Field School: The Journey Home (Las Vegas)

     The flight from Atlanta wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. During our boarding, we were told that if we had rolling carry-ons, they would have to be checked and put in the hold, but I had prepared for that and removed the bag I had from Bulgaria - I had put all the souvenirs into my Balkan Heritage Field School tote bag and then put that inside my I <3 Bulgaria drawstring bag that I had used as my dig bag for the past week (I realized on the flight later I had forgotten to take my passport out of my roller carry-on and was frantically praying to Hermes to at least let me get that bag back if nothing else because how did I forget to remove my passport). The seats were a bit roomier than the ones on the Paris flight because there were significantly fewer people on this flight, so the seats were slightly bigger. The flight was supposed to be four hours and sixteen minutes long.
     I met someone named Dawn Rose on the way into the flight because she and I had seats near each other, but her traveling companion had a seat higher up in the plane. Both a person behind her and I told her they were willing to switch with him if she wanted; the other woman ended up switching, so I kept my aisle seat, which was next to Dawn Rose's aisle seat, so we talked for a bit because I told her I was on a dig in Bulgaria, so we talked about archaeology for a while, and she told me where she traveled, before we both went to do our own things.
     The flight had a snack, so I had a weird "cookie" that tasted like doughy cake and some Coke. When they had come back, I asked what they had for hot drinks, and I got tea and asked for their cookies, which complemented the black tea well. The flight had been blasting cold air at us (the downside to the aisle seat and being short is that I can't reach anything above me like the controls for that) the whole flight, and before we took off, they made an announcement that there were no blankets on board because Atlanta had a shortage, so they didn't take any. I was so cold that I made more trips to the bathroom than usual (as soon as I felt the slightest need to go) just so that I could warm up a little bit. At one point during the first bathroom trip, someone pushed on the door with a lot of force, so I yelled "Whoa," because, dude, I am doing my business in here, please wait for a second, the door says occupied.
     Despite the fact that the airline was selling headsets for $2 a piece, I just did what I had done on my first flight out of Vegas, and watched movies with subtitles and no earpieces. I put on Love, Simon again, so if I nodded off for a bit, it wasn't that big of a deal. The final stretch of the time, I put on Thor: Ragnarok, and nodded off during that a few times as well. I kept checking my watch because I was so anxious to get home.
     Once we landed, I gathered all of my things and began to message Folklore Fiancé. They were already at the airport, and once I was let out, I was at gate D34. Folklore Fiancé said they had been at a different gate first, but then went to information. I asked them to call me, and they had told me where they were waiting. We decided to head to the carousel for my luggage and meet there. They asked me if I wanted them to grab my bags if they saw them. I said yes, if they could, but to be careful with the large luggage. Right after they said that, they saw the small one already, and while we were on the phone, told me they grabbed the big one too. We stayed on the phone until I found them waiting by the number 14 carousel. We hugged and my knee popped, so I had to sit for a minute.
     Folklore Fiancé led the way to their aunt's car where she was waiting for us in the parking garage. My luggage was a little worse for wear and it didn't have my lock on it anymore, even though I had a TSA-approved lock, which really irritated me. I didn't see it inside my luggage, either, and I am still angry about it because it was a brand new lock I had bought before I went. We loaded up the car and headed home. We talked about the dig, and I shared some snacks I had bought in Bulgaria with them, and we finally got home around 11 p.m.
     I gave everyone their presents that I had for them: I got Nana a pepper shaker and a magnet that was a mini mortar and pestle; I got three souvenir spoons (one silver, two ceramic) for my aunt-in-law, my sibling-in-law got a Bulgarian wooden flute, and Folklore Fiancé was given socks with traditional Bulgarian designs on it, a miniature notebook that was the very kitschy souvenir design but I knew they would like, a pegasus necklace, and then a necklace with a large charm with Bulgarian embroidery on it. They said they had never seen embroidery on a necklace before and seemed super excited about it, so I was glad I made the right decision on buying it.
     Folklore Fiancé heated up some kielbasa for me before I went to take my shower and soak my feet (because they are very swollen), and we went to bed late. This is my last blog post about my field school trip for the Pistiros excavation of 2018 through the Balkan Heritage Field School!
     That is, of course, until I go again next season 😉

