4-19-01

Spring Break and Returning to Bulgaria

Well, we’re finally back from our long hiatus that included our mid-service medical check-up, a language conference with other volunteers, and then finally off to Greece for our spring break. It all spanned more than two weeks and it was a welcome break from life here in Silistra. Bulgaria seems to be doubly green than when we left and the sun has been shining brightly. Winter seemed to be trying to do its best to hold on to the coming Spring when we left, but it now seems to be gone. Can I hear an “Amen?”

Greece is an incredible country – we managed to cover a lot of it in a about a week. We took the night train from Sofia to Thessolaniki and were very surprised by the city. Kate and I both thought that we could live there (if we spoke Greek!). We saw a concert at one of the churches on the eve of Palm Sunday and it felt like an outdoor concert back in Columbus. People were scattered all about outside since the church was packed and the music was amplified out in the courtyard of the church. We couldn’t believe how completely different the world became just across the border. An abundance of everything – food, material things, stores, and so much more. There was a greater national pride that was apparent immediately. There was no envy of us when we mentioned that we were Americans – simply another small group of tourists, dropping their bucks as they go site seeing.

After Thessolaniki, Kate and I headed on to the island of Crete. We stayed for a while on in the city of Heraklion, which was anything but a quiet island town. We managed to visit a well-known archaelogical site – the Palace of Knossos, just outside of Heraklion. It was mobbed by tourists, even though it’s not even peak season yet. Still, it was fascinating. We decided, at the last minute to visit another town, Hania, on the edge of the island. We were really glad that we did – the place was much less crowded and less city-like, but our hotel room was right next to the bars and we were awake until about 4am, listening to people walk by and drive their puttering mopeds by. Even so, we got up early and made the most of our day before we had to get back to Heraklion to catch a ferry to the island of Santorini, or Thira. Hania was full of great little alleys and sidewalks that were made for people, not cars.

On Santorini, we relaxed the most. We had three days to hang out and eat some good food. We arrived really late, about 12:30am, and after shooing away all the creepy guys who try to sell you a room for “real cheap” as we got off the ferry, we found a bus to the main town, Fira and then a taxi on to our hotel. When we got to the hotel, no one was there and we started to walk on to try to find another. But down the street came a woman half-walking, half-running, saying “Allo! Allo!” She welcomed us into our room for the next three nights with a big smile and showed us where the extra blankets were if we got cold. We woke up the next morning to a view over the calderas that was amazing – blue water, blue sky, white washed homes and buildings, and steep cliffs directly over the water. We went out and we kept thinking how amazing it was to be there – it just seemed too good, too beautiful. Over the next thee days, we managed to get to the beaches three times and got to an archaeological dig that is still under way and more than 7000 years old. On Good Friday a woman asked us if we wanted to see something interesting and she pointed us to the central church. We soon joined a procession all over town with lit candles. All along the way there were people buring incense on the porches of their homes, splashing watered-down perfume on us, and the boys were lighting off fireworks. At the head of the procession were the priests and the choir, who kept the chanting going. We also saw a sirroco, which is a storm that comes out of the Sahara and rains down dust and sand on southern Europe. We were soon covered with little mud-dots.

Our last day was in Athens and we didn’t arrive until 3am on Easter Sunday morning, because our ferry was three hours late. We got to see Athens at night, from the Aegean Sea – pretty cool. After finally finding our hotel with a not so directionally-gifted taxi driver, we slept for a few hours and then got up to a rainy morning which soon thereafter cleared. Too bad for us, but all the sights were closed because it was Easter, but we still got to see all the main attractions (from a distance) – the Acropolis, the Olympic Stadium, and more. It seemed that the only people out that day were tourists and the people who were making money from the tourists.

We arrived back to Sofia on Monday morning to snow(!) and I soon remembered why Bulgaria isn’t like Greece, even though it has every potential to attract tourism just like Greece. Upon arrival, we looked for a taxi to take us to the bus station but all the drivers were trying to rip us off, so I asked a lady at a counter to call us a taxi. She said she couldn’t and when I asked where I could ask someone call us a taxi, she said “nowhere.” I quickly remembered that I was back in a country that is still carrying its suspicions of outsiders and makes very little effort to help visitors find their way around. And in the center of Sofia a couple guys in a car were relentlessly honking their horn at a girl in a short skirt until they had to go through the intersection. I soon remembered that I was back in a country where women are expected to have a full-time job, raise the children, cook, clean, and be a loyal and loving wife, all at the same time. Even the stray dogs and cats in Greece are better cared for and don’t cower in fear when you scuff your feet against the pavement. It seemed to us that the Greeks took pride in taking care of their animals – but it seems that Bulgarians take their anger out on the stray animals. Coming back, Bulgaria seemed to me like a tight-knit family that has grown sick of each other, and wants to move on, but is too afraid to open itself to new opportunities.

-Josh