And it has really been sizzling. It hasn’t been as hot as the Midwest (106o
F for 2 straight weeks for my sister) but it has been in the upper 90’s and I
realized I have never lived in a place that so closely approximates a brick
oven. Campus, with its glorious trees is
probably close to 10o’s cooler than Mladost and the Centre.
Well, school finally ended!
With the exception of the failing student that had to take a comprehensive
year test and pass to transfer to another school (weird law), I haven’t touched
school-related things in nearly two weeks!
It’s great! It almost makes me
forget how much I hate the last 2 weeks of school with its mountains of forms
and grading.
With that behind us, we decided to check our Boom Burger for
the 4th of July. It is as
close to an American hamburger as you can get in Sofia (or so I hear. I don’t eat cow). It isn’t cheap but, it is authentic. Cheese, bacon, sauce, and the BEST French fries
(they were so good- it’s a good thing it’s an expensive place to eat). I attempted to get the Boom Burger with
chicken instead of beef. When my
sandwich came, it was not the Boom Burger (it was missing bacon), but it was
still good, whatever it was.
After eating gorging ourselves at Boom Burger, we got
ice cream (yep, but as my cousin says, “Ice cream really isn’t that filling.”)
and went to the park to check out “Chicago Days.” They had a blues band, but I wasn’t a huge
fan. I didn’t like their singing, though
their instruments sounded good. I might
be a little spoiled in the blues department, having moved here from Kansas
City.
On the 7th of July, the American Chamber of
Commerce 4th of July Party took place on campus. It was an event. Two days before, at least 10 tents (including
a giant pavilion) were erected on campus, along with soda fridges, carnival
rides for kids, outdoor lighting, and probably 100 picnic tables (I am not
exaggerating). Oh! And a stage with a
dance floor in front. It was pretty
incredible.
Starting at noon on the 7th, my roommate were
subjected to what turned out to be 5 hours of sound checks. 5 hours.
“Hey. Hey. Hey, Ross.”
Over and over and over again.
Scattered in bass and guitar riffs and pieces of 80’s (naturally)
songs. I was so glad when the party
started so the noise would have some sort of direction. I don’t remember the band’s name that played,
but they are opening for Guns N’Roses when they come to Sofia this summer, so
they were pretty good.
Now, on to the food.
With your ticket to get into the party (which all school employees got
for free) you got a lot of free food. At
the McDonald’s tent, you got a bag with fries, chicken nuggets, a cheeseburger,
and a salad (to cancel the effect of the previous things???). At the McCafe tent (because they were
different): ICE CREAM SUNDAE! You could also get free pop (or water, in my
case), free hamburgers (not for me), cupcakes, other dessert things, and, as
quoted from the ticket, “Lots of Beer” (blah).
There were hundreds of people there and perhaps some rope to
keep them out of our yards is needed for next year. I came
out my front door and saw strangers sitting at our picnic table. The president of the school also yelled at
some people that were peeing in our backyard (and they were American… eyeroll). Not to mention all the people generally inspecting
our homes. I understand that I live in a
very unique place, but it’s disconcerting to have a lot of strangers milling around
your house, looking in the windows.
Overall, it was fun. Today, I leave for Brussels and then I’m off
to Norway and I’m coming home via Greece (believe it or not, this was the
cheapest way to fly). So, more to
come. Also, I’ll have to write a belated
post about my adventures in Serbia. I
might have my blog updated by the end of August. We’ll see….
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| St. Nedyla Church, Sofia |
