B22 Blogstars

Bulgarian Slang Word of the Week:

2008-07-02T10:23:00.003+03:00

All of my language learning is currently being done without the help of a language tutor. I listen to those around me and carry on conversations to make progress with my language learning.

For this, and the fact that I coach 10-14 year olds in baseball, I generally end up learning a few "slang words".

One of my favorites is "ЯКО" (pronounced "Yako")!

My dictionary at work puts it as such:
"ЯКО
1 нар. fast, tight, firmly;"

However my dictionary at work is wrong. It translates closer to "cool" and is used in the same way we would use "cool".

To add emphasis, if something is "more than cool", you would say, "SUPER YAKO"! Which translates to something like, "Really cool"!

It is just a fun word to say and rolls well off the tounge. I hope this has been interesting and informative. Take care everyone. Until next time...

Kaskaval Pane.

Bulgarian Graffiti and Architecture of the week: Random Words and Phrases

2008-06-10T20:21:00.007+03:00

Several places in my town have words and phrases that have caught my eye and even caused me to spend time thinking about their purpose and or intentions. Some could have been placed for any number of reasons................boredom, lack of paper in the house, practicing English. Other words and phrases seem to have more thought behind them, including hate and humor.I came across one that said simply USE. This one stood out to me from the array of ATAKA and Nazi symbols. I decided it meant USE as in the how Bulgarians tend to use an abundance of materials for all daily activities and then discard as waste. Don't get me wrong, Americans and the rest of the western world is just as capable of creating an waste but in this country they seem to be creating, using and discarding materials at a rate that is just baffling. Every day I bite my tongue as a child throws his wrapper from his banitsa on the ground with the waste basket only steps away. Plastic bags that are given to you for the smallest item, often line the streets and cover open fields. I read this as more of a label or description of the people in this country.........a large number of people who USE their environment rather then working with it and protecting it from the over consumption of plastics and other un natural materials.

After going for a walk around town I came across this message sprayed on a wall next to a Turkish mosque. My town is not very diverse. We have roma and Turkish in our town but they are not welcome like in many towns. The Mahala is very far from the center of Karlovo and I have only come into contact with 3 or 4 Turkish families which are not completely accepted into society. When I worked at the Municipality there was one woman in my office who is Turkish and though all the other women interacted with her she was talked about when not in the room and comments were made about her being a terrorist by other members of the municipality. There are only two other churches in the main town of Karlovo. One is no longer working and the other is only used for holiday services. This was written next to a Mosque that is used every day for local Turkish Muslims. Bulgaria is one of the most diverse countries in the European Union and for most Bulgarians, they would prefer to be a country of only "Bulgarians." This is very interesting to me because most Bulgarians are not %100. This country has been conquered so many times and is surrounded by Romania, Turkey, Macedonia, and Greece that there is so much mixing of cultures with in the country and the people that there isnt much purity..........but this doesn't create a better environment for multi culturalism.

I thought I would end on a positive note. I was walking by a local elementary school during the rose festival in Karlovo and I came across this sweet little message; " I pee on you !" This did a great job of making me laugh and trying to figure out what inspored this person to write those words. Maybe it was to be endearing like when a dog pees on something he is marking his territory or when you lick something you are claiming it so other people dont eat it.........It could be the new way for the local youth to say "I love you and your mine." It sounds a bit cave man from that angle but otherwise I was thinking that was a rowdy teen making a statement about how the government tends to do give nothing back to the people, making them feel worthless or helpless like the grass or flower that is marked with the dog's urine.

B-22 Interview of the Week - Hello Tyler

2008-06-01T22:34:00.005+03:00

1. What is your occupation?
PCV Isperih, Bulgaria. More specifically, at Business Center Isperih. Mostly I clean up English, look for projects outside of work (fairly unsuccessfully) and coach a baseball team (when the kids decided to show up).
2. What is the color of your socks now? It's funny you should ask as this morning I was struggling to find two that matched, and fellow PCV Shaun Wood was 'na gosti" and he asked, "What does it matter?" So I am wearing one gray on my left foot and one black on my right.
3. What are you listening to right now? The song I am listening to is called "You're English is Good" by the band Tokyo Police Club. Released in 2007
4.a What are you smelling right now? Not a whole lot. I am a bit sick and my nose is stuffy.
4.b What was the last thing you ate? Soletti (Pretzels)
5. Can you drive a stick shift? In a pinch but I am not too great at it. In fact I didn't really drive too much the last year or so I lived in America and now since I have been here I am forbidden to drive at all I am not even sure if I will remember how to drive an automatic after 27 months.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My Bulgarian friend Jefer about when we were going to meet at the Hard Rock Cafe (not official) here in Isperih last night.
8. Beatles or Rolling Stones? Beatles, but thanks for making me pick it is pretty hard. I think the Beatles put together great albums and the Stones had great singles, perhaps more great singles, but great albums touch me more. I personally get more out of them. So that is why.
9.a How old are you today? 23 but in exactly one month (as of 17.5.08) I will be 24.
9.b Does that thrill or frighten you? Both at the same time. I think it hinders this job a bit. People do not take me seriously because I am "just a boy", but to know that I am getting this kind of experience that I will be able to reference for so many years I am thrilled.10. Favorite drink? PBR. Yup, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. I will be without if for 27 months and that makes me said. My favorite drink here is the Florina Brand Apple Juice. It is fantastic and 100% Juice, however it is one of the most expensive things I buy.
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Running, specifically the mile. It is the most incredible event. Novels can, and have, been written based around 4 trips around the track. It is the perfect distance. Too bad it was not what I was best at. I think every runner has some sort of obsession with the mile. However I love to watch people race the mile.
11.b What is your favorite sport to play? You really are talking to a running nerd here. I love to watch and "play" running more than almost anything else in the world. Running is essential to me. If I don't I can go insane.
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? No, nor have I ever put any product in my hair outside of shampoo or conditioner. Only those. Nothing.

13. Pets? Right now? No, but I might get a new kitten from my neighbors. Before I had a lot of fish when I was young and I had a Black Lab dog that lived until 2-3 months before I left for the Peace Corps. Her name was Lucky.

14. Favorite food? Asparagus.
15. Last movie you watched at a theater? I made it a point to watch Sicko by Michael Moore before I left the country. That was a good film and one of his best yet. I have a love/hate thing going with Mr. Moore. I love that he is out there doing something about the way he feels but his approach sometimes angers me. But all that is too much to go into on a 43 question survey.
16. Favorite Day of the year? Normally the first Sunday in May because of a race in Spokane called Bloomsday where anywhere from 40-50,000 people run/walk 12KM down the streets of my hometown, Spokane, Washington. I have ran it 11 times, and helped with water stations on 3 other occasions. It is a big day for an obsessive runner.
17. What do you do to vent anger? Write in my journal or put on the self-titled debut album by Be Your Own Pet and crank it up on my headphones and dance away the anger until I want to take a nap.
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Wrinkles, a stuffed dog that I could make talk by sticking my hand in the back of his head. It was pretty fun. In fact I still have it.
19.a What is your favorite season? Fall because it is/was cross-country season (Sorry you are going to hear more about running), and the weather seems to be perfect for me. I like the rain and moderate temperatures.
19.b What tourist attraction do you have in your town?
Not too much in my town so much as just outside of my town. We have a Thracian Tomb from the 2nd Century BC that is really cool. I have been there once but I would like to make it out again. OPEN INVITE: I will go with anybody that comes to town to see it. Also, I had 6 other PCVs recently visit to a Crypt/Mosque from the 16th Century that is in the forest just outside of my town.

21. Rasberry or Blueberry? Before I answer I would like to ask where question number 20 went? And Raspberries, definitely.
22. Bazaar or grocery story? Well, "grocery store" is a loose term here in my town of 8,500 people. Not really much of a store but I mostly go there because cooking for one it is hard to buy things only on one day, which would be Friday Bazaar day so I go a couple of times to stores and try to buy most of my fruit from the Bazaar, at least the weekends worth.
23. Dyado or baba? I love the Dyado fashion. I'd love to rock all the old Commie-styles so perfectly like them. No matter the weather, suits, nice long jackets, fashionable hats. I dig it. I say Dyado, despite that fact that Babas can cook and do give you free food!
24. Where do you get your news? Letsrun.com (running), BBC (International), Daily Press Briefings (about Bulgaria), economist.com (Business), random news blogs and b22blogstars.
25. Without checking, what are the times in seconds of the following? Coyote falls off the cliff after missing the roadrunner. You see him fall for __________ seconds, he disappears from view for __________ seconds, before you see a puff of smoke for ______ seconds.7, 5, 6... Sheer guesses, all of them.

26. Pitka or banitza? Banitza only if it's with Tikva. I love me some Tikven banitza! Especially my host mothers.
27. Would you rather perform in a dance recital or rap-battle? Is the dance recital a group thing? If so I chose that one, but my poem writing practice could help me do alright at a rap battle contest. This is a tough question. I would need more information. Like where is this rap battle? What kid of dancing? I am assuming the audience size would be about equal... That is a lot to consider, but if push came to shove... rap-battle, I think. Mostly because I cannot dance.
28. In what format do you consume your music? Well on my iTunes. I own over 1,000 CDs and I tried to put most of them onto my computer before I left. So I have 80 gigs in iTunes. Some times I go to pitchfork.com and check out the videos and samples they have randomly on their site.
29. You'd rather have your picture taken with which branch of government: judicial, legislative, or executive? Ask me in 9 months and I will most likely say Executive.
30. Would you rather fight vampires, werewolves, zombies, or apathy?
I heard a quote once that went something like this: "Apathy is the weapon by which the west is committing suicide." and Joan Baez had some good words to say about how horrible apathy has became in American society. I'd go with that.
31. Who inspires you? Barack Obama, my fellow B22s, some of the smartest people I have meet in my life, my grandmothers both two very strong women that are always making the most of what they have, Ian MacKaye and some of my really good long-time friends from Spokane. That is a short list.
32. What are you afraid of?
My mind.
33. Plain, cheese or veggie hamburgers?
Normally black bean burgers with no-cheese. My stomach isn't the best at dealing with dairy. I think I am partially lactose, but not enough that I have to avoid it completely.
34. Car, truck, motorcycle, or hot-air balloon?
Jules Verne had the right idea... give me a hot-air balloon and I'll go around the world in 80 days.
35. Would you shave your chest for any reason?
If I lost a bet yes, but here in Bulgaria I think it can add to the Maleness. So it helps that I have some hair on my chest but normally I would not ever shave my chest. I have no reason too, and judging by how quickly I grew back my beard when I shaved it you can tell that I hate shaving.
38. Favorite day of the week?
Friday, Bazaar day. All the villagers come to buy things for the week and the town nearly doubles in size. The town comes alive and people are everywhere, walking, hanging out, talking (mostly in Turkish so I have no idea what they are saying) and I spend my entire lunch break walking around people watching and saying hello to friends.
39. How many states have you lived in? How many countries?
Well I have only lived in Washington, but my residence with the Peace Corps is my sisters house in Portland, Oregon, so according to them I live there but I never really lived. Just visited. Countries, 2. America and Bulgaria. I hope to add more to those short lists sometime in the future.

40. Favorite Comedian? Henry Rollins. I don't know if he exactly qualifies but that is my pick.
41. Anything else you want to share? Projects you are working on? Yeah, I am working on writing a Project Proposal with the basketball coach from the school for kids aged 7-15. This would be a decent sized project as 800 kids go to the school and it would be for basketball equipment for the gym classes and for the 4 teams the school has.
42. What was the last work of art you experienced that brought you to tears?A movie. It was called Freedom Writers but if you ask me next week it will change. Normally a movie or a CD hits me pretty hard. I love visual art and painting but music normally does it for me. Oh and I'd like to thank everyone for reading my random and slightly crazed responses that somehow have very little to do with my Peace Corps life.
43. If possible, would you prefer to be remembered by a portrait in the National Gallery or on a thousand comemorative key-chains?Depends on the style of artist. Is it like Jackson Pollock? Because if so, I'd go with the key-chains. And what is the design on the key-chains. Do I look like Che? Or that picture of Einstein with his hair flipped up and his tongue sticking out? Sorry I ask too many questions. I'll go with the key-chain. As much as I love art I would not feel right about being in a National Gallery slot. I feel, if I am to be remembered at all, that a key-chain is more appropriate.

Bulgarian Graffiti and Architecture of the week: Nifty Web site

2008-05-27T21:35:00.004+03:00

This week I didn't have any of my own crazy little graffiti findings but I did come across a great little website that is dedicated to graffiti artists in Bulgaria. This includes videos, exhibitions, festivals and work for well known corporations.

