to do this. I\'ve worn my hair in a ponytail for the last week.\n\nThough recently, we\'ve had one loss. The hardware, plumbing supply shop that opened in my building about a year ago closed over Christmas. This of course was a shop I never went it but it was a comfort knowing it was there. The good news is that the sex shop which moved in about the same time still seems to be going strong. Okay I see the girl who works there out front smoking and drinking coffee more often than not so I am not sure how good business is but whatever.\n\nHere\'s what I know: things are happening in Mladost 1A. And now I have a t-shirt to prove it.','Mladost 1A + Me','','inherit','open','open','','6175-autosave','','','2012-01-26 21:06:12','2012-01-26 19:06:12','',6175,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/26/6175-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6238,1,'2012-02-05 10:22:35','2012-02-05 08:22:35','Procrastinating last week, I read this article on the <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136309\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Kraft Foods CEO</a>. Don\'t judge me to harshly. There\'s only so much grading a girl can do without taking a break.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I\'ve been thinking about a single in the article ever since I read it:\r\n<blockquote>It is very important to stress that Kraft Foods does not use cheaper recipes for the Eastern European markets.</blockquote>\r\nI\'d never spent much time thinking or even worrying about this.\r\n\r\nWhat does it say about me that this concern has never crossed my mind? And what does it say about Eastern Europeans that they do worry about this? Is it an issue of naïveté on my part? Point of view? Maybe, experience? Or is it an issue of perceived self-worth?','International brands and food quality','','publish','open','open','','international-brands-and-food-quality','','','2012-02-05 10:22:35','2012-02-05 08:22:35','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6238',0,'post','',6),(6181,1,'2012-01-27 16:35:31','2012-01-27 14:35:31','I made it through the week. Finally.\r\n\r\nAnd it\'s been quite a week. The semester ended. I\'ve been under the weather. Students have been stressed out. There\'s been tons of snow. I\'ve had a couple of late nights. I gave an exam this morning and proctored one this afternoon.\r\n\r\nBut now the weekend is here. Sure I\'ve got nearly 40 final exams to grade (and a fair amount of homework to check) but all of this seems manageable-ish in comparison to the week I just had.\r\n\r\nOh and tomorrow I am going to <a href=\"http://surva.org/Programa_Bg.html\" target=\"_blank\">Pernik for the Surva Festival</a>. On top of the cool folk-life tradition of the event, I also understand that drinking hot wine and rakiya is encouraged. Yes please.','It\'s Friday, Friday, Friday','','publish','open','open','','its-friday-friday-friday','','','2012-01-27 16:35:31','2012-01-27 14:35:31','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6181',0,'post','',4),(6182,1,'2012-01-27 16:35:04','2012-01-27 14:35:04','I made it through the week. Finally.\n\nAnd it\'s been quite a week. The semester ended. I\'ve been under the weather. Students have been stressed out. There\'s been tons of snow. I\'ve had a couple of late nights. I gave an exam this morning and proctored one this afternoon.\n\nBut now the weekend is here. Sure I\'ve got nearly 40 final exams to grade (and a fair amount of homework to check) but all of this seems manageable-ish in comparison to the week I just had.\n\nOh and tomorrow I am going to <a href=\"http://surva.org/Programa_Bg.html\" target=\"_blank\">Pernik for the Surva Festival</a>. On top of the cool folk-life tradition of the event, I also understand that drinking hot wine and rakiya is encouraged. Yes please.','It\'s Friday, Friday, Friday','','inherit','open','open','','6181-revision','','','2012-01-27 16:35:04','2012-01-27 14:35:04','',6181,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/27/6181-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6255,1,'2012-02-12 22:22:02','2012-02-12 20:22:02','I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation in Sofia.\r\n\r\nI have an especially fond spot in my heart for the 76 and the 111 buses. These are my buses. I don\'t even care if the 76 is so poorly heated that the window frost on the inside of the bus and my glasses never fog up when I climb on.  And the 111 at 7:30 am? I\'ve got one word for you: c<em>ozy</em>.\r\n\r\nI\'ve already confessed that I regularly ride without a ticket and I\'ve paid my fine on the spot without complaint when I\'ve been caught. I think that the ticketing system for the buses is not very user-friendly and to a newcomer a little confusing. Really this system could really stand to be modernized. Ideally, I\'d like an electronic card that I could swipe on all public transportation.\r\n\r\nI dig the metro. I think it\'s funny there\'s only one line and I despise the person who designed the left-handed ticket entry. And sometime this spring a new metro stop is going to open in Mladost 1A next to my apartment. That\'s going to be really exciting. And I heart the electronic card that I can use on the metro.\r\n\r\nThe thing is I am not a very serious rider.<!--more--> I take the metro to the city center every weekend--that\'s about 5 or 6 stops and really the only stops I ever use are the stadium, the university and serdika. As for the bus, I hop on Monday-Friday to get to school. It\'s something like 4 stops.\r\n\r\nI\'ve taken a marshrutka once but I\'m afraid of them. I don\'t really understand how they work, where they go or why I\'d want to take one if I can take the bus, the metro or a taxi. This is probably a fear that I should work through.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I have great news. My friend P. has started a really funny and intense new blog about public transportation in Sofia called: <a href=\"http://sofiapublictransport.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Running for the Bus as the Doors are Closing</a>. Really it\'s about the intersection of public transportation and his life.  It\'s about life in a city--the good, the bad and crowded rush-hour buses. What I especially like is that it\'s not a laundry list of complaints because lord knows there\'s plenty to complain about when it comes to public transportation in this city. Check it out.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll end with a little story. I was climbing on to the 111 recently with a friend. I looked up and there were four controllers standing in the bus. I said to H.: if you have a ticket you should get it out to stamp it. She\'s digging around for tickets. I am carrying my purse, a bag of school work as well as wearing my gloves and I\'m also rooting around for my tickets. I extract one but H. doesn\'t have any in her purse.\r\n\r\nThe controller is waiting patiently for us. When H. determines that she doesn\'t have any tickets, she gets 10 leva out to pay her fine. Up until this point we\'ve been speaking to the controller in Bulgarian and to each other in English. H. hands over her money with a big smile on her face. This clearly confuses the controller. Who is happy about being caught and paying a fine?\r\n\r\nThen the female controller goes on to explain to H. in very slow but grammatically correct English that she\'s going to get a  10 leva ticket and on the back she\'s writing some information and on the next bus she can stamp the 10 leva ticket to validate her ride and do we understand? It\'s very important to her that H. understands the validation part. H. thanks her and in Bulgarian tells her to have a nice day. This renders the controller speechless.\r\n\r\nWe get off the bus and H. and I ponder the exceedingly small fine because really if you can validate the 10 leva ticket on the next bus the fine is basically 8 leva seeing as a single ride at full price is 1 leva.','Public Transportation in Sofia ','','publish','open','open','','public-transportion-in-sofia','','','2012-02-15 06:43:20','2012-02-15 04:43:20','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6255',0,'post','',7),(6184,1,'2012-01-28 10:43:21','2012-01-28 08:43:21','It\'s snowy, snowy, snowy in Sofia. Basically since the start of the new year we\'ve been stuck in a cycle of: Hey it\'s snowing!! Gosh the snow is pretty. Man this melting snow is gross. Then we get  a day or two sans snow and dreams of spring dance through our minds only to be greeted again with snow.\r\n\r\nThis week though it just snowed and snowed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774870951/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6774870951_dff9e214db.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d guess it snowed for nearly 24 hours.\r\n\r\nThe kids at school loved it. There were plenty of snowballs being thrown and other snow related shenanigans. Leave it to teenagers to come up with ridiculous things to do in the snow.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAt school we probably ended up with 12 inches of snow. The poor maintenance men shoveled our sidewalks endlessly so while the rest of the city is mired in snow we have nearly clear side walks and piles of snow.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Sanders in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774871881/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6774871881_941c43b001.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nCampus is beautiful. A winter wonderland if you will.  The snow has cast a layer of white on every available surface and at times like these that it\'s difficult to believe that we\'re actually in Sofia.\r\n\r\nEverything else? Well it\'s hard to enjoy Mladost when you\'re trying to make your way through inches of grey-brown slush on the sidewalks, climbing on the crowded buses and trying to fall down on un-shoveled stairs.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Hey Look! We have sidewalks. ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774872397/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6774872397_f83152628c.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOf course, as luck would have it, there\'s no warmer weather in sight. Just frozen slush. The temperatures are supposedly dropping into the -12 to -15 C range. It\'s going to be cold outside. The school is worried enough about the weather that we\'re having a half hour delay for finals week. Rather than starting at 9am, we\'re beginning finals next week at 9:30am.','Snowy Week in Sofia ','','publish','open','open','','snowy-week-in-sofia','','','2012-01-28 10:43:21','2012-01-28 08:43:21','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6184',0,'post','',1),(6185,1,'2012-01-28 10:36:45','2012-01-28 08:36:45','It\'s snowy, snowy, snowy in Sofia. Basically since the start of the new year we\'ve been stuck in a cycle of: Hey it\'s snowing!! Gosh the snow is pretty. Man this melting snow is gross. Then we get  a day or two sans snow and dreams of spring dance through our minds only to be greeted again with snow.\n\nThis week though it just snowed and snowed.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774870951/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6774870951_dff9e214db.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI\'d guess it snowed for nearly 24 hours. At school we probably ended up with 12 inches of snow. The poor maintenance men shoveled our sidewalks endlessly so while the rest of the city is mired in snow we have nearly clear side walks and piles of snow.\n\nCampus is beautiful. A winter wonderland if you will.  The snow has cast a layer of white on every available surface and at times like these that it\'s difficult to believe that we\'re actually in Sofia.\n\nEverything else? Well it\'s hard to enjoy Mladost when you\'re trying to make your way through inches of grey-brown slush on the sidewalks, climbing on the crowded buses and trying to fall down on un-shoveled stairs.\n\nOf course, as luck would have it, there\'s no warmer weather in sight. Just frozen slush. The temperatures are supposedly dropping into the -12 to -15 C range. It\'s going to be cold outside. The school is worried enough about the weather that we\'re having a half hour delay for finals week. Rather than starting at 9am, we\'re beginning finals next week at 9:30am.','Snowy Week in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6184-revision','','','2012-01-28 10:36:45','2012-01-28 08:36:45','',6184,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/28/6184-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6186,1,'2012-01-28 10:37:19','2012-01-28 08:37:19','It\'s snowy, snowy, snowy in Sofia. Basically since the start of the new year we\'ve been stuck in a cycle of: Hey it\'s snowing!! Gosh the snow is pretty. Man this melting snow is gross. Then we get  a day or two sans snow and dreams of spring dance through our minds only to be greeted again with snow.\r\n\r\nThis week though it just snowed and snowed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774870951/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6774870951_dff9e214db.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Sanders in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774871881/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6774871881_941c43b001.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d guess it snowed for nearly 24 hours. At school we probably ended up with 12 inches of snow. The poor maintenance men shoveled our sidewalks endlessly so while the rest of the city is mired in snow we have nearly clear side walks and piles of snow.\r\n\r\nCampus is beautiful. A winter wonderland if you will.  The snow has cast a layer of white on every available surface and at times like these that it\'s difficult to believe that we\'re actually in Sofia.\r\n\r\nEverything else? Well it\'s hard to enjoy Mladost when you\'re trying to make your way through inches of grey-brown slush on the sidewalks, climbing on the crowded buses and trying to fall down on un-shoveled stairs.\r\n\r\nOf course, as luck would have it, there\'s no warmer weather in sight. Just frozen slush. The temperatures are supposedly dropping into the -12 to -15 C range. It\'s going to be cold outside. The school is worried enough about the weather that we\'re having a half hour delay for finals week. Rather than starting at 9am, we\'re beginning finals next week at 9:30am.','Snowy Week in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6184-revision-2','','','2012-01-28 10:37:19','2012-01-28 08:37:19','',6184,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/28/6184-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6187,1,'2012-01-28 10:38:25','2012-01-28 08:38:25','It\'s snowy, snowy, snowy in Sofia. Basically since the start of the new year we\'ve been stuck in a cycle of: Hey it\'s snowing!! Gosh the snow is pretty. Man this melting snow is gross. Then we get  a day or two sans snow and dreams of spring dance through our minds only to be greeted again with snow.\n\nThis week though it just snowed and snowed.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774870951/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6774870951_dff9e214db.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nI\'d guess it snowed for nearly 24 hours. At school we probably ended up with 12 inches of snow. The poor maintenance men shoveled our sidewalks endlessly so while the rest of the city is mired in snow we have nearly clear side walks and piles of snow.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Sanders in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774871881/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6774871881_941c43b001.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nCampus is beautiful. A winter wonderland if you will.  The snow has cast a layer of white on every available surface and at times like these that it\'s difficult to believe that we\'re actually in Sofia.\n\nEverything else? Well it\'s hard to enjoy Mladost when you\'re trying to make your way through inches of grey-brown slush on the sidewalks, climbing on the crowded buses and trying to fall down on un-shoveled stairs.\n\nOf course, as luck would have it, there\'s no warmer weather in sight. Just frozen slush. The temperatures are supposedly dropping into the -12 to -15 C range. It\'s going to be cold outside. The school is worried enough about the weather that we\'re having a half hour delay for finals week. Rather than starting at 9am, we\'re beginning finals next week at 9:30am.','Snowy Week in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6184-revision-3','','','2012-01-28 10:38:25','2012-01-28 08:38:25','',6184,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/28/6184-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6188,1,'2012-01-28 10:39:14','2012-01-28 08:39:14','It\'s snowy, snowy, snowy in Sofia. Basically since the start of the new year we\'ve been stuck in a cycle of: Hey it\'s snowing!! Gosh the snow is pretty. Man this melting snow is gross. Then we get  a day or two sans snow and dreams of spring dance through our minds only to be greeted again with snow.\r\n\r\nThis week though it just snowed and snowed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774870951/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6774870951_dff9e214db.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d guess it snowed for nearly 24 hours. At school we probably ended up with 12 inches of snow. The poor maintenance men shoveled our sidewalks endlessly so while the rest of the city is mired in snow we have nearly clear side walks and piles of snow.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Sanders in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774871881/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6774871881_941c43b001.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nCampus is beautiful. A winter wonderland if you will.  The snow has cast a layer of white on every available surface and at times like these that it\'s difficult to believe that we\'re actually in Sofia.\r\n\r\nEverything else? Well it\'s hard to enjoy Mladost when you\'re trying to make your way through inches of grey-brown slush on the sidewalks, climbing on the crowded buses and trying to fall down on un-shoveled stairs.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Hey Look! We have sidewalks. ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774872397/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6774872397_f83152628c.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOf course, as luck would have it, there\'s no warmer weather in sight. Just frozen slush. The temperatures are supposedly dropping into the -12 to -15 C range. It\'s going to be cold outside. The school is worried enough about the weather that we\'re having a half hour delay for finals week. Rather than starting at 9am, we\'re beginning finals next week at 9:30am.','Snowy Week in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6184-revision-4','','','2012-01-28 10:39:14','2012-01-28 08:39:14','',6184,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/28/6184-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6189,1,'2012-01-28 10:39:21','2012-01-28 08:39:21','It\'s snowy, snowy, snowy in Sofia. Basically since the start of the new year we\'ve been stuck in a cycle of: Hey it\'s snowing!! Gosh the snow is pretty. Man this melting snow is gross. Then we get  a day or two sans snow and dreams of spring dance through our minds only to be greeted again with snow.\r\n\r\nThis week though it just snowed and snowed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774870951/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6774870951_dff9e214db.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d guess it snowed for nearly 24 hours. At school we probably ended up with 12 inches of snow. The poor maintenance men shoveled our sidewalks endlessly so while the rest of the city is mired in snow we have nearly clear side walks and piles of snow.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Sanders in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774871881/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6774871881_941c43b001.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nCampus is beautiful. A winter wonderland if you will.  The snow has cast a layer of white on every available surface and at times like these that it\'s difficult to believe that we\'re actually in Sofia.\r\n\r\nEverything else? Well it\'s hard to enjoy Mladost when you\'re trying to make your way through inches of grey-brown slush on the sidewalks, climbing on the crowded buses and trying to fall down on un-shoveled stairs.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Hey Look! We have sidewalks. ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774872397/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6774872397_f83152628c.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOf course, as luck would have it, there\'s no warmer weather in sight. Just frozen slush. The temperatures are supposedly dropping into the -12 to -15 C range. It\'s going to be cold outside. The school is worried enough about the weather that we\'re having a half hour delay for finals week. Rather than starting at 9am, we\'re beginning finals next week at 9:30am.','Snowy Week in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6184-revision-5','','','2012-01-28 10:39:21','2012-01-28 08:39:21','',6184,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/28/6184-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6190,1,'2012-01-28 10:42:41','2012-01-28 08:42:41','It\'s snowy, snowy, snowy in Sofia. Basically since the start of the new year we\'ve been stuck in a cycle of: Hey it\'s snowing!! Gosh the snow is pretty. Man this melting snow is gross. Then we get  a day or two sans snow and dreams of spring dance through our minds only to be greeted again with snow.\r\n\r\nThis week though it just snowed and snowed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774870951/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6774870951_dff9e214db.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI\'d guess it snowed for nearly 24 hours.\r\n\r\nThe kids at school loved it. There were plenty of snowballs being thrown and other snow related shenanigans. Leave it to teenagers to come up with ridiculous things to do in the snow.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAt school we probably ended up with 12 inches of snow. The poor maintenance men shoveled our sidewalks endlessly so while the rest of the city is mired in snow we have nearly clear side walks and piles of snow.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Sanders in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774871881/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6774871881_941c43b001.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nCampus is beautiful. A winter wonderland if you will.  The snow has cast a layer of white on every available surface and at times like these that it\'s difficult to believe that we\'re actually in Sofia.\r\n\r\nEverything else? Well it\'s hard to enjoy Mladost when you\'re trying to make your way through inches of grey-brown slush on the sidewalks, climbing on the crowded buses and trying to fall down on un-shoveled stairs.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\" caption=\"Hey Look! We have sidewalks. ACS in the Snow\"]<a title=\"ACS in the Snow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6774872397/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6774872397_f83152628c.jpg\" alt=\"ACS in the Snow\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOf course, as luck would have it, there\'s no warmer weather in sight. Just frozen slush. The temperatures are supposedly dropping into the -12 to -15 C range. It\'s going to be cold outside. The school is worried enough about the weather that we\'re having a half hour delay for finals week. Rather than starting at 9am, we\'re beginning finals next week at 9:30am.','Snowy Week in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6184-revision-6','','','2012-01-28 10:42:41','2012-01-28 08:42:41','',6184,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/28/6184-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6192,1,'2012-01-29 21:19:18','2012-01-29 19:19:18','I went to Pernik with my friend A. for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri (or just a kuker since kukeri is plural)\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<em>Amazing</em>.\r\n\r\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\r\n\r\nThese men are serious about their costumes. They are serious about the size of their bells. They are serious about their jumping and dancing. I guess you\'ve got to be serious about these things if it\'s your job to chase evil spirits out of town. Pernik is clearly evil-spirit-free after this weekend. Or at least they should be.\r\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nToday the festival is held at the end of January in Pernik and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania come to participate. I guess the best way to describe this event is this way: it is part parade, part festival and part party.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\r\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\r\n\r\nThese men are wearing huge bell. The tone is really deep. The masks make the men giant and I\'ve got no idea how they can dance while wearing these costumes. Even though it was cold out, these men had a lot of bulky, heavy clothing on as a part of their costumes. I would guess that they were actually hot in the costumes.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI have to say when it came to this event my imagination <em>sucked</em> (and that\'s a word I never use on this blog). I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\r\n\r\nLuckily, I like a good surprise.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event. The little kukeri in training with his dad in a big kukeri costume was unbelievably cute--he\'s wearing bells and everything.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and so I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. But it wasn\'t as bad as I thought it would be. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Me at the Festival  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783126817/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783126817_33473b4971_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Festival \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some. We made our way to a cafe to warm up, have a coffee and watch some football.\r\n\r\nWhat an exceptional festival.\r\n\r\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','publish','open','open','','pernik-and-the-surva-festival','','','2012-01-29 21:42:29','2012-01-29 19:42:29','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6192',0,'post','',6),(6193,1,'2012-01-29 20:39:56','2012-01-29 18:39:56','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\n\n<em>Amazing</em>.\n\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\n\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness.\n\nToday the festival is held at the end of January and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania. I guess the best way to describe it is part parade, part festival and part party. Groups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\n\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\n\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\n\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\n\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\n\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision','','','2012-01-29 20:39:56','2012-01-29 18:39:56','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6194,1,'2012-01-29 20:44:31','2012-01-29 18:44:31','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\n<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\n<em>Amazing</em>.\n\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\n\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called kukeri.\n\nToday the festival is held at the end of January and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania. I guess the best way to describe it is part parade, part festival and part party. Groups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\n\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\n\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\n\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\n\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\n\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some.\n\nWhat an exceptional festival.\n\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-2','','','2012-01-29 20:44:31','2012-01-29 18:44:31','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6195,1,'2012-01-29 20:50:48','2012-01-29 18:50:48','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\n<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\n<em>Amazing</em>.\n\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\" title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \"></a>\n\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\" title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mask and bells \"></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\" title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \"></a>\nToday the festival is held at the end of January and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania. I guess the best way to describe it is part parade, part festival and part party.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\" title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\"></a>\n\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\" title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\"></a>\n\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\n\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\n\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\" title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\"></a>\n\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\n\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some.\n\nWhat an exceptional festival.\n\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-3','','','2012-01-29 20:50:48','2012-01-29 18:50:48','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6196,1,'2012-01-29 20:54:11','2012-01-29 18:54:11','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n<em>Amazing</em>.\n\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nToday the festival is held at the end of January and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania. I guess the best way to describe it is part parade, part festival and part party.\n\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\n\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\n\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some.\n\nWhat an exceptional festival.\n\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-4','','','2012-01-29 20:54:11','2012-01-29 18:54:11','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6197,1,'2012-01-29 20:58:07','2012-01-29 18:58:07','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n<em>Amazing</em>.\n\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nToday the festival is held at the end of January and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania. I guess the best way to describe it is part parade, part festival and part party.\n\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\n\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783126817/\" title=\"Me at the Festival  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783126817_33473b4971_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Me at the Festival \"></a>\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some.\n\nWhat an exceptional festival.\n\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-5','','','2012-01-29 20:58:07','2012-01-29 18:58:07','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6198,1,'2012-01-29 21:02:54','2012-01-29 19:02:54','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<em>Amazing</em>.\r\n\r\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\r\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.\r\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nToday the festival is held at the end of January and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania. I guess the best way to describe it is part parade, part festival and part party.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\r\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783126817/\" title=\"Me at the Festival  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783126817_33473b4971_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Me at the Festival \"></a>\r\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some.\r\n\r\nWhat an exceptional festival.\r\n\r\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-6','','','2012-01-29 21:02:54','2012-01-29 19:02:54','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6199,1,'2012-01-29 21:03:28','2012-01-29 19:03:28','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<em>Amazing</em>.\r\n\r\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\r\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.\r\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nToday the festival is held at the end of January and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania. I guess the best way to describe it is part parade, part festival and part party.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\r\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Me at the Festival  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783126817/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783126817_33473b4971_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Festival \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some.\r\n\r\nWhat an exceptional festival.\r\n\r\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-7','','','2012-01-29 21:03:28','2012-01-29 19:03:28','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6200,1,'2012-01-29 21:10:51','2012-01-29 19:10:51','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<em>Amazing</em>.\r\n\r\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\r\n\r\nThese men are serious about their costumes. They are serious about the size of their bells. They are serious about their jumping and dancing. I guess you\'ve got to be serious about these things if it\'s your job to chase evil spirits out of town. Pernik is clearly evil-spirit-free after this weekend. Or at least they should be.\r\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nToday the festival is held at the end of January in Pernik and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania come to participate. I guess the best way to describe this event is this way: it is part parade, part festival and part party.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\r\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Me at the Festival  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783126817/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783126817_33473b4971_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Festival \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some.\r\n\r\nWhat an exceptional festival.\r\n\r\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-8','','','2012-01-29 21:10:51','2012-01-29 19:10:51','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6201,1,'2012-01-29 21:10:59','2012-01-29 19:10:59','I went to Pernik for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<em>Amazing</em>.\r\n\r\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\r\n\r\nThese men are serious about their costumes. They are serious about the size of their bells. They are serious about their jumping and dancing. I guess you\'ve got to be serious about these things if it\'s your job to chase evil spirits out of town. Pernik is clearly evil-spirit-free after this weekend. Or at least they should be.\r\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nToday the festival is held at the end of January in Pernik and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania come to participate. I guess the best way to describe this event is this way: it is part parade, part festival and part party.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\r\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAnd when it came to this event my imagination sucked. I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Me at the Festival  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783126817/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783126817_33473b4971_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Festival \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some.\r\n\r\nWhat an exceptional festival.\r\n\r\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-9','','','2012-01-29 21:10:59','2012-01-29 19:10:59','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6202,1,'2012-01-29 21:19:18','2012-01-29 19:19:18','I went to Pernik with my friend A. for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<em>Amazing</em>.