The Grass is Greener

It has been warm here, and snow has not yet made an appearance in the New Year in Stara Zagora. Snow improves the appearances of the city, and people here have expressed their dissapointment at a winter so far without snow. Skiing in Bulgaria is not going to be great this year. I, myself, feel a bit deprived of a winter wonderland. If it were snowing now, however, the general sentiment would be that the weather is bad and the cause of illness throughout the city.

I took a friend hiking yesterday in the hills behind our lovely city, and we covered perhaps 10 miles of sunny, snow-free terrain. Dogs, cows, goats and squirrels ran about outside and birds chirped from the woods. I can't help but wonder whether the other shoe will drop soon and we will be hit with an impenetrable front of wind and ice. We'll see.

Last week, I visited Stara Zagora Federal Prison, where I sat in on a group therapy meeting of inmates who had a history of narcotics abuse. They were shy, but warmed and gained confidence as the meeting progressed. At the end of the meeting, they asked me exactly what drugs I've tried. I did not want to distance them with a 'none' answer, and I didn't want to invent an inaccurate response, so I tried to slide by with a vague answer about living in Berkeley, which is known for its drug culture, going to school at UC Berkeley and having friends who have been addicts. They were not thrown and repeated the question. I told them that I could understand their experiences, and they were better satisfied. They opened up a bit and shared some interesting anecdotes. The men in this group have been through rough times. More about the group in later dispatches.

Good tomatoes are gone. The mandarin orange season is drawing to a close as well. This is the time of year that canned goods become important due to a lack of produce. Though Stara Zagora has produce year-round, the quality drops and the price climbs. We'll be out of it in 2 months.