You say goodbye and I say hello

This is how I feel about this next year!

I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello, Hello, Hello!

Until Friday last week (yes Friday, July 3rd), I thought that I would be writing a good-bye post this week.  However, today (three days later), I am thrilled to announce that I’ll be staying on for a second year in Sofia, Bulgaria!

The Fulbright concluded on July 1st and I was fully prepared to travel for three weeks, return to Sofia and head home to Walla Walla.  Then on Friday morning, I got an email from the president of the American College asking me if I was still interested in the opportunity to teach at their high school.  I wrote back that I was.  I met the president at 2pm for coffee and by 4pm he’d offered me the job.  And in fewer than 6 hours and one cappicanno later my plans for the next year changed once again.

This afternoon I’ll be going out to the American College to sign my contract. (Wow.)

At the end of July, rather than moving back to the States, I’ll be moving across town and rather than taking all of my things home when I go back for what’s now an extended vacation, I’ll be going to collect much of stuff I just sent home with my MoM.  (Thanks MoM!!)  The funny thing is that a piece of me still can’t get my head around the fact that I’ll be living and working in Sofia for a second year.  I find myself thinking I am going to miss this and then laughing because while next year will be different than this year I am currently completing–this adventure is by no means over.

So what’s the story with the American College? Is it a college? Nope.  The American College of Sofia is a private high school in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Sofia called Mladost.  I think it’s safe to say that Mladost is actually more like a suburb of Sofia than anything else.  I’ve got a lot to learn  about this part of the city–the neighborhoods all seem to be distinguished by numbers–there’s Mladost 1, Mladost 2, Mladost 3 and I think there’s even a Mladost 4.  How this actually works or what it means in practice, I am not sure.  I have to admit, I’ve been pretty happy living in the city center and know the names of some of these other neighborhoods but I’ve never bothered to learn too much else.

Oh all the new things to learn about! Aside from having a new job, I’ll also be moving to Mladost as the school owns housing for it’s foreign teachers there.  While, I am not thrilled about the idea of leaving my current apartment and landlord, I have to admit that the prospect of living close to school is pretty appealing.  The thought of having to commute everyday to school from the city center doesn’t really bring to mind puppies and rainbows.  While Mladost seems so far away right now, a few of my Bulgarian friends who I let in on my secret this weekend reminded me that if all goes well the metro/subway/underground is scheduled to open in Mladost in September. And who doesn’t love the metro!

I guess this leads to the question: what exactly will you be doing? I’ll be teaching English at the high school–two classes of either 9th or 10th grade English and two classes of either 11th or 12th grade English and an elective course (which I get to design and propose).  For everyone not familiar with the American College of Sofia, this is a high school and not a college.  I am not sure exactly why the name is misleading but I can only imagine that it has to do with the fact that the school was founded in 1860 or so and there wasn’t yet a standardization of the use of the word college yet but that is just a wild and completely unfounded guess. The schools website has a good history posted online but nothing about how the school got it’s name.  I promise that I’ll ask (unless one of my knowledgeable Bulgarian readers beats me to it!).

All of this said, I couldn’t be happier that I’ll be teaching full time at the American College of Sofia this fall and that I get to live for a second year in Bulgaria.  Maybe good things do come to those to wait. Mostly, I am just glad that I don’t have to say good-bye to this city or the friends I’ve made just yet.  Rather, I get to say: hello, Hello, Hello.