\r\n\r\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\r\n\r\nThese men are serious about their costumes. They are serious about the size of their bells. They are serious about their jumping and dancing. I guess you\'ve got to be serious about these things if it\'s your job to chase evil spirits out of town. Pernik is clearly evil-spirit-free after this weekend. Or at least they should be.\r\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nToday the festival is held at the end of January in Pernik and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania come to participate. I guess the best way to describe this event is this way: it is part parade, part festival and part party.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\r\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\r\n\r\nThese men are wearing huge bell. The tone is really deep. The masks make the men giant and I\'ve got no idea how they can dance while wearing these costumes. Even though it was cold out, these men had a lot of bulky, heavy clothing on as a part of their costumes. I would guess that they were actually hot in the costumes.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI have to say when it came to this event my imagination <em>sucked</em> (and that\'s a word I never use on this blog). I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\r\n\r\nLuckily, I like a good surprise.\r\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event. The little kukeri in training with his dad in a big kukeri costume was unbelievably cute--he\'s wearing bells and everything.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and so I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. But it wasn\'t as bad as I thought it would be. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Me at the Festival  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783126817/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783126817_33473b4971_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Festival \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some. We made our way to a cafe to warm up, have a coffee and watch some football.\r\n\r\nWhat an exceptional festival.\r\n\r\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-revision-10','','','2012-01-29 21:19:18','2012-01-29 19:19:18','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(6203,1,'2012-01-29 21:43:34','2012-01-29 19:43:34','I went to Pernik with my friend A. for the first time this weekend. This is probably something I should be embarrassed by given how close the city is to Sofia I don\'t have time for that. What I really want to talk about is the <a href=\"http://www.surva.org/TheFestival_Eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival</a> that was held there this weekend.\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"576\" caption=\"Me and a Kukeri (or just a kuker since kukeri is plural)\"]<a title=\"Me and a Kukeri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783197969/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6783197969_abdfc98296_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and a Kukeri\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n<em>Amazing</em>.\n\nAnd kind of difficult to put into worlds.\n\nThese men are serious about their costumes. They are serious about the size of their bells. They are serious about their jumping and dancing. I guess you\'ve got to be serious about these things if it\'s your job to chase evil spirits out of town. Pernik is clearly evil-spirit-free after this weekend. Or at least they should be.\n<a title=\"Bulgarian man  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783037639/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6783037639_2ea8fcb4f0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian man \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nThe festival grows out of a tradition in Bulgaria where men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate the arrival of the new year and in the process scare away evil spirits lurking in the village in order to promote health, wealth and happiness. The men who dress up in costume are called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukeri\" target=\"_blank\">kukeri</a>.<!--more-->\n<a title=\"Mask and bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783029113/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6783029113_3912f26a05_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask and bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\n<a title=\"A man wearing huge bells  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783093879/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6783093879_cb490d402d_z.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing huge bells \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nToday the festival is held at the end of January in Pernik and villages from all over Bulgaria participate as well as groups from Serbia, Macedonia and even Albania come to participate. I guess the best way to describe this event is this way: it is part parade, part festival and part party.\n\n<a title=\"Drinking to keep warm by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783053859/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6783053859_27bfa9df51_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinking to keep warm\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nGroups wait in line for their turn to preform in front of judges. People take pictures of and with these men. Everyone seems to be drinking to stave off the cold. When the previous two things aren\'t happening the men are busy showing off by jumping up and down to ring the bells attached to them or playing drums to dance to. It\'s a wonderful cacophony of ringing bells, shouting and drumming.\n<a title=\"Mask on the ground by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783025225/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6783025225_504401b120_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mask on the ground\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nI\'ve never seen anything like it.\n\nThese men are wearing huge bell. The tone is really deep. The masks make the men giant and I\'ve got no idea how they can dance while wearing these costumes. Even though it was cold out, these men had a lot of bulky, heavy clothing on as a part of their costumes. I would guess that they were actually hot in the costumes.\n<a title=\"Kukeri and Pernik by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783012655/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6783012655_09e798cf29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri and Pernik\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nI have to say when it came to this event my imagination <em>sucked</em> (and that\'s a word I never use on this blog). I\'d seen some pictures and heard some stories before going. So I figured I basically knew what to expect. As it turns out, none of this prepared for me for this event at all. I didn\'t come close to imagining the sights or sounds that greeted me in Pernik.\n\nLuckily, I like a good surprise.\n<a title=\"Kukeri in training by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783002821/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6783002821_288532ea92_z.jpg\" alt=\"Kukeri in training\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nI was surprised by the range of colors in the costumes, the size and scope of the festival and the participants, the number of attendees and the all around joyous feel of the event. The little kukeri in training with his dad in a big kukeri costume was unbelievably cute--he\'s wearing bells and everything.\n\n<a title=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6782997089/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6782997089_f977ea51e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bells and a Bulgarian vest\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nIt\'s been at or below freezing in Bulgaria these last few weeks and so I expected to be<em> really</em> cold at this festival. Sure a big cup of hot wine helped but that\'s false warmth. But it wasn\'t as bad as I thought it would be. It was cold. Don\'t get me wrong. B<strong></strong>ut the excitement in the air made everything a lot more manageable. Oh and my smart-wool socks helped too.\n\n<a title=\"Me at the Festival  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6783126817/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783126817_33473b4971_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the Festival \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nAfter a couple of hours, a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica\" target=\"_blank\">pleskavitsa</a> and plenty of photos, I felt like I\'d seen what I\'d come for and then some. We made our way to a cafe to warm up, have a coffee and watch some football.\n\nWhat an exceptional festival.\n\nOh and be sure to <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/\">check out all of my photos on flickr</a>.','Pernik and the Surva Festival','','inherit','open','open','','6192-autosave','','','2012-01-29 21:43:34','2012-01-29 19:43:34','',6192,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/6192-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6204,1,'2012-01-31 22:00:34','2012-01-31 20:00:34','I\'ve just spent a mind numbing couple of hours on Facebook. Apparently the new timeline business is going to be rolled out to everyone on February 6th. I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should be proactive and switch over now. That way, I could be in control of all the content on my page.\r\n\r\nIn the process I stumbled across such gems as: <em>I can\'t stop buying Martenitsas. Help! </em>That\'s from circa 2009.\r\n\r\nEmbarrassing, maybe. Delete worthy? Not really.\r\n\r\nThat\'s the interesting thing, very little has actually turned out to be delete worthy. I cut out a handful unattractive photos and what not but for nearly six-years of facebooking that\'s not too bad.\r\n\r\nThe whole thing also made me really glad that I\'ve never really gotten into Facebook and 90+ minutes into my editing, reviewing and reliving the past, I wondered if I was really better off scanning every comment and post to my wall that I\'ve ever written or if I should have deleted my account. But I\'d already invested so much time, I figured I\'d better finish what I started.\r\n\r\nSo I did.\r\n\r\nAnd by my calculation, that gives me just enough time to check in on <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/\" target=\"_blank\">pinterest</a> before I head to bed. It\'s my newest obsession.','Face-what?!','','publish','open','open','','face-what','','','2012-01-31 16:05:53','2012-01-31 14:05:53','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6204',0,'post','',0),(6205,1,'2012-01-30 22:18:52','2012-01-30 20:18:52','I\'ve just spent a mind numbing couple of hours on Facebook. Apparently the new timeline business is going to be rolled out to everyone on February 2nd. I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should be proactive and switch over now. That way, I could be in control of all the content on my page.\n\nIn the process I stumbled across such gems as: <em>I can\'t stop buying Martenitsas. Help! </em>That\'s from circa 2009.\n\nEmbarrassing, maybe. Delete worthy? Not really.\n\nThat\'s the interesting thing, very little has actually turned out to be delete worthy. I cut out a handful unattractive photos and what not but for nearly six-years of facebooking that\'s not too bad.\n\nThe whole thing also made me really glad that I\'ve never really gotten into Facebook and 90+ minutes into my editing, reviewing and reliving the past, I wondered if I was really better off scanning every comment and post to my wall that I\'ve ever written or if I should have deleted my account. But I\'d already invested so much time, I figured I\'d better finish what I started.\n\nSo I did.\n\nAnd by my calculation, that gives me just enough time to check in on <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/\" target=\"_blank\">pinterest</a> before I head to bed. It\'s my newest obsession.','Face-what?!','','inherit','open','open','','6204-revision','','','2012-01-30 22:18:52','2012-01-30 20:18:52','',6204,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/30/6204-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6207,1,'2012-01-30 22:21:16','2012-01-30 20:21:16','I\'ve just spent a mind numbing couple of hours on Facebook. Apparently the new timeline business is going to be rolled out to everyone on February 6th. I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should be proactive and switch over now. That way, I could be in control of all the content on my page.\n\nIn the process I stumbled across such gems as: <em>I can\'t stop buying Martenitsas. Help! </em>That\'s from circa 2009.\n\nEmbarrassing, maybe. Delete worthy? Not really.\n\nThat\'s the interesting thing, very little has actually turned out to be delete worthy. I cut out a handful unattractive photos and what not but for nearly six-years of facebooking that\'s not too bad.\n\nThe whole thing also made me really glad that I\'ve never really gotten into Facebook and 90+ minutes into my editing, reviewing and reliving the past, I wondered if I was really better off scanning every comment and post to my wall that I\'ve ever written or if I should have deleted my account. But I\'d already invested so much time, I figured I\'d better finish what I started.\n\nSo I did.\n\nAnd by my calculation, that gives me just enough time to check in on <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/\" target=\"_blank\">pinterest</a> before I head to bed. It\'s my newest obsession.','Face-what?!','','inherit','open','open','','6204-revision-3','','','2012-01-30 22:21:16','2012-01-30 20:21:16','',6204,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/30/6204-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6206,1,'2012-01-30 22:19:10','2012-01-30 20:19:10','I\'ve just spent a mind numbing couple of hours on Facebook. Apparently the new timeline business is going to be rolled out to everyone on February 2nd. I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should be proactive and switch over now. That way, I could be in control of all the content on my page.\r\n\r\nIn the process I stumbled across such gems as: <em>I can\'t stop buying Martenitsas. Help! </em>That\'s from circa 2009.\r\n\r\nEmbarrassing, maybe. Delete worthy? Not really.\r\n\r\nThat\'s the interesting thing, very little has actually turned out to be delete worthy. I cut out a handful unattractive photos and what not but for nearly six-years of facebooking that\'s not too bad.\r\n\r\nThe whole thing also made me really glad that I\'ve never really gotten into Facebook and 90+ minutes into my editing, reviewing and reliving the past, I wondered if I was really better off scanning every comment and post to my wall that I\'ve ever written or if I should have deleted my account. But I\'d already invested so much time, I figured I\'d better finish what I started.\r\n\r\nSo I did.\r\n\r\nAnd by my calculation, that gives me just enough time to check in on <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/\" target=\"_blank\">pinterest</a> before I head to bed. It\'s my newest obsession.','Face-what?!','','inherit','open','open','','6204-revision-2','','','2012-01-30 22:19:10','2012-01-30 20:19:10','',6204,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/30/6204-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6209,1,'2012-01-31 07:35:45','2012-01-31 05:35:45','This past weekend I did and tried a few new things. I went to the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/pernik-and-the-surva-festival/\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival in Pernik</a> and saw Kukeri dancing. This as I\'ve already recounted was pretty wonderful. I also tried slanina.\n\nI\'m not one to turn down new things so I tried it but I don\'t think I am a fan.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793907095/\" title=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6793907095_6e924b376b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina\"></a>\nWhat\'s slanina you ask? It\'s piece of lard covered in a mixture of Bulgarian spices called chubritsa. I am not sure how the process of covering a square of lard in churbritsa works exactly but that\'s what it is.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793916253/\" title=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6793916253_f89a7fb8fe_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper\"></a>\nThe slanina was served on a plate in long fairly thin slices. You can apparently just eat it with a fork. I was told it just melts in your mouth <em>and</em> don\'t chew it. I was also told that slanina is kind of like bacon but only the fat. In my mind this description falls a little short of its mark. Bacon is usually crispy and hot. Slanina was neither of these things.  Then again I am living in a bacon-less country so I can\'t be too harsh.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793919807/\" title=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6793919807_1fcca08491_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa \"></a>\nThe good news is that you can also eat  slanina on bread. The preferred method of slanina and bread consumption seems to be to sort of fold the bread around the slanina. I think that the bread makes the slanina much more palatable.\n\nOf course, I ate some. I didn\'t love it but I didn\'t hate it either. I think that I have a bigger problem with the idea of it than the actual dish. The idea being: you want me to eat a slice of lard?\n\nReally it\'s not that much different than butter but it\'s harder for me to get my head around it.\n\nApparently, no one noticed that I wasn\'t a huge fan because among other things, I ended up with my own newspaper wrapped chunk of slanina.  It\'s in my fridge now still wrapped in newspaper.','Eating Bulgaria: Slanina','','inherit','open','open','','6208-revision','','','2012-01-31 07:35:45','2012-01-31 05:35:45','',6208,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/31/6208-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6210,1,'2012-01-31 07:36:18','2012-01-31 05:36:18','This past weekend I did and tried a few new things. I went to the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/pernik-and-the-surva-festival/\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival in Pernik</a> and saw Kukeri dancing. This as I\'ve already recounted was pretty wonderful. I also tried slanina.\r\n\r\nI\'m not one to turn down new things so I tried it but I don\'t think I am a fan.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793907095/\" title=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6793907095_6e924b376b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina\"></a>\r\nWhat\'s slanina you ask? It\'s piece of lard covered in a mixture of Bulgarian spices called chubritsa. I am not sure how the process of covering a square of lard in churbritsa works exactly but that\'s what it is.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793916253/\" title=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6793916253_f89a7fb8fe_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper\"></a>\r\nThe slanina was served on a plate in long fairly thin slices. You can apparently just eat it with a fork. I was told it just melts in your mouth <em>and</em> don\'t chew it. I was also told that slanina is kind of like bacon but only the fat. In my mind this description falls a little short of its mark. Bacon is usually crispy and hot. Slanina was neither of these things.  Then again I am living in a bacon-less country so I can\'t be too harsh.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793919807/\" title=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6793919807_1fcca08491_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa \"></a>\r\nThe good news is that you can also eat  slanina on bread. The preferred method of slanina and bread consumption seems to be to sort of fold the bread around the slanina. I think that the bread makes the slanina much more palatable.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793922853/\" title=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6793922853_05e678779a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina \"></a>\r\nOf course, I ate some. I didn\'t love it but I didn\'t hate it either. I think that I have a bigger problem with the idea of it than the actual dish. The idea being: you want me to eat a slice of lard?\r\n\r\nReally it\'s not that much different than butter but it\'s harder for me to get my head around it.\r\n\r\nApparently, no one noticed that I wasn\'t a huge fan because among other things, I ended up with my own newspaper wrapped chunk of slanina.  It\'s in my fridge now still wrapped in newspaper.','Eating Bulgaria: Slanina','','inherit','open','open','','6208-revision-2','','','2012-01-31 07:36:18','2012-01-31 05:36:18','',6208,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/31/6208-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6211,1,'2012-01-31 07:37:20','2012-01-31 05:37:20','This past weekend I did and tried a few new things. I went to the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/pernik-and-the-surva-festival/\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival in Pernik</a> and saw Kukeri dancing. This as I\'ve already recounted was pretty wonderful. I also tried slanina.\r\n\r\nI\'m not one to turn down new things so I tried it but I don\'t think I am a fan.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793907095/\" title=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6793907095_6e924b376b_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina\"></a>\r\nWhat\'s slanina you ask? It\'s piece of lard covered in a mixture of Bulgarian spices called chubritsa. I am not sure how the process of covering a square of lard in churbritsa works exactly but that\'s what it is.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793916253/\" title=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6793916253_f89a7fb8fe_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper\"></a>\r\nThe slanina was served on a plate in long fairly thin slices. You can apparently just eat it with a fork. I was told it just melts in your mouth <em>and</em> don\'t chew it. I was also told that slanina is kind of like bacon but only the fat. In my mind this description falls a little short of its mark. Bacon is usually crispy and hot. Slanina was neither of these things.  Then again I am living in a bacon-less country so I can\'t be too harsh.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793919807/\" title=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6793919807_1fcca08491_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa \"></a>\r\nThe good news is that you can also eat  slanina on bread. The preferred method of slanina and bread consumption seems to be to sort of fold the bread around the slanina. I think that the bread makes the slanina much more palatable.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793922853/\" title=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6793922853_05e678779a_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina \"></a>\r\nOf course, I ate some. I didn\'t love it but I didn\'t hate it either. I think that I have a bigger problem with the idea of it than the actual dish. The idea being: you want me to eat a slice of lard?\r\n\r\nReally it\'s not that much different than butter but it\'s harder for me to get my head around it.\r\n\r\nApparently, no one noticed that I wasn\'t a huge fan because among other things, I ended up with my own newspaper wrapped chunk of slanina.  It\'s in my fridge now still wrapped in newspaper.','Eating Bulgaria: Slanina','','inherit','open','open','','6208-revision-3','','','2012-01-31 07:37:20','2012-01-31 05:37:20','',6208,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/31/6208-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6212,1,'2012-01-31 07:41:27','2012-01-31 05:41:27','This past weekend I did and tried a few new things. I went to the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/pernik-and-the-surva-festival/\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival in Pernik</a> and saw Kukeri dancing. This as I\'ve already recounted was pretty wonderful. I also tried slanina.\n\nI\'m not one to turn down new things so I tried it but I don\'t think I am a fan.\n\n<a title=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793907095/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6793907095_6e924b376b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nWhat\'s slanina you ask? It\'s piece of lard covered in a mixture of Bulgarian spices called chubritsa. I am not sure how the process of covering a square of lard in churbritsa works exactly. I mean how do you press the spices into the lard while keeping the lard semi-rectangular in shape? But there you have it that\'s slanina.\n<a title=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793916253/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6793916253_f89a7fb8fe_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nThe slanina was served on a plate in long fairly thin slices. You can apparently just eat it with a fork. I was told: it just melts in your mouth <em>and</em> don\'t chew it. Um,<em> okay?</em><!--more-->I was also told that slanina is kind of like bacon but only the fat. In my mind this description falls a little short of its mark. Bacon is usually crispy and hot. Slanina was neither of these things.  Then again I am living in a bacon-less country so I can\'t be too harsh.\n<a title=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793919807/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6793919807_1fcca08491_z.jpg\" alt=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nThe good news is that you can also eat  slanina on bread. The preferred method of slanina and bread consumption seems to be to sort of fold the bread around the slanina. I think that the bread makes the slanina much more palatable.\n<a title=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793922853/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6793922853_05e678779a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nOf course, I ate some. I didn\'t love it but I didn\'t hate it either. I think that I have a bigger problem with the idea of it than the actual dish. The idea being: you want me to eat a slice of lard?\n\nReally it\'s not that much different than butter but it\'s harder for me to get my head around it.\n\nApparently, no one noticed that I wasn\'t a huge fan because among other things, I ended up with my own newspaper wrapped chunk of slanina.  It\'s in my fridge now still wrapped in newspaper.','Eating Bulgaria: Slanina','','inherit','open','open','','6208-revision-4','','','2012-01-31 07:41:27','2012-01-31 05:41:27','',6208,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/31/6208-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6213,1,'2012-01-31 07:42:44','2012-01-31 05:42:44','This past weekend I did and tried a few new things. I went to the <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/29/pernik-and-the-surva-festival/\" target=\"_blank\">Surva Festival in Pernik</a> and saw Kukeri dancing. This as I\'ve already recounted was pretty wonderful. I also tried slanina.\n\nI\'m not one to turn down new things so I tried it but I don\'t think I am a fan.\n\n<a title=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793907095/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6793907095_6e924b376b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Newspaper wrapped slanina\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nWhat\'s slanina you ask? It\'s piece of lard covered in a mixture of Bulgarian spices called chubritsa. I am not sure how the process of covering a square of lard in churbritsa works exactly. I mean how do you press the spices into the lard while keeping the lard semi-rectangular in shape? But there you have it that\'s slanina.\n<a title=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793916253/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6793916253_f89a7fb8fe_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bulgarian Slanina wrapped in newspaper\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nThe slanina was served on a plate in long fairly thin slices. You can apparently just eat it with a fork. I was told: it just melts in your mouth <em>and</em> don\'t chew it. Um,<em> okay?</em><!--more-->I was also told that slanina is kind of like bacon but only the fat. In my mind this description falls a little short of its mark. Bacon is usually crispy and hot. Slanina was neither of these things.  Then again I am living in a bacon-less country so I can\'t be too harsh.\n<a title=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793919807/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6793919807_1fcca08491_z.jpg\" alt=\"Slanina: Lard and Churbritsa \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nThe good news is that you can also eat  slanina on bread. The preferred method of slanina and bread consumption seems to be to sort of fold the bread around the slanina. I think that the bread makes the slanina much more palatable.\n<a title=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6793922853/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6793922853_05e678779a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Rather too thick slices of Slanina \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nOf course, I ate some. I didn\'t love it but I didn\'t hate it either. I think that I have a bigger problem with the idea of it than the actual dish. The idea being: you want me to eat a slice of lard?\n\nReally it\'s not that much different than butter but it\'s harder for me to get my head around it.\n\nApparently, no one noticed that I wasn\'t a huge fan because among other things, I ended up with my own newspaper wrapped chunk of slanina.  It\'s in my fridge now still wrapped in newspaper.','Eating Bulgaria: Slanina','','inherit','open','open','','6208-autosave','','','2012-01-31 07:42:44','2012-01-31 05:42:44','',6208,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/31/6208-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6243,1,'2012-02-07 22:04:14','2012-02-07 20:04:14','I woke up this morning dreaming of a snow day.\r\n\r\nI tweeted about it: Why don\'t we get snow days in Sofia?\r\n\r\nBy the time I got to school I had this response: Takes a lot more snow than that. We\'re quite the pertinatious people :D (<a href=\"https://twitter.com/#!/muiiio\" target=\"_blank\">@muiiio</a>)\r\n\r\nSo I did what anyone would do in my situation. I bought a coffee and I got to work.\r\n\r\nI taught all day. I went to my Bulgarian lesson and then I got busy grading some last minute student work and finalizing my semester grades.  At 6pm, I was still at school and I happened to check my google reader. I stumbled on this gem in the Sofia Echo: <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/02/07/1761375_winter-weather-crisis-bulgaria-closes-all-schools-for-three-days?ref=rss\" target=\"_blank\">Winter weather crisis, closes Sofia schools for three days</a>! Um, what?!\r\n\r\nThen I checked my school email. Turns out I should have done that at 5pm when we were emailed about the school closure.\r\n\r\nWhy is that do you ask?\r\n\r\nOh, because I would have stopped working immediately and I would have gone home right away. That\'s why.\r\n\r\nThe email instructs us that while the kids aren\'t coming in for school for three days because of the bad weather and unsafe road conditions as teachers we\'re still expected to go to school!! <em>Awesome</em>. Who does that?!\r\n\r\nHowever very generously we were told that for these three days we don\'t have go to school until 9am and we can leave at 3pm.\r\n\r\nLucky us.\r\n\r\nOh these snow days are cruel.','The Cruelty of a Snow Day','','publish','open','open','','the-cruelty-of-a-snow-day','','','2012-02-07 22:04:14','2012-02-07 20:04:14','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6243',0,'post','',11),(6215,1,'2012-01-31 16:01:37','2012-01-31 14:01:37','I\'ve just spent a mind numbing couple of hours on Facebook. Apparently the new timeline business is going to be rolled out to everyone on February 6th. I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should be proactive and switch over now. That way, I could be in control of all the content on my page.\n\nIn the process I stumbled across such gems as: <em>I can\'t stop buying Martenitsas. Help! </em>That\'s from circa 2009.\n\nEmbarrassing, maybe. Delete worthy? Not really.\n\nThat\'s the interesting thing, very little has actually turned out to be delete worthy. I cut out a handful unattractive photos and what not but for nearly six-years of facebooking that\'s not too bad.\n\nThe whole thing also made me really glad that I\'ve never really gotten into Facebook and 90+ minutes into my editing, reviewing and reliving the past, I wondered if I was really better off scanning every comment and post to my wall that I\'ve ever written or if I should have deleted my account. But I\'d already invested so much time, I figured I\'d better finish what I started.\n\nSo I did.\n\nAnd by my calculation, that gives me just enough time to check in on <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/\" target=\"_blank\">pinterest</a> before I head to bed. It\'s my newest obsession.','Face-what?!','','inherit','open','open','','6204-revision-4','','','2012-01-31 16:01:37','2012-01-31 14:01:37','',6204,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/31/6204-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6216,1,'2012-02-01 10:35:31','2012-02-01 08:35:31','I\'ve got a lot to do today so this is a quick, quick post. It is to say this: it\'s cold in Sofia.\r\n\r\nSo cold that when I stood in front of my closet this morning trying to figure out what to wear the single thought that crossed my mind was, how many layers can I fit under my coat?\r\n\r\nIt wasn\'t: What\'s clean? What matches? What do I want to wear today?\r\n\r\nNope it was, how many layers can I pile on?\r\n\r\nNow I like layers. All of my friends will tell you this but today was a little extreme even for me. I ended up in a tank top, a tee shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a cardigan, a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf. It took a while to get dressed this morning but at least I\'m warm.\r\n\r\nTake that winter! Take that.','Getting Dressed this Morning ','','publish','open','open','','getting-dressed-this-morning','','','2012-02-01 10:35:31','2012-02-01 08:35:31','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6216',0,'post','',4),(6217,1,'2012-02-01 10:33:51','2012-02-01 08:33:51','I\'ve got a lot to do today so this is a quick, quick post. It is to say this: it\'s cold in Sofia.\n\nSo cold that when I stood in front of my closet this morning trying to figure out what to wear the single thought that crossed my mind was, how many layers can I fit under my coat?\n\nIt wasn\'t: What\'s clean? What matches? What do I want to wear today?\n\nNope it was, how many layers can I pile on. Now I like layers. All of my friends will tell you this but today was a little extreme even for me. I ended up in a a tank top, a tee shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a cardigan, a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf. It took a while to get dressed this morning and it\'s a good thing I am not writing a style blog but at least I\'m warm.\n\nTake that winter! Take that.','Getting Dressed this Morning ','','inherit','open','open','','6216-revision','','','2012-02-01 10:33:51','2012-02-01 08:33:51','',6216,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6216-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6219,1,'2012-02-01 10:36:35','2012-02-01 08:36:35','I\'ve got a lot to do today so this is a quick, quick post. It is to say this: it\'s cold in Sofia.\n\nSo cold that when I stood in front of my closet this morning trying to figure out what to wear the single thought that crossed my mind was, how many layers can I fit under my coat?\n\nIt wasn\'t: What\'s clean? What matches? What do I want to wear today?\n\nNope it was, how many layers can I pile on?\n\nNow I like layers. All of my friends will tell you this but today was a little extreme even for me. I ended up in a tank top, a tee shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a cardigan, a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf. It took a while to get dressed this morning but at least I\'m warm.\n\nTake that winter! Take that.','Getting Dressed this Morning ','','inherit','open','open','','6216-autosave','','','2012-02-01 10:36:35','2012-02-01 08:36:35','',6216,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6216-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6218,1,'2012-02-01 10:34:51','2012-02-01 08:34:51','I\'ve got a lot to do today so this is a quick, quick post. It is to say this: it\'s cold in Sofia.