Profile: Liliya

Meet Liliya

- Twenty six year old from Velico Tarnovo, a picturesque former capital of Bulgaria
- Life guard, while off duty once saved a lady who was only one step away from standing on her own
- Guitar player and singer
- University educated
- Touchy feely but apologetic about it
- Former waitress of 15 hour days for 150 Euros/month
- Current exotic dancer in Italy, by reluctant choice but only to make real money
- Self-proclaimed excellent pole dancer
- Wowed audience by singing Whitney's I Will Always Love You while hanging upside down
- Stunned them to silence with (her favourite) Bryan Adam's (Everything I Do) I Do it for You
- Wishes to return to Bulgaria permanently but needs to make a decent living (a common issue with the youth in Bulgaria)
- I honestly cannot personally vouch for any of this as she informed me of all of it while seated on a live music bar stool (fully clothed)

[Photo omitted]

Tweet: Federenterprise

World Wrestling muted in a Bulgarian restaurant is.. still as bad as any other situation you put it in

Gimme a Lift!

Without confidence I cross back over to the other side of the road for the third time just hoping that the bus I needed would come along sometime, and would actually stop at this unmarked juncture. Another minute passes and a jalopy rolls up and down goes the window "I know where you're going - Hostel Mostel! It is right near my house, come on." Normally I'm wary of any offer, especially ones that try to guess my destination or call me "Canada" due to the flag on my pack, but this guy seems friendly and has a car full of people, plus I don't have much faith this bus will ever arrive (he concurs it won't be by for an hour). Heaving my sack in the trunk we putter off and up the hill with a tinny handheld radio blaring an upbeat Bulgarian tune. As we ramble along a high road the city can be seen across the valley so the driver points out a few sights - the fort, the university with its 5000 students and the former sugar factory. Meanwhile the birthday boy in the back seat with me restarts the same song on manual repeat and the rear of the car bottoms out in time. At the hostel door, as promised, he pulls in and retrieves my bag. I tuck him a 5 Lev bill as the negotiated "small gift" he had asked for and wave them off into the night.
As I check in I mention my interesting lift and the clerk disdainfully groans "the twins" and something else under his breath.
"Pardon?"
"We call them the assholes.."
Scammed!

To tally it up the taxi ride would have been 2 and change (all prices Bulgarian Lev) which I would have tipped to 4 with my two $2 bills. So in the end I overpaid by $1 (granted to a known scam artist) and you, my faithful followers, had something to read on your coffee break. I'm accepting donations.