Dynamic Developments

So, I was gone only a few weeks and still some things have changed in Sofia. It almost amazes me. I went to see my grandmother yesterday (she lives in the city center) and part of the park next to her building (already quite small) is now a construction site. (There was not a single sign of this before I left.) Apparently, they are building an underground garage, day bar and night club (I am quoting the posting I saw at the construction site)...as if that street wasn't crowded enough already. I just don't understand why they have to get rid of every piece of greenery and all the children's playgrounds in order to build more buildings... In my eyes, this is a negative development.

But there was also a positive one I noticed. I went to pick up my renewed driver's license and where 4 weeks ago there were huge crowds and disorderly lines, now chairs lined the space inside. Everyone had to pick up a numbered ticket upon entering, then sit down and wait their turn. (As is the case in the central post office and some DSK Bank branches, probably among other places.) We are now doing things the civilized way, so it's impossible for people to skip the line, and no-one gets upset. Only this morning some people were ready to attack me at the municipality when they thought I was trying to squeeze past them and go in first. Numbers take care of this problem... to some degree. Because the chaos that ensues when the machine that prints the numbers runs out of paper, and before it is replenished, is of significant proportions, as I witnessed once. Regardless, we are moving in the right direction, and that is commendable, really.

Jumping Between Continents

I am back in Europe, almost in Bulgaria! This whole 'being here one week, being somewhere else the next' is somewhat disorienting. I almost feel like I am living a few parallel lives, with a somewhat different identity in each one. The nuances are small but they are there nonetheless. Don't know if any of you have experienced that. I don't particularly like feeling this way, but I also think that this is something that won't change... not for a while at least. So I might as well start to get used to it or, rather, finally start accepting it.

Harry Potter Mania

Yes, everyone has heard of Harry Potter. I am not a huge fan--I have read some of the books and watched a couple of the movies, but am definitely not going to go to any extreme lengths or sacrifices for either. Book 7 (the latest and last of the series) came out in the U.S. on Saturday, July 21. All big book stores, like Barnes&Noble (B&N) and Borders, were advertising Harry Potter parties at midnight the night of July 20-21; women dressed as witches greeted people on the sidewalks outside these bookstores ready to usher eager fans inside.... I found the whole thing a little ridiculous (apologies in advance to any Harry Potter fans, but I always speak my mind).

My sister is a somewhat bigger fan (also not the type to line up and wait for hours to get the book, but she has read each and every one of them). So I had promised to get it for her from the States. That proved a little harder than I had imagined. I pictured going into a bookstore and just purchasing it, but no. On Saturday (the day the book came out), Borders and B&N were only giving out copies to people who had preordered them. All others (myself included) were placed on a waiting list. A little later that day I got a call that I could pick up my "waitlisted" copy. At that point I was too far away from that particular bookstore to go back there again, but thought, well, if they have extra copies now, I can surely get one tomorrow. Next day, the couple of bookstores that I visited were all out of Book 7. In the end, I resigned to the possibility that I might just have to order it online for her and have it shipped to Europe. But the next day, on a visit to Target, I caught glimpse of piles of Book 7. No lines, no waiting lists, no nothing. I think there is something to be said about multiproduct/-line stores like Target. You can usually find everything there.

Not that I am trying to advertise or anything. But it worked well for me. Now Book 7 is residing in my sister's room, waiting to be read.

Sing Sing Sing

Monday night I returned to one of my old-time favorites in DC: the 9:30 Club. The 9:30 Club is a live-music venue where I have seen the likes of Garbage, Blur, Moby, Fat Boy Slim, Thievery Corporation, Gotan Project, and others during my five years of living in DC. I found out last week that Travis were playing there on Monday and given that that's where I had seen them last live in concert (after their album 12 Memories came out), decided it would be a good thing to see them there again. Also even before leaving DC last year, I hadn't been to the 9:30 Club in a looong time, so it was indeed a welcome opportunity. The concert was amazing! I had enjoyed their last live appearance, but if I have to rate it on a scale of 1-10, that was a 7, while this one was definitely a 10! The guys just seemed a lot more full of life, Fran (the vocalist) was making conversation with the crowd the whole time, and they played all of my favorite songs! :) Some of the amusements of the night included the band coming out to the music of Rocky wearing boxing robes, making their way through the crowd from the back to the stage; Fran shouting out to the guy backstage to hand out water to the crowd because "it is bloody hot here", and Andy (the guitarist) climbing up the speakers to the second-story balcony to "rock out" on his guitar from up high. Oh, and they ended the encore with an awesome cover of AC/DC's Back in Black. Fran really pulled the voice off--pretty impressive! I haven't felt that positive and full of energy after a concert in a while. So, if Travis are playing in a city near you, go check them out. Or, you can also listen to songs from their new album, The Boy With No Name, at myspace or to a recording of the 9:30 show at NPR's Web site (not the highest quality sound, but still).

