Man's best friend, indeed
Laura Butterbrodt
Multimedia Journalist
Bulgaria Week 10 & 11
March 19-April 1, 2018
Saturday, March 31
1:30 p.m.
Last week I skipped my blog because the week was pretty uneventful. Other than trying to readjust to school and trying to get over my cold, the only big thing we did all week was celebrate Alli’s 21st birthday. She wasn’t looking forward to celebrating her birthday in Bulgaria because it isn’t exactly her favorite place, so all of the exchange (and some full-time) students teamed up to help give her a surprise party at midnight on her birthday.
We all hung out in the lobby of my floor, which is our typical place to spend our evenings. We had balloons, a banner and cake hidden in Ana’s room, and I was given the task to take Alli to my room and distract her just before midnight while everyone else decorated the lobby. I’ve never been so stressed! She quite obviously did not want to spend the first minute of her birthday in my bathroom, so I had to do a lot of convincing to get her to come with me. When we came back to the lobby, though, she was really surprised! I was so happy that we were able to help her enjoy her birthday.
This week was really unproductive for me. I wasn’t feeling well at the beginning of the week and had to miss a few classes because I was too exhausted to get out of bed. I am feeling much better now, though!
I was selected a few weeks ago to be an official blogger for ISEP, my exchange program. So that’s exciting! The format of those blogs will be a little different from this blog since they’re targeted more toward students considering studying abroad, so I will be sure to link to those posts as they go up later in the month.
Other good news: I got my grade back for the audio story about the tattoo artist. Elsa and I got an A!! I was really happy with the way it turned out.
On Thursday night I went to the AUBG musical, Spring Awakening, with Lea and Eliza. It was a great production! The storyline was not what I was expecting at all, but we really enjoyed it. The music and dancing were great!
Now am I am in Greece! Alli and Maddie’s teacher is leading a trip through the northern part of Greek Macedonia (not to be confused with the Republic of Macedonia). So far I am IN LOVE!!
Yesterday we learned about Phillip II, and stopped in Vergina to see the ancient tomb where Phillip was buried. No photos were allowed in the tomb/museum, but it was really interesting to see.
Burial mound above the tombs/museum
After that we continued to Kastoria, which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I am so in love!! It’s a peninsula in a lake surrounded by mountains. It was established for the beaver fur trade (Kastoria basically means beaver town). I have never felt so at home anywhere in Europe! I can definitely see myself living there.
The trip itself is one of the least organized things I have ever experienced. We don’t know when we are supposed to be doing anything or where we are going, and even our “guide” has no idea where she is going. It’s definitely an adventure, but I’m just along for the ride. So far we’ve spent most of our time in the bus, but the views are really amazing so I can’t complain. Plus, great opportunities for nap time! Having no idea what’s going on is really exhausting. It doesn’t help that us three girls are the only ones who don’t speak Bulgarian, so I’m sure that’s part of the reason we don’t know what the plan is ever.
We have been pretty much off the grid since we left Bulgaria. Our hotel’s wifi hardly worked, so we’re hoping our hotel tonight will have a better connection. We might be dependent on our technology, but it’s also been nice to kind of lose ourselves in the mountains.
Right now we’re back on the bus, headed to another lake, but I don’t know what it’s called, where it is or how far we have left to go. I will update you later if I ever find out. :)
Sunday, April 1
2:30 p.m.
Happy Easter! Since this region celebrates Orthodox Easter, I get my Easter break next weekend. It’s technically Palm Sunday here in Greece. We are currently on our bus, and I am assuming we are lost in the mountains because we have gone up and down this mountain twice and the teacher said we would be at our next stop “in about 15 minutes” more than an hour ago. At this point, asking what’s going on just makes us more confused, and everyone is only speaking Bulgarian unless we ask, so we have just given up on asking.
Yesterday I did figure out where we ended up going. First we stopped at Lake Prespa, which is a huge lake in the mountains that’s in the corner where Albania, Macedonia (the country) and Greece meet. It was so gorgeous in those mountains! I am really enjoying the lakes because they bring me a sense of familiarity.
We walked over a long bridge (described as “shaky but romantic”) to get to an island on Lake Prespa that used to be the capital of Macedonia back in Phillip II times (I believe). The island, Agios Achilios, currently has 21 residents and the ruins of a Byzantine church.
