Weekend in Plovdiv

Plovdiv is the third largest town in Bulgaria and I think it is by far the prettiest one I have seen. It's an ancient city with Roman ruins, historic buildings in the old town, wide tree-lined boulevards and plenty of sidewalk cafes. I met up with five other ETAs and another one who lives in Plovdiv. He took us to an Armenian restaurant the first night we were there. I had never tried Armenian food before but it was delicious. Lots of garlic and lemon, and good desserts, too. We also went to some cool bars in town. Compared to Pleven the nightlife there is amazing. Coincidentally, there was a group of a couple hundred US Air Force officers in town who we met at a pizza place near the center. They invited us to their hotel party, which was fun but also strange and made me really appreciate what I've learned here so far.

(Me and fellow Fulbrighters Olivia and Hillary in Plovdiv.) I loved seeing my friends and meeting new ones, like a few other researchers and ETAs who arrived after we left Bansko. It's going to be a great year if we keep it up with these reunions! I miss everyone now that I'm back in Pleven but it's also refreshing to get back into the school week and do my own thing here. Tomorrow morning I start Bulgarian lessons at the Medical University with a tutor so I'm pretty stoked to learn how to say some basic things. I know I won't become fluent but I'll try to learn as much as I can. Two weekends away is my trip to Warsaw to visit aunt Zofia and my cousin Andrej! I can't wait to see them. It's been a year and a half since I visited while studying abroad and will be my third trip to Warsaw. So much to look forward to in the coming weeks. :)