Goodbye 2013

This is the second year in a row I brought in the new year in a country other than Australia, but under vastly different circumstances than last year! 2013 was a whirlwind for me. There were some completely unexpected changes in my life, but they all led to me sitting here in an apartment in Sofia, contemplating the next 7 months in this city.

I've been here almost a month now and it's starting to feel more and more familiar to me - I can find my way around the centre, order food and drinks in broken Bulgarian, and have started crossing the road assuming cars will stop for me like a true local.

I spent Christmas Eve at the house of one of the YFU Bulgaria board members for a true Bulgarian Christmas dinner, which was amazing. They have lots of great Christmas traditions here, like the food should be vegan on Christmas Eve - which makes everything much easier for me! They also bake a coin in a round loaf of bread for good fortune. I found it in my piece so fingers crossed that riches are coming my way!

After Christmas I went to Veliko Turnovo for a couple of days, which I'll write about later since it was a great town and I need to do it justice!

2013 was one of the most significant years I've had so far, and luckily I've come out of it in a better place than I was in the beginning! Here's hoping 2014 will be even better.