Vitosha

Peter and I are climbing a mountain on Saturday. Apparently there are brewerys along the way, so we can stop half way up and drink beer. I'm really excited to get out and feel like I am exploring. There is a show this weekend and I'm going to the bands practice tomorrow night I guess. I can't wait to talk to them. I've talked endlessly to all of them on-line.

Its been in the 30s all week (celcius) so two people who work at the hostel and I went to a swimming pool yesterday. It was odd, there were a lot of topless people. You'd never see topless people at the pool in Minneapolis. The water was perfect. I got a bit burned, but it doesn't hurt.
I beat Peter in chess, the first time I've ever one chess in my entire life. I skrewed up pretty bad but had put him so much in the defense that I was able to put him in check with my queen and my king. It was pretty fun. I think once the Euro cup in over, he and I will have to play more chess. Spain and Germany! I never would have guessed from the group stages but Germany really turned around. I thought it would be portugal and holland.

Anyway, none of you care about football. Off to sweep and mop and then research.

Rila Monestary

I went to Rila monestary today. It was absolutely beautiful in the middle of the mountains. I've never been to a monestary before. I saw my first ever painted image of god on a church. They never paint god. Weird Eastern Orthodox Bulgarians. I hiked around the mountain a bit too- nothing too spectacular. Beautiful forests and a waterfall that I failed to photograph. It was nice to be somewhere so tranquil and meditative. Whatever you think about religion, that kind of intense meditation and serenity has value, even if you don't agree with its motivations.
A drunk Bulgarian fell off the hostel wall onto his face and smashed his nose really badly. They called an ambulance and everything. Very exciting. now there is a huge bloodstain in the garden below. Ouch. There have been three private bulgarian parties in the last week, two b-day parties and a concert. I've talked to a lot of drunken bulgarians. Its very nice.

Chai

Chai is back. But only for a few days. I am out on a quest for decent english translations of the great russian novels.

the winner of Bulgarian Idol

no more kitty

They kicked Chai out. I guess he was peeing in the basement. I don't really know what they expected- they didn't give him a litter box. I heard that some woman really liked him and took him to live with her. I am glad at least that he has a home, but I miss my hostel kitty. He was really the ideal cat...

I went to a Last Hope show last night. I actually got up the courage to introduce myself to a few people and they already knew who I was. It was kind of funny- I guess they were both in bands and had both talked to me on the internet. They said they would message me, but I might try to track them down before they get the chance. I need to set up more interviews. Its funny though- I guess I am a known figure in the underground punk scene in Bulgaria...

I finished The Comedians today. Its the only book I took with (sorry mom), and I feel a bit of a let down with nothing else to occupy my down time. I guess I still have about a dozen crossword puzzles and I could really stand to do a bit more exploration. I am saving hiking in the mountains for when Peter finishes his paper and has a weekend free of research obligations. Maybe that is silly- I should just do it anyway. But it rains everyday here for at least an hour and I stupidly brought no umbrella...

Plovdiv

Plovdiv is a beautiful city. The old city has old ancient Roman ruins and a 2,000 year old still functioning amphitheatre. The new city is much like Sofia, only less crowded and less dirty and they have stray cats more than stray dogs. Both cities have both, but cats seem to rule in the Old City anyway.

The old city is funny- its very much designed for tourism, much more so that Sofia, but it is clear that tourism here is small and relatively new- people don't seem to hate tourists and the streets, cathedrals and museums are mostly crowded with Bulgarians.

The hostel is alright. The actual building is much nicer than the art hostel- smaller, cleaner, newer... but it is filled will snotty travelers who only go to high rated hostels and love shopping and being pretentious. Maybe that's just who is here right now. Art Hostel is much more laid back and friendly. The people who work here are nice- I've been talking to them mostly. Also, the hostel cat here is much less friendly than my chai.

