In the sun.

It's a long, beautiful, sunny Easter weekend and I have just finished all of my grading/teacher evals. 

Yeah, the clip pretty much sums it up.

Weekends and Triumphant Returns

So, dear readers, it's been a while. "What has she been up to?" you might be wondering. Is she jet-setting off to fabulous destinations or being thoroughly taken out by the Sofia cobblestones of death on her daily runs? Drinking cafe in the sunny park feeling free and easy or being overloaded with grading, evaluations and the feeling of impending doom/unemployment upon return to the US?

The answer to this is all of the above.

I'm happy to report that my lack of blogging is primarily due to life being busy, but downright awesome of late. I've got fabulous weather, fabulous students, and have definitely had some pretty fabulous adventures during my blogger absence. Have no fear, I'll report on all of them right here. 

However, before I start raving about travels and spring break, I want to be sure to give Sofia its due. It's a city that has put me through a lot, but that I've grown to absolutely love. It's just so quirky and lively in the strangest little ways and always keeps you guessing. Springtime has made this place totally come alive again. On my runs through the nearby park I am now entertained by gyspy music, performers practicing on stilts, numerous rollerbladers and skateboarders and the ever present Bulgarian ping pong obsession. I also think Sofia might be the only place where, within one single block I'm forced to dodge traffic including both a shiny new Ferrari and a horse drawn cart as well as a few toddlers on training wheel bikes that seem to be on a consistent suicide mission with my shins. 

I've been making a point to try and/or go somewhere new every day to make the most of my time left here. A few days ago I went to this lovely bar/cafe where I enjoyed the most beautiful rhubarb tea. You can see the photos of this place above. I know, it might not sound overly appetizing but it was absolutely delicious and look at that color! There's not doubt in my mind that I'll be stopping there again on my next walk over to the Commission.

School has also been amazing. I love my mentor and my students and continue to learn more from them daily. I'm so proud of all of my graduating seniors but am also sad to see them go. They've just been too much fun, but more on this later. These kids deserve their own post.

 Daily link roundup:

Listening to this.

Wishing I was eating this, though delicious Kozunak will have to suffice until I have time to bake.

"Not dead yet!"

I promise that is blog is not dead yet and will, in fact, actually get better (with the help of Easter break and a consistent wifi connection).

Expect more soon!

The Reading List

* pub in Lyon

As you may have noticed, my reading list has continued to grow longer as well as had the occasional change due to completion of a text or book availability (even in Sofia, the English book selection proves relatively limited and ever changing). However, upon completing 1984, I finished up on of my major goals for the year, aka literary crash-course in dystopian literature. It felt fitting to read dystopian texts while living in an area of the world that has literally lived though some of the experiences that to Americans are limited to the world of fiction. I'm quite proud that I've managed to achieve my reading goal, but that now leaves me with over 90 days left in Bulgaria (not to mention one LONG plane ride home) with nothing to read. 

Tentatively I'm planning to tackle some other classics I've yet to get around to, including Crime and Punishment (on which I've already made some good progress) and Anna Karenina. Clearly, Russian/Eastern European lit is also a major theme of the list, and one that's proved surprisingly easy despite the often daunting length of the books. Perhaps it's just that much easier to read novels about Ivanovas, Semyonovas, Lebesziatnikovs, Luzhins, Pyotr Petrovichs and keep them all straight in one's head when one teaches a class full of Vasil/Vesilina Vasilovichs, Boris/Borislavas, Gerganas, Lyubens, Georgi Gregorovichs etc (the list could go on and on).  I'm also seriously contemplating Ulysses for June, just in time for Bloomsday. We'll see how far I manage to get as I have no doubt that life will keep me busy as I prepare for my return, but I never like to be without a good book. A girl never knows when she'll get stranded in the airport for 3+ hours with nothing to do. 

So, dear readers, if you have any suggestions please feel free to offer them. I'm always up for a good read.

100 Days of Spring

*fresh floral photos from France

Spring has officially sprung in Sofia and I'm immensely grateful. Over the past few months my appreciation, and now, downright love for this concrete city has continued to grow, however, sunshine, strawberry tea and fresh flowers make appreciation that much easier. So much has happened in the past week that you must forgive me for not being free to blog much about it. In the past ten days or so I've managed to catch the cold of the season, fall ill and subsequently recover, finish Orwell's 1984, spring clean my apartment and give my first major exam. The cold was unfortunate but couldn't be helped. Numerous Babas, students, and other Bulgarian friends have explained to me that I should expect nothing less with the changing seasons. I'm pleased to finally be able to check that book of my list as I feel I should have read it long ago (say, high school?) and a clean environment is always a pleasure. The exam went rather well, if the level of my students displeasure is any indication. I'm mostly just pleased to have it over as the minds of Bulgarian high school students across the country are growing a bit frenzied and distracted with Spring Break just around the corner.

I'll do my best to catch you up a bit before I head out on Spring Break adventures, where I will be computer-less. The rest of the weekend is looking like it will be filled with some much needed fun and relaxation, not to mention plenty of grading. I'm hoping to fit in some running, reading, and hopefully exploring if the nice weather continues to hold up. Until next time, довиждане!

Culinary Excursions: France

Meringue cookie avec pralines. Isn't the pink color beautiful?

My friend Sarah informed be before I ate this that if I'd never eaten an eclair in France then I had spent my life thus far one eclair away from happiness. As usual, she was right.

Croque-monsieur? Mais oui!

Marzipan candies special to Lyon. They were not only beautiful, but delicious and filled with chocolate.

Palachinka/Crepe. Anyway you spell it, I love it. This one was with white chocolate filling.

While Bulgaria does have many delicious local foods, it's a little lacking  in global cuisine so of course I jumped at the chance to eat spring rolls and curry!

Saucisson comme brioche.

Of course it's not a trip to France without at least one macaron. C'etait framboise.

Just a sampling of the many delicious things I had the pleasure of eating in Lyon. Needless to say I'd go back in a heartbeat, if only to eat dinner.

Les Animaux

One of my many stops in Lyon was the zoo. As the above pictures show, it was clearly full of fantastic and well cared for animals which was quite a relief after seeing some of the conditions that animals are often kept in zoos here in Bulgaria. Not only were the enclosures and their inhabitants interesting, they were entirely FREE, which one can never complain about. It was a decidedly cool setup as the zoo was in the middle of a public park, around which plenty of people were enjoying a weekend walk or run. Yes, you read that correctly, running, in France. It was a shock to us too!

Some more French cuteness to finish the post.