How It's Done

When we meet people in Varna, they want to know why we're here of all places, why we chose Bulgaria. They start by asking if it's for work or for school. People are surprised by our response: "No, we're just living!" Friends and family have asked how we are doing this financially. I mean we own two homes in Phoenix and we haven't won the lottery.

When we made the decision a couple of years ago that we wanted to live overseas, we drastically changed our spending. I have always been a saver, so it wasn't difficult for me, but with a goal such as this it was even easier to make changes in our lives. Not once did I ever feel even slightly deprived. In fact, I think Brock and I both simply realized that we should have been living that way all along and that we will live that way from now on.

We still took vacations (usually camping in Rocky Point), we still ate at our favorite Phoenix restaurants, we still enjoyed life. We simply cut out the things we didn't need because we knew that the lifestyle we would enjoy would be worth it.

When we started planning this I basically stopped shopping. If I needed anything, I first looked at Goodwill, then Ebay, then I usually realized I could live just fine without that "thing". For the past two years, my only clothes shopping took place at Buffalo Exchange, Goodwill, or ConsignMint. If I really needed something for the house, I went to Qcumber or My Sister's Attic. I quit buying books and became a regular at the Arcadia library. If I bought a book, it was always used and I usually sold it right back for only slightly less. I purchased gifts for my niece and nephews at Urban Baby, where there are tons of brand new children's clothes with the tags on for a fraction of the original price.

I constantly equated the purchase of anything with the loss of a future experience and so the choice to not buy became simple. Before moving we spent months posting ads on Craigslist and Ebay to get rid of the many things in our lives we didn't need. Brock was much better at letting go than I was. I remember when a girl came to buy my cute little green bistro set and Brock talked her into buying our black contemporary (second-hand) set of bar stools and I was so sad to see these things go for some reason. But the more clutter in our lives that we shed, the better I felt and the less attached to all of this stuff I became.

As we watched our stuff go and considered how much we had spent and how little it was now worth, we immediately decided that we will always buy second-hand when possible, and it's almost always possible. The items we had purchased used were the only items we sold for almost as much as we had paid.

There are so many other things we did to save money, and they're all easy! I rode my bike, took the Light Rail, or carpooled to work. We bought minimal items at the farmer's market that we actually used instead of mindlessly filling our huge refrigerator with too many groceries that would go unused. We planted herbs, peppers, and tomatoes in our tiny patio garden and made meals from scratch based on these ingredients. While people at work would talk about how their frozen lean cuisine only cost $3 at Walmart, my fresh spiced couscous and beans (both purchased in bulk from Sprouts) meal cost about 25 cents. All of these little savings really do add up.

I wish I could say we truly sold all of our things, but my parents with a garage in ND filled with boxes would disagree. We did, however, make enough money in selling stuff to pay for our plane tickets here and about a month's rent in Paris. The sale of our two cars didn't hurt either. And we are in no hurry to buy cars again, even when we return to the States.

Living without all of those things I left in my parents' garage (and sometimes I have difficulty remembering what's all there), has made me want to live without. When I return home, I will probably resume my Craigslisting and Ebaying to shed even more weight. We have now been in Europe 5 months and living out of a suitcase has been great! Sure I will be happy to use my own pots & pans & dishes, and sleep on my own comfy mattress, ride my bike, and have an American sized closet, but I'm happy to know that I'm no longer attached to those things like I once was, because they're just things. And when I was back in Phoenix in my beautiful home, sitting on my cozy couch, watching movies on an HD plasma tv, I was dreaming about being where I am now. None of those luxuries could replace all of this.

Beach Behaviors

In my opinion...

Children should not wear thongs.

Men should not wear thongs.

A bra is not a substitute for a swimsuit.

Men should not have binoculars at the beach. (exception being lifeguards)

Topless women in thongs should not lay on top of their Speedo-clad boyfriends for make out sessions.

Children should wear swimsuits. Especially if said children are in elementary school.

Bikinis aren't for everyone....

Several weeks of observing beach behaviors here have led me to develop strong opinions on this subject. Some of these opinions are based on much more extreme examples than I care to describe. For instance, the making out part is putting my observations mildly to say the least. And I've seen children as old as 12 bathing suit-less or wearing mere thongs.

Call me old fashioned, but I still believe in leaving something to the imagination. Around here, I'm clearly in the minority on this mindset.

Bulgarian Education and Culture Day and Slavonic Literature Day

Bulgarians love to celebrate. In just the 6 weeks we've been here, there have been 3 major holidays: Labor Day, St. George's Day, and the Bulgarian Education and Culture Day/Slavonic Literature Day this past Monday which coincided with the final day of the Historical Seas Tall Ships Regatta. In this family-centered culture, holidays are taken seriously and are spent elaborately.