Chai

The light in the basement is very bad so I couldn't get a good picture of him, but here is my chaio

I suck at computers

i have no idea why the pictures are cut off like that, but if you click on them I think you can see them. Does anyone know how I can avoid this?

some photos from Sofia

this photo is the graffiti on the garden wall at the art hostel

A rose in the garden- its been raining so much that there are no roses right now...

really weird store front- something out of a bad horror movie or something

This is the oldest building in Sofia

hostels and racism

Sofia is starting to feel like home. Well, not Sofia- I still know nothing about Sofia. The Art Hostel is starting to feel like home. Its nice to have Peter here because he will be here until August too and there is someone stable- plus we are both from Minneapolis, so if we run out of things to say, we can always talk about that. Its comforting to have someone who you know will be there every night. He is educating me about football and American law, two things I know little about. I have started keeping a journal of all the people I meet in the hostel- everyone I talk to anyway. I will probably meet hundreds of people from all over the world before I leave. Hostels are amazing. And the Art Hostel is the best one, according to my friend Winston who has hitchhiked across Europe for three months, camping and staying in hostels. He came back here three times over the course of his travels. Well, Sofia is sort of the place to go before traveling to Turkey, Greece or Romania, so it makes sense. I like it here- its very run down, nothing works and parts of the building crumble off all the time, but the people are wonderful and the art everywhere disguises the decay a lot. All of Sofia is in a state of decay though- communist statues that have been neglected fall apart and are a risk to passers by (big chunks of metal aren't supposed to fall into public squares), everything is dirty, the streets are lined with fancy restaurants and expensive clothing stores but right outside there is a homeless person digging through the trash bins or a drunk homeless person sleeping on a bench. Pick pocketers attack everyone- there isn't much tourism here, so bulgarians lose wallets and cell phones too. Lots of racism against roma people. Its really a shitty city, but the people are wonderful (if a bit racist). Bulgarians are the most generous and respectful people I have met.
My research is going better. I found out that Rostislav, the owner of a booking agency for BG punk, hardcore and ska, won't book antifascist touring bands in Bulgaria because of the skin heads here- they start fights at the shows and its very dangerous. So I have to figure out what that's all about... hopefully I will get my questions answered somewhere...
All for now. I might try to get some pictures on here... don't really know how, but I will figure it out. I am a technological idiot, you know.

Veggie burger in Bulgaria apparently means a bun with yogurt sauce, tomato, lettuce and cucumber with french fries and a fried egg in the middle... and catsup. Not exactly what I was expecting, but surprisingly tasty.

Everyone at the hostel sits around every night and watches the European cup football tournament. I have watched a few matches and am starting to understand why the rest of the world is so interested in it. At least the games have fewer commercials (only 15 minutes at half time) and only last 1.5 hours.

I think I have my first interview this afternoon. The recording device will actually get used for its intended purpose! I am off to get coffee, brainstorm questions and sit in sunny Sofia. Its nice to have sun again at last!

chai, my new best friend

during the big rain storm in Sofia yesterday, a cat moved into the hostel tea basement. The owner is feeding it and if he doesn't spray on things, they are going to let him stay. He was timid at first, but now loves to spend hours sitting in anyone who will let him's lap. I have named him chai, the bulgarian (and pretty much international) name for tea. I don't think he was originally a stray- his coat was shiny and he seemed too well groomed. He was skinny, but all Bulgarian cats are skinny.

Another round of tourists that I had bonded with left the hostel this morning. It is hard to see people you have gotten to know so well leave... c'est la vie, I suppose.

research

I think that my research has shown preliminary thesis possibilities. I think it will be about the drive of Bulgarian music toward Westernization in an attempt to counteract communist repression. All the bands here are trying to emulate what they think punk is, which is actually much more influenced by metal than actual punk. But its interesting- I saw a show that was one punk band, one hip hop band and one ska band. The crowd remained throughout the whole show- the same kids listened to all three kinds of music. The hip hop group most ostensibly resembled Western music and an overt attempt to recreate it. There were awkwardly choreographed, scantily clad dancers and, though the lyrics were in Bulgarian, the occasional utterance of "bitch" and "ho" came across, so I got the general impression that they were awkwardly attempting to recreate Bulgarian gangster rap. I don't know- nothing about the musical structure is unique to Bulgarian music, though I have heard a lot of faux folk rock music here. I know more about Bulgarian folk culture than the Bulgarians my age that I've talked to. Its really kind of sad. Maybe its different in the cities. Anyway, this is what I think so far...

