Taste the Happy

My family visits! (No "Ernest goes to..." joke here.)

2009-08-21T04:29:00.003-04:00

My family came a few days before my year anniversary when I first arrived in Bulgaria and history was made. It was strange having them step into my life here and having to translate for them while also resisting the urge to throw Bulgarian words at them. There is so much I want to tell people but you can never really know what it is like somewhere until you see it with your own eyes (<wink wink> I always welcome guests).

Summarizing two weeks of travel would take up too much of my time, and would bore you to tears - i.e.: "and then this guy tried to sell my dad some coins it was so funny, you had to be there!" - so I'll do bullet points.

Places we went:
-Varna on the Black Sea
-Veliko Turnovo, a beautiful town with traditional Bulgarian houses and an ancient fortress.
-Istanbul
-Razgrad, the so-called Bulgarian city of flowers (I'm not sure that is official)
-Pobit kamak, the so-called village with the cleanest air (yeah, I don't think that's official)
-the Thracian tombs in Sveshtari

Ok, I go to Varna from time to time so I don't take pictures. But here is one I managed to snap.

The fortress Tsaravets in Veliko Turnovo.

Me in Veliko Turnovo.

If you are going on a quick trip to Istanbul then here are the key places to go:
-Blue Mosque
-Hagia Sofia
-Topkapı Palace
-Basilica Cistern
-Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar
-the Old Town
-boat trip on the Bosphorus (sit on the side of the boat against the coast or get a private tour)

The entrance to the Grand Bazaar

The spice bazaar- one of my favorite places.

The Blue Mosque

Interior of the Blue Mosque

Interior of the Hagia Sofia

Me and my brother!

The Basilica Cistern

A medusa head in the Basilica Cistern (purposely placed on its side)

A view of the Bosphorus from the Topkapı Palace.

The only girls I saw fishing on the Bosphorus.

We crossed the bridge and took a five minute tour of Asia and then returned to the familiar land of Europe.

A preserved Thracian tomb. The Thracians built the tomb and then covered them with mounds of mud and dirt. They date from the 3rd century BCE.

Along the way we met many interesting people:
-Our taxi driver from Rousse, Bulgaria who was a fan of 80s love ballads.
-The popcorn vendor who looked confused when my mom ordered a small box of salted popcorn when he obviously was sitting in front of an empty vendor's cart.
-The elderly horo group encouraging everyone to dance in the park in Varna.
-The tiny Roma boy in the Veliko Turnovo train station who was energetic, talkative and constantly saying, "Opa!" Everyone stared at my brother, me and the little boy as we sat on the floor of the train station and played a card game in which the rules were random and only known by the boy.
-The rug salesman in Istanbul who was, well, a typical Middle Eastern rug salesman ("Sir, my friend, can I tell you that you have a beautiful wife?").
-The opinionated taxi driver from Veliko Turnovo: "Barack Obama he is smart and a good speaker." "Bureaucracy, that's Bulgaria." "It was better in Communist times!" "If you have money you can get away with anything, <shakes head> That is Bulgaria." "There are no street signs, <shakes head> Bulgaria." "The roads are terrible! <shakes head> That is Bulgaria."
-The baba in my village who grows broccoli but hates it ("Come back tomorrow and I will give you tons of broccoli to take to America.") And who set out lots of fruit and when we didn't finish every last piece thought that we "hated it".
-The shopkeeper in my village who pointed at my mom and asked, "Who is that girl?" -"Umm, that is my mom." Everyone said that she looks "so young!" One baba said, "That's your mom? I thought she was just a friend." And of course the creepy man in the village who smiled at my mom and said to me, "Ooo, she is beautiful."
-My counterpart who described most people's reactions when she introduces me, "She is so young! Where are her parents? She lives alone!!"

Baseball in Bulgaria

2009-08-17T05:49:00.003-04:00

*Another old post dating from BC- before computer.

Baseball in northeast Bulgaria is unlike anywhere else. It involves two teams playing in the middle of a soccer field somewhere. No parents on the sidelines, no little league approved uniforms. When we play here, the goats are eating long grass from the soccer stands in ruins, a shepherd leans on his stick and occasionally returns lost balls, a horse in the outfield is hit by a pop fly, teenagers kick a soccer ball in left field, players yell at each other in Bulgarian and Turkish, Roma girls walk their children across the field to the mahala, some teenagers park in the field blasting kyuchek until we yell at them to move or a ball will be coming their way. Not quite the bubblegum baseball of my youth.

Our first tournament of the year was in Razgrad. BTV came and interviewed three of our players. When the interviewer asked our captain Aigun what he like about baseball, he looked at the man like he was crazy and said, "Everything."

I walked a long way to see my team play and got to see them compete in the last game against Razgrad's team. It had all the elements of a Disney movie. Our team, the hero of the film, is from a small town and consists of a ragtag group of young kids. We played against the older, well-clad, cigarette smoking, cursing ruffians from Razgrad. I may have slightly exaggerated but post-game cool-down doesn't involve caprisun and fruit roll-ups for these kids. They're more likely to celebrate with a beer and a smoke.

Top of the second inning we were up 3 to 2. We made 6 runs in the second, ending it 9 to 2. We showed team Razgrad that girls can play just as well when one of our best players, Chrissy, hit a line drive out to right field, making it to third and bringing in three RBIs. But our team was tired. This was our third game of the day and some of our kids had been helping out the team from Turgovishte that was short four players. Our star pitcher, Adnon, was walking everyone who came to bat. Also, we had switched umps during this time to a Bulgarian who made some bad calls. Basically, the point I am trying to make is that Razgrad made a lot of runs in the third. We eventually switched umps again and afterwards they only made a couple of runs. I don't remember the score at the end but it was something like 12 to 24. Seriously, that ump. Despite all of that, little 5th grade Mehmet struck out three hitters in the last inning. In the end we got second place. Not too shabby for my ragtag group of kids.

A Razgrad runner on third with Softi nearby.

Mehmet takes the mound.

Worried looks after the 3rd.

Joe giving the team a pep talk.

See how small our team is compared to the uniformed Razgrad team.

Nurai and Ahmed's Wedding

2009-08-17T04:02:00.002-04:00

***So my computer wasn't working for two months. I'm gonna catch up on my posts.

A week before the wedding I met Nurai, the bride, on the street and she invited me to her wedding. Her husband, Ahmed, is the counterpart of a volunteer in a town near mine. The wedding was a three-day event. On Friday they went to the mosque and had their religious ceremony with family. On Saturday we went to Ahmed's family's house where everyone was meeting. They put the Americans to work, having us blow up balloons for the cars. We all got in cars and drove around the villages in a long train, honking as we passed people. Everyone stopped their work to watch us and the children jumped and waved as we passed.

We went to different houses, picking up family members. At each place they had a little ritual they did such as reading something or exchanging banitsa. A band played in the streets and we danced. Others walked around handing out a lot of sweets and cookies.

