Associate Professor from Western Carolina University

visiting Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria

as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar

Fall colors

This fall, it rained quite a bit and became cold quickly. Even our Bulgarian colleagues are saying that it is typically warmer than this fall. However, it might have helped the leaf color to be more vibrant. The first photo is the view out of my office window with...

Rila Monastery

Rila Monastery of Saint Ivan Rilski is perhaps the most notable symbol of Bulgaria, being a haven and flame of hope for Christianity since the 10th century, respected by the Ottoman Empire, Russia, and many other countries, as evidenced by the many gifts the monastery...

Seven Rila Lakes

The first time when I heard of the seven Rila lakes, I thought that they might be a list of seven most famous lakes in the Rila Mountain National Park. Well, it actually meant a loop trail with seven lakes along it. People have named these seven lakes mostly based on...

Vitosha Mountain

Vitosha Mountain is so close to Sofia city and visible from almost everywhere in town. The affinity made me feel as if it was some kind of backyard hill for an easy hike. We didn’t do any research on how or where to hike, and headed out there on a weekend day, after a...

Melnik and Rozhen Monastery

The Bulgarian Fulbright Commission has taken great care to involve scholars and students to experience Bulgaria, such as organizing a trip to Melnik and the nearby Rozhen Monastery. This town is quite close to the Greece border and to the south of the Rila and Pirin...

Plovdiv

Sozopol boasts 7000 years of history with an exhibit of ancient pottery and gold leafs even at the entrance of a grocery store, then I can’t help imagining Plovdiv saying, “hold my beer”, or, “hold my rhyton”, as there has been 8000 years of civilization in Plovdiv...