Field School: The Journey Home (Bonjour, Paris - Encore)

     I knocked on Cyrene's door around 4:50 a.m., since we had decided that's when we were going to head down and catch the airport shuttle as we arranged the previous night. When we were checking out, I was prepared to pay the city tax like I did last time, but the fellow may have remembered me from when I checked in, and he didn't ask for it, which was cool. Cyrene and I stood outside to wait for the driver to come and get our luggage in the shuttle.
     We got to the Sofia Airport around 5:12 a.m. because he had to drop off someone at the other terminal, and then unload all of our bags (two other people had taken then shuttle with us), and Cyrene and I parted ways so we could check our bags at our respective airlines. My bag was a little over 21.60 kilograms, but it was still under 23, and that's what mattered. Once I was checked in and headed to my gate, it was barely 5:45, so checking the bags and going through security didn't take long at all.
     Cyrene messaged me and told me where her gate was, so I meandered over to her to say our goodbyes, and we went to grab some things from the place that had snacks and drinks. I bought two bottles of water and a Coke, and it cost me over ten leva, which is bonkers; that is way too much - the Coke was 5 leva on its own. Cyrene and I hugged and went back to our gates, and I ate my breakfast (mini croissants filled with chocolate), and drank one of the waters. The boarding started shortly after that, and it felt like we were waiting forever to board. Luckily, I had an aisle seat.
     But I was next to a baby and their father.
     I reassured myself that it wouldn't be bad because I was only on a two-and-a-half hour flight. The kid did sleep for most of the flight, and I read the guide to Plovdiv I had bought at the museum there. That took up most of the flight. The baby did kick me a lot, and the father kept moving and getting into my space, but I was trying my best to be patient because I know traveling with a kid that has to sit in your lap on an airplane can't be easy. He was very apologetic about things, though, so I had no problem with them. The baby wasn't screaming the whole time, and when they were awake, they were just saying "WOW" about what was out the window or babbling in French.
     We arrived in Paris around 10 a.m. Sofia time, 9 a.m. Paris time, and had to go through security for the connecting flights. Apparently, I can't bring soda or water even though I had bought them in the other airport, so I chugged the Coke, threw away the water, and the little water that they had given me on the Bulgaria Air flight (which honestly I should have drunk as soon as I received it because it was small). The attendant also put my hand sanitizer in a bag because I had forgotten to put it in one because I carry it in my pocket. Other than that, I was able to get through security pretty easily.
     The next challenge was my boarding pass for Atlanta saying "check screens" for my gate. So, I had to find one of the screens, but none of them listed Atlanta as a destination for the time it was leaving, just Vienna. I had seen a machine that lets you scan your boarding pass to tell you your gate, but since I was in line for security when I saw it, I couldn't get to it. Since the screens didn't say where I was supposed to go, I had to find another one to tell me where I was supposed to be. I needed to be in terminal 2E, so I found my way there and where we waited for the bus shuttle, there was another machine. It gave me my gate number, and I took the bus shuttle when it came and got off at the second stop.
     There were a lot of shops on the way to my gate, so I popped into a few of them to check them out since I still have a little Euro left from my mistake at the beginning of this trip. Nothing caught my fancy, and I found my gate. None of the outlets were working, so I gave up on trying to charge my phone or my laptop since I won't really be able to use either of them on the flight over anyway. I ran to the restroom and then back to the gate. I finished the last two blogs and have been uploading my Bulgarian photos to my personal Facebook before I add them to my Ancient Geeko-Roman pages. Since I don't have my waters anymore, I might get some before we board. It's still about an hour before we're going to be getting on the plane, so I'll probably just walk around for a bit, and then come back before boarding time.
     Atlanta, here I come! 

