A Broad Abroad: Last Days in Sunny Stara

I'm wrapping up my last weekend here in Stara Zagora. I leave Wednesday afternoon for Sofia, where I'll spend my last day before flying home. In five days and fourteen hours, I'll be landing in Chicago. Before heading out, I've been trying to enjoy my last few days here by spending as much time out in the city as possible. On Friday, I paid a visit to Viktor Tattoo where I added some more ink to my collection. I went with the Bulgarian phrase "zashto ne," which means "why not." It's been my philosophy for the last year, and I think it is an excellent one. I'm still young and have plenty of time to explore the world, and I like being confident and independent enough that when opportunities arise, I respond with "why not."

After visiting Viktor, I had lunch with my mentor, Tanya, ran a few errands, and then had dinner with one of my colleagues, Sylvia. As my time comes to an end, I'm trying to have dinner and chat with as many of my new friends and colleagues as I can. Tuesday night, I will be getting together with a large chunk of the English department at my school to have dinner and say goodbye.

When Saturday rolled around, I had a special visitor in the form of my friend, Hillary. We went to the market in Dimitrovgrad (about an hour away) in the morning, and then spent the afternoon in Stara. We had champagne for lunch and then visited both malls in town for some last minute shopping. I finally bought some clothes for myself! It's a really cute top and pants that I'll wear out on our last night in Sofia. After hitting the malls, we wandered over to the old Roman ampitheater to frolic amongst the ruins. And by frolic, I mean sit on top of them and enjoy the sunset. As the sun finished setting, we went out for a long and relaxed dinner before grabbing a drink at Drums, a local bar where all the ex-pats hang out. This morning, we grabbed some palachinki (pancakes with filling - I prefer chocolate). It was nice to have Hillary come visit because it gave me a chance to wander my town with someone for the last time and to go out to some of the restaurants I wanted to try before I left. It was also great to see her again before we leave.