\n\nSo cold that when I stood in front of my closet this morning trying to figure out what to wear the single thought that crossed my mind was, how many layers can I fit under my coat?\n\nIt wasn\'t: What\'s clean? What matches? What do I want to wear today?\n\nNope it was, how many layers can I pile on?\n\nNow I like layers. All of my friends will tell you this but today was a little extreme even for me. I ended up in a a tank top, a tee shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a cardigan, a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf. It took a while to get dressed this morning and it\'s a good thing I am not writing a style blog but at least I\'m warm.\n\nTake that winter! Take that.','Getting Dressed this Morning ','','inherit','open','open','','6216-revision-2','','','2012-02-01 10:34:51','2012-02-01 08:34:51','',6216,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6216-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6220,1,'2012-02-02 06:00:36','2012-02-02 04:00:36','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently.\r\n\r\nIt\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers to reheat. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. The list of excuses is a mile long.\r\n\r\nMy friend S. <a href=\"http://dailynibbles.com/2012/01/12/i-finally-made-a-real-meal/\" target=\"_blank\">wrote recently about wanting to get into the habit of cooking for herself more </a>and I\'ve been thinking about her post ever since. The thing is I can cook, I just don\'t. I often throw things together and heat it up but in my mind that\'s not really cooking.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to make. You can create a list like this and still make sure that the students are<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> not</span> cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\r\n<a title=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802910059/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6802910059_4119370d1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\r\n\r\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\r\n<a title=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802908223/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6802908223_edfe8ef713_z.jpg\" alt=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\r\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\r\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\r\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\r\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\r\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\r\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\r\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\r\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it too. She promised.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\r\n<a title=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802905427/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6802905427_8961969cb1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish.\r\n\r\nOh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, you know, if that\'\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','publish','open','open','','lemon-pasta-and-arugula','','','2012-02-02 17:47:54','2012-02-02 15:47:54','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6220',0,'post','',8),(6221,1,'2012-02-01 21:47:39','2012-02-01 19:47:39','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently. It\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. The list of excuses is a mile long: I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers. A scrambled egg, stir fried veggies and a slice of toast is easy. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. I am making my own tapas--carrot sticks and hummus, olives, bread, baked red peppers, mushrooms and potatoes.\n\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to cook. You can make a list like this and still make sure that the students are cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\n\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\n\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.\n\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\n\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\n<ul>\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it.</li>\n</ul>\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\n\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish. Oh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, if it\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','inherit','open','open','','6220-revision','','','2012-02-01 21:47:39','2012-02-01 19:47:39','',6220,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6220-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6222,1,'2012-02-01 21:48:27','2012-02-01 19:48:27','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently. It\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. The list of excuses is a mile long: I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers. A scrambled egg, stir fried veggies and a slice of toast is easy. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. I am making my own tapas--carrot sticks and hummus, olives, bread, baked red peppers, mushrooms and potatoes.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to cook. You can make a list like this and still make sure that the students are cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\r\n\r\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\r\n\r\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.\r\n\r\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\r\n\r\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\r\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\r\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\r\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\r\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\r\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\r\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\r\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\r\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it too. She promised.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\r\n\r\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish. Oh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, if it\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','inherit','open','open','','6220-revision-2','','','2012-02-01 21:48:27','2012-02-01 19:48:27','',6220,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6220-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6223,1,'2012-02-01 21:48:28','2012-02-01 19:48:28','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently. It\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. The list of excuses is a mile long: I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers. A scrambled egg, stir fried veggies and a slice of toast is easy. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. I am making my own tapas--carrot sticks and hummus, olives, bread, baked red peppers, mushrooms and potatoes.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to cook. You can make a list like this and still make sure that the students are cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\r\n\r\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\r\n\r\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.\r\n\r\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\r\n\r\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\r\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\r\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\r\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\r\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\r\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\r\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\r\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\r\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it too. She promised.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\r\n\r\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish. Oh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, if it\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','inherit','open','open','','6220-revision-3','','','2012-02-01 21:48:28','2012-02-01 19:48:28','',6220,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6220-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6224,1,'2012-02-01 21:49:22','2012-02-01 19:49:22','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently. It\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. The list of excuses is a mile long: I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers. A scrambled egg, stir fried veggies and a slice of toast is easy. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. I am making my own tapas--carrot sticks and hummus, olives, bread, baked red peppers, mushrooms and potatoes.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to cook. You can make a list like this and still make sure that the students are cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\r\n\r\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\r\n\r\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.\r\n\r\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\r\n\r\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\r\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\r\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\r\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\r\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\r\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\r\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\r\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\r\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it too. She promised.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\r\n\r\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish.\r\n\r\nOh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, if it\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','inherit','open','open','','6220-revision-4','','','2012-02-01 21:49:22','2012-02-01 19:49:22','',6220,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6220-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6225,1,'2012-02-01 22:12:02','2012-02-01 20:12:02','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently. It\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. The list of excuses is a mile long: I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers. A scrambled egg, stir fried veggies and a slice of toast is easy. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. I am making my own tapas--carrot sticks and hummus, olives, bread, baked red peppers, mushrooms and potatoes.\n\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to cook. You can make a list like this and still make sure that the students are cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802910059/\" title=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6802910059_4119370d1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula \"></a>\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\n\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.\n\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802908223/\" title=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6802908223_edfe8ef713_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta\"></a>\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\n<ul>\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it too. She promised.</li>\n</ul>\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802905427/\" title=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6802905427_8961969cb1_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\"alt=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula\"></a>\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish.\n\nOh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, you know, if that\'\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','inherit','open','open','','6220-revision-5','','','2012-02-01 22:12:02','2012-02-01 20:12:02','',6220,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6220-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6226,1,'2012-02-01 22:13:02','2012-02-01 20:13:02','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently.\n\nIt\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. The list of excuses is a mile long: I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers. A scrambled egg, stir fried veggies and a slice of toast is easy. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. I am making my own tapas--carrot sticks and hummus, olives, bread, baked red peppers, mushrooms and potatoes.\n\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to cook. You can make a list like this and still make sure that the students are cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\n<a title=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802910059/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6802910059_4119370d1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\n\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.\n\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\n<a title=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802908223/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6802908223_edfe8ef713_z.jpg\" alt=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\n<ul>\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it too. She promised.</li>\n</ul>\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\n<a title=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802905427/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6802905427_8961969cb1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish.\n\nOh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, you know, if that\'\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','inherit','open','open','','6220-revision-6','','','2012-02-01 22:13:02','2012-02-01 20:13:02','',6220,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6220-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6227,1,'2012-02-01 22:23:54','2012-02-01 20:23:54','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently.\r\n\r\nIt\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers to reheat. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. The list of excuses is a mile long.\r\n\r\nMy friend S. <a href=\"http://dailynibbles.com/2012/01/12/i-finally-made-a-real-meal/\" target=\"_blank\">wrote recently about wanting to get into the habit of cooking for herself more </a>and I\'ve been thinking about her post ever since. The thing is I can cook, I just don\'t. I often throw things together and heat it up but in my mind that\'s not really cooking.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to make. You can create a list like this and still make sure that the students are cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\r\n<a title=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802910059/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6802910059_4119370d1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\r\n\r\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\r\n<a title=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802908223/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6802908223_edfe8ef713_z.jpg\" alt=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\r\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\r\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\r\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\r\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\r\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\r\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\r\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\r\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it too. She promised.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\r\n<a title=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802905427/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6802905427_8961969cb1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish.\r\n\r\nOh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, you know, if that\'\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','inherit','open','open','','6220-revision-7','','','2012-02-01 22:23:54','2012-02-01 20:23:54','',6220,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6220-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6228,1,'2012-02-01 22:36:10','2012-02-01 20:36:10','I\'ve been horrible about actually making myself dinner recently.\r\n\r\nIt\'s hard to get motivated to make dinner for one. I\'ve been busy. I\'ve got leftovers to reheat. Friends are going out to dinner and invite me to tag along. The list of excuses is a mile long.\r\n\r\nMy friend S. <a href=\"http://dailynibbles.com/2012/01/12/i-finally-made-a-real-meal/\" target=\"_blank\">wrote recently about wanting to get into the habit of cooking for herself more </a>and I\'ve been thinking about her post ever since. The thing is I can cook, I just don\'t. I often throw things together and heat it up but in my mind that\'s not really cooking.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, two days ago during an exam that I was proctoring I started making a list of dishes that I like to make. You can create a list like this and still make sure that the students are cheating. The nice thing about lists is that they make you feel productive even though in all actuality you\'ve walked around the classroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes staring at kids and wondering how much time is left until the exam is done. For the record when you start checking at the 25 minute mark, the exam feels <em>really</em> long.\r\n<a title=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802910059/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6802910059_4119370d1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pasta with lemon and arugula \" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nSo when I saw <a href=\"http://pinterest.com/karolinkabg/things-to-eat/\" target=\"_blank\">this beautiful photo of pasta on pinterest</a> yesterday, I knew that I had to make it. If only because I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator. And how often does that happen?!\r\n\r\nEnter: lemon, arugula and pasta in a cream sauce.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis is not a combination I could have ever dreamed up--even on a good day--but it\'s incredible. Moreover, it\'s also super easy. This is my kind of cooking: tasty and easy with a few fresh ingredients. Oh and it looks fancy.\r\n<a title=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802908223/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6802908223_edfe8ef713_z.jpg\" alt=\"Arugula, Lemon and Pasta\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nI ended up taking <a href=\"http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/04/what_to_do_with_meyer_lemons.html\" target=\"_blank\">this recipe</a> and making it my own. Here\'s what I did.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Boil pasta--um however much you want to eat. I went with about two handfuls.</li>\r\n	<li>Wash a lemon and then grate about 2 tablespoons of lemon peal into a large bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Add a couple of big handfuls of arugula to the bowl. You can get this for 2.99 leva at Billa.</li>\r\n	<li>Check on the pasta.</li>\r\n	<li>Grate some cheese on top of the arugula. Do this to taste. I only had cheddar so that\'s what I used. You could use parmesan or even kashkaval.</li>\r\n	<li>Drain pasta but make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.</li>\r\n	<li>Add pasta to the bowl.</li>\r\n	<li>Spoon in one very large tablespoon of sour cream (or if you live in Bulgaria you could use what I used, the yogurt like smetana).</li>\r\n	<li>Mix this all up and then add some of the starchy pasta water that you reserved to thin out the sour cream and to make everything stick together like a sauce. Basically the hot water melts the cheese a little bit and makes the arugula a little limp but don\'t worry, it\'s perfect.</li>\r\n	<li>Top this dish off with salt and pepper to taste.</li>\r\n	<li>Then I cornered my little sister C. on gmail chat and told her all about the dish. Then I made her promise to make it too. She promised.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis dish is wildly flavorful. I loved it. So much so, I might make it again tomorrow night. Arugula is a little bitter, lemon is bright and the sauce is mild and creamy. A little freshly ground pepper pulls the whole dish together with a slight bite.\r\n<a title=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6802905427/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6802905427_8961969cb1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lemon, Pasta and Arugula\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\r\nReally, you\'d be crazy not to make this dish.\r\n\r\nOh and if the fact that it doesn\'t have meat in it turns you off, you could easily add chicken or something like salmon to the dish. That would be good too, you know, if that\'\'s your thing.','Lemon, Pasta and Arugula ','','inherit','open','open','','6220-revision-8','','','2012-02-01 22:36:10','2012-02-01 20:36:10','',6220,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/01/6220-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6230,1,'2012-02-02 21:03:34','2012-02-02 19:03:34','This week has been a busy one.\n\nThe quarter ended last Thursday. I gave my 10th grade semester exam on Friday morning last week. I\'ve got exams and projects to grade in both 10th and 11th grade. I\'ve proctored four exams at 2 hours and 15 minutes each. I\'ve been preparing for next semester which starts on Monday.\n\nAnd to make this all that much more interesting, my classroom currently isn\'t my own given the fact that students are taking exams there so I\'ve been camped out in a rather chilly storage room for the past week.','Sometimes it\'s the little things ','','inherit','open','open','','6229-revision','','','2012-02-02 21:03:34','2012-02-02 19:03:34','',6229,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/02/6229-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6231,1,'2012-02-03 07:01:01','2012-02-03 05:01:01','This week has been a busy one.\n\nSo two nights ago I decided to paint my nails. I am not sure what exactly this says about me that during a time of stress I decide to paint my finger nails. I didn\'t head out to the gym or turn to drinking. Nope I thought: coral pink and red that would be nice.\n\nHere\'s what I do know, sometimes it\'s nice to be totally in control of a project from start to finish. The rules are pretty simple. Paint on the nail. Only on the nail. Sit while the first coat dries and don\'t touch anything. Paint a second coat. Sit and wait for this one to dry as well. Carefully remove any paint that might have ended up on your cuticle. Finally, admire your handy work.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\" title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\"></a>\nThe quarter ended last Thursday. I gave my 10th grade semester exam on Friday morning last week. I\'ve got exams and projects to grade in both 10th and 11th grade. I\'ve proctored four exams at 2 hours and 15 minutes each. I\'ve been preparing for next semester which starts on Monday. Students have already started asking me about their quarter and semester grades.\n\nAnd to make this all that much more interesting, my classroom currently isn\'t my own given the fact that students are taking exams there so I\'ve been camped out in a rather chilly storage room for the past week grading and drinking coffee when I am not proctoring that is. Oh and there\'s no internet there so I haven\'t been able to procrastinate or motivate myself (as I like to think about it) like I normally do. (Woe is me. <em>Right</em>?!)\n\nAnyhow, I\'ve still got a lot to do before next Friday when grades are due. The end is not currently within sight. I hope by the end of this weekend it will be.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\" title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\"></a>\n\nSo I took a little time for myself recently and painted my nails. I\'ve gotten a lot of compliments from colleagues on the the two different tones but what I like best is that my nail polish coordinates nicely with my red grading pen!!\n\nPS. The photos are funny to look at. When I look at my finger nails in person they seem to be nearly perfect but when I look at them in the photo already the ','Sometimes it\'s the little things ','','inherit','open','open','','6229-revision-2','','','2012-02-03 07:01:01','2012-02-03 05:01:01','',6229,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/03/6229-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6232,1,'2012-02-03 07:02:00','2012-02-03 05:02:00','This week has been a busy one.\r\n\r\nSo two nights ago I decided to paint my nails. I am not sure what exactly this says about me that during a time of stress I decide to paint my finger nails. I didn\'t head out to the gym or turn to drinking. Nope I thought: coral pink and red that would be nice.\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I do know, sometimes it\'s nice to be totally in control of a project from start to finish. The rules are pretty simple. Paint on the nail. Only on the nail. Sit while the first coat dries and don\'t touch anything. Paint a second coat. Sit and wait for this one to dry as well. Carefully remove any paint that might have ended up on your cuticle. Finally, admire your handy work.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\" title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\"></a>\r\nThe quarter ended last Thursday. I gave my 10th grade semester exam on Friday morning last week. I\'ve got exams and projects to grade in both 10th and 11th grade. I\'ve proctored four exams at 2 hours and 15 minutes each. I\'ve been preparing for next semester which starts on Monday. Students have already started asking me about their quarter and semester grades.\r\n\r\nAnd to make this all that much more interesting, my classroom currently isn\'t my own given the fact that students are taking exams there so I\'ve been camped out in a rather chilly storage room for the past week grading and drinking coffee when I am not proctoring that is. Oh and there\'s no internet there so I haven\'t been able to procrastinate or motivate myself (as I like to think about it) like I normally do. (Woe is me. <em>Right</em>?!)\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I\'ve still got a lot to do before next Friday when grades are due. The end is not currently within sight. I hope by the end of this weekend it will be.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\" title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\"></a>\r\n\r\nSo I took a little time for myself recently and painted my nails. I\'ve gotten a lot of compliments from colleagues on the the two different tones but what I like best is that my nail polish coordinates nicely with my red grading pen!!\r\n\r\nPS. The photos of my fingernails are strange for me to look at because when I look at my finger nails in person they seem to be nearly perfect but when I look at them in the photo already the edges are worn down a little bit. ','Sometimes it\'s the little things ','','inherit','open','open','','6229-revision-3','','','2012-02-03 07:02:00','2012-02-03 05:02:00','',6229,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/03/6229-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6233,1,'2012-02-03 07:06:04','2012-02-03 05:06:04','This week has been a busy one.\n\nSo two nights ago I decided to paint my nails. I am not sure what exactly this says about me that during a time of stress I decide to paint my finger nails. I didn\'t head out to the gym or turn to drinking. Nope I thought: coral pink and red that would be nice.\n\nHere\'s what I do know, sometimes it\'s nice to be totally in control of a project from start to finish. The rules are pretty simple. Paint on the nail. Only on the nail. Sit while the first coat dries and don\'t touch anything. Paint a second coat. Sit and wait for this one to dry as well. Carefully remove any paint that might have ended up on your cuticle. Finally, admire your handy work.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\" title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\"></a>\nThe quarter ended last Thursday. I gave my 10th grade semester exam on Friday morning last week. I\'ve got exams and projects to grade in both 10th and 11th grade. I\'ve proctored four exams at 2 hours and 15 minutes each. I\'ve been preparing for next semester which starts on Monday. \n\nOn top of this, students have already started asking me about their quarter and semester grades. I wish they were ready, I really do. But they aren\'t.\n\nAnd to make this all that much more interesting, my classroom currently isn\'t my own given the fact that students are taking exams there so I\'ve been camped out in a rather chilly storage room for the past week grading and drinking coffee when I am not proctoring that is. Oh and there\'s no internet there so I haven\'t been able to procrastinate or motivate myself (as I like to think about it) like I normally do. (Woe is me. <em>Right</em>?!)\n\nAnyhow, I\'ve still got a lot to do before next Friday when grades are due. The end is not currently within sight. I hope by the end of this weekend it will be.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810317043/\" title=\"Coral and red nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6810317043_1bdd7b65b8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Coral and red nails\"></a>\n\nSo I took a little time for myself recently and painted my nails. I\'ve gotten a lot of compliments from colleagues on the the two different tones but what I like best is that my nail polish coordinates nicely with my red grading pen!!\n\nPS. The photos of my fingernails are strange for me to look at because when I look at my finger nails in person they seem to be nearly perfect but when I look at them in the photo already the edges are worn down a little bit. ','Sometimes it\'s the little things ','','inherit','open','open','','6229-revision-4','','','2012-02-03 07:06:04','2012-02-03 05:06:04','',6229,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/03/6229-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6234,1,'2012-02-03 07:06:09','2012-02-03 05:06:09','This week has been a busy one.\r\n\r\nSo two nights ago I decided to paint my nails. I am not sure what exactly this says about me that during a time of stress I decide to paint my finger nails. I didn\'t head out to the gym or turn to drinking. Nope I thought: coral pink and red that would be nice.\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I do know, sometimes it\'s nice to be totally in control of a project from start to finish. The rules are pretty simple. Paint on the nail. Only on the nail. Sit while the first coat dries and don\'t touch anything. Paint a second coat. Sit and wait for this one to dry as well. Carefully remove any paint that might have ended up on your cuticle. Finally, admire your handy work.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\" title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\"></a>\r\nThe quarter ended last Thursday. I gave my 10th grade semester exam on Friday morning last week. I\'ve got exams and projects to grade in both 10th and 11th grade. I\'ve proctored four exams at 2 hours and 15 minutes each. I\'ve been preparing for next semester which starts on Monday. \r\n\r\nOn top of this, students have already started asking me about their quarter and semester grades. I wish they were ready, I really do. But they aren\'t.\r\n\r\nAnd to make this all that much more interesting, my classroom currently isn\'t my own given the fact that students are taking exams there so I\'ve been camped out in a rather chilly storage room for the past week grading and drinking coffee when I am not proctoring that is. Oh and there\'s no internet there so I haven\'t been able to procrastinate or motivate myself (as I like to think about it) like I normally do. (Woe is me. <em>Right</em>?!)\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I\'ve still got a lot to do before next Friday when grades are due. The end is not currently within sight. I hope by the end of this weekend it will be.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810317043/\" title=\"Coral and red nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6810317043_1bdd7b65b8_z.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" alt=\"Coral and red nails\"></a>\r\n\r\nSo I took a little time for myself recently and painted my nails. I\'ve gotten a lot of compliments from colleagues on the the two different tones but what I like best is that my nail polish coordinates nicely with my red grading pen!!\r\n\r\nPS. The photos of my fingernails are strange for me to look at because when I look at my finger nails in person they seem to be nearly perfect but when I look at them in the photo already the edges are worn down a little bit. ','Sometimes it\'s the little things ','','inherit','open','open','','6229-revision-5','','','2012-02-03 07:06:09','2012-02-03 05:06:09','',6229,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/03/6229-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6235,1,'2012-02-03 07:08:13','2012-02-03 05:08:13','This week has been a busy one.\n\nSo two nights ago I decided to paint my nails. I am not sure what exactly this says about me that during a time of stress I decide to paint my finger nails. I didn\'t head out to the gym or turn to drinking. Nope I thought: coral pink and red that would be nice.\n\nHere\'s what I do know, sometimes it\'s nice to be totally in control of a project from start to finish. The rules are pretty simple. Paint on the nail. Only on the nail. Sit while the first coat dries and don\'t touch anything. Paint a second coat. Sit and wait for this one to dry as well. Carefully remove any paint that might have ended up on your cuticle.\n\nFinally, admire your handy work. And get back to work.\n<a title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nThe quarter ended last Thursday. I gave my 10th grade semester exam on Friday morning last week. I\'ve got exams and projects to grade in both 10th and 11th grade. I\'ve proctored four exams at 2 hours and 15 minutes each. I\'ve been preparing for next semester which starts on Monday.\n\nOn top of this, students have already started asking me about their quarter and semester grades. I wish they were ready, I really do. But they aren\'t.\n\nAnd to make this all that much more interesting, my classroom currently isn\'t my own given the fact that students are taking exams there so I\'ve been camped out in a rather chilly storage room for the past week grading and drinking coffee when I am not proctoring that is. Oh and there\'s no internet there so I haven\'t been able to procrastinate or motivate myself (as I like to think about it) like I normally do. (Woe is me. <em>Right</em>?!)\n\nAnyhow, I\'ve still got a lot to do before next Friday when grades are due. The end is not currently within sight. I hope by the end of this weekend it will be.\n<a title=\"Coral and red nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810317043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6810317043_1bdd7b65b8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coral and red nails\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nSo I took a little time for myself recently and painted my nails. I\'ve gotten a lot of compliments from colleagues on the the two different tones but what I like best is that my nail polish coordinates nicely with my red grading pen!!\n\nPS. The photos of my fingernails are strange for me to look at because when I look at my finger nails in person they seem to be nearly perfect but when I look at them in the photo already the edges are worn down a little bit.','Sometimes it\'s the little things ','','inherit','open','open','','6229-revision-6','','','2012-02-03 07:08:13','2012-02-03 05:08:13','',6229,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/03/6229-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6236,1,'2012-02-03 21:35:32','2012-02-03 19:35:32','This week has been a busy one.\n\nSo two nights ago I decided to paint my nails. I am not sure what exactly this says about me that during a time of stress I decide to paint my finger nails. I didn\'t head out to the gym or turn to drinking. Nope I thought: coral pink and red that would be nice.\n\nHere\'s what I do know, sometimes it\'s nice to be totally in control of a project from start to finish. The rules are pretty simple. Paint on the nail. Only on the nail. Sit while the first coat dries and don\'t touch anything. Paint a second coat. Sit and wait for this one to dry as well. Carefully remove any paint that might have ended up on your cuticle.\n\nFinally, admire your handy work. And get back to work.\n<a title=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong? by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810316675/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6810316675_91f3bb8268_z.jpg\" alt=\"Surprise, surprise: which one of these does not belong?