Home Alone...

...is my all time favorite Christmas movie. Yes, Home Alone (with little Macaulay Culkin.) This 1990 classic always brings a smile to my face. And throughout the year you can find me quoting different scenes from the movie.

One of my favorite scenes is when the family just ordered pizza and Kevin's big brother ate all the cheese pizza. He pushes him causing him to spill milk all over the table. Kevin's big scary uncle stands up and says... "Look what you did you little jerk!" I dont know why, but I just love that line.

Another favorite is when Kevin is in the house all by himself and he orders pizza. The pizza man comes to the back door and Kevin plays an old classic mobster movie saying "Leave it on the doorstep and get the hell out of here." And the scene continues until finally Kevin plays the movie and the villan says "I'm gonna give you to the count of ten to get your no good yella belly off my property. One....two.....ten. (bang bang bang, sound of gunshots, and Kevin lighting fireworks in a pot near the dog door.)" And the pizza man runs off, terrified.

Ahhh...you gotta love Home Alone. It is definately a Christmas classic. (It beats out "Its a Wonderful Life" or "The Christmas Story" any day.)

Well, I am off. Have a very merry christmas!!!

Rat-like haircut...or new vogue???

Ever wonder what it would be like to get a hair cut in a foreign country where you dont "really" speak the language?

Well, I have had the fortunate opportunity to experience such a thing.

Just the other night, I went to my regular lady and got a hair cut..and color. I go back to the same lady as I trust her and the fact that she has never completely screwed me over...well, until now. It was all going well until the end. She colored and cut my hair just the way I wanted. But then....she decided to cut a bit too much off the top. And I ended up with "rat bangs". I am sure there is a better way of describing my haircut..maybe something like bulgarka-mod (bulgarian-shiek). But I just dont know. It is hard to tell when your hair seems to be cut in no fashion whatsoever...and just chopped off with a machete. You decide.

Are they rat-like bangs, or is it the new cover of vogue??

Carol of the Bells...

So for the past week, I have been dowloading, listening to, and driving myself crazy with Christmas carols. But my students love them, and therefore I love that they love them. We have a whole array of songs and artists. Everything from the Muppets and John Denver, to Alvin and the Chipmunks, to George Michael, to Mariah Carey, to Frank Sinatra and more. It has been a joyous week -- the last week before the holiday break.

But one of my absolute favorite Chirstmas carols is the Carol of the Bells. This is the song in Home Alone (my favorite Christmas movie) when Kevin is in the church and the choir of kids is singing. It is a beautiful song and not the usual "Rudolf" or "Jingle Bells" or "Let it Snow." Enjoy the lyrics below (and go watch the movie to see what I am talking about).

Carol Of The Bells

Hark how the bells,
sweet silver bells,
all seem to say,
throw cares away.

Christmas is here,
bringing good cheer,
to young and old,
meek and the bold.

Oh how they pound,
raising the sound,
o'er hill and dale,
telling their tale.

Gaily they ring
while people sing
songs of good cheer,
Christmas is here.

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas.
On on they send ,
on without end,
their joyful tone to every home
Dong Ding dong ding, dong Bong.

and the lights go out...

The Sofia news recently reported that Sofia will switch off the Christmas lights in medics' compassion. On Christmas Eve, Sofia will switch off lights on the streets for five minutes and citizens are invited to do the same in a move of compassion with five Bulgarian medics sitting on death row in Libya.

The proposal tabled by Sofia Mayor Boyko Borissov envisions that all illumination, Christmas decoration and advertisements go dark from 7 pm to 7:05 pm to express Bulgarians' protest against this injustice. For the eighth year in a row five Bulgarian medics meet Christmas in jail. And just on Monday, they heard for the second time that they are sentenced to death by a firing squad. This decision has plunged the trial into a non-ending ordeal.



The episode began in February 1998 when the nurses arrived to take up jobs in Lybia. Soon after they arrived, children at the hospital began testing positive for HIV. And that is when authorities realized they had a major problem. An investigation concluded that the infections came from the wards where the Bulgarian nurses had been assigned. The Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were arrested on charges for deliberately infecting more than 400 children with the virus. The nurses say they were tortured into confessing their guilt. But international experts concluded that the virus appreared before the nurses’ arrival and was probably spread by contaminated needles.

Currently Bulgaria and the International community are working together to get the nurses out of there. They have been sitting in a prison for 8 years now, and it will continue to take time to resolve this issue.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

...Ev'rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow...


So, I have clearly gone crazy from listening to too many carol songs in class. But it really is starting to look like Christmas. This morning, Bulgaria finally recieved its first snowflakes for this winter season. This doesnt quite delight me as I am a Cali girl at heart, and I dont think it delights the many travellers coming and going from the Sofia airport, but I am sure it makes most Bulgarians happy as we may just have a white Christmas afterall.

(*Please Note: Pictured above is the early morning snowfall in a small town in the north. My friend sent me the picture as it has not actually started snowing in Stara Zagora as aof yet. )

Twinkle Lights...year 2.

