No Longer Incommunicado

I now have the internet in my house, the only one in my village. When I first logged on, I almost wanted to embrace my laptop, like a long lost friend who had returned. It wasn't long after that when I realized how much my friend annoyed me. Do you remember dial-up? Well my internet is slower. Luckily I can IM so if you have skype then do a contact search and I'm on there.

So much has happened so I will give a quick overview of some things.

Trip to Plovdiv
I went with my colleague and her daughter to Plovdiv, a bigger city, to watch a children's singing competition. We took an 8 hour overnight train ride which was tons of fun. I hope you picked up on that e-sarcasm. The train was like hell, literally, it felt like hell. They have this new heating system and it felt like a sauna in our cabin. I wanted to open the window but I couldn't because of the superstition here that you will catch a cold and die if there is a breeze. It's called techenie, and it exists people. Plovdiv was gorgeous with its ancient theater, classic architecture and honey vendors.

 

Kids waiting for the competition to begin.

Moved into my house
It is a beautiful, bright yellow house with three rooms and a bathroom. Now that it is getting cold, at night I use my wood burning stove to make my house nice and toasty inside. So far I haven't burned it down so job well done!

 

My Birthday
I turned 23 and I was pleasantly surprised by the kindness of others to make my birthday special. I was given flowers and candy at the kindergarten, then my colleague invited me to her house for our own celebration. Her family and her neighbors were there. They brought over food and a plant for me. We had a delicious meal, a cake and they even sang "Happy Birthday". I felt so loved that night. A friend visited me the next day, in all my isolation, to update me on the news (the world series of course) and to give me a bag of invaluable goodies (two 500 piece puzzles, books, candy and basil).

 

Halloween
I threw an amazing Halloween party for the children in my village. How do I know it was amazing? First, the kids begged me to throw one again next year and secondly, it was in the newspaper (of course). The kids came dressed up, mainly in homemade costumes. I was pleased to see even the older kids as excited as the younger ones. We played mummy wrap, bobbing for apples, pin the nose on the pumpkin and blind self-portrait. It didn't cost anything because each kid brought a roll of toilet paper, some apples and a handful of candy. I also made a piñata, with the help of my kindergarteners, and we filled it with candy and they had a great time beating that thing apart. Then, when it was all over, the whole group sang "Happy Birthday" to me. A perfect ending to a great day.

 

Smili as Harry Potter.

 

 

Village Holiday
We had a religious holiday in my village since it was the feast day of the church's namesake. I went to the church in the morning where people, mostly elderly woman, were coming in with flowers and food. During mass there were men chanting, a monk swinging an instrument that burns incense, and a priest who said some words and blessed us. After the service we walked to the cultural center for a meal of vegetables, sweets, cabbage salad, lamb soup, and lamb and rice. It was the weekend after the elections so everyone was talking about Obama and congratulating me on my new president. They knew that both he and I were born in Hawaii so I'm pretty sure they think I have Obama on speed dial. The celebration was in the newspaper the next week with a section dedicated to the fact that Obama and I were born in Hawaii. They called me "Hawaiian" throughout the article although I left when I was two and have no memory of my time there.

 

Baseball
In the northeastern region of Bulgaria there are baseball leagues and my friends in a nearby village coach a team of 5th to 8th graders, the Tigers. I went to the end-of-the-season pizza party. They gave away donated baseball tees at the end and the kids danced to music (mostly Chris Brown and 50 Cent). I was surprised by how many baseball terms they knew (like doubly play!). When the party was over we walked outside and they all started chanting, "Practice! Practice! Practice!" So Coach Joe said we could get the gear and have one last game. We played on a soccer field where some men were kicking around a ball. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait until the season starts up again in February.

 

Awkward moment of the week: Last Tuesday I was riding the bus on my way to Razgrad and it was packed beyond any legal or safety standards. I had to stand at the front, with my foot wedged behind the clutch and my back pushed against the front windshield. The bus driver asked me where I was from and when I answered he yelled, "George W. Bush!" We had a pleasant conversation and I'm pretty sure everyone in the front of the bus was listening. He asked me how many kindergarteners are in Pobit kamak, my village. I paused, because it embarrasses me a little to say this, and said, "Four." He starts laughing, and so does the rest of the bus. The sad thing is, we only have four kids two days of the week since one kid commutes from Razgrad with his baba.