Friday, November 16, 2007

Lets first start with the haircut.

Sorry for the gap in Blogs. My internet has been out of commission for the past week.


So I suppose I will start with my first haircut in Belene. I have had many hair styles throughout my lifetime some of those include the comb over, the karate kid spike, the flat top spike, the Vanilla Ice zig-zags (and lightning bolts), long hair, pony tails, dyed hair, shaved head, and the current "business" cut. I suppose that is what I will call it. With that being said, I believe I have spent my fair share of time in that strangely uncomfortable barber chair and feel good about my overall "sense" of what a haircut is.

Well, I decided to break in my new town with a честито (nice) haircut. I was accompanied by my counterpart, whom has a better grasp on the Bulgarian language then I do. The haircut started at 12:30, and continued...and continued... for about 1 hour. My hair is not that long, nor that fragile. No curls, no cowlicks?, no bald spots (yet), no gray spots to hide (Pete), and my hair is not greasy (do I have to say the name?). Why so long? Don't get me wrong, it was a fantastic haircut. The conversation was fantastic..... for my counterpart. I just smiled and said "ДА" for an hour. I think each hair on my head was cut, individually and repeatedly. I think I passed out at one point. All in all, the haircut was fantastic, 5 leva, and only took an hour. In the business world, you might say that the barber, though mastered in her craft, has not learned the meaning of efficiency and turn over. Good stuff.

Here are some pictures of my apartment.

My kitchen

My Living Room and My Balcony (with a great view of the “Block” style apartments


Things are going really well here. I am meeting as many people as I can and stumbling around with my Bulgarian language. I can honestly say that I will never feel ackwerd in any conversation in America again. I have had a perment blank stare on my face for the past 3 months.

My first Na Gosti!!

I did have my first successful Na Gosti this past weekend. You may need to refer back to previous post for a discribtion of what a Na Gosti is. Anyway, I planned to have the dinner at 5 oclock on Sunday. I woke up at 930 and preseeded to spend the next 4 hours visiting 5 different stores for materials. I was going to make 3 and a half dishes for the visit. Good ole American style Pasta salad, Bulgarian style cabbage salad and the ever inspiring vegetarian style lasagna (thanks to the Sappy Ban group). Everything came out well, and the apartment did not burn down.


The lasagna



The guests (starting from the right and going left. Counterpart from the Municpality, Boss from the NGO, Husband of my Boss from the NGO, Counterpart from the NGO, Counterparts ladyfriend)



Great evening full of food and drink.

Thats all for today, I have more that I will post in the coming days.

You stay classy Chicago,

7 comments:

Eddie S. said...

Chase your barber story is great, I hope it turned out well. And I didn't know you could cook like that - Браво на Тебе!

Thomas said...

Chase! You hosted a Na Gosti already? Unbelievable! If you want a cheaper and faster haircut, swing on down to Kresna and you can get one from the tiny barber shop next to my apartment building. It'll only cost you 2 leva and the risk of one of your ears getting cut. My cut took twice as long as the normal one because I couldn't understand him so he just cut little by little till we were both happy. Still, nowhere near an hour! Take care man, see you at christmas?

Anonymous said...

you rock chase!!!! noel

Anonymous said...

You forgot to mention that the Na Gosti took about 5 hours :)

Unknown said...

Chase - would have loved to see a picture of you with that haircut. Can you imagine Grandmother working in that kind of shop! What kind of veggies did you use in the lasagna, or did you use beans? You are really living it son, I'm so very proud. Keep up with the great experiences. - Love, Mom

Anonymous said...

Chase! It was great to hear about the holidays (Finally). Know that you are busy; however, we are back here waiting with baited-breath on your next adventure. Keep Livin It - Love MOM

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