First Impressions from Ljubljana

At the end of my first week as an exchange student in Slovenia, I finally decided to devote a quarter of an hour of my most precious free time to share some impressions. Something old, something new, something borrowed, like in American weddings :)

Something old

In fact, several things. The first one is that Ljubljana seems to me as charming as it seemed to me in July this year, when I visited it for the first time. A pretty, ordered and clean city center without any pomposity, but with a certain touch of precision and some Central-European coolness, which makes you feel warm and cozy instead. With all due respect to a certain Mediterranean country, which I am simply in love with, for me Ljubljana personifies more the European spirit....but in the end all roads lead to Rome, you know ;)

Back to my microcosmos...living with three guys and sharing a bathroom...the toilet seat is always up when it needs not be...the hair of one of my flatmates is waay too long, which leaves the issue with the falling 50-cm- long hairs still unresolved. Anyways, I'll try to remain positive here.

Third, a great remnant from good old Italy. I thought that since this is a capital of a Balkan (or OK, Central European country), every single shop and restaurant must be open at least 24/7. Surprise, surprise- they work less that Italians- they remain closed also on Saturday, or work only till 1! 

Something new

First and foremost, talking about new-the apartment I live in. Somehow, by pure luck, I am living in one of the most VIP quarters of the city, just five minutes far from all the key places in the center. The building was built in 2004, I have 3 different keys and I need to unlock four different dours, in order to enter my apartment. Good beginning of a long friendship with this city (Just for comparison- in Italy I live in centro storico, for those who don't know what this means- anything that's at least 100 years old :))

Maybe the next thing is new just for me, but Ljubljana is the cleanest city I've been to so far. Cleanliness struck my blurred Bulgarian eyes, who are used to hearing that WE ARE REALLY TRYING HARD BUT SEEMS THAT THERE'S NO PLACE TO HOST SOFIA'S GARBAGE...and believe me, there's a lot of trash in Sofia. I guess we should ask the people in Ljubljana where they put theirs...or wait a second, I guess I know- in the containers for separate trash disposal which can be found anywhere. Slovenians really do recycle! And if they don't throw garbage separately, they at least throw it in the containers, not around the containers!

Now my personal best- the importance of living in a welfare state. Great news for all international students coming to Ljubljana. Guys, know that against your student card and a one-hour line in the student organization office you can buy meal coupons priced 0.50- 4 euro, to eat a full-course meal in a great number of good restaurants around the city. I just really love that, I am going to lose all my cooking habits! Still gathering info about which the best restaurants are, but already have a personal favorite- La Cantina Mexicana in the center. I don't know if it's genuinely Mexican, but it really IS delicious!(OK, I know I care too much about food, but blame it on the Italians, I wasn't like that before, or maybe I was, but in Italy I learned it's not wrong, just the opposite- it's a matter of good taste:)))

And my recent discovery- public transport. Yesterday me and Svetlana were trying to enter the number 11 but they didn't allow us because it seems that here you only can get on from the front door, next to the driver! And obviously nobody even tries to get on from any other door...now try this in Sofia! 

Something borrowed

Not a lot really. OK, I wouldn't agree that "burek" is a national dish, but let's call it Balkan. Ajvar?mmm...isn't that lyutenica?...and I talk about food again...I'd better stop here.

Or OK, not yet. Slovenians did borrow Austrian order in the way they organize their cities. But in terms of the organization of their university faculties, they couldn't get any closer to Italy. So until they let me know how I am to organize and schedule my courses here, and how to get permission to enroll in postgraduate courses even though I am a postgraduate student, I am just going to enjoy cheap and good food and breathe clean air from the balcony of my room...I've seen worse than that after all.

More impressions to follow as they come along. 

Hvala najlepjsha!

