Today, I woke up sweating, in the pitch-dark room, not knowing where I was and had a brief panic attack. It took me a moment to remember that I was in Bulgaria, my cats weren't here, and Folklore Fiancé was back home and not next to me. It was not a good way to wake up, and it was thirty minutes before my first alarm was set. I looked at the A.C. on the wall, and at some point in the night, it must have turned off (spoiler alert: it seems that it doesn't stay on at all, so I have to keep turning it on...) Since I was all sweaty, I decided to get up and get ready for the day. I showered off again to get the sweat off me and then got dressed in something that would keep me cool for the day; just a white v-neck men's shirt and red basketball shorts.
Last night, when I checked in, I was very frazzled from the non-stop traveling I had to do, so I wasn't really comprehending everything that was said to me and forgot to ask some things. So, I went back downstairs after showering and getting dressed in the same thing I'm wearing now because I put my pajamas on at first, but I don't know the Eastern European rule of being in a hotel lobby in your PJ's, so I put on the real clothes instead. Anyway, I told him that I needed the shuttle back to the airport after all, and he pushed my check-out until 1 p.m. instead of noon, which was nice of him (I had to be at the airport by 3:30 p.m.), and then I asked if my breakfast was included because I know it was included on one of my reservations. He told me no, so I said okay and went back upstairs to go back to sleep.
This morning, I got up and went to check my e-mail confirmations of my reservation. It looked like I did have my breakfast included for this stay. I took my whole computer down to the front desk, and it was the same person who I had interacted with last night, and I turned it around to show him. I said, "You told me yesterday that I didn't have breakfast included with my reservation, but I pulled it up, and it looks like I do." He agreed and told me that the breakfast would be ready in about fifteen to twenty minutes, even though it was already 6:30 a.m. and that is when they advertise that breakfast will start. I thanked him, went back to my room, watched the new Steven Universe and talked to Folklore Fiancé before I headed down to breakfast.
They didn't have any of the food labeled, but luckily it's pretty easy to tell if something is fish or coconut, which isn't usually served during breakfast anyway, so I didn't have to worry too much. I took a slice of what looked like ham, a couple of pieces of what looked like some sort of spicy sausage that was sliced, a couple of what I think were Vienna sausages, some black olives (which I never thought to have with breakfast and I haven't had olives in a while, so why not), a croissant, and some bread with butter. They had a cappuccino machine with buttons for hot water, hot milk, coffee, cappuccino, and hot chocolate. I hate coffee when I don't get it from either Folklore Fiancé because they used to be a barista and spoil me, so I never like how other people make it, or if I get it from Starbucks with very specific instructions. It took me three trips to the machine to make it taste right. Eventually, I just mixed a double cappuccino with hot milk and hot chocolate before it tasted okay to me. Not great, but drinkable. But, you know, I had to overflow the coffee cup first and get it all over the machine and the counter before I did that. (Don't worry, I cleaned it up.)
While eating breakfast, I heard the news playing. I am a person who does not like hearing anything in the morning, let alone news, especially with American politics going into a swirling vortex of fuckery, I tend to avoid it because it stresses me out. It would have been fine if it was just the Bulgarian news. But, it wasn't. It was American news, in English. You know what I would have liked to not hear after I got all the way to Eastern Europe? About Drumpf's latest nonsense. But that was the accompaniment I had during breakfast. That, and the dead bee on the windowsill next to my table. (I think it was a bee? It was yellow and black with a stinger but didn't quite look like a bee but didn't look like any other stinging bug I'm familiar with.) Anyway.
I had accidentally taken too much bread for me to be able to finish it all, so I wrapped two bits of bread in napkins and put them in my pocket with some butter for later. That's what my lunch is going to be, I suppose. I'm not sure of the etiquette here because I know most European countries don't really do things like "doggy bags" or leftovers, but I had already taken the bread, so it's not like I could put it back. Also, the habits of squirreling away food when you're a student die hard. Once I had finished my breakfast, I didn't know where to put my tray, so I went back to the front desk to ask. The girl there told me to just leave it on the table and asked for my room number to check me off for breakfast.
After returning to my room, I had some time to chill. I put the bread from my pocket on the desk and luckily I had a disposable knife from my flight, so I'll be able to use that for the bread and butter later. I'm going to chill for a little longer, then I'm going to read some of the articles I still need to read, maybe read some of one of the books I brought with me, and then I'm going to eat and pack up and get ready to check out. The field school is picking us up from the airport, so luckily, there's an airport shuttle here that's free from the hotel to the airport. I'll be sitting at the airport for a decent amount of time while I'm waiting for them since I have to check out two and a half hours before I'm supposed to be there.
