And Here Goes My Vote

Voting today felt like passing a language oral exam. I followed the printed signs reading Elections (Izbori) to the second floor of 2285 Mass. Avenue, Cambridge. There, anxious Bulgarians were waiting to enter the quiet room and cast their vote for their party of choice. And as they left one by one, they sighed with relief. I almost felt like asking, "How did it go?"

It went well for me. It was my first time voting in the Bulgarian parliamentary elections and I tried to absorb every scent and sound. Actually, the sounds were pretty synchronized as light-haired babies laughed and jumped on their parents' laps. Most of the voters were young moms and dads or to-be parents. They greeted one
another happily and promised to meet up for coffee or dinner soon.

The more I approached the quiet room, the more nervous I became. Then, a lady with unruly dyed blonde hair showed me the way, I took out my Bulgarian ID and received the voting bulletin.

Like at an oral exam, the room wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. There was a chair and several pens spread out on a wooden table. I looked around and cast my vote quickly. Unlike at a language oral exam, there was no 100%-right answer here.