Check it out: http://www.graffart.eu/

B-22 Interview of the Week - Hello Stacie

2008-05-17T22:46:00.006+03:00

What led you to join the Peace Corps?
I always knew that I wanted to go overseas and volunteer after graduating, but I just didn't know which organization. Right before Jason and I got married we started thinking more seriously about which organization to go with. After looking at a lot of stuff online- we decided to go with the Peace Corps. (It was free! Most other ones we looked at we'd have to pay our way...) So we turned in our applications about a month after our wedding and left for Bulgaria a year later!
What were your initial reactions to hearing you would be going to Bulgaria?
Well, I knew it was in Eastern Europe...that's about it. I was at work when I got the email and I hadn't told my boss yet.... so I was excited, but then again nervous trying to figure out how to tell my boss I was leaving. I went immediately to wikipedia to read about Bulgaria- I really didn't know anything about the country at all.
Have these desires been met? Do you feel that your Peace Corps experience is fulfilling the reasons you wished to join?
Yes, I think that my experience has been fulfilling so far. Our recruiter told us that our experience would really depend on how proactive we are- and it's so true. So, it is what you make it. I have found that my most fulfilling experiences have been working with kids that are underprivileged. It really reminds me why I came here and helps me keep going too. I was also looking forward to learning another language- and that has been a great experience. Yeah, it's hard and I make mistakes- but in reality I am having conversations in Bulgarian every day...still crazy to think about.
What exactly do you do?
I work at the "Youth House." It is a youth organization funded by the municipality. We work on lots of project and youth exchanges. Some of the recent themes have been the environment, integration, human trafficking, leadership, etc. I also tutor for English at the youth house and hang out with the kids. Outside of the youth house I have been helping out at a school for disabled kids and teaching English at an orphanage for 12-16 year olds.
With how many people?I work with 4 other women: the boss, the accountant and 2 project managers (one of which is my counterpart)
How long is your work day? Weekends? After hours work?
I typically work 9-5...although I have been known to sleep in and show up at 9:30 or 10 :) I do my language tutoring in the afternoons- so I don't know if that counts as working hours or not. A few times a month my organization has events at night- like a youth concert, holiday party, dinner, etc. We sometimes work on the weekends- but not too much. We actually just finished up our Earth Day project- which consisted of cleaning our river and planting flowers along it- that took place on multiple Sundays. Glad that project is over though- I missed relaxing on Sundays!!
What is a typical day like?
I typically show up to work and chat with my co-workers. We used to have coffee time in the morning, but then my boss stopped buying us 3-in-1 for some reason (not really sure why), so no more coffee time for us! Then a number of things happens- I hang out with kids in the youth house, have a meeting for an upcoming project, look for grants online, do some English tutoring, go to my Bulgarian lessons, etc. Every day is different really. My organization is very active, so I am always told at the last minute that I am going somewhere to attend something. Today, for instance, my organization put on a play of some sort for the day of Europe in the municipality- so I tagged along to watch.
Without telling us the name of the place you live, tell us about where you live :)
I live in a larger city close to some beautiful mountains. We have a nice square with lots of cafes. Now that the weather is getting warmer, there's lots of places to sit outside and have coffee or tea. Our most famous landmark is the Blue Rocks National Park and our town hero is Hadji Dimitar- who helped fight the Turkish invasion in the 1800's.
Is there a song that comes to mind when you think about where you live now? (Is it possible to describe your town in reference to any movies, songs, or other common pop-culture markers that would help us identify with where you are at?)
The only song I can think of is Bulgarska Rosa...it unfortunately gets stuck in my head sometimes out of the blue!
In contrast, is there a song that reminds you of home?
Of course- "Home Means Nevada"- my state song :) We had to learn it in music class as kids and I still remember all the words...
Where are you from? How is it different from where you are now?
Nevada is almost all desert- so Bulgaria is quite a change. We get about 4 inches of precipitation a year back home- so anything with greenery, trees, rain, etc is way different for me. I am also from a very small town- so I am actually living in a town now that's about 10 times bigger than my home town.
What animal are you most likely to see in your town? (wild dog, cat, sheep, pet cat/dog)? How often?
Since we live in a city, it's mostly stray dogs and cats. We do however have a man that takes his goats out for a walk daily- and I actually saw him today walking down the street, with his two goats on leashes!
What industry is common to your town/region? How do people make their living? Most common employer?
I have heard that our town is famous for textiles. However, it's not true so much anymore as most of the factories are closed down. We do still have one huge textile factory here, an Italian clothing maker. It is one of the biggest employers in town. What do you eat?We eat a lot of pasta for dinner- we aren't all that creative really. Jason makes pizza for dinner a few times a month and it's yummy! We also really love making guevech with lots of veggies- our host mom taught us how to make it. We have 2 other PCV's in our town- so we have Mexican food nights sometimes. Here's a hint for making Mexican food here: buy plain duner bread from the duner stand for the tortillas- it works perfectly! We had to go to 3 different stands, however, before we actually convinced someone to sell us just the bread!
Do you have a common meal for dinner? Lunch? Breakfast? What is it?
Breakfast is always muesli with yogurt and a banana. Lunch is random- sometimes some crackers or pretzels, sometimes pizza or a sandwich.
Do you cook your meals, have someone else cook for you, eat out most of the time?
Yeah we hired a chef- it's really nice to not have to cook for ourselves anymore.... j/k :)
Do you eat alone? With friends? A baba? With the television?
Jason and the laptop with downloaded TV shows from back home.
What is your favorite desert?
Raffy ice cream, of course!
What is your favorite food now that you had never eaten before you came to Bulgaria?
Definitely would have to be the guevech- it is such a simple idea but I had never thought of it before. I also love tikvinik.
What food do you miss the most that you cannot get here? (for example, i daydream about asiago-cheese bagels and starbucks mocha frappacinnos)
Well, I too miss frappacinnos- carmel for me though.
Is there an american food that is not common to your town that you have, nevertheless, found a way to prepare? (For example, I combine a mlako sus karamel with obeeknoveno kafay and make a pretty good caramel machiatto)
One day Jason and I ordered 2 cafes and 2 mlyarko s kakao and combined them- everyone was giving us the craziest looks- I thought the server was going to have a heart-attack.
How do you feel you have been most useful to your community?
I think the times I have felt most useful is when my English skills have been needed. We just got done planning an international use exchange with participants from 3 other countries- so my organization relied on me quite a bit to communicate with all the teams about logistics, etc.
How do you feel your community has been most useful to you?
I really had a lot of community help for our river project. When it came time to plant flowers along the river bank, lots of people donated flowers and encouraged us along the way.
At this point in your service, what do you look forward to bringing back with you to the States. (i look forward to making shopskas and showing off my baba socks)
I agree about the shopskas! For sure I am bringing my Bulgarian kitty back to the states too :) She already has her "passport"
Are there any projects you are working on at the moment? Tell us about it.
Right now I am starting a new project on recycling. Our goal is to get a recycle bin in every classroom in town. We're also going to have an education campaign- teaching the basics or recycling and it's importance.Over the summer I am going to have a camp for teen girls. The camp was started last year by the previous volunteer and so I am carrying on the tradition.I will also be starting a art and music summer program for the kids at an orphanage for the disabled. I actually want to buy recorders (you know, those little plastic flutes we had to play in music class in Elementary school??) and teach the kids to play some songs.
What one thing do you wish you had now that you do not have?
Carpet, dryer, dish washer, shower curtain, bath tub, oops- that's more than one thing... :)
If you watch TV, what is your favorite show? Would you recommend it?
My favorite show is the office- of course I recommend it! We have been downloading and watching new shows over here now- we were introduced to the world of torrents since being in Bulgaria...still don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet...
Are there any hobbies that a Bulgarian has introduced you to? Tell us about it.
Yes! I like to call it "extreme indoor gardening" I don't know if Bulgaria necessarily introduced me to it though, but I got inspired one day walking through the pazar. A guy was selling tomato plants in little yogurt cups- the plants were about 6 inches tall. So I bought that and a pot and some dirt and started growing it indoors (We don't really have a place to put it outdoors- it would get stolen unfortunately) So from there, we started buying other plants and we now have: some strawberry plants, hot pepper plants, another tomato plant, and various flowers. We did have an herb garden and a raspberry bush as well- but the cat kinda ruined those! Our neighbors and Bulgarian friends are really doubting that anything will come from our gardening efforts. I told my neighbor that I would give her some strawberries as soon as they're ripe! We'll see what happens... We also worked with our neighbors to plant a little flower garden in front of our block. It was fun working together- I didn't realize how big a deal gardening is here! While we were working, we were congratulated numerous times by other neighbors and just people passing by- they were saying that we were hoobavi detsta, chudesno, etc. pretty cool!
Are there any hobbies you sought out here that you didn't do in the states?
In addition to the gardening, I also started doing yoga. It is really helpful for stress and relaxation.
What did you use to do in the states during your free-time that you cannot do now but wish you could? (go to the movies, go to the gym, speak in my native tongue)
Yeah- all those 3 things for sure. I also miss being able to talk on my cell phone for more than 2 minutes and not have to worry about how much it costs!
Is there any advice you wish you knew, would like to give, to a pcv going through training now?
My best advice is to just hang in there- those 2 1/2 months felt like the longest time ever. Now that I am at my site, time is flying by. So- just hang in there and don't be nervous about the future. Things get much easier over time.
What posters/decorations do you have where you live?
We just acquired two little wooden wall hangings- one says "Happy Spring" and the other says "Home Sweet Home" They gave them to us for free the other day at the one lev store...not really sure why. So I hung them up.
What do you most hope to accomplish by the time you go home?
The one thing I really want to accomplish is to create a city wide anti-trafficking campaign. It is a huge issue facing youth in Bulgaria- and if I can prevent the spread of it in any way, that would be the biggest accomplishment for me.

Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Silvia Dimitrova

2008-05-17T13:51:00.006+03:00

The weeks post will be about another artist. I must say that I am really very impressed with the painters, sculptors and writers that this country has produced. They continue to blow my away. The more I learn about the more surprised I am. Great art comes from this country and it has so for many years. Take for example this weeks Historical Bulgaria:
Silvia Dimitrova, which is "Силвия Димитрова" in Bulgarian (CLICK HERE FOR HER OFFICIAL WEBSITE), was born in 1970 in the town of Pleven, she is a painter of icons, as well as a few other, more contemporary works. Icons are very important here in Bulgaria, which is largely Bulgarian Orthodox in religion and she is recognized as one of the best.

According to her web-site, where most of this information came from, "She works in the traditional technique of icon painting - egg tempera on wood, and her work covers the whole spectrum of traditional Bulgarian icons and original works". Below I have included some samples of her Icons:

She has held a solo exhibition in Rueil-Malmaison, a suburb of Paris in 1997. In 1999 she was commissioned by a monastery in Wells called "Downside Abbey", which was completed shortly before the outbreak of WWI, to pain the Icon of St. Benenict (Pictured below).She then began working, in 2000, at the Wells Cathedral as an artist-in-residence where she painted the 14 Stations of the Cross. In the same year she was nominated for a "European Women of Achievement" Award in the field of Arts. In that same year she had work displayed at St. Paul's Cathedral in London and Hertford College in Oxford.

For a long and detailed list of her more notable exhibitions and commissions feel free to go to her web-site.

Her is a brief sample of some of her secular work:

A quote on her work: "Silvia Dimitrova's art is a vibrant gift from God to people of various Christian traditions and also to those who do not yet believe. Her two styles of traditional Bulgarian icons and modern love paintings, the sacred and the secular, enrich and influence each other. They are inspiring in their profundity and fecundity."

Canon Dr Graham Kings,

Vicar of St Mary Islington

She currently lives and works in the United Kingdom.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

Until next time this is Kashkaval Pane signing off.

Bulgarian Graffiti and Architecture of the Week: Looking Forward for Open Europe

2008-05-13T11:18:00.005+03:00

This weeks entry is not about Bulgarian graffiti, instead I will take you to an even smaller country (yes they exist) in the North EU. Just over a week ago I was in Latvia for a youth exchange. Participants included people from Portugal, the Czech Republic, Latvia and of course Bulgarians. The title of the project was called Looking Forward 4 Open Europe. Thought this was grammatically incorrect, the idea was fantastic to bring students from all over Europe and discuss issues and prejudices among Europeans that make communication and interaction more difficult across borders. This event encouraged youth to look passed these differences, embrace our similarities and learn to appreciate what we can learn from each other. The project was successful. One of our projects included creating some graffiti at a local school with a design created and implemented by the whole group that also included the "Youth in Action" logo, which is the organization responsible for the project. The graffiti included an eye that symbolizes the "looking" forward, Hands symbolizing youth working together and stars from the EU flag that included the flags of each participating country at the event. I hope this provides encouragement for the local students and that the participants implement similar projects in their hometown to spread the idea about and "Open Europe"( without borders) for everyone.

Bulgarian smell of the week: Sunny Beach

2008-05-11T21:10:00.004+03:00

Every year for Easter and St. George’s day Bulgarians generally take oodles of time off of work. For Stacie and I it was no different because our organizations’ doors were closed over the holidays as well. So we went to Sunny Beach! It is fairly common knowledge here in BG that Sunny Beach is overcrowded and generally not a pleasant place to vacation. So we just wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. At this point there is not much in the way of tourists there simply because the season has not started yet. Case in point, we found a fairly nice/new hotel for 30lv a night. I am sure it will be much more in the summer.

Our Room:

The view from our room of some construction. Quite a tragedy.

The most impressive thing I liked about Sunny Beach was of course: the beach! (characterized by a distinct beach smell). The wind brought smells of sand, sea, and seafood all together in one delightful gust after another. If I could stay there I would have. I think that would be the embodiment of the American dream right here in Bulgaria!

This place looked awesome!

Yes, they do have Mexican food. But don't get anything with avocados.

This one did not look as good.

This speaks for itself. (pizza, spaghetti, salads)

However, it was not long before we could discern the unpleasantness many had mentioned. On the way from our hotel to the beach (which was about a km) we had a difficult time finding roads that went there. Much of what we saw were dead-ends leading up to one hotel after another. When we finally found a main road to the beach it was lined with dusty and dangerous looking construction sites. Another scent related feature of Sunny Beach was the smell of sewage. I could not figure out exactly where it was coming from, but every now and again we would get a huge waft of ripe air that reminded me of traveling through Tacoma on I-5. Ick.

But aside from the shnazular challenges that Sunny Beach posed, we were still able to enjoy relaxing on the beach getting some sun. Also, if you get to go to Nessebar that would be a big bonus.

I give Sunny Beach 3 out of 5 noses.

The Inspector

Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Christo Vladimirov Javacheff

2008-05-10T13:26:00.006+03:00

Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, better known simply as "Christo", was born on June 13th in the year 1935 in the town of Gabrovo. In the mid-1950s he studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia and in 1957 he spent a semester at the Vienna Fine Arts Academy.

Moving to Paris in 1958 he meet his future wife and constant work-assossiate Jeanne-Claude, who was born Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon on June 13, 1935, in Casablanca. Together they would create many pieces of art ranging many dealing with environmental projects that involve "elements of architecture, sculpture, painting and urban planning".

Samples of their work are the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont Neuf Bridge in Paris, the Gates in Central Park, Ney York City, the Surrounded Islands in Miami, Florida, and the Running Fence in Marin and Sonoma Counties, California.

On May 11th of 1960 they had a son named Cyril, May 11. He went on to study at Cornell University and Columbia University in 1982. Publishing five books of poetry.

Here are a few of his early peices. Feel free to "right click" and "open in a new window" or "new tab" on any of the blue text to find out more information on a paticular project.
Stacked Oil Barrels, Dockside Packages at Cologne Harbor.,
Iron Curtain-Wall of Oil Barrels, Rue Visconti, Paris, 1961-62 The family packed up and moved to New York City in 1964. There they began working on many incredible and interesting pieces in America, such as; Wrapped Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago., Wrapped Floor and Stairway. Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.,

Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972-76.,

Wrapped Walk Ways, Loose Park, Kansas City, Missouri, 1977-78, Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980-83.,

The Umbrellas, Japan-U.S.A., 1984-91., Over The River, Project for The Arkansas River, Colorado.

As well as continuing many international projects as well such as Wrapped Fountain and Wrapped Medieval Tower, Spoleto, Italy, Wrapping of a Public Building "Wrapped Kunsthalle Berne 1967-1968", 5,600 Cubicmeter Package, Documenta 4, Kassel, Germany 1967-68
Wrapped Coast, Little Bay,, Wrapped Monuments, Milano: Monument to Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza del Duomo, Milano, Italy., Monument to Leonardo da Vinci, Piazza della Scala, Milano, Italy., Valley Curtain, Grand Hogback, Rifle, Colorado, 1970-72,, The Wall, Wrapped Roman Wall, Via V. Veneto and Villa, Borghese, Rome, Italy.
The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975-85.
Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971-95.
Wrapped Trees, Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park, Riehen-Basel, Switzerland 1997-98. The Wall,13,000 Oil Barrels, Gasometer, Oberhausen, Germany,1998-99. One of, if not their most, famous pieces of works is The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005. Which consists of "7,503 vinyl gates, with free-flowing nylon fabric panels, anchored to 15,006 steel bases on 37 kilometers", or 23 miles for those folks in America, of walkways.
Feel free to check out his web-site by CLICKING HERE. It is full of information and in English, which is a definate plus. If your appitite for Christo has not been satisfied feel free to read more information HERE.

I hope you all enjoyed this weeks edition and that you all had a fantastic Europe Day yesterday!

Take care and until next time this is Kashkaval Pane.

4ao 4ao.

Bulgarian Transportation of the Week: The Sleeping Car!

2008-05-09T09:55:00.002+03:00

The Sleeping Car! (спален вагон)
These cars are attached to night trains, giving passengers added comfort on their travels. You can buy these tickets on board (like this PCV did) or at the ticket counter of large stations. You must buy a separate ticket for the sleeping car. A trip to say, Varna from Chirpan, a ticket costs about 7 leva (with a discount card). A bed in the car costs roughly 8 leva. There were three beds in the compartment and since there was only two of us, we had to buy the third bed. It was worth it. Although I didn't get the best night sleep in the world (whenever the train would pull into a station, I would roll into the wall) but it was much better than sleeping in a closed compartment.

As you can see in the photo to the right, BDZ provides the blankets, pillows and sheets. They also, however, provide with complimentary items. We were given tissues, shoe shine, face wash and a toilet seat cover. It was a pleasant surprise getting this and we were the envy of all the PCVs in Varna that weekend who didn't take the sleeping car.

The lay out of the car was like this: on right side was a three tier bunk bed. On the left side was a closet with coat hangers behind a ladder to a shelf with more blankets. Against the far wall on the right was a mirror and a table. The table top lifted up to reveal a sink with running water (!).

All in all, travelling by sleeping car is the way to go! Lots of room, privacy, and a bed. Just remember to follow the sign-

J-Dub "the Duke" Paperstax

Bulgarian Graffiti and Architecture of the Week: Earth Day

2008-05-06T22:17:00.003+03:00

This may be a bit late in the game but just a couple of weeks ago (April 22, 2008) was Earth Day. This was a celebration all over the world to raise awareness about our Earth, the impact humans make and how we can be more environmental. In Karlovo, I organized two days of activities. The first was painting over the graffiti on our Tourism Information Center and planting trees, and the second day included 10 children from the local mahala creating bird feeders and seedling planters. On the second day, local High School students also came to help me paint a little Earth Day related graffiti on the side of the Information Center.

We came together to paint two pictures !.)Edelvise ( this is one symbol of the info center) and 2.) A tree with youth and a banner that says to celebrate the environment. The projects and the artwork turned out to be a great success and a wonderful experience to get the local youth involved in community beautification.

Take a look!

Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Пейо Яворов:

2008-05-03T16:02:00.001+03:00

The day of this blog writing I happen to be in the beautiful city of Chirpan.

For this reason I chose one of the cities famous sons... and no I am not writing about fellow PCV Jimmy Wall

This weeks episode is one of Bulgarias most famous poets, Peyo Yavorov. He lived from January of 1878 until October 1914, living only until the age of 36.Yavorov lived a short and traumatic life, however, despite this most of his poems were romantic ones dedicated to his two greatest loves.

One died from tubercolosis and the other, whome he married, shot herself in 1912. Yavorov attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head. Instead the bullet went through his tempal leaving him blind. Yavorov eventually took no precautions and poisoned and then shot himself in 1914.