Then a few of us went back to the house to have dinner. The bride and groom are ethnically Turkish so we had a traditional Turkish dinner. We sat on a carpet on the floor of the barn with a small table in front of us. A hen walked around, a Turkish baba sat watching us and a donkey brayed nearby. We each had silverware and we ate from a communal bowl. When each course was finished the baba would grab the empty plate and put out a new one.

Then we all walked to the center of a village where a band had set up. They played and we watched as every baba in the village came, carrying a small stool with them. They sat in a large circle around the village square, watching us dance and celebrate. The whole village came out to watch, standing behind the babas and admiring the wedding party.

I can't take good pictures at night (or indoors with my camera) but this is the best I could do of us out in the square.

On Sunday morning we watched as Nurai and Ahmed walked to the civic center with a small band announcing their arrival.

This was the civil ceremony in the mayor's office. There were many traditions: breaking bread, drinking wine, cutting the string tying together the wedding rings and giving the parts to the single people in the room and one of the many "first dances".

The trippy ceiling of the room.

The father, mother, uncles and sister of the groom.

Next we walked to the reception hall across the street. It was filled with about 300 or more people. We were lucky enough to sit in front with the wedding party. They brought out food, gave us drinks, the band played and we danced.

Arrival at the reception.

Many people came (even all the way from Turkey).

When the man plays the sax in your ear you have to do your special dance move.

At the end of the ceremony people came up to give money or maybe a gift to the bride and groom. People stood in a line and a man with a mic announced from who the gift came and the amount. They received leva, dollars, euros and Turkish lira. If you gave a significant amount then the band played a short song and you had to dance with the bride and groom. When Joe and I walked up and gave our gift they decided to play a swing dance song and we had to impress everyone with our American dance moves.

Mehmet and Softi (and Aigun) go to the mall

2009-06-04T07:19:00.000-04:00

I wanted to do a little post on a trip to the mall that I took with two of our baseball players, Mehmet and Softi. They're cousins and it isn't a rare moment when one has wrapped his arm around the other's shoulders, bringing him close to talk about baseball or school. They are Roma and got the rare treat of a visit to the Varna mall, two hours away.

Mehmet and Softi.

The bus ride itself was exciting. The boys left their flat town to see the hills and cliffs of the Bulgarian countryside. Softi sat on the edge of his seat the entire time, his eyes catching everything passing by.

It was a day of firsts for the boys:
-first time in Varna
-first time in a mall
-first time on an escalator
-first time going to a movie theater
-first time having McDonald's and Burger King
-first time having a milk shake
-first time playing in an arcade

The boys took a lot of pictures of themselves: in the mall, in front of a store, on the escalator, eating American burgers. They were so excited about having 'McDonald's!'. When we got to the food court they ran ahead of us. Mehmet ran up to the counter and nervously asked the server for "some McDonald's please." The server looked at him quizzically. By the time we reached them they were too nervous to go up and order and begged us to do it for them. They ended up eating three burgers each.

When Mehmet saw the large movie screen he was impressed and exclaimed, "It's as long as home plate to first base!"

Softi posing in front of the escalator. It was funny watching Mehmet ride up the escalator throwing up his hands in an "I'm so cool and gangsta" pose while Softi took pictures.

We watched 'Wolverine' with Mehmet and Softi. Our other captain, Aigun, was so excited about going that he stayed awake until 3am, afraid that he would sleep through his alarm. He did just that. This time he didn't and we went to see 'Star Trek'. While drinking his shake too quickly he experienced his first brain freeze and after the movie he played his first game of bowling. Bulgarians don't bowl as much as Americans so they aren't very good. Basically, we feel like the bowling gods whenever we play. Halfway through our game they took a picture of us for their website and gave us a coupon. Yeah, we're that good. Our high score? 118.

Aigun and Joe competing in the arcade.

I went to Greece

2009-05-05T13:17:00.003-04:00

I went to Greece at the beginning of April during spring break. There is so much I could say so I won't, for the sake of our precious time. But I felt compelled to post some pictures, although I couldn't get most to upload onto my laptop.

Places we went: Thessaloniki, Pella (capital of ancient Macedon), Athens, Aegina (closest island to Athens) and Delphi (home of The Oracle).

Best meal: A man on Pella drove us to his friend's restaurant. The waiter didn't speak English and we don't speak Greek so we gave the hand motion "bring us whatever you got". He brought out fries, tsatsiki sauce, cheese dip, grilled bread, salad, a plate piled with all sorts of meat, a shot of ouzo, and a plate of desserts.

Our only-in-Greece nicknames: Sasha = Sashadite, Joe = Joesopopolous, Greg = Gregonides, Sandra = Sandle.

Most fun: Ask me if you want to know.

Best things, ruins-wise: The amazing mosaics in Pella, seeing how large the Parthenon is and the Theater of Dionysus.

Coolest Greek we met: A hotel owner's husband was a very energetic old man. He told us he had some good friends in Arizona (promised to look up their names to tell us). He told us that if we bought him drinks he'd dance for us all night. His wife gave me a signed picture of him, which he has in bulk.

News to me: Greg tells me, as others do, that I would fit in in the Mid-West. I've never been so I can't say.

Most fruitless search: The search for a four-leaf clover outside the Temple of Zeus.

Best dessert: Pistachio baklava…mmmmmm.

Funniest moment: Joe, with a degree in classics, was our official tour guide of the trip. During our walk through the Acropolis he also included his own truthiness version of history which included a very detailed account of the many Acropolis brothels.

Most confined space: I crawled through the underground water passageways underneath the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. I hope to live on in the memory of a group of Spanish tourists impressed with my daring climb into the dark spaces under the temple.

Most beautiful place: Delphi, where you can see the mountains and the sea.

A view of Thessaloniki from the White Tower, formerly the Tower of Blood.

A floor mosaic in one of the ancient mansions in Pella.

A mosaic in Pella.

A golden crown, obviously.

The theater of Herod Atticus in Athens.

A view of the Parthenon from the Temple of Zeus.

The island of Aegina.

Greek cephalopods.

Sunset on the harbor.

A view of the sea from Delphi.

Delphi.

A beautiful park in Delphi.

Proof I was in Delphi.

Quotes from the kindergarten

2009-04-18T12:10:00.004-04:00

One month since my last post. Partly because I'm too lazy to post pictures and write, and partly because my life is boring (but what's new, eh?). I did go to Greece though. So there's that. Will do a post on that one.

Here is a little exchange between me and a four-year-old. All of it was said in Bulgarian (except 'six'). Quick Bulgarian lesson: six = shest. Sex = sex.

Child: What does "sex" mean?
Me: Six? Shest.
Child: No, sex.
Me: Six?
Child: Sex.
Me: Six? Shest!
Child: No, what does sex mean?
Me: Shest!
[child gives up]
And that's how you avoid awkward conversations.

I had an Easter Egg Hunt at the kindergarten which was new to the kids. I hid a couple of eggs and some candy for each of them. You know how you plan things with kids and then when it actually happens there's a lot more screaming and fighting than you planned? Yeah, me too. It was a lot of fun though and they all asked to do it again afterwards. The littlest one didn't get the concept of looking for eggs. He just followed me around saying, "Sasha, tell me where the eggs are! Please! Tell me! Saaaaashaaaa!"