Celebrity Skin

If somebody wondered today why today in the afternoon the central street of Varna around the University of Economics was blocked by the police and two men were sitting on the pavement in front of two identical black jeep cars with handcuffs, here is why! Great things happened also today- the police managed to catch a criminal group, connected to an illegal prostitution canal. The boss is the second-mandate member of the City Council of Varna Vesselin Danov, son of the famous lawyer and former chief of the Constitutional Court Hristo Danov(!?), and last but not least- a participant in the second Bulgarian VIP Brother. So, as from today, he is also an inhabitant of Varna's jail, at least for the next couple of hours. Let's see for how long. Not easy to be a celebrity at all...

For those who read Bulgarian, here's the info: http://btv.bg/news/news_details.pcgi?cont_id=118233

летно-есенни настроения

През последните 2-3 седмици чета книгата на Ноам Чомски, "Провалени Държави", и си мисля няколко неща...не много, защото чета само вечер, преди да заспя, затова и имам малко време за мислене в периода между изгасянето на лампата и пренасянето в страната на сънищата.

Засега всъщност единственият пример за провалена държава, която той дава, са САЩ, или добре, заедно с държавите, които САЩ са успели да провалят в желанието си да покорят света и да станат абсолютната супер мощ. Да, всички сме гледали филмите на Майкъл Мур и сме се смели на лепенките по американските коли "We support our troops", смели сме се на Буш-измите и на американците, които си избраха такъв президент, че и два пъти. И злорадстваме "Е, заслужиха си го американците 9/11З! Така им се падаше, да видят те!"

Всъщност за книгата няма да правя коментар, случаите не са съпоставими, просто ми хареса заглавието, стори ми се подходящо.

Да, много е лесно да се смееш на другите и да не погледнеш себе си. Ние пък с какво право се смеем тук в България? Остана ли за какво да се смеем, освен на собствената си трагедия? Даже Слави Трифонов и "Комиците" вече се изтъркаха.

Защо някой тук не вземе да каже, че и ние сме си една провалена държава? Хайде стига предизборен оптимизъм, софийски боклук, Бате Бойко и приятелско потупване по рамото от някой западноевропейски лидер!

Провалихме се във всичко- вътрешна и външна политика, членство в Европейския Съюз, изгонихме малкото млади и талантливи хора да си търсят щастието и реална оценка за таланта си навън, а тук останаха малко свестни и много чалгаджии. И майките и бащите ни да ни чакат да се приберем за по 2 седмици. То всъщност и много от чалгаджиите избягаха, но си занесоха домашната ракийка и дисковете с чалгичка и в чужбина, плюят тъпите американци/германци, отвращават се от дебелите им жени и си викат "Ех, какъв кеф е в България, там е животът"...ами върнете се, де! Ама не се връщат...

Това са размислите ми в края на лятото...не съм първата, която казва тези неща, няма и да съм последната, която и на края на септември ще си стегне куфарчето и ще замине в Италия. Този път и сестра ми идва с мен и смята дълго да стои. Аз също. И се надявам да е и по-дълго, отколкото го мисля. И ми е мъчно. И не искам да се опитвам да превърна живота си в чужбина в български микрокосмос, а да се нагодя аз. Така е по-лесно. Не е казано, че всичко винаги трябва да става по трудния начин. Затова и гледам да не размишлявам много много, че иначе ми става криво- въпреки всичко.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"

Nothing tastes sweeter than an afternoon spent at home with your family and director Tim Burton’s remake of Roald Dahl’s story, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” And this is not only because of the chocolate surroundings and the mountains of candies, which raise the viewer’s endorphin levels as high as the living-room ceiling. Johnny Depp’s character- the chocolate magnate Willy Wonka, who is coaching five kids in the world of his chocolate kingdom, with his creepy smile, unnaturally white teeth, impeccably polished black shoes, and eccentric behavior, delivers a performance that just needs to be seen.