Picture of the statue of Peyo in the town of Chirpan:Here are two poems of his, translated into English (Sidenote1- Not translated by me but I cannot credit who did as the web-site I found them had no credit attributed to this work):

COME!

Your eyes to starry skies I shall compare
Your hair to the transparent veil
Of a late evening, such is your hair!
The scent that lingers round your maiden mouth
Is fresh, invigorating as the South,
……A breeze that browses in a flowery dale.

So come, the day is cold and dead.
The moonlit night, hair tumbling round your eyes,
Lower your head
And breathe into my face,
Come, warm my chilly heart with your embrace –
This moonlit night, beneath the starry skies.

TWO SOULS

I do not live: I burn. In acrimony raging
Two souls are duelling within my breast:
The soul of a devil, the sould of an angel.
Their breathing is flame and it gives me no rest.

Not one flame bursts but two – whatever I am touching,
And in each stone two heartbeats I hear clash …
Whereever I go there’s an odious doubling
Of two warring faces, which vanish in ash.

And everywhere the wind that follows me is spreading
The ashes: all my footprints are effaced.
For I am not living – I burn! – and am shedding
A trail of grey ashes across a dim waste.

Thanks for tuning in... until next time this is Kashkaval Pane signing off.

Bulgarian Transportation of the Week: Vacation!

2008-05-01T23:54:00.002+03:00

Празниц!

No post from me today; I'm on почивка and exploring this wonderful country. I'll be researching for up coming posts. не местете на друга уеб-страница!

Bulgarian Transportation of the Week: The Bus!

2008-04-27T21:27:00.003+03:00

Bus (автобус) Better late than never!
Buses are the most prolific of all transportation modes in Bulgaria. The highways are also filled with them. They are a faster and make fewer stops than trains. The downside is less room, more expensive and a potential wishy-washy schedule. It pretty much comes down to what you want-Time and a thrill ride or money, space and near 24 service. I say thrill ride because several buses drive, uh, quickly. This PCV has been on several buses that have arrived more than 30 minutes early and a few that have driven on the shoulder for several miles. It can be a hair raising experience.
The types of buses vary. The best buses are transnational whereas the most Soviet-looking ones are regional. Going from Sofia to say, Chirpan, the buses are all quite nice (and like trains, from Germany). Service to villages are usually old or microbuses.
Where do you catch these buses? Well in villages, you catch them from small bus stations like in Devin (left), really really nice bus station like in the capital, Sofia (middle), or shack.

Sometimes, you have to flag the bus down on the side of the road. In order to catch a ride from the Central Bus Station in Sofia to Dupnitsa, you have to find a bus driving south through Dupnitsa and haggle with the bus driver to convince him to top on the freeway to let you off. I'm sure they all wonder, why on earth would you want to go to Dupnitsa!? On the way out of Dupnitsa to the Central Bus Station, you have to stand on the side of the free way and wave the bus down. They will, more often than not, stop (at least, this PCV has yet to have any problems).

So there you have it, the автобус: Fast and thrilling.

J-Dub "The Duke" Paperstax

B-22 Interview of the Week - Hello Joan

2008-04-27T20:14:00.005+03:00

What led you to join the Peace Corps?

Actually, this is something I thought about doing about 20 years ago ( still older than you guys are, even then). I have always been interested in doing more with my life than just work and then retirement. This just happened to be the RIGHT time for me and after the LONG process of being accepted, finally am getting my chance.
What were your initial reactions to hearing you would be going to Bulgaria?
Well, I was first told I would be going to Asia and working in the health sector. Then I got my invitation that said Bulgaria and business. I felt a little let down since I had really been looking forward to doing something other than what I had done for more than 35 years. But, didn't want to look bad, so said sure, I'll go to Bulgaria.
Have these desires been met? Do you feel that your Peace Corps experience is fulfilling the reasons you wished to join?

Actually, I don't have many desires any more. I have had a very fulfilling life and just want to hang around on this planet a little longer to watch others desires be met. My Peace Corps experience will be what I put into it, and so far, so good.
What exactly do you do?Where do you work?With how many people?Tell us about the structure?What do you do?How long is your work day? Weekends? After hours work?What is a typical day like?
I was placed in an archaeological museum in Veliki Preslav...probably because they didn't know what else to do with me. I work with anywhere from 8 to 20 people, depending on who shows up each day. I get up every morning about 6:00 and start my daily routine. By 8:30 I am out the door and walking a beautiful route to the museum (except Friday's, which is my community service day off). My work day is from 9:00 to 3:00, because that is what I choose to work (I also do work at home, you see). During that time I am usually working with the curator's doing translations or whatever else they want me to do...right now I have a SPA project written up that I will be submitting. Between the months of April and October though, I will have the opportunity to work in the [digs]. This is what I am really anxious to do...outside and working out, versus inside at a computer. Evenings I either have an aerobics class or a dance class, also Bulgarian language class, of course. Also, I spend time with the kids from the orphanage when I can, and meet with the vice mayor every week or so. Week-ends I spend time walking around town, meeting with friends, and working with a local women's ESL group. Not a very exciting life, but definitely integrated (PC's favorite word). I really don't travel out of site much, but when I get the opportunity, I like to travel to another site and visit the volunteer/volunteers there.
Tell us something that you often tell your friends or family back home about what you are doing (work-related)?
I usually tell them I am still patiently waiting for the dig season to begin. Otherwise, that I am trying to be of service, wherever and however I can, to the entire city, not just the museum.
If you bumped into an American on the street of your town and they asked your advice on what to do/see what would you tell them?

Remember PDM? If you saw our skit, you would have an answer to this question.
Is there a song that comes to mind when you think about where you live now?
Well, a teacher here in town asked me what song she could have her students perform in English for an up-coming event...it needed to be short and easy. I suggested Old McDonald Had a Farm. Does that tell you anything.

In contrast, is there a song that reminds you of home?

Any Beach Boys songs will do.
Where are you from? How is it different from where you are now?

I am from America, isn't that enough to say.
What industry is common to your town/region?

My town is known for it's wine making. In fact, the Preslav Wine has received 22 gold medals from the competitions held every year the last week of March in Plovdid!

What do you eat?

Not much...that is why I have lost 30 pounds and gone down 3 pants sizes.
Do you have a common meal for dinner? Lunch? Breakfast? What is it?

Breakfast is yogurt and cereal...I don't eat lunch or dinner except maybe once a week.
Do you cook your meals, have someone else cook for you, eat out most of the time?

What do you think!
What is your favorite meal?

Food is not a priority for me.
Do you eat alone? With friends? A baba? With the television?

Once a week I meet with Susan for dinner, otherwise camo az.
What is your favorite desert?

Don't eat desert.
What is your favorite food now that you had never eaten before you came to Bulgaria?

How about a dooner (English spelling?)
What food do you miss the most that you cannot get here?

Actually, if you read up a few lines, you can see that food is not a priority...I eat enough to survive. That is pretty much how I lived in the good ole US of A too. Guess if I had to say something, it would be seafood (crab and lobster are pretty good)
How do you feel you have been most useful to your community?
Since I am a pretty ambitious person, I try to be at all meetings, events, performances, etc., as well as doing direct work within my community. They know I am here and available for anything and everything.
How do you feel your community has been most useful to you?
My community has been very receptive to my presence in town, and whenever I have gone looking for something, they have been extremely helpful...like the local shoe repairer who works out of his home and has no sign to indicate his business. Or, the shop keepers who put up with my bad Bulgarian to accomodate my every need. Just the fact that they include me as a resident here, makes my day.
At this point in your service, what do you look forward to bringing back with you to the States. (i look forward to making shopskas and showing off my baba socks)
I don't plan to be in the states that long after COS since I will be re-upping next April for another Peace Corps service area. During the interum period, I would hope to enlighten others as to what it is we are doing here...not like the brochures and ads offer, but true experience sharing.

Are there any projects you are working on at the moment? Tell us about it.
I have written a SPA for a new room to be constructed in the museum...for display of artifacts presently stored in boxes. Actually, I wrote it quite a while ago and am still waiting for my counterpart to give it back to me for submission. I have a pen pal program set up between two 7th and 8th grade classes here, with classes in the states. I work with a local women's group to improve their English. I have contacted several organizations regarding book/computer donations to our local library, and try to work with the children from the orphanage (so when Susan COS's, I will be there for them). I also have joined the local aerobics class and two dance classes.
What one thing do you wish you had now that you do not have?
Some of Stefan's cherven (English spelling again?) vino.
What do you do in your sparetime?

Lots of puzzles (Sudoku), read, but I usually finish a book too soon...like in 1 sitting. Take walks, exercise, write in my journal and to friends via e-mail, talk on Skype with family or friends once a week.

If you read, what book are you reading now? Would you recommend it?

I read whatever I can get my hands on, but usually pick them up at the PC office when I go to Sofia.
If you watch TV, what is your favorite show? Would you recommend it?

I am really getting a kick out of Music Idol...way more drama than our show back home.
What did you use to do in the states during your free-time that you cannot do now but wish you could?

GOLF, GOLF. GOLF
Have you been to any cultural activities that you would like to return to and bring more friends to?

Yeah, I would say that if you haven't seen Jimmy dance yet, his next performance is something you must attend.Don't know if I would recommend the Kukeri festival unless you refrain from eating the local food...at least that for sale in the streets. It was a great time until I contracted food poisoning and ended up sick for 2 weeks, black tongue and all. It did help me lose some more weight though and give me something to talk about with Dr. Georgi when he came to visit.
Is there any advice you wish you knew, would like to give, to a pcv going through training now?
Don't believe everything you read before signing up...but do keep an open mind. What you expect it to be, and what it really is, may be totally different...but still rewarding.
Anything else you want to share?

I have really gotten used to 2 and 3 hour lunch breaks when there is something to celebrate. Of course my sister thinks I am going to go back to the states an alcoholic (she says PC will have to take care of my rehab). I don't eat that much you see, but I never turn down a drink. I just celebrated my 59th birthday and had a catered lunch brought in to the museum, as per their custom here, They gave me some beautiful gifts and a VERY large bouquet of flowers. Just having them remember this day and treating me as a fellow resident of their country (one of the gifts was a button that said...I am not a tourist, I live here), makes it all worth while.April 24th till May 3rd I will be in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, traveling with my sister and a friend,,,hope I remember how to drive!!! May 4th,,,Kiro and Dessi's wedding in Boboshevo

What do you most hope to accomplish by the time you go home?
I would like to feel that when I leave, a piece of me stays here with the people as a good memory of my time spent in their city. Also, I figure by the time I go home, my Bulgarian might have actually improved.

Historical Bulgarian Of The Week - Hristo Stoichkov:

2008-04-26T20:11:00.001+03:00

If you are wondering why out of thousands of years of history that this country and this land has to its credit why I choose to write this weeks blog on a footballer then you have never been to Europe.

Football, or soccer to our American readers, is the biggest game in the world and if you live in any country other than America you are surrounded by it daily. In my case I think I talk more football than politics with Bulgarians. For that reason, here is one of Bulgarias most famous and historical figures, Hristo Stoitchkov.Hristo Stoitchkov ("Христо Стоичков Стоичков" in Bulgarian), also known as "Itso", was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in February of 1966 where he "was born with a ball between his feet." His father played goalie for a local team by the name of Maritsa, Hristo would play Forward during his entire professional career.

Stoitchkovs love for football (футбол) like most Europeans, began at a very young age when he was ball boy for his fathers team. By 1977, at the young age of 10 he began playing for the same team as his father! Shortly thereafter he attracted CSKA, one of Bulgarias best teams, where he played from 1986-1989.In his first full season they won the Championship Cup of Bulgaria. In 1989 he won the Golden Boot for Top Goal Scorer in Bulgaria with 23 goals, helping CSKA reached the semifinals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (also known as the European Cup Winners' Cup).

In their semifinal game they lost to Barcelona, however, Barcelona Coach Johan Cruyff was signed Hristo to a five-year contract worth $4.5 million!From 1990 until 1994, Stoitchkov scored over 100 goals for Barcelona helping them win the Championship of the Primera Division in everyone of those four years. In international competitions he was playing for the Bulgarian National Team where they qualified for their first World Cup!

In 1994, Parma from Italy paid $15 million for his rights from Barcelona. He played for them for only one year. I was unable, despite intense research, to find out why so if anyone knows I would love to hear why. Returning in 1997 to Barcelona they won many titles; the Spanish Championship, Spanish Super Cup, Spanish King's Cup and the European Cup.
Five times he was voted Bulgarian Football Player of the Year, and from all accounts he became a national hero! The big awards were in 1992 and 1994 where he won the Golden Ball for "Best Football Player in Europe" once, the Golden Onze for "Best Football Player in the World" once, finishing second another time and FIFA awarded him the Silver Globe for the "Second Best Football Player in the World" in 1992 and 1994.
Stoitchkov, like many Bulgarians, moved to Chicago to join the Major League Soccer team the Chicago Fire in 2000. He has helped the Fire win the MLS Cup Finals and to a two US Open Cup title in three years being named to Soccer America's Team of the Week 6 times!All this while only standing 1.78 meters (5'9" for our American readers) and weighing in at 165 lbs. I think, however, Hristo, despite all his success would have meet his match had he faced the PCV team that assembled in Chirpan recently named in Bulgarian "I AM MAN":

"Soccer is simple…. Your movement on the field is important, and you have to have the right mentality, fighting in every game, in every practice, for every ball." - Hristo Stoichkov.-Kashkaval Pane

For more information you can go to Hristo Stoichkovs Official Web-site LOCATED HERE
For highlight video of Hristo CLICK HERE

Rocky Heart Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food/Drink Critic Pacifist: “singing Bye Bye Bulgarian Mandarin”

2008-04-23T16:26:00.003+03:00

Alo,

This post was going to be about a different food until I got some very sad news Monday, but before I deliver that lets back up a bit. Think about your favorite fruit and then think about your next favorite fruit. Well my second favorite fruit is the Mandarin orange.

When I was younger, I always looked forward to going to the grocery store to get the latest, most freshest can of mandarin oranges in syrup. (It was North Dakota and although the cold climate is what made this man into a warrior, it is still not conducive to growing citrus). I would devour them, unless of course it was the off brand (flavorite, our family, etc.) because they did not taste well umm….good.

In fact, I just always assumed that mandarin oranges came in a can that was until I arrived in Bulgaria. I do not recall when I had my first one, but I would say it was sometime around November. Then weekly, I would buy a bag full of these little guys and enjoy them to no end. As the weeks turned in to months and winter started to give way too spring, one by one my normal fruit stands stopped having mandarins. So this drove me to go look at other fruit stands.

After the mid point in March I had become resigned to the fact that all the mandarins had simply disappeared. That was until, I found a gem of a fruit stand that still had them. Elated was the only to describe how I felt. But on Monday this elation gave way too despair as my new found fruit stand friend informed me, after I informed him that he was the only game in town that still had this delightful fruits from heaven, that I was picking from his last box of the season. Sad was me when I heard this news. He then quickly told me that since April that I was the only one that was still buying them.

In fact, I should have seen this coming, but I put on the blinders because I did not want to believe it. The signs were there. Everyday the box would lose two more mandarins without two more mandarins being add, the bright orange color was getting distorted,

and the taste, as much as I tried to fighting it was slowly starting to not be good. Much like the end of a relationship sometimes you just want to turn a blind eye to the writing that is on the wall and believe that there will always be a mandarin to great you everyday, but that is not reality.

Writing this post was more of a way for me to come to terms with what will be a difficult break up. Although the ultimate fighter in me though wants to round house kick all the lesser fruits in the face right now. Such is grief.

Peace and Love

Rocky Heart
Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food/Drink Critic Pacifist

pop! of the week: artmospheric

2008-04-21T23:40:00.002+03:00

Artmospheric not only kicks ass at web design, but also seems to have a completely awesome program of minimal electronic music, outdoor art, workshops, yoga, drum circles and more all located in the beautiful Bulgarian countryside. (The countryside, by the way, is absolutely popping green and beautiful right about now)

Check it out!

Thanks Barb!

Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Todor Jivkov:

2008-04-19T20:20:00.000+03:00

Todor Hristov Jivkov (or "Toдор Xpиcтoв Живков" in Bulgarian) was born on the 7th of September in the year of 1911 in the city of Pravets, (Shaded area on the map below). He lived until he was 87 years old, passing away on the 5th of August in 1998.Todor was the first secretary of the ruling Bulgarian Communist Party's Central Committee. He started in the year 1954 and continued until 1989. He was than President of Bulgaria from 1971 until 1989. Serving 35 years as the ruler of Bulgaria made the longest-serving of any leaders in any of the Soviet-bloc nations in Eastern Europe.

