Detailed instructions how to destroy 130 euro shoes

1) Get shoes for 130 euro (can be bought even in a sale – as mine).

2) Find a friend who was in a military service.

3) Ask the friend (in my case Estonian) to come for a weekend to do some hinking in the mountains nearby.

4) Take a chair lift to get into the mountains. (Walking up is too exhausting)

5) Have a small talk with chair lift crew, they can give you some discount (as we got, so we paid 3 leva instead of 10 :)

6) Up in the mountains, start your hiking in wet grass with some mud. Oh, don’t forget to give the map to a girl who can’t read in maps well.

7) Shoes are now totally wet and dirty. Enjoy the deciduous forrest all around. Have lunch. Bread with tuna. See some gipsies having their lunch, too. Don’t be surprised if a horse, who obviously ran away from his (gipsy) owner, shows up. Be glad you’re sitting after several hours of walking (don’t forget, there’s „army“ guy with you!)

8) Follow a sign saying in 1 km there’s a restaurant.

9) Have a proper lunch there with some pancakes :)

10) Ask for a room.

11) Have a pillow fight.

12) Let your „too active“ friend take you for a short trip to the highest mountain of Sinite Kamani, which is nearby.

13) Remember, there is no path going to Bulgarka (the highest point), when you pass teenagers trying skiding in their parents‘ old car (which makes terrible noises), you have to find your own. Your shoes will suffer again in a layer of old leaves and mud.

14) Enjoy the view. It’s magnificent. Take some pictures and then go back.

15) Have some more fights in your hotel room.

16) Wake up late the next day. Watch Winnie the Pooh. The Tiger’s Story. Very sad, but with happy end.

17) Start walking again.

18) Talk to two old Bulgarian women who will want you to join them. Run away.

19) Take the wrong way. The very steep one going down. Have a lot of leaves and earth in your shoes. Sit and refuse to move. Have some more dirt in your jeans as well.

20) Feel sorry for your shoes.

21) Get the right way. Meet a tourist with camera. Try to get rid of him.

22) See the two old Bulgarian ladies. Run. Run. Hide.

23) Take some pictures in the rocks.

24) Walk. Walk. Walk. No rest.

25) Finally back in Sliven.

26) Buy a melon.

27) Throw it away in three days.

28) Clean your shoes and check all scratches :(

I'm back :)

As you probably noticed, I haven't published anything recently. It was not because I wouldn't have nothing to say (it usually doesn't happen to me :), but my life was pretty busy. So I'll add some memories from last 14 days :)

Living on my own

It’s been almost a week since I started to live on my own. It’s something new in my life, so I decided to share some remarks on it.

I like that the bathroom is never occupied by anyone.
I like that the kitchen is never crowded, so I can cook whenever and whatever I want.
I like that I can putt off washing up, because there’s no-one who could possibly want to use the dishes or the sink. What I really like about this apartment is its „washing area“, which is located in a glassed balcony. So, you just close the doors and all dirty dishes suddenly disappear :)
I don’t like that I can’t accidentally meet anybody here and talk to them, e.g. when I want to cook, the cooker is always available. I can’t bother other people with my burnt meals. It’s got its pros and cons to live on my own.
On Sunday, the Witnesses of Jehovah came. Even though it was them, I just liked that somebody came over. One gets easily bored only with their computer and it’s always nice to meet living people, not only icq ones.
There are more and more things I don’t like about this apartment.
I hate my bed. It’s too noisy and uncomfortable.
I hate the flattering hoe here. It’s a bit broken and full of dirt meaning every time I do ironing, the dirt relocates onto my clothes.
I hate the wet floor in the bathroom. The whole room is one big shower. If you don’t clean your teeth just after shower, there’s no chance to do it later, as long as you don’t want to walk in a creek.
I don’t like the cooker. Half of it, surprisingly, doesn’t work.
I don’t like my TV here, because it has only 3 programmes and only in Bulgarian. It’s better to watch my washing machine than to watch the TV. The washing machine is just such a mysterious thing. I never know what will happen with my clothes.
I really don’t like the price I pay for this apartment. It’s just simply overpriced. My rent equals what teachers earn here. It’s just so ridiculous. I’m seriously thinking about getting something else. I don’t mind living in a cave, as long as it’s got the Internet and comfortable bed, nothing less, nothing more.

Every day has its own surprise

This day at school was so different from previous two. First lesson was in the fifth grade and it was so silent. I think somebody had to exchange the kids, because yesterday they were like my worst nightmare and today...just like back at home. To be honest, I didn’t remember faces of many of them, which I felt a bit embarrassed about. It will be even harder job to remember their names. I think I should invent one, universal name, as our teacher of P.E. at high school did :)
This was my first and also last lesson I observed today. A tall, slim lady talked to my “mentor” and told her that I was not allowed to observe classes any more. Nobody was able to give me reason why not. Then Gospoža Boncheva disappeared and a teacher of geography was probably told to take care of me, because he took me to a café which belongs to his cousin. It was so nice to talk to somebody here, whose English was at communicative level.
After that, we went back to school to talk to Kevork, the guy who picked me up at the train station. His “office”, better to say workshop, was well-hidden and made a nice impression on me. Some time later, a teacher of P.E. joined us and they all decided that it’s time for me to start speaking Bulgarian (except for the geography teacher neither of them speaks English). So I had my practice today and it was fun. I just missed playing cards with them :-D
Because I didn’t manage to find a language school in the morning, the P.E. teacher promised me to show me it, since he lives close to it. I hope they’ll be offering Spanish courses as I really want to continue with this language. The geography teacher told me that there’s only one Spanish teacher in whole Sliven, which I find unbelievable, or maybe typically Bulgarian :)