letter16

Dear Family and Friends,

It's amazing some of the new things you will do and try when you are living
in a new country, testing the ropes of a completely different culture. In
the last 5 and a half weeks, I have discovered things about myself that I
never knew existed. One of the biggest lessons that Bulgaria has taught me,
probably has to be patience as I, as a hurried American, struggles to make
sense of the concept of being laid back and care free. After all, whatever
happens, happens; whatever comes, comes; whatever time is the right time;
whatever is said, is never concrete. It's amazing the capacity to human
being has to adjust to change and cultural differences, becoming an
intricate PART of them, rather than shunning them.

For instance, I tried my first Bulgarian tomato the other night at a Na
Gosti, something that would normally make my stomach HEAVE. Bulgarians eat
A LOT of a salad called Shopska Salad, which is basically tomatoes,
cucumbers, lots of oils, and cyrene cheese (like feta cheese). My host Mom
finally managed to get me to spear and taste a slice of the tomato and, I
can't believe I am admitting this, I actually LIKED it. I tasted a pickle
last night, another stomach-heaving food, and it wasn't bad either.
Everything here is FRESH and nothing tastes like plastic or cardboard: Milk
and cheese come straight from the cow or goat, fruits and vegetables come
stright from the garden, and eggs come straight from the chicken down the
street! Oh, and you should try the honey in which the Bulgarian Pchelas
(Bees) have so lovingly prepared for the morning tea! My point is, this
whole experience was a risk, a chance I chose to take, yet it is much
better, tasitier, than I ever expected it to be. Right down to the
tomatoes, Bulgaria is everything I imagined and more! So, let me now tell
you about my Na Gosti on Friday night . . .

The Na Gosti was for the young son of some friends down the street. My
family and I swept out into the cool night, ready for the Bulgarian dinner
that never lasts less than three or four hours. When Bulgarians plan
parties or dinners, times are never set . . . Bulgarians don't have any
concept of time. "Show up sometime after 9:00," they say, which literally
means ANYTIME after 9:00, basically whenever you feel like showing up. I
should have known, when I saw the alcohol piled in the center of the table,
that I was in for a very interesting night! Na Gosti meals are brought out
one coarse at a time, starting, of course, with the Shopska Salad. We
feasted on fat meatballs, greasy fried potatoes, spicy fried peppers, moist
cakes and sweets, and all the rakiya that anyone could ever need or want.
We chatted and ate until our stomachs hurt, I "impressed" them all with my
Bulgaria . . . a good laugh, indeed! :-) And, I ate a tomato, yet another
accomplishment to add to the Bulgarian history books. The men drank
heartily until they got rowdy, the women giggled and shared the latest
Panagyurishte gossip. And then, hours into the content night, we walked
home, with Iva and Dimitar yawning on one side of me and my host parents
yawning on the other. Na Gosti is truly apart of this Bulgarian experience,
a intricate part that I am eager to experience through out the next two
years.

My site interview went very well today, keep my placement in your prayers!
Write soon!

Love Always,
Chantel