Legend has it that he was the son of poor peasants. He went into Sofia as a child and joined a youth league that was outlawed by the Communist party called the "Komsomol".

He slowly gained in position in the party and during World War II he helped to organize the resistance movement known as the People's Liberation Insurgent Army. After the war, in 1951, when there was instated the Soviet backed communist government, he became a full member of the Politburo.From 1951 until the early sixties he quickly rose in position and status whereas by 1962 to 1971 Jivkov was premier of Bulgaria. Towards the latter years of his life he was voted president of the State Council that formed Bulgaria's constitution.
Jivkovs beliefs followed closely to those of the Soviet Union in regards to domestic policy and foreign affairs. Jivkov was a pretty decent leader, at least monetarily, and the standard of living rose substantially.

In 1989, after the fall of the many communist governments in Eastern Europe, Jivkov resigned. Then arrested in January 1990 and he was convicted of embezzlement in 1992 be handed a seven years prison sentence.

However, proof that "old Commies die hard", he came back and in 1998 he, like many other former Bulgarian communist leaders, became a member of the Socialist Party. He passed away that very same year.
Jivkov has made a mark on the Bulgarian political scene, being a major part of it for nearly 40 years, and is one of Bulgarias most known politicians. Thanks for reading, I hope you all have a happy Saturday.

Take care.
-Kashcaval Pane

PS- To show you the wonderful powers of Google, when I went searching for pictures of Mr. Jivkov I found the item pictured below... Mr. Todor Jivkovs signature?!?!?

Bulgarian smell of the Week: Natural Gas (aka propane, газ, juice, happy air, smelly air, Earth Day, tree hugger)

2008-04-17T23:43:00.002+03:00

Driving in Bulgaria is much more of a luxury than it is in the States. Many people do not have cars and rely on other transportation systems for their travel needs (thus the need to blog about transportation). But I don’t care so much about that right now. Now I will discuss the phenomenon of using natural gas (or propane as some people know it) as opposed to gasoline to power many cars in Bulgaria.

You can tell by the smell. If you have ever been camping in a trailer or motor home you know what I am talking about. It is a smell that is much cleaner than the exhaust we are used to smelling coming out of the back of our SUV’s and boat cars. And it being Earth Day this Tuesday here is what greencar.com has to say about it:

“Propane is rapidly establishing itself as an important alternative fuel in the transportation sector because of its impressive environmental benefits and inherent cost advantages over gasoline, diesel, and other alt-fuels. It isn’t a direct greenhouse gas when released into the air. Current measurements have not found a global climate impact from propane emissions (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-IPCC). Compared to conventional fuel sources, propane generates fewer GHG emissions in almost every application. At the point of use, it has a lower carbon content than gasoline, diesel, heavy fuel oil, or even biodiesel and ethanol.”

Of course not very many cars that have this natural gas apparatus were produced with it. It is common to see it on the older, less efficient ones. So it had to be installed at some point, usually costing about $400. Which is just a bit below the average monthly wage of someone working in Sofia at $410.

Gasoline in Sofia now costs about $6 a gallon, compared to $3.42 back in the States. A little more research turned up the following. I put it in a table to try and not confuse myself.

Fuel Facts
	Bulgaria	USA
Gasoline
Cost per gallon	$ 6.00	$ 3.42
Kilometers per gallon	26	26
Cost for 100 KM	$ 23.08	$ 13.15

Propane
Cost per gallon	$ 3.25	$ 1.55
Kilometers per gallon	38	38
Cost for 100 KM	$ 8.59	$ 5.00

Cost of conversion kit	$ 400.00	$ 1,000.00

Distance to recover cost of switching to propane	5529 KM	21000 KM

*Figures are in USD

I have a friend with a car that gets 26 kilometers/gallon with gas here. So with that mileage a car it would cost $23.08 to drive 100 kilometers (vs $13.15 with the same fuel economy in the States). For propane however, it costs about $3.25 a gallon here in Sliven. And that same car that gets about 38 kilometers/gallon of propane. And since propane is cheaper, it would cost only $8.59 to drive 100 kilometers, quite a savings. With this savings, it would take roughly 5529 KM in Bulgaria to recover the cost of the installation of the apparatus. And since the average Bulgarian drives 45 KM a year, it would roughly take 9000 years to make investing in one of those things worth it. But for the average American it would take about one year to recover the cost. Since the price of gas has been rising the price of propane has also risen from $1.05 a year ago in the States.

So the benefits on this one definitely outweigh the costs barring other unforeseen factors including the price of gas and the price of propane. But if you don’t drive much like me, I would not recommend buying one of those doodads based on cost alone. However, if you are trying to save the earth you should buy one for yourself and a friend.

Rocky Heart You Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food/Drink Critic Pacifists says: Cerene, the cheese equivalent of Coke (not talking about the beverage).

2008-04-16T22:47:00.003+03:00

Alo,

In Bulgaria there are two types of cheese: cerene and kashkaval. Upon first arrival, I initially liked kashkaval it seemed the more harmless out of the two, and thought it was the king of the Bulgarian cheeses. But, I soon learned that this was Bulgaria's gateway cheese to the far more addictive cheese cerene.

Long ago are the days of cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, taco blend, Mexican blend (never really understood the difference between the last two), colby jack, and provolone. It is not too say that I do not miss the former cheeses because trust me I do, especially when it is taco night at the Heart household. But they never gave me that extra something that brought me back for more.

So what is cerene. Cerene is kind of like feta cheese (texture and white color) but with a little different taste. It crumbles and sticks to pretty much everything. It also has a distinct smell. In fact, you have already be introduced to cerene a little, when I introduced you to banitsa. That is how it gets you hooked, they hide on it on you first. Then all of a suddent the next thing you know it starts to show up at every meal, maybe on a salad, maybe on pizza, maybe on french fries and even pastas.

Soon you start to crave it by itself. You start to develop a taste for it in its pure stage and the more expensive it is the better. You just cut it up throw it on a plate and dig in. You think to yourself I do not even know if I like the taste and it is going to smell bad after a few days. Which only makes you eat faster. You try to fight it, but when you see it chopped up and put into a line, something comes over you.

So take your rolled two lev bill down to the nearest store tell your neighborhood dealer that you need a few hundred grams of the white stuff. She obliges and puts it in a baggy. You do not even make it out of the store before you put a little taste on your tounge. Thats right, thats the good stuff.

Peace and Love,

Rocky Heart
Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food/Drink Critic Pacifist

Bulgarian Graffiti / Architecture of the week: Karlovo Municipality

2008-04-16T21:33:00.013+03:00

After a bit of a wait I am back and ready to dish the dirt on some interesting Bulgarian architecture.

Most of the structures, monuments and buildings we see in Bulgaria today, were constructed durring communist times or prior. These tend to introduce materials like stone, concrete and marble. This creates a very cold, unnatural, sometimes non modern and maybe even less inviting feeling. As a designer, I must say that the architecture follows the "form over function" approach.......meaning it was desigend to be seen rather then the form supporting the function of the structure or building.

Wouldnt you know, Karlovo has the perfect example of this same idea. The Municipality of Karlovo is a beautiful building with mosaic artwork on the front outside wall, large windows and an opportunity to break your hip at every turn. The entrance to the building is a bit of a law suit ready to happen...............wait this is Bulgaria, Ok its just a death trap. The entrance is created by two inclines up to a large platform above the sidewalk. This platform stretches the length of the entry area and then meets another incline that leads to the front door. Sounds Nice.........Oh you think so?

What is the problem with this you may ask............
Problem # 1: The Inclines and platform are made out of white smooth marble. This looks very nice and fancy but imagine a rainy or snowy day with ice on the ground, and then imagine the type of shoes women wear in this country. Walking up an incline made of smooth marble in inclament weather in spike heals or any for that matter says "I'd like one broken neck please." Thankfully during the winter the Municipality put down a mat for us to walk on but it didnt keep everyone from biting the dust (or marble in this case) a few times this year.

Problem # 2: The platform is about 3 feet above the sidewalk without a railing.....Meaning you could just walk right off a three foot drop. Lets add a broken leg and or arm to this equation. When Valya from the COD program staff came to visit me last month I turned around just before she started to step off the ledge. It was a close one. I motioned her to the incline of death to get down from the platform.
The Municipality building in Karlovo is no exception to structural misshapps that are typical with Communist architecture.

Suggested Signage

pop! of the week: djelem djelem

2008-04-15T10:56:00.003+03:00

(sorry i have not seen you for a while. things get crazy.)

On April 8th, Roma people all of the world celebrated the international day of the Roma. It was a big celebration here in Bulgaria with concerts in almost every village with a Roma population. The festive atmosphere disguises the fact that it is a day to commemorate the over 500,000 Roma that were killed during the holocaust. The following lyrics are the translated lyrics (from Romani)of Djelem Djelem, which is the hymn for this day:

Djelem Djelem::
I have travelled over long roads
I have met fortunate Roma
I have travelled far and wide
I have met lucky Roma
Oh, Romani adults, Oh Romani youth
Oh, Romani adults, Oh Romani youth
Oh, Roma, from wherever you have come
With your tents along lucky roads
I too once had a large family
But the black legion murdered them
Come with me, Roma of the world
To where the Romani roads have been opened
Now is the time - stand up, Roma,
We shall succeed where we make the effort.
Oh, Roma adults, Oh, Roma youth
Oh, Roma adults, Oh, Roma youth.

All the following songs are sung in Romani, the offical language of the Roma people.

Esma Redzepova (the queen) - djelem djelem

A very interesting version of djelem djelem that shows pictures of the holocaust history that the song remembers. (be carful...some of these pictures are rather serious....)

Jazz rendition of djelem djelem

B-22 Interview of the Week - Hello Roger!

2008-04-13T09:21:00.003+03:00

What is your name, age?
Roger Schrader. I am 23 years old.

What led you to join the Peace Corps?
It is a long story but I will try to keep it short. During my senior year in university I decided that I wanted to do my Masters in International Affairs/Relations. The schools that I had looked at wanted applicants to have at least 9 months of overseas experience. My university has a program where you can work overseas for a year teaching English. I looked at this and at the Peace Corp. I asked a poli sci professor who I have a good relationship with what she thought and she said “If you join the Peace Corp you can write your ticket to any grad program and any job.” This was a nice ringing endorsement, and, after looking at the Peace Corp a little more closely, it appeared that the Peace Corp would be a good match with my background as well as humanitarian leanings. I applied, got in and now here I am.
Have these desires been met? Do you feel that your Peace Corps experience is fulfilling the reasons you wished to join?
As of now, yes. I am learning a lot and the experience, although tough at times, has been good. I have learned much more about myself, what I can handle for example, than I ever thought I would. I feel I am gaining experiences that I am going to be able to apply to the rest of my life.
What were your initial reactions to hearing you would be going to Bulgaria?
My first reaction was “It is about time they told me where I was going”. This was closely followed by: “Bulgaria. That sounds familiar. Where is it again?”.
Where are you from? How is it different from where you are now?
I am from Owego, in Upstate NY, population, ummm I am not sure. I have been telling people it is about 3000. However, it is really small. Where I am living now has a little different feel than my hometown. For one there are more young people here than my hometown, but like my hometown there are not a lot of people my age around.
This is not the biggest difference. That would be the mountains. Where I live now is at the base of one of the Bulgarian mountain ranges. Upstate New York has hills and nothing close to the mountains that I see every day.
What exactly do you do?/Where do you work?
I work at a small youth NGO. We have a strong focus on exchanges with youth from other parts of the EU and Turkey. In addition, we have done projects covering environmental issues and AIDS/HIV awareness.
Are there any projects you are working on at the moment? Tell us about it.
Currently I am preparing for a youth exchange Turkey, the theme of which is body language and cross-cultural communication. We have two other projects in the works; one addressing violence in the schools and another on traffic safety, as well as another youth exchange in Lativa at the end of this month. On May 10th we are having American Culture Day. Kids from the language school Intellect are doing projects on American culture, some of which will be displayed. There will be a guest from the American Embassy as well as a food display. In the summer, plans are in the works for a youth conference on ATIP in S
What do you eat?
Lots and lots of banitsa. There is this stand in the center that sells if for 0.80st a piece and we are not talking small pieces either. These things are about the size of a slice of pizza and not personal pan pizza either. It is some of the best banitsa I have ever had. Rice is easy to make so I have that a lot a long with mixed veggies or chicken. Fruit is still fairly cheap so I try to get my lazy self to the bazaar regularly enough to have fresh fruit on a regular basis. O, I almost forgot. Princeska sandwiches. These things are heart attacks on a slice of bread but they a very easy to make and lately I have been eating a lot of them.
I cook most of my meals if you want to call them meals. But for lunch I usually get bantisa or a hot dog or go to the Stol. Good food for reasonable prices. I cannot argue with that.
What do you do in your spare time? If you read, what book are you reading now? Would you recommend it?
Are there any hobbies you sought out here that you didn't do in the states?
If these questions had been asked about two months ago, I would have told you it was playing Tomb Raider on my psp. I put that away as it was proving far too addictive and replaced it with reading and watching Stargate (yes, I am that geek). Currently I am rereading James Clavells Asian Saga. I had read the books in high school and I had remembered that they were really good. The Peace Corp library had the one that I was not able to read then so around Christmas time I snatched it up ad read it. Then it was just a matter of reading the rest of them. Right now I am on ‘Gai-Jin’.
It is a great book with good story lines and complex characters. The one thing that really appeals to me about these books is that, like I said, the characters are complex. It is hard to say that there are bad guys and good guys as everyone has their own competing agendas. Something that I have been meaning to do for a long time is to get back into some sort of an exercise program. I eventually was able to track down some guys that go to the gym on a fairly regular basis, so a few times a week, after work I have been going there. I end up being rather sore the next days but it is great times. They are great guys and I it might actually be making me healthy :D

Bulgarian Transportation of the Week: The Thumb!

2008-04-11T11:41:00.006+03:00

The Thumb! (палецът!) Better known as hitchhiking (пътуване на автостоп)

It’s a great way to see the country, meet new people and add adventure to your adventure. Personally, I’d never hitchhiked before and was a little weary of doing it in a foreign country with a language I have a minimal grasp of. However, my fears were assuaged and I struck up conversations with some awesome people. Other PCVs have had similar experiences like former vafla aficionado and all round bad ass, Thomas Lodwick.And yes, I did steal that sweet pic from the linked entry. I have no qualms or apologies. For the lackadaisical PCV (like Mr. Lodwick and myself), hitchhiking is merely a mode of transportation in our arsenal. It's not a necessity, but spices up our trip and eases our wallet. However, other PCVs living remote areas (especially the illustrious ones in the Rhodopi mountains) find hitch-hiking indispensable and often times, inevitable. Villagers in the Rhodopis, where I first learned how to hitchhike, are very friendly and understanding of the circumstances for hitch-hiking (namely, the lack of a frequent bus schedule). Hitchhiking here is a way of life. However, The Word From Upon High That Bans All Things Fun (also known as the Peace Corps Policy Manuel), states in Section 23, subsection 1.2.5 "Hitchhiking is strictly forbidden". On the other hand, Lonely Planet, the premiere tour guide book, declares:

Lonely Planet makes a habit of warning against hitchhiking in its standard text section in the back of guidebooks; ignore that here. Bulgaria practically begs you to do it - or at least pick people up. It's an everyday means of getting around for people who often lack their own transport. Grandmas pile bags into cars on the side of the highways, lone children hold out hand to stop strangers' cars to get to school - the only fear is whether or not the driver will be playing chalga -nauseatingly joyful, relentless, bouncing disco music ('truck driver music,' one Sofian hipster scoffed).

I couldn't say it better myself. A few tips to successfully hitchhike:

If you're in a large group, split up into groups of 2 or 3
Be sure to keep that thumb up when you see a car coming
Tourists don't tend to pick up hitchhikers
Always be gracious when you get picked up
Swap awesome stories

However, the absolute MUST after a successful hitch is to brag about it to your suburban friends. You'll quickly been the envy of everyone (or least get a "Dude, we know you're doing awesome things. Stop making us feel bad about it").

Sometimes the driver may ask for money. This may not alway be a bad thing as the driver can be more hospitable. For instance, I and a few other PCVs, caught a ride with a guy going to Plovdiv. He only asked us for 8lv (the bus ticket was 9lv) and he would be faster. We took him up on his offer. About an hour and a half later, he wanted to know we want to take a side trip to a monastery. How could we refuse? He was an excellent tour guide.

