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Thursday, Nov. 15th, 2001
www.cockeyed.com

I was awoken around midnight by what sounded like a fight between Sachico and his wife. They were yelling at each other on the floor below mine. Luckily I couldn't understand what they were saying or I would have been up for hours eavesdropping. I imagined it was was an argument about my laundry, and drifted off to sleep. I was up early, showered and dressed by 8am. Unfortunately, I was dressed in the same thing as the day before, on account of my missing laundry. I took the tram to the center of town. I passed by a hotel with a digital temp/time display and it showed 1 degree. At least it wasn't raining. Every time the doors of the tram opened a blast of icy wind came in. I was wearing gloves and my orange jacket with a hood.

I had breakfast at a "Goodies" and then went immediately to the internet cafe for more coffee and email. It was about 80 cents an hour for access to the net. Next I went shopping and got myself a pair of $20 shoes. The woman at the shoe store had black hair and blue eyes, which is quite rare where I come from, but all over the place in Sofia. Overall, in fact, I would say that the women of Sofia are extraordinarily beautiful. I began to wonder if my charm could break through the language barrier.
Thursday was a day of walking around, taking photos. I went to the sculpture park, more outdoor markets and regular retail stores. I took 65 photos that day, slowly getting a feel for the layout of the town.

I went home for a stretch when it got dark, then I braved the cold night to try a bar. I went to an Irish place called "the Shamrock" but was bored stiff before I finished my first Guinness. The beer was 4.5 lev, and the waiter just kept the change from my 5. I was annoyed at first, but got over it when I realized it was only about 21 US cents.

I walked around half-frozen, looking for excitement. Just as I was about to give up I found a little gem: a pirate ship tavern! There was a pirate welcoming me into this ship's hull-shaped 2-story interior. I practically ran inside.

The walls were pine and there were fish tanks along one wall. It was really cool, but it made me homesick for the piratey antics of Daniel and Mike. I had one beer and caught the tram home.

I didn't see Sachko or his wife at all that day. I wondered what was going on...Ok, actually I just wanted my laundry.

Friday, Nov. 16th, 2001

I got up late and ran into Sachko. I told him I was staying a couple more days, but that I needed my laundry.
He brought it by and left me smiling.

Sofia...it isn't like Morocco, where things were never developed, in Post-communist Bulgaria, there are modern things, like a tram, elevators, large malls and sculptures, but most of them are falling apart & covered with patches or rust. Also it is dirt cheap. This morning I got a small coffee at a cafe before I got on the tram. The coffee was twelve cents and the tram is 20 cents. I bought a packet of tissue for 10 cents, and a bottle of coke at a restaurant for 50 cents. Marlboros are $1.05 but Bulgarian cigarettes are as little as 30 cents a pack. I tipped a waiter a dollar and one of the other waiters ran out after me to make sure I came back again.

I also met the new tenants at the hotel, a Welch guy, a Spanish guy and Greek guy. They had come north from Greece to buy marijuana and go clubbing for the weekend. They said it was a lot less strict here in Bulgaria, although they had no intention of trying to smuggle some back to Greece. I made them promise to tell me what the price was here when they found out.

I met two Peace Corps Volunteers at the internet cafe, I was probably a little too friendly because I was so desperate to speak English to someone. I made them circle places on my Bulgarian map where they thought I might enjoy myself.

It was still cold, but the sky was clear, so wandering around wasn't too horrible. I tried to scout out the location of a club in town called "Lipstick", but I couldn't find it. It was going to be techno anyway, so I figured I wasn't going to miss much.

I ran across the Natural History and Science museum, paid a dollar and spent an hour inside. They had some nice live cockroach displays and a typical array of canned or stuffed wildlife. The top floor was devoted to trees and insects. It reminded me of a See's Candy shop until you got a look at what was in the glass cases.

I also found a medium-sized sculpture tucked away in the city, with six figures in "defensive struggle" poses. I got really close to get a few pictures and found a little dust-shadow where the hammer and sickle had been removed!

I walked really far on Friday, but my legs didn't get tired until the very end. My camera lasted too.

I cruised by the stadium-like National Culture Center. It was like a stadium, but it was at the end of a pedestrian mall, instead of in the middle of a huge parking lot. They were setting up a crummy carnival spot for the weekend.

I went home for a while and the hotel door was answered by Sachko's wife. She was holding a napkin over her right eye. She acted like nothing was wrong and so did I. I can't imagine she's got a lot of options, but I decided to stay out of it.

At night I gave up on cultural immersion and went to an American bar called "Stateside". It was nice. I met the owner and he made me feel at home. There was a band, and people were in a great mood, speaking both English and Bulgarian. I especially liked one waitress, whose English was so good I had to ask where she was from.

I stayed late, missed the last tram, and took a taxi home.