Just another winter day
January in Bulgaria doesn't give one much to write about. That is of course unless you like hearing about the score card the ice in town and I are keeping (ice is up by 1.) Or perhaps I could tell you about the total lack of vegetables anywhere in Bulgaria (well at least within an hours drive of me.) As exciting as that is, I just can't bring myself to relive it here for the sake of filling up a paragraph or two. Life is life, it's winter, it's cold, there is a LOT of down time that requires me to entertain myself for very long stretches.
With all of that free time on my hands I have managed to organize two wonderful trips for the Spring and Summer. I have saved up most of my vacation days and will be using them most happily very soon. My first trip will be to Bucharest with Matt and our friend Brett. Just a quick trip over Orthodox Easter. Next is a trip to Greece in May with Matt. We are going to Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. I can't wait and am so excited about going I can barely stand it. If any of you have been and have some tid bits to share, please do so. Lastly, in June, I'll be traveling with Matt and his parents for about 3 weeks around Eastern Europe. We will be starting in Budapest, then moving on to Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Krakow, Kiev and finally Odessa. Thoughts of sunny beaches, gorgous sunsets, castles, wonderful food and exciting adventures keeps me happy and content as I wait for another Bulgarian winter to pass by. My last as it happens, something else that makes dealing with this one a lot easier. As of tomorrow I officially have 8 months left of service. Not that i'm counting or anything, but I am so very ready to start my next great adventure.
With all that said however, I am going to be doing something very non-Bulgarian this weekend. Matt and I are going to Sofia on Sunday so that we (i.e. Matt) can watch the Super Bowl. Yes, you read correctly, the Super Bowl is coming to Bulgaria, at 1:00am our time and not a minute to soon. The Irish pub in Sofia that is the home base for most ex pats in Sofia is staying open so that those crazy fanatical fans can watch men in tight pants throw around a ball. And you know what, I'm even going to cheer for someone, probably whoever everyone else is hoping to lose. I always did like the underdog. So here is to ice and remembering if you get up fast enough people may not notice that you've fallen and to American football, the most exciting thing to happen to me in a month.
Below is an article sent to us from our security officer at the office in Sofia, thought i'd share
BOMB ALERT IN US EMBASSY IN SOFIA, 2 ARRESTED
Politics, 26 January 2006:
A man and a woman have been arrested over a tip-off about a bomb planted in the United States Embassy in Sofia, police said.
The two, aged 32 and 38 respectively, admitted they threatened to blow off the building of the United States in the hope that it will be closed.
On January 24 at noon an anonymous caller, a woman, told the diplomatic mission that an explosive device has been planted in the building.
After receiving the tip-off, police found the woman called from a street telephone at "Cherni Vruh" boulevard in the capital.
The perpetrators, whose names were not disclosed, had borrowed money from people in the town of Blagoevgrad with the promise to get their US visas issued. By causing the embassy to shut down, they hoped to skip the chance to give them back the money.
A man and a woman have been arrested over a tip-off about a bomb planted in the United States Embassy in Sofia, police said. Photo by www.mvr.bg
posted by: ksension at January 31, 2006 18:23 |
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Information I received from the Peace Corps office here in Bulgaria. Not exactly up my ally, but figured there might be some garden enthusiasts out there just looking for a change of scenery. On a side note, this town is actually not far from Letnitsa, too bad I'm not going to be here myself to do it, then again there is that whole thing about me managing to kill anything that is green and lives in soil - oh well
Contact Eileen Sutherland directly if you are
interested. Her e-mail is at the bottom of the notice.
Opportunity to live rent-free in beautiful, rural
Bulgaria in exchange for establishing and working in
our one-acre garden, using eco-friendly/permaculture
methods, following our existing designs. Suitable for
experienced gardener(s). Responsibilities
include: building raised beds and paths, bed
preparation, starting seeds, planting, weeding,
composting and harvesting vegetables and fruits.
Available from 1st May 06 to 30th April 07.