After nap time:
Child: A gypsy stole my egg!
Teacher: Where are there gypsies in the kindergarten?
Child: Gabi is a gypsy!
Gabi: No I'm not!

Threats from the kindergarten teachers to get kids to behave:
-"That's it, I'm calling the police!"
-"Sasha will leave and never come back if you don't behave!"
-"Quickly! The police are coming!"
-"Hear that? Baba Yaga* is coming to get you!"
-"Lie down or you will have to study!"
-"Quiet kids, I just saw the police car drive by!"

*Baba Yaga is a witch who flies around kidnapping children and threatening to eat them.**
**Disclaimer: Baba Yaga is a fictional character.

I am learning a lot for when I may become a parent someday:
Me: Pick up your toys.
Junior: No!
Me: That's it I am calling the police. [fake dials] Here I go…calling the police chief right now…Hello, my daughter won't…
Junior: Okay, okay!
Me: Now let's look over your homework.
Junior: I don't wanna!
Me: That's it, I'm calling the president. [fake dials] Hello, Madam President, my daughter refuses to get an education…
Junior: Alright already!

Fool proof, parenting. Empty threats, for the win.

Kukeri in Shiroka Luka

2009-03-05T08:20:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday was the celebration of the beginning of Bulgarian Orthodox Lent and I went to a small village in the Rhodope Mountains called Shiroka Luka. Every year on the first of March they have a kukeri festival. The holiday is called "Baba Marta" or Grandmother March and it welcomes springtime and symbolizes cycles and rebirth. The celebration began with the kukeri from Shiroka Luka parading through the streets, making their way towards the square. Kukeri are men dressed in costumes (usually sheepskin) decorated to look like large beasts with copper bells around their waists that ring as the kukeri jump up and down. The kukeri are supposed to scare away the evil spirits and provide a good harvest for the village.

It began with some folk theater which was too strange for me to even being to understand. The kukeri were dancing and one of them had their head taken off (not really though children, it was pretend). Then Baba Marta (who was always a man dressed like an old woman) had twins and they danced around shaking the babies. There was some whipping, cross dressing, plowing of Baba Marta (literally, with a plow), dancing devils and priests flinging holy water at us. Then kukeri from different villages around Bulgaria came into the square, each with a band, folk dances and their own decorated masks. It was quite loud with the music, singing and the copper bells ringing.

After that was over a band began to play Bulgarian folk music and people began to dance horo. I was hungry so I decided to dance until the song ended. Luckily, after about 45 minutes of the same song I decided to give up. The band ended up playing, without stopping, for about four hours. The day was beautiful and even though snow still covered the ground dancing made you warm enough to take off your jacket.

Everywhere were stands of people selling meat, potatoes, candy, bells, rugs and martenista. Another tradition on Baba Marta is to give friends martenitsa, which are red and white yarn bracelets, tassels or dolls called Pizho and Penda. You tie them on your friends' wrists, wishing them health and success. You wear all of your martenitsa at all times until you see a stork or a budding tree (usually at the end of March) which symbolizes the beginning of spring.

My camera works so I have a lot of pictures posted! Chestita Baba Marta! Честита Баба Марта!

Shiroka Luka from above.

Me and a kukeri.

Plowing Baba Marta.

Battle between the priest and the devil.

This is one cool looking priest.

Children getting twigs to whack the backs of the adults.

Lots of horo dancing in the square.

My martenitsa.

I have pictures!

2009-02-25T08:41:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures of my kindergarteners, the Valentine's dance competition that I helped judge and the snowfall. On February 13th one of the amazing volunteers in Razgrad, Abeth, organized a dance competition at her school including: modern, kiyuchek, ruchenitsa, biala rosa (horo) and break. The kids had numbers on their backs and every participant went on stage to dance, from goofy first grader to knee-high boots wearing twelfth grader. And the best part of being a judge is declaring an immediate dance-off. "You. You. Kiychek. 3 minutes. Wow me."

Smeeli eating breakfast.

It's hard to get Dobi's natural smile because whenever I take out the camera this is his go-to expression.

Princess and Prince.

The princesses posing.

Dancing the kiyuchek.

Crowning the princess.

My gate- see how high the snow is!

The outhouse in the back of my house. How many of you can say you have an outhouse?

My snowman!

Mariana and Zhivko working at the store.

Dobi pelting me with snowballs.

My neighbor Baba Nikolina.

You Talk Like the Movies.

2009-02-19T02:14:00.000-05:00

"How did you get to Bulgaria from America? Car, train…?"
"Um, by plane."
"What?! That's scary."

What I wanted to say was, "By dolphin."

Many Bulgarians, especially the young people in the villages cannot grasp the magnitude of the country that is the United States. Some questions I receive:
"Does it snow in America?"
"Is America big?"
"Do you have beans in America?"
"Where does Arnold Schwarzenegger live?"
"How big is Virginia?"
-"As big as Bulgaria."
-"Wait…WHAT!"
"Do you have parents?"
"Do you like Arnold Schwarzenegger?"
"Do you have bananas in America?"
"Who is that actor governor?"

Usually a day doesn't go by when someone doesn't have a question for me and I'm always ready for a little cross-cultural exchange. People are always excited to hear that I have a family. "You have a brother! You have parents! You have grandparents!" They seem to think that I'm an orphan girl dropped in Bulgaria whom they must immediately adopt and feed.

My parents sent me a fluffy, singing, dancing dog for Christmas that I brought to the kindergarten for the kids to enjoy. Every visitor that came was introduced to the dog and forced to watch it sing and dance to "Shout". "It's from America." Oooo, wow, America.

One really awkward question that I get a lot is, "Which do you like better, Bulgaria or America?" I always respond, "I love both!" But it doesn't stop there. Yesterday I was asked which was better "Bulgarian honey or American honey?"
"Which is better, Bulgarian food or American food?"
"Which is better, Bulgarian music or American music?"
"Who are better looking, Bulgarian men or American men?"

Through music, TV shows and the news people create a perception of America. I've heard many comments about America:
-That all Americans are fat. Really fat.
-We all carry around pistols and shoot turkeys for Thanksgiving.
-There are black people there.
-Everyone is rich there.
-We don't know how to light fires.
-All Americans eat hamburgers and can't get enough of them.
-Cowboys are really really cool.

The best thing I've heard was told to me three times, twice by Bulgarians and once by a Norwegian Brit in a hostel. They heard me speak and said, "Wow, you talk like the movies!" Since most of the movies they see are American then my English sounds familiar to them. One person told me that "American English sounds so beautiful." Then they added, "British English sounds weird." Hehehe. I've never heard that before, but I'll take it. I think it might be because Americans are loud and we speak with a lot of emotion, so our language sounds like it has life to it. Also the Brits, the Germans, the Italians, and so on have languages with more rhythm compared to the intoned Slavic tongue.

Obama is lemon?

