And so it begins!

Well, we went to Boston, interviewed, got offers, accepted one of them, and have begun studying Cyrilic in preparation for our new job at the American College of Sofia! Check it out at: http://www.acs.bg/en/index.php (the above photo is from the school website)

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I am setting up this blog now in hopes that it will be easy and fun to keep all our friends and family updated on our adventures and experiences in Bulgaria and its neighboring countries. The school itself looks amazing. Here are a few things I like about it:

1. It takes the top tested kids in Bulgaria, gives most of them scholarships, and then gives them a chance at a great education and new opportunities all over the world.

2. It is a twenty five minute walk to Mount Vitosha and a five minute walk to an Austrian Grocery Store with everything a fruit-loving Minnesotan California girl could want.

3. The country just joined the E.U., so it is both up and coming and not overrun.

4. We can start any clubs or sports teams we want, and we won't have 20 hours worth of practice every week! Just what sounds fun to everyone.

5. The director of the National theater is working with the kids on their drama program, and they are currently producing the musical Rent (which I love).

6. There are a bunch of young international faculty that do things like weekend trips to Istanbul, mountain hikes, bowling nights and potluck dinners.

7. The school is going to work on renovating two apartments into one so there will be room for a couple on campus. Incidentally, the campus is really pretty!

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Shake your head yes!

An interesting tip from a Bulgarian named Scarlie: "We move heads sideways (ear to shoulder) to indicate 'yes' and nod to say 'no' . Our nod, however, is more like raising the chin up instead of lowering it down. To avoid confusion you may just want to say YES and NO ... and try not to move your head too much!"

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