Love at the first sight

I wrote this a on December 17 and just got a chance to post it now! I have two more posts that I will put up when I get to my apartment tonight. Enjoy...

Last Sunday I had a wonderful time in church so I wanted to go again this week. I got up bright and early at 10am (hehehehe) and was out the door by 10:30am, service started at about 11am!!! My site mate and I walked to the church and got there a few minutes early but the place was empty! We read the sign on the door that said church was at the cultural center for Christmas this Sunday and it had started at 10am! Bummed we did the only thing we could think to do in Bulgaria, go to a café. The sign on the door of our favorite café said it opened at 10am on Sunday but this is Bulgaria not America. The waitress said they would not be open for another 15 minutes. It was already 10:45!!! Work times mean nothing here. Anyhow that gave us another excuse to do our second favorite activity for 15 minutes… shopping.

This particular strip we were on had all the indulgences you can imagine! My sitemate was lured into a cute little aroma candle shop. Although I am not into candles, they sure are nice gifts and look nice around the apartment. She ended up buying about 20 leva of useless things to decorate her apartment. As we walked out of the store I was extremely proud that I didn’t buy anything. The minute this thought sprung into my mind I noticed him.

He was literally standing in the display window two shops down from the one we had just left. It was as if magic had brought us together. I mean who knew I would miss church this morning and bump into my true love. He watched me and I watched him. Was this love at first sight or just infatuation? I silently said to my sight mate “do you see him?”. Of course she didn’t notice him at first so I said it again and kind of pointed in his direction with my head. She agreed that he was drop dead gorgeous. I kept staring but I didn’t know if I should go into the store to get a better look. He continued to stare at me with intrigue as if he knew we would make the perfect match. I still wasn’t so sure being in the Peace Corps and all how serious relationships would work.

I decided to keep walking and ignore these stupid feelings. However, as I passed the display window and him, he gave me strangest look as if to challenge me to accept the connection between us. I am always up for a challenge! So I walked straight in to the store towards him mumbling to myself “caution to the wind”.

The store was very well lit and I could see everything in one glance. The sales woman didn’t notice me at first because she was helping a woman try on an unattractive red coat. My strides were filled with intent. I only had eyes for him. I think I reached him in three strides and hesitated before I reached out my hand and grabbed the coat from the shelf!!!!

He looked just as good up close as he did in the display window. The sales woman noticed me at that point and asked me if I needed help. I insisted I was fine and placed him over my shoulders! Ohh heaven! I had died and gone to heaven! Who would have thought I would find something so beautiful in Bulgaria? The moment my site mate saw the coat on me she gasped in surprise. She said just above a whisper “you two look perfect together, you have to get it”. I still wasn’t quite convinced that I should get it. Were would I wear something like this? It looked great but I don’t need to dress up for work unless we have “official” meetings. I finally talked myself out of purchasing the coat but its still on my mind. I don’t want to buy it because it cost a little over ¼ of my living allowance. Which equals A LOT of money! I don’t want to stand out too much in my community but this coat is fantastic! Bulgarians try to look their best when they go out in the public. They literally dress up with makeup and all just to go to the store (well maybe not all the time). I don’t think I would stand out too much! It could be my very own Christmas gift!

I feel like such a consumer!!! America at its best!

Hopelessly in love with a cream colored winter coat,

Crystal