Victory!

Beating two teams of Chinese PhD students at fussball (джаги) with my Peruvian classmate 5 games in a row = priceless!

I knew those random skills would come in handy one day ;)

Today...

Today, I feel light and happy and I have had a smile plastered on my face for most of the afternoon. (Not that I have been feeling unhappy since I got here or anything but it just feels different today somehow. I can best relate it to the feeling of having found my place when I returned to Bulgaria last year.) It is starting to feel like I am getting to know people better and be more comfortable with/around everyone. Following this presentation skills workshop we had today, everyone in our group (36 of us, about half the class) had to give a toast. I know it probably sounds cheesy but I think that "insignificant" activity brought everyone closer together. (The champagne we had to go along with the toasts probably helped as well:)) I know I am going to be saying this a lot and risk becoming boring in the end but there really is something to be said about the people here. From a Chinese journalist who had to write under an English pseudonym in order to overcome censorship to military guys who have served in Iraq to people who have directly been involved in electoral politics... the span of experiences is beyond anything I could have imagined (and I had heard quite a lot about our school from friends who had completed the program before me). Also, it really is a great feeling to have so much in common with so many people--from personal and professional interests, to experience in various countries, to language skills etc. It is already promising to be a tremendous learning experience. Again, I don't mean to sound cheesy but I truly feel that way.

For those of you who want to get a small glimpse of this place called Princeton, a few pics below.

And last, I have been talking a lot about myself lately. Now I want to know what has made you smile recently.

The Good and the Bad (so far)

After the first week I have somewhat of a good idea of the place and what it's like. Of course, as always, there are things to love and things that I am not so excited about, but oh well...that's just how life is.

Likes:
1. Campus and the town are beautiful. As I explore the area around the graduate dorms, it feels like I am living in a forest, rather than a university campus. Squirrels, rabbits and other animals abound. Just today, I saw a woodpecker. And people have also reported seeing deer near the dorms. It is a quiet and peaceful place. The rest of campus looks like a cross between something out of a medieval movie and Harry Potter. There is an art museum with (supposedly) an excellent collection, the McCarter Theatre that is (also supposedly) famous and attracts excellent productions, beautiful botanical gardens and so forth.

2. Some amazing people come to speak at Princeton, and in my program, we even invite some of them to dinner so a number of the students get to interact with them face-to-face. That is a rare privilege, I realize.

3. Related to that is the quality of professors here and, also, of my classmates. Definitely higher than in a lot of places.

Dislikes:
1. For all the beauty and tranquility of campus and the special character of Princeton (the town), I just can't help but be reminded of Smith and Northampton (the town in W. Massachusetts in which Smith is located) and the feeling of feeling stuck for the majority of the time there. I know this time that won't be the case, since NYC is just an hour away by train and I will very soon have a car as well, so I can leave any time I want. But that nagging feeling still persists (I am sure some of the international ex-Smithies might be able to relate). Perhaps it will go away after a few weeks and especially when I finally get the car. I really hope so, because I hate HATE feeling this way. And it's not like I feel this way all the time or that it's an overwhelming feeling, but it is always there, somewhere in the back of my mind and heart.

2. Nightlife really is close to non-existent. Apart from the D-Bar (the bar located in the graduated dorms), everything else really is way too expensive. And, even so, there isn't an abundance of bars in Princeton. And let's not even get on the topic of places to dance. So, I guess, it seems like I will be spending a lot of time in the D-Bar and hopefully making up for the lack of partying some weekends in NYC.

3. I don't mean to sound snobby, but I find the people that walk the streets of Princeton (the town) annoying. I don't know why exactly. Just the way they walk, talk, and their attitude annoys me. Maybe it's because they are rich, or maybe because they exemplify a side of America I don't really like, who knows. And, yes, the undergrads are too. (Yes, I realize this comment makes me sound old, but hey, I guess I am 10 years older than the freshmen at this point, and I am not ashamed of that fact.)

In rereading this entry, I realized that my likes and dislikes seem to fall very neatly into two categories. I like everything academic-related and dislike the social scene (at least in the town). But c'est la vie. I am definitely not complaining that I am here. I am sure it will be a great two years! (or so I tell myself at any moment I start feeling a little apathetic or disappointed for any reason)

If anyone out there is familiar with the area and can clue me in on any fun activities (including dancing, theatre, outdoors stuff), I would love to hear from you.

My Best Discovery Yet!