2009-01-23T07:51:00.002-05:00

Wednesday was the Day of Babas and here in my village we had a celebration in our chitalishte. I went while the kindergarteners were napping and found the place warm from the stove and the folk music loudly playing. Some people were up and dancing the horo while everyone else sat at tables filled with food they brought and homemade wine. I sat at a table with five babas who would yell at me to eat more salami. "Yash!" they'd say as I meekly grabbed another piece of meat, "Mmmm, fkoosno." Then a diado came and sat next to me, resting his battered accordion on his lap. He started to play, the notes filling the room with music, and the five babas began to sing. They sung old folk songs of love, youth and loss. They all sounded similar to me, all with a somber melody. The diado tried a more upbeat song but he didn't know it all and only one baba knew the words. I just listened, amazed that people with so many missing teeth could sing so well.

Barack Obama has been big news around here, of course. I went into town to watch the Inauguration with four other volunteers. We all enjoyed the historic, and long-awaited for, moment. In Bulgaria when you are celebrating something you say chestite, or 'congratulations'. It works for all occasions. Chestite Birthday! Chestite New Year! Chestite New Haircut! Chestite New Axe! When you are celebrating something or you recently purchased something nice for yourself, it is tradition to share your new fortune by passing out sweets to your friends. So we all had bought chocolate candies and passed them out at work, celebrating the inauguration.

I was at my colleague's house watching the news with her husband and they were talking about the Obama Inauguration. He has very limited English but he's always excited about practicing it on me. We joke him endlessly because one time when he wanted to say that he likes banitsa, he ended up saying, "I like to be banitsa." At one point in the broadcast he looks at me and hesitatingly says, "Obama is lemon?" and he raises his hands. "Ummmm, what?" I respond. "Obama is lemon?" he says again. He raises his left hand and shakes it, "Lemon?" "Ohhhhh, yeah, Obama writes with his left hand. LEFT. It's LEFT."

So I bought an axe yesterday and walked all over Razgrad with it resting on my shoulder. I felt like a much, much smaller and weaker version of Paul Bunyan. I run into a Bulgarian friend on the streets and he grabs my axe to inspect it. "How much did this cost?," he asks. "There should be some metal here. This wood will wear down. I know where you can buy a better axe." I take it to my colleague's apartment and her husband inspects it. "It's strong," he says. "But you should put some metal at the top of this handle. How much did this cost?" As I'm walking to the bus I pass by an elderly couple sitting on a bench. The old man looks at me and says, "An axe?" Yes, I reply. "How much did it cost?" I take it out for him to look at. "Yeah, there should definitely be some metal here. I know where you can get a better axe." Then he says some things I can't understand and I laugh when he laughs. On the bus I run into a friend from my village and she says, "An axe? How much did that cost?" Oh the joys of a new axe.

By the way, it cost 20 Bulgarian leva.

Bulgaria at the Holidays

2009-01-07T14:22:00.005-05:00

So, I've been busy celebrating the many holidays (St. Nikolai Day, Christmas, New Year's, Yordanov Day, Ivanov Day, and everything else you can think of…did I mention Christmas?) Although I'm not a fan of resolutions, I've decided to do some this year.
I pledge to... ('promise' was too strong of a word)
…update this blog regularly since apparently people who care about me read it to make sure I'm still alive
…dance more often
That's all I've got so far.

Before I start my official post I've got some things to write about. First off, my camera is broken but I can post pictures taken from my cell phone. That means I have to limit what I can capture since I must meet two conditions: there must be natural light and both subject and my hand must be very steady (and you try keeping kindergarteners still for more than 2 seconds). Also, yesterday Russia (or Ukraine, depending on who you're talking to) cut off Europe's supply of natural gas. Because Bulgaria doesn't have much reserves it means that people are living without central heating and it means we can't bake any more bread (no bread!!). Today the kids only had 15 minutes of each class every hour and tomorrow they may not go back. Luckily for us in the village everything is heated with gas stoves.

---official post begins now, everything above this line is completely worthless information---

CHRISTMAS

Snow!

The Christmas tree in Razgrad with an unused mosque in the background.

We had a Christmas party for the kids in the village. The kindergarteners and I had been preparing songs, dances and poems. Everyone gathered in the chitalishte, cultural center, and the teachers (incl. me) were given beautiful flowers. My favorite part was when Diado Koleda (Santa Claus) came for a visit. Santa was different from what I remembered though. He was very skinny, had a raspy smoker's voice, talked loudly and often, and reminded me of Christo from the village…hmmm, makes you wonder. He passed out gifts and each kid had a prepared poem to say. Then the five older girls had a special Christmas dance prepared which was done to a rap song and had them shedding the top layers of their clothing. It was a crowd pleaser.

Medinki, Christmas cookies made with honey.

Then I went to Razgrad, the "city", to spend Christmas Eve and day with my colleague and her family. We had a traditional Bulgarian meal on Christmas Eve which has 7, 9, 11 or 13 dishes on the table (or else it's unlucky). The meal is vegetarian and consists of bean soup, dried fruit from the garden, bread, homemade pickled vegetables and homemade wine. They leave the food on the table over night to keep the spirits pleased.

I thought it was strange there wasn't that magical Christmas feeling as we went to bed. I woke up before the kids and walked out to find…an empty tree. New Year's Eve and Name Days are bigger here than Christmas. Besides a visit to the Orthodox church to light a candle, the day passed like any other. Then at night we sat down to a meal with the neighbors. We had steak, shish kebabs, potatoes, pitka (traditional sweet bread) and afterwards we had my homemade pumpkin pie.

A typical Bulgarian Christmas tree.

Lighting candles in the church.

NEW YEARS
New Year's Eve Bulgarians have big celebrations with their families. They eat a lot of traditional food, they drink lots of homemade rakia and they light a lot of explosives. There is a tradition of baking pitka and placing a coin in the dough. It's believed that the person who finds the coin will be wealthy in the new year. Once the clock struck midnight the winter sky was filled with huge fireworks exploding from all corners of the city. People were holding the fireworks, lighting them and then throwing them into the air from their apartment balconies. They certainly start the new year fearless. And boy must fireworks be cheap because there were a lot.

After that we walked to the center where the Christmas tree was. Music was playing and people were dancing and drinking. Soon the mayor came out and said some well wishes. Then I saw one of the best fireworks shows I've ever seen. They were lit so close to us that the explosions seemed to fill the entire sky above us. We craned our necks to watch the lights and literally be showered with fireworks debris…it was magical. After the show, a band came out and played Bulgarian folk songs and we all grabbed hands and started dancing the horo around the square. We left once we felt frostbite set it.

Yes, that close.

Horo in the square.

There is a tradition on New Year's Day in Bulgaria where the children make a special decorated stick, a soorvachka, and they pat the backs of the adults, saying a blessing for the New Year. Two boys came to my colleague's house and they blessed us on the back, which is believed to make our wishes come true and make the new year productive and fertile. In return, those blessed give the boys a gift of apples, nuts and a coin.

P.S. I know the pictures aren't showing up, something is wrong with the program (or maybe it's my 90s era internet connection). Slowly I will try and re-post them but until this program starts working I won't be posting any new pictures.

