I live in a cold, barely occupied, communist-built, concrete structure. The tall one on the far right. It has 12 stories and 4 elevators, but only one that works. I live on the edge of the city, overlooking the center. My "block" is right next to a "slum" of sorts. It's basically where the minority groups live. The two other Volunteers in town said they were warned to never go there, especially after dark! I think that's more indicative of a lack of social awareness than anything else. I don't find it too scary. On the other side of my block is a Kaufland, which I guess, is Germany's version of Walmart. It has everything I could possibly need - and I find it amusing that it opened 4 months ago, in what a statistician would call, a dying town. Silistra's population peaked (around 70,000) around the time communism fell. Now, it's about 20,000. People between the ages of 18 and 35 usually go to a bigger city or somewhere else in Europe to look for jobs. This trend is becoming more and more common in smaller sized cities. It's an odd feeling to be walking around the city around dinner time and count how many apartments have lights on. I'd hazard a guess at around 10-15%. But I'm not supposed to be outside after dark so shh.I have mixed feelings about my apartment. It's a one-bedroom apartment and the rent is roughly $100 a month. I think that's overpriced, especially considering selection potential. In fact, I met a guy whose girlfriend is trying to rent her three-bedroom apartment, which is much closer to the center, for two-thirds that price. Oh well. Its concrete floors are covered with random bits and pieces of scrap carpet, linoleum, and newspaper. None of it is cut to fit the rooms well, but I suppose it's more comfortable than the concrete.
My "bedroom" came with two pullout couches for beds, two heaters, a table, and a chair. The landlord told me not to use the big heater because it's expensive, but assured me that it worked. Later, when I was freezing, I decided to plug it in anyway (electricity is cheaper at night) only to find that the power cord had been severed and there's no extra outlet for it anyway. I pulled out one of the couches to make my bed and found hairs, stains, and food on the mattress. Gross. I put that one away and pulled out the other to find less of the same, but still the same, nonetheless. After the second night of extreme discomfort, I sprung for a mattress. I bought a big sheet of super firm foam for about $50. It's the exact same thing I bought back home and used for the bed I made last year except back home it cost $300! I had to move the two couches around a bit so my new mattress would fit; and once I moved them into appropriate lighting, I could see dust clouds rising off of them with the slightest touch.
My kitchen came complete with a tiny oven and a moldy, sticky refrigerator that I can't stop from freezing my milk, yogurt, steak, and eggs! I have a small table with two chairs and a rack on which to set some cooking supplies. It feels like my kitchen has everything but the kitchen sink. In fact, my kitchen doesn't have a sink. But there's a closet between the kitchen and the bathroom with a sink in it - so I can wash my dishes in the closet. =) Also in the closet is a washing machine. The landlord says it works, but I've looked everywhere and can't find an outlet in the closet. Go figure.
My bathroom is pretty standard. There's a sink, a toilet, and a shower. I kinda like it. I was really glad to find out that the toilet seat doesn't get wet when I take a shower! The one drawback is the really old water heater. It didn't work the first day, and so I had to take a cold shower on a cold morning. But it's worked since! Fingers crossed!Overall, the apartment is gross. Really gross. But, my landlord is super, super nice. He assures me, almost daily, that if I ever have a problem, he'll figure it out. He has supplied me with a dust sucker (vacuum), a rock-hard mop, a wet rag, and lots of really warm smiles! I really like him and his family. They've already had me over four times for food and drinks, and I haven't even been here a full week! After I've had some time to clean, everything will be right!
Again on the positive side of things, this is the view from my apartment - on the 8th floor. And, I have internet - faster than any internet I've ever had in the states! 
The town is pretty neat. It's in the far northeast corner of Bulgaria, bordered by the Danube river and Romania. 
They tell me this is the world's oldest mosque (built over 500 years ago), but I think Google disagrees. There is a super cute city center, and it looks to me so far, like it has a very active sense of community.
There's an interesting mix of Romanian and Bulgarian architecture, with bits of Roman ruins strewn around here and there. The population is pretty diverse, too, being Bulgarian, Turkish, Roma, Romanian, and me!
Trying to continue my enjoyment of fitness, I found a gym in my town! It's in the basement of a community center built ages ago. It's dirty and there are pictures of hot chicks taken from magazines and taped to the the walls. The equipment is greasy and squeaky, there is rust on my hands after I touch anything, and pop music blares from a tiny radio in the corner. It's perfect! I made a friend the first day I went, too. He's huge, but struck me as kind and gentle so I think I'll probably enjoy his friendship.
This is more or less the "entrance" - as you no doubt can tell.I'm finding the people to be similar to how I found them the last time I was in Bulgaria, which really reinforces how good of an observer I really am. Pretty much all of the older people I've been meeting with here are sweet, kind, endearing, and fun. It's kind of confusing to hear that their life expectancy is so low - 69 for men, and 76 for women. I haven't broken into the younger crowd yet, but looking on from the outside, I can see they're full of life.
My colleagues seem to be fantastic people. My counterpart took me around town and gave me a tour, along with the director of the library. On the tour, we stopped for lunch at their favorite place. As we sat down, I put my bag on the ground and the director began with her disapproval. She told me I can't put my bag on the ground because I'll end up with NO money! I told her to relax – I've got a fish scale in my wallet! But she wasn't having it. She insisted I set it on the chair next to me. And so I did. It feels so great to have people looking out for me. I'll write more about them when I know them better.
This really made me laugh! Don't know if you can see it, but the salt choice on the left (in green) is labeled "Light" and it advertises that its contents have 51% less salt! Click on the picture to make it bigger. The salt on the right is produced by a company called "Mercury Foods"! Haha!
Make sure and bring your cup of corn the next time you sit down to read about my project here at the library. Comes in three different sizes with your choice of oil, salt, soy sauce, seasoning salt, curry, red pepper, hot sauce, Mexican spices, mayonnaise, caramel, and/or honey! Mmm!
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