Field School: Farewell and Sofia

August 6, 2018

     Last night, I stayed up late because I was trying to finish packing and fill out my evaluation form for the Balkan Heritage Field School. There was a lot I had to say, but I kept hearing people being loud, so I went to the landing where Siyu, Madeline, Ivan, and Mathilde were sitting and sat with them for a minute and then headed outside to see what the ruckus was, but they were busy playing a drinking game, so I came back inside and finished packing and went to bed. I woke up at 4 a.m., talked to Folklore Fiancé for a bit, especially because there was a dog barking for a solid hour and a half, and fell back asleep.
     My alarm went off around 7 a.m. so that I could get up and get ready before grabbing some breakfast before I had to leave. I was about 99% packed, and Mathilde had offered to weigh my luggage for me with a little device she had. Once I had brushed my teeth and packed my toothbrush and toothpaste, Mathilde came back to weight my luggage for me (it was 21.60 kilograms, and the limit is 23, I believe). She offered to help me carry down my luggage to the restaurant where I was going to await the bus. She took the heaviest piece of luggage, and I got the rest.
     Once I had my luggage settled and sat back down in my usual seat for breakfast, Mathilde sat back down with me where she usually sat, even though we were both done eating. Then Siyu sat next to me, and Ivan sat across from me, pointed to my suitcases and said, "it's real." We all talked for a bit about various things; tattoos because one of the people I follow on Instagram has a trowel tattoo on their wrist, and I talked about the tattoos I wanted to get and about Folklore Fiancé's tattoo.
     Then, eventually, I told the story of my engagement with Folklore Fiancé and how we had planned it together and set it on a particular day, but we each had our own proposal to the other person so that part was still a surprise. Mathilde thought it was super cute, and I showed them all pictures of our engagement rings, and Mathilde was definitely swooning. Ivan said, "I think Mathilde wants to marry you now, too."
     Ivan then told me he was bad with goodbyes, which is why he ghosts everyone when we're hanging out, so I told him I won't make any eye contact when I said goodbye, I would just show up at his hometown in New Zealand unannounced one day. When it was around the time for the bus to be there, I began to gather my things. Nico gave me a coin from Macedonian coin before I left and offered to help me with my luggage and took it outside for me. I said "Au revoir," and Mathilde said she didn't like that, it's not au revoir, so I told her "see you later" in Japanese instead because she and I both study it.
     We got all the luggage outside, and the bus rounded the corner shortly after. Everyone came outside, and we all hugged. We were wished safe travels by everyone as well. When I got to Ivan, we both sort of avoided eye contact and did some weird punch-in-the-shoulder-fist-bump hybrid nonsense that felt super awkward, so I just said "okay, now give me a real hug," and he did. I said bye to Angela and hugged her and told her I would be back. She helped us with our luggage and we all loaded into the bus (I realized at nearly the last moment that I still had my room key in my pocket, so I hopped off the bus to give it back to Angela before returning onto the bus).
     I waved out of the back of the bus window at everyone, and Shahruz saw me and waved, said something and everyone waved before I shut the curtain. When we started moving, everyone waved again out the side window, and Mathilde was waving with both arms until we couldn't see her anymore.
     The bus driver left around 8:50 a.m., which was a little concerning because Jenny and Lina had a flight back to Sweden at 11:15 a.m. The bus driver stopped once for gas and another time for reasons unknown. However, they made it to their flight and safely home.
     Cyrene and I left with Linda and Jenny, who were on their way straight to the airport, but Cyrene and I had another day left in Sofia before we had to leave Tuesday morning, so we planned a few things. We were able to check into the hotel early, which was nice - the receptionist who helped us even gave us rooms across from each other. Cyrene opened the door, and it hadn't been serviced yet, so she was given a new room, so we were a few rooms down from each other. We both got settled before heading out, and I decided to shower later.
