| Saturday 2, March 2002: Chestita Baba Marta! |
| Chestita Baba Marta! The month of March is very important here. The first of March is "Baba Marta" or Grandmother Martha day. There are many different stories floating around about these traditions, and the main reason is that nobody really knows the story behind it. Basically, you buy martenitsi, which are made with red and white thread, and give them to people to wear. The colors symbolize health and spring, and must be worn until the first stork is seen - yes, there are stroks in Bulgaria! Once you see a stork, you can remove the martenitsi, and place it in a tree or under a rock. It's actually very fun, and people keep asking me if I have enough! I bought a blue martenitsa for Vellichko, which is normally unheard of, but on the bracelet it said "Levski" which is one of the soccer teams in Bulgaria (their rival team is TSKA (not sure how to write it in the latin alphabet) and their color is red-bad!) If you ask Vallichko, "Levski" is not only one of the teams in Bulgaria, it is the ONLY team! :) Yesterday was also Dimitrinas fathers birthday. They invited me to go to the village with them to help celebrate and it was so much fun. We sat up all night talking, eating and drinking domasheno vino and rakia (homemade wine and rakia). I swear, her father makes the absolute best red wine I've ever had. When we left this morning, they sent me off with a few dozen fresh eggs, a bottle of rakia, and a bottle of wine. I went to one of the town's soccer games this morning. One of the students from the 9th class was playing and I told him I would go to watch. I still don't understand all of the rules, but that's ok. It was more of a social event anyway. And in a few hours, I'm meeting some other kids at the school. We're going to hike up the hill on the outskirts of town. I haven't been up there yet, and it seems like today is going to be the perfect day to do it. The sun is shining, and with a pair of jeans and my fleece, I'm not even cold. No more jackets!! Tomorrow night we're going to watch the USA/Canada hockey game. I finally taught Vellichko to root for the right team! I did it by threatening to root for TSKA next tiem, and that seemed to work!! Well, I'm off for now. Hope everyone is doing really well. I miss you all and love you. -Sarah |