\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\nThe quarter ended last Thursday. I gave my 10th grade semester exam on Friday morning last week. I\'ve got exams and projects to grade in both 10th and 11th grade. I\'ve proctored four exams at 2 hours and 15 minutes each. I\'ve been preparing for next semester which starts on Monday.\n\nOn top of this, students have already started asking me about their quarter and semester grades. I wish they were ready too, I really do. But they aren\'t.<!--more-->\n\nAnd to make this all that much more interesting, my classroom currently isn\'t my own given the fact that students are taking exams there so I\'ve been camped out in a rather chilly storage room for the past week grading and drinking coffee when I am not proctoring that is. Oh and there\'s no internet there so I haven\'t been able to procrastinate or motivate myself (as I like to think about it) like I normally do. (Woe is me. <em>Right</em>?!)\n\nAnyhow, I\'ve still got a lot to do before next Friday when grades are due. The end is not currently within sight. I hope by the end of this weekend it will be.\n<a title=\"Coral and red nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6810317043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6810317043_1bdd7b65b8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coral and red nails\" width=\"576\" height=\"384\" /></a>\n\nSo I took a little time for myself recently and painted my nails. I\'ve gotten a lot of compliments from colleagues on the the two different tones but what I like best is that my nail polish coordinates nicely with my red grading pen!!\n\nPS. The photos of my fingernails are strange for me to look at because when I look at my finger nails in person they seem to be nearly perfect but when I look at them in the photo already the edges are worn down a little bit.','Sometimes it\'s the little things ','','inherit','open','open','','6229-autosave','','','2012-02-03 21:35:32','2012-02-03 19:35:32','',6229,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/03/6229-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6239,1,'2012-02-05 10:19:53','2012-02-05 08:19:53','Procrastinating last week, I read this article on the <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136309\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Kraft Foods CEO</a>. Don\'t judge me to harshly. There\'s only so much grading a girl can do without taking a break.\n\nAnyhow, I\'ve been thinking about a single in the article ever since I read it:\n<blockquote>It is very important to stress that Kraft Foods does not use cheaper recipes for the Eastern European markets.</blockquote>\nI\'d never spent much time thinking or even worrying about this.\n\nWhat does it say about me that this concern has never crossed my mind? And what does it say about Eastern Europeans that they do worry about this? Is it an issue of naïveté on my part? Point of view? Maybe, experience? Or is it an issue of perceived self-worth?','','','inherit','open','open','','6238-revision','','','2012-02-05 10:19:53','2012-02-05 08:19:53','',6238,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/05/6238-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6240,1,'2012-02-05 10:20:02','2012-02-05 08:20:02','Procrastinating last week, I read this article on the <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136309\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Kraft Foods CEO</a>. Don\'t judge me to harshly. There\'s only so much grading a girl can do without taking a break.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I\'ve been thinking about a single in the article ever since I read it:\r\n<blockquote>It is very important to stress that Kraft Foods does not use cheaper recipes for the Eastern European markets.</blockquote>\r\nI\'d never spent much time thinking or even worrying about this.\r\n\r\nWhat does it say about me that this concern has never crossed my mind? And what does it say about Eastern Europeans that they do worry about this? Is it an issue of naïveté on my part? Point of view? Maybe, experience? Or is it an issue of perceived self-worth?','','','inherit','open','open','','6238-revision-2','','','2012-02-05 10:20:02','2012-02-05 08:20:02','',6238,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/05/6238-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6241,1,'2012-02-05 10:20:10','2012-02-05 08:20:10','Procrastinating last week, I read this article on the <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136309\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Kraft Foods CEO</a>. Don\'t judge me to harshly. There\'s only so much grading a girl can do without taking a break.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I\'ve been thinking about a single in the article ever since I read it:\r\n<blockquote>It is very important to stress that Kraft Foods does not use cheaper recipes for the Eastern European markets.</blockquote>\r\nI\'d never spent much time thinking or even worrying about this.\r\n\r\nWhat does it say about me that this concern has never crossed my mind? And what does it say about Eastern Europeans that they do worry about this? Is it an issue of naïveté on my part? Point of view? Maybe, experience? Or is it an issue of perceived self-worth?','','','inherit','open','open','','6238-revision-3','','','2012-02-05 10:20:10','2012-02-05 08:20:10','',6238,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/05/6238-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6242,1,'2012-02-05 10:23:40','2012-02-05 08:23:40','Procrastinating last week, I read this article on the <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136309\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Kraft Foods CEO</a>. Don\'t judge me to harshly. There\'s only so much grading a girl can do without taking a break.\n\nAnyhow, I\'ve been thinking about a single in the article ever since I read it:\n<blockquote>It is very important to stress that Kraft Foods does not use cheaper recipes for the Eastern European markets.</blockquote>\nI\'d never spent much time thinking or even worrying about this.\n\nWhat does it say about me that this concern has never crossed my mind? And what does it say about Eastern Europeans that they do worry about this? Is it an issue of naïveté on my part? Point of view? Maybe, experience? Or is it an issue of perceived self-worth?','International brands and food quality','','inherit','open','open','','6238-autosave','','','2012-02-05 10:23:40','2012-02-05 08:23:40','',6238,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/05/6238-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6244,1,'2012-02-07 21:57:06','2012-02-07 19:57:06','I woke up this morning dreaming of a snow day.\n\nI tweeted about it: Why don\'t we get snow days in Sofia?\n\nI got this response: Takes a lot more snow than that. We\'re quite the pertinatious people :D (<a href=\"https://twitter.com/#!/muiiio\" target=\"_blank\">@muiiio</a>)\n\nI imagined what I\'d do on my snow day... If I had a snow day, I\'d curl up on my couch in my pjs, drink coffee &amp; watch movies but instead I got to work.\n\nSo I taught all day. Then I got busy grading some last minute student work and finalizing my semester grades.  At 6pm, I was still at school and I happened to check my google reader. I stumbled on this gem in the Sofia Echo: <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/02/07/1761375_winter-weather-crisis-bulgaria-closes-all-schools-for-three-days?ref=rss\" target=\"_blank\">Winter weather crisis, closes Sofia schools for three days</a>! Um, what?!\n\nThen I checked my school email. Turns out I should have done that at 5pm when we were emailed about the school closure.\n\nWhy is that do you ask?\n\nOh because I would have stopped working immediately and I would have gone home right away. That\'s why.\n\nthe email instructs us that while the kids aren\'t coming in for school for three days because of the bad weather as teachers we\'re still expected to go to school!! <em>Awesome</em>. However for three days we don\'t have go to school until 9am and we can leave at 3pm.\n\nLucky us.\n\nOh these snow days are cruel. The cruelty. The cruelty.','The Cruelty of a Snow Day','','inherit','open','open','','6243-revision','','','2012-02-07 21:57:06','2012-02-07 19:57:06','',6243,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/6243-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6245,1,'2012-02-07 21:57:47','2012-02-07 19:57:47','I woke up this morning dreaming of a snow day.\r\n\r\nI tweeted about it: Why don\'t we get snow days in Sofia?\r\n\r\nI got this response: Takes a lot more snow than that. We\'re quite the pertinatious people :D (<a href=\"https://twitter.com/#!/muiiio\" target=\"_blank\">@muiiio</a>)\r\n\r\nI imagined what I\'d do on my snow day... If I had a snow day, I\'d curl up on my couch in my pjs, drink coffee &amp; watch movies but instead I got to work.\r\n\r\nSo I taught all day. Then I got busy grading some last minute student work and finalizing my semester grades.  At 6pm, I was still at school and I happened to check my google reader. I stumbled on this gem in the Sofia Echo: <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/02/07/1761375_winter-weather-crisis-bulgaria-closes-all-schools-for-three-days?ref=rss\" target=\"_blank\">Winter weather crisis, closes Sofia schools for three days</a>! Um, what?!\r\n\r\nThen I checked my school email. Turns out I should have done that at 5pm when we were emailed about the school closure.\r\n\r\nWhy is that do you ask?\r\n\r\nOh because I would have stopped working immediately and I would have gone home right away. That\'s why.\r\n\r\nThe email instructs us that while the kids aren\'t coming in for school for three days because of the bad weather and unsafe road conditions as teachers we\'re still expected to go to school!! <em>Awesome</em>.\r\n\r\nHowever for three days we don\'t have go to school until 9am and we can leave at 3pm.\r\n\r\nLucky us.\r\n\r\nOh these snow days are cruel. The cruelty. The cruelty.','The Cruelty of a Snow Day','','inherit','open','open','','6243-revision-2','','','2012-02-07 21:57:47','2012-02-07 19:57:47','',6243,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/6243-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6246,1,'2012-02-07 22:02:53','2012-02-07 20:02:53','I woke up this morning dreaming of a snow day.\n\nI tweeted about it: Why don\'t we get snow days in Sofia?\n\nI got this response: Takes a lot more snow than that. We\'re quite the pertinatious people :D (<a href=\"https://twitter.com/#!/muiiio\" target=\"_blank\">@muiiio</a>)\n\nI did what anyone would do in my situation. I bought a coffee and I got to work.\n\nI taught all day. I went to my Bulgarian lesson and then I got busy grading some last minute student work and finalizing my semester grades.  At 6pm, I was still at school and I happened to check my google reader. I stumbled on this gem in the Sofia Echo: <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/02/07/1761375_winter-weather-crisis-bulgaria-closes-all-schools-for-three-days?ref=rss\" target=\"_blank\">Winter weather crisis, closes Sofia schools for three days</a>! Um, what?!\n\nThen I checked my school email. Turns out I should have done that at 5pm when we were emailed about the school closure.\n\nWhy is that do you ask?\n\nOh, because I would have stopped working immediately and I would have gone home right away. That\'s why.\n\nThe email instructs us that while the kids aren\'t coming in for school for three days because of the bad weather and unsafe road conditions as teachers we\'re still expected to go to school!! <em>Awesome</em>. Who does that?!\n\nHowever very generously we were told that for these three days we don\'t have go to school until 9am and we can leave at 3pm.\n\nLucky us.\n\nOh these snow days are cruel.','The Cruelty of a Snow Day','','inherit','open','open','','6243-revision-3','','','2012-02-07 22:02:53','2012-02-07 20:02:53','',6243,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/6243-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6247,1,'2012-02-07 22:03:07','2012-02-07 20:03:07','I woke up this morning dreaming of a snow day.\r\n\r\nI tweeted about it: Why don\'t we get snow days in Sofia?\r\n\r\nI got this response: Takes a lot more snow than that. We\'re quite the pertinatious people :D (<a href=\"https://twitter.com/#!/muiiio\" target=\"_blank\">@muiiio</a>)\r\n\r\nI did what anyone would do in my situation. I bought a coffee and I got to work.\r\n\r\nI taught all day. I went to my Bulgarian lesson and then I got busy grading some last minute student work and finalizing my semester grades.  At 6pm, I was still at school and I happened to check my google reader. I stumbled on this gem in the Sofia Echo: <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/02/07/1761375_winter-weather-crisis-bulgaria-closes-all-schools-for-three-days?ref=rss\" target=\"_blank\">Winter weather crisis, closes Sofia schools for three days</a>! Um, what?!\r\n\r\nThen I checked my school email. Turns out I should have done that at 5pm when we were emailed about the school closure.\r\n\r\nWhy is that do you ask?\r\n\r\nOh, because I would have stopped working immediately and I would have gone home right away. That\'s why.\r\n\r\nThe email instructs us that while the kids aren\'t coming in for school for three days because of the bad weather and unsafe road conditions as teachers we\'re still expected to go to school!! <em>Awesome</em>. Who does that?!\r\n\r\nHowever very generously we were told that for these three days we don\'t have go to school until 9am and we can leave at 3pm.\r\n\r\nLucky us.\r\n\r\nOh these snow days are cruel.','The Cruelty of a Snow Day','','inherit','open','open','','6243-revision-4','','','2012-02-07 22:03:07','2012-02-07 20:03:07','',6243,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/6243-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6248,1,'2012-02-07 22:03:18','2012-02-07 20:03:18','I woke up this morning dreaming of a snow day.\r\n\r\nI tweeted about it: Why don\'t we get snow days in Sofia?\r\n\r\nI got this response: Takes a lot more snow than that. We\'re quite the pertinatious people :D (<a href=\"https://twitter.com/#!/muiiio\" target=\"_blank\">@muiiio</a>)\r\n\r\nI did what anyone would do in my situation. I bought a coffee and I got to work.\r\n\r\nI taught all day. I went to my Bulgarian lesson and then I got busy grading some last minute student work and finalizing my semester grades.  At 6pm, I was still at school and I happened to check my google reader. I stumbled on this gem in the Sofia Echo: <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/02/07/1761375_winter-weather-crisis-bulgaria-closes-all-schools-for-three-days?ref=rss\" target=\"_blank\">Winter weather crisis, closes Sofia schools for three days</a>! Um, what?!\r\n\r\nThen I checked my school email. Turns out I should have done that at 5pm when we were emailed about the school closure.\r\n\r\nWhy is that do you ask?\r\n\r\nOh, because I would have stopped working immediately and I would have gone home right away. That\'s why.\r\n\r\nThe email instructs us that while the kids aren\'t coming in for school for three days because of the bad weather and unsafe road conditions as teachers we\'re still expected to go to school!! <em>Awesome</em>. Who does that?!\r\n\r\nHowever very generously we were told that for these three days we don\'t have go to school until 9am and we can leave at 3pm.\r\n\r\nLucky us.\r\n\r\nOh these snow days are cruel.','The Cruelty of a Snow Day','','inherit','open','open','','6243-revision-5','','','2012-02-07 22:03:18','2012-02-07 20:03:18','',6243,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/6243-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6249,1,'2012-02-07 22:05:19','2012-02-07 20:05:19','I woke up this morning dreaming of a snow day.\n\nI tweeted about it: Why don\'t we get snow days in Sofia?\n\nBy the time I got to school I had this response: Takes a lot more snow than that. We\'re quite the pertinatious people :D (<a href=\"https://twitter.com/#!/muiiio\" target=\"_blank\">@muiiio</a>)\n\nSo I did what anyone would do in my situation. I bought a coffee and I got to work.\n\nI taught all day. I went to my Bulgarian lesson and then I got busy grading some last minute student work and finalizing my semester grades.  At 6pm, I was still at school and I happened to check my google reader. I stumbled on this gem in the Sofia Echo: <a href=\"http://sofiaecho.com/2012/02/07/1761375_winter-weather-crisis-bulgaria-closes-all-schools-for-three-days?ref=rss\" target=\"_blank\">Winter weather crisis, closes Sofia schools for three days</a>! Um, what?!\n\nThen I checked my school email. Turns out I should have done that at 5pm when we were emailed about the school closure.\n\nWhy is that do you ask?\n\nOh, because I would have stopped working immediately and I would have gone home right away. That\'s why.\n\nThe email instructs us that while the kids aren\'t coming in for school for three days because of the bad weather and unsafe road conditions as teachers we\'re still expected to go to school!! <em>Awesome</em>. Who does that?!\n\nHowever very generously we were told that for these three days we don\'t have go to school until 9am and we can leave at 3pm.\n\nLucky us.\n\nOh these snow days are cruel.','The Cruelty of a Snow Day','','inherit','open','open','','6243-autosave','','','2012-02-07 22:05:19','2012-02-07 20:05:19','',6243,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/6243-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6251,1,'2012-02-10 07:51:26','2012-02-10 05:51:26','Every year at the end of January and the beginning of February, I get a little case of the winter blues. The days are short and cold (in this case really damn cold). I am busy at work but I wish I wasn\'t. I hate all of the clothes in my closet. It seems like a lot of work to make it downtown to meet up with friends for drinks or dinner. (Hello, snow.) And all I want to eat is macaroni and cheese--American style--and read books curled up on my couch with a cup of tea.\r\n\r\nThese three days of \"snow vacation\" (which I would like to add are <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/the-cruelty-of-a-snow-day/\" target=\"_blank\">a vacation for the students while I\'m still working</a>) haven\'t really helped matters. Sure I\'ve gotten some serious work done but the whole thing has been rather mind numbing--sit in a large rather cold room at your desk and work by yourself (without the benefit of Onda I might add). So I\'ve listened to tons of<a href=\"http://npr.org\" target=\"_blank\"> NPR, both news and music programing</a>, and I\'ve plugged away at things.\r\n\r\nToday\'s the last day of the snow vacation. Hip-hip-houray! And tomorrow I\'ve got two days of weekend in front of me. I think it\'s high time I did some exploring in the city center. Maybe I\'ll start with <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/08/cupcakes-in-sofia/\" target=\"_blank\">a cupcake</a> and go from there.','A little case of the winter blues','','publish','open','open','','a-little-case-of-the-winter-blues','','','2012-02-10 07:51:26','2012-02-10 05:51:26','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6251',0,'post','',0),(6252,1,'2012-02-10 07:50:19','2012-02-10 05:50:19','Every year at the end of January and the beginning of February, I get a little case of the winter blues. The days are short and cold (in this case really damn cold). I am busy at work but I wish I wasn\'t. I hate all of the clothes in my closet. It seems like a lot of work to make it downtown to meet up with friends for drinks or dinner. (Hello, snow.) And all I want to eat is macaroni and cheese--American style--and read books curled up on my couch with a cup of tea.\n\nThese three days of \"snow vacation\" (which I would like to add are <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/the-cruelty-of-a-snow-day/\" target=\"_blank\">a vacation for the students while I\'m still working</a>) haven\'t really helped matters. Sure I\'ve gotten some serious work done but the whole thing has been rather mind numbing--sit in a large rather cold room at your desk and work by yourself (without the benefit of Onda I might add). So I\'ve listened to tons of<a href=\"http://npr.org\" target=\"_blank\"> NPR, both news and music programing</a>, and I\'ve plugged away at things.\n\nToday\'s the last day of the snow vacation. Hip-hip-houray! And tomorrow I\'ve got two days of weekend in front of me. I think it\'s high time I did some exploring in the city center. Maybe I\'ll start with a cupcake and go from there.','A little case of the winter blues','','inherit','open','open','','6251-revision','','','2012-02-10 07:50:19','2012-02-10 05:50:19','',6251,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/10/6251-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6253,1,'2012-02-10 07:51:19','2012-02-10 05:51:19','Every year at the end of January and the beginning of February, I get a little case of the winter blues. The days are short and cold (in this case really damn cold). I am busy at work but I wish I wasn\'t. I hate all of the clothes in my closet. It seems like a lot of work to make it downtown to meet up with friends for drinks or dinner. (Hello, snow.) And all I want to eat is macaroni and cheese--American style--and read books curled up on my couch with a cup of tea.\n\nThese three days of \"snow vacation\" (which I would like to add are <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/the-cruelty-of-a-snow-day/\" target=\"_blank\">a vacation for the students while I\'m still working</a>) haven\'t really helped matters. Sure I\'ve gotten some serious work done but the whole thing has been rather mind numbing--sit in a large rather cold room at your desk and work by yourself (without the benefit of Onda I might add). So I\'ve listened to tons of<a href=\"http://npr.org\" target=\"_blank\"> NPR, both news and music programing</a>, and I\'ve plugged away at things.\n\nToday\'s the last day of the snow vacation. Hip-hip-houray! And tomorrow I\'ve got two days of weekend in front of me. I think it\'s high time I did some exploring in the city center. Maybe I\'ll start with <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/08/cupcakes-in-sofia/\" target=\"_blank\">a cupcake</a> and go from there.','A little case of the winter blues','','inherit','open','open','','6251-revision-2','','','2012-02-10 07:51:19','2012-02-10 05:51:19','',6251,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/10/6251-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6254,1,'2012-02-10 07:52:32','2012-02-10 05:52:32','Every year at the end of January and the beginning of February, I get a little case of the winter blues. The days are short and cold (in this case really damn cold). I am busy at work but I wish I wasn\'t. I hate all of the clothes in my closet. It seems like a lot of work to make it downtown to meet up with friends for drinks or dinner. (Hello, snow.) And all I want to eat is macaroni and cheese--American style--and read books curled up on my couch with a cup of tea.\n\nThese three days of \"snow vacation\" (which I would like to add are <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/07/the-cruelty-of-a-snow-day/\" target=\"_blank\">a vacation for the students while I\'m still working</a>) haven\'t really helped matters. Sure I\'ve gotten some serious work done but the whole thing has been rather mind numbing--sit in a large rather cold room at your desk and work by yourself (without the benefit of Onda I might add). So I\'ve listened to tons of<a href=\"http://npr.org\" target=\"_blank\"> NPR, both news and music programing</a>, and I\'ve plugged away at things.\n\nToday\'s the last day of the snow vacation. Hip-hip-houray! And tomorrow I\'ve got two days of weekend in front of me. I think it\'s high time I did some exploring in the city center. Maybe I\'ll start with <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/08/cupcakes-in-sofia/\" target=\"_blank\">a cupcake</a> and go from there.','A little case of the winter blues','','inherit','open','open','','6251-autosave','','','2012-02-10 07:52:32','2012-02-10 05:52:32','',6251,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/10/6251-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6256,1,'2012-02-12 22:19:40','2012-02-12 20:19:40','I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation in Sofia.\n\nI have an especially fond spot in my heart for the 76 and the 111 buses. These are my buses. I don\'t even care if the 76 is so poorly heated that the window frost on the inside of the bus and my glasses never fog up when I climb on.  And the 111 at 7:30 am? I\'ve got one word for you: c<em>ozy</em>.\n\nI\'ve already confessed that I regularly ride without a ticket and I\'ve paid my fine on the spot without complaint when I\'ve been caught. I think that the ticketing system for the buses is not very user-friendly and to a newcomer a little confusing. Really this system could really stand to be modernized. Ideally, I\'d like an electronic card that I could swipe on all public transportation.\n\nI dig the metro. I think it\'s funny there\'s only one line and I despise the person who designed the left-handed ticket entry. And sometime this spring a new metro stop is going to open in Mladost 1A next to my apartment. That\'s going to be really exciting. And I heart the electronic card that I can use on the metro.  T\n\nThe thing is I am not a very serious rider. I take the metro to the city center every weekend--that\'s about 5 or 6 stops and really the only stops I ever use are the stadium, the university and serdika. As for the bus, I hop on Monday-Friday to get to school. It\'s something like 4 stops.\n\nI\'ve taken a marshutka once but I\'m afraid of them. I don\'t really understand how they work, where they go or why I\'d want to take one if I can take the bus, the metro or a taxi. This is probably a fear that I should work through.\n\nAnyhow, I have great news. My friend P. has started a really funny and intense new blog about public transportation in Sofia called: <a href=\"http://sofiapublictransport.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Running for the Bus as the Doors are Closing</a>. Really it\'s about the intersection of public transportation and his life.  It\'s about life in a city--the good, the bad and crowded rush-hour buses. What I especially like is that it\'s not a laundry list of complaints because lord knows there\'s plenty to complain about when it comes to public transportation in this city. Check it out.\n\nSo I\'ll end with a little story. I was climbing on to the 111 recently with a friend. I looked up and there were four controllers standing in the bus. I said to H.: if you have a ticket you should get it out to stamp it. She\'s digging around for tickets. I am carrying my purse, a bag of school work as well as wearing my gloves and I\'m also rooting around for my tickets. I extract one but H. doesn\'t have any in her purse.\n\nThe controller is waiting patiently for us. When H. determines that she doesn\'t have any tickets, she gets 10 leva out to pay her fine. Up until this point we\'ve been speaking to the controller in Bulgarian and to each other in English. H. hands over her money with a big smile on her face. This clearly confuses the controller. Who is happy about being caught and paying a fine?\n\nThen the female controller goes on to explain to H. in very slow but grammatically correct English that she\'s going to get a  10 leva ticket and on the back she\'s writing some information and on the next bus she can stamp the 10 leva ticket to validate her ride and do we understand? It\'s very important to her that H. understands the validation part. H. thanks her and in Bulgarian tells her to have a nice day. This renders the controller speechless.\n\nWe get off the bus and H. and I ponder the exceedingly small fine because really if you can validate the 10 leva ticket on the next bus the fine is basically 8 leva seeing as a single ride at full price is 1 leva.','Public Transportion in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6255-revision','','','2012-02-12 22:19:40','2012-02-12 20:19:40','',6255,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/12/6255-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6257,1,'2012-02-12 22:21:13','2012-02-12 20:21:13','I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation in Sofia.\r\n\r\nI have an especially fond spot in my heart for the 76 and the 111 buses. These are my buses. I don\'t even care if the 76 is so poorly heated that the window frost on the inside of the bus and my glasses never fog up when I climb on.  And the 111 at 7:30 am? I\'ve got one word for you: c<em>ozy</em>.\r\n\r\nI\'ve already confessed that I regularly ride without a ticket and I\'ve paid my fine on the spot without complaint when I\'ve been caught. I think that the ticketing system for the buses is not very user-friendly and to a newcomer a little confusing. Really this system could really stand to be modernized. Ideally, I\'d like an electronic card that I could swipe on all public transportation.\r\n\r\nI dig the metro. I think it\'s funny there\'s only one line and I despise the person who designed the left-handed ticket entry. And sometime this spring a new metro stop is going to open in Mladost 1A next to my apartment. That\'s going to be really exciting. And I heart the electronic card that I can use on the metro.  T\r\n\r\nThe thing is I am not a very serious rider. I take the metro to the city center every weekend--that\'s about 5 or 6 stops and really the only stops I ever use are the stadium, the university and serdika. As for the bus, I hop on Monday-Friday to get to school. It\'s something like 4 stops.\r\n\r\nI\'ve taken a marshutka once but I\'m afraid of them. I don\'t really understand how they work, where they go or why I\'d want to take one if I can take the bus, the metro or a taxi. This is probably a fear that I should work through.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I have great news. My friend P. has started a really funny and intense new blog about public transportation in Sofia called: <a href=\"http://sofiapublictransport.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Running for the Bus as the Doors are Closing</a>. Really it\'s about the intersection of public transportation and his life.  It\'s about life in a city--the good, the bad and crowded rush-hour buses. What I especially like is that it\'s not a laundry list of complaints because lord knows there\'s plenty to complain about when it comes to public transportation in this city. Check it out.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll end with a little story. I was climbing on to the 111 recently with a friend. I looked up and there were four controllers standing in the bus. I said to H.: if you have a ticket you should get it out to stamp it. She\'s digging around for tickets. I am carrying my purse, a bag of school work as well as wearing my gloves and I\'m also rooting around for my tickets. I extract one but H. doesn\'t have any in her purse.\r\n\r\nThe controller is waiting patiently for us. When H. determines that she doesn\'t have any tickets, she gets 10 leva out to pay her fine. Up until this point we\'ve been speaking to the controller in Bulgarian and to each other in English. H. hands over her money with a big smile on her face. This clearly confuses the controller. Who is happy about being caught and paying a fine?\r\n\r\nThen the female controller goes on to explain to H. in very slow but grammatically correct English that she\'s going to get a  10 leva ticket and on the back she\'s writing some information and on the next bus she can stamp the 10 leva ticket to validate her ride and do we understand? It\'s very important to her that H. understands the validation part. H. thanks her and in Bulgarian tells her to have a nice day. This renders the controller speechless.\r\n\r\nWe get off the bus and H. and I ponder the exceedingly small fine because really if you can validate the 10 leva ticket on the next bus the fine is basically 8 leva seeing as a single ride at full price is 1 leva.','Public Transportion in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6255-revision-2','','','2012-02-12 22:21:13','2012-02-12 20:21:13','',6255,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/12/6255-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6258,1,'2012-02-12 22:22:02','2012-02-12 20:22:02','I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation in Sofia.\r\n\r\nI have an especially fond spot in my heart for the 76 and the 111 buses. These are my buses. I don\'t even care if the 76 is so poorly heated that the window frost on the inside of the bus and my glasses never fog up when I climb on.  And the 111 at 7:30 am? I\'ve got one word for you: c<em>ozy</em>.\r\n\r\nI\'ve already confessed that I regularly ride without a ticket and I\'ve paid my fine on the spot without complaint when I\'ve been caught. I think that the ticketing system for the buses is not very user-friendly and to a newcomer a little confusing. Really this system could really stand to be modernized. Ideally, I\'d like an electronic card that I could swipe on all public transportation.\r\n\r\nI dig the metro. I think it\'s funny there\'s only one line and I despise the person who designed the left-handed ticket entry. And sometime this spring a new metro stop is going to open in Mladost 1A next to my apartment. That\'s going to be really exciting. And I heart the electronic card that I can use on the metro.\r\n\r\nThe thing is I am not a very serious rider.<!--more--> I take the metro to the city center every weekend--that\'s about 5 or 6 stops and really the only stops I ever use are the stadium, the university and serdika. As for the bus, I hop on Monday-Friday to get to school. It\'s something like 4 stops.\r\n\r\nI\'ve taken a marshutka once but I\'m afraid of them. I don\'t really understand how they work, where they go or why I\'d want to take one if I can take the bus, the metro or a taxi. This is probably a fear that I should work through.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I have great news. My friend P. has started a really funny and intense new blog about public transportation in Sofia called: <a href=\"http://sofiapublictransport.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Running for the Bus as the Doors are Closing</a>. Really it\'s about the intersection of public transportation and his life.  It\'s about life in a city--the good, the bad and crowded rush-hour buses. What I especially like is that it\'s not a laundry list of complaints because lord knows there\'s plenty to complain about when it comes to public transportation in this city. Check it out.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll end with a little story. I was climbing on to the 111 recently with a friend. I looked up and there were four controllers standing in the bus. I said to H.: if you have a ticket you should get it out to stamp it. She\'s digging around for tickets. I am carrying my purse, a bag of school work as well as wearing my gloves and I\'m also rooting around for my tickets. I extract one but H. doesn\'t have any in her purse.\r\n\r\nThe controller is waiting patiently for us. When H. determines that she doesn\'t have any tickets, she gets 10 leva out to pay her fine. Up until this point we\'ve been speaking to the controller in Bulgarian and to each other in English. H. hands over her money with a big smile on her face. This clearly confuses the controller. Who is happy about being caught and paying a fine?\r\n\r\nThen the female controller goes on to explain to H. in very slow but grammatically correct English that she\'s going to get a  10 leva ticket and on the back she\'s writing some information and on the next bus she can stamp the 10 leva ticket to validate her ride and do we understand? It\'s very important to her that H. understands the validation part. H. thanks her and in Bulgarian tells her to have a nice day. This renders the controller speechless.\r\n\r\nWe get off the bus and H. and I ponder the exceedingly small fine because really if you can validate the 10 leva ticket on the next bus the fine is basically 8 leva seeing as a single ride at full price is 1 leva.','Public Transportion in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6255-revision-3','','','2012-02-12 22:22:02','2012-02-12 20:22:02','',6255,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/12/6255-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6259,1,'2012-02-13 09:00:24','2012-02-13 07:00:24','I\'m hosting book club tonight with my friend and neighbor P. This means that we\'re feeding book club tonight and throwing the party in Mladost. Most of the time book club is held on campus where a majority of the teachers live but tonight they are coming to us.\r\n\r\nIn preparation, last night I made a vegetarian lasagna and today after school all I have to do is pop it in the oven and bake it for 45-50 minutes. Then I have to throw together a fruit plate and a cheese plate. All in all it should be pretty easy. Fingers crossed.