Hello again

Hi everyone! Well time just flies by doesn't it? Things here have considerably calmed down. Dad is now driving!!!! I'm working as a teacher at an English school and teach Business English to Bulgarian bankers and other unfortunate souls. I am now living in the city of Sofia. There was just no way for me to live in my parents house and go to work. I'm still looking for a "real" job but I've been very picky and have set up some pretty high standards as far as what kind of work I want to do, or more accurately, what kind of work I don't want to do, the kind of money I'll be making and the amount of work that I'm ready to do. The good news is that there is a lot of work here. It really is amazing how much opportunity there is at the moment. The thing is though, that a lot of the companies that are advertising can be either a bit shady, or are trying to pay with peanuts. For example, an add will ask for someone with a perfect English, preferably a fluent second language like German or French, at least a BA in something like Economics or IT, if not masters, and then they would offer like $300 a month which is laughable even for Bulgarians without an education. A lot of these companies are outsourcing agencies for, hold on to your seat, mostly American companies. It kind of makes me mad on 2 levels. First, it sucks because these are perfectly good jobs for people in the US and well paying if i might add. Second, the amount of money offered here is offensive to say the least. Now, I have a pretty good idea of how the world works and yes, I know all about Globalization, but shouldn't there be a limit on greed? At least give as enough money to eat and pay the rent, you know. $300 will barely feed you for a month, $600 will let you maybe drive a car (gas here is not so cheap), $1000 is more like it. You'll be able to live with dignity, though you won't be saving any money. Officially, the medium income in BG is around $400 per month, but I don't believe it. Most people make around $650 maybe even $800. However, people don't like to pay taxes, so they declare a lot less than they make. Employers, who also pay for their employees' insurance and other welfare taxes, are also not very keen on paying, so they will advertise jobs at a much lower salary than the actual number.
Okay, that's enough from me for right now. I'll let you all know when I do get a "real" job, or if something interesting comes my way. Until then, stay happy, healthy and have fun. Love, G.