All that said, hitchhiking, although strictly against PC policy, can be an interesting and rewarding experience that lets you reap the fruits of your integration skills. I for one, will plan on including hitchhiking into my next Bulgarian adventure!

J-Dub "The Duke" Paperstax

Smell of the week: British Airways Terminal 5

2008-04-10T23:38:00.001+03:00

Stacie and I had to travel back to the States on the 31^st, and were there until the 6^th for reasons soon to be described in our blog. As many of you know, traveling certainly has its ups and downs. The trip home consisted of our usual midnight bus ride down to Istanbul, a flight to London, Los Angeles, and finally Reno (for a grand total of 39 hours from Sliven to Reno). We booked with three different carriers in order to get the best deal and the best connection times because we had to book so last minute. Our journey home went completely without incident and we made all our connections.

But the way back was a different story. We had a 3pm flight out of Los Angeles to London but did not depart until 9:30pm because of a freak snow storm in London and all of the problems they have been having there. Of course, we missed our connection flight on WizzAir as a result. But lucky for us, if we had not been delayed by that much we would not have met Elijah Wood waiting for our baggage. These candid photos are the only pics I have, as we were in a hurry to try and make our connection (in vain). I wanted to give blogstar readers the exclusive, you won't find this stuff anywhere else.

The conversation went like this: I walked up to him and said “are you Elijah Wood”, and he said “yeah, I am” then I said “wow, nice to meet you”. That was pretty much it. I do regret not asking for a picture of us together for further proof, or some kind of autograph, but unfortunately I did not have a copy of Lord of the Rings handy. I have seen all three movies at least two times a piece and do consider myself a fan. So thanks British Air.

Unfortunately, that WizzAir flight to Sofia was the last one for the day, so we had to spend the night in London. Because we did not book that last leg through British Air, they said they could not help us with anything from that point on. “We are only responsible for getting you here” the customer service guy said. How kind. We soon discovered how much we hated a weak dollar when we got a room for the night and booked our flight out the next day. But we arrived in Sofia yesterday morning at 2am and were happy to be back only two and a half days after leaving.

Terminal 5 in London smells quite new actually and is very pleasing to the eye, but I just don’t like the idea of flying on British Air anymore.

Rockey Heart Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food and Drink Critic Pacifist says: Gof + Retti = Delicious

2008-04-09T21:35:00.002+03:00

Sorry for failing all of you last week by not submitting a post, but even an ultimate fighter succumbs to the elements from time to time. In order to make up for this, I will do my best to give all of your senses a treat. (Actually a local friend of mine borrowed my camera for her birthday and I could not take pictures of gofretti but will post some tomorrow.)

Do you know what the ready is that beyonce, kelly, and michelle are asking you in the line "Are you Ready For This" in the timeless classic Bootylicious? They are asking you if you are ready for Gofretti.

What is gofretti? Gofretti is a dessert scratch that a delicacy that consists of a freshly made waffle that is folded and filled with a delicious tasting filling. This filling can be one of many things: carmel, strawberry jelly, grape jelly, etc. But my favorite is the white chocolate. So imagine a fresh waffle hot off the iron being placed in a napkin and then white chocolate being drizzled inside of the waffle.

(Insert pic of the product)

The taste is second to none. This is even better than the Bulgarian pop tart and finetti. It is without a doubt my favorite treat. I have even had the pleasure of introducing others to the wonderful world of gofretti. Everyone is initially skeptical about the taste bud tantalization they are about to receive. In fact, I am so confident about gofretti’s amazingness that I will offer to refund their money if they do not find it to be amazing. I have yet to be taken up on this.

(Insert pic the inside)

The most tell tale sign that gofretti is the best, takes place after I have finished off the waffle and I notice that there is some sweet white chocolate left on the napkin. I go as far to lick it off the napkin, that is how good it is.

(Insert pic of licking napkin)

Allowing someone else to borrow my camera turned out to be a great idea, because it gives me the opportunity to eat a gofretti tomorrow as well. I already know it will be a great day.

(Insert pic of me smiling)

Peace and Love

Rocky Heart
Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food and Drink Critic Pacifist

Bulgarian Graffiti / Architecture of the week

2008-04-08T22:46:00.003+03:00

Normally I would be posting on crazy pictures and phrases sprayed on the side of buildings and local monuments or communist architecture............but today I will have to step away from my duties because I am in a sling. My typing is a bit bavno. I hope to be back to full health by next week. Take care!

Renegade Post #2!! Bulgarian Word/Phrase of the Day:

2008-04-08T21:52:00.007+03:00

Welcome to another disrupt in the "flow" of Blogstars. We will not have a post today on either Valfa or Blok Art, in its place we will have me, "Vasil Aprilov", feeding you the Bulgarian Word or Phrase of the Week. Here goes:

This weeks word is, "Bреме". While it looks like you non-Bulgarian speakers can read it, I assure you that it is harder than it seems. This word is pronounced like, "Vreme".

This word has two meanings and they are extremely confusing as both of these are very commonly used words.

Meaning number one; "Weather"...
(Picture of a Burgas, Bulgaria sunset)

Meaning number two; "Time"..."How confusing!??!" You might say. Well I agree.

Whenever I want to say, "The weather is great", I feel that I am saying that "The time is great", or the other way around, "It took a long weather" instead of "time" and that my speech will be even less understood than it already is. This makes me very apprehensive to use this common word and there is no way around it.

So I ask you dear Bulgarian readers to invent and begun using another word for one or the other, if only for my sake. This will also help me to read signs like these:
Well, the second one make sense, "Work time", however the first one... is it "New time" or "New weather"? I don't know.

In closing, I propose a new word be added to the Bulgarian language. Please feel free to submit ideas in the "Comments" section located at the bottom of this blog. Thank you.

-Vasil Aprilov

(PS- In 1835 Vasil Aprilov founded the first school to teach entirely in Bulgarian and he helped with the creation of the Bulgarian publishing industry.)

Dear America: Volume I; Intro, Renegade Tactics, Freedom and Rubber Boots

2008-04-07T10:00:00.000+03:00

Dear America,

Due to the recent retirement of certain blogstars, I, from-hither-to known as Snake Plissken, have taken it upon myself to due renegade inconsistent blog posts on a fairly consistent theme. The theme will be, more or less:

To write about exports from the United States of America to Bulgaria which need to be de-exported or un-exported and, contrarily to write about things present in Bulgaria that need to be imported into the USA. These will not all be tangible things; some will be ideas, attitudes, soulja boy, etc...

Like any great blogger, I will post as inspired, which is contrary to the usual (or at least ideal) of the blogstars - to have one person post on the same theme on the same day every week. If this confuses you, send comments to me personally at my friend Kellen's website. My main inspiration for these tactics comes from the ending of the epic film, "Escape from L.A."

So, to begin, again. Today we will start on a positive note, with something America needs to import from Bulgaria. Ahem.

Dear America,

You know what gets me down?

Walking through the rain, snow, hurricanes, giant mud puddles, piles of sludge, swamps and rivers. At least, back in America I thought these things got me down. Coming to Bulgaria, however, I realized that what really got me down my inability to tackle these obstacles without soaking my pants, having a shoe slip off, getting covered in mud, losing all hope, etc... In America, it seemed there was no viable solution to this problem. At least, if there was a viable solution, it wasn't available for 12 leva every Thursday at the local market.

I give you, knee-high rubber boots:

Bulgaria, knowing what's going on, has made the solution to all your wet-walking woes readily available. These boots, beyond being completely waterproof, are green and magically reach the knee on whoever wears them. Sure, you could buy Gore-Tex or other similar lofty waterproof and breathable boots, but what good are those going to do you when you have to walk through knee-high mud? Not a whole lot, that's for sure.

Let's have a closer look:

Look at those soles! My guess is that if dinosaurs had existed, even they wouldn't be able to penetrate these boots. As I said, these boots are available at least every week at the local market, and upon inquiring to each vendor on the cost, they all told me 12 leva, which in a couple months will be about 12 dollars.

After inquiring, I discovered that it is not a state policy to ensure that all such rubber boots cost 12 leva, it is however, required by the unwritten, unspoken and unheard of moral code of the rubber boot salespeople.

What about the inside?

The white you see is not an illusion or a lining associated with the production of the boots. Oh no, it is the reflection of a secret coating that, once it senses the boot is on a foot, it gives you all the knowledge necessary to be a shepherd in the hills of the Balkans.

I contacted a local Peace Corps volunteer to try on the boots. As soon as he put them on, he struck into this pose and told me there was a wolf 13 kilometers away threating our goats.

After taking off the boots, he forgot all about it, like when they flash that memory eraser in that movie the Men in Black. Regardless, the evidence speaks for itself.

Fear not, however, America, the coating does not have to be on the boots you import. So, in conclusion, America, Bulgaria knows what's going on so, import these rubber boots and you will never have to worry about getting the area from your knee down wet again.

Importly and Exportly Yours,

Snake Plissken.

PS On a related note, recently, in Bulgaria, I saw the music video by Will Smith for "Men in Black" -- this needs to be un-exported. Immediately. It makes everyone think all we do in America is bust a groove with aliens that at first are scary but then turn out to just want to dance -- a complete misrepresentation of the status of human/alien/dancing relationships in the lower 48 (Snake Plissken does not count Hawaii and Alaska as states).

B22 Interview of the Week - Hello Wil

2008-04-06T12:59:00.001+03:00

Hello Wil!

How does it feel to be a new addition to the blogstars?
HONESTLY, I'M HONORED. THE B22 BLOGSTAR SITE HAS LONG BEEN A PLACE I GO IN SEARCH OF COMFORT AND COMEDY DURING THOSE LONG TEDIOUS HOURS SEARCHING FOR INFO ONLINE.

What sort of info online?
OH, YOU KNOW. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, THE NAMES OF BIRDS, STORIES ABOUT BIRDS, ECO-PROJECTS, AND LATELY, CAN I CONFESS SOMETHING HERE? ('razbeerasay,' I say) LATELY, I'VE BECOME SOMETHING OF A POLITICAL NEWS JUNKIE. GROWING UP, I NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHAT MY FRIENDS FOUND SO FASCINATING IN THE SPORTS SECTION OF THE PAPER. NOW I THINK I KNOW. DAILY I NEED ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE PRIMARY RACE IN THE STATES.

Wil, that's no way to live.
I KNOW. I AGREE. AND THIS ADMISSION BRINGS US BACK TO THE FIRST QUESTION YOU ASKED ME ABOUT BLOGSTARRING. I'M THE SORT OF MAN WHO NEEDS TO SMELL THE FOOD BURNING IN THE OVEN TO REMEMBER TO PULL IT OUT. I LIKE MY LIFE TO HAVE SOME STRUCTURE. I WAS EXCITED TO JOIN BLOGSTARS BECAUSE I HOPED BEING A PART OF THIS GROUP WOULD HELP ME QUIT THE DESTRUCTIVE HABITS I HAVE FALLEN INTO AND FULFILL ALL THE OTHER DREAMS I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. FOR EXAMPLE, STARTING MY OWN BLOG, WRITING A NOVEL, OR AT LEAST A FEW SHORT STORIES, SINGING A SONG, LEARNING HOW TO MAKE PASTA, ETC.

You are a man with high expectations.
I'VE NOTICED IN MY LIFE THAT I AM MOST PRODUCTIVE WHEN I AM WORKING ON MANY THINGS AT THE SAME TIME. WHEN I DON'T HAVE MUCH GOING ON, I DON'T SEEM TO DO ANYTHING.

I'm not sure if that's wisdom I just heard or a parallelism poem. Well, certainly it seems that there is a lot going on in your head about what being a blogstar means to you. Can we talk about what it means to be a peace corps volunteer in Bulgaria?
OF COURSE! I WORK WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL NGO CALLED THE BULGARIAN SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. MOST OF MY WORK SO FAR HAS BEEN TYPICAL OFFICE HELP AND OCCASIONALLY I HAVE ACCOMPANIED THEM ON THEIR WINTER BIRD COUNTS. WE COUNT THE BIRDS IN THE SURROUNDING LAKES AND SEND THE INFORMATION TO BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL, WHO KEEP A GIANT GLOBAL DATABASE. THIS INFORMATION CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE THE HEALTH OF A PARTICULAR SPECIES, LARGER ENVIRONMENTS, AND ULTIMATELY, THE ENTIRE GLOBE. THE IDEA IS IF THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO LOVES BIRDS ALREADY, WHY NOT USE THEIR LOVE AND HOBBY TO GATHER QUANTIFIABLE HARD DATA, WHICH CAN BE USED FOR A MULTITUDE OF PURPOSES, ONE IN PARTICULAR IN BULGARIA WAS DETERMINING WHAT PARTS OF LANDS HAD HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF BIO-DIVERSITY, AND THEREFORE, WHAT PARTS OF LANDS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE NATURA 2000 LEGISLATIONS.

Who knew that bird watching could be so powerful?
WELL, THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS ACTUALLY. BIRD WATCHING IS A VERY POPULAR HOBBY. THE NATURE CENTER I WILL WORK AT IN THE SUMMER WILL BE VISITED BY MANY BRITISH, GERMAN, AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL VISITORS. IN FACT, I HAVE BEEN TOLD I WILL BE VERY BUSY VERY SOON AND AM CURRENTLY PRACTICING THE BIRD HABITAT BIO-DIVERSITY TOUR LECTURE I WILL BE GIVING WHEN THESE ENGLISH SPEAKING TOURISTS ARRIVE.

Sounds like you are doing great work. You must get hungry often. What is your favorite Bulgarian food?
I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF MY WIFE'S SHOPSKA. IT'S A RECIPE SHE GOT FROM HER HOST MOM (AND PERFECTED!)

What food do you miss the most?
I CONTINUALLY FANTASIZE ABOUT EATING AN ASIAGO-CHEESE BAGEL AND STARBUCKS VENTI MOCHA FRAPPACHINO.

What do you do in your spare time?
LATELY, I HAVE BEEN WATCHING AN AMERICAN TV SHOW CALLED SUPERNATURAL ABOUT TWO BROTHERS, WHO REMIND ME OF THE HARDY BOYS WITH SALT SHOTGUNS, ON A CROSS COUNTRY ROAD TRIP HUNTING DEMONS AND OTHER SPOOKY CREATURES. MY COUNTERPARTS INTRODUCED ME TO IT AND I CAN'T WATCH IT WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT HOW IT IS INFLUENCING THEIR PERCEPTION OF AMERICA. AND SOMETIMES I READ.

What do you read?
SPIDER-MAN COMICS MOSTLY. THAT, AND I'M A FAN OF CLASSIC LITERATURE; I WAS AN ENGLISH MAJOR IN COLLEGE, SO I CAN BE PRETTY ELITIST WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT I WANT TO READ.

I once heard that regarding criticism, the best test of the quality of a book is if it is one you would want to re-read or not.
HMM. I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT.

Have you traveled much in Bulgaria?
WE JUST GOT OUT OF WINTER, SO NO, NOT A LOT. BUT A LITTLE. AND I HOPE TO TRAVEL A LOT MORE. JESS AND I WENT SKIING AT PAMPOROVO AND REALLY ENJOYED SEEING THE KUKERI FESTIVAL IN SHIROKA LUKA. AND I LIKED THE ANCIENT ROMAN RUINS IN HISSAR; I LIKE TO PUT MY HAND ON THE RUINS AND THINK - DID AN ANCIENT ROMAN PERHAPS LEAN AGAINST THIS WALL, DID HE SPIT, PEE, OR DIE AGAINST IT? WAS THIS ONCE THE SITE OF REBELLIOUS GRAFFITI OR SHADOW PUPPET SHOWS? I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS I REALLY LIKE ABOUT BULGARIA IS THE IMMENSE AMOUNT OF HISTORY. IT'S SORT OF TAKEN FOR GRANTED, I THINK; BUT IT'S VERY INTERESTING TO ME TO SEE THE REMAINS OF THESE ANCIENT EMPIRES AND TO PARTICIPATE IN ALL THE OLD HOLIDAY TRADITIONS.

