April 20, 2001

4-20-01

Greece was absolutely beautiful. It took us a while to believe that we were really there because some parts were just stunning, but the differences were immense. Greeks really know how to capture a tourist and they have such a business going. It seemed like everyone spoke English! This being my first long stay in any other country than Bulgaria, I was overwhelmed by all the English spoken by the people of Greece because it is not so in Bulgaria. I also think I noticed this so much because I was looking for a little inspiration. It was the perfect refresher for an English teacher in a foreign country because everyone spoke English. It didn’t matter if you were German, Japanese, French; the language spoken was English. I realized how important it is for my students to study English. English is the language of business and it will open doors for them. Other than a little boost of energy and a rest I enjoyed other things. My favorite things were eating in the unique restaurants found in the alleyways of Thessalonica, walking through the streets of Hania on Crete, gazing at the beauty on Santorini, and visiting the Acropolis in Athens.

Adjusting back to Bulgaria took us about a week. The switch is important because the two worlds are so different. Being a tourist, speaking English, seeing other volunteers and traveling are very different things from living in Silistra, trying to speak a foreign language, living in a block, and teaching and working with Bulgarians. We did just fine though, we were glad to be back in one place and be able to clean our clothes! It was good to see some people from our town and we even got invited to a wedding the following weekend.

The wedding was held at a hall that performs most of the ceremonies in Silistra. It was a medium sized room where the people coming to see the wedding could stand and observe. They have some of the same traditions or rituals that we have, but many more. Some of the same traditions are, using the wedding march, exchanging rings, lighting candles, mothers lighting candles, the kiss, and throwing little gifts at the crowd while they are leaving the building. Some things that were performed that I have not seen in an American wedding were, only having 2 witnesses stand up for them, tying a ribbon together, drinking a glass of champagne at the ceremony, and throwing water down the stairs before leaving the building while the groom carries the bride. I wouldn’t say that I really liked the ceremony because it seemed like the couple getting married didn’t have any choices about the ceremony. I imagine the same music was piped in for every wedding there and was qued up off of a CD, and the same speech from the woman who worked there was used over an over again. But I did like some things about the wedding.

My favorite part of the wedding was the reception when the families of the brides and grooms exchange cakes while performing a dance. It was hysterical to see people dancing with cakes. First the groom’s side family appeared with the cakes and the brides side appeared pairing up with one of the groom side and trying to take the cake. When you have the cake the idea is to make it difficult for the other side to retrieve it so that they will have to dance. At the end of the song, the cakes should all be given to the other side. After the grooms side is finished than the brides family begins.