Travel: Bulgarian Style

2008-12-09T08:27:00.002-05:00

I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with 18 other volunteers and one Englishman. I traveled across the country to Yablanitsa, a place known for its Bulgarian sweets. This little adventure began in Razgrad where I was supposed to catch a bus for a nearby city. I went up to the counter and asked, "Do I buy the tickets for Shumen on the bus?" She looked at me and responded, "What bus?" I desperately pointed at the large timetable nailed to the wall, "It says there's a bus at 6:30!" That was my first mistake.

I called my colleague, desperate and stranded, and her brother-in-law agreed to drive me the 45 minutes to Shumen. When I arrived and met my friend, we had time to catch a drink. That was my second mistake. We realized we were running late so we grabbed our bags and ran through the streets of Shumen to be four minutes late for our train.

Luckily, we caught the next one an hour later. I had worn a t-shirt under my coat in preparation for the sauna-like train cars. That was my third mistake. We found an empty cabin and settled in for our overnight ride. We waited for the heat to kick in but it never did. All plans of sleeping went out the window, as we sat there for five hours shivering and attempting to look out the frosted window.

Once we left the train we still had a bus to catch to Yablanitsa. We bought our tickets, found seats and tried to close our eyes before the sun would start to peak over the horizon. It's not easy to sleep on a bus that plays 80s pop-rock but we set our alarms to 7:30 when, according to the timetable, the bus was supposed to arrive in Yablanitsa. Some time around 7am we stopped in a town and I remember remarking on how pretty the Christmas lights were. The bus drove on and about ten minutes later the woman who took our tickets turns around and says, "Weren't you supposed to get off at Yablanitsa?" That was my fourth mistake.

So the bus driver pulled over on the side of the highway and opened the compartments below so we could get our bags. He points down the road and says, "Go straight and follow the signs." So there we were, walking on the side of a Bulgarian highway, with the sun just rising and the ground freshly slick from a recent sleeting. We walked a ways, with me falling once quite hard on the ice, but finally made it to Thanksgiving. As people arrived everyone had their own stories of wrong timetables, missed buses and walking on the highway.

It was worth it though, everybody brought food and we even had a 9 lb turkey and stuffing. Tobias had streamed NFL on his laptop and Neil brought his football. And finally, after much preparation, we were ready to eat after Angelo's moving speech, "I'm in Bulgaria, dammit!", and Billy's heartwarming toast to our new PC family.

Returning home wasn't nearly as difficult, except for the 10 leva fine I got in Sofia for not punching my bus ticket the right way: "There are supposed to be three holes, not two!"

Mr. America

Shannon, the Birthday girl.

Snuggling and football always go together.

Billy posing in front of the delicious turkey he prepared.

Angelo's speech.

The Thanksgiving spread.

The dessert table.

That's some cheap vino Kasey has.

No Longer Incommunicado

2008-11-21T00:11:00.005-05:00

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.

I Survived PST

2008-10-25T06:16:00.002-04:00

So I swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer on October 9th and traveled to my new village and then have been in a state of technological isolation. I am working on getting internet in my house (fingers crossed) and should know by November 13th. There were things I never got to talk about, like the grape harvest. My host family harvested grapes a few days before I left, clipping them from the vines and gathering them in pails. Even little 9-year-old Ana Maria was running around with a large knife and joining in on the fun.

Here is Valentine mixing the grapes and he even handed me a glass of fresh grape juice which might have been the best juice I ever had.

Celebrating the wine season at a winery in the beautiful Melnik.

Then of course was the swearing-in ceremony in Sofia. The U.S. Ambassador spoke, two of the B-24s gave a speech and there were a few TV cameras and cameraman to preserve this day in history. It was an enjoyable ceremony. The speeches were touching and succinct, it ended quickly and the food was good at the reception afterwards.

Those are some nice outfits.

Callie giving her speech while Tobias waits.

Before I went to my permanent site, I spent the night in Razgrad, a nearby city. I went to a piano concert featuring the Philharmonic of Razgrad. Finally I was able to go to my village but my house wasn't quite ready. And by that I mean it had no hot water, toilet, shower, stove, sink or fridge. But it was painted yellow and my bedroom is a vibrant orange pastel. I walked up to my house to find eight people working hard to prepare my new home (including an 82-year-old). They went above and beyond. They made me the nicest bathroom in probably the whole of Peace Corps, painted my rooms (even put up art and curtains), put down new floors and put in my guest room a nice futon and wardrobe. I worked in my garden with a baba and diado who were teaching me how to till the soil and were showing me where we are planting the winter food (onions, garlic, potatoes, lettuce). Then the women took a break to prepare lunch, which was quite a feast. We cooked up meat patties and sausage, made potato salad, peeled hard-boiled eggs, mixed tomatoes and onions with oil, the baba brought mekitsa (fried bread), we had fresh bread and of course beer and homemade rakia. The Bulgarians certainly know how to enjoy their breaks.

The Philharmonic in Razgrad.

All over the country you see row after row of these Soviet bloc buildings.

Paradise in a bloc.

I owe these men a lot!

My little garden.

My first Monday here my village threw me a little party at the museum. Some were dressed in traditional Bulgarian costume and they offered me pitka, which is a sweet bread given to guests. Babas demonstrated for me how they make rugs out of corn leaves and how they weave rugs with yarn. They told me that some day they will teach me too. Then we sat down for a small meal of banitsa, pitka and a sweet alcoholic drink traditional to the region. Even with the language barrier I really enjoyed myself and everyone was so excited to have me there.

Me with the kindergarteners. I swear they love me now.

I have been spending my days with the kindergarteners, all four of them. I'm getting to know them, I am planning English lessons and I am organizing a Halloween party for the kids in my village. The other day I left the kindergarten to go pick mushrooms for a few hours with two babas. Sometimes as we passed people their voices would hush and I knew I was missing out on some really good gossip. One night three policemen came to visit me to make sure I am living in a secure house. They checked my locks, made sure I had the emergency number in my phone and said they hoped I would get the internet since my phone coverage goes in and out. Everyone knows about me here. Even the editor of the local newspaper in Razgrad found out about me and sent a reporter. I was in the newspaper yesterday, on the front page. They had two pictures of me at my welcoming party and described where I am from, where I was born, where I graduated, what I am doing here and even my upcoming birthday. I'm trying not to let this new found fame go to my head but it's not everyday I make the front page of a Bulgarian regional newspaper.

Awkward moment of the week: My awkward moments have involved me returning to my childhood. Everyday I go to kindergarten and I do everything they do, including making turtles out of play dough and singing songs. Then at lunch I sit at their tiny little table, on a tiny little chair and eat with them. After lunch it is nap time and a few times my colleges have offered to pull down a bed for me. I kindly say no and think to myself, "I know I am small but come on this is kindergarten!" After nap it is snack time, which I always enjoy. One of the kindergarteners has even said he is going to marry me.

I want to wish a Happy Birthday to all those I missed. Happy Birthday Uncle Tom, which was a long time ago but I still thought of you! Happy Birthday Jaynell, I really wanted to send you a message but I hope you had a fun 21st! Happy Birthday Kelly, I will miss our joint celebration this year but eat some pudding in my honor! Happy Birthday Aunt Lisa, I am sure there is going to be some delicious gravy and cake for your b-day!

