My Bulgarian Mother

NCoca

No country has given me the first impression as Bulgaria.

The train ride into the country was amazing. It was like Kansas, but painted, red, orange, brown sunflowers, an empty countryside on the Bosphor express. It was small train, the conductor took all our tickets and kept checking to make sure we all knew when to get off. Most people were heading to Istanbul, me and a few others, to Veliko Tornovo. Heard of it?

I had no accomodation, and Bulgaria is my first illiterate country (AKA - country where i can't read anything, as they use Cyrillic, like Russian). Others on the train told me that the hostels in the city were completely booked up.

Of course, when I got off, a friendly lady was there to offer a private room. She was small, 5-5, old, but energetic, and took me on a walking tour of Veliko Tornovo, one of the oldest cities in Bulgaria, teeming with history. The room was amazing, 3 beds to myself, a fantastic balcony and view of the city, so amazing that I'm still here.

I became her son, in some sense. She wrote down the address, told me not to go out, told me who I should not hang out with. Later when I was out with some fellow travellers who were on the same train as I, she showed up randomly and forced me to go home, saying my new friends were, quote "narcotics". I had no choice but to agree, she was my mom. She then walked me to my room, which I soon snuck out of. Just like high school!

Velicko Tornovo has made my heart warm, and I'll be sad to leave tomorrow morning. Photos and more stories to come!