     We headed back down to the lobby to ask where we could find a taxi to take us to the National Archaeological Museum (also known as the National Archaeological Institute with Museum) in the city center. She said that she would call us a taxi and we could wait at the entrance outside. He showed up maybe less than five minutes later, and we got into the cab. He began to drive, and Cyrene and I talked, and when we got closer to the area we knew we had to be in, he pointed to either direction, and neither of us knew, but he went left, which seemed right when we looked at the map on Cyrene's phone. She showed it to him, and he pulled over and called someone. He handed me the phone and said "English," so I tried to talk to the person on the other line.
     This was stressing me out because the meter was still running while we were sitting there and a cab that should have cost only ten leva became almost thirteen once we got there (stay tuned to find out why that's not the worst thing that can happen with a cab money-wise). We got out somewhere nearby and walked the rest of the way. There was an underpass and we ended up right in the Serdica Ruins, which was a place we were planning on seeing anyway. I believe it was the East Gate area of the place, so we stopped to take pictures before we continued. We saw some souvenir shops on the way and decided to hit them on the way back before the walking tour since they closed before the walking tour ended.
     Finally, we found the Archaeological Museum. It wasn't as small as I would have imagined, and I bought the tickets since Cyrene paid for the cab. We were both stoked because as soon as you walk in, you see a ton of statuary, stele, two large sarcophagi (on the right, but they're hard to miss) and glass cases full of figurines and other assorted objects that I've never seen in a museum before. Cyrene and I walked around slowly, taking pictures, and I kept asking to get pictures with the statues - especially the one of Fortuna; that thing was enormous. It took us almost a whole hour to get through just the first floor.
     The upper floor had a lot of Byzantine icons, which didn't interest either of us all that much (once things move to Late Antiquity, both of us tend to lose interest), and then we saw a sign about staying a certain amount of centimeters away from the icons or an alarm would sound. So, we avoided them for the most part but made sure we walked past it. At the end of the upper walkway, there were two more small galleries: one about Bulgarian history from the prehistoric times up until when the church became prominent, and the other one was about Sports in Ancient Thrace, which we were both excited to see. The color scheme (orange and black) seemed like it would be obnoxious but it worked pretty well for the setup they had in the room.
     The next step was the Treasury Room, which we almost missed, but the security guards pointed out the door and that it was open (the other doors to the rooms were just a doorway, but the Treasury had heavy iron gates with a plexiglass-like top door over them that we had to pull open). The artifacts were amazing - there was a lot of armor, gold treasure, a bronze head that still had the eye inlays intact, and several other objects such as death masks and several small beads.
     We eventually made our way to the prehistoric hall and meandered around there for a bit, wondering what certain things were, and imagining what it would be like to fully understand the use of something. Cyrene marveled at the fact that people once owned these things and used them; whenever I think about that, I wonder about the things we use every day and whether in one thousand years, people will be digging up our garbage and classifying it as artifacts.
