return of winter

Winter is finally here, and with it the the overcast weather and incessant drizzle. It has been much warmer and dryer so far than last year, but i think the rains are finally here. Work has been slow lately as well, partly because its winter time and there are no tourists, and partly because all the projects that the park is working on are large scale project i cant really help with. Its great news for the park, and the projects are going to be great for the area, but other than translating and occasional project proposal page, it doesn't give me much to do. I'm now waiting for spring when things pick up again and I can resume my bird migration project.

The good news is that Christmas is just around the corner, and it will be a nice break from things here in malko turnovo. This week I'm going to a Christmas work party in another town and we will have a huge banquet all night long. should be a good time. after that, i get my Christmas break, and I'm off to see my host family for a bit before heading out to the mountains for a few days of snowboarding (weather pending). I'm really looking forward to this because i have been staying quite here in malko turnovo for the last month trying to save up some money and i need to get out of town for a bit. during the summer malko turnovo is nice, with lots of hiking, good weather and all that, but during winter there is absolutely nothing to do.

Funny story though, yesterday i had just finished making myself a bomb dinner of chicken fajitas with cheddar cheese, Spanish rice, chips with dip, and a classic margarita (all hard to get items out here in Eastern Europe), and i had just sat down to enjoy my meal when there was a ring at my door. i got up and found my next door neighbor out in the hall asking me for help. My neighbor is an old lady that often comes over so i can open up cans and jars for her, but this time she wanted something else. i went over to her place, helped her move a bit of furniture around and then, after a bit of mistranslation, i realized that she wanted me to go around her apartment and dust off all of her light bulbs. why, at 7:30 at night, she needed her light bulbs free of dust i will never know, but there i was, wiping down ceiling fixtures all the while thinking of my awesome dinner slowly going cold just down the hall. oh Bulgaria.

Other than that, there is not much news to tell. i will post again soon. peace