The day spent at Wonka’s factory includes a boat trip along a chocolate river, a visit to the whipped cream department, where we actually see cows being whipped; a nut department, where hundreds of trained squirrels crash nuts better than any machine; and an elevator which moves not only up and down, but also left and right. During this day four unbearable kids, who very much remind us of our own offsprings, get punished for their annoying behavior. In the end of the day, the chocolate journey will make you start sympathizing with Depp’s character, who, even though the owner of the most successful chocolate factory in the world and the friendly help of the small Oompa-Loompa creatures, is terribly lonesome. In fact Wonka is one big kid himself - which probably explains his weirdness and his alien-like posture.

In terms of the moral content, do not expect this movie to go beyond the superficial. Even though the plot accentuates some family values, they get lost in the huge candy piles, Oompa-Loompa’s uncoordinated dances and the vivid colors of the factory. The movie, above anything else, provides a powerful visual delight, and this, apart from Johnny Depp’s acting, is its other strongest asset. The soundtrack fits perfectly in this picture, making the viewers beat the time with their feet and head for more than hour and a half- and in a little childish way.

And before making yourself comfortable in your armchair, do not forget to take something sweet with you- the chance to experience chocolate or candy craving while watching is pretty high. If you still happen not to like chocolate after seeing the movie, you probably took Wonka’s dentist father definition of lollipops, “cavities on a stick,” too seriously. My advice- don’t- life is as sweet as you allow it to be.

A Job Not Well Done

If I were in the shoes of the Bulgarian Interior Minister, Mr. Rumen Petkov, before trying to show off about anything, I’d think twice. His actions do not have a good record of being applauded anyways, and reasonably so. However, on Thursday, when he announced the report, which Sofia had to present to the EU Commission about Bulgaria’s progress in the ‘Justice and Home Affairs” sector, he quoted some figures, which made not only Brussels, but also me, raise my eyebrow skeptically.

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http://evropa.dnevnik.bg/show/?storyid=324273

297 trials for corruption, which resulted in a sentence. 1,706 concluded pre-trials on corruption cases. 599 prosecution acts against 705 people. And all those achievements for just six months. So far, so good. What’s wrong then? How about some other figures? Did the Minister name any public figures, who were convicted of corruption? No! Like there is no high-level corruption in Bulgaria! Mystery… Was the full text of the report publicized and made available to the Bulgarian citizens? Another negative answer, and another mystery. In this respect ,the Romanians should serve as an example, which we could use- they had the audacity, despite the heavy political crisis they are going through right now, to upload it on the ministry’s website. Somehow I’m starting to think the Minister is hiding something. And then comes the most important question- is the Commission satisfied? Of course not!

Mr. Petkov, you think you can fool the Bulgarian citizens, in front of whom you are responsible above anything else, and maybe you are right. After all, you’re still a minister in this rotten government, although you act as if you are afraid even of your own shadow. However, your attitude towards Brussels is quite arrogant. Do not try to throw dust in their eyes too, cause they see further than that. I don’t think they will embrace your report after the big political compromise they did to accept the country into the Union. Do not expect a friendly pat on your shoulder for a job well done. Instead, please do save your arrogance for the criminals, which you constantly want to try and never manage to catch.

On Irresponsible Driving

A policeman slammed a car near the Bulgarian town of Parvomay and ran away, coming back ten minutes after the incident, refusing alcohol check and giving blood sample. A Bulgarian citizen hit three fellow citizens with his car in Italy and sped off, leaving dead two people, one of them a 15-year-old child. Eighteen innocent people died on a killer-bridge near Byala a few days before last Christmas. 118 people have been killed on the streets of Sofia alone last year. And if this statistics does not touch anybody, because it did not happen in their family, maybe the thought that each one of us can be the next victim of the craze called Bulgarian “Road War” could be a little more shaking.

The changes to the Road Law, which the Ministry of the Interior introduced two weeks ago, increasing the charges for traffic regulation violation, and the ambitious program which aspires by 2010 to reduce the number of the killed in car accidents on the Bulgarian roads from 5842 to 700 are just a small fraction of what needs to be done.