Winter in Bulgaria. I hate it. It is so cold, drab and dreary (and any other dark word you can think of). And this year, it hasnt even really begun yet. We have had only one brief snow fall here in Stara Zagora, but nothing stuck. But as much as I hate the winter here in Bulgaria, there are two things I like best about it. First, I love how the snow makes the grey and dirty country seem like a winter wonderland. And second, I love the holiday twinkle likes. And life just got a little better. I can honstly say that I love the twinkle lights that come along with winter and the holidays. And Stara Zagora just got into the spirit of things.

So, you know the guy in the states who goes overboard with decorating his house for the holidays? Well, in Bulgaria, the municipality building is that guy. I think they may love twinkle lights more than I do. I think you can see the glow of the lights from a mile away.

I think I may just decorate my terrace with lights again this year. This country can always use a little more cheery light. i HEART twinkle lights!

Opera: Barber of Seville

Last night I had my pearls on, and my crystal binnoculars in hand as I entered the Stara Zagora theater. It was a night at the opera. Yes, the opera. Man, sometimes you just gotta love the Peace Corps life. (But really, I didnt have pearls or binnoculars, but that is what I immediately thought of. My mind went strait to "Pretty Woman". I know you know what scene I am referring to.) Anyways, a friend and I went to the Barber of Seville. This is apparantly a very famous opera, but being that I am not a huge opera buff, I wouldnt have known either way.

Here is a synopsis of the opera I found online...

"When is a barber more than a mere barber? When he's Figaro, the charming master of disguise and deception, plotting to help the young lovers Rosina and Count Almaviva fend off her unwanted suitor and guardian, Dr. Bartolo. Employed by both Rosina and Count Almaviva, the clever Barber of Seville outsmarts them all, but not without a touch of masquerade and mayhem."

The Barber of Seville was written by Gioacchino Antonio Rossini. Although the opera was originally sung in Italian, last night it was sung in Bulgarian. Who knew the Bulgarian language could be so melodic. I thourouly enjoyed the music and speed-of-light singing. (I just wish I went on a day where there wasnt a class field trip. The kids would not stop talking!) But enjoyable nonetheless.

a strange love...

So, I have this really strange love for walls, doors and windows. But not just any walls, doors or windows. They have to be very old and very colorful. I will spot a wall or whatever, remember that spot, and go back and take about 10 pictures of the same thing from several different angle. I dont know what it is. Maybe it is the fact that even when something is so old and falling apart, it can still have so much color and life. Here are a couple of my favorites around Stara Zagora.

These are the kind of photos I will take home with me and frame. It is not quite the traditional picture perfect scenery, but these photos have a unique personality that can tell you so much about a place.

Hope you enjoy.

Ah, my cat...

So, I have a bulgarian cat. I have had said cat since July 2005. His name is Costa, which usually makes Bulgarians laugh since they usually give their pets more American sounding names like Bob, or Fluffy, or whatever. You get the point. And that is not even the point of my story. So, to continue, Costa has been such a good companion over the past year and a half. But man is he a handful.

First, he got kidney stones. Dont ask me how, maybe it was the food, and maybe it was the water. Either way, he is now spoiled with distilled water that I drink, and special cat food that seems to cost me a fortune.


Second, he is such a whiner/pest. I set my alarm most mornings for 6:30 since class starts at 7:30. But really, there is no need. Costa already wakes me up between 4:30 and 5:30 begging for either food or water. This time is a bit awkward because I can never seem to fall back to sleep and if I do, it is right before my alarm really does go off.


And finally, he is such a trouble maker. I cant leave the little guy alone for a minute. Recently, I went out of town for the weekend thinking that I could leave Costa alone in the apartment. Afterall, cats are independent and pretty low maintanence. Upon my return, I noticed he wasnt walking normal. The cat had a bum leg! Can you believe it? He was limping all over the apartment. I took him to the vet (who probably thinks I am the worst pet owner, but that is beside the point, considering most Bulgarians could care less about the stray animal population.) So, anyways, the vet took some X-rays and discovered he partially fractured his toe. Now tell me, how does a cat do that? The vet gave me some medicine and instructed me to monitor the situation. As of now, Costa is still limping, but remains his usual playful self. I will take him to the vet tomorrow and see what the vet says.


But at the end of the day, I am still so happy with my little friend and cant imagine Bulgaria without him. Dont worry folks, you will have the chance to meet him when I bring him home with me (he even has a kitty passport.)

On a side note, doesnt this picture of Costa look like a glamour shot you would take in the mall with your family. He would be worth it!

Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop...

So, I am apparently blog happy right now. And why shouldnt I be. I need to make up for lost time. And, not to mention the weather outside is getting colder and colder and I just dont want to go anywhere. This post really has nothing to do with Bulgaria or Peace Corps, but it brings a smile to my face. Do you remember the movie "Big"??? Well, if so, then you will surely remember this:



The space goes down, down baby. Down, down the roller coaster. Sweet, sweet baby. Sweet, sweet, don't let me go. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. I met a girlfriend - a triscuit. She said, a triscuit - a biscuit. Ice cream, soda pop, vanilla on the top. Ooh, Shelly's out, walking down the street, ten times a week. I read it. I said it. I stole my momma's credit. I'm cool. I'm hot. Sock me in the stomach three more times.

-David Moscow (Josh) and Jared Rushton (Billy) in Big, 1988.