It's almost the beginning of field school! I'm so excited and nervous.
T-minus six hours until I'm on my way!
Last night, when I checked in, I was very frazzled from the non-stop traveling I had to do, so I wasn't really comprehending everything that was said to me and forgot to ask some things. So, I went back downstairs after showering and getting dressed in the same thing I'm wearing now because I put my pajamas on at first, but I don't know the Eastern European rule of being in a hotel lobby in your PJ's, so I put on the real clothes instead. Anyway, I told him that I needed the shuttle back to the airport after all, and he pushed my check-out until 1 p.m. instead of noon, which was nice of him (I had to be at the airport by 3:30 p.m.), and then I asked if my breakfast was included because I know it was included on one of my reservations. He told me no, so I said okay and went back upstairs to go back to sleep.
This morning, I got up and went to check my e-mail confirmations of my reservation. It looked like I did have my breakfast included for this stay. I took my whole computer down to the front desk, and it was the same person who I had interacted with last night, and I turned it around to show him. I said, "You told me yesterday that I didn't have breakfast included with my reservation, but I pulled it up, and it looks like I do." He agreed and told me that the breakfast would be ready in about fifteen to twenty minutes, even though it was already 6:30 a.m. and that is when they advertise that breakfast will start. I thanked him, went back to my room, watched the new Steven Universe and talked to Folklore Fiancé before I headed down to breakfast.
They didn't have any of the food labeled, but luckily it's pretty easy to tell if something is fish or coconut, which isn't usually served during breakfast anyway, so I didn't have to worry too much. I took a slice of what looked like ham, a couple of pieces of what looked like some sort of spicy sausage that was sliced, a couple of what I think were Vienna sausages, some black olives (which I never thought to have with breakfast and I haven't had olives in a while, so why not), a croissant, and some bread with butter. They had a cappuccino machine with buttons for hot water, hot milk, coffee, cappuccino, and hot chocolate. I hate coffee when I don't get it from either Folklore Fiancé because they used to be a barista and spoil me, so I never like how other people make it, or if I get it from Starbucks with very specific instructions. It took me three trips to the machine to make it taste right. Eventually, I just mixed a double cappuccino with hot milk and hot chocolate before it tasted okay to me. Not great, but drinkable. But, you know, I had to overflow the coffee cup first and get it all over the machine and the counter before I did that. (Don't worry, I cleaned it up.)
While eating breakfast, I heard the news playing. I am a person who does not like hearing anything in the morning, let alone news, especially with American politics going into a swirling vortex of fuckery, I tend to avoid it because it stresses me out. It would have been fine if it was just the Bulgarian news. But, it wasn't. It was American news, in English. You know what I would have liked to not hear after I got all the way to Eastern Europe? About Drumpf's latest nonsense. But that was the accompaniment I had during breakfast. That, and the dead bee on the windowsill next to my table. (I think it was a bee? It was yellow and black with a stinger but didn't quite look like a bee but didn't look like any other stinging bug I'm familiar with.) Anyway.
I had accidentally taken too much bread for me to be able to finish it all, so I wrapped two bits of bread in napkins and put them in my pocket with some butter for later. That's what my lunch is going to be, I suppose. I'm not sure of the etiquette here because I know most European countries don't really do things like "doggy bags" or leftovers, but I had already taken the bread, so it's not like I could put it back. Also, the habits of squirreling away food when you're a student die hard. Once I had finished my breakfast, I didn't know where to put my tray, so I went back to the front desk to ask. The girl there told me to just leave it on the table and asked for my room number to check me off for breakfast.
After returning to my room, I had some time to chill. I put the bread from my pocket on the desk and luckily I had a disposable knife from my flight, so I'll be able to use that for the bread and butter later. I'm going to chill for a little longer, then I'm going to read some of the articles I still need to read, maybe read some of one of the books I brought with me, and then I'm going to eat and pack up and get ready to check out. The field school is picking us up from the airport, so luckily, there's an airport shuttle here that's free from the hotel to the airport. I'll be sitting at the airport for a decent amount of time while I'm waiting for them since I have to check out two and a half hours before I'm supposed to be there.
It's almost the beginning of field school! I'm so excited and nervous.
T-minus six hours until I'm on my way!
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