Throughout my adult life, I've often been heard saying that I want to travel to a place where I can finally experience "culture shock." Corporate globalization and the internet, i.e. social media, has created a world today that is smaller and more connected than it was only a few decades ago. Before moving to Bulgaria, I had been to 13 countries and had never experienced what people described as culture shock....until this week.
In my Home Sweet Home post, I mentioned the importance of having a sense of familiarity to call a place your home. That feeling was present with each apartment we lived in during our transition to Europe. It was present during our first week in Sofia when I discovered my grocery mart sold Oreos and Pringles. It was present when I made our first home-cooked dinner and ate together as a family. But this week, it was gone.
Matt had a business trip scheduled to Ireland and left Sunday evening to catch his flight out. All was good and normal until Monday morning. I started to get that tickle in my throat. You know, the one that places your immune-system battle stations on high alert, and you begin chugging Vitamin C shots and Zinc tablets to avoid what is inevitably going to happen. I got sick. Shit!
Being sick already sucks. I don't know a single person who enjoys getting the occasional sinus infection or flu. When I get sick, Matt has always been my "doctor." No, he does not have a doctorate degree...yet. But Matthew is really friggin' smart, so I rely on him to take care of me and advise me on what meds I can mix to suppress all symptoms while my body is laying waste on the virus/bacteria/whatever the hell it is causing me so much anguish. Matt was gone though. 😥
By Wednesday morning, I was deep in the trenches battling it out with this illness when I finally got the strength to get to a store for medication. There is a local "Walgreens-type" store next door to my Lidl (grocery mart), so I walked over to find they had everything a Walgreens has EXCEPT medicine. In my broken Bulgarian/English, I asked where I can buy medicine, "Къде е.....medicine?" Fortunately the clerk pointed across the street to the pharmacy. Well duh, Nikita. A pharmacy. The pharmacies can be spotted by the green cross outside their stores. Most of the signs I've seen are even lit up with a bright green light.
Before crossing the street, I decided to pop over to the grocery mart to buy some canned soup; however, let me remind you about the lack of American conveniences here. I asked for canned soup. Over the last 33 years of my life, I have learned to eat Chicken Noodle Soup to help soothe a sore throat. My throat felt like I was swallowing razors, and my energy was fading quickly. The feverish feeling was making itself present because it felt as if I was breathing fire each time I asked for help. All I wanted was some Campbell's. But alas! No canned soup. None. Nada.
At the pharmacy, the technician knew little English and we conversed through my dramatic body language to show her what was hurting. I hunted for NyQuil but no luck. As she was showing me options, I did make out the words Ibuprofen and Pseudoephedrine. Wait, what? They sell pseudoephedrine over the counter here? No ID. No age limit. You want it? Just buy it. Simple and easy. Where's Heisenberg?😆 When I asked for medicine that has a sleep aid, she could only recommend Melatonin. Meh. Bulgarians do not know what they're missing when they go into NyQuil comatose and sleep through the night and next morning/afternoon. THAT'S what I needed.
You might be thinking, "What does this have to do with culture shock?" This was my shock - a complete loss of home and familiarity. We all experience it different ways and at different times. I can't say that Matt or Christopher have had their own experience yet, but this was mine. Alone. Sick. Not knowing how to get better. Not knowing if I should go to the doctor. Hell, where do I even go to the doctor? Ugh, I have to walk everywhere. Hungry. Not being able to clearly communicate my needs. Little help. Nothing was familiar. This week, I wanted to be in the US with my NyQuil, Emergen-C packs, Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, and Matt.
Good news - I recovered just as Matt came home, and nobody else got sick thanks to the hygiene spray shown above that disinfected the house.👆🏻Towards the end of the week (right before I almost died), Christopher came to my rescue and made me the most bomb soup - Mushroom and Potato Soup. Link to the recipe in the pic details. Thank you to everyone who checked in on me over the last week. Your words brought me comfort and peace.