I had the fortune of spending St. George's Day with a Bulgarian family in their village home and I will try to explain that cultural experience in another post. Monday's holiday was spent very differently. My apartment is right off the main square and so while drinking my coffee on the patio Monday morning I heard some commotion coming from the square. It sounded like a marching band. I walked outside to find that an insanely large mob was making its way down the square towards the Sea Gardens and the beach. Inside the mob was a marching band that the people seemed to be following. Young girls were dressed in traditional Bulgarian dresses and women were holding bouquets of flowers. Apart from the band, there was nothing else indicating an official parade so I thought perhaps there would be something at the end of their march and I joined in to find out. They all dispersed at the Sea Gardens, some going to the beach, others lining up for ice cream and popcorn, many grouping up to take photos. I walked back towards my apartment and the mob was still coming; it seemed neverending. I sat on a bench to watch for awhile and finally went home, realizing there was really no central event going on.

A bit later, Brock and I walked back outside and as we got towards the sea and noticed that the mobs were either on the beaches or along the Sea Garden looking out. We realized that for the Regatta's final day, the 70 or so sail boats were all out on the sea cruising around for the people to see and to warm up before their race to Istanbul. It was an amazing sight, so many sail boats of all sizes sailing together.

The event supposedly drew a crowed of 200,000. We had visited the Regatta and checked out some of the sail boats from around the world while they were on display at the port. They were very impressive, reminding me of Pirates of the Caribbean. The highlight for me was the Indonesian vessel. On board were musicians and dancers performing some traditional numbers.

Saturday there was a parade that included representatives of each sail boat in the contest, so there were bands, dancers, and sailors from all over the world, making it one incredible parade. I suppose this is why I was a bit let down when Monday's parade-like event was nothing more than a marching band leading the entire town to the sea front.

If Monday's holiday was anything like St. George's Day, I expect that after the town saw the sailors off to Istanbul, they went home for a long day of eating and drinking... but more on that later.

My Perfect World

I've found my perfect place. Not Bulgaria, per se, although I really don't want to leave here anytime soon. Where I know I belong is by the ocean or sea.

This is the first time I have lived near a beach and I don't want to have to wait for vacations to experience this. Of course, this isn't exactly real life right now, but when I go back to the real world, a major body of water and a beach better be part of it.

Since we arrived, I've been taking Majerle to the beach each morning right after my first latte. If we get their early, we have most of the beach to ourselves and can walk and run with him off the leash and I've taken to doing stretches from my gymnastics and yoga days. Or I just sit and watch the sail boats and ships go by while Majerle runs around looking for sticks to bury and dig back up. I want to stay there forever. I feel sad leaving the beach even though I'm just going home to have my second latte and then get ready to return in the afternoon for more beach bummin.

This lifestyle has changed me. Lately I listen to almost nothing but Bob Marley, The Beach Boys, Sublime, and songs like Red Red Wine and In the Summertime. I can read for hours. I feel so relaxed and peaceful, especially when the Black Sea is in front of me.

I've always wanted to learn to surf, so we decided this is the time, since we may never again have two months with nothing to do but play in the water. So we're buying a couple of boards and signing up for lessons.

My sister asked me what I like best about Bulgaria. I love so much, the sea & beaches, the people, the post-communist revival, the food, the produce markets, the colorful architecture... but what I love best is this: there are so many beautiful places in the world where people say, "You should have been here before all the tourists came." I feel like we'll be saying that about Varna in a few years and we'll be happy to know we lived here when we were considered the exotic foreigners who took surf lessons, frequented jazz bars, removed ticks from stray dogs, and traveled by bus to Istanbul and by ferry to Ukraine. Or maybe the tourists will never come and we can keep returning here for this inexpensive and free-spirited beatnik lifestyle.

A Backwards Story about a Backwards Doctor's Visit

I stepped out of the cab, my husband handed me a bouquet of flowers, and I walked into the hospital to have my ultrasound. It went well, confirming what I already knew and nothing more and I was sent home with 3 ultrasound photos.

(5 minutes prior)

The cab driver couldn't break a 20 so to pay our fare Brock had to find the nearest item he could buy so we would have smaller bills, hence the floral arrangement.

(22 hours prior)

The male nurse present who was doing the translating for the doctor explained where to go the following day to have an ultrasound performed. The doctor wrote me a prescription and then uttered to me the only English words he seemed to know: "you pay me 20 leva for write this prescription." I handed him a 20, got no receipt from him, and realized I had actually paid him for writing me a prescription and nothing else. At least he's honest, but talk about a corrupt system!

(15 minutes prior)

The nurse gave me my diagnosis and also said I had too much sugar in my urine and that is bad, although this was subsequently not addressed. Perhaps the nurse had just had a donut for breakfast....