Well, thank you good sir, any closing thoughts? Share your greatest strengths or weaknesses? Tell us your favorite bird? Your favorite season?
IT'S DIFFICULT TO BE THANKFUL SOMETIMES. IMAGINATION IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS, I THINK, THAT CAN BE A REAL BLESSING IN SOME SITUATIONS AND A REAL CURSE IN SOME SITUATIONS. I THINK MY BIGGEST STRUGGLE, AND PROBABLY MOST PCVS STRUGGLE IS TO NOT NEGLECT THE LIFE THEY ARE LIVING FOR THE ONE THEY CAN IMAGINE. I FIND MYSELF, YOU KNOW, A STRANGER BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATIONS TO WHAT CAN BE DONE, THE LANGUAGE BARRIER, THE UNCERTAINTY, THE NEWNESS OF EVERYTHING... AND IT'S EASY TO PREFER OBSERVING OVER PARTICIPATING. AND THAT CAN LEAD TO REFLECTING ABOUT WHAT I'M NOT DOING THAN WHAT I AM. SO THAT'S MY STRUGGLE. TO BE THANKFUL ALL THE TIME.

Well, thank you for your time. I hope you have a marvelous week and a fantastic two years.
MERCI, PODOVNO.

Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Vasil Levski:

2008-04-02T21:42:00.010+03:00

If you are a Bulgarian, a member of Peace Corps Bulgaria and/or moderately aware of Bulgarian History, you already know who this man is.

Vasil Levski (in Bulgarian is "Васил Левски") is by far the most popular figure in all of Bulgaria. His name is known by both young and old. Stories of his life and times are commonly told as his legacy is passed down from generation to generation.

I would argue that no more famous Bulgarian has ever lived or will ever live. Vasil Levski is the mother of all Bulgarian Historical figures, and I embark on this grave quest, wishing to do his legacy justice I need you dear readings to wish me health, happiness and luck!

To further explain how big of a deal writing a post on Levski is to the non-Bulgarian readers I will parallel him to an American Historical figure. Abe Lincoln? No, too honest (or was he?!?!)...and too beardy!Kennedy? Nope, not revolutionary enough. (Example: Would a revolutionary be hanging out on his sail boat alone the coast of Maine? I most certainly think not!)

Ben Franklin? Nah, too wimpy. ...and plus, he wanted the turkey to be the national bird?!?! George W. Bush? (Picture taken in 2003 aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln) Not smart enough, but the name is closer. Try again.

George Washington? Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

If I had to chose the closest American historical figure to Bulgaria's Levski, I would have to pick George Dub-yah! Well at least I think so.
No Levski did not chop down any Cherry Trees...However, they both had long, lasting legacies. Their names are synonymous with the histories of their countries. They both sacrificed as much as they could for their respective countries and in return will be taught about in schools until the end of time.

Not to mention that they both have everything possible named after them. For example George Washington has the Washington Monument, as well as...
...the greatest of all 50 states, and another famous thing named after George Washington is...
...Denzel Washington...
And for Mr. Levski?One of the Bulgarian National Football teams...
Too many statues to count...
The largest stadium in Bulgaria (Where I will see Mettallica play during the month of July!)

...Levski has even inspired Bart Simpson (Even if this is in reference to the Football team I still had to post it as I found it extremely amusing)!...In the 1990's he graced the 1,000 Leva Bill......he has been figured on postage stamps......and of course, in a country filled with statues, he has graced hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of statues...

Levski names also hit me close to home as my work is located on Vasil Levski Street and the football field that doubles as a baseball field for my baseball team is at Vasil Levski High School and so on, and so on it goes...

Vasil Levski, was born under the name "Vasil Ivanov Kunchev" (or "Васил Иванов Кунчев" in Bulgarian) on either 18 July or 6 July in the year of 1837 in the city of Karlovo, Bulgaria (Sidenote- Blogs from Peace Corps Volunteers from Karalvo can be found here; Cindy McCoy and Eric Wiley).

What did he do that was so special? So incredible that years after his death his name is mentioned every where? One web-site in brief had this to say, "[Levski was a] revolutionary, ideologist, strategist and theoretician of the Bulgarian national revolution and leader of the struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule".

Another web-site mentioned his love for Bulgarian and Bulgarians love for him, saying "All Bulgarians have loved and love him unconditionally. The doors of every Bulgarian house were open for him at all times. He had no close friends, no family, no home, and no personal life. His only thought his only love, his only passion was Bulgaria".

Lets start at the beginning...

As I mentioned before young Vasil was born in Karlovo in 1837. At the time Karlovo was than a "prosperous center of craft-industry". He earned two nicknames from a very young age that will forever be associated with his name.

One is "The Deacon" because at age 24 (1861) he took the vows of... yeah you guessed it, a Deacon. However, "the lot in store for the young Bulgarian was obviously not the one of a monk living in resignation to the world". Apparently not for religious reasons, as he continued to mention God in his writings until the day he died, he fled to Serbia after one year (1862) to join the liberation movement.

The other was his new last name, "Levski" which means "like a lion" in Bulgarian, and most likely the reason why lions are one of Bulgarias national symbols even being located on the Bulgarian Coat of Arms:Some kids here have even told me that the country of Bulgaria ITSELF is shaped like a lion:
How he inspired the name "Levski" was told by one web-site really well, "Vasil had got the nickname Levski during his service in the First Bulgarian legion (...) in Belgrad. One day during a training, the young legionnaires were jumping over a deep ditch. Like a lion, Vassil had jumped the farthest... [It was said,] 'That is a Levskii jump!' ". True or not, it is a great story and I like it!

Apparently Levski was very involved in the assult as a few web-sites claimed him to have, "participated in all (or "almost all" depending on the source) Bulgarian armed assaults against the Ottoman Empire" from 1862-1868. After that until 1872 Levski, came up with the idea, organized and helped to build the Internal Revolutionary Organization (IRO).

Levskis idea was to make the revolution truly a Bulgarian one. He wanted all of the soldiers to be Bulgarians and Bulgarians only. This was because foreign involvement had only been shown to bring "trouble and failure to the national revolutionary cause".

To do so Levski, and others, toured Bulgarian towns and villages to form a network of revolutionary committees to equip the men in their regions. These people were "usually peasants and craftsmen" by trade and they were taught how to use weapons and they were trained to fight.

During that same time he charted out his ideas for Bulgaria's future political system and his wish was for a democratic republic, one he called, "pure and holy", that would be based along the principles of the Human and Citizen Rights Charter of the French Revolution because he believed in the principles of freedom of expression, speech, association and religion. He made sure to reiterate that Bulgarian revolutionaries were fighting against the Sultan's government, not against the Turkish people and/or their religion and he had no tolerance for corruption (no comment on the current state of the Bulgarian Government... none).

In late 1872 Levski feel into the hands of the Turkish authorities. He was put on trial and sentenced to death by hanging. On 18 February 1873 Vasil Levski was hung.

The IRO committee that he had set up continued to function after his death. In 1876 there was the "April Uprising" which failed but lead the way for a war between Russian and Turkey called apropriately enough the Russo-Turkish War which took place in 1877-78 and eventually ended the "Turkish Yolk" after nearly 500 years.

Vasil Levski has inspired books and poems and poems such as the famous one by Historical Bulgarian of the Week #1 Hristo Botev, called "The Hanging of Vasil Levski". Recently one newspaper referred to this poem as having, "been recited and quoted at various occasions and every child knows of 'The Hanging of Vasil Levski' - one of the strongest poems of both past and present".

Here is that famous poem, translated into English:

The Hanging of Vasil Levski

O my Mother, dear Motherland
Why weep you so mournfully, so plaintively?
And you, raven, cursed bird -
On whose grave croak you with such a dread?

Ah, I know - I know you're weeping, Mother
Because you are a dismal slave,
Because your holy voice, Mother
Is a helpless voice - a voice in the wilderness.

Weep! There, near the edge of Sofia town
Stretches - I saw it - a dismal gallows
And one of your sons, Bulgaria
Hangs from it with a terrible power.

The raven croaks dreadfully, ominously
Dogs and wolves howl in the fields,
Old people pray to God with fervor
Women weep, children cry.

Winter croons its evil song,
Gales sweep thistle across the field
And cold and frost and hopeless weeping
Heep sorrow on your heart.

Thank you all for reading. It has been a lot of work compiling this weeks entry but for a figure as important as Levski I knew it had to put in some time. I hope that I did the man justice. Take care everybody.

-Kashkaval Pane

Some of the many Web-Sites were I found information:

http://levski.magde.info/bio.htm
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=90525
http://www.answers.com/topic/vasil-levski
http://www.bgglobe.net/index.php?l=1&s=-2535

For the Web-Site for the Vasil Levski Museum (located in Karlovo, Bulgaria) in English CLICK HERE

Rocky Heart: Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food/Drink Critic Pacifist: Is...Sick!

2008-04-02T19:14:00.002+03:00

Sorry no post. I am feeling not well. Only a virus can beat me up.

Thank you for your prayers. I will be back next week!

Peace and Love

Bulgarian Graffiti of the week! - First post by the 1st FEMALE Blogstar!

2008-04-01T17:41:00.015+03:00

Before I begin my post about Bulgarian graffiti, or some might say the unapreciated art of our time, I want to shed some light on a fabulous fact...........I am the first FEMALE voice for the B22 Blogstars! Yes, from now on there will be a female point of view...........a new perspective! Ok boys you invited me and here I am to dish the dirt on vandalized property and the colorful Krylon that adorns elementry schools, national monuments and the public transportation of our new home.

I thought I had my first post in the bag when I saw that some "local artists" had expressed them selves on the side of the tourism center where I work. Incase anyone ever wanted to know what a hairy purple penis with teeth looks like, well you had your chance. Unfourtunetly when I went to take a picture of this masterpiece it had been defiled by someone else. Actually this building has been exposed to years of neglect and vanalism. I offered to paint over the problem areas myself but as of yet my counterpart has not handed over the боя!

Rather then genitals with human facial like features, I think I'd rather start out my first post with something more positive. But first, there were a few works of art I found around town not really worth posting on but grabbed my interest enough to take a photo and ask WHY?
Karlovo, the perfect peace corps site I like to call home. The home of Kristo Prodonof, Vasil Levski, Botev and............Love? Yes, Love! Our Youth Parliament has a tradition of creating a project to display in town every year on Valentine's Day. Last year the students did a little graffiti of their own. Pink hearts were painted along a romantic path next to the waterfall that is normally inhabited by promiscuous teenagers and the ocassional stray farm animal. There was the ocassional broken heart or lovers initials painted within a heart. Its not often you see appropriate graffiti or some that actually beautify a neighborhood, and in this case a community park.

For my next posts I want to include the topic of Bulgarian Architecture! If your looking for stories on Krylon or marble and concrete gone wrong..........come take a look see!

Local Graffiti that didnt make the cut!

I wasnt aware we had Red Socks Fans in Bulgaria.
Graffiti can make for a nice companion!
Harley Davidson isnt even spelled right but what got me thinking was that I have never seen a Bulgarian "biker."

pop! of the week: Balkan Beat Box

2008-03-31T21:11:00.003+03:00

Ok, I know that I promised something about mafia and chalga, but that will have to wait, as the story still develops. Today, I will expand on the theme of balkanization of western pop music that I started with the Shantel post a while back. This band, Balkan Beat Box are a combination of people from New York and Israel, but they are mad influenced by balkan elements. Most notably is the use of horns that are most commonly associated with the Roma (gypsy) tradition here in these parts. That brings us to this clip here: Bulgarian Chicks. It uses a traditional Bulgarian folk song juxtaposed against Roma music with western beats. What do you think?

The best song of the newest album, Nu Med, is called Hermetico:

Interview with a B-22 of the Week

2008-03-30T11:01:00.007+03:00

Hello Rajun!
> What led you to join the Peace Corps?
> WELL, AFTER COLLEGE I WORKED A YEAR FOR A COUNSELING FIRM AND JUST DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I WAS DOING ANYTHING WORTHWHILE FOR HUMANITY. I DECIDED THAT I WAS AT A GOOD POINT IN MY LIFE TO COMPLETELY DEDICATE MYSELF TO A CAUSE OR TO A PEOPLE. THERE WERE ALSO A COUPLE OF SELFISH REASONS, TOO...I WANTED TO LIVE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE AND NEW WAY OF LIFE, AND I WAS ALSO REALLY EXCITED ABOUT LIVING A MORE UNMATERIALISTIC (IS THAT A WORD?) LIFE...

> What were your initial reactions to hearing you would be going to Bulgaria?
> I REMEMBER THE DAY THAT THE BIG PACKAGE CAME. I CALLED MY DAD OVER AND HE OPENED A BOTTLE OF WINE AND WE WERE LIKE TWO LITTLE KIDS ON CHRISTMAS DAY. I HELD MY BREATH, RIPPED OPEN THE PACKAGE AND AT THE SAME TIME WITH THE SAME CONFUSED LOOK ON OUR FACES WE SAID, "BULGARIA?!" IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY MY DAD'S, "I'LL GOOGLE IT."

> Have these desires been met? Do you feel that your Peace Corps experience is
> fulfilling the reasons you wished to join?
> I THINK WE ALL HAD THESE ROMANTICIZED DREAMS ABOUT JOINING PEACE CORPS, LIVING IN HUTS, NOT BATHING FOR WEEKS, AND THAT KIND OF THING. THE TRUTH IS (AND I THINK WE HAVE ALL REALIZED THIS) BULGARIA JUST ISN'T THAT PEACE CORPS. WE HAVE A WHOLE DIFFERENT SET OF CHALLENGES, BUT THEY ARE CHALLENGES NONETHELESS. THIS IS A DIFFERENT WORLD FOR ME AND I'M TAKING FROM IT WHAT I CAN TAKE AND HOPEFULLY WILL LEAVE WITH IT THE BEST OF ME THAT I CAN LEAVE. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?

> What exactly do you do?
WORK WISE I HELP THE CULTURAL CENTER AND INDIVIDUALS IN THE VILLAGE GENERATE IDEAS FOR PROJECTS AND THEN HELP THEM FIND FUNDING SOURCES. FOR EXAMPLE, I'M WORKING WITH A FEW LADIES AT THE MOMENT TO START UP A
YOUNG MOTHER'S CLUB AND WE'RE CONTACTING HEALTH SPECIALISTS, NUTRITIONISTS, AND CHILD EXPERTS TO COME FOR A SERIES OF SEMINARS. WE
ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OF PROJECTS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON THAT INVOLVE THE
LIBRARY, AND THE TRADITIONAL DANCE GROUP. I ALSO TEACH ENGLISH CLASSES FOR ALL AGES AT THE SCHOOL AND TEACH A BALLET CLASS FOR 20 GIRLS FROM THE LOCAL SCHOOL.

> Where do you work?
I WAS ORIGINALLY ASSIGNED TO WORK AT THE CULTURAL CENTER. BECAUSE MY
VILLAGE IS SO SMALL I WORK WITH EVERY ORGANIZATION IN IT. I SPLIT MY
TIME BETWEEN THE CULTURAL CENTER, SCHOOL, KINDERGARTEN, AND LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY. I ONLY WORK WITH ONE WOMAN AT THE CULTURAL CENTER WHO SERVES AS THE LIBRARIAN, CULTURAL CENTER DIRECTOR AND MUSEUM CURATOR. I HAVE BETWEEN 30-40 STUDENTS IN ALL IN MY ENGLISH CLASSES, AND ABOUT 10 KINDERGARTENERS WHO, BY THE WAY ARE COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH "HEAD& SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES."

> What is a typical day like?
> oK, SO A TYPICAL WEEK IS LIKE THIS.....
MONDAY I WORK FROM THE SCHOOL WHERE WE ARE WORKING ON A SORT OF TOWN
TWINNING PROJECT WITH THE DIRECTOR AND ALSO TEACH 5 CLASSES OF
ENGLISH.
TUESDAY I AM AT THE CULTURAL CENTER USUALLY HELPING MY COUNTERPART
WRITE GRANTS OR LOOK FOR FUNDING SOURCES FOR THE LIBRARY.
WEDNESDAY BACK AT THE SCHOOL WITH A REPEAT OF MONDAY
THURSDAY I AM AT THE KINDERGARTEN IN THE MORNING AND THE AFTERNOON I
USUALLY MEET WITH THE WOMEN'S GROUP OR HELP AT THE MUNICIPALITY WITH
AN ECO-TOURISM PROJECT THEY ARE WORKING ON.
FRIDAY I'M BACK AT THE CULTURAL CENTER WHERE I TEACH BALLET IN THE AFTERNOONS.

ON THE WEEKENDS AND IN THE EVENINGS I TRY AND GET TO KNOW MY COMMUNITY OUTSIDE OF WORK A LITTLE BETTER. I REALLY ENJOY COOKING WITH A FEW OF THE LITTLE GIRLS WHO LIVE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, GOING ON WALKS WITH SOME OF THE WOMEN TO GATHER NETTLE, LEARNING EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT SHEEP, AND GARDENING.