\r\n\r\nThe great thing about our book club is that the month you host book club, you\'re only responsible for the food, some chairs and a toilet. You don\'t have to actually lead the discussion as well. We\'ve assigned separate discussion leaders so that there\'s less pressure and worry. It also means that you don\'t have to try to balance hostessing with leading discussion.\r\n\r\nTonight we\'re going to be discussing the novel <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841\" target=\"_blank\">In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler\'s Berlin</a> by Erik Larson. It\'s a non-fiction piece set in Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power before the outbreak of WWII.  What makes it so good is that it\'s novel like in descriptions, tone and style but also well researched and historically accurate. It seems as a novelist you couldn\'t create or dream up a better family than the real family in Larson\'s book. The family in the novel is full of characters--a wild daughter with a series of unsuitable lovers, a stodgy father, an agreeable mother and a large cast of secondary characters.\r\n\r\nInterested? There\'s a really great author interview<a href=\"http://www.npr.org/2011/12/29/144442098/resisting-hitlers-rise-in-1930s-berlin\" target=\"_blank\"> here on NPR</a>.','Book Club: Tonight ','','publish','open','open','','book-club-tonight','','','2012-02-13 09:00:24','2012-02-13 07:00:24','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6259',0,'post','',1),(6260,1,'2012-02-13 08:59:37','2012-02-13 06:59:37','I\'m hosting book club tonight with my friend and neighbor P. This means that we\'re feeding book club tonight and throwing the party in Mladost. Most of the time book club is held on campus where a majority of the teachers live but tonight they are coming to us.\n\nIn preparation, last night I made a vegetarian lasagna and today after school all I have to do is pop it in the oven and bake it for 45-50 minutes. Then I have to throw together a fruit plate and a cheese plate. All in all it should be pretty easy. Fingers crossed.\n\nThe great thing about our book club is that the month you host book club, you\'re only responsible for the food, some chairs and a toilet. You don\'t have to actually lead the discussion as well. We\'ve assigned separate discussion leaders so that there\'s less pressure and worry. It also means that you don\'t have to try to balance hostessing with leading discussion.\n\nTonight we\'re going to be discussing the novel <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841\" target=\"_blank\">In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler\'s Berlin</a> by Erik Larson. It\'s a non-fiction piece set in Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power before the outbreak of WWII.  What makes it so good is that it\'s novel like in descriptions, tone and style but also well researched and historically accurate. It seems as a novelist you couldn\'t create or dream up a better family than the real family in Larson\'s book. The family in the novel is full of characters--a wild daughter with a series of unsuitable lovers, a stodgy father, an agreeable mother and a large cast of secondary characters.\n\nInterested? There\'s a really great author interview here on NPR.','Book Club: Tonight ','','inherit','open','open','','6259-revision','','','2012-02-13 08:59:37','2012-02-13 06:59:37','',6259,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6259-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6261,1,'2012-02-13 08:59:44','2012-02-13 06:59:44','I\'m hosting book club tonight with my friend and neighbor P. This means that we\'re feeding book club tonight and throwing the party in Mladost. Most of the time book club is held on campus where a majority of the teachers live but tonight they are coming to us.\r\n\r\nIn preparation, last night I made a vegetarian lasagna and today after school all I have to do is pop it in the oven and bake it for 45-50 minutes. Then I have to throw together a fruit plate and a cheese plate. All in all it should be pretty easy. Fingers crossed.\r\n\r\nThe great thing about our book club is that the month you host book club, you\'re only responsible for the food, some chairs and a toilet. You don\'t have to actually lead the discussion as well. We\'ve assigned separate discussion leaders so that there\'s less pressure and worry. It also means that you don\'t have to try to balance hostessing with leading discussion.\r\n\r\nTonight we\'re going to be discussing the novel <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841\" target=\"_blank\">In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler\'s Berlin</a> by Erik Larson. It\'s a non-fiction piece set in Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power before the outbreak of WWII.  What makes it so good is that it\'s novel like in descriptions, tone and style but also well researched and historically accurate. It seems as a novelist you couldn\'t create or dream up a better family than the real family in Larson\'s book. The family in the novel is full of characters--a wild daughter with a series of unsuitable lovers, a stodgy father, an agreeable mother and a large cast of secondary characters.\r\n\r\nInterested? There\'s a really great author interview<a href=\"http://www.npr.org/2011/12/29/144442098/resisting-hitlers-rise-in-1930s-berlin\" target=\"_blank\"> here on NPR</a>.','Book Club: Tonight ','','inherit','open','open','','6259-revision-2','','','2012-02-13 08:59:44','2012-02-13 06:59:44','',6259,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6259-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6262,1,'2012-02-13 08:59:45','2012-02-13 06:59:45','I\'m hosting book club tonight with my friend and neighbor P. This means that we\'re feeding book club tonight and throwing the party in Mladost. Most of the time book club is held on campus where a majority of the teachers live but tonight they are coming to us.\r\n\r\nIn preparation, last night I made a vegetarian lasagna and today after school all I have to do is pop it in the oven and bake it for 45-50 minutes. Then I have to throw together a fruit plate and a cheese plate. All in all it should be pretty easy. Fingers crossed.\r\n\r\nThe great thing about our book club is that the month you host book club, you\'re only responsible for the food, some chairs and a toilet. You don\'t have to actually lead the discussion as well. We\'ve assigned separate discussion leaders so that there\'s less pressure and worry. It also means that you don\'t have to try to balance hostessing with leading discussion.\r\n\r\nTonight we\'re going to be discussing the novel <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841\" target=\"_blank\">In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler\'s Berlin</a> by Erik Larson. It\'s a non-fiction piece set in Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power before the outbreak of WWII.  What makes it so good is that it\'s novel like in descriptions, tone and style but also well researched and historically accurate. It seems as a novelist you couldn\'t create or dream up a better family than the real family in Larson\'s book. The family in the novel is full of characters--a wild daughter with a series of unsuitable lovers, a stodgy father, an agreeable mother and a large cast of secondary characters.\r\n\r\nInterested? There\'s a really great author interview<a href=\"http://www.npr.org/2011/12/29/144442098/resisting-hitlers-rise-in-1930s-berlin\" target=\"_blank\"> here on NPR</a>.','Book Club: Tonight ','','inherit','open','open','','6259-revision-3','','','2012-02-13 08:59:45','2012-02-13 06:59:45','',6259,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6259-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6263,1,'2012-02-13 09:01:28','2012-02-13 07:01:28','I\'m hosting book club tonight with my friend and neighbor P. This means that we\'re feeding book club tonight and throwing the party in Mladost. Most of the time book club is held on campus where a majority of the teachers live but tonight they are coming to us.\n\nIn preparation, last night I made a vegetarian lasagna and today after school all I have to do is pop it in the oven and bake it for 45-50 minutes. Then I have to throw together a fruit plate and a cheese plate. All in all it should be pretty easy. Fingers crossed.\n\nThe great thing about our book club is that the month you host book club, you\'re only responsible for the food, some chairs and a toilet. You don\'t have to actually lead the discussion as well. We\'ve assigned separate discussion leaders so that there\'s less pressure and worry. It also means that you don\'t have to try to balance hostessing with leading discussion.\n\nTonight we\'re going to be discussing the novel <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841\" target=\"_blank\">In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler\'s Berlin</a> by Erik Larson. It\'s a non-fiction piece set in Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power before the outbreak of WWII.  What makes it so good is that it\'s novel like in descriptions, tone and style but also well researched and historically accurate. It seems as a novelist you couldn\'t create or dream up a better family than the real family in Larson\'s book. The family in the novel is full of characters--a wild daughter with a series of unsuitable lovers, a stodgy father, an agreeable mother and a large cast of secondary characters.\n\nInterested? There\'s a really great author interview<a href=\"http://www.npr.org/2011/12/29/144442098/resisting-hitlers-rise-in-1930s-berlin\" target=\"_blank\"> here on NPR</a>.','Book Club: Tonight ','','inherit','open','open','','6259-autosave','','','2012-02-13 09:01:28','2012-02-13 07:01:28','',6259,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6259-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6264,1,'2012-02-13 17:36:44','2012-02-13 15:36:44','I found a little something in my mailbox today.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869939015/\" title=\"Mandarin Orange  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6869939015_d577864823_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mandarin Orange \"></a>\r\n\r\nOn top was this post-it note.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869934525/\" title=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6869934525_cbf6b765c6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010\"></a>\r\nWith very strict instructions: Do not open until 02.14.2012.\r\n\r\nUm, okay. I\'m dying to open the box but so far I\'ve managed to hold off.\r\n\r\nI can only assume that it\'s a Valentine.','A Valentine, for me? ','','publish','open','open','','a-valentine-for-me','','','2012-02-13 17:36:44','2012-02-13 15:36:44','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6264',0,'post','',2),(6266,1,'2012-02-13 17:32:39','2012-02-13 15:32:39','I found a little something in my mailbox today.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869939015/\" title=\"Mandarin Orange  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6869939015_d577864823_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mandarin Orange \"></a>\r\n\r\nOn top was this post-it note.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869934525/\" title=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6869934525_cbf6b765c6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010\"></a>\r\nWith very strict instructions: Do not open until 02.14.2012.\r\n\r\nUm, okay.\r\n\r\nI assume that it\'s a Valentine.','A Valentine, for me? ','','inherit','open','open','','6264-revision-2','','','2012-02-13 17:32:39','2012-02-13 15:32:39','',6264,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6264-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6265,1,'2012-02-13 17:32:08','2012-02-13 15:32:08','I found a little something in my mailbox today.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869939015/\" title=\"Mandarin Orange  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6869939015_d577864823_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mandarin Orange \"></a>\n\nOn top was this post-it note.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869934525/\" title=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6869934525_cbf6b765c6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010\"></a>\nWith very strict instructions: Do not open until 02.14.2012.\n\nUm, okay.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869942787/\" title=\"Gift Box?  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6869942787_9ebca44489_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Gift Box? \"></a>\n\nI assume that it\'s a Valentine.','A Valentine, for me? ','','inherit','open','open','','6264-revision','','','2012-02-13 17:32:08','2012-02-13 15:32:08','',6264,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6264-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6267,1,'2012-02-13 17:35:16','2012-02-13 15:35:16','I found a little something in my mailbox today.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869939015/\" title=\"Mandarin Orange  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6869939015_d577864823_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mandarin Orange \"></a>\n\nOn top was this post-it note.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869934525/\" title=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6869934525_cbf6b765c6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010\"></a>\nWith very strict instructions: Do not open until 02.14.2012.\n\nUm, okay. I\'m dying to open the box but I\'ve managed to hold off.\n\nI can assume that it\'s a Valentine.','A Valentine, for me? ','','inherit','open','open','','6264-revision-3','','','2012-02-13 17:35:16','2012-02-13 15:35:16','',6264,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6264-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6268,1,'2012-02-13 17:35:33','2012-02-13 15:35:33','I found a little something in my mailbox today.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869939015/\" title=\"Mandarin Orange  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6869939015_d577864823_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mandarin Orange \"></a>\r\n\r\nOn top was this post-it note.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869934525/\" title=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6869934525_cbf6b765c6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Do not open unil .02.14 2010\"></a>\r\nWith very strict instructions: Do not open until 02.14.2012.\r\n\r\nUm, okay. I\'m dying to open the box but I\'ve managed to hold off.\r\n\r\nI can assume that it\'s a Valentine.','A Valentine, for me? ','','inherit','open','open','','6264-revision-4','','','2012-02-13 17:35:33','2012-02-13 15:35:33','',6264,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6264-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6269,1,'2012-02-14 06:54:36','2012-02-14 04:54:36','Little kids are so damn funny.\r\n\r\nI don\'t know where they come up with these things.\r\n<a title=\"Valentine\'s Surprise by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873727301/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7181/6873727301_2a46382d1f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Valentine\'s Surprise\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI opened my <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/a-valentine-for-me/\" target=\"_blank\">mystery box </a>this morning to find surprise, surprise a mandarin orange and a bunch of little cardboard pieces in it. Each piece has a window carefully cut out of it, a smiling face in the window and says something like: tool box, toy box, valentine box. There are probably 10 different cardboard cards and each one has been carefully numbered.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"3. Toil Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873728471/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6873728471_abb0951bab_z.jpg\" alt=\"3. Toil Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"5. Valentine Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873729663/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6873729663_bc9b6b3867_z.jpg\" alt=\"5. Valentine Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI looked at these little cards but I can\'t tell what they are for. They\'ve been lovingly cut out, the English is neatly written and the tape job is pretty standard 6 year-old issue--where in more is clearly better.\r\n<a title=\"4 Magic Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873730977/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/6873730977_b84d456df3_z.jpg\" alt=\"4 Magic Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Gift Box?  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869942787/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6869942787_9ebca44489_z.jpg\" alt=\"Gift Box? \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Valentine\'s Day box has clearly been made by friends A. &amp; A. (You may remember them from this post on <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/31/fun-and-games-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">fun and games in Mladost</a>.) But I really can\'t make heads of tails of this valentine.\r\n\r\nWell aside from the most important part: this valentine was made with love and frankly that is what\'s most important. But I do wonder how these two little boys cut out these cardboard windows so neatly? Are they allowed to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Acto\" target=\"_blank\">x-acto knives </a>at home?\r\n\r\nAnyway you cut it, how lucky am I?! Who needs roses, chocolates, expensive gifts or a fancy meal? I\'ve got a mandarin orange and a craft project.','My Valentine ','','publish','open','open','','my-valentine','','','2012-02-14 06:54:36','2012-02-14 04:54:36','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6269',0,'post','',1),(6270,1,'2012-02-13 22:38:31','2012-02-13 20:38:31','Little kids are so damn funny.\n\nI don\'t know where they come up with these things.\n\nI opened my <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/a-valentine-for-me/\" target=\"_blank\">mystery box </a>this morning to find surprise, surprise a mandarin orange and a bunch of little cardboard pieces in it. Each piece has a window carefully cut out of it, a smiling face in the window and says something like: tool box, toy box, valentine box. There are probably 10 different cardboard cards and each one has been carefully numbered.\n\nI looked at this little cards but I can\'t tell what they are for. They\'ve been lovingly cut out, the English is neatly written and the tape job is pretty standard 6 year-old issue--where in more is clearly better.\n\nThe Valentine\'s Day box has clearly been made by friends A. &amp; A. (You may remember them from this post on <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/31/fun-and-games-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">fun and games in Mladost</a>.) But I really can\'t make heads of tails of this valentine.\n\nWell aside from the most important part: this valentine was made with love and frankly that is what\'s most important.\n\nHow lucky am I?! Who needs roses, chocolates, expensive gifts or a fancy meal? I\'ve got a mandarin orange and','My Valentine ','','inherit','open','open','','6269-revision','','','2012-02-13 22:38:31','2012-02-13 20:38:31','',6269,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/6269-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6271,1,'2012-02-14 06:49:28','2012-02-14 04:49:28','Little kids are so damn funny.\n\nI don\'t know where they come up with these things.\n<a title=\"Valentine\'s Surprise by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873727301/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7181/6873727301_2a46382d1f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Valentine\'s Surprise\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nI opened my <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/a-valentine-for-me/\" target=\"_blank\">mystery box </a>this morning to find surprise, surprise a mandarin orange and a bunch of little cardboard pieces in it. Each piece has a window carefully cut out of it, a smiling face in the window and says something like: tool box, toy box, valentine box. There are probably 10 different cardboard cards and each one has been carefully numbered.\n<a title=\"3. Toil Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873728471/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6873728471_abb0951bab_z.jpg\" alt=\"3. Toil Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"5. Valentine Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873729663/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6873729663_bc9b6b3867_z.jpg\" alt=\"5. Valentine Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nI looked at this little cards but I can\'t tell what they are for. They\'ve been lovingly cut out, the English is neatly written and the tape job is pretty standard 6 year-old issue--where in more is clearly better.\n<a title=\"4 Magic Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873730977/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/6873730977_b84d456df3_z.jpg\" alt=\"4 Magic Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Gift Box?  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869942787/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6869942787_9ebca44489_z.jpg\" alt=\"Gift Box? \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe Valentine\'s Day box has clearly been made by friends A. &amp; A. (You may remember them from this post on <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/31/fun-and-games-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">fun and games in Mladost</a>.) But I really can\'t make heads of tails of this valentine.\n\nWell aside from the most important part: this valentine was made with love and frankly that is what\'s most important. But I do wonder how these two little boys cut out these cardboard windows so neatly? Are they allowed to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Acto\" target=\"_blank\">x-acto knives </a>at home?\n\nAnyway you cut it, how lucky am I?! Who needs roses, chocolates, expensive gifts or a fancy meal? I\'ve got a mandarin orange and a craft project.','My Valentine ','','inherit','open','open','','6269-revision-2','','','2012-02-14 06:49:28','2012-02-14 04:49:28','',6269,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/14/6269-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6272,1,'2012-02-14 06:50:56','2012-02-14 04:50:56','Little kids are so damn funny.\r\n\r\nI don\'t know where they come up with these things.\r\n<a title=\"Valentine\'s Surprise by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873727301/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7181/6873727301_2a46382d1f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Valentine\'s Surprise\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI opened my <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/a-valentine-for-me/\" target=\"_blank\">mystery box </a>this morning to find surprise, surprise a mandarin orange and a bunch of little cardboard pieces in it. Each piece has a window carefully cut out of it, a smiling face in the window and says something like: tool box, toy box, valentine box. There are probably 10 different cardboard cards and each one has been carefully numbered.\r\n<a title=\"3. Toil Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873728471/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6873728471_abb0951bab_z.jpg\" alt=\"3. Toil Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"5. Valentine Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873729663/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6873729663_bc9b6b3867_z.jpg\" alt=\"5. Valentine Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI looked at this little cards but I can\'t tell what they are for. They\'ve been lovingly cut out, the English is neatly written and the tape job is pretty standard 6 year-old issue--where in more is clearly better.\r\n<a title=\"4 Magic Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873730977/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/6873730977_b84d456df3_z.jpg\" alt=\"4 Magic Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Gift Box?  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869942787/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6869942787_9ebca44489_z.jpg\" alt=\"Gift Box? \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Valentine\'s Day box has clearly been made by friends A. &amp; A. (You may remember them from this post on <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/31/fun-and-games-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">fun and games in Mladost</a>.) But I really can\'t make heads of tails of this valentine.\r\n\r\nWell aside from the most important part: this valentine was made with love and frankly that is what\'s most important. But I do wonder how these two little boys cut out these cardboard windows so neatly? Are they allowed to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Acto\" target=\"_blank\">x-acto knives </a>at home?\r\n\r\nAnyway you cut it, how lucky am I?! Who needs roses, chocolates, expensive gifts or a fancy meal? I\'ve got a mandarin orange and a craft project.','My Valentine ','','inherit','open','open','','6269-revision-3','','','2012-02-14 06:50:56','2012-02-14 04:50:56','',6269,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/14/6269-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6273,1,'2012-02-14 06:51:48','2012-02-14 04:51:48','Little kids are so damn funny.\r\n\r\nI don\'t know where they come up with these things.\r\n<a title=\"Valentine\'s Surprise by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873727301/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7181/6873727301_2a46382d1f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Valentine\'s Surprise\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI opened my <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/a-valentine-for-me/\" target=\"_blank\">mystery box </a>this morning to find surprise, surprise a mandarin orange and a bunch of little cardboard pieces in it. Each piece has a window carefully cut out of it, a smiling face in the window and says something like: tool box, toy box, valentine box. There are probably 10 different cardboard cards and each one has been carefully numbered.\r\n<a title=\"3. Toil Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873728471/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6873728471_abb0951bab_z.jpg\" alt=\"3. Toil Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"5. Valentine Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873729663/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6873729663_bc9b6b3867_z.jpg\" alt=\"5. Valentine Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI looked at this little cards but I can\'t tell what they are for. They\'ve been lovingly cut out, the English is neatly written and the tape job is pretty standard 6 year-old issue--where in more is clearly better.\r\n<a title=\"4 Magic Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873730977/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/6873730977_b84d456df3_z.jpg\" alt=\"4 Magic Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Gift Box?  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869942787/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6869942787_9ebca44489_z.jpg\" alt=\"Gift Box? \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Valentine\'s Day box has clearly been made by friends A. &amp; A. (You may remember them from this post on <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/31/fun-and-games-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">fun and games in Mladost</a>.) But I really can\'t make heads of tails of this valentine.\r\n\r\nWell aside from the most important part: this valentine was made with love and frankly that is what\'s most important. But I do wonder how these two little boys cut out these cardboard windows so neatly? Are they allowed to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Acto\" target=\"_blank\">x-acto knives </a>at home?\r\n\r\nAnyway you cut it, how lucky am I?! Who needs roses, chocolates, expensive gifts or a fancy meal? I\'ve got a mandarin orange and a craft project.','My Valentine ','','inherit','open','open','','6269-revision-4','','','2012-02-14 06:51:48','2012-02-14 04:51:48','',6269,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/14/6269-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6274,1,'2012-02-14 18:13:29','2012-02-14 16:13:29','Little kids are so damn funny.\n\nI don\'t know where they come up with these things.\n<a title=\"Valentine\'s Surprise by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873727301/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7181/6873727301_2a46382d1f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Valentine\'s Surprise\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nI opened my <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/13/a-valentine-for-me/\" target=\"_blank\">mystery box </a>this morning to find surprise, surprise a mandarin orange and a bunch of little cardboard pieces in it. Each piece has a window carefully cut out of it, a smiling face in the window and says something like: tool box, toy box, valentine box. There are probably 10 different cardboard cards and each one has been carefully numbered.<!--more-->\n<a title=\"3. Toil Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873728471/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6873728471_abb0951bab_z.jpg\" alt=\"3. Toil Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"5. Valentine Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873729663/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6873729663_bc9b6b3867_z.jpg\" alt=\"5. Valentine Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nI looked at these little cards but I can\'t tell what they are for. They\'ve been lovingly cut out, the English is neatly written and the tape job is pretty standard 6 year-old issue--where in more is clearly better.\n<a title=\"4 Magic Box  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6873730977/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/6873730977_b84d456df3_z.jpg\" alt=\"4 Magic Box \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Gift Box?  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6869942787/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6869942787_9ebca44489_z.jpg\" alt=\"Gift Box? \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe Valentine\'s Day box has clearly been made by friends A. &amp; A. (You may remember them from this post on <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/31/fun-and-games-in-mladost/\" target=\"_blank\">fun and games in Mladost</a>.) But I really can\'t make heads of tails of this valentine.\n\nWell aside from the most important part: this valentine was made with love and frankly that is what\'s most important. But I do wonder how these two little boys cut out these cardboard windows so neatly? Are they allowed to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Acto\" target=\"_blank\">x-acto knives </a>at home?\n\nAnyway you cut it, how lucky am I?! Who needs roses, chocolates, expensive gifts or a fancy meal? I\'ve got a mandarin orange and a craft project.','My Valentine ','','inherit','open','open','','6269-autosave','','','2012-02-14 18:13:29','2012-02-14 16:13:29','',6269,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/14/6269-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6275,1,'2012-02-12 22:22:44','2012-02-12 20:22:44','I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation in Sofia.\r\n\r\nI have an especially fond spot in my heart for the 76 and the 111 buses. These are my buses. I don\'t even care if the 76 is so poorly heated that the window frost on the inside of the bus and my glasses never fog up when I climb on.  And the 111 at 7:30 am? I\'ve got one word for you: c<em>ozy</em>.\r\n\r\nI\'ve already confessed that I regularly ride without a ticket and I\'ve paid my fine on the spot without complaint when I\'ve been caught. I think that the ticketing system for the buses is not very user-friendly and to a newcomer a little confusing. Really this system could really stand to be modernized. Ideally, I\'d like an electronic card that I could swipe on all public transportation.\r\n\r\nI dig the metro. I think it\'s funny there\'s only one line and I despise the person who designed the left-handed ticket entry. And sometime this spring a new metro stop is going to open in Mladost 1A next to my apartment. That\'s going to be really exciting. And I heart the electronic card that I can use on the metro.\r\n\r\nThe thing is I am not a very serious rider.<!--more--> I take the metro to the city center every weekend--that\'s about 5 or 6 stops and really the only stops I ever use are the stadium, the university and serdika. As for the bus, I hop on Monday-Friday to get to school. It\'s something like 4 stops.\r\n\r\nI\'ve taken a marshutka once but I\'m afraid of them. I don\'t really understand how they work, where they go or why I\'d want to take one if I can take the bus, the metro or a taxi. This is probably a fear that I should work through.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I have great news. My friend P. has started a really funny and intense new blog about public transportation in Sofia called: <a href=\"http://sofiapublictransport.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Running for the Bus as the Doors are Closing</a>. Really it\'s about the intersection of public transportation and his life.  It\'s about life in a city--the good, the bad and crowded rush-hour buses. What I especially like is that it\'s not a laundry list of complaints because lord knows there\'s plenty to complain about when it comes to public transportation in this city. Check it out.\r\n\r\nSo I\'ll end with a little story. I was climbing on to the 111 recently with a friend. I looked up and there were four controllers standing in the bus. I said to H.: if you have a ticket you should get it out to stamp it. She\'s digging around for tickets. I am carrying my purse, a bag of school work as well as wearing my gloves and I\'m also rooting around for my tickets. I extract one but H. doesn\'t have any in her purse.\r\n\r\nThe controller is waiting patiently for us. When H. determines that she doesn\'t have any tickets, she gets 10 leva out to pay her fine. Up until this point we\'ve been speaking to the controller in Bulgarian and to each other in English. H. hands over her money with a big smile on her face. This clearly confuses the controller. Who is happy about being caught and paying a fine?\r\n\r\nThen the female controller goes on to explain to H. in very slow but grammatically correct English that she\'s going to get a  10 leva ticket and on the back she\'s writing some information and on the next bus she can stamp the 10 leva ticket to validate her ride and do we understand? It\'s very important to her that H. understands the validation part. H. thanks her and in Bulgarian tells her to have a nice day. This renders the controller speechless.\r\n\r\nWe get off the bus and H. and I ponder the exceedingly small fine because really if you can validate the 10 leva ticket on the next bus the fine is basically 8 leva seeing as a single ride at full price is 1 leva.','Public Transportation in Sofia ','','inherit','open','open','','6255-revision-4','','','2012-02-12 22:22:44','2012-02-12 20:22:44','',6255,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/12/6255-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6337,1,'2012-02-27 22:37:17','2012-02-27 20:37:17','While the snow has been melting and turning Sofia into a puddle this past weekend, I was in Malta. In Malta, I ditched my winter coat and boots right away. I traded them in for a blazer and ballerina flats. Sure I might have been pushing the season a little bit but it was absolutely necessary after weeks upon weeks of snow and freezing cold weather.\r\n<a title=\"Boats  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935886455/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6935886455_e5d0763aca_z.jpg\" alt=\"Boats \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy friend D. lives in Malta currently and is <a href=\"http://themanwhowenttomalta.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">writing a blog about his time there</a>. You may remember him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/11/30/tapas-and-kalimotxo/\" target=\"_blank\">my trip two Thanksgivings ago to visit him in Madrid</a> <em>or</em> if you\'ve been reading this blog for a really (really) long time, you may recognize him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/09/shantel-bukovina-club-orkestar/\" target=\"_blank\">my first year in Sofia</a> when we were fast friends.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789817906/\" title=\"Me and the Love sign  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6789817906_13e37bd876_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and the Love sign \"></a>\r\nAnyhow, ever since D. moved to Malta I\'ve been plotting my visit and a four day weekend was perfect. Even better, the weather obliged and I got plenty of sun shine and only a smattering of rain. I can\'t complain about at thing.