And finally a Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to my Grandparents! And a Happy Birthday to my Grandpa! I really wish I could've been there to celebrate with you because I am sure you guys had a wonderful time.

Sporten Den!

2008-10-04T04:29:00.002-04:00

I swear it is not my fault that I didn't update my blog- it's the internet's fault. I haven't been able to send e-mails either, or log on to Facebook, so it's been a sad existence. I have been very busy as my training comes to a close. Next Thursday I swear in as a volunteer and move to my permanent site.

First, it went straight from summer to the dead of winter. This week we saw some sun but about two weeks ago the cold and bitter rain invaded Bulgaria. Everyone said it would get warm again but it never did. There were nights where I was shivering under 4 layers of blankets. There was no respite from the cold because even indoors I couldn't feel my fingers. Then this past weekend my family installed the wood burning stove in the living room and my host mom gave me a heater for my room (so glorious!). Throughout the village you can hear the splitting of wood as families prepare for the winter season.

Baba Elka showed us how to make banitsa but it will take two years for me to learn how to do it myself. Banitsa is delicious wrapped up in filo dough which is usually filled with cirene (Bulgarian feta cheese) and eggs. It is impossible to make a recipe for banitsa because it can only be made from measurements and skills learned from a baba.

Baba Elka showing Shah how to roll the dough. You lift up the cloth and the dough rolls itself.

Hot banitsa straight from the oven.

We had a Roma minority culture day and we went to a village where the Roma people are very integrated into the community. Roma people are also known as gypsies but that is an outdated and even offensive word. They come from a region in India and there are four castes of Roma living in Bulgaria. They tend to be very traditional, many are poor and they live in separate communities called the Mahala. Many PCVs work in Roma communities and they try to elevate the Roma communities' own opinion of themselves and to bring about more tolerance and cooperation among the Roma and Bulgarians.

There were about 3 cameras there filming us. Here Billy is being interviewed.

Roma girls dancing the kyuchek, a traditional dance that involves a lot of hip shaking.

Last week I went to a local village to help a group of trainees with their community project. They painted a large mural on the wall of the cultural center with the help of people from the village. They also got the kids to pick up trash in the center with the incentive being a nice soccer ball. The mural was along the main road so many people turned their heads to stare at us. A baba and diado pitched in, one kid cried but managed to paint a star and the media showed up to film us (check it out on Rila TV).

These girls helped out a lot. Notice the 'Best Friends Forever' face paint?

The beautiful mural.

Here is Daniel doing a wonderful job of picking up trash. He made me proud when he went out of his way to clean up the fountain in the center which was filled with floating bottles and bags.

This past Saturday was our Sporten Den (Sport Day), also known as the Sport Extravaganza! We did some really good advertising. Someone had the genius idea of passing out fliers as the kids got off of the school bus. So on Wednesday we had fliers in hand as the bus rolled up and we talked up our Sporten Den. Luckily anything we Americans do is already considered new and exciting so we had that on our side. The next day when they returned home from school we had candy and as we passed it out we reminded them about our super cool Sporten Den.

Saturday came and we had 5 bottles of Derby Cola which is about the nastiest soda in existence (the lemonade flavor tastes like Pine Sol, or at least my idea of what Pine Sol tastes like), but hey the kids like it. We had tons of sweets and Billy baked some chocolate chip cookies. About 26 kids arrived and it was a wild good time, with emphasis on the wild. We started off with dodgeball which they had never seen before. We did a demonstration for them and as they saw us hurling balls at each other their faces lit up in anticipation. Next we did an egg relay which was fun but due to some minor cheating no winner was determined. After that we did a three-legged race which was quite amusing. A lot of the older kids got their strings undone but they all still enjoyed the game. Then we did tug-o-war which was the most fun to watch. The kids loved this game even though they sustained minor rug burns on their palms. When a side lost some volunteers would help them the next round so we had volunteers going back and forth and getting into the game as much as the kids.

Lastly, we broke up into four teams and had an hour long photo scavenger hunt around the village. We gave each team a list of 30 items with varying points attached to them. An example of things you had to take a picture of: a baba (2 pts), the waterfall (3 pts), someone working in the garden (3 pts), everyone standing on one leg (1 pt), etc. The team with the most points won prizes. I had three girls on my team, Borislava, Svetlana and Petia. The moment the timer started every team raced off. My girls were amazing. We made it to the waterfall and back before anybody else, Borislava convinced her shy aunt to come out and pose in the garden for us, and the girls actually climbed into a horse cart for one picture. We made it in second place but had enough prizes for them. The kids were so excited by the end that it was hard to say the Sporten Den was over. Now when we walk around the village we know all of the kids and they never hesitate to come up and say hello.

Lining up for dodgeball.

Some cool kids!

An intense game of tug-o-war.

We had to take a picture of someone on a bike so here are two kids from my host family, Anna Maria and Asen.

My girls spelling "juice" in Bulgarian, which is sok (in Cyrillic of course).

They convinced the man to let them on the horse cart!

Me and my team.

On Monday we made a quick day trip up to Sofia which is about an hour and a half away. It was a nice day to walk around the city and visit the PC Bulgaria headquarters. For lunch we went to an American themed restaurant and had delicious burgers and fries. Then we went to McDonald's for some McFlurries which was kind of McDisgusting because it was mixed with Nesquik. Here are some pretty pictures of the sites there:

The National Theater.

The National Cathedral.

This is the yellow brick road which covers the streets all throughout the city center. If you are ever lost in Sofia, just follow the yellow brick road…literally.

The presidential offices.

The Seven Rila Lakes

2008-09-16T02:02:00.004-04:00

On Thursday Sarah and I held an informal English class for five kids which reduced to four when one received an important call and had to step out for a bit. We taught them eight clothing words and a phrase. It was a lot harder than I expected, especially when they had giggle fits every time I held up my bathing suit. I'm pretty sure 50% of our students failed to retain anything but they've already come up to me asking when is the next lesson.

On Saturday, fourteen of us spent the day hiking to the breathtaking Seven Lakes in the Rila Mountains. Maybe the most amazing part was how many different weather conditions we endured. The hike started with sweat dripping down our backs, next was a nice biting breeze, then a freezing gust, then icy rain and finally hail. Oh, and we mustn't forget the mud.

We couldn't help the references to Mordor and Middle Earth, even though we were revealing our true dorkiness. Wherever there are nerds and mountains, there will be Lord of the Ring analogies.

I think this is lake four.

We climbed to the very top of this peak to see lakes six and seven. I know it looks dinky in the picture but I swear it was a brutal climb to the top. Just look at the picture below, look at those rocks and then find that red dot of a person in the center to get a good perspective.

At the top of the peak the rocks were so smooth and flat that over the years people began to stack them and now they cover the mountain, as evidence of human presence. Some even gathered the rocks in the form of a heart as a lasting expression of love.

Here are views from the top. If you look closely enough you can see on the closest grassy plane a circle with three rings. This is the meeting place of the White Brotherhood, a cult that gathers here to dance and worship and have cult bake sales.

