If you follow me on other platforms, you know that I am getting ready to go to Bulgaria for my first field school. I'll be documenting the experience (as much as I am permitted to do so!) on this blog until the end of my session. Since I work a full-time job already, I chose to take the minimum session amount and go for two weeks. Due to the fact that I'm not doing this for university credit (I have already graduated undergrad, and I'm entering my M.A. program in the Fall), I was able to go for the shorter period of time. Additionally, it was a little cheaper than paying for college credits. It did cost me a little more because I paid for a single room; this was mostly because, as a non-binary trans person, I found that it would be a little difficult to place me. I didn't want to be grouped with a gender I don't identify as, so, luckily, I was accepted early enough that the "early bird" cost was almost the exact amount cheaper as it cost to get a single room. I just hope that nothing is messed up and I end up with a roommate.
Traveling as a non-binary person is frustrating because a lot of the time you have to indicate an honorific for the airline, and it has to match your passport. However, if they had given me the option for "Reverend," I would have been fine. I'm an ordained interfaith minister, and I use "Reverend" for my gender-neutral honorific for the most part. Once I get my Ph.D., it'll be Dr.! But, until then, I wish I could have chosen "Rev." at the beginning of my title instead of what I had to choose.
Anyway, I leave tomorrow! (Yikes.) And I still have some shopping to do. (Extra yikes.) Don't be like me, kids. Shop for everything and have it at least three days ahead of when you're supposed to leave. My anxiety is skyrocketing because I checked the weather in the areas I will be in Bulgaria, and there's going to be a lot of rain. I currently live in the desert - we don't get a lot of rain where I live. I don't have a raincoat. Heck, I don't even have a coat. So, I'll be doing a couple runs during my lunch hour today to try and get a light jacket, a cheap wallet (my current wallet is one I do NOT want to lose), a drawstring backpack (surprisingly hard to find?), a cheap computer bag, and some tape to make sure my luggage tags don't get ripped off my luggage. I should also get a luggage lock, but not sure where I can get that, so I'm going to need to go to 1-3 stores before I go home tonight.
Fantastic.
I've already packed my carry on, but need to rearrange my plastic baggy of toiletries because it's already too full and I have to decide what's the most important to put in it. I haven't traveled out of the country since 2009, so I was no longer familiar with the rules and regulations for carry-on bags. Additionally, I've never flown out of Las Vegas before, so I'm extra nervous about that.
I did a lot of my planning early on, in November, when I knew that I was going for sure. I paid for my program and single room first, and then for my flight second. My flight wasn't too bad, but it was almost as much as the trip cost me. I needed new luggage because my favorite suitcase, which I bought in Japan in 2007, was beginning to finally break (what a lifespan; I'm really rough on my suitcases). A set of three was about $110. Then, I realized I didn't have any pants anymore, because again, the desert, and the ones I did have no longer fit. Ordered those last week because I could not find my size in a store. I have literally gotten all of my clothes for this trip over the last week or so. If I hadn't had to move in the middle of getting ready for it, I might have been more prepared (long story short: our apartment had gone way downhill, and now we're living with my fiancé's (lovingly referred to as Folklore Fiancé on other platforms) family). Either way, I have to make do.
One of the other things I wanted to make sure I had were knee pads. Even for someone with healthy and never-injured knees, it's important to have those or a kneeling pad; however, I had a knee injury nearly two years ago (imagine unpacking mannequins off a truck and then BITING it right onto your knee), and it never healed quite right. So, it was imperative for me to have them before I left. That, and a bucket hat, two things I never thought to buy until a little under a month ago. I still have to do laundry and pack my checked bag, but then I go to the airport tomorrow morning at nine!
My flight is at noon, and I have a flight from here to Detroit, then Detroit to Paris, and then from Paris to Sofia. So, a lot of different flights!! However, I love flying and that's not my issue. I just hate waiting. There's some time between each of my flights, so I have a total of about sixteen hours of travel time. Then, I have to find my hotel when I get to Sofia. It seems that there is a free 24-hour shuttle service from the airport, though, so that's great! I don't think it's too near anything for me to see and I have to go back to the airport to get the ride with the rest of the group, so at least I chose the hotel well. I want to make sure I can stay awake long enough to get myself out of the jetlag, though. I can't sleep on planes. So this will be an interesting trip...
The other thing I managed to mess up because I did it last minute was the most annoying thing because I should have known better since I have gone out of the country three separate times before this: currency. I ordered €50 from my bank because I forgot - I knew, and I forgot - that Bulgaria doesn't use Euro. So, now I have Euro for my layover in France, I guess, and for when I get to the field school because of the leftover fees I still owed them. I just need to make sure I take my cards with me, too!
But, because I figured I wouldn't be able to post for a bit once I started flying all over the place, I wanted to get a blog post out a little earlier than I was planning! Shout out to my co-workers and my mom for contributing for the trip when they didn't have to :3 (one co-worker got me a holographic elephant journal for the trip! With owl stickers! So, that's going to be my travel journal.)