Spotted on the island.... why????
After that we went to get supper (even though Maddie, Alli and I weren’t hungry and would have rather explored the island more). We went to a fish restaurant in a nearby town, but I just got chicken. So far every meal we have had has been a serving of meat with a side of French fries. Can a girl just get a gyro?!
We then boarded the bus again to go to our hotel for the evening. We arrived around 10 p.m. so it was dark and we couldn’t see the area we were in at all, but I could hear water nearby. We were basically on the border with Macedonia. We left to go to another restaurant for another portion of meat and fries. We got back to the hotel around 12:30, and thankfully had a wifi signal so we were able to briefly communicate with the outside world.
When we got up this morning we were able to explore around the hotel, which was above a village and along a river. We saw someone herding goats up the hill across the river and we had a nice, if not slightly menacing view, of some cliffs above us.
FINALLY a salad!!!
This morning was the first time I felt any kind of culture shock this weekend, and I really felt like I was somewhere in South America rather than Greece. Ever since, I have been really disoriented and have no idea where I am (but I don’t think that’s entirely my fault).
We left for Edessa, a town with a big waterfall, where we just stopped for some photos and a little ice cream cone before getting back on the bus. Now we have been on here for an hour and a half, even though we were told we would be at the former temple of Alexander the Great after about 20 minutes. The good thing is that the entire trip has had a constant view of mountains on all sides. I never thought I was a big fan of mountains until this semester, but now they bring me a lot of comfort. I think they remind me of my view from my temporary home in Blago :’)
Alli, Maddie and I were talking about how we are really happy we came on this trip because it’s been the most scenery I’ve seen this semester and it’s a really authentic trip rather than just hitting the big tourist spots that everyone has heard of. I’ve also learned a lot about early Macedonian history. I am just extremely frustrated with the group we are traveling with and am tired of waiting for people who are running on “Bulgarian time.” I thought Butterbrodt time was running late, but Bulgarian time is so much worse!! I have never been on time this much in my life, and I’m usually ready about an hour and a half earlier than the rest of the group. Not to mention the fact that we don’t know where we are going once everyone is finally ready.
At this point, us girls are anxious to get home so we can call our families. It’s Easter Sunday at home, and even though it doesn’t feel like Easter here at all, I am really missing home, family and the thought of all the delicious food being eaten. I bet it’s a lot more exciting than meat and fries. Not that I’m bitter.
Monday, April 2
11:40 a.m.
We made it home!! It was pretty late, I think around 11 last night, but I was never happier to see the cross glowing on the mountain as we drove into Blagoevgrad.
We did end up finding the ruins of Pella and a museum dedicated to Alexander the Great and the archaeological finding at the ruins. I didn’t get any pictures though because the ruins themselves were mostly just foundation blocks and a few reconstructed pillars. The city of Pella itself was bigger than the Acropolis in Athens when it was still populated.
We stopped at a restaurant to hear a talk from Lubo Kanov, who lived through Bulgarian communism and was imprisoned and tortured for expressing his dislike of the communist rule. He studied medical sciences and psychiatry and escaped to Canada and later the United States. He taught himself English and became a very successful psychiatrist in New York for many years, before recently returning to Bulgaria. His story was so interesting! It was so shocking to hear about the torture he endured, like being forced to stay isolated in a four-foot square cell with spikes on the walls to prevent him from leaning against them. I was so glad we had the opportunity to hear him share his story, and it was especially interesting for me because I don’t know much at all about the communist history of Bulgaria.
After he finished telling his story we were finally headed home. I was so exhausted! Even though the majority of our trip was just us sitting on a bus, the constant state of moving and the amount of information we tried to digest really wore me out. I was so happy to get home and call my family on Easter! It was hard not being there with them, but at the same time I am really glad that I spent my weekend seeing places in Greece that I most likely would have never had the opportunity to see otherwise.
As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the photos of some of the most beautiful places I could have ever dreamed. One of the reasons I chose to study in Bulgaria was how close it is to Greece, and I'm so glad I was able to see so much of it. If anyone is ever planning to take a trip to Kastoria, please let me know and take me with you! :)
Love from Bulgaria,
Laura