     Since we had gotten overexcited and started the museum, we hadn't eaten lunch, and it was still early in the afternoon, so we decided to hit the National Museum of Natural History, which was only five leva each. We got our tickets and went on our way - some of the things in the museum were interesting, but overall, it felt more like a cabinet of curiosities than a natural history museum. There was a lot of taxidermies, but also very corny things like badly done displays to simulate water. There was also plenty of specimens floating in vials or jars on every floor (there were four floors). I suggested we start on the fourth floor and then work our way down so that we would be done and on the bottom floor once we finished. The first floor was my favorite because that's where all the rocks and minerals were - the rest of it didn't feel quite like a museum.
     Lunch (or early dinner) was the only things on our minds once we left, so we began to scout out a place for food. On our way towards what looked like a busier area with a few options for food options, we found another part of the Serdica Ruins, so we made a pitstop there. Many pictures were taken, and the hunt for food continued. As we ventured on our journey, we passed a Mosque, and it was the first time I had ever heard a call to prayer in person. I thought it was quite beautiful.
     We finally settled on a place called Pizza Einstein, which had a good amount of traditional Bulgarian food options as well as pizza. I ordered a Margherita pizza because I'm simple and I missed just a plain food after having a lot of traditional Bulgarian food for the past two weeks. I did worry that my taste in Coca-Cola has changed though because it's all made with real sugar in Europe, so I'm going to go home thinking the soda tastes bad. It seems like I'm going to have to drink Mexican Coca-Cola to keep my taste buds satisfied.
     When the food arrived, I devoured the entire 26-centimeter pizza in less than ten minutes. I told Cyrene to not rush herself, I was just a fast eater, and it was no worries if she wanted to take her time. She ended up finishing her pizza, too, and then we were stuck in restaurant limbo because we had decided to eat inside and everyone else seemed to be eating outside. Thus, we didn't see our waitress all that often. She brought us the bill, and Cyrene used her card, but the elusive waitress was nowhere to be seen once more. Eventually, she came but told us to wait a moment for her because we were using a card, so she brought a machine to the table.
     Once we were free, we went to the Raffy stand and bought a couple of gelatos to eat while we walked on our way to the Free Sofia Tour, where guides take people on an English tour of the city and show twenty different monuments or places of interest on the way. The walking tour took two hours, and I was beginning to feel both the pizza and the gelato coming to seek vengeance, so once the tour was over, we headed over to the cafe so I could use the restroom. It cost me 0.50 leva to visit the porta-potty from Hell, but luckily I noticed there was no toilet paper when I sat down and asked for some before I had any issues. Thank the gods I had hand sanitizer in my bag.
     Here is where we both made a mistake because we just wanted to get back to the hotel: we saw a cab sitting and waiting, so we went up and asked about the Ibis Hotel Sofia Airport, and he said yes, yes, get in, and of course the first issue we both had was we couldn't find the clips for the seatbelts, so neither of us ended up wearing one. About halfway through the ride, I leaned over to Cyrene and told her that the meter was already at something like 35 leva, which is ridiculous because it wasn't far from where we were dropped off in the morning, and our final bill was nearly 40 leva. For a ride that couldn't have been longer than ten minutes.
     We got back to the hotel and thought about getting a beer, but Cyrene decided to pass, and I thought that was a better idea. I checked in to my flight, but it said I had to print out my boarding passes, and luckily there was a computer I was able to use in the lobby for it, and it didn't cost anything. I scheduled the airport shuttle for us at 5 a.m. and went back upstairs. I kept charging her tablet for her and then I brought it to her room since my phone and computer were dying (since I couldn't charge things when not in the room because the keycard has to be inserted for the electricity to work, which is annoying). We said goodnight around ten o'clock, and I definitely need to go to bed soon because it's half past midnight and we have to be up in about four hours to get ready and catch our flights.
     I have a lot of long layovers, so hopefully I don't go mad with boredom.


