Happy New Year everyone!
This blog is going to be dedicatedto the holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
So let's get started.
Thanksgiving. It seems so long ago. What a different experience here. Instead of gathering with family, we got together with our make shift family here. There were 7 volunteers and 3 Bulgarians. I mustsay that I liked having a big meal with friends. Low key and low stress. We went to my friend Mary's house. She lives inthe next town over from me. Megan came a day early and we got to have some fun VIP time. We ate pizza and drank cocktails. Then like at home, we got up early to start cooking. I wantedto make green bean casserole, apple walnut bread, pickle rollups and a veggietray. As muchas that sounds "traditional" it wasn't. I made "homemade" mushroom sauce, and instead of sliced ham, I used prochutto. But all in all, I'd say the meal was a success. Mary made the best turkey I've ever eaten. And to be with friends cooking, talking, laughing, eating, and playing games is probably the best thing about this holiday. I even think the Bulgarians liked it.
Christmas:
Kate came back to spendtime with her host family. She invited me, so on Christmas Eve the two of us went back to Popitsa and spent a "traditional" Bulgarian Christmas. Dinner was vegetarian only. Also we had to eat either 9 or 12 dishes. 9 for the number ofmonths Mary was pregnant with Jesus, or 12 for the number of months in the year. We also ate biscuits that had money hidden in one of them. Whoever found the money would have luck for the year. Guess who found it? Yup, me! Whoot Whoot! Candles were lit and incense was wafted around the room. I think it was actually frankensence. Christmas day was filled with "na gosti". Kate and I went to visit mybaba, Johnny. She was cooking like a mad woman. Her grandson was supposed to come, but had to stay in Sofia and work. He was sending his friends over to pick up the food and deliver it to him. She didn't have a lot of time tochat, but we talked around her cooking. It's nice to have more language where I can actually have a conversation with her now. Not just nodding and pretending to know what she's talking about. But don't get me wrong, there's A LOT of things she says that Ihave no idea about. Sometimes I thinks she's speaking something other than Bulgarian to me. But when we get frustrated, we just laugh and hug each other. After Johnny it was on to Marianna and Roosi's. They were Megan's host family. Their 2 children were home for the holidays, so our quick stop turned into a 5 hour "na gosti" with food and LOTS of wine. Boy does my Bulgarian get better with liquor. We laughed, talked, gossiped and reminisced about the past summer.
Then to round out the holiday, Kate planned a celebration for the children in Popitsa. We handed out flyers and talked to the librarian and on Tues. we met at the Chitalishte and crafted, colored, played bingo, and had a huge snowball fight. We onlyhad a few kids, but it was fun. The children enjoyed it and we loved being back in our village. Mary came too and got to experience the kids. They are amazing. Mostof the kids that came are part of the "Sunshine" club. They are self governed and prepare plays, art and other "extra" activities that they don't get in school. So for us, they dressed as Santa, Snow White (she's a big part of Christmas here) and Rudolph. They gave speeches and handed out gifts. What an amazing group of young people. Kids back home could take alesson or two from them.
New Year's:
Megan, Kerri and I spent 4 days in Istanbul, Turkey. We took an overnight bus and arrived at 6 am. It gave us time to settle in, take a small nap and hit the town running. Our only "glitch" was that the hostel we booked went out of business the week before and didn't tell us. So as we were standing outside, a man from the neighboring cafe came over and told us the bad news. Let the panic start. But after awhile, we found a Best Western (can't be any more American than that, right?). The man at the information desk was very helpful, since we couldn't afford to stay there (200 euro/night). We were brought a block away to another smaller hotel where we negotiated a price of $90 US dollars a night for the 3 of us. Perfect. So we took out our tour guide book and map and proceeded to see all the sights Istanbul had to offer. I was amazed at all the people. Not amazed because there were a lot, but because I heard so many different languages and no one looked alike. I made a game for myself to try to figure out the language and where the person was from. Lots of people from Germany and other Scandinavian countries. I fit in.
So, the sights. We had a "top 9" list from Phil Rudy, our Peace Corps PTO. So here is our list in no particular order:
1. Basilica Cistern- built as a underwater storage tank. The roof is supported by 336 pillars and 2 upside down medusa heads. No one knows why they are upside down, but they look cool.
2. Blue Mosque- there are 6 minarets. Legend says that they sultan wanted gold minarets and the word for gold and 6 are so similar that he got 6 instead of gold. But he was happy because at that time no other mosque outside of Mecca had 6. It's a beautiful place. Wide spacious and filled with stained glass and colored tiles. I never get tired of seeing them.
3. Haghia Sophia- originally a church, it was converted to a mosque in the 15th century. The mosaics were plastered over and centuries later the plaster started to chip, revealing the beautiful mosaics of Christ, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary. There is a Weeping Pillar where it is said that if you can put your thumb in and turn your hand all the way around, your wish will come true. It's harder than it seems.
4. Boat Tour- We took a tour of the Golden Horn by boat. It was our change to see the magnificent palaces on the water and also to boast that we were in Asia. Fun way to see the sights.
5. Spice Market- All I can say is "WOW". It's like the Grand Bazar only with spices. So many people, so many beautiful colors. I don't think I can describe with words. You must see the pictures.
6. Galata Tower- think Eiffel Tower but on a smaller scale. Take an elevator to the top and get a fantastic look at Istanbul.
7. Grand Bazar- probably the most touristy thing todo. Blocks and blocks of shops selling everything from jewelry to souviners, to carpets. Like the Spice Market it was overwhelming. So many people and merchants haggling over prices. My favorite part was watching the young men run around delivering tea to the shop owners and picking empty cups and saucers hidden around the bazar. It was like and easter egg hunt.
8. Topkapi Palace-- It is supposed to house the Prophet Muhammed's cloak and sword. I saw cloaks and swords. I liked to think they were all his. Lots of jewels and relics to look at. It was so big. Hard to imagine people actually living there. There was a separate place for the Sultan's harem but it cost more money to get in, and there were so many people we decided not to go in.
9. Salep Drink- warm milk with honey, cinnamon and other things added. It sort of tasted like liquid pudding. Drink it fast (not too fast because itHOT) because it gets a skin on the top.
10. Turkish Bath- this was the best think I did in Turkey. Also I felt quite courageous. We paid our money and got a sarong, panties and a token. Then having changed into the panties and sarong we wereushered into a large room with LOTS of other naked women. In the center of the room was a large round slab. The entire room was hot (sauna). We waited in the middle of the circle waiting for a free Turkish woman to bathe us. One called us over and after laying on your open sarong, the half naked woman took soap and began scrubbing every inch of your exposed body. 8 months of Bulgarian dirt gone. After, the woman ushered you into a smaller atrium where she washed your hair. Very relaxing.When you were done, you could go into the bath house (like a whirlpool, minus the whirl) and relax in the hot water. If you got too hot, you could go back into the big room and use the fountains of cool water to cool off. When we were thoroughly relaxed, we traded our sarong for a big warm towel and sat in the salon on comfy couches with hot Turkish Tea. Wow.
So there is my update for the holidays. Such a fun experience to break away from "tradition" to learn about others' and to create new memories. I feel so lucky to be able to travel and see new things and experience new things.
New Year's resolution: To be more fearless. And to train and run the 10k in Greece in the fall.
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and made your own memories.
Love,
Kristin
