Flying to Bulgaria

One of the joys of working in Eastern Europe is the sense of humour. A rich blend of the absurd & the darkly ironic. An ability to laugh at the comic nature of post-communist life that does not exist in the truly socialist economies of Skandinavia or the Statist perfection of France.

For instance what is the difference between a Russian pessimist & a Russian optimist? A pessimist thinks that things are bad & will always be bad. An optimist thinks things are so bad they can only get better.

My favourite story though is about a naive young lady who was going to Bulgaria on holiday when the Soviet Union was still an Evil Empire. One condition of the exit visa was that she had to prove her health. Similar to todays requirement that I pass AIDS, Syphilis & Chlamydia tests to get a multiple entry business visa. Being a lady this required a trip to the Gynaecologist. Being young & innocent this was her first trip to such a specialist. But she was excited as this examination would lead to her sunny holiday. However as she was naive she didn't know which way round to lie on the examination table & she put her arms where her legs should have gone. This left her in a rather strange "Supergirl" position. And so when the Doctor returned he asked her where she was flying to?

"Bulgaria" she proudly replied.