There is a Bulgarian restaurant right here in downtown Princeton! I was clued in on this great fact by a friend of a friend who also studies at Princeton. As we walked by, the hostess (also Bulgarian) tried to get us to go in and couldn't stop gushing about it. Then once she found out I was Bulgarian, she exclaimed, "And you haven't been here yet?!?!?" in a disapproving voice. I had to explain that it was only my 5th day in town. But I will definitely try it and if it is as good as she claims, then might become a more regular customer. The owner, chefs and waiting staff are all Bulgarian. But I cracked up a little bit as I read the story in the menu that claimed that all staff were imported from Bulgaria, as if that was some arduous process. I am sure there are plenty of Bulgarians living right here in the area. Anyway, that is my highlight of today. So, now I know where I can get my shopska salad, french fries with feta cheese, and shish kebaps fix:)

More Impressions, Part 2

So week 1 of so-called "math camp" is over and we are turning to the more social activities--Princeton bar-hopping:) Will report back on that over the weekend. Somehow I doubt that it could beat Bulgarian nightlife, but I guess as anyone who is from or has been to Bulgaria can attest, once you've been there, the bar for going out and having fun is pretty high. The one fabulous thing about the graduate student dorms on campus though is that we have our very own bar in the basement, pool and fussball tables and all, and, of course, subsidized beer. Guess I can't really complain:)

A few things about the US that I was pleasantly reminded of:

1) Everything is so well organized and smoothly run. It was simply mind-boggling at first. I guess what is even more amazing to me is how quickly one gets used to a different type of reality (such as the BG one for me) and forgets about other realities that were part of one's recent past. I guess you could call this culture shock, but certainly for someone who has spent 9 years in the US, you would think I was beyond culture shock at this point. But, in the end, when I really think about it, this way it keeps things interesting.

2) Related to point #1: everyone is so polite. I have heard more greetings, "thank you's", and "you are welcome's" in the past 4 days than I probably had in the past 4 months in BG. I must say it is very refreshing to have that. Although to some degree I will miss the frowning faces of marshrutka drivers in Sofia.

3) One other thing my Albanian classmate pointed out was the concept of "personal space", which really doesn't seem to exist in Bulgaria (especially not in any kind of public transportation!). He was joking that there must be something wrong with him if people were sitting one seat away from him in class. He also seems to think that people in the US speak louder than people in Europe...I have to ponder that point...can't really say whether I agree or not. If any of you have any observations on that point or any of the others, please let me know.

4) And last but not least. I just love the fact that everyone here is so social. We haven't met each other previously but already everyone is exchanging numbers, planning to get together, and helping each other out with homework and car rides. I think Bulgarians in general are a lot more suspicious of strangers at first...not that that's necessarily always a bad thing. Sometimes Americans can seem a bit too fake, but in certain situations (such as this one) it definitely helps to have people be more open and friendly.

So I plan to explore more of campus and the town tomorrow given that I am not familiar with either at all yet, apart from knowing that Princeton is probably the only university town in the US with a Ralph Lauren store in it. A fact that cracked me up when I first saw it. (Yes, this does sort of go back to my labels story.)

More Impressions

As I already mentioned, there are (surprisingly at least to me) quite a few military guys in my year. In fact, I sit next to one in my math class and one thing I noticed is that he is super organized and neat. I guess he gets that from his military training (or maybe not), but I haven't seen such neat handwriting from anyone in a while. It's pretty astounding (in a good way!) because my handwriting can't be deciphered by anyone most of the time (myself included sometimes).

I also met another fellow Eastern European, this time an Albanian. I guess that increases E.European representation to 3. We have to work on that; can't let our presence go unknown :)

On the more serious side, one thing that is amazing to me when I compare grad school and undergrad so far is just how much more you can relate to people in graduate school. Obviously, you share similar interests (both personal and professional) that brought you to this place and, as I already mentioned, everyone has pretty much worked/lived abroad and has incredible work experience. I feel humbled and inspired to be among such people (regardless of how cliched that sounds). Once the semester starts and I am drowning in school work, I might change my mind, but for now I am enjoying being here. Student life definitely is quite different from the working professional life I was leading in DC prior to returning to Bulgaria. This makes the transition back a lot easier and somehow helps with the nostalgia for BG.

Oh, and one last thing.... the squirrels. They are everywhere! I had forgotten what that was like since graduating from college. They are pretty amusing to observe. Sadly though, it has rained for most of the time since I arrived so I haven't really ventured around campus much, although it looks really beautiful. Somewhat similar to Smith (for all the Smithies out there) but bigger.

A New Chapter

As most of you know at this point, my return to the US was imminent... and, actually, it just happened yesterday. After a fabulous friends' wedding on Saturday where much was drunk and much fun was had, I boarded the plane on Sunday and landed at Newark International Airport sometime around 10 pm. My cousin was picking me up, which made everything so much easier. And, if it weren't for him, I might still be walking around in the rain somewhere trying to locate the entrance to my dorm. We made it to Princeton pretty quickly but of course, one could never have it that easy. I was supposed to call Public Safety once I arrived on campus who would have my packet of keys (since all other offices would be closed at that time). I did and was told that they had no keys for me. I was like, "OK, so what do I do?" (As I was talking to her, I thought... man, it's good I at least am familiar with the US and have friends here, but imagine someone who was arriving here for the first time...and they couldn't get into their room. Now that would be quite a shock.) Finally, somehow my keys appeared from somewhere. And off we were to the dorms. I thought this part would be easy, but the way the dorms are situated, there are many entrances to different buildings. So first you have to find the right building, and then the right entrance. All this with a significant lack of signs. So we spent a good 45 mins looking for the right building/entrance, which involved my cousin stopping the car every once in a while and me then going on an investigative mission in the rain. To add to all this, there wasn't a single person around that we could ask for directions. (It was already almost 1 am at this point and I hadn't slept in almost 24 hrs.) Finally, I found the right place, entered my room and all I could do was drop my bags before crashing.