(20 minutes prior)

The male nurse who spoke some English handed me a cup to pee in without trying at all to avoid touching the inside of the cup with his bare (possibly sugary) hands. I walked into a dirty bathroom which was void of hand soap and void of that nice little door where you can discretely deposit your urine and walk out of the bathroom with some self-respect. No, I had to walk down the hall to the lab with my cup in hand in front of those waiting to use the bathroom. The lab nurse finally asked for my name, scribbled it down in Bulgarian on a scrap of paper and placed my urine cup on top of the paper and asked me for $4 to cover this part of the doctor's visit.

(5 minutes prior)

After following a nurse up and down the stairs a couple of times, she found the man she was looking for and she snatched my insurance card out of my hand. The two nurses read the card and noticed the part about my needing pre-approval before a surgery, cat scan, MRI, etc. Somehow this led them to believe I needed an MRI and they explained that I needed to take a cab to another facility to have this done. I reminded them of why I was here in the first place. They said I would then need a urine test and a blood test. I told them I was pretty sure just a urine sample would suffice, so they went to find a cup.

(20 minutes prior)

After following my landlord's not so perfect directions to a nearby clinic, I finally found it, entered, and asked if the receptionist spoke English (she did not), so she rounded up a nurse who did and I explained the reason I was there. She picked up the phone and called someone to explain very loudly and clearly in Bulgarian for all present to hear something about my being there that of course, I could not understand. There was no waiting room (just a couple of chairs), no weighing in, no taking temperature & blood pressure, no asking for the date of my last period, they didn't even ask for my phone number, the nurse just asked me to follow her.

(52 hours prior)

On a bus from Istanbul to Varna, I realized something was wrong with me. I felt worse and worse as we finally approached the bus station at 5:30am. I walked as fast as I could the mile or so home from the bus station, and for the next two days I hoped things would be ok and that I would not have to go to the doctor. I have never in all of my time spent overseas had to seek medical attention, and I sure didn't want to start in the country ranked 103 for health care, just above Iraq and just behind a couple of countries I have never heard of. Finally, I realized it was better to be safe and go get checked out.

In conclusion, I'm fine, thanks to the drugs I was sent home with. And I am definitely not pregnant, I just found it amusing how the circumstances could have been misconstrued as such. I figured that my story about such a backwards system deserves to be told backwards as well. I sincerely hope this was my first and last experience with the Bulgarian health system. The clinic resembled a very old home with skinny hallways and many small rooms. It was far from handicap accessible considering the steep and cracked six steps leading into the facility. Nothing about the place felt remotely sanitary. However, the staff was accommodating considering my inability to communicate in their language and they did do whatever they could to help me, albeit with plenty of confusion. In the end, I must say that the US health care system is looking pretty darn fabulous after this excursion.

This Dog's Life

I'm used to seeing stray dogs all around town. But there are some that are just a little more friendly & affectionate than others.

I saw this dog walking along the water today while we were lying on the beach. I yelled something like "hey dog!" Usually dogs will glance over and keep on going if there's no chance of getting food. This one took that as an invitation.

At first he laid down near us, but not too close.

Then he nonchalantly got a little closer.

Once we started petting his ears he decided to try and get real comfortable by crawling on our beach towel between us, but there wasn't room for all 3 of us so instead he dug himself a hole right beside us...

...which he laid down in, but kept getting up to dig more and to make it just right.

After just a few minutes of hangin out with us, he took off to follow some people who were picking up garbage on the beach.

Освен на делфините! (Save the Dolphins)

The Bulgarian town where I now live, like most cities of its size (pop. 356,852), has plenty to do. There are concerts, plays, tons of restaurants and cafes, an opera house, a zoo, a dolphinarium... I made plans to take advantage of all of this while I'm here and I was especially excited to visit the dolphinarium since I have never seen a dolphin show before.

Then I watched The Cove last night which is a documentary about the constant mass slaughtering of dolphins in Japan for our entertainment. I was disgusted that I had previously been excited to watch the dolphin show. I was ignorant in believing these trained dolphins to be well cared for and happy when in fact they are constantly dying prematurely due to the stressful living conditions and they are performing mainly because they won't be fed otherwise. For every one dolphin that makes it into a show, hundreds or thousands are needlessly killed and even though their meat contains poisonous amounts of mercury, it is sent around Asia for human consumption.

Last year while spending 4th of July in Coronado, I got to witness some dolphins cruising back and forth across the beach, flipping, diving, and playing. It was beautiful. I swam out as far as I could in the freezing Pacific to get a better look. I now know this is surely the best way to see these amazing creatures, in their natural environment. They'll still put on a show, a free show, but it will be of their own will to entertain and will not be at the expense of thousands of their own kind.

(This is the best picture I could get of one of the dolphins)

Check out these sites for more information about the movie and the actions being taken to put an end to this brutal industry:

http://www.thecovemovie.com

http://www.takepart.com/thecove/