Me on a ledge, fighting the wind, in front of 4 of the lakes.

Tobias and Sarah tired after a long hike upwards.

We are now immortalized on the peak. This is a picture of Tobias dedicated our piece of B-24 history.

Sarah and Billy sharing some music during a break.

It is hard to get the whole experience of the hike in a picture but here the wind is blowing with force and the rain and hail is coming in from our left side.

We certainly were thankful when the rain gave way to the sun but it left its damage and down the mountain we carefully trudged our way through the mud.

Awkward moment of the week: My host family owns a bar and oftentimes I sit out front talking with the older gentlemen that frequent the business. We clumsily try to communicate and they always buy me juice or coke. Friday night Emil was sitting out front and there are only a few words he knows in English but he uses them often. They include: hello, I love you, and motherf****r. Friday night he put his arm around me, and waving his other in the air he says, "Sasha, I love you!" Then he leans back and mumbles a word in Bulgarian. I ask him what it means and he says proudly, "Motherf****r!" He persuades me to say more English curse words, he has a thirst for knowledge, and I must thank the late George Carlin for my response.

To see some beatuiful pictures of Bulgaria from a great photographer then go to my friend Billy's website:
www.billyknox.com

Babas make me wiser

2008-09-08T10:22:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday my group and I had an informal meeting with some village kids. We are doing a project to promote community pride and reading amongst the youth. This is kind of how it went (except it was in Bulgarian):

Peace Corps Trainee: Do you like basketball?
Kids: No. Hate it.
PCT: Do you want some chocolate?
K: From you? No way.
PCT: Do you have any ideas? Activities you'd like to do?
K: --blank stare--
PCT: Umm, do you want to play games that day?
K: -----tug-of-war?
PCT: Yes, alright! Anything else?
K: Soccer, three-legged race, sack races, drawing, arm wrestling, volleyball, egg relay!
PCT: Wow, thanks for your help.
K: I see you have a basketball, want to play?
PCT: I thought you hated basketball!
K: Oh, yeah, and we'll take that chocolate now.

Then on Monday we went to a school gym to hear our permanent sites announced. They made a map of Bulgaria on the floor, announced our names and gave us a flower. I felt kind of like a secret agent because they gave us folders with our "Assignment Description" inside. Then it self-destructed in 30 seconds.* I am going to a village of 350 people and working with an NGO called Future for Europe Association.

*That is a bold-faced lie.

Those of us in northeastern Bulgaria; Greg, me, Theron and Glenn.

You read correctly, I said there are 350 people in my village. And, gosh darn it, I am going to know the life stories of each of them. They were excited to have me there and every baba has made it her personal goal to take care of me, which includes teaching me how to cook, teaching me how to knit, and finding me a husband. I've already learned a lot from Baba Dora, who I spent the week with. She taught me how to make homemade french fries, how to hand wash clothes, how to make homemade jam and how to use a wood burning stove. And what did I teach her? How to slam a frog in a door. I'd say we both learned a lot.

For the next two years I will be working a lot with children, creating after school activities and teaching English to the kindergarteners, also to the municipality. I will help attract tourists (they have a wonderful museum and cultural life) by creating a website. And so much more I don't even know yet.

Some pictures of my village:

The town square.

The Bulgarian Orthodox church.

Baba Dora heating up jars of jam on the wood burning stove.

Me and the police officer. I repeat, the police officer (and he commutes).

Babas and diado hanging out in front of the store. They call me "their volunteer".

Rila Monestary

2008-08-31T10:08:00.003-04:00

A summary of my week in a haiku:

My son you marry?
Too much horo, I'm weary.
Woot, monastery!

Yesterday, we left before the roosters crowed to go to the Rila Monastery. It was built in the 10th century by a monk who lived for 12 years in a cave with no material possessions. It was so picturesque, the black and white striped arches, the Eastern domes and the way the clouds nestled between the mountains. Inside its doors, amongst the glow of candles, we saw a priest offering Holy Communion to a small line of the faithful. He held out his hand, they kissed it lightly and he handed them bread. The church was painted with frescoes, not an inch on these old walls was spared.

Proof I was there.

Afterwards, we walked 2 miles to the monk's cave. Even the walk itself was exciting because we ran into what can only be called "wild" cows.

Bulgaria: Where speed bumps are called cows.

For those of you unlucky people who have never been in a cave it is quite exciting. Just imagine a hole that is dark. Or you can just close your eyes and touch a rock and you've pretty much recreated what it's like. Kidding aside, this cave was way cooler because it has a vertical tunnel which you must climb through to reach the outside world. The legend goes that the highest offense against God is gluttony and only those without sin can pass through the tight passageway. I am pleased to say we all made it, even Billy with his thousand dollar camera and tripod.

We joked, saying it was like being birthed by mother earth.

Later in the day we went to a folklore festival where the horo group from my village was performing. There were groups from local Bulgarian villages, and from Serbia and Macedonia. This past week I went to a couple of the horo practices where you can see all generations locking arms and laughing. They were excited to see the Americans there, and they took the time to teach us some horo dances. Instead of playing music, they sang the songs as we twisted around the room kicking our feet.

Serbian kids dancing.

My village performing the story of Goritsa's wedding.

Awkward moment of the week: I live at the top of a large hill and on Friday I was playing basketball with 3 girls. We play at the end of street using as our basketball hoop a rusty iron frame nailed to a wooden shed. The ball bounced off the side of a house and started to roll down the steep hill. I ran after it, speeding down the unevenly paved street with a growing momentum. I ran past old men, a birthday party and kids playing while I chased after this unstoppable, rolling basketball.

Petia, one of the girls from my street.

What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks are Chicken Hards?

2008-08-24T07:29:00.007-04:00

Last week I took a little trip to a nearby city, still so reminiscent of the Soviet era. There are large bloc buildings and fountains with new civilizations of microbes growing in them. I loved all the sights and sounds of the city, like the signs that warn of horse and carriage. We went out to eat and although the menu was half in English, it is no English I have ever seen, nor ever want to see. Some delicacies on the menu were: chicken hards (I have no idea what part of the animal that comes from), milk salad, eggs of eyes, and chicken morsels with cornflakes (sounds like something Nick would eat).

We passed this interesting fountain reminding me of those glorious days of my childhood when I danced in the spit of fish. Oh to be young and carefree again.

Friday we took a bus to another village and met up with some other trainees to play ultimate frisbee and basketball. We played at the school there and soon the kids started to show up. We were inside the gates playing and a group gathered outside. I walked up, gulped and said in horrible Bulgarian, "Do you want to play soccer?" A long uneasy pause. Did they understand me? "Yes!" they responded and walked in. Their soccer skills were impressive, bouncing the ball against their chest, using their knees and head. Every time I kicked the ball they would yell, "Bravo", probably just surprised I could meet foot with ball.

Saturday there was a religious celebration in town. There is only one priest for the whole area so he travels from village to village performing mass and other ceremonies. 45 years of communism had its toll on religion in Bulgaria. Every house is adorned with religious artifacts but few actively attend church. On Saturday the dedicated people walked up to the small church to hear the priest pray, to light candles and to join in a community feast.