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Water on the rocks  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789757826/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6789757826_507c44fe32_z.jpg\" alt=\"Water on the rocks \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI have to say that Malta was everything I\'d hoped it would be and more. I mean really it doesn\'t get much better than four days away from home, on an island, with a friend who know said island, and plenty of time to catch-up, to explore, to snap photos as well as to eat really great food and drink some local Maltese wine.\r\n<a title=\"Along the water by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935878551/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7178/6935878551_c425b6043f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Along the water\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI am so lucky to have a friend like D. !!\r\n\r\nMore to follow on my Malta adventure tomorrow as I got back late-late on Sunday night and now I\'ve got to do some serious life maintenance. Hello, suitcase and washing machine. So I\'ll leave you with a few photos.\r\n<a title=\"Row boats by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935825071/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6935825071_1ed9109372_z.jpg\" alt=\"Row boats\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Blue window by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935836259/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6935836259_727ee94d4d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Blue window\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Balconies  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935843369/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6935843369_9358e3b4cd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Balconies \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Garage doors by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935882319/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6935882319_d801ebafa3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Garage doors\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','My Oh My, Malta!! ','','publish','open','open','','my-oh-my-malta','','','2012-02-27 22:37:17','2012-02-27 20:37:17','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6337',0,'post','',1),(6278,1,'2012-02-18 15:56:03','2012-02-18 13:56:03','Recently I\'ve found myself un-inspired.\r\n\r\nI\'ve been a faithful blogger for the last 3.5 years. I\'ve written 100\'s of posts. I\'ve spent countless hours on this blog.\r\n\r\nThen over the last two weeks, I\'ve found myself with very little to say. I think this is because it\'s the middle of winter. A very cold, snowy, grey winter at that. As a result, I haven\'t been up to much that\'s blog worthy and no one wants to read yet another blog post about the weather.\r\n\r\nGuess what?! We\'ve got piles of snow, un-shoveled sidewalks and plenty of icy patches.\r\n\r\nThe last couple of days I\'ve found myself wondering: Do I have writer\'s block? Or is it a case of the winter blues? Do I still want to blog? And how do I inspire myself again?\r\n\r\nI\'m not really sure what the answer is.\r\n\r\nSo I am living my life. I\'m going to work (and trying not to work late). I am going out with friends. I\'m hitting up yoga. I\'m sleeping in late on the weekends and lazily drinking coffee. I am making lasagna and baking muffins. I\'ve been curling up with my kindle after work. I\'ve been out shopping. I\'m doing my Bulgarian homework. And all the while, I\'ve been looking for some inspiration and trying to figure out what the right balance is in my life.\r\n\r\nNone of this is to say that I am going to stop blogging, it\'s just to say that changes are at hand. But I think that change is good and I\'m looking forward to this.','Me and Blogging ','','publish','open','open','','me-and-blogging','','','2012-02-18 15:56:03','2012-02-18 13:56:03','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6278',0,'post','',3),(6279,1,'2012-02-18 15:54:26','2012-02-18 13:54:26','Recently I\'ve found myself un-inspired.\n\nI\'ve been a faithful blogger for the last 3.5 years. I\'ve written 100\'s of posts. I\'ve spent countless hours on this blog.\n\nThen over the last two weeks, I\'ve found myself with very little to say. I think this is because it\'s the middle of winter. A very cold, snowy, grey winter at that. As a result, I haven\'t been up to much that\'s blog worthy and no one wants to read yet another blog post about the weather.\n\nGuess what?! We\'ve got piles of snow, un-shoveled sidewalks and plenty of icy patches.\n\nThe last couple of days I\'ve found myself wondering: Do I have writer\'s block? Or is it a case of the winter blues? Do I still want to blog? And how do I inspire myself again?\n\nI\'m not really sure what the answer is.\n\nSo I am living my life. I\'m going to work (and trying not to work late). I am going out with friends. I\'m hitting up yoga. I\'m sleeping in late on the weekends and lazily drinking coffee. I am making lasagna and baking muffins. I\'ve been curling up with my kindle after work. I\'ve been out shopping. I\'m doing my Bulgarian homework. And all the while, I\'ve been looking for some inspiration and trying to figure out what the right balance is in my life.\n\nNone of this is to say that I am going to stop blogging, it\'s just to say that changes are at hand. But I think that change is good.','Me and Blogging ','','inherit','open','open','','6278-revision','','','2012-02-18 15:54:26','2012-02-18 13:54:26','',6278,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6278-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6280,1,'2012-02-18 15:55:20','2012-02-18 13:55:20','Recently I\'ve found myself un-inspired.\r\n\r\nI\'ve been a faithful blogger for the last 3.5 years. I\'ve written 100\'s of posts. I\'ve spent countless hours on this blog.\r\n\r\nThen over the last two weeks, I\'ve found myself with very little to say. I think this is because it\'s the middle of winter. A very cold, snowy, grey winter at that. As a result, I haven\'t been up to much that\'s blog worthy and no one wants to read yet another blog post about the weather.\r\n\r\nGuess what?! We\'ve got piles of snow, un-shoveled sidewalks and plenty of icy patches.\r\n\r\nThe last couple of days I\'ve found myself wondering: Do I have writer\'s block? Or is it a case of the winter blues? Do I still want to blog? And how do I inspire myself again?\r\n\r\nI\'m not really sure what the answer is.\r\n\r\nSo I am living my life. I\'m going to work (and trying not to work late). I am going out with friends. I\'m hitting up yoga. I\'m sleeping in late on the weekends and lazily drinking coffee. I am making lasagna and baking muffins. I\'ve been curling up with my kindle after work. I\'ve been out shopping. I\'m doing my Bulgarian homework. And all the while, I\'ve been looking for some inspiration and trying to figure out what the right balance is in my life.\r\n\r\nNone of this is to say that I am going to stop blogging, it\'s just to say that changes are at hand. But I think that change is good.','Me and Blogging ','','inherit','open','open','','6278-revision-2','','','2012-02-18 15:55:20','2012-02-18 13:55:20','',6278,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6278-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6281,1,'2012-02-18 15:55:21','2012-02-18 13:55:21','Recently I\'ve found myself un-inspired.\r\n\r\nI\'ve been a faithful blogger for the last 3.5 years. I\'ve written 100\'s of posts. I\'ve spent countless hours on this blog.\r\n\r\nThen over the last two weeks, I\'ve found myself with very little to say. I think this is because it\'s the middle of winter. A very cold, snowy, grey winter at that. As a result, I haven\'t been up to much that\'s blog worthy and no one wants to read yet another blog post about the weather.\r\n\r\nGuess what?! We\'ve got piles of snow, un-shoveled sidewalks and plenty of icy patches.\r\n\r\nThe last couple of days I\'ve found myself wondering: Do I have writer\'s block? Or is it a case of the winter blues? Do I still want to blog? And how do I inspire myself again?\r\n\r\nI\'m not really sure what the answer is.\r\n\r\nSo I am living my life. I\'m going to work (and trying not to work late). I am going out with friends. I\'m hitting up yoga. I\'m sleeping in late on the weekends and lazily drinking coffee. I am making lasagna and baking muffins. I\'ve been curling up with my kindle after work. I\'ve been out shopping. I\'m doing my Bulgarian homework. And all the while, I\'ve been looking for some inspiration and trying to figure out what the right balance is in my life.\r\n\r\nNone of this is to say that I am going to stop blogging, it\'s just to say that changes are at hand. But I think that change is good.','Me and Blogging ','','inherit','open','open','','6278-revision-3','','','2012-02-18 15:55:21','2012-02-18 13:55:21','',6278,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6278-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6282,1,'2012-02-18 15:57:07','2012-02-18 13:57:07','Recently I\'ve found myself un-inspired.\n\nI\'ve been a faithful blogger for the last 3.5 years. I\'ve written 100\'s of posts. I\'ve spent countless hours on this blog.\n\nThen over the last two weeks, I\'ve found myself with very little to say. I think this is because it\'s the middle of winter. A very cold, snowy, grey winter at that. As a result, I haven\'t been up to much that\'s blog worthy and no one wants to read yet another blog post about the weather.\n\nGuess what?! We\'ve got piles of snow, un-shoveled sidewalks and plenty of icy patches.\n\nThe last couple of days I\'ve found myself wondering: Do I have writer\'s block? Or is it a case of the winter blues? Do I still want to blog? And how do I inspire myself again?\n\nI\'m not really sure what the answer is.\n\nSo I am living my life. I\'m going to work (and trying not to work late). I am going out with friends. I\'m hitting up yoga. I\'m sleeping in late on the weekends and lazily drinking coffee. I am making lasagna and baking muffins. I\'ve been curling up with my kindle after work. I\'ve been out shopping. I\'m doing my Bulgarian homework. And all the while, I\'ve been looking for some inspiration and trying to figure out what the right balance is in my life.\n\nNone of this is to say that I am going to stop blogging, it\'s just to say that changes are at hand. But I think that change is good and I\'m looking forward to this.','Me and Blogging ','','inherit','open','open','','6278-autosave','','','2012-02-18 15:57:07','2012-02-18 13:57:07','',6278,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6278-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6283,1,'2012-02-26 07:42:46','2012-02-26 05:42:46','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that we\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall. If not, now you know.\r\n\r\nI like Carrefour but it\'s big. Really big. And as such I can never remember where anything is so I ended up wandering all over the store every time I go. Which I hate.\r\n\r\nThat\'s why I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. Billa has a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too. Still they don\'t carry everything I\'m looking for.\r\n\r\nNevertheless, I do try to buy hummus and arugula every time I go because I want Billa to keep both of these new-ish additions in stock.\r\n\r\nIs that crazy? <em>Maybe</em>. But I don\'t care.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nStill there are some foods that I want but that I can\'t find at Billa. Enter: Carrefour.\r\n\r\nI use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list. They\'ve got a huge range of different foods and the Carrefour store brand is great. So what\'s not to love?!\r\n\r\nSometimes I find things there I didn\'t even know I needed like black-eyed peas. Thanks Carrefour.\r\n\r\nOther In 10 posts: <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/19/in-10-bulgarian-homemade/ \" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Homemade</a>','In 10: Carrefour','','publish','open','open','','in-10-carrefour','','','2012-02-18 18:34:27','2012-02-18 16:34:27','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6283',0,'post','',3),(6284,1,'2012-02-18 16:31:05','2012-02-18 14:31:05','','In 10: Carrefore','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision','','','2012-02-18 16:31:05','2012-02-18 14:31:05','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6285,1,'2012-02-19 07:12:10','2012-02-19 05:12:10','One of the good things about living in Bulgaria is the food.\r\n\r\nOne of the great things about actually knowing Bulgarians are homemade preserves.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896690297/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6896690297_3253138690_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThey come in all shapes and sizes. Some are easier to stomach than others. Remember <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/31/eating-bulgaria-slanina/\" target=\"_blank\">my post on slanina</a>?\r\n\r\nBut isn\'t that the point? Trying new things. Eating different foods. Wondering what on earth you\'re supposed to do with canned/preserved offal.\r\n\r\nFor the record, I ended up with not one jar but two.','In 10: Bulgarian Homemade ','','publish','open','open','','in-10-bulgarian-homemade','','','2012-02-18 18:43:37','2012-02-18 16:43:37','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6285',0,'post','',8),(6286,1,'2012-02-18 16:31:37','2012-02-18 14:31:37','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','6285-revision','','','2012-02-18 16:31:37','2012-02-18 14:31:37','',6285,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6285-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6287,1,'2012-03-18 07:27:26','2012-03-18 05:27:26','I\'m apparently working on a growing collection of alcohol bottles on top of my refrigerator. Now here\'s the interesting part, I buy them and I think: this is going to be great!\r\n\r\nThen I never open them.\r\n\r\nI guess this means that I need to have a party as I am not one to drink alone. Sure I might have a beer or a glass of wine after work while making dinner but that\'s about it.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Bottles by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6897048727/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6897048727_c6509ddacf_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Bottles\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI bought the port last spring break. Yes, that\'s nearly a year ago and it\'s still unopened. I bought the limoncello in Rome in October. The bottle of rose wine? That\'s from Thassos when I went at the end of May last year. And the bottle of whiskey I bought for Fakesgiving.\r\n\r\nSure this isn\'t something I am complaining about it\'s just a strange disconnect. When I buy this alcohol, I assume that I\'ll drink it. Only in practice, it sits on top of my fridge gathering dust.\r\n\r\nLooking for more In 10 posts? Check these out:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/03/11/in-10-12-muffins/\" target=\"_blank\">Muffins (Self-made and Take a Cake-made)</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/03/04/in-10-martenitsi/ ‎\" target=\"_blank\">Martenitsi</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/26/in-10-carrefour/\" target=\"_blank\">Carrefour</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"../2012/02/19/in-10-bulgarian-homemade/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Homemade</a></li>\r\n</ul>','In 10: Bottles ','','publish','open','open','','in-10-bottles','','','2012-03-17 12:12:13','2012-03-17 10:12:13','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6287',0,'post','',0),(6288,1,'2012-02-18 16:32:12','2012-02-18 14:32:12','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','6287-revision','','','2012-02-18 16:32:12','2012-02-18 14:32:12','',6287,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6287-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6289,1,'2012-02-18 16:32:27','2012-02-18 14:32:27','','In 10: Bottles ','','inherit','open','open','','6287-revision-2','','','2012-02-18 16:32:27','2012-02-18 14:32:27','',6287,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6287-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6290,1,'2012-02-18 16:53:23','2012-02-18 14:53:23','One of the good things about living in Bulgaria is the food.\n\nOne of the great things about actually knowing Bulgarians are homemade preserves.\n\nThey come in all shapes and sizes.','In 10: Bulgarian Homemade ','','inherit','open','open','','6285-revision-2','','','2012-02-18 16:53:23','2012-02-18 14:53:23','',6285,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6285-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6291,1,'2012-02-18 17:02:38','2012-02-18 15:02:38','One of the good things about living in Bulgaria is the food.\n\nOne of the great things about actually knowing Bulgarians are homemade preserves.\n\nThey come in all shapes and sizes.','In 10: Bulgarian Homemade ','','inherit','open','open','','6285-revision-3','','','2012-02-18 17:02:38','2012-02-18 15:02:38','',6285,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6285-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6292,1,'2012-02-18 17:10:58','2012-02-18 15:10:58','One of the good things about living in Bulgaria is the food.\r\n\r\nOne of the great things about actually knowing Bulgarians are homemade preserves.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896690297/\" title=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6896690297_3253138690_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade\"></a>\r\n\r\nThey come in all shapes and sizes.','In 10: Bulgarian Homemade ','','inherit','open','open','','6285-revision-4','','','2012-02-18 17:10:58','2012-02-18 15:10:58','',6285,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6285-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6293,1,'2012-02-18 17:11:07','2012-02-18 15:11:07','One of the good things about living in Bulgaria is the food.\r\n\r\nOne of the great things about actually knowing Bulgarians are homemade preserves.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896690297/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6896690297_3253138690_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThey come in all shapes and sizes.','In 10: Bulgarian Homemade ','','inherit','open','open','','6285-revision-5','','','2012-02-18 17:11:07','2012-02-18 15:11:07','',6285,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6285-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6294,1,'2012-02-18 17:13:12','2012-02-18 15:13:12','One of the good things about living in Bulgaria is the food.\n\nOne of the great things about actually knowing Bulgarians are homemade preserves.\n<a title=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896690297/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6896690297_3253138690_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nThey come in all shapes and sizes.\n\nAnd some are easier to stomach than others.','In 10: Bulgarian Homemade ','','inherit','open','open','','6285-revision-6','','','2012-02-18 17:13:12','2012-02-18 15:13:12','',6285,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6285-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6295,1,'2012-02-18 17:19:03','2012-02-18 15:19:03','We\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall.\n\nThe thing is I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. They\'ve got a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too but they don\'t have everything.\n\nSo I use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list.\n\nOh and I love the Carrefour store brand.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-2','','','2012-02-18 17:19:03','2012-02-18 15:19:03','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6296,1,'2012-02-18 17:23:51','2012-02-18 15:23:51','We\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall.\n\nThe thing is I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. They\'ve got a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too but they don\'t have everything.\n\nSo I use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list.\n\nOh and I love the Carrefour store brand.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-3','','','2012-02-18 17:23:51','2012-02-18 15:23:51','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6297,1,'2012-02-18 17:36:51','2012-02-18 15:36:51','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that e\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall.\n\nThe thing is I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. They\'ve got a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too but they don\'t have everything.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\" title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\"></a>\nSo I use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list.\n\nOh and I love the Carrefour store brand.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-4','','','2012-02-18 17:36:51','2012-02-18 15:36:51','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6298,1,'2012-02-18 17:42:45','2012-02-18 15:42:45','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that we\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall. If not, now you know.\r\n\r\nI like Carrefour but it\'s big. Really big. And as such I can never remember where anything is so I ended up wandering all over the store every time I go. Which I hate. \r\n\r\nThat\'s why I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. \r\n\r\nThey\'ve got a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too but they don\'t have everything. Although I do try to buy hummus and arugula every time I go because I want Billa to keep both of these new-ish additions in stock. (Is that crazy? Maybe. But I don\'t care.)\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\" title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\"></a>\r\nStill there are some foods that I want but that I can\'t find at Billa. Enter: Carrefour. \r\n\r\nI use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list. They\'ve got a huge range of different foods and \r\nthe Carrefour store brand is great. \r\n\r\nSometimes I find things there I didn\'t even know I needed like black-eyed peas.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-5','','','2012-02-18 17:42:45','2012-02-18 15:42:45','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6299,1,'2012-02-18 17:43:06','2012-02-18 15:43:06','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that we\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall. If not, now you know.\r\n\r\nI like Carrefour but it\'s big. Really big. And as such I can never remember where anything is so I ended up wandering all over the store every time I go. Which I hate. \r\n\r\nThat\'s why I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. \r\n\r\nThey\'ve got a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too but they don\'t have everything. Although I do try to buy hummus and arugula every time I go because I want Billa to keep both of these new-ish additions in stock. (Is that crazy? Maybe. But I don\'t care.)\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\" title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\"></a>\r\nStill there are some foods that I want but that I can\'t find at Billa. Enter: Carrefour. \r\n\r\nI use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list. They\'ve got a huge range of different foods and \r\nthe Carrefour store brand is great. \r\n\r\nSometimes I find things there I didn\'t even know I needed like black-eyed peas.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-6','','','2012-02-18 17:43:06','2012-02-18 15:43:06','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6300,1,'2012-02-18 17:43:55','2012-02-18 15:43:55','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that we\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall. If not, now you know.\r\n\r\nI like Carrefour but it\'s big. Really big. And as such I can never remember where anything is so I ended up wandering all over the store every time I go. Which I hate. \r\n\r\nThat\'s why I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. \r\n\r\nThey\'ve got a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too but they don\'t have everything. Although I do try to buy hummus and arugula every time I go because I want Billa to keep both of these new-ish additions in stock. (Is that crazy? Maybe. But I don\'t care.)\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\" title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\"></a>\r\nStill there are some foods that I want but that I can\'t find at Billa. Enter: Carrefour. \r\n\r\nI use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list. They\'ve got a huge range of different foods and \r\nthe Carrefour store brand is great. \r\n\r\nSometimes I find things there I didn\'t even know I needed like black-eyed peas.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-7','','','2012-02-18 17:43:55','2012-02-18 15:43:55','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6301,1,'2012-02-18 17:46:43','2012-02-18 15:46:43','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that we\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall. If not, now you know.\r\n\r\nI like Carrefour but it\'s big. Really big. And as such I can never remember where anything is so I ended up wandering all over the store every time I go. Which I hate.\r\n\r\nThat\'s why I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy.\r\n\r\nBilla has a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too. Still they don\'t carry everything I\'m looking for.\r\n\r\nNevertheless, I do try to buy hummus and arugula every time I go because I want Billa to keep both of these new-ish additions in stock. Is that crazy? <em>Maybe</em>. But I don\'t care.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nStill there are some foods that I want but that I can\'t find at Billa. Enter: Carrefour.\r\n\r\nI use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list. They\'ve got a huge range of different foods and the Carrefour store brand is great. So what\'s not to love?!\r\n\r\nSometimes I find things there I didn\'t even know I needed like black-eyed peas. Thanks Carrefour.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-8','','','2012-02-18 17:46:43','2012-02-18 15:46:43','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6302,1,'2012-02-18 17:46:44','2012-02-18 15:46:44','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that we\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall. If not, now you know.\r\n\r\nI like Carrefour but it\'s big. Really big. And as such I can never remember where anything is so I ended up wandering all over the store every time I go. Which I hate.\r\n\r\nThat\'s why I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy.\r\n\r\nBilla has a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too. Still they don\'t carry everything I\'m looking for.\r\n\r\nNevertheless, I do try to buy hummus and arugula every time I go because I want Billa to keep both of these new-ish additions in stock. Is that crazy? <em>Maybe</em>. But I don\'t care.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nStill there are some foods that I want but that I can\'t find at Billa. Enter: Carrefour.\r\n\r\nI use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list. They\'ve got a huge range of different foods and the Carrefour store brand is great. So what\'s not to love?!\r\n\r\nSometimes I find things there I didn\'t even know I needed like black-eyed peas. Thanks Carrefour.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-9','','','2012-02-18 17:46:44','2012-02-18 15:46:44','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6303,1,'2012-02-18 18:34:00','2012-02-18 16:34:00','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that we\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall. If not, now you know.\n\nI like Carrefour but it\'s big. Really big. And as such I can never remember where anything is so I ended up wandering all over the store every time I go. Which I hate.\n\nThat\'s why I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. Billa has a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too. Still they don\'t carry everything I\'m looking for.\n\nNevertheless, I do try to buy hummus and arugula every time I go because I want Billa to keep both of these new-ish additions in stock.\n\nIs that crazy? <em>Maybe</em>. But I don\'t care.\n<a title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nStill there are some foods that I want but that I can\'t find at Billa. Enter: Carrefour.\n\nI use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list. They\'ve got a huge range of different foods and the Carrefour store brand is great. So what\'s not to love?!\n\nSometimes I find things there I didn\'t even know I needed like black-eyed peas. Thanks Carrefour.\n\nOther In 10 posts: Bulgaria','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-autosave','','','2012-02-18 18:34:00','2012-02-18 16:34:00','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6304,1,'2012-02-18 18:00:26','2012-02-18 16:00:26','I\'m apparently working on a growing collection of alcohol bottles on top of my refrigerator. Now here\'s the interesting part, I buy them and I think: this is going to be great!\n\nThen I never open them.\n\nI guess this means that I need to have a party as I am not one to drink alone. Sure I might have a beer or a glass of wine after work while making dinner but that\'s about it.\n\nI bought the port last spring break. Yes, that\'s nearly a year ago and it\'s still unopened. I bought the limoncello in Rome in October. The bottle of rose wine? That\'s from Thassos when I went at the end of May last year. And the bottle of whiskey I bought for Fakesgiving.\n\nSure this isn\'t something I am complaining about it\'s just a strange disconnect. When I buy this alcohol, I assume that I\'ll drink it. Only in practice, it sits on top of my fridge gathering dust.','In 10: Bottles ','','inherit','open','open','','6287-revision-3','','','2012-02-18 18:00:26','2012-02-18 16:00:26','',6287,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6287-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6305,1,'2012-02-18 18:01:50','2012-02-18 16:01:50','I\'m apparently working on a growing collection of alcohol bottles on top of my refrigerator. Now here\'s the interesting part, I buy them and I think: this is going to be great!\n\nThen I never open them.\n\nI guess this means that I need to have a party as I am not one to drink alone. Sure I might have a beer or a glass of wine after work while making dinner but that\'s about it.\n\nI bought the port last spring break. Yes, that\'s nearly a year ago and it\'s still unopened. I bought the limoncello in Rome in October. The bottle of rose wine? That\'s from Thassos when I went at the end of May last year. And the bottle of whiskey I bought for Fakesgiving.\n\nSure this isn\'t something I am complaining about it\'s just a strange disconnect. When I buy this alcohol, I assume that I\'ll drink it. Only in practice, it sits on top of my fridge gathering dust.','In 10: Bottles ','','inherit','open','open','','6287-revision-4','','','2012-02-18 18:01:50','2012-02-18 16:01:50','',6287,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6287-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6306,1,'2012-02-18 18:27:25','2012-02-18 16:27:25','I\'m apparently working on a growing collection of alcohol bottles on top of my refrigerator. Now here\'s the interesting part, I buy them and I think: this is going to be great!\r\n\r\nThen I never open them.\r\n\r\nI guess this means that I need to have a party as I am not one to drink alone. Sure I might have a beer or a glass of wine after work while making dinner but that\'s about it.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6897048727/\" title=\"In 10: Bottles by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6897048727_c6509ddacf_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In 10: Bottles\"></a>\r\nI bought the port last spring break. Yes, that\'s nearly a year ago and it\'s still unopened. I bought the limoncello in Rome in October. The bottle of rose wine? That\'s from Thassos when I went at the end of May last year. And the bottle of whiskey I bought for Fakesgiving.\r\n\r\nSure this isn\'t something I am complaining about it\'s just a strange disconnect. When I buy this alcohol, I assume that I\'ll drink it. Only in practice, it sits on top of my fridge gathering dust.','In 10: Bottles ','','inherit','open','open','','6287-revision-5','','','2012-02-18 18:27:25','2012-02-18 16:27:25','',6287,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6287-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6307,1,'2012-02-18 18:30:29','2012-02-18 16:30:29','I\'m apparently working on a growing collection of alcohol bottles on top of my refrigerator. Now here\'s the interesting part, I buy them and I think: this is going to be great!\n\nThen I never open them.\n\nI guess this means that I need to have a party as I am not one to drink alone. Sure I might have a beer or a glass of wine after work while making dinner but that\'s about it.\n<a title=\"In 10: Bottles by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6897048727/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6897048727_c6509ddacf_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Bottles\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI bought the port last spring break. Yes, that\'s nearly a year ago and it\'s still unopened. I bought the limoncello in Rome in October. The bottle of rose wine? That\'s from Thassos when I went at the end of May last year. And the bottle of whiskey I bought for Fakesgiving.\n\nSure this isn\'t something I am complaining about it\'s just a strange disconnect. When I buy this alcohol, I assume that I\'ll drink it. Only in practice, it sits on top of my fridge gathering dust.\n\nIn 10: Carrefour\n\nIn 10: Bulgarian Homemade','In 10: Bottles ','','inherit','open','open','','6287-revision-6','','','2012-02-18 18:30:29','2012-02-18 16:30:29','',6287,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6287-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6308,1,'2012-03-17 12:11:47','2012-03-17 10:11:47','I\'m apparently working on a growing collection of alcohol bottles on top of my refrigerator. Now here\'s the interesting part, I buy them and I think: this is going to be great!\r\n\r\nThen I never open them.\r\n\r\nI guess this means that I need to have a party as I am not one to drink alone. Sure I might have a beer or a glass of wine after work while making dinner but that\'s about it.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Bottles by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6897048727/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6897048727_c6509ddacf_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Bottles\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI bought the port last spring break. Yes, that\'s nearly a year ago and it\'s still unopened. I bought the limoncello in Rome in October. The bottle of rose wine? That\'s from Thassos when I went at the end of May last year. And the bottle of whiskey I bought for Fakesgiving.\r\n\r\nSure this isn\'t something I am complaining about it\'s just a strange disconnect. When I buy this alcohol, I assume that I\'ll drink it. Only in practice, it sits on top of my fridge gathering dust.\r\n\r\nLooking for more In 10 posts? Check these out:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/03/11/in-10-12-muffins/\" target=\"_blank\">Muffins (Self-made and Take a Cake-made)</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/03/04/in-10-martenitsi/ ‎\" target=\"_blank\">Martenitsi</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/26/in-10-carrefour/\" target=\"_blank\">Carrefour</a></li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"../2012/02/19/in-10-bulgarian-homemade/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Homemade</a></li>\r\n</ul>','In 10: Bottles ','','inherit','open','open','','6287-autosave','','','2012-03-17 12:11:47','2012-03-17 10:11:47','',6287,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6287-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6309,1,'2012-02-18 18:44:01','2012-02-18 16:44:01','One of the good things about living in Bulgaria is the food.\r\n\r\nOne of the great things about actually knowing Bulgarians are homemade preserves.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896690297/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6896690297_3253138690_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThey come in all shapes and sizes. Some are easier to stomach than others. Remember <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/01/31/eating-bulgaria-slanina/\" target=\"_blank\">my post on slanina</a>?