Not so familiar faces

Walking around Korea it took me a while to figure out what made people look different. They tended to all have black hair, black eyes, around the same height, very white skin and dressed rather similarly. It was one of my biggest fears that I would not be able to learn my students names because they all looked alike. Of course, it turned out that I couldn't learn all of their names because I had 700 students, but that is a different story. By the time I was done teaching, however, I realized that not only did people look different, but strikingly so. I would recall faces way before I would recall names. The names were a heck of a lot more similar than the faces. So-young, Su-young, Seo-young, Su-jung, etc.
Here in Bulgaria it is quite different. I can't figure out what makes them the same. Maybe because I've been in Korea and focused on the little details. Where the eyebrows were placed, hairstyles, dimples, teeth, what have you, but here there is a smorgasbord of diversity.
Of course, practically everyone is white. However, I've seen more hair colors walking down the street in an hour than you would see for a month in Seoul. Peoples faces look so strikingly different. I think that I'm surrounded by various Europeans, and then I hear them all speaking Bulgarian. It makes me wonder if people see me and think I'm Bulgarian. Or at least Slavic. One woman in the local grocery store helped me and later asked where I was from. When I didn't understand the question at first, she prompted me with "Czecho? Slovak? Rusky?" I'm not going to lie; it felt good that she didn't presume I was from the states. Maybe if I really learn Bulgarian I can at least somewhat blend in. That really wasn't an option in Korea.
Unless I dyed my hair, got eye surgery, a facial re-construct, and lost 20 lbs.

Zagorka

Zagorka is one of the most popular beers in Bulgaria. I had one with lunch and was a little tipsy when I met with my Fulbright coordinator. (I hadn't had any alcohol in about a week, so it was kind of a shock to my system. That and I'm probably still a little bit weird from jet-lag). When I told my coordinator, Rada, that I couldn't remember all of the questions that I wanted to ask thanks to my Zagorka, she laughed and told me Bulgarians don't even consider it alcohol. When a previous teetotaler Fulbright scholar had come and told Bulgarians that he didn't drink, they would give him a beer instead. Classy.

Another great reason to be in Eastern Europe. This baby cost about a dollar, and it tastes so much better than a cheap beer in the US. Do not be fooled; it definitely DOES have alcohol in it. 

Shopska Salata

Good news for any vegetarians out there: although Bulgarians do love their meat, there are a few options for you. Vegans, however, will miss out on the best part: sirene cheese! Luckily, I love cheese, so here is my first Bulgarian recipe (serves two)

Shopska Salata
3 large tomatoes
2 cucumbers (peeled)
1/2 cup green and/or red bell pepper
2 green onions
Parsley to taste
1/2 cup of sirene cheese (can substitute with feta)

Chop all the vegetables to bite sized pieces. Mix in a large salad bowl with chopped parsley. Top with sirene cheese (a lot of it!) and drizzle with sunflower oil, vinegar, and a dash of salt and pepper. Enjoy.

It should look like this :-D

Anxiety Vanquished

I'm not going to lie. I had a lot of anxiety before I came to Bulgaria. This is not my first time abroad, or even living abroad, but I didn't know what to expect. I have been to Bulgaria before, but my impressions of Sofia the first time around were not the greatest. Everything felt a little too post-Communist. Too gritty. Ugly sky-scrapers are not a promising feature of any city. (Then again, Seoul has a lot of those, but manages to retain its awesomeness).
However, after my walks around my neighborhood yesterday and today, this anxiety is being quickly replaced with delight. I'm re-discovering why I fell in love with Eastern Europe in the first place. One of the biggest reasons? The people. Bulgarians have already been very helpful with my awkwardness in adjusting, and also they are surprisingly good at English. (This last part is not good in the long run with my goal to learn Bulgarian, but useful for my first weeks of orientation). My landlady has also been a great help. When there were no pots and pans in the kitchen, I asked if it was my duty to buy them for myself. I'm not really sure what is included in a fully-furnished apartment, but she was quick to go out shopping and delivered them to my door tonight. I can now cook, which is one of those things that really makes a place feel like home.
The city center is about a twenty-minute walk from my place, and the walk itself is quite pleasant. Although lacking in the architectural beauty of other Eastern European cities, i.e. Prague, the boulevards are wide, with lots of trees and space for walking. Also, I'm very close to a huge grocery store, which is a relief when compared to Kangnam and its expensive grocery stores. Last night, on my walk, there were TONS of street performers. I can't really recall much in Korea besides the random guitar players in Hongdae. There was even a string quartet. I love Europe.

Thanks Ali

I was walking around the city today, trying to find a meal. It was going to be my first Bulgarian meal of 2010, but then I stumbled upon the following food stand:

How could I resist a restaurant that used Aladdin in their advertisement? 

So I got a kebab instead of typical Bulgarian food. Although I feel a little bad, I am studying the Turkish political party here in Sofia. So it is a little appropriate. 

LOT: Polish Airlines

Flying from Minneapolis was fine. United. Chicago to Warsaw was not very pretty. Why? So many people on that flight had really bad body odor. I slightly remember this as a problem last time I was in Bulgaria, but it was really bad in the airport and in the plane. Of course, I continually thought it was me with the BO, but every time I took a sniff, I turned out fine.
However, the inflight magazine from Warsaw to Sofia was fantastic. Poorly translated English combined with efforts to bolster tourism in Poland made the two hour flight whiz by. Here was my favorite article:

Misfits Sing and Dance:
Mr Schister, a high school Spanish teacher, assumes the directorship of the school choir. But instead of the usual Hanna Montana wannabes and sugar-sweet kids, Schister's group is a lineup of outcasts and misfits that includes a Jewish girl raised by a gay couple, a wheelchair-bound boy, an obese Afro-American, an Afro-Asian and a gay. All these minorities dance and sing hit covers. A pregnant cheerleader comes to join the choir and two football players from the school team who just happen to be enamoured of her quickly follow suit. If the students defy stereotypes, the teachers are downright motley. Season one won many awards to date. Watch it in Poland on Fox Life from September.

In my sleep-deprived state this was hilarious. I'm still trying to figure out what an Afro-Asian is.

Off to Sofia

Today is a Monday.

I feel nervous, but mostly anxious. 

I'm moving to Sofia, Bulgaria.

This will be quite a huge difference from my last home in Seoul, South Korea. 

Wish me luck.