I met up with some friends this afternoon for coffee at Lime Cafe.

It's funny the way making friends abroad works. You go to meet ups and networking events.  You befriend your colleagues. You make with your friend's friends.

Or maybe if you're anything like me you start writing a blog and all of a sudden people who are interested in the same things you are--in my case all things Bulgaria--find you and comment on your blog. Then one day you meet them in person.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685874822/" title="Lime Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7685874822_af21a6f9d8_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Lime Sofia"></a>
Maybe you meet them in person through a friend and across a dinner table whey they say: um, hey, do you write a blog by any chance? Or maybe they see you in a bar and come over to say hello. Maybe they stop you on your way into the metro: are you Karolinka? Or maybe they send you an email and say that they are going to be visiting family in Sofia and they wondered if you'd be up for coffee...
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685885212/" title="Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7685885212_5d8ab1718e_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Lime with friends"></a>
Anyhow I met E. last year at a meet-up even in Sofia. I can't for the life of me remember which one. Tuk/Tam? Couchsurfing? I'm no longer sure. She is as nice as nice can be.

I also met E. &amp; her American boyfriend B. last year. E. is Bulgarian and lives in the States. She wrote to me because she hoped that we could meet when she and her boyfriend came to visit Bulgaria because according to her, her family doesn't speak English and she thought B. could use a break from Bulgarian all the time and that she was dying to stop working as a translator for a little bit. I was intrigued so I said yes.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685888730/" title="Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7685888730_2249dbb677_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Lime with friends"></a>
It was a wonderfully complex meeting when I learned about all of the Bulgarian friends we have in common or are connected to in the States. Then one of her high school friends showed up for coffee after work and low and behold it was my Bulgarian friend E. Bulgaria is an amazing place in this respect. Everyone it seems knows everyone else.

So today, I met E. &amp; her boyfriend B. as well as E. for coffee at Lime Cafe on Graf Ignetiv. It was great fun catching up with everyone. In the course of the last year, E. &amp; B. have gotten engaged and are scouting out wedding locations in Bulgaria for next summer. They have great stories to tell about speaking or not speaking the language, about cultural differences and how you cope, about jet-lag, about family and about the ways Sofia is (or is not) changing.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685882624/" title="Lime Cafe by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7685882624_14a4f90e74_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Lime Cafe"></a>
It was exactly what I needed today. It was the perfect excuse to get out of the house and not obsess about packing for my month long trip to the States. It was perfect because I find myself worrying about these same things as I look forward to returning home and seeing my family. It was also a great reminder that during the school year I need to make more time for outings like this one. During the school year it's too easy to let myself be too busy for meeting friends for coffee and today confirmed just how silly this is.

Lime Cafe was the perfect place to meet. They have indoor seating as well as patio seating but given the fact that rain was threatening this afternoon, we ended up inside. Lime makes a really good cappuccino. They also have a delicious cake named after the shop: lime. It's not too sweet with two layers of cake and frosting. I didn't order it this time and when others at my table did, I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering a slice too. Oh well, next time.