Block City....

I am living on my own for the very first time. This meaning I do not have roommates. To make things even lonelier, I live an old communist style block apartment that just looks big and scary from the outside and proves to be cold on the inside. I live in a type of block city. Not Stara Zagora itself, but when you walk outside my apartment you see nothing but other towering blocks. Well, the following are just a few things I have had to get acquainted with.


When I first arrived, I already had a few friends – critters. Just a few cockroaches and other creepy crawly things I have never seen. But with a few raid traps and cleaning, they have slowly disappeared. And if they come back, these critters may serve as a good play toy for the kitten one of my students is getting for me.

Its not only the bugs that intrude in your life, but it is sometimes even the people. I happen to live on the first floor. In the states this would really freak me out but according to Peace Corps standards, I am required to have a big metal door, and bars on my windows and balcony. So I really have nothing to worry about, right? Wrong. I like the idea of having a balcony. I don’t think I ever have before so it is a bit of a treat. EXCEPT….for my nosy neighbors. Being on the first floor allows those that sit on the Baba benches to peer into my daily life. The minute I am out on my balcony, they say hello or just stare. (Staring is also very popular among people here.) But I think these Babas (aka, grannies) are more curious than anything. Which of course I don’t mind, but sometimes you just want your own space, your own privacy. But at the end of the day I just have to remind myself that is why I am here…for Bulgarians to learn about me and vise versa.

What else can be said about these commie apartments? Random people will knock on my door or ring my buzzer. Initially I am a bit startled especially when this knock comes at 10:30 at night. But I look in my peep hole and realize it is just the cable guy collecting that month’s bill or the meter readers wanting to check the water meter. I usually wait until I hear my other neighbors opening their door to make sure these people are legit. Although, during my first or second week here, the cable guy came round and I thought he was trying to scam me. I tried to convey to him that I will pay the cable office rather than him. He couldn’t quite understand me so he left and hasn’t been back since.

I am sure I will come across more strange occurrences that wont seem so strange after all. But for now it is all very strange to me.