Day 1: For the next three weeks prior to the semester I will be refreshing my math and econ skills, getting to know my classmates and the school, and hopefully, little by little, settling in. A couple of things worth noting so far.

1. I will be living in a dorm room that is something like 4mx3m in size. This is a big transition for me after residing in our family apartment in Sofia by myself. And, yes, I will also be eating my meals in the cafeteria. Wish me luck and patience!

2. My classmates are a pretty interesting and diverse group of people and have done some amazing things. From introductions today I recall that we have an FBI officer, the Secretary General of Doctors Without Borders, a number of foreign service officers, a number of Peace Corps volunteers, a few military guys, a lot of people who have worked in NGOs all around the world, and a class full of people who have lived and worked abroad at some point, including Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, Burundi, China, etc. In terms of international students, there is another Bulgarian ("surprisingly" named Ivan :) ), 3 Australians, 1 Belgian, 1 German, 2 UK citizens, 1 Pakistani, 1 Japanese, 1 Chinese and probably a few other people that I am now forgetting.

Well, that has been Day 1 so far, and it continues. I even have math homework already. Remember functions and logs? I had sort of forgotten about their existence. But I promised I wouldn't talk about school work. More impressions coming soon, I am sure.

Fashion Gaps?

Some time last week I was trying out earrings at a jewelery store when the saleswoman pointed to a pair she thought I might be interested in. I told her that I didn't like the fact they weren't entirely silver and had a yellow tint to them. She in turn assured me that cleaning them would get rid of the yellow and offered to do it right then and there. There was still something I didn't like about the earrings but somehow I felt obliged to see how they looked after she so adamantly kept recommending them. Even before putting them on I knew I wouldn't buy them. But I put them on anyway and, no surprise, I didn't like how they looked. In addition to the yellowish tint, there were some weird symbols on them that looked to me like numbers and I couldn't imagine why someone would design such earrings. I turned to the saleswoman after she asked me what I thought of them and said, "I don't really like these numbers on the earrings." She looked at me completely appalled and replied, "Those aren't numbers! That's the symbol of Versace." At which I could only muster a surprised "Oooooh!"

Shows how much I know about labels. But Versace or no Versace, those earrings still looked like crap.

Cultural Exchange

I had the opportunity to spend 5 days in Dryanovo (a town in what I define as central Bulgaria). Highlights of the trip include revisiting places of interest such as Dryanovo Monastery, the fortress Tsarevets in Veliko Tarnovo, and architectural landmark villages such as Bozhentsi and Etara. I also visited the cave Bacho Kiro for the first time. I loved seeing each and every one of these places. But the one thing that left the biggest impression on me from those 5 days was a certain cultural event -- an International Multicultural Performance Festival, which was taking place in Veliko Tarnovo but for some reason one of the nights was hosted in Dryanovo. The performance involved dance troops from South Africa, Mauritius, and Italy. So here we are in a pretty small town in the middle of Bulgaria, not one known for its cultural riches, and we are watching African dances! I found that kind of amazing. I am sure most of the people from the town had never seen Africans in person, let alone a live cultural performance such as this one. It seemed like most of the audience was really enjoying itself. As the dances came to an end and the dancers filed off the stage one by one, a lot of them were greeted by high-fives from the Bulgarian side :) I guess some "language" is universal.

Drivers' Etiquette 101

I just got back from a week of travel outside Sofia (about which I will write more in one of the next posts). Apologies for the delayed response to your comments to the last post.

One thing I notice every time I get on the road in Bulgaria, and a phenomenon that still has not died out (luckily!), is drivers' signaling to each other when there are cops "in wait" on the side of the road. If you are approaching a speed trap, the drivers from the opposite lane(s) flash their headlights a few times to signal for you to slow down. Almost every car that approaches from the opposite side of the road does this. I guess these are the remnants of drivers' etiquette in Bulgaria (because in every other respect most people here drive like maniacs, with no respect whatsoever for other drivers). But I find this little courtesy great! And as you pass the cops on the side of the road... for a second you almost want to feel sorry for them. That they will be waiting there in vain, outplayed at their own game. But then the comical image usually cracks me up :). I wish we had more "quirks" of this sort. If you can think of others, please let me know!