Man's best friend, indeed
Laura Butterbrodt
Multimedia Journalist
Bulgaria Week 4
February 5-12, 2018
Friday, February 9
5:30 p.m.
I have not been good at updating my blog at all this week! I’m currently writing on the bus on the way to the ski resort and spa in Dobrinishte for the weekend. Skiing is only open to experienced skiers, so I mostly am just going to hang out with friends and to spend time at the spa in the hotel.
This week was fairly standard. I think I’m finally getting into a routine with classes and working. I started at the writing center this week, where I am volunteering as a writing tutor. I was really nervous before I started because I sometimes have trouble looking at papers for organization and macro-edits instead of proofreading, but after my first session I found I actually enjoyed it. The girl I worked with started out very timid and wouldn’t even read her paper to me, and by the end of our hour-long session she was telling me all about her personal life and having trouble focusing on just her paper. I was so happy I was able to help her feel more comfortable. She also said I helped her a lot with her essay, which was the main goal anyway so I felt pretty good about that!
On Tuesday there was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I saw it while I was walking to class. The sun was setting behind the mountains and the clouds were perfect and the sky was pink and orange and I am SO SAD to report I was running late for class and therefore did not stop to take a picture. So many regrets!!
For my Writing for the Ear class we had a project due this week for the Vox poem project, which involved recording different people saying a poem and editing it together as one cohesive poem. I decided to talk to exchange students and do a poem about travel. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out:
The gang's all here and lookin fly
(Lea, Eliza, Ana, me for those studying for the quiz on my friends names)
Love Lea and Maddie <3
Sunday, February 11
11:30 p.m.
The trip to Dobrinishte was interesting… It was basically just a two day long party! There were about 40 AUBG students there, and most of us were exchange students.
The spa was pretty nice; there was a pool, Jacuzzi and three saunas that felt so good. I was a little disappointed because there wasn’t a very great view of the mountain like I expected. I also might be getting a little numb to the mountains because I see mountains on three sides every day from campus, which is so great!!
It snowed Saturday night, so it was a lot prettier this morning than it was yesterday in the rain. Reminds me a lot of being back in snowy MN! :)
DOBRINISHTE THO!!!!!!
I took this from the bus window if anyone was wondering about the weird lines in the foreground
I didn’t get to explore the city much because it was raining, so we walked to a restaurant for lunch on Saturday, and that was the only time I left the hotel the whole weekend. We saw such a cute little dog!! We decided he was a teenager (I guess?), but I hardly got any photos of the whole weekend. He wouldn't stop moving so I didn't get very good photos of him but I love him.
Can we just appreciate Lea's pattern combos as well
Aarya showing the dog the soccer game
When we got there Friday night we had a meal served at the hotel. It was supposed to be traditional Bulgarian food, and I was expecting it to be kind of fancy, but it was not that good. I hardly expect anything when I order food here because no matter where it comes from, it is never impressive. I have never craved Mexican food more in my life!! And also just good food in general.
I had a chicken filled with pickles and cheese or something along those lines. It was good, but it did not blow me away.
I woke up with strep throat on Saturday morning, so that put a little damper on the fun of the weekend. I am so tired! I stayed up so late and now am struggling to get anything done. I was assigned a lot of homework for the weekend, and I sure didn’t get anything done in Dobrinishte. Hopefully I can catch up!
I realize I have not been doing my best to keep my blog very updated and detailed. Maybe this week will be the one where I learn how to prioritize my time and get organized. Doubt it, but I can dream!
As always, thanks so much for reading along with my adventure in Bulgaria. I appreciate the time you spend to catch up with me!
Love from Bulgaria,
Laura