What is more important is a change in the drivers’ attitudes. They need to understand that driving without obeying the rules is not only threatening the life of the others, but also their own. Sitting behind the wheel after having two glasses of rakia is irresponsible driving. Better stay on the table, have another drink and let the sober ones drive. Even if this is your brand new, glossy and expensive new car. And even if it cost a fortunes- a hands-free for your mobile phone is still affordable- and you do need it when you drive.

Dropping ten leva in the pocket of the angry underpaid policeman does not permit anyone to drive with 100 km/h when the speed limit indicates 50 km/h. Because road signs and limits are for everybody and they are put for a reason. They are to raise awareness that there are others on the same road, and to remind the ultimate goal of any trip is to arrive at the destination in one piece.

And if somebody thinks that this is too much to be required- at least use seatbelts. If not- just go to your doctor and sign a declaration that you agree to donate your organs to other people in case you have a lethal accident. Because some need the life others are careless about.

What Is the Deal About a Not-a-Big-Deal Video

Last week, among the entertainment materials on the Bulgarian website vbox7.com, a two-minute long video appeared. It included exclusive footage of Bulgarian soldiers performing their duties in Iraq. The controversial thing about it was, however, not what the soldiers did, but what they said. The video showed them throwing racist remarks at local Iraqi people- in Bulgarian- while giving away free bottles of water. Their speech included phrases like “ugly gypsy, look at him”, “if you only were two or three years older…” (obviously implying that a girl, who does not look more than 10, could be an object of their sexual desires had she only been a little older), and “here is the other monkey”. Soon after the videos were made public, those became widely discussed in the Internet forums and the blogosphere and provoked a lot of comment, both condemning and neglecting the importance of what happened. Allow me to share with you the first lines I read in the forum of the Bulgarian daily “Dnevnik” (I consciously omit the spelling mistakes in the opinion of the user with the nickname Engineer Phillip)- “He [the soldier] told him [the Iraqi child] he was an ugly gypsy- big deal! Why did the government make so much noise? Nobody killed or raped anyone…”

Dear Phillip,

As I do not communicate through Internet forums, let me comment back to you here:

1. Indeed it is not like the Bulgarian soldiers killed or raped somebody. They certainly did not commit a military crime, and did not desert their duties. You are probably right that the Ministry of Defense did make too much noise about the problem, which is neither something new (the video is three years old, from the time when Bulgaria sent its second military contingent to Iraq), nor the most important one the Bulgarian Army needs to solve. I doubt the Bulgarian soldiers meant bad when they made the obviously inappropriate jokes with the Iraqi children, and it is also true that they made the jokes in Bulgarian, so the children could not possibly get them and get offended.

2. People like to mock other people. Usually when they make jokes, they laugh even harder, when they know that the ones whom they are addressing their humor at cannot understand them. It is an especially easy and quite low-profile job to make jokes at the weaker, the poorer and the suffering, especially when they are children. They cannot or do not know how to throw a joke back. There is no dignity in ridiculing small children- in any way- for it is simply not funny. The image of the Bulgarian soldiers, about whose bravery, high spirit and impeccable moral we have heard enough legends, is also not funny. It seems pathetic. This video threw it deeper the gutter than it used to be. The firing of the two or three soldiers, who participated in the small comedy shooting, will not be enough to make up for what people saw. Of course, the arrogant behavior of the soldiers did not surprise anybody, nor did it make anyone in the country blush- for the simple reason that similar things happen in the Bulgarian army quarters on a daily basis, and this video is just a good visualization of something we are all aware of. In the spirit of this, dear Phillip, will it also not be a “big deal” if somebody called you a dirty gypsy (which I am sure you are not) when your country is devastated by war, you live in the desert and have to pray for a bottle of water? Or, speaking in a general context- is it OK for a civilized man to speak like this to others, even though they have no way to understand? Probably not. I think it is time for all of us to get rid of that improper, uncivilized and humiliating language- it’s degrading not only to the people we use it against, but also to the one who uses it .

p.s. This is a column I wrote for a journalism class last week.