Sofia

I went to Sofia this weekend.  Friday I had a follow-up dental appointment and ended up having a second appointment on Monday.  I love this dentist who is a perfectionist and is committed to doing only excellent work - and explaining "why" along the way.

With a little extra time, I was able to see a little more of Sofia than usual.  Friday night I met a couple new friends - Tania and Dani G.  Before I left Sedona, a friend there said "I know someone who knows someone in Sofia."  We finally met.  Tania's son lives near Chicago.  Both ladies have lived in the U.S. for a number of years.  Dani's English is fluent and Tania practiced hers while I practiced my Bulgarian.  It was nice to have Dani to be able to talk about some heart-felt things like spiritual teachers (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - not the musician) is going to be in Sofia in May.  I also got to ask some questions about life in Bulgaria and understand the answers.

Saturday Tania introduced me to Pepi who has been her hair stylist for over 20 years.  I'm thrilled - what do you think?

Then she showed me the way to a natural foods store I know about and I bought some organic almonds, tea and amazing, organic dark chocolate.  Tee hee.  Then onto the food court where I had a delicious tabouli salad and marinated mushrooms.  Then we went to a few stores looking for shoes.  It was nice to have a guide in the city. It's a very "walkable" city which makes me happy.  From where I stay, I am able to walk to the dentist, several parks, Vitosha street with shops and restaurants, and the city center.  

Saturday evening I had dinner and conversation with Dani A. who was one of the first people I met in  Bulgaria. She is a friend and a tutor and her English is excellent too.  She always provides me with food for thought either about the language or life in Bulgaria.  At the end of last year she found new work at an NGO which was started by former Peace Corps volunteers.  The Peace Corps office in Sofia has begun the process of down-sizing in preparation for closing their office in Bulgaria in September 2013.    

Sunday I met Tania's friend Bruno - here's his photo.  We hung out in a park in the city center along with a lot of other people enjoying a gorgeous Sunday.  He likes to chase a ball that is bounced on the pavement near to him.  If it goes too far away, he wants his human companion to run for it - then he'll tag along.  He's pretty sweet.

I found two "events" happening this weekend.  One was a health, fitness and well-being expo in a park close to my hotel.  Adults and kids were demonstrating karate, gymnastics, football, baseball and radio-controlled cars.....even river rafting in the fountain.  There were lots of booths including one with house designs incorporation alternative energy.

Sunday was Earth Day and there was a "Green Day" festival at another park - raw foods, organic foods, lotions, tinctures, essential oils, natural young children's toys - all kinds of goodies.  I loved wandering and tasting.  And I bought a sprouter and seeds.  An extra bonus for the summer, but a new way to get greens in the winter (if I can find a warm spot for them to sprout).

All in all, I had a nice little get-away to the big city.  Now I'm back home in my village nestled in my own bed.  The village sounds are now familiar to me - the roosters, sheep and dogs in the morning and tractors and other vehicles driving by during the day, the clip-clop of horse/donkey hooves on the pavement pulling wagons.

The Bulgarian National English Spelling Bee

Coaching 4^th – 7^th grade students for the Spelling Bee has been one of my favorite projects so far.  The kids are smart and enthusiastic about learning the words.  Some of the most difficult words on their study list are:  miscellaneous, necessity, encouragement, knowledge, rhythm and subscription.  These words are difficult for many English speaking adults let alone 10-14 year olds who may only study English two or three times a week.  Like anywhere some of the kids take studying seriously and some don’t.  There are several really bright kids in my village who did well spelling the difficult words.  Others who get up and try regardless of their ability – they have some awesome chutzpah! Their English teachers have encouraged them to do well.

Our local contest was March 28^th and the winner is going to Veliko Turnovo next Saturday for the regionals.  There are going to be about 25 contestants – all winners of their local competition.  Then two winners from each region will go to the National Finals in mid-May in the country’s capital, Sofia.

Wish us luck!

A Tour of Monasteries

The first weekend in April I went on a 2-day tour of 7 monasteries in the Veliko Turnovo region of Bulgaria.  About 28 of us boarded a bus on Saturday morning and headed to the countryside and villages.  As we visited each monastery one man gave detailed talks on the history and interesting facts ….. in Bulgarian.  My language skills have not developed to the point of being able to understand much of what he was saying.  However, thanks to fellow PCV Tricia T.  I was able to learn some of the more important details. 

Most are very old and many had a role as a secret meeting place for revolutionaries in the late 1800s as Bulgaria fought for its independence from Turkey.  During the communism years, religion was, of course, de-emphasized. 

It was a wonderful weekend – seeing villages and areas new to me.  Late afternoon on Saturday, several of us hiked up to the ridge above Dryanovo Monastery the location of our lodging for the night.  It was good to stretch my legs after a day in the bus and the view was beautiful (see photos). 

Saturday evening we had an indoor picnic – everyone brought their own food to eat and share.  There was traditional Bulgarian horo dancing and a celebration of Tricia’s birthday.  Sunday morning I visited Bacho Kiro cave. There was tour guide here as well.  I looked where he pointed and could see shapes of the words I recognized – horse, Mary and child, etc.  He talked about the cave qualities – stalagtites and stalagmites, water and the fact that this was the first cave in Bulgaria to have electricity for lighting.  Often I smiled because it seemed like the stories he told were very similar to the stories I’ve heard when visiting caves in America.  There was a “lucky penny” wall where you could affix a “stotinki”­ for good luck. I guess wherever there are mountains there are caves and wherever there are caves there are explorers and eventually tours with stories for entertainment as well as education.  :>)

On our return we also stopped at Etar which is an “open-air museum” presenting the Bulgarian customs, culture and craftsmanship.  Artisans craft and sell their wares as they have done for centuries…..(see photos). There were woven goods, pottery, hand-made knives, wood carving, a bakery – lots of interesting shops.