Thank God for Google Translate



The next day after I arrived in Sunny Beach, I went down to the front desk to ask them to fix my key fob just as the security guard said the night before. I went to the front desk, but nobody was there. The house keeper told me to go to the other building. 

I went to the other building and the daytime security guard fixed my key fob, but when I asked her for the password for the internet, she said it was only for the  common area (like the swimming pool and the lobby). She asked how long I was staying and when I said 3 months, she said I should get my own. I told her I would, but I needed it just for now. She gave me a temporary one for 5 days only.




5 days have expired. My plan was to go to Vivacom. It’s popular here in Bulgaria. It’s walking distance. That’s why I chose Sunny Beach, it’s walkable to everything. I went there and I found out that they don’t provide internet for 3 months, they only do contracts. 

Walking back to my place, I felt like crying. Not having an internet was not an option. How can I keep in touch with my family? How can I write? Writing makes me happy. 





My plan B was to go back to the security lady at the other building and tell her that I tried getting my own internet, but Vivacom doesn’t provide internet for only 3 months. Maybe, that would be a good enough excuse, so that she would give me the internet even just for the common area. I did, but the lady was not there. There was another lady in the office. I told her what my problem was. She picked up her phone and I thought she was going to call someone. Instead, she typed something and then showed it to me. It was Google Translate. She translated what she needed to say. It turned out she didn’t speak English.

I did the same thing. I translated what I needed to say and that’s how we communicated. Before I left the US, I downloaded the Bulgarian language, so that I would be able to use it off line. It was a good thing that I did. The security lady from before should have told me that I actually get the internet service from them. After exchanges of translated questions and answers with the office lady, I was able to get the internet service for $55. Not bad for unlimited internet for 3 months. 

The answer was easy and in front of my eyes all along. I just couldn’t see it because I was fixated on something else. I was determined to stick to my plan. I was trying too hard to find my own solution. When all I had to do was to let go and let it come to me.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas in November

Image
When I left New Jersey and went back to California, it hurt my relationship with my boyfriend to a point where he stopped answering my calls. Eventually, I gave up trying. This is why they say long distance relationship never works. I had a dilemma. My vacation has already been approved by my employer and I had already bought a non-refundable ticket long before all these happened. I decided to just go and see what happens even though we haven’t spoken for months. I thought I would give it one last chance.  Since I was not sure what was waiting for me when I got to New Jersey, I needed a plan B. What would I do during that long weekend all by myself in case he refused to see me? It was that time of the year when they light the tree in New York City, the  lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Plaza which happens the week after
Read more

Hello

Image
About 2 weeks ago, as I was doing my regular walk on the sand, this kid, out of the blue, said hello to me. I was surprised. He is probably between 5-6 years old. I was surprised because normally, when people say something to me, they say it in Bulgarian. They assume because I’m here I speak the language. So, how could this kid assume that I speak English? A little over a week ago, it happened again. The kid said hello to me again. My curiosity was killing me. I thought of asking where they are from on my way back. I saw them sitting on the sand, farther from the water, where I was walking barefooted. I switched my direction towards them. And they knew, the two dads, I was approaching them. They started to smile as they watched me walk closer to them. I felt a little nervous. I was gonna do it anyway. I said, “Hi, I was just wondering, where are you guys from? Are you from the US or from UK? I asked because it was the second time your son said hello to me. Usually, they talk to me in B
Read more

Tiny Discoveries

Image
What a find! Cantaloupe ice cream in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria…Ahhh! The simple pleasures in life. I would have not noticed it if I didn’t see a lady taking pictures of the ice cream display. How could she not? It looked beautiful. And when she turned around, I realized she was a Filipina. The first and only Filipina I saw in Bulgaria, so far. It was a happy accident, another serendipitous moment. Those kind of accidents happen to me a lot when I travel. I don’t know why. Maybe because serendipity is always on your side when you follow your dream. The last time I had something similar to a cantaloupe ice cream was super long time ago in the Philippines. It’s called, “ice candy.” We shred the cantaloupe, add some sugar and make a drink out of it. We put it in skinny long bags and freeze them. Some people even sell them from home. My grandmother did. I never had corn on my pizza before. Surprisingly, it was delicious. This is chicken and corn pizza. It looks so much bigger in perso
Read more