> Tell us something that you often tell your friends or family back home about
> what you are doing (work-related)?
> I USUALLY TELL THEM ABOUT THE WOMEN'S CLUB WE ARE STARTING BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT AND FEEL COULD REALLY HAVE A LONG LASTING IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY. I ALSO TALK ALOT ABOUT THE BALLET CLASSES BECAUSE THOSE GIRLS ARE REALLY INTO IT AND I JUST LOVE THAT!

>Is it possible to describe your town in reference to any movies, songs, or
other common pop-culture markers that would help us identify with where you
are at?
>YEAH, DID YOU EVER SEE THE TRUMAN SHOW? I KIND OF GET THE FEELING THAT SOMEWHERE THERE IS A TELEVISION AUDIENCE LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF AT ME...LIKE EVERYONE IS IN ON THIS JOKE AND I JUST DON'T GET IT HAHA. THAT KIND OF SUMS UP MY LIFE HERE.

> In contrast, is there a song that reminds you of home?
EVERY TIME I HEAR "GONE TO CAROLINA" BY JAMES TAYLOR I WANT TO EITHER CRY OR SMILE OR SOMETIMES BOTH. SO JUST IN CASE I TOOK IT OFF MY PLAYLIST.

> Where are you from? How is it different from where you are now?
>I'M FROM WHAT I USED TO CALL A SMALL TOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA, MURPHY. THERE ARE DIFFERENCES, SURE...IT'S WAY BIGGER THAN MY VILLAGE, NOT AS MUCH LIVESTOCK AND ALL THAT MESS, BUT WHAT IS REALLY DIFFERENT IS THE MENTALITY. HERE EVERYONE IS REALLY CONCERNED WITH WHAT THE OTHER IS DOING. IN MY TOWN IT JUST SIMPLY ISN'T LIKE THAT...WE HAVE A SORT OF "TO EACH HIS OWN" MINDSET. HERE IT'S MORE LIKE "TO EACH HIS OWN..AND HIS, AND HERS, AND THIERS, TOO..."

> What animal are you most likely to see in your town?
> EVERY SINGLE DAY I SEE COWS, WILD DOGS, CATS, SHEEP, GOATS, CHICKENS, RABBITS, HORSES, AND A DUCK THAT MY NEIGHBOR HAS AS A PET.

I hear a lot of interesting thoughts on food from different PCVs. Tell me what you think.
> FOOD...HOLY COW, I FEEL LIKE OUR LIVES HERE REVOLVE AROUND FOOD. WHEN I FIRST CAME TO GROHOTNO EVERYONE WAS REALLY CONCERED ABOUT ME. FOR SOME REASON THEY GOT THE IDEA THAT I HAD NO IDEA HOW TO COOK, OR TAKE CARE OF MYSELF SO EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR EVERY SINGLE MEAL A COUPLE OF FAMILIES WOULD BRING ME FOOD OR INVITE ME OVER...IT WAS STARTING TO GET RIDICULOUS. I DECIDED THAT IF I STARTED COOKING MYSELF AND TAKING IT TO THEM I COULD SORT OF HEAD THEM OFF! SO NOW EVERYTIME I MAKE DINNER I ALWAYS MAKE ENOUGH FOR ONE OR TWO MORE PEOPLE TO SORT OF SHOW THEM THAT I CAN DO IT...AND PLUS IT'S A COOL WAY TO SHARE AMERICAN RECIPES WITH THE NEIGHBORS...PS SUGAR COOKIES WERE A HUGE HIT! BUT, BESIDES THAT, I'VE FOUND THAT A REALLY GOOD WAY TO INTEGRATE WITH ALOT OF THE WOMEN IN MY VILLAGE IS TO TAKE AN INTEREST IN LOCAL DISHES. SO, NOW WHEN I GO NA GOSTI INSTEAD OF JUST GOING IN AND SITTING DOWN, THEY INVITE ME EARLY TO TEACH ME HOW TO MAKE WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE'LL BE HAVING THAT NIGHT. MY FAVORITE LOCAL DISH SO FAR DEFINATELY HAS TO BE SERMI...IT'S BASICALLY JUST RICE ROLLED INTO CABBAGE BUT I'M TOTALLY ADDICTED. AS FOR AMERICAN FOOD, I REALLY REALLY REALLY MISS CHAI LATTES, SOY MILK, AND SALSA...NOT TOGETHER OF COURSE.

> How do you feel you have been most useful to your community?
> IT'S REALLY EARLY SO I'M NOT SURE HOW TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. I DON'T KNOW, THERE IS THIS GROUP OF ABOUT 7 BABA'S WHO HANG OUT AND KNIT IN THIS ONE PLACE MOST EVERYDAY. I KNOW WE ALL HAVE BABA STORIES, BUT BARE WITH ME. I TRY TO GET OUT THERE EVERY SATURDAY TO SIT AND TALK WITH THEM FOR ABOUT AN HOUR...THEY LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THIER FAMILIES WHO LIVE WHEREVER, AND ABOUT THIER SPOUSES WHO HAVE PASSED ON, AND JUST ABOUT LIFE IN GENERAL...SOMETIMES I THINK THEY JUST ENJOY TALKING TO SOMEONE AND SHARING THIER LIVES WITH SOMEONE. THAT KIND OF GOES FOR EVERYONE HERE. THEY ARE ALL REALLY EAGER TO SHARE WITH ME EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE HERE. I THINK MY INTEREST REASSURES THEM THAT LIFE HERE IS GOOD, AND UNIQUE, AND INTRIGUING EVEN THOUGH AT TIMES IT CAN BE HARD. SO...AT THE MOMENT MAYBE THAT?

> How do you feel your community has been most useful to you?
> OH MY GOODNESS, I COULDN'T EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THE WAYS THAT MY COMMUNITY HAS HELPED ME OUT. I MEAN THERE ARE THE OBVIOUS THINGS...LIKE WHEN I GOT MY HUGE TRUCK LOAD OF WOOD AND THE MEN VOLUNTEERED TO CHOP IT AND THE WOMEN CAME OUT AND HELPED ME STACK IT, OR THE OVERSTOCK OF TURLITSI (SLIPPERS) BECAUSE I'LL "FREEZE TO DEATH" WITHOUT THEM. BUT, MORE THAN ANYTHING WHEN I'M FEELING DISCOURAGED OR HOMESICK THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE HERE TO LISTEN OR TO HELP ME TAKE MY MIND OFF OF IT.

> At this point in your service, what do you look forward to bringing back
> with you to the States?
> BRINGING BACK WITH ME? HA! DO YOU REMEMBER THE BAGGAGE THAT I CAME WITH?!?!?! NO SERIOUSLY, I'M EXCITED ABOUT GIUVECH BOWLS, AND I GOT THIS COOL BLANKET THING THAT GOES OVER MY BED WHEN IT SERVES AS MY COUCH BY DAY, MY BABA SOCKS, I SHOULD PROBABLY START SHIPPING THINGS HOME NOW....

> What one thing do you wish you had now that you do not have?
> A PET. I REALLY WANT AN INDOOR CAT, BUT I JUST DON'T HAVE THE SPACE OR THE TIME...IT'S A SHAME.

> What is your favorite TV show? AT THE MOMENT WE ARE LOVING "MUSIC IDOL" GO SHANEL!

> Are there any hobbies that a Bulgarian has introduced you to? Tell us about it.

> OK I KNOW THIS SOUNDS REALLY ODD, BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE SORTING BEANS. THEY GET THEM IN THESE HUGE BAGS WITH LIKE 8 DIFFERENT KINDS AND THEY HAVE TO SEPERATE THEM OUT. IT'S MINDLESS WORK, BUT IT'S GOOD FOR THE SOUL.

> What did you use to do in the states during your free-time that you cannot
> do now but wish you could?
> I REALLY MISS GOING TO THE GYM, AND I ALSO MISS GOING TO CHURCH ON SUNDAYS. BUT, MORE THAN ANYTHING I MISS WAKING UP ON SATURDAY MORNINGS AND GOING TO MY FAVORITE COFFEE SHOP WITH MY FRIENDS IN MY SWEATS AND FLIP FLOPS...

> What activity do you find yourself doing now that you most wish you could
> share with a friend/family member back home
> I REALLY WANT MY FAMILY TO SEE A WEDDING OR A BABY SHOWER HERE. THEY'RE JUST REALLY ELABORATE AND ALWAYS INVOLVE HORO. YOU CAN JUST NEVER GO WRONG WHEN HORO IS INVOLVED.

Historical Of The Week - Maria Gigova:

2008-03-29T12:51:00.005+02:00

Hello readers and welcome back to Historical Bulgarian of the Week.

This has been an incredibly solid week of posts and our visitors map below tells us that we are getting readers from all over the globe! This new revelation has inspired two new goals for us here at B22Blogstars.

Number one is to make the Peace Corps Quartely Newletters' Section, "What PCVs are blogging..." and the second is to make the list of 50 Most Powerful Bloggers in the World.

Wish us luck and feel free to help us out by reading regularly and spreading the word constantly. That being said, enjoy todays post.

This weeks Bulgarian is Maria Gigova. Bulgaria is well know for their gymnastics. Maria was born in April 24, 1947. She was a three time rhythmic gymnastic champion, winning titles in the years of 1969, 1971 and 1973. And she won a total of four gold medals in hoop.
Maria graduated from the National Sports Academy in Sofia and after that became a member of the FIG Technical Committee and has served various posts in Bulgarian Gymnastics up until the year 1999.I hate to be the barrier of bad news, however, our normal Sunday Blogstar, Brian Fantana, has been replaced. He sent in his letter of registration this week. However, your Blogstar thirst will be satisfied. I am not going to give away any information.

This new blog should be informative, insightful, inspiring and a whole lot more "in" words, like "in"joy.

-Kahkaval Pane

Bulgarian Transportation of the Week: Donkey Carts!

2008-03-28T00:01:00.004+02:00

Donkey Carts! (магарска талига!)
I have no idea if that's grammatically correct Bulgarian

One of the most interesting modes of transportation in Bulgaria. These carts are predominately used by the Roma. They are distinct on the roads and always make for a good photo opportunity. Sadly, according to the Peace Corps Bulgaria Volunteer Handbook, section 23, subsection 1.1.2 "Volunteers are expressly prohibited from using the following forms of transportation:...Horse or donkey carts" (the manual also prevents us from operating vehicles powered by steam. Yeah...I have no idea either). Perhaps if we petition the Peace Corps to allow us if we wear helmets. This plan, however, may attract stoning from local children. But I digress...

The donkey cart is one of the most interesting forms of transit in Bulgaria. It's safe to say that every city in Bulgaria has donkey carts. I have even seen them dodge traffic in the capital, Sofia. They can be quite a road hazard. I mean, out in rural Missouri, I've had to stop to let a herd of cows cross a dusty road. I never would have imagined seeing a similar situation with four lanes of traffic in a metropolis of over a million. Understandably, I had heard rumors of a national ban on donkey carts one public roads. This, of course, would hit one segment of the population very hard. However, I was unable to find any support whilst researching for this article.

Aside from traffic hazards and potentially comical pictures (photo to the lower left was not taken in Bulgaria), donkey carts also contribute the hazard of poop. Lots and lots of poop. You can tell you're in a donkey cart area with the stacks of poop (literally) littering the street. Bonus points if the poop is on a traditional cobblestone street. It gives a "blast from the past" feeling.

The bottom line: donkey carts give an aura of traditionalism regardless where you are in Bulgaria. They make a good photo opportunity to show a "Lexus and Olive Tree" comparison of life in Bulgaria. They also are impractical (and a illegal for PCVs regardless) except for local travel. Nevertheless, I'll never get tired of hearing the clip-clopping of a mammalian drawn wagon.

J-Dub "The Duke" Paperstax

Smell of the Week: Blok

2008-03-27T21:34:00.008+02:00

There has always been something quite perplexing about the smell of apartment buildings here in Bulgaria. Even from the first days that we spent at the resort in Panichishte I remember thinking that our room smelled somewhat odd. Back then I did not think too much about it though because I was too busy trying to communicate with the barista that I wanted a double shot, rather than just a single. It stayed warmer a little longer I remember.

There were a few areas that I thought it would be beneficial to ponder a little more about, one being hallway smell, the other being the indoor smell. Both of these smells are quite different in odor, but not so much in source.

Outside of my apartment:

It appears that this person has seen something quite unmentionable, but I have it on good authority that he was not looking at anything in particular. It was simply a candid reaction to the aroma of hallway. In all seriousness though, I think every blok that I have been to in Bulgaria has had the same sort of musty smell. As you might have guessed, through intensive research I have found that must is the same as mold. Mold, being a living organism, puts off certain odors that sometimes we can pick up, and sometimes we can’t.

To illustrate this please allow me to set out on a hypothetical bunny trail. Imagine for a second that you are sitting in your blok one day just doing whatever it is you usually do, and you decide to take the Peace Corps issued mold spray out into the hallway of your building. You spray down the walls, ceilings, doors, and anywhere else that mold might be hiding. Wait two days. What happened? It smells different! Game over my little green friends.

Again, in all seriousness, mold can be quite the little monster. Being from Seattle I should know more about mold than I do know. Despite growing up without ever having a tan (again because of the cloudiness) and having webbed feet (because it rained so much) we never had any real serious issues with mold. I personally think it is because of the construction quality here, but I am no expert.

Me as a child:

Typical mold resistant paint:

My last point is somewhat competitive in nature. This picture was taken sometime after we moved in and sometime before the sun came out:

My mold is bigger than yours.

Inspector Shnoz

P.S. Is this bug friend or foe?

Rocky Heart Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food/Drink Critic Pacifist Says: “Who Needs Pop-Tarts When…”

2008-03-26T16:01:00.002+02:00

Before I get into the BFDIW it is important for me to announce some changes to our line up on B22Blogstars. Over the course of the past week, we have been taken applications for those who would like to join our illustrious group. We are still in negotiations over the contract details with these new bloggers. They will introduce themselves in due time.

With that out of the way lets talk Bulgarian Food/Drink. You know what my biggest guilty pleasure in America is…Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts. Nutritionally speaking these are one of the worst foods for you. My roommate freshman year of college was a cross country runner and nutrition major and would cringe would I would eat one of these. (Disclaimer when you go to college weighing a whopping 130 lbs, packing on a freshman 15 is not a bad thing. So, thank you Pop-Tarts, lovely UND lunch ladies, and Budweiser.) Cold or warm, I love Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts.

Before you start to feel sorry for me and rush to send me a care package full of these wonderful goodies, I have to say that I have found the Bulgarian equivalent: “7 Days Croissant” with cocoa cream filling.

This product is made by the Greek company Chipita (really starting to appreciate the Greeks more and more everyday. First they bring me Finetti and now the Bulgarian Pop-Tart) (http://www.chipita.com/page/default.asp?id=291&la=2).

Now you may have read croissant and thought, wait a tick, that is French. In fact that is what my Buglarian counter part is saying as I took this picture of him.

I would agree with you except for I eat Freedom Fries and refuse to acknowledge the French as creators of anything (Disclaimer: I am completely kidding, I love the French and their brie, Eiffel Tower and baguettes.). So croissants are the Bulgarian version of the American Pop-Tart in my eyes.

Many of my fellow PCV’s may be wondering why I singled out the “7 Days” croissant as my croissant of choice as there are many different types of croissant brands. Well that is simple; the other croissant brands are not good, even the others ones made by Chipita.

Many of my fellow PCV’s may be wondering why I singled out the cocoa cream filling as my filling of choice as there are many different types of croissant fillings: carmel, marmalade, etc. Well that is simple; the other croissant fillings are not good.

Below is a picture of the Bulgarian Pop-Tart.

It shares many characteristics with the Pop-Tart: a shiny wrapper, high calorie count, its ability to be satisfying morning, day, or night, and it is a wonderful travel food.

The main reason why I love the 7 Days Croissant , is because it was one of the food products in my host families house the was written in English. In the early days of training there is a tremendous sense of comfort when you see a food product that has a wrapper that you can read.

Thank you “7 Days Croissant” with cocoa cream filling for being there for me when I needed you most and thank you for filling that empty space in my heart while I am away from the frosted strawberry Pop-Tart.

Peace and Love

Rocky Heart
Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food/Drink Critic Pacifist

PS: Batteries ran out or else there would have been way more pics.

Shocking Update.

