So, word on the street is that I'm about halfway finished with my semester abroad. Honestly, it's crazy for me to try to think about that. Time has passed so quickly. It seems like forever ago that I got here, but it also seems like time is moving too fast for me to keep up with.
This post is going to be more of a collection of random thoughts, lists, and observations than it is a narrative.
Trifon Zarezan, Baba Marta, International Women's Day...what do these all have in common? They're all holidays that I had no idea even existed until I came here. The novelty of a lot of traditions associated with holidays in the U.S. has sort of worn off, but participating in new ones with unfamiliar traditions is really cool. Definitely wasn't something that I hadn't thought about before studying abroad, but the adoption of new holiday traditions is awesome.
Just walking down the hallway in my dorm or in the stairs on the way to class, I hear so many different languages being spoken. I can usually identify Bulgarian or Russian, but it no longer is striking to me to hear them. I would probably be more surprised to hear an American accent (there aren't that many American students here and I know most, if not all, of them).
Taking a bus here is incredibly entertaining, as long as you're not in a bad mood or anything. First of all, the buses stop all the time. Whenever the bus stops, everyone piles off to smoke, including the driver. People sometimes go into whatever little cafe is nearby and sit down and have a coffee. Breaks can last anywhere from five minutes (very rare) to forty-five minutes. What's even funnier is that the bus schedule seems to take into account various unscheduled or seemingly unplanned stops and delays. It's like they plan for the driver to randomly sit down and order an expresso. Also, at border crossings and customs checks, an officer just gets on the bus, collects everyone's passport, and leaves. He comes back like ten minutes later and gives the stack of passports to the driver, who usually gives them to a random passenger to redistribute to their rightful owners. The most entertaining bus ride so far was from Dubrovnik to Skopje on the way home from spring break, where the driver smoked while he drove (he just cracked open the window). He even let some passengers smoke too, but he had them stay up front by the window.
This is sort of hard to describe. The music in bars here is just very different from in the states. It's a little dorkier. You might hear motown hits or oldies rock in a bar full of college kids, which was sort of weird at first. I love it though, mainly since I'm a huge fan of Elvis and his contemporaries. People here dance differently than in the States, too. Along with the music, it's just generally dorkier, which I prefer. Music in restaurants can be strange too. Like, you may see a restaurant full of old Bulgarian men eating simple traditional dishes and drinking beer, and the latest Katy Perry or Enrique Iglesias song will be playing. Nice restaurants may randomly have some nineties or eighties throwbacks, like Tina Turner or Shania Twain. There's obviously lots of Bulgarian music too. I still have yet to go to a chalga club, but I will at some point. I guess the main thing that I'm trying to say about the music is that it can be unexpected for the venue at times, but I really enjoy that about Bulgaria.
I went to one last week about the war and genocide in Bosnia in the early 1990's. The talk was given by someone working in Bosnia currently on the Commission for War Crimes. It's something that I'm very interested in, so it's neat to be somewhere where you actually have access to experts on the subject. At Pitt, there are guest lectures all the time, but only occasionally (rarely) do they relate to the Balkans. Here there are more opportunities to learn about subjects that aren't as easily accessed in the states.
Though I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, coming here was sort of scary. Mostly I was scared that I would hate it here. Even though four months isn't a terribly long period of time, it would have been hard to endure if I had been miserable, mainly because of what I would have been missing. I love Pitt a lot and am very happy there, and I knew that if I had stayed there this semester, I would have continued to be happy. So by coming here, I knew that I was giving up being somewhere where I know I would be happy to go live somewhere where it was uncertain whether I would be happy. This understanding caused a lot of anxiety for me in the few weeks before I left.
Now I can sincerely say that I made the right decision. I am very happy here and I have had the opportunity to travel to places that many people never see (or in some cases, are even aware of). I am taking classes (some of them, at least) that I couldn't take in the U.S. and that I actually really enjoy. There honestly hasn't been a moment (except maybe that first night) where I regretted or questioned my choice to come here; it is unequivocally worth it.
It's weird to think of leaving. There's so much that I love about it here and there's so much more that I want to see and do. I think that by the time May rolls around, I will be ready to go home, especially to see loved ones. But for now, I don't want to leave. I like it here, and it's scary how quickly this semester has gone by. I still have time left, though, so I just need to take advantage of it.
