One of Those Weeks

I just had one of those weeks that I hope I never get to repeat. For the first time since I got here, I was shaken awake by the Bulgarian reality. Maybe I was just overly sensitive this past week, who knows? It all started with my return from Helsinki. As I had gotten my luggage (which they had made me check in because it was 9 kgs instead of 8) and made my way through customs, using the "nothing to declare" aisle, a customs officer decided that he had lazed around enough for the evening and asked me where I was coming from and what I had been doing there. (I didn't know that customs officers doubled up as immigation officials too...) Anyhow, sarcasm aside, I answered his questions when he asked me whether I was carrying anything for "other persons". I must have looked at him in a disdainful way as I answered "No" because he was kind of surprised. (The absurdity in the situation is that I had a very small bag--as I said, weighing 9 kgs. I have passed through customs with two huge suitcases before and no-one asked me anything.) Anyhow, after double-checking my answer by asking me "No?", he wished me a good night and I was on my way. Well, I then ended up with one of those "nice" taxi drivers, who guilt-tripped me the whole way home that he had waited in the taxi queue for an hour, and it was just his luck that he now had to drive me a very short distance (I live really close to the airport.) I just wished he would get over it! In addition to this, I had people slam the elevator and apartment building entry door right in front of my face quite a few times this week; this I could understand if they hadn't seen me, but all these people had turned around right before doing that and seen me coming in right after them and still did it. I guess, it's the mentality of "I'm in a real big hurry and can't wait for you, cause I am in SUCH a big hurry!" It's ridiculous... In addition, work reality is also settling in and I am not quite accustomed to it, I must say. Hopefully, all it will take is some time and the right adjustment that won't require too much sacrifice on my part. But that's just the way things are here and I can't get affected by them... otherwise, it is going to be a loooong road.

Anyhow, so to celebrate the end of this suboptimal week, I decided to "drown my sorrow" in Alcohol with a couple of friends (one of whom also needed to desperately recover from a bad week). Alcohol is a bar/club downtown that actually did achieve its mission. The music was great, the crowd--mixed and energetic, the setup of the place--really interesting. There was a promotion for Absolut Vanilla, so at one point we were served shots of it in sugar cones :)--an intriguing approach. Also, our attention was mostly diverted by two dancers who were dancing against a white canvas, their silhouettes and every move displayed on it, again advertising Absolut Vanilla. I was highly amused by a guy who was mirroring everything one of the dancers did while standing face-to-face with the canvas. He was actually quite good and kept up with her very well. :) Another room in the club contained a bar as well as tables, couches, pillows, all Oriental style--the lounge--where you could just chill and smoke a shisha. So all in all, it was a good time that we plan to repeat sometime soon. (Supposedly, it is also the place where lots of folks from the American University of Bulgaria hang out; probably because one of the owners is also co-owner of the infamous Underground in Blagoevgrad.)

Oh, in case you are interested in the most fashionable drink these days (well, has been probably since the summer and perhaps even spring), it is vodka Sobieski green label with green apple (aka Granny Smith) juice (yes, it must be from green apples :) ). I must say, it is pretty good, although I usually try to stay away from being a slave to fashion ;)

And with that, I will just say that I hope you had a better week than me.