Accommodation in newly renovated 3-bedroom house and
self contained annex. All new appliances
installed,including wood-fired central heating and 2
bathrooms. Please see www.hotnitsa.com for photos and
details of the accommodation together with our future
plans.
This unique opportunity is available because we are
spending a year travelling and then returning to
develop the property and gardens further.
Contact eileensutherland2003@yahoo.co.uk if you are
interested.
posted by: ksension at January 17, 2006 08:43 |
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As most of you know, Matt lives in the town of Apriltsy. One of his projects was to develop a web site for the Tourist Association he works for. It is now finished, so if you are interested in Apriltsy, go take a look. It has a lot of connections to many of the local towns that are around both Apriltsy and Letnitsa and some good touristy information to boot. So, here is the link. take a peek and enjoy the information
www.apriltsiinfo.com
posted by: ksension at January 16, 2006 14:45 |
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The weekend of January 7th, Matt and I headed down to Panagyurishte for my host sister’s wedding. As most of you know, when I first arrived in Bulgaria, I lived with a wonderful family in the town of Panagyurishte for about 10 weeks. I have kept up with them during my time here, even spending my first Christmas in Bulgaria with them.
On Saturday the 7th, Pepa got married to Tony, a Bulgarian she met summer before last but who lives full time in Seattle Washington; talk about long distance.
The wedding took place in the town of Pazardjik (Tony’s home town.) It was a rather cold day, with evidence still of the snow that fell a few days before. The wedding ceremony took place in the traditional Municipal Ritual Hall. Bulgarian weddings are usually held in two parts - The first is always the legal ceremony which is officiated by a Municipal worker in either the Municipality or a special room set up for weddings. The ceremony takes about 10-15 minutes, and includes the bride and groom walking up to the front, the official has them recite vows and then paperwork is signed; very simple, very to the point. There are no real decorations in this room, usually there is music being played in the background and all the witnesses to the ceremony stand behind and around the couple as they say their vows. The 2nd part is held in an Orthodox church, and a wedding ceremony is celebrated by the priest. Pepa and Tony chose to only have the Municipal service.
After the Municipal ceremony, everyone makes there way outside to await the couple. On your way out however, you walk past the entire wedding party which includes the immediate family of both bride and groom. You say to them “Chestito” - congratulations. At the end of this line you are given chocolates and or cookies or sweets of some sort. This is a Bulgarian tradition and is carried on to most holidays here. For instance, on your birthday, you pass out candy or chocolate; same on your Name Day (mine is November 24th), if you have something to celebrate, etc.
After receiving your chocolate you wait outside with everyone and when the groom exits the building carrying the bride, you shower them with a concoction of birdseed, small change and little pieces of candy. Of course after this picture time ensues and everyone lines up for their chance to take a picture with the bride and groom. I too had my chance along with Matt, Liz (the Milchevi’s other host daughter from Peace Corps) and her boyfriend.
After pictures we all strolled over to the reception which was being held at restaurant Elegant. The reception was small but nice. Most Bulgarian wedding receptions include a sit down dinner with about 4 or 5 courses, rakia (whisky), wine and lots of dancing. This reception was no different and everyone seemed to have a great time. Pepa and Tony looked very happy and went through all the wedding customs at the reception hall; kicking over the bucket of water with herbs for good luck, throwing the champagne glasses behind you for good luck, being fed ceremonial bread dipped in honey by the groom’s mother – to name a few.
After the wedding Matt, Liz, Eric (another volunteer) and I headed to Plovdiv to finish out the weekend. Plovdiv is a great city, and the home of my friend Maggie since her move in October. We ate a wonderful dinner at an Arabian restaurant, god I love hummus and baba ganush. We played monopoly and ate American candy (compliments of Maggie’s trip home for Christmas) and had a very American like evening. Headed home on Monday, and spent the week attempting to stay warm and not slip on the ice that had taken over the side walks in Letnitsa.
