.....

so, where to start? first things first, my grandfather passed away last week. it's still so surreal to me. death is something i've never been comfortable with... like, anxiety attack uncomfortable... and it is literally hard for me to understand. i just can't wrap my head around the fact that i'll never see him again. i won't go on and on about it, because it will only make me upset. i'll just say that he was truly the best grandfather ever and i'm so lucky to have spent the time with him that i did.

i went home for a week. it was bittersweet. obviously, the reason for my return was sad and unexpected, but i was so happy to be with friends and family. i really loved being back in the states. i didn't get to see chad while i was home, which was a total bummer. even though i wasn't expecting to see him, part of me was hoping! i did see lindsey (of course). again, bittersweet. it's so funny how much we compliment each other as friends... and it never ceases to amaze me that no matter how long we go without talking, we can just reconnect and click, like no time elapsed at all! maybe that's a tad cheesy, but what can i say, being in bulgaria makes me sentimental. i did a bunch of shopping while i was home, and brought back all the clothes i wanted. best of all, i went to several of my favorite restaurants. basically, it was perfect! sometimes it was hard to remember that i came home for something sad, because i was just so happy to be there.

now, i'm back in bulgaria. it feels the same: normal and average. last night though, i spent the night in sofia with shantay and amanda. it was officially the best night i have had in bulgaria so far. we went to an indian restaurant with some other volunteers (one volunteer had a birthday and others came to hang out). it was delicious! after dinner, we went to some sketchy bar at a hostel. we were only there for one drink though. after that, the other volunteers left and it was just me, amanda, and shantay. we went to a karaoke bar.... and get this, we all sang!! normally, i would rather die, but everyone in the place was singing along and the sound system wasn't that great, so you could barely hear the people who were actually supposed to be singing. and finally, we went to a club in the "student area" of the city. we danced until the wee hours of the morning. it was almost like being back in downtown athens. (almost).

well, i'm off to bed. one more day to lounge and then back to the daily grind.