1. Gallons of milk/jumbo packs. Everything here comes in tiny packages, so you have to go to the store a lot. Now, some people may just point out my “American ways,” but economy/bulk packaging actually saves consumers money, saves producers money, creates less waste for the landfill (plastics are forever, people), and saves energy in the manufacturing process. Bigger really is better (for you and the environment).
2. Running down Ward Parkway, looking at real estate I will never be able to afford on a side walk that is level, going to Irish dance on Saturday morning, and indoor soccer on Thursday night. 3. Ice tea glasses or Quick Trip giant cups. I may only drink water, but I drink a lot of water. All the glasses are baby-sized, so I have taken to double-fisting it. I fill up two baby-glasses to get the same amount of water as my giant glasses in the US. This way, I have to make the same amount of trips to the kitchen.
4. Forced air furnace. We have radiators (granted, my house was built in 1929), so some parts of our house (downstairs) are chilly while some parts (mostly my room) are sweltering, or in the words my former student, Henry F, my room is “like a thousand Satans.”
5. Mexican food. You can get food that is sort of like Mexican food (you know, the menu says things like “taco” and “burrito”) but it’s really not.
6. Food not drowning in cheese. The first Bulgarian phrase I learned was, “bes cirene,” which means, “without cheese.” There is SO MUCH CHEESE EVERYWHERE
7. Physics. Sigh. It really is phun.
8. Lunches with the SME science department that are full of horrible science puns and questions such as, "How do you throw a massless, frictionless rope?"
9. Tampax. I’ll spare you the details, but if you want the details, my friend’s blog pretty much sums it up: http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/09/10/one-of-my-favorite-pharmacies/
10. Not getting a headache from reading signs. The Cyrillic alphabet wears me out, plus I sound like a kindergartner when I read: p-ar-k… p-ar-k-e…n-g. Parking. Yep, “parking” in Bulgarian is “parking” and it only took me 15 seconds to figure that one out.
I’m not a Negative Nelly, so here are some things I find I like better:
1. My washing machine. My clothes are really clean. I love it J2. I get lots of 4 day weekends that I use to travel around Europe.
3. Bread. Lots and lots of bread.
4. Doners (chicken, cabbage, French fries, some sort of sauce, all wrapped in a pita-type thing)
5. Mega Extreme Bowling. This is the name of the place. How could it be bad? Plus, I had a score over 100 there, and that is nothing less than a miracle.
6. The hot chocolate at Onda (the coffee shop in the school). It is like drinking a melted Hershey bar. I try not to buy it too often.
7. Mountains with lots of trails.
8. Teacher intramural soccer against the students. We will dominate.
9. Large pizzas for 10 lev ($7).
10. Being able to see the Science Building from my front door. If I want to be at school by 7:30, I have to leave my house by 7:28. Some people may not like this, but I think it is great.
A brief mention of something I like the same: McDonald’s French fries. They taste the same everywhere, which is really nice. Sometimes you just need reliable.