Every family had their own table and people walked around to give gifts of bread. Someone from the family would carry a bucket to the large, steaming pot sitting next to the priest. A man with a large iron ladle used both hands to pour courban soup into each family's bucket. Courban soup is made with vegetables and lamb, with a nice healthy layer of oil on top.

*Animal special!

These are the goats that pass my house. I love it, everyday is like a goat parade.

This is a horse rolling around on our soccer field. And I mean literally it was rolling.

This picture is pretty self-explanatory. This cow looks like it has important business to take care of.

The kitten my family has. Time for a collective, "Awww."

I am a rock star. Except replace 'rock' with 'village' and 'star' with 'oddball'.

2008-08-18T06:24:00.009-04:00

Thursday night the other trainees and I had dinner at Vladi's house (our language trainer). We wanted to cook spaghetti for two reasons: one, we were craving a familiar non-greasy meal and two, Bulgarians dislike spaghetti and we wanted to prove that it is delicious.

We borrowed pots and plates from our babas and we had to make use of the few ingredients available. We played American music and Vladi taught us a card game, then finally it was time to eat. Now I can proudly say that we made the nastiest spaghetti known to man. I think I can pinpoint exactly where it went wrong and it was probably when we got out of hand with the sugar and never added salt. So we ended up with very sugary spaghetti sauce, yummy.

After dinner we headed to a nearby town to meet up with another trainee group and attend a chalga concert. If you have never heard of chalga then your life is incomplete. Chalga is a music genre that can be best described with two words: folk-pop and sexuality. I can't understand the lyrics but I would probably bet a jar of precious American peanut butter that every song is about sweet, sweet love.

The line for the chalga concert.

We knew we were going some place special when we boarded the bus and half of it was filled with dressed up giggling tweens. The best part was that the concert was held in a dilapidated soccer stadium. I sat on crumbling concrete with weeds growing around me and I almost saw a man selling whistles and glow sticks wearing short-shorts and a blond wig tumble down the steps after tripping over a rusty piece of metal. It was a lot of fun, especially seeing the excitement of all the people there and hearing them sing to every word of the songs.

Me and my host sister.

Friday was my village's holiday, which was amazing. After a morning of Bulgarian language class we walked to the outskirts of town to join in the festivities. The air smelled of grilling kyufte and ham. Families brought food and sat on long picnic tables as the children ran around with squirt guns making any innocent bystander their victim. People horo danced to the music a folk band played. I stepped into the circle, grabbed two hands and joined in the dancing.

The village holiday.

Awkward moment of the week: I was sitting at a picnic table with friends at the festival and there are some teenagers tapping me on the soldier. They ask me a question in Bulgarian. Uhh, what? Then I see the camera in their hand and they start pointing to it. Oh, they want to take a picture with me. The teenage boy smiles really big as he wraps his arm around me and his friend takes a picture. I was such a rockstar. This happened two more times, but I refuse to give autographs.

Horo dancing!

Can you see the oil and salt?

Some trainees ordering rakia.

The rakia, it burns!

2008-08-11T11:34:00.002-04:00

Saturday night was na gosti which is a very long meal with friends and drinks. They have a drink here called rakia which many make themselves. Just a whiff of it and I'm tipsy. They pour me some and I nod vigorously (which, if you remember, means no). We clink glasses, say cheers and take a sip. I can feel it burn my throat as it goes down, ooo it makes me warm inside. I think this stuff will be useful on those bitterly cold days.

They are very generous here and will give you massive amounts of food and drink no matter what you say. They asked if I wanted wine but I said no and held up my glass to show that I still had water. So, of course, problem solved they took my glass and emptied the water and filled it up with wine. They mix the white wine with sprite and add lemons and it's quite good.

Sarah talking with host dad Goshu.

Shah is another trainee and Sunday was his 24th birthday. The four of us from my village and the five trainees from the next village walked to a small monastery on the outskirts of town. Kolin, Shah's host brother, started a fire and made shish kebabs. Afterwards we hiked up to the waterfall.

Awkward moment of the week: While watching the Olympics I wanted to show some Bulgarian pride so I decided to yell "Yay Bulgaria!" but instead I said "Yay Blogodaria!" which means "Yay Thank You!"

My village.

Annamaria who is 9 years old and lives with me.

Cows on the loose

2008-08-09T07:19:00.002-04:00

I left almost 2 weeks ago and I can't believe that now I live in a small village of about 1200 in Bulgaria. I walk the streets and pass herds of goats, crowing roosters, horse drawn carts and cows. Monday night I was playing basketball with the village kids and some cows came to the edge of the court to chew on grass.

I live with my host mom Vania, her mother-in-law Mama Ani, her 9-year-old niece AnnaMaria, her 18-year-old daughter Ani and 20-year-old son Malin. They have a family business, a small bar behind the house where people from the village come to drink, smoke and gossip. Most of the time I sit and listen. They just look at me and shake their heads saying, "She doesn't understand".

I like to go to БаБа Elka's house (baba means grandmother). Babas are highly respected for their years of wisdom and their skill in the kitchen. Baba Elka often talks to me like I can understand her, I give her a confused look and she gives me a big smile with her 4 teeth.

On Sunday Billy (another trainee) and I helped Ani and Baba Elka shuck beans for hours and Baba cooked some great Moussaka (мусака - eggs, meat, onions, potatoes). Everyone here has their own garden. Every night I have soup that only has ingredients from the garden: краставици (cucumbers), боб (beans), чушка (peppers) and more.

One of the most confusing things is one of the most simplest: No (не- Ne) and Yes (да- Da). For them it is the opposite way around, they shake their head for yes and nod for no. The first few days I tried my hardest not to move my head at all.

Bulgarians have a traditional dance called the horo (хоро) and there are many types. Before coming to our sites we spent a week in a mountain retreat going to classes and we learned 3 horo dances. During our final celebratory meal ("yay, you survived a week!") we got on the dance floor with the Bulgarian horo dancers and stumbled our way into the Bulgarian culture.

One Week

2008-07-18T15:53:00.007-04:00

One Week until I join my fellow B24 trainees in Arlington. For me, it is the beginning of an exciting new part of my life. And I need some excitement. I spent one whole day last week just dedicated to finding shoes.

I am also aware that for many it is One Week until I leave. Only one week left. It's inevitable that I think about what I'll miss: marriages, gravies, a friend returning from war, beach days, an 8th grade graduation, the Greek fest, rollerblading, the World Series and how much my cousins grow up each day that I'm away. But it's not like I will ever truly be gone. I will be sending massive amounts of pictures so you will actually get tired of hearing about me (and I expect pictures in return <stern finger wag>). I will still share in your joy and disappointments and you will in mine. So let's not see this as Goodbye but as "See you later" and we'll have some stories to tell.

If you were wondering about the title of the blog then watch the video. I could've gone with something like "Chronicling Bulgaria" or "A Sasha Adventure in Bulgaria" but I decided to use an obscure reference to something that makes me smile.

Taste The Happy - The funniest movie is here. Find it