Bulgaria

So Mike, Croutons or Sunflower Seeds?

Recently, when on the topic of buffets (I have no idea) with a couple friends, we learned that a friend of theirs had recently seen Mike Shanahan at Souper Salad. This news was disturbing. I’ll even call it disappointing. Why is it that I cared? Why is it that I have such disdain for the [...]

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I Quit

I’ve always been one of those annoying people who follow through. I call people back. I complete the course. I finish my taxes on time. In fact, discovering that the world was full of people who tended to flake was incredibly annoying. But as I learned in my business, it also meant I got credit, [...]

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Abdullah (Not His Real Name)

He had helped us find a taxi from the bus station to our Damascus hotel. It took longer to find kind strangers inSyria, but all we could do was argue with belligerent overcharging taxi drivers until someone intervened. A week later, we met Abdullah for dinner in the Arabic equivalent of Chili’s. Here, instead of [...]

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Purgatory

“I’m floating in the atmosphere now, neither committed nor free, happy nor sad, certain nor confused, as if God is holding the page between two chapters of my life and waiting for me to prepare. When in this position, I am extra impressionable. Soft. Malleable. Often feeling punctured, and wheezing for air. Just give me [...]

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The Last Burrito

We shared our last bit of Mexican ingredients with a couple Bulgarian friends. . . I think they enjoy this food as much as we do. It’s not exactly the same as home, but perhaps that’s the beauty of being abroad.

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The last laugh. . .

We are now on our 9th day without hot water. Yes, 9th! Oh, haven’t I mentioned it? No, I guess I’ve been too busy carrying the tea kettle between the bathroom and the kitchen; rubbing lotion all over my bloody, knicked, razor-burned legs; searching for some twinkle in my morning reflection that will justify not [...]

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Part Two: A Developing Country CAT Scan

After my MRI appeared with a mucus coating due to my cold, making it impossible to determine if my lungs were looking normal (required for TB testing), Peace Corps told me that they’d schedule a CT scan. I really thought little of this, assuming it was an advanced X-ray. A staffer would meet me at [...]

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The Only Guide I Can Find

I saw her first and I made that ultimate mistake. The one I made with both dogs. Meeting her eyes.I was always doing shit like that. Caught in a downpour with no umbrella and a twenty minute walk (too short for a taxi) my jeans were heavy and stiff. My hair damp, frail, attached to [...]

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Just some friendly photos. . .

Walking through the alley, in the rain, to reach the opera. . . Bulgarian friends Maya and Angel. . . Slurping up the spring water. . . Boris pausing between drum beats at an environmental protest rally. . .

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A Grey Kind of Anatomy. . .

Oh my. Recently, I took a trip to a Bulgarian medical facility for a chest x-ray (I’m fine Mom, really). So far, I’d been prodded, diagnosed and prescriptioned inside the Peace Corps office. But I’d heard the horror stories about the hospitals, been shocked at the descriptions of shoddy equipment and incompetent personnel. Yet nothing [...]

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