Journey Through Bulgaria

So my heater broke recently and I called the landlord to schedule a repair man to come out. Well, to my surprise about 4 guys and the landlord showed up. One guy was up messing with the heater while the other 4 guys were observing and discussing. Finally one of the guys turned to me and said “In Bulgaria when fix something, always 5 guys!”. I like how they turn a standard repair call into a chance to meet and chat

Last weekend was a very refreshing and fun weekend.

It has been slow going making friends here but I have been making a few. The problem is that they all live in different towns. One of my friends, Paul, lives in Sofia and another friend, Gichka,  lives in Sandankski, only 15 minutes away. I solved my loneliness by having both of them come out for the weekend.

Gichka came only for Saturday. We went shopping. She helpd me buy some pants (my old ones were wearing out) a scarf and  a hat. I now look very “modern Bulgarian” thanks to her. Our hat shopping was great but there is a big difference between Bulgarian and American style. One of the hats I tried on looked like this:

stylish!

I guess this is very “IN” here and Gichka loved it. I thought I looked weird but the thing is this hat was warm! THat alone tempted me to get it but I passed for a thick grey cap instead.

Well after Gichka left Paul and I hung out. We went to a cafe with one of the only friends I have made in Petrich but our real passion, playing video games, was waiting for us in, at my place so we spent the majority of our time there. Of course halfway the evening my good ol’ small town internet went out so we ended up watching a movie, Mystery Science 3000 style. And then we barely got to the bus station on time on Sunday. However a good sprint is always a healthy workout.

All in all a great weekend. I believe one of the best blessings God has given us is friendship.

I am sorry this post took so long I had to get a new hard drive for my computer and it was in the shop for a few days.

So to summarize January:

It was a good first month. I am adapting to the language slowly but surely and I am understanding more and more what is going on here in Bulgaria. Last month was all about getting acquainted with Bulgaria, its culture its language its food and its spiritual and political condition.

Today begins a new era in my time here in Bulgaria as we start our first Youth English Club meeting. Please pray for a God-filled event!

Oh wow! I cannot believe I forgot to tell you guys about the pizza here!

But before I talk about pizza I also forgot to mention the cheeses here. There are a few types of cheeses but there are two main types: sirene and kashkaval. Kaskaval is hard to describe. It’s almost a brie-like cheese. Sirene is like a super-sharp version of feta. In fact if you gave a Bulgarian feta cheese they would probably laugh at the weakness of its taste.

So because of the difference in cheese the pizza already tastes different. In fact most things do. Also the pizzas usually have little to no tomato sauce. The choice in toppings is a little more dynamic here. While they still have the favorites like mushrooms olives ham, etc. they also have more interesting choices like pickles.

To literally top it all off it is common to put mayonnaise and/or ketchup on top for added flavor.  You better believe that when I get home I am doing this. I wouldn’t say the pizza here is better or worse but I enjoy both kinds and I am happy to embrace the pizza here.

I know many of you have been waiting for this post. I was asked many times “How is the food in Bulgaria?” The problem was when I went for the short Missions trip we stayed in a hotel for most of the time and had what the Bulgarians considered “bad food”. Now that I have had a better chance to acclimate myself to the cuisine of the land, I cna give a more informative response.

First off, bread is a staple in most European diets. Bread is eaten with almost every meal. When I was in Spain my host family had a drawer devoted solely to leftover pieces of bread for sandwiches and dinner. It is similar here. However, the idea of putting butter on bread is foreign to most Bulgarians. Instead most restaurants have both vinegar and what I believe to be sunflower oil  with which to eat the bread. I don’t think I can stress enough how big bread is here and in many other places in Europe.

Now as far as dinner is concerned the cuisine is not extremely different from us. Meals contain a lot of vegetables and usually some sort of chopped meat, like pork or chicken. Unfortunately beef, while available, is not known for its quality, so it is not often eaten. Ironically, McDonalds (which exists only in  a select few cities) is known to have some of the best quality beef around. They have an abundance of most vegetables, like cabbage and cucumbers, while some veggies are almost unheard of, like celery. The season also strongly affects what food is available. There are very few stores in most villages that can afford to stalk all veggies all year round.  Also, the spice selection slightly differs. It is not like you find some strange new spices here, but they use some spices more than we do and many spices less. Same spices, different frequencies of use.