I'll probably post Sunday evening once I get into Sofia because I'll be trying to focus on traveling! Either way, if you want to follow me before I post again, be sure to check out my other social media platforms:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theancientgeekoroman/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/theancientgeekoroman/
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And if you would like to support me and my future projects, please consider becoming a Patron!
https://www.patreon.com/theancientgeekoroman
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my frantic rambling!
Traveling as a non-binary person is frustrating because a lot of the time you have to indicate an honorific for the airline, and it has to match your passport. However, if they had given me the option for "Reverend," I would have been fine. I'm an ordained interfaith minister, and I use "Reverend" for my gender-neutral honorific for the most part. Once I get my Ph.D., it'll be Dr.! But, until then, I wish I could have chosen "Rev." at the beginning of my title instead of what I had to choose.
Anyway, I leave tomorrow! (Yikes.) And I still have some shopping to do. (Extra yikes.) Don't be like me, kids. Shop for everything and have it at least three days ahead of when you're supposed to leave. My anxiety is skyrocketing because I checked the weather in the areas I will be in Bulgaria, and there's going to be a lot of rain. I currently live in the desert - we don't get a lot of rain where I live. I don't have a raincoat. Heck, I don't even have a coat. So, I'll be doing a couple runs during my lunch hour today to try and get a light jacket, a cheap wallet (my current wallet is one I do NOT want to lose), a drawstring backpack (surprisingly hard to find?), a cheap computer bag, and some tape to make sure my luggage tags don't get ripped off my luggage. I should also get a luggage lock, but not sure where I can get that, so I'm going to need to go to 1-3 stores before I go home tonight.
Fantastic.
I've already packed my carry on, but need to rearrange my plastic baggy of toiletries because it's already too full and I have to decide what's the most important to put in it. I haven't traveled out of the country since 2009, so I was no longer familiar with the rules and regulations for carry-on bags. Additionally, I've never flown out of Las Vegas before, so I'm extra nervous about that.
I did a lot of my planning early on, in November, when I knew that I was going for sure. I paid for my program and single room first, and then for my flight second. My flight wasn't too bad, but it was almost as much as the trip cost me. I needed new luggage because my favorite suitcase, which I bought in Japan in 2007, was beginning to finally break (what a lifespan; I'm really rough on my suitcases). A set of three was about $110. Then, I realized I didn't have any pants anymore, because again, the desert, and the ones I did have no longer fit. Ordered those last week because I could not find my size in a store. I have literally gotten all of my clothes for this trip over the last week or so. If I hadn't had to move in the middle of getting ready for it, I might have been more prepared (long story short: our apartment had gone way downhill, and now we're living with my fiancé's (lovingly referred to as Folklore Fiancé on other platforms) family). Either way, I have to make do.
One of the other things I wanted to make sure I had were knee pads. Even for someone with healthy and never-injured knees, it's important to have those or a kneeling pad; however, I had a knee injury nearly two years ago (imagine unpacking mannequins off a truck and then BITING it right onto your knee), and it never healed quite right. So, it was imperative for me to have them before I left. That, and a bucket hat, two things I never thought to buy until a little under a month ago. I still have to do laundry and pack my checked bag, but then I go to the airport tomorrow morning at nine!
My flight is at noon, and I have a flight from here to Detroit, then Detroit to Paris, and then from Paris to Sofia. So, a lot of different flights!! However, I love flying and that's not my issue. I just hate waiting. There's some time between each of my flights, so I have a total of about sixteen hours of travel time. Then, I have to find my hotel when I get to Sofia. It seems that there is a free 24-hour shuttle service from the airport, though, so that's great! I don't think it's too near anything for me to see and I have to go back to the airport to get the ride with the rest of the group, so at least I chose the hotel well. I want to make sure I can stay awake long enough to get myself out of the jetlag, though. I can't sleep on planes. So this will be an interesting trip...
The other thing I managed to mess up because I did it last minute was the most annoying thing because I should have known better since I have gone out of the country three separate times before this: currency. I ordered €50 from my bank because I forgot - I knew, and I forgot - that Bulgaria doesn't use Euro. So, now I have Euro for my layover in France, I guess, and for when I get to the field school because of the leftover fees I still owed them. I just need to make sure I take my cards with me, too!
But, because I figured I wouldn't be able to post for a bit once I started flying all over the place, I wanted to get a blog post out a little earlier than I was planning! Shout out to my co-workers and my mom for contributing for the trip when they didn't have to :3 (one co-worker got me a holographic elephant journal for the trip! With owl stickers! So, that's going to be my travel journal.)
I'll probably post Sunday evening once I get into Sofia because I'll be trying to focus on traveling! Either way, if you want to follow me before I post again, be sure to check out my other social media platforms:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theancientgeekoroman/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/theancientgeekoroman/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theancientgeekoroman/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/theancientgeekoroman/
Tumblr: https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theancientgeeko/
https://www.patreon.com/theancientgeekoroman
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my frantic rambling!
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