Bulgaria with Noodles

Recently a teacher on the TES asked me about the cost of living in Sofia, compared to Shenzhen. To answer the question, I would say that Sofia is probably a bit more expensive than Shenzhen, but not much. When we were in SZ, the school's accommodation allowance covered the rent and it is much the same story here in BG. I can walk to school and back each day, just like I did in China. The metro system in Sofia is a lot more expensive than in SZ and also we have a car as well, so that bumps up our costs a bit. In the Middle Kingdom, I was usually drinking Tsingtao, especially with crispy dumplings fried in butter, whereas in Bulgaria this old hippo gets through those three-litre boxes of the local plonk. On the other hand, each month we are given 60 leva of Kaufland vouchers and that helps with the groceries. One big advantage in Bulgaria is the school food, the best I have ever eaten in more than thirty years of teaching. Very generous quality cuts of meat, cooked in d...

Several of the teachers at my new school, Saint George's, have told me that Sofia is the most polluted capital city in all of Europe. Yes, that is probably true because lots of Bulgarians drive old and badly-maintained second-hand cars. That is one reason why I always enjoying going away for the weekend.  This weekend it was wonderful to escape from Sofia and go to our country house in Kalotina. Even though it is still only April, the weather was really warm and all of the birds were singing happily. Lots of fruit treas were covered in blosssom and, best of all, our house was still there and nothing bad had happened to it. It was a bit sad, having to cut the lawn, as the dandelions and daisies looked rather nice.  My dear wife's tulips were making a good show and the parsley is also going well. There was absolutely no sign of the asparagus and the Jerusalem artichokes that I had planted about a month ago. On a slightly more positive note, there were absolutely no was...

Mountains and blossom, so are we in Japan?   After church, Irena and I went for a very enjoyable walk in the park. Just across the road from our apartment in Sofia, in the district of Lozenets, there is a huge park.  It is rather different to Lianhuacun Park in Shenzhen. Regular readers of my blog (if there are any) will remember that our apartment was on the other side of the road from Lianhuacun Park. That one was so well looked after, manicured and properly maintained. Our park here in Sofia is neglected, run down and generally abandoned. I have never seen anyone who looked like a parken warden or a gardener. It is so strange, the way that the leaves suddenly appear and look such a bright shade of green. The sight of the snow-capped Mount Vitosha and what might have been cherry blossom was almost Japanese.  Some poor trees are half-strangled with martinitsi . You are supposed to wear your martinitsa on your wrist until you see a stork or maybe...

The weather forecast said that it was going to be warm and sunny. The Nissan garage had finally (finally!) fixed the problem with the powered steering, so we decided to have a weekend away from Sofia and go to Kalotina. There was an extra reason for going: Ira needed her old passports in order to apply for her Russian visa. We left at a reasonable hour on Saturday morning, so the traffic on the ring road was not a problem. It was sunny and pleasant spring weather as we drove to our villa in Kalotina. Yes, the house was still there and the dogs in the village were pleased to see us. When I went up into the loft to check, there was no sound of buzzing and nothing flying about, so perhaps the fumigation smoke did its business. Although we had the central heating system going full blast all day, it was slow to get going and make a difference to the temperature inside the house. I suppose that the whole house was so cold, after nearly three months of standing empty.   ...

I seem to be getting more and more teachers contacting me through the TES. Dear Simon, . I messaged you recently on the TES forum regarding moving to Shenzhen and you were kind enough to give me your email address. I am Charlyrainbow23 I am trying to apply for the visa and I am finding it difficult to get clarification on a few points and wondered if you could help. Firstly, I have to obtaining a non-criminal record certificate for the last 12 months, would a basic DBS suffice? We've only been in Tanzania since last August and HR say I have to get one from the UK. Thanks,   Charlotte    Here is my reply.   Dear Charlotte,   I am always glad to be of help. Please remember that my advice is just that: advice. I am by no means infallible and sometimes I am not 100% up-to-date!  Firstly, yes, I would try to get something from Tanzania. Go along to your local copshop in Dar or Arusha or wherever you are and get an official-lookin...

I like markets. They are fun, lively, full of smells and (most importantly) full of food. We went to Sofia’s Roman Wall Market today on the tram. Okay, it is Tram Time, so I am going to explain all of the ins and outs of tram travel in Bulgaria. What is it, oh mother dear, That looks like strawberry jam? Hush, my darling! 'Tis your father Run over by a tram. First of all, find your tram stop. These are usually fairly easy to find and the tram lines are a dead giveaway. Then go to the stop and wait. You probably will not have to wait for very long. Then along will come rumbling the tram, a sort of above-ground Metro train. After we got on, the tram driver, a lady, got off, having first had a shouting match with one of the passengers. Then, coffee and cigarette finished, she got back in the cab and drove our tram into the centre of Sofia. Ticket to ride Trams are very popular with the elderly in Sofia, so they are like geriatric wards on wheels. You have to ...

Even though we left Qatar more than five years ago, many teachers still contact me through the TES and ask me what it is like to teach there. Hi Hippo I hope you don't mind me pre-emptively sending you a conversation about my job offer. GEMS Wellington Qatar have offered 13.5k which I think is reasonable for three years' experience qualified (five including unqualified experience). However, they are not offering medical insurance for my family nor are they covering flights for them. At the interview, the Director intimated that my family might even have to stay here in the UK while stuff like permits got sorted out. My gut instinct tells me not to accept the offer as a result. Also, I've heard Qataris can be quite racist towards non-white people. How true is this? I've always fought against this sort of thing in the UK as an Asian man and don't want any trouble when I go out to work. Is the cost of living higher than Dubai or London? Obvio...