If you want to know more about the Free Sofia Tour, here is a link to their website: https://freesofiatour.com/free-sofia-tour/

Field School: Panagyurishte and Koprivshtitsa

August 5, 2018

     The excursion day was optional, so we didn't have Shane, Elizabeth, or Nico with us today. Shane is a supervisor and a previous student, so he's seen probably all he can see in both of these villages (towns?), Elizabeth wasn't feeling well, and I think Nico was just exhausted because before he came to our dig, he did four weeks at another location in Stobi. Since we were going to two different places, I wasn't sure how much we were going to be traveling by bus, but I was stoked to go regardless.
     The bus was scheduled to come at 8:30 a.m., so I slept in longer than I usually did on dig days. I showered and talked to Folklore Fiancé for a little while. Once I told them that I had to go to get to the bus for the excursion, I went downstairs around 8 a.m. to see if anyone was waiting yet. Apparently, I had been mistaken about breakfast, which was still out, so I grabbed a few more things to eat before we went on our excursions.
     The first stop on our excursions was Panagyurishte. The history complex made up The Panagyurishte Museum of History, which included the Panagyurishte Treasure, other archaeological artifacts, an exhibit dedicated to the liberation of Bulgaria, and a group of houses of important Bulgarians in history that are also important architecturally. We were given audio guides for the Treasure exhibition, which I only used about half of the time because I was too busy taking pictures of all of them so that I would have them to reference later (I also bought a book all about the treasure before leaving, so I still have a lot of the information I would have had from the audio tour, which I forgot all of what I listened to as soon as we moved on).
     The Treasure was awesome, and it was so cool to see the originals rather than imitations; the hall in which they were displayed was hard to photograph with just a mobile phone, so I don't have any good photos of the whole thing. (Next time I'm bringing a better camera!) I wanted to listen to the audio tour, but I feel like I can never take my time when I'm in a group, so I just moved on as soon as most people looked like they were done. The next area had more archaeological artifacts, which I got excited about, especially because a lot of the things I have seen in Bulgaria I haven't seen in other museums before.
     After seeing the rest of the archaeology exhibits and the galleries about the liberation and uprising in Bulgaria in the 19th century, we moved on to looking at the house museums. We were given a tour by the guide, which Angela translated as we went. Most of the houses were ornately decorated and had displays of the guest house areas, and traditional Bulgarian dress and daily life laid out to see. The last thing we saw were the workshops that were behind glass windows in little cubicles - things like shoe cobbling, weaving, blacksmithing, and so on - to give us a sense of the ethnography of Bulgaria.
     We finished in Panagyurishte and got on the bus again to head to Koprivshtitsa. It was a little while away, and none of us had had lunch yet. We all were used to our tea and biscuit break at 10:30 a.m. as well during the dig, so we were more hungry than usual. The bus stopped around 2 p.m. in the village and dropped us off at a restaurant where we were eating Bulgarian food. I sat with Shahruz, Mathilde, Cyrene, Ivan, Jianing, and Siyu. The conversation was good, and lunch took almost an hour, which was fine, but that only gave us a couple of hours of free time to explore. The food wasn't anything special to me, so I was anxious to go see what was around.
     After splitting off into groups, Shahruz, Ivan, Siyu, Mathilde, Cyrene, and I all started in the same direction. We wandered around and took some pictures - I remembered the stuffed animal my boss wanted me to photograph abroad, so I was using him a lot. Eventually, we all split off again, and Cyrene and I ran amok in the souvenir shops. I managed to get souvenirs for everyone that I thought of while I was there, so I had everything covered for that (finally). Cyrene and I kind of went into every souvenir shop to make sure we didn't miss anything good. I still wasn't able to find a spoon for my aunt-in-law, who collects them from abroad, so I got ceramic ones instead of the traditional silver souvenir ones.
     Since we had to meet back at the monument at 5:30 p.m., we decided to wander a little bit more and then checked out the other souvenir shops nearer to where we were supposed to meet and then got some ice cream and water. Cyrene and I were concerned because we didn't see anyone else come back yet. Eventually, we spotted Angela and Petja and knew that people would be there soon. The bus came once we had everyone and we headed back to Villa Terres for the farewell dinner and so the people leaving could get ready.
     The farewell dinner was supposed to be at 8 p.m. according to the itinerary, but apparently, they moved it to 8:30 p.m., but no one told me, so I was sitting there for a while by myself. Ivan sat across from me, Cyrene was next to me on my right, and Mathilde was on my left. I had five glasses of wine because I was sad and didn't want to leave; also, I apparently really like their Sauvignon Blanc, and I'm not usually a fan of wine.
     Those of us who were leaving were given Certificates of Attendance, which outlined how many hours we had participated in the field, and how many hours of lectures we attended. We were also given a Balkan Heritage mug, which I am terrified is going to break on the way home.
     Time to pack.   

Field School: Preparation

     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:

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Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my frantic rambling!