Rajun in Bulgaria: January 2008

Christmas in Bulgaria

SO, I spent my very first Christmas away from home this year. The holiday season was tough being so far away, but I made it through and had a great time. Because my village doesn't celebrate Christmas, I spent it in Sapareva Banya with my host fam and two other wonderful Peace Corps Volunteers (Joe 1 and Joe 2) who lived with my host fam before me. Christmas here wasn't TOO very different. I spent alot of my time cooking, as food is a big part of any event here. On the 24th we ate only vegan, so I was a happy happy girl. The next day, however, was a meet fest...only after we opened our presents from Santa. I spent the New Year here in Grohotno. Again, spent the entire day cooking with some of the women here in the village (Banitsa and Baklava...mmmmmm) and at 12 we went outside and danced in the street for hours to the light of fireworks. Below, I'm posting pics of a holiday program they had at the school, and some pics of Sapareva Banya.
Rajun :)

Making tikvi (pumpkin) banitsa Christmas Eve Morning with Joe2.

Writing my name on my very own stocking!

Christmas Eve Dinner

All of us in front of the tree we decorated

The 8th grade girls here doing traditional dances

Santa visiting the 2nd graders!

Snow in Grohotno

This is how far the cable reaches from my router (in that box) in through my second floor window and to my computer!

The router to the internet is sealed in that box and we nailed these two pieces of wood together so that it was tall enough to reach the signal from the dish.

Our first snow! This is the hill outside my house where all the kids sled.

First snow and a frozen creek outside my house

Ok, so I've already told most of you we got ALOT of snow in Grohotno. The weather is around negative 14 celcius and the snow hits me mid-thigh in most places. I know I'm a southern girl and live for the sun, but oddly enough, I'm kind of enjoying this winter. When it isn't dark and gray it's rather refreshing. Some of you have also been curious as to how I have internet in my village...I've put a few pics above to show you.

Rajun :)

Random Update

Hi All!
My apologies for not updating any sooner. To be fair, I warned you all that I’m really bad at this. Anyway, I finally have internet in my house. It’s not very dependable, but most of the time it comes through for me…so I’m a happy girl! I took a few pics of the place for you all so you can get a better idea of my living arrangements. Work is still well, but with BAIRAM (totally not the way you spell it, I know) coming up, everyone is planning for that. I’ll be going to Sapareva Banya (my old stomping ground) for Christmas to spend with my host family. I’m very excited!
I got a visit from my program manager last week. This is a routine visit that he, or other program staff make as a general check up. Everything went well, until he asked if I have had any guests yet. I explained to him that because of the village that I live in, I am not allowed to have male guests over for a visit. He talked with my counterpart to see if he could make some sort of compromise with her. I love the village that I live in, and want others to be able to experience it. After a long discussion between the three of us, we realized there would be little leniency. This is one village you do NOT want to be seen as morally corrupt in. They understand that I’m American and I do things quite a bit differently. For example, I like to run or walk quickly for fun (what?!), I don’t eat bread when I’m served French fries for dinner (for shame!), and I’m sorry, but I just can’t drink plain yogurt water (you must be sick, drink this.) As you can see I’m getting pretty brave, but this is one line I’m not quite willing to cross yet. I do, however, have the most amazing neighbors in the world! This family has been a God send, and they agreed (shocked that there was ever even any question) that any male visitor I had would be more than welcome to sleep in their spare bedroom. Problem solved. So, that’s it for now, pics are below….and, as always, keep me updated about what’s going on in the States!Rajun :)