Celebrating Outer space

Today we mark the first successful manned flight into outer space!!!!

in 1961 Yori Gagarin, a soviet pilot turned cosmonaut, made civilization's first trip out into the big blue sky.

After he returned, Gagarin became something of an international hero; touring at home, to other bloc countries, and even abroad. He is so well loved that its impossible to enter a former soviet stronghold without finding remnants of his accomplishment. Streets, schools, public places- they all bear his name. Here in Bulgarian, you'd think he was one of their own- atleast, I certainly thought so until today.

I think one of the most remarkable things I encounter here is a doorway into history. Sometimes I wonder if Bulgaria has entered the newest millennium or not, but there is still something admirable about the memory for its past.

In an area of the world breaking new ground yet mired in the past, who knows what tomorrow will bring?