ciao-ciao bulgaria!

Shaun~ Thank you for showing me one helluva time around Bulgaria. The past three weeks have been fantastic. Maybe I have told you this already, but I really can't thank you enough. I'm so glad I got to see where you live, what you do, and meet all your peoples. THANK YOU!

Friends of Shaun~ I am so glad I got to meet you! You are an incredible bunch of people and I feel very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to come kick it with you. You rock! In many, many ways.

Oh, and Shaun, your Bulgarian pronounciation is so much better than mine. Don't worry.

I'll miss you guys.

loveLOVE,
Carmel.

today may be Shaun's 24th birthday

but tomorrow we see THIS:



and yes, you should be jealous.

we are lost in a cave!

please go here:
http://shaunbryantwood.blogspot.com/



it's worth it.

faster than a bulgarian bus

We said good-bye to Jacob tonight. A couple of hours ago we saw him off at the bus station in a city close to Razgrad called Shuman. After being in Peace Corps Jordan for two years and three months, Jacob is starting a *long* journey back to his home in Portland.

We spent the day relaxing at Shaun's. Jacob packed. I slept. Around midday we headed out for the 50 minute bus ride to Shuman and were cheated out of some leva (the Bulgarian currency) from the bus driver. This is a common practice. He claimed to have heard us say we were going to a city called Varna. Shuman? Varna? Well, they do sound similar.

After a some beers, orange juice, fried mashed potatoes, pizza and coffee in Shuman, it was time for us to take Jacob back to the bus station. He was, understandably very nervous about getting to his flight in Sofia, a city that is a seven hour bus ride away. We were about to send him on his own to negotiate a taxi in Sofia in Bulgarian in a corrupt system armed with a piece of paper that said "How much to the airport?"

It made me nervous, too.

As we stood outside of the bus, Jacob ready to board, Shaun saw a Bulgarian man who he works with sometimes. The man was traveling to the Sofia airport to go to London and offered to travel with Jacob from the bus station to the airport.

"Sometimes," Jacob said with relief, "I believe in god."

There were not as many tears as I expected. This, I do believe, is a good thing.


We said our goodbyes, waved him off, and then Shaun and I headed for a taxi to take us to the interstate towards Razgrad. And then we asked him to leave us there.

We stood on the side of the road, thumbs out, hopeful. There were no more busses to Razgrad. The taxi would have cost us 35 Leva. Our taxi driver had been dour about our chances but we chalked it up to him wanting to score a few bucks.

"It's 7:30," I told Shaun. "I'll time it to see how long it takes."

We were stared at by people with full cars, people with empty cars, and a couple truck drivers. One waved his hand as if to say "I'm sorry." I cooed to Shaun that someone was apologetic. Then the apologetic truck driver pulled over and Shaun and I ran our asses over to his cab.

We had waited a whole half a minute and got back to Razgrad faster than any bus we have taken. Including a one kilometer walk.


Thank you, tired, caffeinated, nicotined Truck Driver. I hope you get some sleep soon.

in the little American apartment in Bulgaria

We have listened to more American Pop music than I have listened to in two to three years. Which, actually, is the last time I got to see both Shaun and Jacob (my Peace Corps friends) together.

In the past two days, we have really only talked about female pop stars and the upcoming Presidential race. So much for leaving America over the ocean!

Would you like a little taste of our recent YouTube splurges?
Of course you would!

For your viewing pleasure, we have:
some Paula - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN-Qq2umKZo
some Janet - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhbLbBpn7II
some Beyonce - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-qiZhOFQMQ


And last, but certainly not least...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skV28D0jsjs

That one is my favorite. For obvious reasons.

i made love to joanna cheris last night

... with my eyes.

We (a helluva lot of Peace Corps Volunteers and I) went to a free concert in a beautiful Roman ampitheater last night. I thought the concert was going to be traditional Balkan music, but it was a very intricate dance production that combined ballet, tango, and what I can only assume was traditional Balkan folk dancing.

It was amazing. The story went a little something like this: Moody, nostalgic time followed by happy, Balkan times, followed by sexy tango seduction, followed by a war. Then more moody, nostalgic time (to recuperate from the war), followed by more happy Balkan times, followed by more, even sexier tango seduction, followed by another war. This story repeats three more times and yes, it does include WW2.

The main character during the moody, nostalgic time was a young woman ballerina/tango dancer who I like to call the Balkan Fairy Princess. Rather than being the symbol of death, she the "fixer of things." And I shit you not, this woman looked just like the gal who played JoAnna Cheris in the movie "Stick It."

I actually believe she could be the same person for the following reasons: 1) She was by far the superior dancer a group of two dozen. 2) While I realize that all dancers move in a similar respect, this woman's posture and mannerisms during dance were very similar to how JoAnna Cheris "performed."

So, who wants to do some investigative work and see if the gal who played JoAnna Cheris was in Plovdiv, Bulgaria last night doing some crazy-ass ballet?

dear seattle, part fourteen

It is with some regret that I write you this Dear John letter from a post-war city that was never in a war. I believe that these things, if not done in person, should at least be done before a person initiates separation. My bad.

We've had a good run, Seattle. I like you. I like you for your coffee, your love of all things indie, and your wonderfully blustery autumns. And you know I like autumn best.

I have had more emotions tied with you than I have ever had with any other city. You've taught me a lot these past few years. And that one time I thought you made me kill a butterfly only to find it taking flight from my bumper at the next intersection... wow. You really had me.

I've thought about this letter a lot. I've written it months before I left you, when the bitterness of our relationship was at an all time high; when I was visiting another city and the nostalgia set in for your passive kindness; when I was on an airplane missing the lovelies that live within you... but now, now I am not quite sure what to say other than I know there are parts of you that I will always miss- Parts of you that will remain in my bloodstream for quite some time.

I will always love it when it rains more than a mist. I will always turn my nose up at other cities coffee. I will always think of Pioneer Square and Sunday Sunday Sunday when I see a rug store.

For these things, I thank you. I won't say that you're better off without me, because we both know that you're not. You'll miss me, Seattle. I know, I know.. it's egotistical to say (I won't pretend it's not), but... *shrug*

Good luck, Seattle. We'll come across each other again some day.

much love,
your ex-preschool teaching, coffee making, library loving, greenlake walking, quarreling friend