Letnitsa continues to be Letnitsa. The weather is distinctively winter although not as bad as last year. The snow is still around although the forecast is for sun all this week so hopefully all of that pesky ice will melt away. It snowed as recently as Saturday day though so who knows how long it will take to melt away or if like at home, the weather forecast is all wrong and we will have a blizzard tomorrow. All I can say is I am very very glad that this will be my last truly cold winter. I have promised myself no more living in places that can freeze your nose hair. I’m just not cut out for layering and such.
So, life continues and work is producing some actual work for me to do. I am researching Kaarst Caves in France. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but now I have an actual list of all the caves in France so now I have to go through that and find some that are comparable to ours that also belong in Municipalities that are comparable to ours. It should keep me busy for the week, and seeing as how it’s mostly in French and I speak not a word of French, it should also prove to be a bit challenging.
Well, guess that is it for now. Headed up to Apriltsy this weekend and am planning on taking some snow pics. Will share those when I get home. I’m including on this post pictures from the wedding. Enjoy and have a great week
Matt, me, Pepa, Tony, Liz, Eric - after the ceremony
Me and Pepa at the reception
Tony's Uncle and Mother, Milka and Ivan (Milka holding the cremonial bread and Tony's mother the honey)
Tony and Pepa
Milka, Tony's mother, Pepa, Tony, Ivan, Tony's Uncle
Milka, me and Ivan - my Bulgarian parents
posted by: ksension at January 16, 2006 09:48 |
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Holidays and Travels
Well, it’s been almost a month since my last post, sorry about that. As most of you reading this should know I went back to North Carolina for Christmas. My Dad flew me home as a surprise for my Mom. She was totally surprised, about started to hyperventilate when she saw me and covered me with crumbs as she started basically screaming when she saw me (it was lunch time at her school.) The poor kids at the school probably thought she was having a nervous breakdown.
It was a nice trip home, got to see lots of friends and family and saw Rachel for the first time since I left in August of 04. Hard to believe Rach and I went that long without seeing each other. We had a wonderful Christmas at home, and I was able to enjoy endless amounts of seafood and diet coke. I’m almost ashamed to admit how much American food I brought back with me (Jeff and Daddy had to go get me a military sea bag to haul everything back in.) But it’s the little things here that make winter manageable and I’m not ashamed to keep my kitchen stocked with some American staples.
I got back to Bulgaria in time for New Years and spent that in Apriltsy with Matt. We went to the local restaurant to celebrate with some Bulgarian friends and kept things low key seeing as how I was suffering from jet lag and we are saving for a trip to Greece. I was happy to be back to what I now consider my “normal” life. Visiting home was lovely, but a bit surreal at times. People who move away from old lives know that things go on without them - being reintroduced into that life however can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. Not the people, but the little things. I realized that the pace of life in the states is much faster than what I am used to now. Everything is much faster. I hadn’t realized how much I had adapted to living here till I was thrust back into my old life. I’m lucky I made it the two weeks home without getting indigestion from eating so fast. I did unfortunately suffer from eating such rich food. Only twice luckily, but boy oh boy did my stomach yell at me for so drastically changing my diet. I survived however and went on to enjoy lots of my old favorites.
Driving was also a new thing. I hadn’t driven since I left in August of 04, so I admit I was a bit nervous about driving. I’m sure not quite as nervous as my dad was sitting next to me in the passenger seat, but I’m here to say it’s just like riding the proverbial bicycle. I oh so loved driving around in Mama’s truck. But, back to Bulgaria means back to buses. I think if I never ride in another bus again (at least in America) I’ll be a happy girl.
So, back to life as normal. The weather is now very winter like after having a brief reprieve when I first arrived back. It has been snowing for about 2 days straight now, but about a week off and on. Back to work, yet another hard to thing to get used to again after being gone from the office for almost 3 weeks. I do have a couple projects to work on though so at least I have some things to do now. Other than that its all about surviving Winter and keeping myself occupied during the cold months to come.
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. Am so glad I was able to see many of you who read this, and am sorry I missed seeing others. I’m going to end this with a few pictures takes while at home. Hope you enjoy them.
posted by: ksension at January 10, 2006 16:46 |
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