Julia's Journeys

The past two weeks... It is not a lack of content that impels me to put two weeks into one post. There is so much that happens each day here in Blagoevgrad. Rather, it is a lack of time. Within these weeks marks one month of living in Bulgaria. I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've ever been away from home. It's tough to keep in touch with family and friends due to the eight hour time difference, and consistently calling is proving to take more of a conscience effort than I had anticipated. The past two weeks have been filled with good food, quality time with friends, and soccer. I learned... A group of the exchange students and I went on a short hike to the Blagoevgrad Cross last weekend. No matter where you are in Blagoevgrad, you can't miss this massive illuminated cross. It sits atop a hill that is visible from all corners of the city.  Starting our hike from the university campus, you can barely see our destination on the top of the hill just to the right of the

This week... It is cold here in Bulgaria. While in the past week it has gotten up to about 10°C, it has more often been about -4°C. I'm trying to use Celsius now because when we're trying to talk weather, I can't figure it out. It has snowed a couple of days this week, but today alone we got at least four inches (I haven't crossed the metric system bridge yet, people. One thing at a time). I have yet to get acclimated to how dry it is here. My hands are so dry and cracked to the point where they bleed, which has never happened to me living in the humid state of Arkansas. It's definitely going to take some time to adjust to the weather here. I Learned... This weekend we took a trip to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It was about an hour and half by bus, a sweltering bus. Seriously, we all thought we were going to succumb to heat stroke. On arrival, we took the metro to our Airbnb. There were ample inexpensive choices for stays, but we decided on a nice flat on the no