A Big "Thank You" to Russia

Thanks to the giant to the north, I have a week off from school...

How, you might ask? Well, a hideously cold weather system developed in Siberia and made it's way south to good 'ole Bulgaria. It's -18 C in the sunshine....There is tornadic-like wind....I can see my breath in my kitchen and bathroom. All around cool.

So apparently it's considered unacceptable for Bulgarian students to study when there is a few centimeters of ice on the insides of windows in the school...Go figure. Yesterday we taught, and the school was basically just a block for the wind as there was no major temperature difference between the outside and the inside. After school the mayor told our director to cancel classes for the rest of the week.

This is, in fact, the second week I have gotten off due to cold. The week of Thanksgiving it got really cold and we were still waiting for new parts for the furnace (which, ironically, were coming from Russia too!) so they canceled classes from Tuesday on. In a country where they don't even celebrate Thanksgiving, I got a weeklong vacation! It was pretty sweet.

Anyway, apart from the cold, there is no news from the Balkans. Later today I will have my Bulgarian lesson so I will bring some laundry with me to do at Rosie's. This weekend I plan to head west to the Sofia area to celebrate Chinese New Years with some other volunteers. Should be amusing...With lots of food and English speaking. I get to ride from Sofia to a town about an hour-and-a-half west of it in a car, so that will be super-exciting. Aww, it's all about the small pleasures here.

Haide...Time to buy supplies for brownies and sugar cookies. Let's hope I don't blow away. Later.