I'm sure most of you have heard about the cold snap that occurred in this part of the world in January and February of this year. I would like to give you my account of the story. When I got back from my Christmas vacation in the States, I knew I was flying over Bulgaria when I looked out of the plane window and saw snow. I wasn't entirely surprised by this discovery, but I was entirely dreading the coming winter. Being from North Carolina, I'm not very well equipped to deal with extreme cold weather. Don't get me wrong. It gets cold in North Carolina and, sometimes we even get snow...but I don't think there was anything that could have prepared me for this winter.
Only a few short days after I got back to Koynare, it began to snow. I thought nothing of it, and even took a few pictures because it was so pretty. But then...it didn't stop snowing. Ever. It snowed for days. It snowed for weeks (I may be exaggerating, but I really don't think I am, because that's what it felt like). At first, everyone was excited. I had never seen so much snow in my life! There was snow up to my knees! I even went around town and played in it with some friends, but then it became a problem. Not only was there snow, but there was a cold that I had never felt before.
My heater, that had been sufficient last winter, was starting to make weird noises from being turned on "high" all day and night. I began to worry (a bit irrationally) for my warmth. I made plans to go to other people's houses if my heater broke. School was cancelled for two weeks. TWO WEEKS. Now, don't get me wrong, I was very excited to not have school for two weeks (I might have even been more excited than my students). But the fact that it was TOO COLD for school is what was so crazy for me. I filled my days doing nothing of much interest. I tried my hardest not to leave my apartment because anywhere I walked, my nose hairs would, literally, freeze before I got there. I caught up on a lot of reading and television. I would only leave for food and if I was invited to have dinner at someone's house because, they too, were concerned for my safety in the extreme cold.
The way my apartment is set up, I only, really, have three rooms. A kitchen, a bathroom, and a living/bedroom. My heater was only in the living/bedroom, so that was the only room in my apartment with any warmth. I had to put on more layers just to go into the other rooms. I bundled up to fix myself dinner. My shower gel froze in the bathroom. I was lucky, though, because my pipes never froze. This was a problem for some volunteers. Taking showers was tricky too. I had to take them at a time when I thought I could get the maximum amount of hot water (this was usually afternoon/early evening). I would start the hot water running, then get ready in my warm room and then sprint to the bathroom, which, luckily, isn't very far. After the shower, I'd have to sprint back into the warm room. It was something interesting to do, if nothing else.
Some bus routes were cancelled, which made travelling a bit more difficult, but I still managed. It was pretty torturous to sit on a bus with no heat for some hours and hoping that the volunteer you were visiting had sufficient heating. The whole time you're thinking this, you're shaking and you can see your breath anytime you breathe (out of your mouth or nose, even).
One time, when I went into a store, the woman working there asked me the usual "How are you?" and "What do you think about this weather?" After making is very clear that I am NOT a fan of the cold, she tells me that this is the coldest winter Bulgaria has had in the last sixty years. She then puts on a smile and reiterates, "It hasn't been this cold in sixty years. And you're here for the coldest winter I've ever seen!" I smugly respond with "Lucky me." and I pay her and stalk out of the store. Just my luck to be stuck in the coldest winter Bulgaria has seen in sixty years.
I am proud to say that I survived with little to no injury. My heater did, in fact, break. It no longer works on "high" and it makes scary sparking sounds when it's on "medium". I'm also pretty sure that I got a little bit crazier while I was locked away in my apartment. Luckily, it hasn't gotten down to freezing during the day in a while. I've been able to get out and get some fresh air and exercise. Just keep your fingers crossed that this won't be the coldest Bulgarian spring in sixty years, and we should all be alright.
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