Busy, busy, busy!

This weekend was another long one away from my apartment (where my poor plants nearly died of thirst- again! But they seem to be alright now). I was in Sofia for three days on some important "business:" firstly I went to the embassy to take the Foreign Service Officer Test, which is the required exam to work for the State Department. I'll find out how I did in about three weeks. It's definitely not a job I would be able to start in the near future, even if I did pass. There's a long selection process but I'm at least getting a head start on it while I have the time. Secondly, I met with a friend and former colleague about starting a new educational program in my school and with Fulbright. I am going to be a part of the planning process and hopefully contribute to writing some of the curriculum! More on that later as things progress.
I also got to hang out with friends in Sofia, which is always a pleasure. I "discovered" some new places I hadn't been to before and I feel like I'm finally starting to get the hang of navigating the city. I went to the Teahouse, a really cute vegetarian cafe/restaurant that would be very much at home in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, and also Dobro, a hip little neighborhood restaurant near my friend Ellen's house. Parts of Sofia remind me a lot of Budapest, I'm beginning to realize, but there's also something very unique about the city. It's unlike anywhere else I've seen in Bulgaria: young, vibrant and energetic but also laid-back and sophisticated.
In other news, it snowed here in Pleven again. Hopefully that will be the last of the winter weather. We had a week of warm-ish temperatures recently so maybe that's the trend and today was a fluke. One can dream!