So, after my post yesterday and the responses I got, it's gotten me thinking.  I realized that I am coming off as a crazy person.  I don't know the amount of taxes subtracted each month from one's salary, the price of rent and bills or what's a reasonable amount to spend on things like groceries, clothes and entertainment in Sofia.  On some level, you may even be wondering what the hell I've been up to over the last year and a half I've spent in Bulgaria.

[caption id="attachment_1941" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Snapshot, Nevski"]<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/img_0807.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1941" title="Nevski" src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/img_0807.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333" /></a>[/caption]

Well, for year and a half, I've been straddling the life of an expat and a poor college student.  Last year on the Fulbright I received about $1000 a month, I paid 600 leva in rent for an apartment almost on top of Slaveykov Square and about 100 leva a month in utilities.  Because of my location, I almost never took public transportation or taxis. I had and still have a pre-paid cell phone that I spend about 15 leva a month on.  I bought and still buy about 25 leva a week in groceries and then I saved a little, spent a little on entertainment and bought clothes as I needed. And I paid down my student loans from college.

This year I work at the American College of Sofia and again my salary is paid in dollars.  Only this year also included in the benefits package is an apartment and utilities in Mladost.  The apartment is close to school so most days I walk (well, unless it's like this week--snowy, icy, freezing).  Now I shop at Billa this year so sometimes I buy things like brie and jars of spaghetti sauce and I know I pay extra for these things and I could make the pasta sauce at home but for one person it seems like a lot of work (so sometimes I just put lutinista on it).  I also have a bad Onda habit which I get the opportunity to indulge daily at school.  But this year I have less time to go out and I am less likely to eat dinner out a couple of times a week.  I like to shop but I'd rather buy a few nice things that I know will last rather than cheep, low quality items--in fact, I think the last thing I bought myself was a turtleneck sweater in November.

Why this review of my spending habits over the last year and a half? Well, I think it's to give you a sense of not only who I am but also the kind of choices I make.  The other thing I want my readers to know is that I realize just how silly this whole thing is on some level.<!--more-->

I mean what's a month compared to a year or even to a life time living on a Bulgarian salary? A month is nothing on the grand scale of things.  It's relatively easy to go without for a month.  Even if I needed to buy a new coat, new shoes or even a new shirt I don't <em>have </em>to do it this month. I have the luxury of delaying these purchases.  So that's where this whole thing falls apart.  Given my situation, I have a luxury that most in Bulgaria do not have.

I've also done something like this once before.  After college, I lived for a year as an America Corps volunteer in Washington DC. I worked with the homeless and near homeless in historically black inner city neighborhood. I made $500 a month spent a third on rent, food and my other living expenses.  I lived very simply for that year.  I made a budget--I didn't spend more than $20-22 a week on food, I had a cell phone and a little bit left after that for exploring the city.

This said, it's different to made the decision to live below the poverty line for a year. It was an active choice for me.  It's one thing to know that you have the ability to escape the grinding poverty that so many people you work with cannot so easily do.  It reminds you of your privilege.

In Bulgaria, I am reminded of my privilege and my difference. I know that I am an outsider. The other.

What I know is this, this experiment will be a challenge and give me a glimpse of life in Sofia.  But in some ways it will be false. I cannot pretend that this month will teach what it is to actually live day in and day out on some of the lowest salaries in the EU. But as I said in my very first post on this topic <a href="http://karolinkabulgaria.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/to-live-within-your-leva/">To live within your Leva</a>, I hope this will lead me to thinking seriously about what implications are of living day in and day out in the EU country with the lowest average salary of any member state. And I’d like to come face to face with my own privilege.  I know that I am lucky to live in Sofia as an expat but in practice I don’t think I actually know how lucky I am.  So, what it boils down to is that I’d like some perspective on this issue and this seems as good a way to get it as any.

Here's the plan: live for the month of February on 400 leva.  I'll keep track of my expenses and report back regularly.

How did I arrive at 400 leva? Well you can check out my rough budgeting on yesterday's post <a href="http://karolinkabulgaria.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/living-on-leva-maybe/">Living on Leva, Maybe?</a> Basically, I figure that after paying rent and utilities for either an apartment that I hypothetically rented or shared this is about what I would have left for my non-fixed expenses (fixed expenses being rent, utilities, internet and cell phone).  A few of my loyal readers are concerned that I may starve.  I sincerely hope this will not happen.