A Frozen Escape

It is now a week since I was in Stockholm, flying home from the US. I am currently sitting on a train passing through the Bulgarian countryside, there is plenty to catch up on. When I arrived home I found that my host grandmother and mother had both gotten ill and I was unwilling to risk getting sick so I spent a lot of time holed up in my room. This was a good thing since it isolated me and got me to really start working on my grad school applications. The application process has become very cumbersome and I just wanted to be done. I feel like I am ready for grad school, however applying for school was intimidating since I have decided to apply to some of the top programs and schools. Also I haven’t had to write anything of importance (besides this stream of consciousness blog) in years so my writing skills have gotten rusty.

First snowy night in Sofia

I am looking at studying International Affairs and Public Policy. The programs that I am applying to are all interdisciplinary with bits of business, finance, political science, economics, history, and other disciplines mixed together. Despite the anxiety of applications, the process left me excited at the prospect of going back to school. In the end I decided to apply to Georgetown’s Masters of Foreign Service, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Columbia’s Masters of International Affairs, and Tufts Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy. Now I just need to wait 3 months to see if I get in and if I can get any funding to help pay for it. One semester alone will end up costing more than my entire undergrad…

Some late night sightseeing in the snow

As for Bulgaria, this trip has become a reward for finishing my applications. I originally booked a cheap ticket to Sofia in the fall and after booking a ticket to the US wasn’t going to be able to use the Sofia one. However, they ended up canceling my original flight and I had to rebook. It ended up working out perfectly and I rebooked for a shorter time period that would actually work for me. I told myself however that I wouldn’t be able to come on this trip unless I had finished my applications so at 1am the night before/day of my flight, I finished my final two applications and packed my bags.

Hitting up museums to stay warm

Just like in the US the snow started in Sofia the moment my plan landed, and it went for two days. I hadn’t planned any part of my trip before my arrival so things have been very flexible. A fellow PCV Evan ended up being on my same flight so we have met up a few times. Additionally, two G14s who have already left Georgia met up with us in Sofia so my solo trip hasn’t been all that solo so far. The past three days have been a lot of fun- minus the snow and below freezing temperatures. Sofia isn’t much larger than Tbilisi but due to its location and geography it has a more diverse population and food scene. Food is one of the most important parts of traveling, and Sofia is doing a great job at providing a variety of flavors.

Old Communist Party HQ for Bulgaria... I bet it was always a party in there...

I am back in Georgia now and it is nice to look back on my trip to Bulgaria from a far. Sofia was a great city to explore and there is plenty that would be worth coming back to see- hopefully in warmer temperatures. On Sunday I got up early to catch a train to Bulgaria’s second largest city, Plovdiv. The process was complicated since I don’t speak Bulgarian and no one seemed to speak English. Luckily the train was late and I had plenty of time to figure out where to go and what to do.

Luckily it was so cold our there wasn't a single person or car out to get in the way of this shot

When I arrived in Plovdiv I was excited because it instantly felt warmer. So warm that I decided to walk a bit before finding a bush that could take me to the local church that I had found online. The congregation was really small because of the cold but it was nice to meet some friendly Bulgarians as well as some of the local missionaries. After church I found a hostel to check into and then set out to explore the town. I started with an interesting museum and then walked around outside but I didn’t last long due to the cold. The night did culminate with the first decent Mexican food I have had on this side of the Atlantic so I’ll mark the day as a win.

Another museum detour, but this one wasn't heated.

Most of that night was spent in the hostel talking to two others travelers, one from Malaysia and the other from Finland. The topics for discussion were wide ranging and so were the views and perspectives from each person. The people you meet when traveling are fascinating and the conversations always have something to offer if you just pay close attention.

More snowy churches 

The next morning things were better and I was able to see more of this historic town. Plovdiv is over 6,000 years old. There was so much history to learn. There were ruins from the Roman empire as well as revival homes and structures from the 17th century as well as modern bohemian/hipster neighborhoods. Plovdiv was A-ok in my book. (I should note that it is also more deserving of a visit in the non-winter months so that you can more fully take advantage of is surrounding nature and natural beautify.

It was so cold my phone died after taking this picture. 

After 2 days in Plovdiv I took another train back to Sofia where much to my dismay it had started snowing again. The train was an hour delayed and many stores were closed when I got in so I gave up on my search for food and just went to bed. The next morning I gorged myself on free breakfast at the first opportunity and then made sure that the last thing I did was grab what Evan declared to be the best panni he had ever eating- it was pretty amazing!

Traditional Bulgarian houses

When I got back to the hostel to check out I happened to noticed that another traveler had just called a cab so I offered to split it with him. Coincidentally he was also traveling to Georgia. His name was Jin and he is from South Korea. He has been traveling for months, including traveling on the trans-Siberian railway. We stuck together which was nice since it took us 90 minutes to check in and get to the gate, it was a madhouse. Once we arrived at the gate it was time to board and then our luck ran out as we continued to sit on board for 3 hours waiting for take-off. After 3 hours they had to deplane everyone and we went inside but less than an hour later we were cleared to go and had to run back to the plane. Even then it took about and 1 or more to eventually take off. We arrived in Georgia 5 hours late.

5 hours on the runway...

I am back now and everything is great (or at least seems that way) because the weather is considerably warmer. I am no longer freezing nor wrapped from head to toe in various layers of fabric trying to escape the frigid air. I am out of leave days now so it is time to buckle down. There are about 5 more months to go and plenty of projects to complete in the meantime.