Yeah, there's been nothing for a while. But it's certainly not because there's been nothing to write. I've been extremely busy during this month in America (don't call it a vacation), and beyond that there's probably a novel in this trip somewhere. I hope there's a novel in this trip somewhere. Wouldn't it be fun if there were?
So, in the five minutes I have before I have to go pick up my Grandma who is getting her hair done at the moment...More differences between life in America and life in Bulgaria--
I expected the waitresses to be more friendly over here but this is ridiculous. Tipping is clearly the best system for the service industry. In Bulgaria, tipping doesn't happen too often and waiting staffs tend to walk around depressed, when they're doing any work at all. The difference here is amazing. My friend and I had ordered two drinks and a sandwich last night and the waitress asked how we were doing three times and drew a big "Thanks guys!" with a little heart on our bill. I don't care if it was a play, that kind of stuff gets tips. I need to somehow bring this back to Bulgaria.
I can walk and drive around here without fearing for my life! I can also drive--period, something Peace Corps doesn't let us do. In Bulgaria, pedestrians have to avoid the cars, the cars have no responsibility. Here I feel like royalty when I walk.
All for now. More later and much more when I get back to Bulgaria.
Back in America. I've been here a couple of days and my first reactions have all been about the bathrooms. There's water in the toilets here! I'm mixed on this one...I mean, it's great for smell reduction (not important to me, really, but that's another story), and it reduces the need for a brush sitting next to the toilet at all times, but it just seems to be a lot of water, and for some reason, a sparkling toilet with no water in it now seems more aesthetically pleasing to me than a sparkling toilet with water filled near-to-the-brim. This is of course mitigated by the fact that water helps keep the toilet much cleaner...I think. Anyway, I gotta' say that America wins out on that one, though just barely.
Where Bulgaria has a slight edge is in light switch placement. In America, a bathroom light switch is usually in the bathroom, whereas in Bulgaria they're always outside the bathroom. This has led (temporarily maybe. I don't know) to me fumbling around on the bathroom wall at night while I'm still out in the lit hallway. It's inconvenient. I know that the only reason Bulgaria has their switches on the outside would be to keep shower water from flowing behind the switch. But the side effects are pretty nice, too.
Other things...hmmm. Oh, people actually stop at crosswalks here! It almost seems extravagantly polite to me when I see a driver stop at an intersection when I'm just standing at the corner. In Bulgaria a person has to be in the car's path to get them to stop, and if the car actually does stop, the driver will be pissed, if it doesn't, I'd imagine the pedestrian would be a touch put out. Here in America, well, drivers just let people walk. It's amazing. I love this country.
But you do't need to hear me complain about the weather, now do you? Basically, I've been sweating a lot, a storm knocked down wires all over town, which kept my internet gone for a week, and I'm running around town trying to finish everything I have to do before I begin the long journey home on Tuesday.
Don't bother me.