So, details since Friday, the train to Bulgaria left promptly at 10PM, just as scheduled. I was not sensible and instead of doing something minor like homework and then going to sleep, I read The DaVinci Code which I thoroughly enjoyed until about 2:30. Then I slept till being awakened at 3:30 for a long stop at the border, and again on the other side of the border and by customs..., I think I managed about 4 hours of sleep in the 11-hour trip, since I squandered the best sleeping time.
Upon arriving in Plovdiv, I commenced walking about the city. This first picture is of an area of the city that reminded me very much of NC in the fall (weather and atmosphere). The general terrain of the country reminded of Ohio... boring, small hills, and kinda brown.
I wandered the city for basically the entire day, seeing a good portion of it, getting lost only occasionally, finding little eating or drinking spots, learning tidbits of the Cyrillic alphabet, reading more of my book, spending time at the local McDonald's, :) and other various things. The second picture is the Ancient Stadium of Philippolis, according to the sign. The third one is the statue of Philip II of Macedon for whom the city was named (more famously, he was the father of Alexander).
The trip back was far more restful than the trip there although, and although it left about 2 hours late, we were only a half hour late getting back. I got the visa I needed and saw a bit of Bulgaria; mission accomplished.
The only other news that comes to mind is that today we started learning the future tense in Turkish class; it's very difficult to pronounce, but not hard to understand. :)
Matthew,
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting. You are way more disciplined in keeping your blog updated than I am! I can't even keep up with reading all of your entries (I don't get enough time at the computer, hopefully as the ministry here can afford it, I'll get more office hours.)
I caught wind recently of some potential plans of some men in ministry here in Edmonton arranging a trip over there to walk through the journeys of Paul. If its possible, I might be able to join! Love to see you and get a better sense for how your life is going than what I can tell from your blog. I'll keep you posted on any news I hear.
-Kevin
What do you think of the Da Vinci Code?
ReplyDeleteNow there's a loaded question...
ReplyDeleteI liked it a lot as a novel. Other than the obvious fact that I think it has some serious philosophical and theological books, it was quite enjoyable.
If you know Christian history (or the Bible), much of what he says is so blatantly untrue that the rest can either be ignored or researched depending on your mood. (OK, so that's probably a bad statement, but whatever.)
Just thought I should let you know, I bought the book about a year ago in the Minneapolis airport and had it finished by the time I got home...something like 4 or 5 hours. It was definitly absorbing. I personally find it somewhat disgusting...but that's just my opinion and you are entitled you your own opinion...if you want to be wrong:D
ReplyDeletePS you never answered my question about Facebook!
Ok, so while I kind of agree with you that parts of it are disgusting, I am not tremendously bothered by those parts because they are historically feasible. So, morally wrong, certainly; but then, the whole book is problematic. Thus, I enjoyed the "novel" aspect of the book.
ReplyDeleteAnd I responded to your Facebook response. :)
OK so you did.
ReplyDelete