Bulgarian men

Bulgarian men respect women a lot more than American men. It is amazing to have friends without feeling like they are trying to hit on you- they respect your space and are very chivalrous, without being sleazy. I'm not used to people buying me drinks, though. In a society where everyone goes dutch all the time, it feels uncomfortable to be given things, especially when I know I am probably more well-off than the people giving me things. I guess it is Bulgarian hospitality (what they call it anyway) but it still feels awkward to me.
It has been raining on and off for days. In the morning it is sunny and cloudless and then it pours at night- very strange. I like it though- everything is very green in this dirty, crowded city. I am beginning to feel more comfortable here- more connected to the hostel and the other workers here. Its good to feel like I am part of something in this chaotic city.

Hostel cat visit

A black cat, just a bit bigger than clove, visited me again in the hostel garden. Last time it visited, it came for the sausage in the trash can, but this time it seemed it just came to explore and be petted. It is very friendly and lanky and wild-looking, but it let me pet it for a minute before jumping onto the hostel garden wall (at least ten feet, I think). I am thinking about trying to feed it and make it my cat. Maybe I should just hope my company is enough to entice it to return. I miss clove.

I mopped this morning , but no laundry. The hostel is fairly empty and only two people left this morning, neither of whom were staying on my floor. A Swedish guy from my hostel was pick pocket yesterday a few blocks from the hostel. Luckily, his flight left this morning, but he didn't have enough cash to take a cab to the airport so he sold me his Bulgaria guide book for ten leva (a cab ride to the air port). Now I have two guide books. Funny how it works out that way...

first day of work

My cleaning obligations in the hostel are to clean the floor that I sleep on, which is quite convenient because I know everyone on it, who is leaving, who is staying, and I won't always have to check in with the desk to see which beds to change sheets on. I don't really change sheets, just remove dirty ones and refold blankets. Eventually, when they get me a mop, I will mop the floors, change the trashes, wash the shower and the bathroom and always make sure there is enough toilet paper. A few nights into my stay a guy vomited in the sink on my floor and the desk people made him clean it up, so I probably won't have to deal with cleaning up other people's vomit. That's a good thing. Also, the cleaning woman said any time I can't clean or I will be travelling, just tell the desk and she will clean the floor instead. So I think it is a very flexible job. Everyone who works here is very laid back anyway.
I met a guy from Georgia (the state) who just spent a month in Turkey and is traveling in Bulgaria for one week before returning to his Masters program in Polisci. I told him I would be going to Turkey probably in June. When I woke up, the lonely planet guide to Turkey was sitting on my bed. I am always surprised by how kind people can be. Maybe I am just a sap. Maybe he left it there accidentally, but it would seem strange to place a book on someone's bed while they are sleeping in it if you don't intend to give it to them, don't you think?
The message function on Myspace is down right now, so I can't contact anyone. It was down yesterday too. I guess I am here for a while, I don't need to rush my research, but it would be nice to figure out what I am doing next. Though there is a show in Varna on the 16th, so I will head off to Varna for that. Maybe after that I will head to Turkey. We'll see...

first show

I went to my first punk show last night. A friend told me it was really far away and would be super expensive to take a cab and it was a dangerous neighborhood and advised me not to go alone. I ignored him out of necessity- it was a 6 leva cab ride, took me maybe 2 minutes to find a cab on the way home, it was the student neighborhood, so there were only young people, it was on a busy street and didn't seem even remotely unsafe. So I guess don't believe everything that you hear. The show was really crowded- about 200 kids packed into a venue about the size of the hexagon... maybe a little bigger, but about that shape. It was much fancier though, with sleek black tables and a round bar taking up the back wall. The music was cool- I couldn't understand the lyrics and I really hate ska, which the first band was, but they were energetic and the crowd helped keep my spirits up. Anyway, I wrote a novel about it in my journal and am a bit sick of talking about it... the whole experience makes me feel better about my project, though i never did muster up the courage to find the people i was supposed to find there. They are all easily contacted via myspace, so I shouldn't have too much trouble...
At noon is was sunny and cloudless here. By one it was storming. It is 2:45 now and the sun is peaking out again. Sofia has weird weather.
Off to find food...