\r\n\r\nBut isn\'t that the point? Trying new things. Eating different foods. Wondering what on earth you\'re supposed to do with canned/preserved offal.\r\n\r\nFor the record, I ended up with not one jar but two.','In 10: Bulgarian Homemade ','','inherit','open','open','','6285-autosave','','','2012-02-18 18:44:01','2012-02-18 16:44:01','',6285,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6285-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6310,1,'2012-02-18 17:47:47','2012-02-18 15:47:47','If you live in Sofia, you probably already know that we\'ve got a Carrefour in The Mall. If not, now you know.\r\n\r\nI like Carrefour but it\'s big. Really big. And as such I can never remember where anything is so I ended up wandering all over the store every time I go. Which I hate.\r\n\r\nThat\'s why I do all of my weekly shopping at Billa. It\'s close and easy. Billa has a good selection of basics. These days you can also find hummus, tofu and arugula there too. Still they don\'t carry everything I\'m looking for.\r\n\r\nNevertheless, I do try to buy hummus and arugula every time I go because I want Billa to keep both of these new-ish additions in stock.\r\n\r\nIs that crazy? <em>Maybe</em>. But I don\'t care.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Carrefour by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896807769/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6896807769_759248576f_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Carrefour\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nStill there are some foods that I want but that I can\'t find at Billa. Enter: Carrefour.\r\n\r\nI use Carrefour to supplement my standard shopping list. They\'ve got a huge range of different foods and the Carrefour store brand is great. So what\'s not to love?!\r\n\r\nSometimes I find things there I didn\'t even know I needed like black-eyed peas. Thanks Carrefour.','In 10: Carrefour','','inherit','open','open','','6283-revision-10','','','2012-02-18 17:47:47','2012-02-18 15:47:47','',6283,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6283-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(6311,1,'2012-02-18 17:13:21','2012-02-18 15:13:21','One of the good things about living in Bulgaria is the food.\r\n\r\nOne of the great things about actually knowing Bulgarians are homemade preserves.\r\n<a title=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6896690297/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6896690297_3253138690_z.jpg\" alt=\"In 10: Bulgarian Homemade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThey come in all shapes and sizes.\r\n\r\nAnd some are easier to stomach than others.','In 10: Bulgarian Homemade ','','inherit','open','open','','6285-revision-7','','','2012-02-18 17:13:21','2012-02-18 15:13:21','',6285,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/6285-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6312,1,'2012-02-18 18:18:27','2012-02-18 16:18:27','I watched the Bulgarian film \"A Time of Violence\" recently. It\'s one of those films that I\'ve taken way to long to actually watch.\n\nSomehow I thought it was going to be over the top with Bulgarian nationalism. So I put it off and put it off. And put it off some more.','A Time of Violence ','','inherit','open','open','','5970-revision-2','','','2012-02-18 18:18:27','2012-02-18 16:18:27','',5970,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/5970-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6313,1,'2012-02-18 20:46:42','2012-02-18 18:46:42','I watched the Bulgarian film \"A Time of Violence\" recently. It\'s one of those films that I\'ve taken way to long to actually watch.\n\nSomehow I thought it was going to be over the top with Bulgarian nationalism. So I put it off and put it off. And put it off some more.\n\nI\'d been told under no uncertain terms by a Bulgarian that: first I had to watch the film and that upon watching the film I\'d hate the Turks. Um, language like this makes me uneasy and so I passively resisted by not watching the film.\n\nBut then I watched it and I couldn\'t stop. I didn\'t want to talk to my parents on skype (but I did). I paused to make dinner (because I was starving). And then I cried for the final 15 minutes of the film.\n\nNow here\'s the thing, the film has a very clear point of view. It\'s based on a Bulgarian novel, made in Bulgaria in 1988 by Bulgarians and Bulgarians have pretty good historical reasons for disliking the Ottoman Empire.\n\nAs an outsider, it\'s been difficult for me to grasp the often nearly palpable hate that Bulgarians express towards the Turks during the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria. I\'d read about <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janissary\" target=\"_blank\">janissaries</a> and','A Time of Violence ','','inherit','open','open','','5970-revision-3','','','2012-02-18 20:46:42','2012-02-18 18:46:42','',5970,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/18/5970-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6314,1,'2012-02-19 11:04:04','2012-02-19 09:04:04','I watched the Bulgarian film \"A Time of Violence\" recently. It\'s one of those films that I\'ve taken way to long to actually watch.\n\nSomehow I thought it was going to be over the top with Bulgarian nationalism. So I put it off and put it off. And put it off some more.\n\nI\'d been told under no uncertain terms by a Bulgarian that: first I had to watch the film and that upon watching the film I\'d hate the Turks. Um, language like this makes me uneasy and so I passively resisted by not watching the film.\n\nBut then I watched it and I couldn\'t stop. I didn\'t want to talk to my parents on skype (but I did). I paused to make dinner (because I was starving). And then I cried for the final 15 minutes of the film.\n\nNow here\'s the thing, the film has a very clear point of view. It\'s based on a Bulgarian novel, made in Bulgaria in 1988 by Bulgarians and Bulgarians have pretty good historical reasons for disliking the Ottoman Empire.\n\nAs an outsider, it\'s been difficult for me to grasp the often nearly palpable hate that many Bulgarians express for the Turks during the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria. I\'d read about <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janissary\" target=\"_blank\">janissaries</a> and the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria. I\'d heard about the \"Turkish Yoke.\" I\'d read widely through Bulgarian history. I had an understanding of the events but I hadn\'t spent much time thinking about what all of these meant on a personal level.\n\nThe movie makes it personal. Really personal. The forced conversion of Christian villagers in the Rhodope Mountains to Islam at the hands of a Bulgarian jannissary and his army.\n\nThe film makes this history real and personal in a way that it wasn\'t for me before watching.  In the film you meet one small village and you are quickly pulled into their troubles.  Interestingly you also get to see both sides of the story because you also meet the Turkish governor ruling over this part of the Rhodope Mountains.\n\nWhat stood out to me was how little actual violence there actually is in film. There\'s implied violence and plenty of cruelty but hardly any out and out violence. I expected more given the name of the film, the history of the time period and my imagination.\n\nI also didn\'t expect the ending of the film leading me to engage in some pretty serious crying while waiting for something <em>really</em> bad to happen. But it doesn\'t happen, making it almost worse because you know it <em>will</em> happen.\n\nI am really glad that I decided to finally watch the film. Now I don\'t','A Time of Violence ','','inherit','open','open','','5970-revision-4','','','2012-02-19 11:04:04','2012-02-19 09:04:04','',5970,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/19/5970-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6315,1,'2012-02-19 11:05:49','2012-02-19 09:05:49','I watched the Bulgarian film \"A Time of Violence\" recently. It\'s one of those films that I\'ve taken way to long to actually watch.\n\nSomehow I thought it was going to be over the top with Bulgarian nationalism. So I put it off and put it off. And put it off some more.\n\nI\'d been told under no uncertain terms by a Bulgarian that: first I had to watch the film and that upon watching the film I\'d hate the Turks. Um, language like this makes me uneasy and so I passively resisted by not watching the film.\n\nBut then I watched it and I couldn\'t stop. I didn\'t want to talk to my parents on skype (but I did). I paused to make dinner (because I was starving). And then I cried for the final 15 minutes of the film.\n\nNow here\'s the thing, the film has a very clear point of view. It\'s based on a Bulgarian novel, made in Bulgaria in 1988 by Bulgarians and Bulgarians have pretty good historical reasons for disliking the Ottoman Empire.\n\nAs an outsider, it\'s been difficult for me to grasp the often nearly palpable hate that many Bulgarians express for the Turks during the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria. I\'d read about <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janissary\" target=\"_blank\">janissaries</a> and the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria. I\'d heard about the \"Turkish Yoke.\" I\'d read widely through Bulgarian history. I had an understanding of the events but I hadn\'t spent much time thinking about what all of these meant on a personal level.\n\nThe movie makes it personal. Really personal. The forced conversion of Christian villagers in the Rhodope Mountains to Islam at the hands of a Bulgarian jannissary and his army.\n\nThe film makes this history real and personal in a way that it wasn\'t for me before watching.  In the film you meet one small village and you are quickly pulled into their troubles.  Interestingly you also get to see both sides of the story because you also meet the Turkish governor ruling over this part of the Rhodope Mountains.\n\nWhat stood out to me was how little actual violence there actually is in film. There\'s implied violence and plenty of cruelty but hardly any out and out violence. I expected more given the name of the film, the history of the time period and my imagination.\n\nI also didn\'t expect the ending of the film leading me to engage in some pretty serious crying while waiting for something <em>really</em> bad to happen. But it doesn\'t happen, making it almost worse because you know it <em>will</em> happen.\n\nI am really glad that I decided to finally watch the film. Maybe I shouldn\'t be so stubborn about these things in the future.','A Time of Violence ','','inherit','open','open','','5970-revision-5','','','2012-02-19 11:05:49','2012-02-19 09:05:49','',5970,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/19/5970-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6316,1,'2012-02-19 11:06:49','2012-02-19 09:06:49','I watched the Bulgarian film \"A Time of Violence\" recently. It\'s one of those films that I\'ve taken way to long to actually watch.\n\nSomehow I thought it was going to be over the top with Bulgarian nationalism. So I put it off and put it off. And put it off some more.\n\nI\'d been told under no uncertain terms by a Bulgarian that: first I had to watch the film and that upon watching the film I\'d hate the Turks. Um, language like this makes me uneasy and so I passively resisted by not watching the film.\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/gSxIrsmx7vE\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"></iframe>\n\nBut then I watched it and I couldn\'t stop. I didn\'t want to talk to my parents on skype (but I did). I paused to make dinner (because I was starving). And then I cried for the final 15 minutes of the film.\n\nNow here\'s the thing, the film has a very clear point of view. It\'s based on a Bulgarian novel, made in Bulgaria in 1988 by Bulgarians and Bulgarians have pretty good historical reasons for disliking the Ottoman Empire.\n\nAs an outsider, it\'s been difficult for me to grasp the often nearly palpable hate that many Bulgarians express for the Turks during the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria. I\'d read about <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janissary\" target=\"_blank\">janissaries</a> and the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria. I\'d heard about the \"Turkish Yoke.\" I\'d read widely through Bulgarian history. I had an understanding of the events but I hadn\'t spent much time thinking about what all of these meant on a personal level.\n\nThe movie makes it personal. Really personal. The forced conversion of Christian villagers in the Rhodope Mountains to Islam at the hands of a Bulgarian jannissary and his army.\n\nThe film makes this history real and personal in a way that it wasn\'t for me before watching.  In the film you meet one small village and you are quickly pulled into their troubles.  Interestingly you also get to see both sides of the story because you also meet the Turkish governor ruling over this part of the Rhodope Mountains.\n\nWhat stood out to me was how little actual violence there actually is in film. There\'s implied violence and plenty of cruelty but hardly any out and out violence. I expected more given the name of the film, the history of the time period and my imagination.\n\nI also didn\'t expect the ending of the film leading me to engage in some pretty serious crying while waiting for something <em>really</em> bad to happen. But it doesn\'t happen, making it almost worse because you know it <em>will</em> happen.\n\nI am really glad that I decided to finally watch the film. Maybe I shouldn\'t be so stubborn about these things in the future.','A Time of Violence ','','inherit','open','open','','5970-revision-6','','','2012-02-19 11:06:49','2012-02-19 09:06:49','',5970,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/19/5970-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6317,1,'2012-02-19 21:38:42','0000-00-00 00:00:00','','Highlights/Lowlights','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-02-19 21:38:42','2012-02-19 19:38:42','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6317',0,'post','',0),(6318,1,'2012-02-19 21:29:12','2012-02-19 19:29:12','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','6317-revision','','','2012-02-19 21:29:12','2012-02-19 19:29:12','',6317,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/19/6317-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6319,1,'2012-02-21 06:20:44','2012-02-21 04:20:44','For Christmas my Bulgarian tutor I. gave me a really great coffee mug.\r\n\r\nShe knows all about my love of coffee and spotted the perfect gift for me. <em>How lucky am I?</em>\r\n<a title=\"Coffee to go! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6911299043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6911299043_79ffcb2921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee to go!\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nIt\'s ceramic and has a lid. It\'s also the perfect size for a large Onda cappuccino. Thus Monday marked 6 weeks of me using a to-go mug rather than a paper cup. That\'s 30 paper cups I\'ve saved from the garbage.\r\n\r\nSure it\'s a little more work and my first two weeks I made it downstairs to Onda without my coffee cup more times than I\'d like to admit but I always went back up to get it. So that now I am in the habit and it\'s really no problem to remember.\r\n\r\nI guess that\'s what happens when you form a habit. Not the coffee habit. I already had that. It only took me a month to get into a routine--okay, six weeks--to remember to bring along the necessary receptical for the coffee habit. The reusable to-go cup. That took a little more time but maybe that\'s to be expected when it comes to coffee.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I pretty clearly should have made the switch ages ago but I guess it\'s better late than never.','Coffee to go! ','','publish','open','open','','coffee-to-go','','','2012-02-21 06:58:11','2012-02-21 04:58:11','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6319',0,'post','',2),(6320,1,'2012-02-20 21:43:54','2012-02-20 19:43:54','For Christmas my Bulgarian tutor I. gave me a really great coffee mug.  She knows about my love of coffee and spotted the perfect gift for me.\n<a title=\"Coffee to go! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6911299043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6911299043_79ffcb2921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee to go!\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nIt\'s ceramic and has a lid. It\'s also the perfect size for a large Onda cappuccino. Thus Monday marked 6 weeks of me using a to-go mug rather than a paper cup. I should have done this a long time ago. That\'s 30 paper cups I\'ve saved from the garbage.\n\nSure it\'s a little more work (and my first two weeks I made it downstairs to Onda without my coffee cup more times than I\'d like to admit) but now that I am in the habit it\'s really no problem. I pretty clearly should have made the switch ages ago but I guess it\'s better late than never.','Coffee to go! ','','inherit','open','open','','6319-revision','','','2012-02-20 21:43:54','2012-02-20 19:43:54','',6319,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/20/6319-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6321,1,'2012-02-20 21:44:00','2012-02-20 19:44:00','For Christmas my Bulgarian tutor I. gave me a really great coffee mug.  She knows about my love of coffee and spotted the perfect gift for me.\r\n<a title=\"Coffee to go! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6911299043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6911299043_79ffcb2921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee to go!\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nIt\'s ceramic and has a lid. It\'s also the perfect size for a large Onda cappuccino. Thus Monday marked 6 weeks of me using a to-go mug rather than a paper cup. I should have done this a long time ago. That\'s 30 paper cups I\'ve saved from the garbage.\r\n\r\nSure it\'s a little more work (and my first two weeks I made it downstairs to Onda without my coffee cup more times than I\'d like to admit) but now that I am in the habit it\'s really no problem. I pretty clearly should have made the switch ages ago but I guess it\'s better late than never.','Coffee to go! ','','inherit','open','open','','6319-revision-2','','','2012-02-20 21:44:00','2012-02-20 19:44:00','',6319,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/20/6319-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6322,1,'2012-02-20 21:44:54','2012-02-20 19:44:54','For Christmas my Bulgarian tutor I. gave me a really great coffee mug.\n\nShe knows all about my love of coffee and spotted the perfect gift for me. How lucky am I?\n<a title=\"Coffee to go! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6911299043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6911299043_79ffcb2921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee to go!\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nIt\'s ceramic and has a lid. It\'s also the perfect size for a large Onda cappuccino. Thus Monday marked 6 weeks of me using a to-go mug rather than a paper cup. I should have done this a long time ago. That\'s 30 paper cups I\'ve saved from the garbage.\n\nSure it\'s a little more work (and my first two weeks I made it downstairs to Onda without my coffee cup more times than I\'d like to admit) but now that I am in the habit it\'s really no problem. I pretty clearly should have made the switch ages ago but I guess it\'s better late than never.','Coffee to go! ','','inherit','open','open','','6319-revision-3','','','2012-02-20 21:44:54','2012-02-20 19:44:54','',6319,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/20/6319-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6323,1,'2012-02-20 21:56:03','2012-02-20 19:56:03','For Christmas my Bulgarian tutor I. gave me a really great coffee mug.\n\nShe knows all about my love of coffee and spotted the perfect gift for me. <em>How lucky am I?</em>\n<a title=\"Coffee to go! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6911299043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6911299043_79ffcb2921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee to go!\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nIt\'s ceramic and has a lid. It\'s also the perfect size for a large Onda cappuccino. Thus Monday marked 6 weeks of me using a to-go mug rather than a paper cup. That\'s 30 paper cups I\'ve saved from the garbage.\n\nSure it\'s a little more work and my first two weeks I made it downstairs to Onda without my coffee cup more times than I\'d like to admit but I always went back up to get it. So that now I am in the habit and it\'s really no problem to remember.\n\nI guess that\'s what happens when you form a habit. Not the coffee habit. I already had that. It only took me a month to get into a routine--okay, six weeks--to remember to bring along the necessary receptical for the coffee habit. The reusable to-go cup. That took a little more time but maybe that\'s to be expected when it comes to coffee.\n\nAnyhow, I pretty clearly should have made the switch ages ago but I guess it\'s better late than never.','Coffee to go! ','','inherit','open','open','','6319-autosave','','','2012-02-20 21:56:03','2012-02-20 19:56:03','',6319,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/20/6319-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6324,1,'2012-02-20 21:54:58','2012-02-20 19:54:58','For Christmas my Bulgarian tutor I. gave me a really great coffee mug.\r\n\r\nShe knows all about my love of coffee and spotted the perfect gift for me. <em>How lucky am I?</em>\r\n<a title=\"Coffee to go! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6911299043/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6911299043_79ffcb2921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee to go!\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nIt\'s ceramic and has a lid. It\'s also the perfect size for a large Onda cappuccino. Thus Monday marked 6 weeks of me using a to-go mug rather than a paper cup. That\'s 30 paper cups I\'ve saved from the garbage.\r\n\r\nSure it\'s a little more work and my first two weeks I made it downstairs to Onda without my coffee cup more times than I\'d like to admit but I always went back up to get it. So that now I am in the habit and it\'s really no problem to remember.\r\n\r\nI guess that\'s what happens when you form a habit. Not the coffee habit. I already had that. It only took me a month to get into a routine--okay, six weeks--to remember to bring along the necessary receptical for the coffee habit. The reusable to-go cup. That took a little more time but maybe that\'s to be expected when it comes to coffee.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I pretty clearly should have made the switch ages ago but I guess it\'s better late than never.','Coffee to go! ','','inherit','open','open','','6319-revision-4','','','2012-02-20 21:54:58','2012-02-20 19:54:58','',6319,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/20/6319-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6325,1,'2012-02-22 06:43:31','2012-02-22 04:43:31','I won <a href=\"http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html\" target=\"_blank\">a Fulbright</a> four years ago to Bulgaria. Guess what? I am still here.\r\n\r\nFour years ago, I couldn\'t read Cyrillic. I didn\'t know a word of Bulgarian. I nodded my head up and down to say \"yes\" and side to side to say \"no.\" I\'d never been to Eastern Europe. I\'d never traveled alone. Hell, I\'d never even lived alone.\r\n\r\nI\'ve come a long way in the last three and half years.\r\n\r\nOne of the first things I had the opportunity to do in Bulgaria was to attend a two week program hosted by the <a href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/en/p-About-Fulbright-Bulgarian-American-Commission-for-Educational-Exchange-1/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian-America Fulbright Commission</a> called the <a href=\"http://www.fisi-bg.info/\" target=\"_blank\">Fulbright International Summer Institute or FISI for short</a>. Even today, I am very thankful for that experience. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of really interesting, passionate twenty-somethings from all over Europe and especially Bulgaria. I number a lot of these people among my friends even today.\r\n<a title=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6917447483/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6917447483_974a4ea7e0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" /></a>\r\nI met up with two of my FISI friends I. and I. recently.  One of the I.s is Croatian and studying at the <a href=\"http://www.sais-jhu.edu/about-bologna/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">SAIS campus in Bologna </a>currently and the other I. is Bulgarian and working in Sofia.  I. came with a group of friends from SAIS Bologna to explore Sofia for a weekend.  We all met up for dinner and had a grand time.\r\n\r\nIt never ceases to amaze me how quickly some friendships can be renewed and how lucky I am to have friends from all over Europe. <em>Thanks, Fulbright!</em>\r\n\r\nAll in all it was a great night.\r\n\r\nI ate a little too much. I drank a little too much. I stayed out a little too late.','Catching up with Friends in Sofia','','publish','open','open','','catching-up-with-friends-in-sofia','','','2012-02-21 21:19:47','2012-02-21 19:19:47','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6325',0,'post','',2),(6326,1,'2012-02-21 20:42:03','2012-02-21 18:42:03','I won <a href=\"http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html\" target=\"_blank\">a Fulbright</a> four years ago to Bulgaria. Guess what? I am still here.\n\nFour years ago, I couldn\'t read Cyrillic. I didn\'t know a word of Bulgarian. I nodded my head up and down to say \"yes\" and side to side to say \"no.\" I\'d never been to Eastern Europe. I\'d never traveled alone. Hell, I\'d never even lived alone.\n\nI\'ve come a long way in the last three and half years.\n\nOne of the first things I had the opportunity to do in Bulgaria was to attend a two week program hosted by the <a href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/en/p-About-Fulbright-Bulgarian-American-Commission-for-Educational-Exchange-1/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian-America Fulbright Commission</a> called the <a href=\"http://www.fisi-bg.info/\" target=\"_blank\">Fulbright International Summer Institute or FISI for short</a>. Even today, I am very thankful for that experience. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of really interesting, passionate twenty-somethings from all over Europe and especially Bulgaria. I number a lot of these people among my friends even today.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6917447483/\" title=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6917447483_974a4ea7e0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends\"></a>\nI met up with two of my FISI friends I. and I. recently.  One of the I.s is Croatian and studying at the <a href=\"http://www.sais-jhu.edu/about-bologna/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">SAIS campus in Bologna </a>currently and the other I. is Bulgarian and working in Sofia.  I. came with a group of friends from SAIS Bologna to explore Sofia for a weekend.  We all met up for dinner and had a grand time.\n\nIt never ceases to amaze me how quickly some friendships can be renewed and how lucky I am to have friends from all over Europe. <em>Thanks, Fulbright!</em>\n\nAll in all it was a great night--I ate a little too much. I drank a little too much. I stayed out a little too late.\n\n&nbsp;','Catching up with Friends in Sofia','','inherit','open','open','','6325-revision','','','2012-02-21 20:42:03','2012-02-21 18:42:03','',6325,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/21/6325-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6327,1,'2012-02-21 20:42:06','2012-02-21 18:42:06','I won <a href=\"http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html\" target=\"_blank\">a Fulbright</a> four years ago to Bulgaria. Guess what? I am still here.\r\n\r\nFour years ago, I couldn\'t read Cyrillic. I didn\'t know a word of Bulgarian. I nodded my head up and down to say \"yes\" and side to side to say \"no.\" I\'d never been to Eastern Europe. I\'d never traveled alone. Hell, I\'d never even lived alone.\r\n\r\nI\'ve come a long way in the last three and half years.\r\n\r\nOne of the first things I had the opportunity to do in Bulgaria was to attend a two week program hosted by the <a href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/en/p-About-Fulbright-Bulgarian-American-Commission-for-Educational-Exchange-1/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian-America Fulbright Commission</a> called the <a href=\"http://www.fisi-bg.info/\" target=\"_blank\">Fulbright International Summer Institute or FISI for short</a>. Even today, I am very thankful for that experience. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of really interesting, passionate twenty-somethings from all over Europe and especially Bulgaria. I number a lot of these people among my friends even today.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6917447483/\" title=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6917447483_974a4ea7e0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends\"></a>\r\nI met up with two of my FISI friends I. and I. recently.  One of the I.s is Croatian and studying at the <a href=\"http://www.sais-jhu.edu/about-bologna/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">SAIS campus in Bologna </a>currently and the other I. is Bulgarian and working in Sofia.  I. came with a group of friends from SAIS Bologna to explore Sofia for a weekend.  We all met up for dinner and had a grand time.\r\n\r\nIt never ceases to amaze me how quickly some friendships can be renewed and how lucky I am to have friends from all over Europe. <em>Thanks, Fulbright!</em>\r\n\r\nAll in all it was a great night--I ate a little too much. I drank a little too much. I stayed out a little too late.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Catching up with Friends in Sofia','','inherit','open','open','','6325-revision-2','','','2012-02-21 20:42:06','2012-02-21 18:42:06','',6325,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/21/6325-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6328,1,'2012-02-21 20:42:08','2012-02-21 18:42:08','I won <a href=\"http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html\" target=\"_blank\">a Fulbright</a> four years ago to Bulgaria. Guess what? I am still here.\r\n\r\nFour years ago, I couldn\'t read Cyrillic. I didn\'t know a word of Bulgarian. I nodded my head up and down to say \"yes\" and side to side to say \"no.\" I\'d never been to Eastern Europe. I\'d never traveled alone. Hell, I\'d never even lived alone.\r\n\r\nI\'ve come a long way in the last three and half years.\r\n\r\nOne of the first things I had the opportunity to do in Bulgaria was to attend a two week program hosted by the <a href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/en/p-About-Fulbright-Bulgarian-American-Commission-for-Educational-Exchange-1/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian-America Fulbright Commission</a> called the <a href=\"http://www.fisi-bg.info/\" target=\"_blank\">Fulbright International Summer Institute or FISI for short</a>. Even today, I am very thankful for that experience. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of really interesting, passionate twenty-somethings from all over Europe and especially Bulgaria. I number a lot of these people among my friends even today.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6917447483/\" title=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6917447483_974a4ea7e0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends\"></a>\r\nI met up with two of my FISI friends I. and I. recently.  One of the I.s is Croatian and studying at the <a href=\"http://www.sais-jhu.edu/about-bologna/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">SAIS campus in Bologna </a>currently and the other I. is Bulgarian and working in Sofia.  I. came with a group of friends from SAIS Bologna to explore Sofia for a weekend.  We all met up for dinner and had a grand time.\r\n\r\nIt never ceases to amaze me how quickly some friendships can be renewed and how lucky I am to have friends from all over Europe. <em>Thanks, Fulbright!</em>\r\n\r\nAll in all it was a great night--I ate a little too much. I drank a little too much. I stayed out a little too late.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Catching up with Friends in Sofia','','inherit','open','open','','6325-revision-3','','','2012-02-21 20:42:08','2012-02-21 18:42:08','',6325,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/21/6325-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6329,1,'2012-02-21 20:43:30','2012-02-21 18:43:30','I won <a href=\"http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html\" target=\"_blank\">a Fulbright</a> four years ago to Bulgaria. Guess what? I am still here.\r\n\r\nFour years ago, I couldn\'t read Cyrillic. I didn\'t know a word of Bulgarian. I nodded my head up and down to say \"yes\" and side to side to say \"no.\" I\'d never been to Eastern Europe. I\'d never traveled alone. Hell, I\'d never even lived alone.\r\n\r\nI\'ve come a long way in the last three and half years.\r\n\r\nOne of the first things I had the opportunity to do in Bulgaria was to attend a two week program hosted by the <a href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/en/p-About-Fulbright-Bulgarian-American-Commission-for-Educational-Exchange-1/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian-America Fulbright Commission</a> called the <a href=\"http://www.fisi-bg.info/\" target=\"_blank\">Fulbright International Summer Institute or FISI for short</a>. Even today, I am very thankful for that experience. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of really interesting, passionate twenty-somethings from all over Europe and especially Bulgaria. I number a lot of these people among my friends even today.\r\n<a title=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6917447483/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6917447483_974a4ea7e0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" /></a>\r\nI met up with two of my FISI friends I. and I. recently.  One of the I.s is Croatian and studying at the <a href=\"http://www.sais-jhu.edu/about-bologna/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">SAIS campus in Bologna </a>currently and the other I. is Bulgarian and working in Sofia.  I. came with a group of friends from SAIS Bologna to explore Sofia for a weekend.  We all met up for dinner and had a grand time.\r\n\r\nIt never ceases to amaze me how quickly some friendships can be renewed and how lucky I am to have friends from all over Europe. <em>Thanks, Fulbright!</em>\r\n\r\nAll in all it was a great night--I ate a little too much. I drank a little too much. I stayed out a little too late.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Catching up with Friends in Sofia','','inherit','open','open','','6325-revision-4','','','2012-02-21 20:43:30','2012-02-21 18:43:30','',6325,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/21/6325-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6330,1,'2012-02-21 20:44:33','2012-02-21 18:44:33','I won <a href=\"http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html\" target=\"_blank\">a Fulbright</a> four years ago to Bulgaria. Guess what? I am still here.\n\nFour years ago, I couldn\'t read Cyrillic. I didn\'t know a word of Bulgarian. I nodded my head up and down to say \"yes\" and side to side to say \"no.\" I\'d never been to Eastern Europe. I\'d never traveled alone. Hell, I\'d never even lived alone.\n\nI\'ve come a long way in the last three and half years.\n\nOne of the first things I had the opportunity to do in Bulgaria was to attend a two week program hosted by the <a href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/en/p-About-Fulbright-Bulgarian-American-Commission-for-Educational-Exchange-1/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian-America Fulbright Commission</a> called the <a href=\"http://www.fisi-bg.info/\" target=\"_blank\">Fulbright International Summer Institute or FISI for short</a>. Even today, I am very thankful for that experience. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of really interesting, passionate twenty-somethings from all over Europe and especially Bulgaria. I number a lot of these people among my friends even today.\n<a title=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6917447483/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6917447483_974a4ea7e0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" /></a>\nI met up with two of my FISI friends I. and I. recently.  One of the I.s is Croatian and studying at the <a href=\"http://www.sais-jhu.edu/about-bologna/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">SAIS campus in Bologna </a>currently and the other I. is Bulgarian and working in Sofia.  