I'll tell of my trip to Greece next time...
This post is going to be more of a collection of random thoughts, lists, and observations than it is a narrative.
Reflections:
Top five things that I miss most about the U.S. (excluding friends and family, obviously):
1) college basketball (also, the oakland zoo)
2) rite aid/target
3) mexican/indian/chinese food
4) pandora/hulu (neither website works here)
5) schenley plaza
Some things that I (unexpectedly) love about Bulgaria and/or studying abroad:
1) New holidays:
Trifon Zarezan, Baba Marta, International Women's Day...what do these all have in common? They're all holidays that I had no idea even existed until I came here. The novelty of a lot of traditions associated with holidays in the U.S. has sort of worn off, but participating in new ones with unfamiliar traditions is really cool. Definitely wasn't something that I hadn't thought about before studying abroad, but the adoption of new holiday traditions is awesome.
2) Being desensitized to foreign languages:
Just walking down the hallway in my dorm or in the stairs on the way to class, I hear so many different languages being spoken. I can usually identify Bulgarian or Russian, but it no longer is striking to me to hear them. I would probably be more surprised to hear an American accent (there aren't that many American students here and I know most, if not all, of them).
3) Tomatoes
4) Hilarious bus travel:
Taking a bus here is incredibly entertaining, as long as you're not in a bad mood or anything. First of all, the buses stop all the time. Whenever the bus stops, everyone piles off to smoke, including the driver. People sometimes go into whatever little cafe is nearby and sit down and have a coffee. Breaks can last anywhere from five minutes (very rare) to forty-five minutes. What's even funnier is that the bus schedule seems to take into account various unscheduled or seemingly unplanned stops and delays. It's like they plan for the driver to randomly sit down and order an expresso. Also, at border crossings and customs checks, an officer just gets on the bus, collects everyone's passport, and leaves. He comes back like ten minutes later and gives the stack of passports to the driver, who usually gives them to a random passenger to redistribute to their rightful owners. The most entertaining bus ride so far was from Dubrovnik to Skopje on the way home from spring break, where the driver smoked while he drove (he just cracked open the window). He even let some passengers smoke too, but he had them stay up front by the window.
6) Music in public places:
This is sort of hard to describe. The music in bars here is just very different from in the states. It's a little dorkier. You might hear motown hits or oldies rock in a bar full of college kids, which was sort of weird at first. I love it though, mainly since I'm a huge fan of Elvis and his contemporaries. People here dance differently than in the States, too. Along with the music, it's just generally dorkier, which I prefer. Music in restaurants can be strange too. Like, you may see a restaurant full of old Bulgarian men eating simple traditional dishes and drinking beer, and the latest Katy Perry or Enrique Iglesias song will be playing. Nice restaurants may randomly have some nineties or eighties throwbacks, like Tina Turner or Shania Twain. There's obviously lots of Bulgarian music too. I still have yet to go to a chalga club, but I will at some point. I guess the main thing that I'm trying to say about the music is that it can be unexpected for the venue at times, but I really enjoy that about Bulgaria.
7) Dorms actually being a social hangout place.
8) Interesting lectures:
I went to one last week about the war and genocide in Bosnia in the early 1990's. The talk was given by someone working in Bosnia currently on the Commission for War Crimes. It's something that I'm very interested in, so it's neat to be somewhere where you actually have access to experts on the subject. At Pitt, there are guest lectures all the time, but only occasionally (rarely) do they relate to the Balkans. Here there are more opportunities to learn about subjects that aren't as easily accessed in the states.
9) Open windows with no screens
10) Early spring weather!
Now I can sincerely say that I made the right decision. I am very happy here and I have had the opportunity to travel to places that many people never see (or in some cases, are even aware of). I am taking classes (some of them, at least) that I couldn't take in the U.S. and that I actually really enjoy. There honestly hasn't been a moment (except maybe that first night) where I regretted or questioned my choice to come here; it is unequivocally worth it.
It's weird to think of leaving. There's so much that I love about it here and there's so much more that I want to see and do. I think that by the time May rolls around, I will be ready to go home, especially to see loved ones. But for now, I don't want to leave. I like it here, and it's scary how quickly this semester has gone by. I still have time left, though, so I just need to take advantage of it.
I'll tell of my trip to Greece next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment