Любимка на спорта

This weekend was the big Kukeri festival in Bulgaria and I was really planning to go..but remember, I teach every Saturday. Bummer, I tell you..I was really looking forward to seeing some other volunteers..but, you know what. I had an awesome weekend..we still had snow, so I got in a nice hike in the snow (one path was so slippery I just slid on my butt the whole way down!) with good friends, after another absolutely delicious meal with my best friends and their family.


But the highlight was going to the village where I teach for a holiday they started to celebrate again this year after not celebrating it for 10+ years called ‘Lyoubimka na sporta (Любимка на спорта)..meaning either ‘my favorite sport’ or the sport of love’..not real sure on the translation. This village has about 2100 ppl living there, and they had a great turnout. Basically everyone arrives, and buys a ticket and flowers..throughout the evening everyone is supposed to dance and then they have a raffle..AND then, as the dancing continues people are supposed to give their flower to the most beautiful or best dancer or their favorite or a combination of that..and at the end of the evening..someone is crowned (the person with the most roses. But there was a problem..no one was dancing. No one at all. Everyone was sitting or standing and waiting. Finally a few woman started dancing a Hora (traditional Bulgarian dance done in a circle) and I joined in. I love these dances..and they were only doing the easy ones. But even then it took a while for only some people to come out. But..as I was telling the woman I commuted there with that I considered it a success because by the time they started the raffle, people were talking and smiling (and I don’t see that a lot in Bulgaria)..so I am assuming that they were having a good time.

It was amazing to me just how many people I knew there..and they really treated me very special, like an honored guest..they introduced me as one of the special guests to the crowd, and I met so many more people..one that spoke English and translated the speech at the beginning.. and I got to see and chat with my students. I think the mayor was trying to set me up to win..he always has a mischievous look..but thanks to a good new friend she alerted me to the plot. You see, if you are chosen as the ‘Love of the year’, then a man has to come up and put a shawl around you..and you are destined to be married.

There was only one disappointment..that I had to leave early, before the end so I didn’t get to see who was crowned

I think I’ve reached a point here in Bulgaria where I’ve soaked up a lot of learning. I’m ready to start teaching, and I’ve got a plan..always gotta have a plan. I had a great meeting with another village today that I really wish I’d had the opportunity to visit earlier because there is a lot of work that needs to be done there..and more meetings are lined up for next week with some fairly new NGO’s. Today, I finally had to say I have to do this my way..the more American way. I’ve taken in the Bulgarian way, listened, learned and little has been accomplished..so now need to start working on some changes. I also think that I’ve been here long enough now to take a step back and see the bigger picture. When I first came to my site, it was so overwhelming. You’ve got information coming at you from Peace Corps, new Bulgarian friends, disks to research, online research, meetings galore to get yourself known and learn about the city and villages I would be working with in my time here..and I really just had to throw myself into this big vortex. And after the first 6 months I kind of felt like I needed to get a focus because it was so easy to get lost in ideas..so I try to organize, sort through, and narrow down my ideas..or at least put them on a timeline..still a lot of information coming in, but slowly a bigger picture is starting to emerge.