Load 'em up and move 'em out...

We are packing right now getting ready to head out in the morning.  Well, actually, Joy is doing most of the packing.  Joel is asleep and resting for his first flight.  I am, well, I am typing this post.

We had an interesting day yesterday (as were the days before, just ask, and we will tell you about them).  We went to the U.S. Embassy to get Joel's visa.  If your wife says to take pictures of the U.S. Embassy, do not do it.  You can go to jail.  I did not get to visit a jail on this visit.  DiDi, our attorney's cousin who was taking us to the embassy, yelled, "No, they will arrest you" before I could get the camera ready.

By the way, if you declare something as a drink at the security gate, they will make you drink some of it.  Not the owner of the cup (Joel), but the person carrying the backpack that has the sippy cup in it (me).  By the way, if you are going to have to experience that situation, please make sure that you have not just fed the owner of the cup (Joel) peanut butter crackers.  He will not drink from it with the lid on, so we remove the lid to give him a sip.  Right now, he kind of eats like cookie monster, and yes, the majority of one of his crackers did end up inside of the sippy cup.  Yes, he had already chewed on it for a minute.  Anyways, good ol' dad got to take a big ol' sip of the peanut butter cracker water with wonderful mom watching on the other side of security.  I do not like to drink after anyone, but a man has to do what a man has to do.  It really gave Joy a good laugh, after she stopped gagging. There is a little more to this story that I will share with whomever asks.

Today was also interesting.  After we realized that a bird pooped on Joy (twice actually), we were walking back from the other side of the city center.  Every day we would change our path a little to venture to different areas.  We did pass this certain area with a park and three churches every day.  Joy had mentioned going into one of them, but we did not.  Today, as we were coming back past one of them (later to find out it was a mosque), there were some guys playing some type of music, that sounded like a Bulgarian opera, on loudspeakers mounted to a car.  We walked to the other side of the mosque, and there was a large group of people chanting with shirts and signs that read ATAKA.  We did not know about most of the following until we got back to the hotel and looked it up on the internet.  ATAKA means Attack in Bulgarian.  This is an ultra-conservative, ultra-nationalist party in Bulgaria.  They want only Bulgarians that are Eastern Orthodox to be here.  From what I have read, they don't like American involvement in their country, and they don't like Muslims.  Today, the mosque was having Friday prayers, and the ATAKA party was not happy with the Muslim prayer that is chanted over loudspeakers in the city center.  Police with riot gear were surrounding the area.  Joy and I walked up right into the middle of this.  She being the uber-smart, fleet footed mom that she is, quickly took Joel further down the sidewalk away from all of it.  Me, I hung around to see what was going on for a little while.  After getting a few pictures and some video, I met Joy a few blocks down.  Just after I left, the ATAKA attacked (how fitting with the name) the Muslims that were there praying.  I have told Joy throughout our whole marriage that it will always be an adventure.  Sometimes, I am the cause of the adventure, and sometimes, I just stumble upon it.

ETA: Here is a link to a short article about the above: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=128451.
Beware it does have a picture with some blood.  Nothing too graphic.  Just a person holding their head with blood running down their hand.

And, now that I am finished typing this, I notice that Joy has finished packing.  Time to get in bed.  We have to leave in 5.5 hours to go catch a flight.

Since you have read this far, please pray for our safe travel and an enjoyable flight for and with Joel.

--Jeremy