Michal Demeter Tvrdoň

Hitchhiking and Chocolate: How I Ended Up Traveling to Bulgaria

If someone told you they hitchhiked 600 miles (1,000 km) in two days without spending a single dollar on transportation, would you believe them? What if they said they traveled through Serbia along the way, sleeping on the sides of the road? You might wonder how they survived. Well, I am living proof that it is possible. You might ask why someone would do such a thing. My answer: Dartmouth connections.

About a week into my first year at Dartmouth, I met Kalina Duncheva, an incredible Bulgarian published writer and future neurosurgeon and most importantly my classmate. We ended up in the same group of people going to CVS, an American pharmacy and food store. The first thing we both noticed was a Tony's chocolate bar, so we split one and became friends. After saying our goodbyes, I had to look up where Bulgaria is in the Balkans because of my ignorance.

As time went by, I talked to my hiking and climbing friends, and we decided to go to Bulgaria. I considered flying there for a second, but I already strain the climate enough by flying transatlantic four times a year. So I thought about what would be the most sustainable way of traveling, both for my wallet and the world. Hitchhiking was the clear winner. It's far from the most time-efficient, but it allows you to meet local people and learn about the country, region, or village you are in.

I have a lot of cool stories from the travel, but to hear them, you'll have to track me down on campus because they aren't really relevant to the Dartmouth Blog. The one thing I will tell you is that helps you appreciate the destination more. You had to travel for a long time and go through a lot of struggle to see every little Bulgarian house and every person you meet on the trails.

We ended up hiking up Musala, the highest mountain in Bulgaria, and then continued down to a few mountain huts, sleeping over with Bulgarian mountaineers. We ended our hike at the majestic Rila Monastery. Once we were done with the mountains, we went to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, to enjoy some good food and see fellow blogger Kalina '27.

Looking back, aspects of Dartmouth kept popping up throughout my whole summer, even though it had nothing to do with Dartmouth College directly. While hitchhiking, I used English to talk to people, which improved greatly during my time at Dartmouth. While hiking, I used my Wilderness First Aid training and other skills I learned thanks to the Dartmouth Outing Club. And finally, upon returning to civilization, I met up with Kalina, the reason I even knew where Bulgaria is in the first place (just joking).

International students at Dartmouth are usually extremely nice and welcoming. Although there aren't many of us (roughly 180 international students enrolled in the Class of 2027, representing 75 countries), there are still enough that you will meet internationals daily.It's also enough for nearly all internationals to know at least one other international student from a bordering country.