You Lose Some, You Win Some

So, Argentina lost pretty badly to Brazil in the Copa America final...sadly. I was really hoping they would pull through in the second half, but guess it just wasn't their day. But all wasn't lost since my friend and I made a pretty cool acquaintance at the neighborhood bar in DC while watching the game, and we are invited to a barbecue next weekend. Something that would never happen in Bulgaria. I guess what I am trying to say is that things are looking up, or at least, I am focusing on the "glass half full" type of stuff. How were your weekends?

A Flashback to 1986-88

I have had quite a few curious encounters in the last few months. First, a classmate of mine from the time I lived in Zimbabwe found my blog and got in touch (hadn't been in touch with him for 15 years). Then I was approached by a guy I used to sit next to in 4th grade in Sofia. Well, yesterday I had yet another such experience. A girl who I was really good friends with from 1st to 3rd grade, but had lost touch with since 1989, found me on Facebook. Again, I was slightly embarrassed by the fact that I didn't recognize her right away and completely amazed that she had. Well, interestingly enough she has also been living in the States for a while. Funny how our paths with different people cross, then diverge, but then cross again. I guess we are all zig-zagging across the globe.

Globalization at Work in Washington, DC

A respectable Malaysian restaurant in downtown DC turns into a Bulgarian chalga club some Saturday nights. I really wanted to see this phenomenon for myself but unfortunately missed the party last Saturday. Don't know if I will get another opportunity, but just found the concept semi-ridiculous and at the same time intriguing. Talk about cultural crossover... :)

Today...

Today I just feel kind of empty. I hope the feeling goes away. It's been good to see all my friends here, but somehow I just can't shake off the feeling that I don't belong here. Which in turn makes it very hard to imagine that I will be spending another two years on this side of the Atlantic, starting very soon. Sigh. I know it will be different in an academic environment, both atmosphere-wise and socially, but still... why can't I be thrilled instead of semi-excited?

Stamps and Stickers

I was staring at my passport today. In the last few years and especially now with Bulgaria’s entry into the EU it has slowly emptied of visas… and also of stamps. Now when you pass through immigration in another EU country all you get is a nod. Not that that is something to necessarily complain about (in fact, it most definitely is not) … but somehow, all of a sudden, I find my passport looking kind of empty. Well, not completely empty though. Because the stamps and visas have been replaced by security stickers on its outer covers. Stickers verifying that the security “screeners” at the airport (when you fly a US airline to the US) have asked you all of their security questions (like “Who packed your bags? When and where did you pack your bags? Are you carrying any weapons or objects that can be used as weapons?”) and deemed you NOT to be a potential threat. The stickers are different colors on the different days and they bear the “screener’s” initials and the date of the flight. These stickers also get attached to your checked luggage. If a piece of luggage appears in the luggage area that does not bare the right sticker, it is removed. (I am not really sure what happens to it afterwards but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were destroyed.) But I think I went off on a tangent. All I wanted to say is that although we are now more free to move unhindered across borders, in other areas the prohibitions continue to grow. The visa “stickers” on the passport pages have been replaced by small security stickers on the covers. I wonder where we will go next?

Is Drinking a Crime?

I was sitting in a bar in Atlanta airport yesterday afternoon. (I am in the U.S. for a couple of weeks to take care of a few things before school, but will be headed back to Bulgaria again afterward.) Well, it was actually the bar part of T.G.I. Friday’s. And it was packed. As soon as a seat freed up, somebody would immediately take it. The reason it was packed was that it was TINY. I don’t know about you… but to me this says a lot. It says, “We don’t want to have too many people drinking, so we limit the space in which it can be done.” (There was no other bar around in the terminal in which I had to wait for my connecting flight.) I know this it not true of all bars, but I feel that the general attitude towards drinking in the U.S. is somewhat…hypocritical, because everyone drinks and wants to drink, yet if you see someone drinking in the park, for example, you most certainly will frown at them… if not call the police.

As I sipped on my beer, the setting almost made me feel like I was committing a crime. It definitely did not lift my spirits as I thought it would when I first headed over to grab a beer. SIGH. Guess this is what I will have to get used to again. This and the whole “Can I see your I.D.?” thing. I don’t know…does it depress any of you? (of those of you who live or have lived in the U.S.)