That means “goodbye forever” in Bulgarian. I like how they have a different word for “goodbye” that implies the reality of never seeing whatever one is goodbyeing to ever again.
Our Sofia strolls were lovely today. We got to catch up on some sights, especially the national palace of culture. The park is looking good – a lot better than when it looked when I was last here – and the place was packed. I’m just always amazed at the number of Bulgarians that find themselves with nothing to do, at any given time of the day. You want to be able to feel sorry for their economical plight, but then you see the apathy that they continue to show towards fowarding their own situations, and you sort of just say, “hmmm, well, I’m going to back to America where I not only can be as successful as I want, but it’s a mindset that is very much a part of our culture.”
We’re waking up at 3:45 to catch a cab at 4:00 and be at the airport by 4:30 for our 6:30 flight. Not fun. I actually don’t mind waking up early, I’m just uneasy about actually waking up on time, getting the cab in a timely fashion, and getting to our terminal in plenty of time. It’s always a disconcerting enterprise, especially when you’re beginning the trans-Atlantic journey from a country like Bulgaria. We didn’t have the forsight to bring an alarm clock, or even a watch for that matter, so we’re at the mercy of those running the hostel (they promised us a wake-up call and to call us a cab). I guess we’ll see.
I’m glad we only made this a 6-day trip. It’s been an incredibly exciting and rewarding trip, but also really stressful at times. I enjoy normalcy and routine a lot more than I thought. I’m excited to get back to my house, my job, my fantasy sports teams, and my regular boring life. I guess it’s just security and peace of mind I enjoy, and you get little of both when you’re travelling, especially travelling abroad.
I’ve really enjoyed Amber’s perspective on Bulgaria. She’s really observant and more qualified to opine than anyone else I know. She’s been the perfect travelling companion and has proved herself as capable as any foreigner in Bulgaria, which is saying a lot.
Let’s hope we get home in one piece and that our baggage is all there to greet us.
We’ll post all of our pictures on a Flickr page next week (if you aren’t familiar with Flickr, I’ll fill you in later).
Alice's World 