I. came with a group of friends from SAIS Bologna to explore Sofia for a weekend.  We all met up for dinner and had a grand time.\n\nIt never ceases to amaze me how quickly some friendships can be renewed and how lucky I am to have friends from all over Europe. <em>Thanks, Fulbright!</em>\n\nAll in all it was a great night.\n\nI ate a little too much. I drank a little too much. I stayed out a little too late.\n\n&nbsp;','Catching up with Friends in Sofia','','inherit','open','open','','6325-revision-5','','','2012-02-21 20:44:33','2012-02-21 18:44:33','',6325,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/21/6325-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6331,1,'2012-02-21 20:48:36','2012-02-21 18:48:36','I won <a href=\"http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html\" target=\"_blank\">a Fulbright</a> four years ago to Bulgaria. Guess what? I am still here.\n\nFour years ago, I couldn\'t read Cyrillic. I didn\'t know a word of Bulgarian. I nodded my head up and down to say \"yes\" and side to side to say \"no.\" I\'d never been to Eastern Europe. I\'d never traveled alone. Hell, I\'d never even lived alone.\n\nI\'ve come a long way in the last three and half years.\n\nOne of the first things I had the opportunity to do in Bulgaria was to attend a two week program hosted by the <a href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/en/p-About-Fulbright-Bulgarian-American-Commission-for-Educational-Exchange-1/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian-America Fulbright Commission</a> called the <a href=\"http://www.fisi-bg.info/\" target=\"_blank\">Fulbright International Summer Institute or FISI for short</a>. Even today, I am very thankful for that experience. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of really interesting, passionate twenty-somethings from all over Europe and especially Bulgaria. I number a lot of these people among my friends even today.\n<a title=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6917447483/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6917447483_974a4ea7e0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" /></a>\nI met up with two of my FISI friends I. and I. recently.  One of the I.s is Croatian and studying at the <a href=\"http://www.sais-jhu.edu/about-bologna/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">SAIS campus in Bologna </a>currently and the other I. is Bulgarian and working in Sofia.  I. came with a group of friends from SAIS Bologna to explore Sofia for a weekend.  We all met up for dinner and had a grand time.\n\nIt never ceases to amaze me how quickly some friendships can be renewed and how lucky I am to have friends from all over Europe. <em>Thanks, Fulbright!</em>\n\nAll in all it was a great night.\n\nI ate a little too much. I drank a little too much. I stayed out a little too late.','Catching up with Friends in Sofia','','inherit','open','open','','6325-autosave','','','2012-02-21 20:48:36','2012-02-21 18:48:36','',6325,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/21/6325-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6332,1,'2012-02-21 20:47:32','2012-02-21 18:47:32','I won <a href=\"http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html\" target=\"_blank\">a Fulbright</a> four years ago to Bulgaria. Guess what? I am still here.\r\n\r\nFour years ago, I couldn\'t read Cyrillic. I didn\'t know a word of Bulgarian. I nodded my head up and down to say \"yes\" and side to side to say \"no.\" I\'d never been to Eastern Europe. I\'d never traveled alone. Hell, I\'d never even lived alone.\r\n\r\nI\'ve come a long way in the last three and half years.\r\n\r\nOne of the first things I had the opportunity to do in Bulgaria was to attend a two week program hosted by the <a href=\"http://www.fulbright.bg/en/p-About-Fulbright-Bulgarian-American-Commission-for-Educational-Exchange-1/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian-America Fulbright Commission</a> called the <a href=\"http://www.fisi-bg.info/\" target=\"_blank\">Fulbright International Summer Institute or FISI for short</a>. Even today, I am very thankful for that experience. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of really interesting, passionate twenty-somethings from all over Europe and especially Bulgaria. I number a lot of these people among my friends even today.\r\n<a title=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6917447483/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6917447483_974a4ea7e0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dinner in Sofia with Friends\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" /></a>\r\nI met up with two of my FISI friends I. and I. recently.  One of the I.s is Croatian and studying at the <a href=\"http://www.sais-jhu.edu/about-bologna/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">SAIS campus in Bologna </a>currently and the other I. is Bulgarian and working in Sofia.  I. came with a group of friends from SAIS Bologna to explore Sofia for a weekend.  We all met up for dinner and had a grand time.\r\n\r\nIt never ceases to amaze me how quickly some friendships can be renewed and how lucky I am to have friends from all over Europe. <em>Thanks, Fulbright!</em>\r\n\r\nAll in all it was a great night.\r\n\r\nI ate a little too much. I drank a little too much. I stayed out a little too late.','Catching up with Friends in Sofia','','inherit','open','open','','6325-revision-6','','','2012-02-21 20:47:32','2012-02-21 18:47:32','',6325,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/21/6325-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6333,1,'2012-02-23 06:53:06','2012-02-23 04:53:06','This has been a pretty great week. In no particular order here are the highlights:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The snow is finally starting to melt.</li>\r\n	<li>The sun has been shining.</li>\r\n	<li>There was little meatball soup at school this week.</li>\r\n	<li>We have a four day weekend and I am headed to Malta for it. <em>Malta! </em></li>\r\n	<li>I bought cards to celebrate the First of May and Baba Marta!</li>\r\n	<li>I found my coat button in the snow on Tuesday morning after I got home from work Monday night and realized it was missing.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nNot bad, not bad at all.\r\n\r\nI did try to eat a bad kiwi at lunch this week but I spit it out.  I also tried to fall in the mornings on the ice on my way to school but I never managed to succeed.\r\n\r\nHope you\'re having a great week!','Things are looking up ','','publish','open','open','','things-are-looking-up','','','2012-02-22 15:56:06','2012-02-22 13:56:06','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6333',0,'post','',1),(6334,1,'2012-02-22 15:52:19','2012-02-22 13:52:19','This has been a pretty great week. In no particular order here are the highlights:\n<ul>\n	<li>The snow is finally starting to melt.</li>\n	<li>The sun has been shining.</li>\n	<li>There was little meatball soup at school this week.</li>\n	<li>We have a four day weekend and I am headed to Malta for it.</li>\n	<li>I bought cards to celebrate the First of May and Baba Marta!</li>\n	<li>I found my coat button in the snow on Tuesday morning after I got home from work Monday night and realized it was missing.</li>\n</ul>\nNot bad, not bad at all.\n\nI did try to eat a bad kiwi at lunch this week but I spit it out and I tried to fall in the mornings on the ice but I never managed to succe','Things are looking up ','','inherit','open','open','','6333-revision','','','2012-02-22 15:52:19','2012-02-22 13:52:19','',6333,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/22/6333-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6335,1,'2012-02-22 15:53:05','2012-02-22 13:53:05','This has been a pretty great week. In no particular order here are the highlights:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The snow is finally starting to melt.</li>\r\n	<li>The sun has been shining.</li>\r\n	<li>There was little meatball soup at school this week.</li>\r\n	<li>We have a four day weekend and I am headed to Malta for it. <em>Malta! </em></li>\r\n	<li>I bought cards to celebrate the First of May and Baba Marta!</li>\r\n	<li>I found my coat button in the snow on Tuesday morning after I got home from work Monday night and realized it was missing.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nNot bad, not bad at all.\r\n\r\nI did try to eat a bad kiwi at lunch this week but I spit it out and I tried to fall in the mornings on the ice but I never managed to succeed.','Things are looking up ','','inherit','open','open','','6333-revision-2','','','2012-02-22 15:53:05','2012-02-22 13:53:05','',6333,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/22/6333-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6336,1,'2012-02-22 15:53:50','2012-02-22 13:53:50','This has been a pretty great week. In no particular order here are the highlights:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The snow is finally starting to melt.</li>\r\n	<li>The sun has been shining.</li>\r\n	<li>There was little meatball soup at school this week.</li>\r\n	<li>We have a four day weekend and I am headed to Malta for it. <em>Malta! </em></li>\r\n	<li>I bought cards to celebrate the First of May and Baba Marta!</li>\r\n	<li>I found my coat button in the snow on Tuesday morning after I got home from work Monday night and realized it was missing.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nNot bad, not bad at all.\r\n\r\nI did try to eat a bad kiwi at lunch this week but I spit it out and I tried to fall in the mornings on the ice but I never managed to succeed.','Things are looking up ','','inherit','open','open','','6333-revision-3','','','2012-02-22 15:53:50','2012-02-22 13:53:50','',6333,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/22/6333-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6338,1,'2012-02-27 21:10:18','2012-02-27 19:10:18','While the snow has been melting and turning Sofia into a puddle this past weekend, I was in Malta. In Malta, I ditched my winter coat and boots right away. I traded them in for a blazer and ballerina flats. Sure I might have been pushing the season a little bit but it was absolutely necessary after weeks upon weeks of snow and freezing cold weather.\n\nMy friend D. lives in Malta currently and is <a href=\"http://themanwhowenttomalta.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">writing a blog about his time there</a>. You may remember him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/11/30/tapas-and-kalimotxo/\" target=\"_blank\">my trip two Thanksgivings ago to visit him in Madrid</a> <em>or</em> if you\'ve been reading this blog for a really (really) long time, you may recognize him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/09/shantel-bukovina-club-orkestar/\" target=\"_blank\">my first year in Sofia</a> when we were fast friends.\n\nAnyhow, ever since D. moved to Malta I\'ve been plotting my visit and a four day weekend was perfect. Even better, the weather obliged and I got plenty of sun shine and only a smattering of rain. I can\'t complain about at thing.\n\nI have to say that Malta was everything I\'d hoped it would be and more. I mean really it doesn\'t get much better than four days away from home, on an island, with a friend who know said island, and plenty of time to catch-up, to explore, to snap photos as well as to eat really great food and drink some local Maltese wine.\n\nI am so lucky to have a friend like D. !!\n\nMore to follow on my Malta adventure tomorrow as I got back late-late on Sunday night and now I\'ve got to do some serious life maintenance. Hello, suitcase and washing machine.','My Oh My, Malta!! ','','inherit','open','open','','6337-revision','','','2012-02-27 21:10:18','2012-02-27 19:10:18','',6337,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/27/6337-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6339,1,'2012-02-27 22:32:43','2012-02-27 20:32:43','While the snow has been melting and turning Sofia into a puddle this past weekend, I was in Malta. In Malta, I ditched my winter coat and boots right away. I traded them in for a blazer and ballerina flats. Sure I might have been pushing the season a little bit but it was absolutely necessary after weeks upon weeks of snow and freezing cold weather.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935886455/\" title=\"Boats  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6935886455_e5d0763aca_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Boats \"></a>\nMy friend D. lives in Malta currently and is <a href=\"http://themanwhowenttomalta.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">writing a blog about his time there</a>. You may remember him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/11/30/tapas-and-kalimotxo/\" target=\"_blank\">my trip two Thanksgivings ago to visit him in Madrid</a> <em>or</em> if you\'ve been reading this blog for a really (really) long time, you may recognize him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/09/shantel-bukovina-club-orkestar/\" target=\"_blank\">my first year in Sofia</a> when we were fast friends.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789817906/\" title=\"Me and the Love sign  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6789817906_13e37bd876_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and the Love sign \"></a>\nAnyhow, ever since D. moved to Malta I\'ve been plotting my visit and a four day weekend was perfect. Even better, the weather obliged and I got plenty of sun shine and only a smattering of rain. I can\'t complain about at thing.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789757826/\" title=\"Water on the rocks  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6789757826_507c44fe32_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Water on the rocks \"></a>\nI have to say that Malta was everything I\'d hoped it would be and more. I mean really it doesn\'t get much better than four days away from home, on an island, with a friend who know said island, and plenty of time to catch-up, to explore, to snap photos as well as to eat really great food and drink some local Maltese wine.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935878551/\" title=\"Along the water by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7178/6935878551_c425b6043f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Along the water\"></a>\nI am so lucky to have a friend like D. !!\n\nMore to follow on my Malta adventure tomorrow as I got back late-late on Sunday night and now I\'ve got to do some serious life maintenance. Hello, suitcase and washing machine. So I\'ll leave you with a few photos. \n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935825071/\" title=\"Row boats by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6935825071_1ed9109372_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Row boats\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935836259/\" title=\"Blue window by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6935836259_727ee94d4d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Blue window\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935843369/\" title=\"Balconies  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6935843369_9358e3b4cd_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Balconies \"></a>','My Oh My, Malta!! ','','inherit','open','open','','6337-revision-2','','','2012-02-27 22:32:43','2012-02-27 20:32:43','',6337,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/27/6337-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6340,1,'2012-02-27 22:33:43','2012-02-27 20:33:43','While the snow has been melting and turning Sofia into a puddle this past weekend, I was in Malta. In Malta, I ditched my winter coat and boots right away. I traded them in for a blazer and ballerina flats. Sure I might have been pushing the season a little bit but it was absolutely necessary after weeks upon weeks of snow and freezing cold weather.\n<a title=\"Boats  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935886455/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6935886455_e5d0763aca_z.jpg\" alt=\"Boats \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nMy friend D. lives in Malta currently and is <a href=\"http://themanwhowenttomalta.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">writing a blog about his time there</a>. You may remember him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/11/30/tapas-and-kalimotxo/\" target=\"_blank\">my trip two Thanksgivings ago to visit him in Madrid</a> <em>or</em> if you\'ve been reading this blog for a really (really) long time, you may recognize him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/09/shantel-bukovina-club-orkestar/\" target=\"_blank\">my first year in Sofia</a> when we were fast friends.\n<a title=\"Me and the Love sign  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789817906/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6789817906_13e37bd876_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and the Love sign \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAnyhow, ever since D. moved to Malta I\'ve been plotting my visit and a four day weekend was perfect. Even better, the weather obliged and I got plenty of sun shine and only a smattering of rain. I can\'t complain about at thing.\n<a title=\"Water on the rocks  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789757826/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6789757826_507c44fe32_z.jpg\" alt=\"Water on the rocks \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI have to say that Malta was everything I\'d hoped it would be and more. I mean really it doesn\'t get much better than four days away from home, on an island, with a friend who know said island, and plenty of time to catch-up, to explore, to snap photos as well as to eat really great food and drink some local Maltese wine.\n<a title=\"Along the water by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935878551/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7178/6935878551_c425b6043f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Along the water\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI am so lucky to have a friend like D. !!\n\nMore to follow on my Malta adventure tomorrow as I got back late-late on Sunday night and now I\'ve got to do some serious life maintenance. Hello, suitcase and washing machine. So I\'ll leave you with a few photos.\n<a title=\"Row boats by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935825071/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6935825071_1ed9109372_z.jpg\" alt=\"Row boats\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Blue window by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935836259/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6935836259_727ee94d4d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Blue window\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Balconies  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935843369/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6935843369_9358e3b4cd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Balconies \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','My Oh My, Malta!! ','','inherit','open','open','','6337-revision-3','','','2012-02-27 22:33:43','2012-02-27 20:33:43','',6337,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/27/6337-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6341,1,'2012-02-27 22:36:42','2012-02-27 20:36:42','While the snow has been melting and turning Sofia into a puddle this past weekend, I was in Malta. In Malta, I ditched my winter coat and boots right away. I traded them in for a blazer and ballerina flats. Sure I might have been pushing the season a little bit but it was absolutely necessary after weeks upon weeks of snow and freezing cold weather.\r\n<a title=\"Boats  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935886455/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6935886455_e5d0763aca_z.jpg\" alt=\"Boats \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy friend D. lives in Malta currently and is <a href=\"http://themanwhowenttomalta.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">writing a blog about his time there</a>. You may remember him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/11/30/tapas-and-kalimotxo/\" target=\"_blank\">my trip two Thanksgivings ago to visit him in Madrid</a> <em>or</em> if you\'ve been reading this blog for a really (really) long time, you may recognize him from <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/09/shantel-bukovina-club-orkestar/\" target=\"_blank\">my first year in Sofia</a> when we were fast friends.\r\n\r\nAnyhow, ever since D. moved to Malta I\'ve been plotting my visit and a four day weekend was perfect. Even better, the weather obliged and I got plenty of sun shine and only a smattering of rain. I can\'t complain about at thing.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Water on the rocks  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789757826/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6789757826_507c44fe32_z.jpg\" alt=\"Water on the rocks \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI have to say that Malta was everything I\'d hoped it would be and more. I mean really it doesn\'t get much better than four days away from home, on an island, with a friend who know said island, and plenty of time to catch-up, to explore, to snap photos as well as to eat really great food and drink some local Maltese wine.\r\n<a title=\"Along the water by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935878551/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7178/6935878551_c425b6043f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Along the water\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI am so lucky to have a friend like D. !!\r\n\r\nMore to follow on my Malta adventure tomorrow as I got back late-late on Sunday night and now I\'ve got to do some serious life maintenance. Hello, suitcase and washing machine. So I\'ll leave you with a few photos.\r\n<a title=\"Row boats by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935825071/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6935825071_1ed9109372_z.jpg\" alt=\"Row boats\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Blue window by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935836259/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6935836259_727ee94d4d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Blue window\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Balconies  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935843369/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6935843369_9358e3b4cd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Balconies \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Garage doors by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6935882319/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6935882319_d801ebafa3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Garage doors\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','My Oh My, Malta!! ','','inherit','open','open','','6337-revision-4','','','2012-02-27 22:36:42','2012-02-27 20:36:42','',6337,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/27/6337-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6397,1,'2012-03-07 07:14:14','2012-03-07 05:14:14','So it\'s meant lots of fluids for me--hello water, tea and juice, an earlier bedtime and a new round of antibiotics. It\'s also meant giving up caffeine (and alcohol) for 10 days. The alcohol thing, no problem. The coffee? Ug. That\'s a different story.\r\n\r\nYou know what\'s worse than being sick? Being sick and not being able to drink coffee. That\'s what.\r\n\r\nOkay actually, it\'s probably being sick and not having insurance. (Sorry coffee.)\r\n\r\nI\'m lucky to have great health insurance at ACS. I have world wide coverage and after a low deductible, basically everything is covered. I pay out of pocket and then I am reimbursed upon submitting my receipts. The whole thing is pretty straightforward and for that I am incredibly thankful.\r\n\r\nEspecially given the fact that I\'ve racked up a few hundred leva in visits to the doctor and prescriptions.\r\n\r\nTwo days ago, I went to fill my prescription at my neighborhood pharmacy and they only had half the medicine that I needed. As in half the number of pills I needed for two different prescriptions.  I guess these things happen in a country where no one actually counts pills for a prescription out and where the pharmacy is happy to open boxes and sell single sheets of pills (or cough drops or aspirin).\r\n\r\nAnyhow, I was desperate to start the new antibiotics, I didn\'t feel well and I was doing the whole exchange in Bulgarian. So when it became clear that they didn\'t have enough in stock (I think because the medicine was expensive), I thought for sure that I wasn\'t going to get any medicine. The thought of being turned out onto the street without my antibiotics was more than I could handle.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThen there was a turn of events, they would sell me what they had and I could come back tomorrow for the rest. Okay. I can live with that. The pharmacist rings of the medicine and the total is pretty expensive.  I ask for a \"faktura\" (an official, formal receipt). She tells me no and then launches in a big formal explanation that I do not understand.\r\n\r\nSo I stand there with my money trying not to cry and wondering how many expats/foreigners are brought to tears each year in foreign pharmacies.\r\n\r\nNow of course I have no idea what\'s being said to me. I explain in Bulgarian that I don\'t understand. The explanation starts over again. Only this time more slowly. Still not happening. This leads to me doing something I haven\'t had to do in a very long time: call a friend to translate.\r\n\r\nIt works. I\'ll pay for the medicine they have now, I\'ll come back tomorrow for the rest and then they\'ll make me a faktura for the whole thing. Apparently they can\'t make two different fakturas for the same prescription.\r\n\r\nSo I paid for the first half of the prescription. When I left the pharmacy without any proof of purchase--not a little receipt or anything--I figured that I was never going to get a faktura for the first half of my prescription. This of course means that I won\'t be able to get reimbursed by insurance for this purchase either.\r\n\r\nWhen I went back yesterday, things seemed even less hopeful--neither of the two women who had waited on me the day before at the pharmacy were there. <em>Great</em>. Still I waited in line.\r\n\r\nAnd you know what? I got to the front of the line explained what happened yesterday in Bulgarian and she said, okay I understand. Then she filled the second half of my prescription and wrote out a faktura for me covering everything.\r\n\r\n<em>Amazing</em>.','I\'m sick, again','','publish','open','open','','im-sick-again','','','2012-03-07 07:14:14','2012-03-07 05:14:14','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6397',0,'post','',4),(6343,1,'2012-02-28 21:05:28','2012-02-28 19:05:28','I asked D. for some Maltese food. So D. took me to this really hip restaurant Gululu my first night in Malta. Yeah. Try saying that a few times fast!\r\n\r\nAnyhow, Gululu is in Spinola Bay, St. Julians which just happens to be very close to D.\'s apartment. So we walked along the ocean to dinner. That was a nice treat after a long cold winter in Sofia.\r\n<a title=\"The restaurant Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789820068/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6789820068_576b6c3749_z.jpg\" alt=\"The restaurant Gululu\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nHe told me the food is good and that it\'s Maltese with a modern twist. The business card I ended up describes the restaurant this way: casual Maltese cuisine. Whatever it is, it\'s tasty and the service was good.\r\n<a title=\"D. at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789835886/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6789835886_7fab775e83_z.jpg\" alt=\"D. at Gululu \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe restaurant has indoor seating and outdoor seating as well. The outdoor seating was closed but really it was much too cold to sit outside anyway. Inside the restaurant has clean lines, bright colors and great photography. It was love at first sight (and at first smell).<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Dips at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789826666/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6789826666_8235cdef80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dips at Gululu \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe English menu made everything sound great and I had an incredibly hard time picking. That is until D. told me that rabbit is a local specialty and island favorite. I figured, when in Malta. The thing is I\'m not really sure that I\'d ever eaten rabbit before this past weekend. So I kind of surprised myself by settling on the rabbit. But I\'m glad that I did.\r\n<a title=\"Caravaggio white wine at Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789822192/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/6789822192_4c23d1b548_z.jpg\" alt=\"Caravaggio white wine at Gululu\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe started with a plate of mixed dips--one with olives, another with anchovies, a third with beans and a very light creamy dip made of ricotta cheese. We ate the dips on round water crackers which are apparently are the go-to choice in Malta. The cracker is round, toasted and has some bite to it. We were also served a couple of thick slices of homemade bread. The dips were fresh and bright most had hints of lemon and garlic. Delicious.\r\n<a title=\"Spaghetti omelet at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789830988/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6789830988_a219c66875_z.jpg\" alt=\"Spaghetti omelet at Gululu \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe main meals were just as good as the dips. I had the rabbit pie. Think of it as a take on chicken pot pie but with a smokey tomato sauce rather than a cream sauce. D. had a spaghetti omelet. His omelet was very tasty but required salt and pepper and frankly in comparison to my meal was bland.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Rabbit pie at Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789828806/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6789828806_990815c813_z.jpg\" alt=\"Rabbit pie at Gululu\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>My rabbit pie was made up a light flaky crust. The pie filling was a mix of rabbit and root vegetables--potatoes and carrots--as well as onions and peas. I really couldn\'t be happier with my choice. It was hearty, warming and perfectly spiced.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Me at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789840158/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6789840158_e983382aab_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at Gululu \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe drank a white Maltese wine bottled under the label Caravaggio. Caravaggio in fact spent time in Malta painting <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beheading_of_Saint_John_the_Baptist_%28Caravaggio%29\" target=\"_blank\">The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist</a> in <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Co-Cathedral\" target=\"_blank\">St. Johns Co-Cathedral in Valletta</a>. It\'s the only painting that Caravaggio ever signed. I however didn\'t get to see it but I did get to see the inside of the church. The tours of the church apparently end at 12:30pm on Saturdays and I got there well after that. Ops. Luckily I\'ve had a chance to see plenty of other Caravaggios in museums across Europe.\r\n\r\nOh, and the restaurant\'s cat joined us for dinner!\r\n<a title=\"A cat at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789833500/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/6789833500_05e3785666_z.jpg\" alt=\"A cat at Gululu \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','Eating Malta at Gululu ','','publish','open','open','','eating-malta-at-gululu','','','2012-02-28 21:23:00','2012-02-28 19:23:00','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6343',0,'post','',2),(6344,1,'2012-02-28 20:54:30','2012-02-28 18:54:30','D. took me to this really hip restaurant Gululu my first night in Malta. It\'s in Spinola Bay, St. John\'s very close to his apartment.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789820068/\" title=\"The restaurant Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6789820068_576b6c3749_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The restaurant Gululu\"></a>\nHe told me the food is good and that it\'s Maltese with a modern twist. The business card I ended up describes the restaurant this way: casual Maltese cuisine. Whatever it is, it\'s tasty and the service was good.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789835886/\" title=\"D. at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6789835886_7fab775e83_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"D. at Gululu \"></a>\nThe restaurant has indoor seating and outdoor seating as well. The outdoor seating was closed but really it was much too cold to sit outside anyway. Inside the restaurant has clean lines, bright colors and great photography.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789826666/\" title=\"Dips at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6789826666_8235cdef80_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Dips at Gululu \"></a>\nThe English menu made everything sound great and I had an incredibly hard time picking. That is until D. told me that rabbit is a local specialty and island favorite. I figured, when in Malta. The thing is I\'m not really sure that I\'d ever eaten rabbit before this past weekend. So I kind of surprised myself by settling on the rabbit. But I\'m glad that I did.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789822192/\" title=\"Caravaggio white wine at Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/6789822192_4c23d1b548_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Caravaggio white wine at Gululu\"></a>\nWe started with a plate of mixed dips--one with olives, another with anchovies, a third with beans and a very light creamy dip made of ricotta cheese. We ate the dips on round water crackers which are apparently are the go-to choice in Malta. The cracker is round, toasted and has some bite to it. We were also served a couple of thick slices of homemade bread. The dips were fresh and bright most had hints of lemon and garlic. Delicious.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789830988/\" title=\"Spaghetti omelet at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6789830988_a219c66875_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Spaghetti omelet at Gululu \"></a>\nThe main meals were just as good as the dips. I had the rabbit pie. Think of it as a take on chicken pot pie but with a smokey tomato sauce rather than a cream sauce. D. had a spaghetti omelet. His omelet was very tasty but required salt and pepper and frankly in comparison to my meal was bland.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789828806/\" title=\"Rabbit pie at Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6789828806_990815c813_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Rabbit pie at Gululu\"></a>My rabbit pie was made up a light flaky crust. The pie filling was a mix of rabbit and root vegetables--potatoes and carrots--as well as onions and peas. I really couldn\'t be happier with my choice. It was hearty, warming and perfectly spiced.\n\nWe drank a white Maltese wine bottled under the label Caravaggio. Caravaggio in fact spent time in Malta painting <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beheading_of_Saint_John_the_Baptist_%28Caravaggio%29\" target=\"_blank\">The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist</a> in <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Co-Cathedral\" target=\"_blank\">St. Johns Co-Cathedral in Valletta</a>. It\'s the only painting that Caravaggio ever signed. I however didn\'t get to see it but I did get to see the inside of the church. The tours of the church apparently end at 12:30pm on Saturdays and I got there well after that. Ops. Luckily I\'ve had a chance to see plenty of other Caravaggios in museums across Europe.\n\nAnd the restaurant\'s cat joined us for dinner! \n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789833500/\" title=\"A cat at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/6789833500_05e3785666_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"A cat at Gululu \"></a>','Eating Malta at Gululu ','','inherit','open','open','','6343-revision','','','2012-02-28 20:54:30','2012-02-28 18:54:30','',6343,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/02/28/6343-revision/',0,'revision','',0),