Now about the junk food. It is my personal opinion that Bulgaria has some of the best junk food. I don’t think Bulgaria is unique in this but I think this applies to most of Eastern Europe. There is a brand called ”7 Days” that makes a variety of oven-baked goodies, cookies, and on-the-go croissants. I have yet to remember anything as tasty as 7 Days products. Some people will also swear by Ruffles Ketchup chips. These are a favorite for Al and Diane as well as the Galloway kids. Me, I love the ketchup chips but my heart will always yearn for 7 Days Bake Rolls.

Yummy goodies for a slow day!

One final note: Bulgarians have a drink they call Boza. Some swear by it, but let me tell you this drink tastes like liquefied re-fried beans. You have been warned.

So there you have it. That is what food is like in Bulgaria so far as I have experienced. I am sure there is also more to discover out there!

So Team Bulgaria got together for the first time this weekend.

Team Bulgaria consists of Al, Diane, myself, the translator Peggy and her husband Stefan as well as a new missionary family called the Galloways.

The Galloways are a family of 6 who God called to go to Bulgaria for 2 years and help with the ministry here. The family consists of Chance and his wife Dee Dee with kids (in age order) Mitch, Catherine, Jessie and Alan.

Let me tell you meeting with them and getting to know them over the past 4 days has been an absolute blast! The Holy Spirit is working strongly through this family and it shows. The kids showed me around town, including a zoo. Now when I say zoo, I don’t mean a 3-inch thick glass showing some animal 5 feet away. I mean pens where lions and cougars are wandering so close you could reach through the bars and touch them if you so desired.

We had a great time of fellowship and also celebrated Diane’s birthday. Lots of cake was eaten. I look forward to working with this God-focused family and all the big things that are happening here in Bulgaria. I do not think its a coincidence that I was brought here around the same time as this family. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Happy New Year everyone!

I had the pleasure of experiencing the Buglarian New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day traditions first hand. The two days are somewhat of a combination of the 4th of July and Halloween.

New Year’s Eve it is very popular to light fireworks. Bulgaria is way less strict about fireworks, at least in Petrich, than they are in the States so people light them anywhere they want – on the roof of their house, in the street, on their porch, anywhere. In fact one group was lighting them so close by that one went the wrong direction and almost hit Al! However it was very beautiful to see 50 firework shows going on all around you. Just look a in a direction and there is some beautiful fireworks.

Then comes New Year’s Day. As I was out for my morning run I noticed some people grouping together in odd costumes. Costumes like this http://zvezdichka.blog.bg/lichni-dnevnici/2010/01/20/stanchinarski-igri-v-petrich-surva-2010-godina-chast-2.476111. They walk around the streets blowing these long foghorns. Then they have a group dance competition in the square of the city. This stems from a tradition similar to our Halloween where one dresses up in order to scare off evil spirits, only they do it at the beginning of the year to start with a fresh chance at success.

All in all this is a really fun holiday and I am glad I got to be a part of it.

I just arrived in Bulgaria a couple days ago. Things are going pretty smoothly. I am staying with Al & Diane until I buy everything I need to move in to a place they are sub-leasing to me. Everything is within walking distance around here so even even though I will be living by myself Al & Diane as well as Peggy the translator will be close by.

I am a little scared of living on my own in a country where I barely know the language, but I am hopeful as to the friends and experiences I will have. It will also be interesting to shop for groceries multiple times in one week. It is common here to shop for dinner the day you eat it. There are all sorts of shops where I can get food within a 5 minute walk but there is only one store in this city that one could consider a super market. The concept is fairly foreign to Petrich. ‘

Soon I will tell you about the awesome New Year’s Day celebrations they have here but for now, Slava Na Boga and Chestita Nova Godina (praise the Lord and have a Happy New Year).