GETTING PREPARED

Right now I am really excited about going to another country to discover and learn new things. So here are some things that I needed to do before going abroad : 

First of all, as soon as possible, I booked an airplane ticket, to go there on the D-day. I wanted to go before the lessons started, so that I could visit and settle myself in the city (where are the shops, especially groceries shops, the town in itself, where will I want to go...). The lessons begin on th 17th of February. Therefore, I bought my ticket so that I could arrive there on the 12th. This leaves me several days to get used to my flat, and settle there.

Speaking of the accomodation, I chose not to have the dormitories given by the University, because I wanted to be closer to the center of Veliko Tarnovo. I also prefer to live on my own, depending on no one but myself.

Hence, I began my researches to find an apartment in the center of the city. You'll be surprised by how cheap renting a flat is in this town. You can get a 50sq.m with 2 rooms and a washing machine, TV, oven, bathtub... for no more than 300€ per month. Compared to my current apartment in Angers, which costs me 405€ per month for 25sq.m, it really costs nothing !!

What's more, I did a little bit of research about the food over there. I also asked some students that are in 4th year in Esaip now (and who whose Veliko Tarnovo as a destination to go on their Erasmus trip).

It seems that the food is mainly based on salads with some "katak" (kind of humus with red peppers, sheep's cheese and garlic) and yoghurt, like in "tarator" (a refreshing with cucumber, yoghurt - of course- and dill), which is a starter.

Déborah Jabès