2008-03-25T17:05:00.005+02:00

It is with great regret that George Vaflington makes the following announcement:

George Vaflington, speaking in the third person, went to the dentist today. He did not receive good news. Since wooden teeth are not an option, George Vaflington will be cutting back on sweets and therefore vafli. Therefore, the post on Troya will be George Vaflington's last vafla post and last post under this pseudonym.

If anyone would like to pick up the weekly vafla post, please contact George Vaflington via carrier pigeon.

Goodnight, sweet prince.

-George "is totally serious" Vaflington

The Vaflometer ranks this post as 0.00000000

Vafla of the Week: Troya (Троя)

2008-03-25T00:01:00.000+02:00

You're in your local shop after a long day reading your friends blogs, op-eds and most importantly not saving Bulgaria. The only thing that can make you feel better is the refreshment of a tasty vafla. Over course you want to buy the blue borovets vafla, but upon reaching into your pocket you find you only have 25 stotinki, leaving you 5 stotinki short of the cost of a borovets. It's times like these that you remember why the Peace Corps is so hard. You need a vafla to recover, but your plan of a borovets has been shattered... Suddenly, not knowing what to do, you begin to feel like you are back in the mid-nineties on an episode of "What Would You Do?" and Marc Summers is standing right behind you.

"Wha-wha-wha-what would you do?" Beg outside for 5 stotinki? No! You are a Peace Corps volunteer, you will not rob your community for your own guilty pleasures. Get it together, you know just what to do. Don't panic. Scan the vafla display to find one in your budget. Don't be disheartened by the row of costlier vafli. Keep searching, until... wait, what is that? Is that a 25 stotinki vafla? What is that brand?

That brand, my friends, is Troya, or Троя in Bulgarski. And this is what you reach for when 5 stotinki or 2.5 euro cents short of a blue borovets in Ani's magazine:

While a bargain, it does not come without compromise. For that 5 stotinki you lose out on 17 grams of vafla from the blue borovets (55 gr v. 38 gr). Still, sometimes you may not want all that borovets has to offer, and in that case you should go home. Other times you may be in the situation above in which you have no option but to buy the Troya, and in which case survival trumps economics. For scale, here it is next to a standard length martenitsa:

And the back:

The first thing I noticed upon inspection is that the chocolate layer is a little thin on top (visible in top picture). I could almost see through it to the vafla. This made me skeptical on the first bite. However, upon chomping away, I found a delightful consistent flavor. (sadly I forgot to take a ridiculous shot of me eating the vafla). Not as rich as the borovets, but then, what is? Certainly not Mike Huckabee after spending all that money on a failed campaign. Having tried other pricier vafli I have to say for the cost this is a mighty fine vafla. Not too filling, not too rich, but with a good blend of chocolate, wafers and heaven leading to a very satisfying vafla.

As you can see in the legally obtained promotional image above, Troya sports a standard 4:3 wafers to chocolate layers ratio, not including the chocolate shell. The layers are thin, and it's kind of like a wider obiknovena vafla with a thin coating of chocolate.

What's that Huck-ster? Ahh the label, right:

A fierce red package and all caps lettering might make you think it's some kind of energy bar or road flare. 100 grams of this vafla gives you 538 calories, I'll let ROCKY HEART tell us how much 38 grams will give you since George Vaflington can't count.

The package has a handy label telling you where to open it. Since this was for Science I opened it carefully in a different spot since I didn't want to tear the label. Still, this is a nice feature for our vafli impaired readers out there.

"вафла със страхотен вкус (phonetic: Vafla sus strahoten vkus) (direct translation: Vafla with horrible taste) (more accurate: vafla with an awesome taste)" This slogan, including all the translations (lie) is on the side of the package. I enjoy the slogan, mostly because I love the bulgarian word СТРАХОТЕН - if only because it doesn't translate directly. It's like how we say "dragons don't exist" and actually mean "dragons exist everywhere, especially in the hearts of the believers".

SUMMARY: Good taste, good bargain, intimidating label, all adding up to a "vawfully good bargain" or a solid 8.435 on the vaflometer.

vafli broke,

George "misses "What would you do?"" Vaflington

PS If you are wondering about the reflective inside, I contacted the company and discovered that the reflective foil interior is designed so that vafla consumers can line their roofs with the foil in order to signal to dragons in the high heavens that we still believe and will offer safe haven to any dragon that lands on our shiny roof. Try it.

pop! of the week: Lili Ivanova

2008-03-24T23:33:00.003+02:00

Of course, I don't quite know what's going on here, but this has just got to be the swankiest party on this side of the curtain. Just check out the guy in the yellow shirt at 1:07:

Seriously though, Lili Ivanaova is a legend and she is amazing. She has been preforming since 1962, ending a two year career as a nurse here in the Razgrad Hospital. She IS Bulgaria's most famous pop star! Check out this hit (and the retro Bulgarian television program!) from 1968:

"Nespokoino Sartse" in Leningrad in 1968

As is necessary for any true pop star, Lili is a transformer. Check out these clips from the 1980's
Ti me povika (LIVE) 1987

Woman in Love

Which brings us to today:

Next week: mafia, crime, Russians, murder, Chalga and....Newsweek?! don't miss it!

Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov:

2008-03-22T10:10:00.000+02:00

Hello loyal readers.

We here at B22 Blogstars like to stay on top of what’s hip, what’s happen, what’s hot and what’s fresh. For instance, yes we all have the new Soulja Boy album, what got all his fly steps down and of course we rock only the latest fashions. For example look at this picture of me decked out in the latest threads:

Not only that but we like to respond to what, you, our loyal readers would like to hear and judging from the poll located on the top right of this page we have a certain reader who is much more enthusiastic than the rest, dare I call him a "faithful" reader…Ladies and Gentleman, Mike Huckabee is our most "faithful" reader! To show you all just how “faithful” he is I found this on his web-site: “My faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them. For example, when it comes to the news, I believe in being a regular reader of such established publications as b22blogstars.blogspot.com. I don't separate my faith from my personal and professional lives.”

You heard it folks, straight from our future presidents mouth! That being said I would like to dedicate my newest blog to Mike Huckabee!

My third "Historical Bulgarian of the Week" is Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov (or “Калоян Стефанов Махлянов” in Bulgarian). He was born on 19 February 1983 in the town of Veliko Turnovo. However, Kaloyan, is better known as, “Kotoōshū Katsunori” which is his professional Sumo Wrestling name.

Yes, you read that correctly. There is a professional Bulgarian Sumo wrestler!

He made his debut in November of 2002 and slowly worked his way up the ranks and now he is currently ranked as an "Uzeki" or "Champion", the second-highest level only to "Yokozuna". At 25 years only he stands at 6 feet 8 inches tall (aka 2.03 meters for all you Metric System users out there) and he weighs 340 pounds (aka 152 Kilos)!

However large Kaloyan seems to us, he is considered light is the world of Sumo Wrestling. He is right handed and switches between hands to grab the belt and use agility to out maneuver his opponents.

All of this Sumo Wrestling research and all of this Mike Huckabee research has really got me thinking... Who would win in a Wrestling Match, Kaloyan or the "Huckster"?

You already know Kaloyans stats, so here are "Huckies": The 52 year old former Arkansas Governor stands 5 feet and 11 inches tall and at one point used to weigh 280-300 pounds! However in 2003 he took a more healthy turn and lost over 110 pounds. He currently sits at a mere 180 pounds...
...while this is great for "The Hucklers" mental and physical well-being I see this as a detriment to his chances in the ring. He is a good deal shorter and considerably smaller. However, the one thing that our next president does have going for him is training. I don't know how many of you were aware but Mike Huckabees personal trainer is the one and only Chuck Norris! The word on the street is that he even has taken Chucks fighting style and blended it to best suit his own methods! For those of you who don't believe me, I have physical proof!!! I think a fight between the two might look something like this......and after a few rounds of our dear friend "Mr. Huckington" toying around with the big fella he pulls out the big guns. Starting with his famous opening move "The Hymn-er"...... which is of course is followed always by what is infamously know among religious fighting circles as "The Sermonizor"......and he would defiantly finish with the most deadly of all attacks, "The Baptism"...Thanks for reading what is, by far, the craziest thing I have ever written. I hope you enjoyed. Also, special thanks to J-Dub Paper stacks for the help! There is no way I could have done this without you. Until next week...

-Kashkaval Pane.

PS- Mike Huckabee when you do in fact read this, as I know you will, I would like to tell you that I have a bone to pick with you about making Gonzaga lose. Now I know you don’t like Jesuits but you really should have let them win at least a couple of games in the NCAA Tournament, for my Grandmothers sake if for no other reason... The End.

Bulgarian Transportation of the Week: Trains

2008-03-21T10:02:00.007+02:00

Trains! (влакове!)
are by far the best way to get around

Bulgaria

(especially if you aren’t in a rush).

This transit system is nationally run by the Български държавни железници (Bulgarian State Railways) or БДЖ/BDZ for short. There are train routes through the country with trains running during most hours. Some PCVs say that I have an unhealthy obsession with trains. Can you blame me? Trains are usually no more than five minutes late, cheaper and the city name is clearly marked on the station.

Trains are a wonderful way to see the beautiful Bulgarian countryside. They also offer more space to stretch out, meet cool people/have crazy adventures and toilet facilities that dump waste straight to the track. This beats buses that have no toilet but I’d still wait until really really had to go before using a train toilet. The Bulgarian train engineers had a worse situation, they had no where to pee on some of the older trains except out the window. In response to this concern being raised by their union, the management issued the following response:

“Bulgarian train drivers have been issued with rotating chairs so they can pee out of the window without having to stop.”

I love this country.

There are four types of trains: International (международен), Express (ускорен бърз) , Fast (бърз) and "contemplate life" (пътнически). International trains should only really be taken domestically if you really have to be somewhere and you live on an international line (ex Plovdiv, Stara Zagora or Dimitargrad) since they are hella expensive but the fastest train available. Express trains are a bit pricey but worth it since they only stop in large cities. Fast trains tend to be the most frequent and are the ones to catch. The slow trains can be excruciatingly long. For example, I took a slow train from Sofia to Dupnitsa. By bus it's a 45 minute ride. By slow train, it's 3 and a half hours. I'm pretty sure we stopped to pick up hitch hikers. So when faced with a choice, pick the fast or express trains (unless you don't live on the main line or in a small village, then you're just S.O.L.).

Train carriages come in a variety options, open, compartment and sleeping. The open carriages are like a plane, with two rows of seats; usually two by two. They don't offer too much privacy but it's still more comfortable than a plane. The compartment are just that-a compartment of eight seats (four by four) facing each other. I find that these are the best when travelling with a bunch of noisey Americans as you won't disturb other passangers. The downside is the aisles can be narrow but that's not much of a downside. They are the option on night trains when you don't purchase a sleeping car ticket. Speaking from expirience, they aren't very comfortable to sleep on. The ticket lady didn't sell me a sleeping car ticket because my trip was only three hours long. You can also purchase a reserve seat for an extra 0.50лв. If you're in a rush, you can annoy the conductor by purchasing your ticket on the train for a 30% charge. Bulgarian trains also come in first and second class. There really isn't too much of a difference between the two aside from the first class coaches being newer. Regardless of any class, Bulgaria seems to be the place where German trains come to die. I have seen some new trains but they tend to go to random places (like from Plovdiv to Asenovgrad. I would have guessed Sofia to Plovdiv).

To get the most for your money, I highly recommend you buy a discount card. The youth card costs 30лв but it saves you 50% on all train tickets and you'll recoop the cost in no time; it's three return trips to Sofia for me. All of the cards are good for a year from the date of purchase. Other cards available are Student, Rail pass and pensioner. It's also worth noting that if you're planning on travelling internationally by train from Bulgaria to purchase one before you buy your ticket. You'll be a baker rolling in all the dough you're saving.

All in all, I love to travel by train. It's a great way to see the country and save money doing so. I could write so much more about trains but I'll save that for a later post.

J-dub "The Duke" Paperstax

On a solem note I would like to mention the train accident that occured on Febuary 29th, which killed nine people, the worst in the Balkans in 16 years.

Smells of Bulgaria: Unknown Substance

2008-03-20T21:10:00.004+02:00

After having spent seven months, 14 days, and about 12 hours in Bulgaria I can say with confidence that it is filled with many smells that are both positive and negative alike. The last two weeks of smells have been somewhat negative in nature, so this week I wanted to highlight a more positive Bulgarian smell.

Last weekend Stacie and I took a trip to our favorite store here in town called Kaufland, a large grocery store somewhat like Fred Meyer back home (but without the obvious essentials like Skippy peanut butter or real brown sugar). They usually have a really great selection of fruits and veggies when they are in season. So last week we were wondering about the expansive produce section and saw sweet potatoes! You can not imagine how excited we were to take these bad boys home and cook them up for dinner! After finishing our other shopping and spending way more than we should have, we took the bus home and turned on the stove.

But after washing our precious potatoes, I began to suspect that something terrible had happened. Once I made the first cut into the gloriousness of our treasure, I discovered that the orangeness of our potatoes had been replaced by a deep dark redness. We had made the tragic and historic mistake of buying beets instead of what we wanted to buy. Who knows if there actually were sweet potatoes there. There was a label on the price list for sweet potatoes, so that is what we paid for, but who knows if they really existed. Sadly, the worst part about the whole thing is not that we did not get sweet potatoes, but it is that we did not have any of the right ingredients to make something good out of our beets. Instead we just sliced them, boiled them, lightly salted them, and ate them for our dinner.

There is a secret motive behind my post for this week. That secret is awareness. If I can help anyone out there not make the same mistake we did then our mistake would have been worth it. Our mistake: not having yogurt or dill on hand to make “Bulgarian Beets with Yogurt” (page 53), or not having one chicken leg on bone or cabbage to make “Ukrainian Borshch” (page 32). Along with an emergency stash of Snickers bars, I believe it is important to always have some of these things.

I leave you with words of caution. If you ever go to the store looking for potatoes, but buy beets instead, be prepared. If you ever go looking for bonboni, but buy beets instead, be prepared. If you ever go looking for soap or some other type of hygienic item but buy beets instead, be prepared. You will never know when this might happen to you and you walk all the way home holding beets instead of what you really wanted to buy, so be prepared.

P.S. The beets actually smelled pretty good.

Rocky Heart Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food and Drink Critic Pacifist declares “Boza (Бoза) as the newest member of the Axis of Evil.”

2008-03-19T11:18:00.014+02:00

This weeks Bulgarian Food/Drink Item of the Week (BFDIW) is Boza.

As always we will first start off with the facts. Boza is a drink in Bulgaria that is commonly drunk in the morning along with banitsa. In fact Boza is the Bulgarian drink equivalent to banitsa (read BFDIW I for an understanding of the place banitsa has in the Bulgarian society).

Boza has a long documented history in the Balkan region and Turkey. Boza enjoyed wide popularity up until the 16th century when it was made illegal by the Ottoman Empire because it contained alcohol and bans in some way shape or form on the beverage remained in place until 19th Century. But it was noted, that in 17th Century Istanbul, there were 300 Boza shops employing over 1000 people. The bans on Boza were later lifted and it is once gain widely drunk in these regions. (Sidenote: In regards to Boza, prohibition was not a bad idea even though it did not work. Power to the people I guess. End sidenote.)

Every country makes it a little different. According to the best source on the Internet, Wikipedia says that Bulgarian Boza is like Albanian Boza. Albanian Boza is made, “of maize (corn) and wheat flour, sugar and water.” My bottle says it consisted of wheat, rye, and water. One litre of Boza contains a thousand calories, four types of vitamins A and B, and vitamin E. During fermentation lactic acid, which is contained by few foods, is formed, and this facilitates digestion.

Those are the historical and production facts on Boza. But you maybe asking yourself, what truly is Boza? Simply put Boza is evil in a bottle. I can only assume that the stuff running under the streets of New York and which engulfed the museum in Ghost Busters II would smell and taste and with a little pink food coloring look like Boza. In fact now that Iraq has been rid of its weapons of mass destruction, I am formally going to petition our president to replace Iraq with Boza in the Axis of Evil. The new Axis of Evil will look like this: Iran, North Korea, and Boza.

I went to the best source I could find, my fellow PCV’s, to get an accurate description of the taste of Boza for you.

“George Vaflington says drinking boza is like drinking a warm glass of rubber cement without all the headaches and demons.”

“I only tried it once and my opinion is that is was like thin gravy, smelled like a sick child from my past, and tasted incredibly like it smelled.” Joan

“My host mom tried to feed it to me. It's similar to the consistency of a shake. I don't even know if I can begin to describe the taste - it's sickeningly sweet and wheaty at the same time. The texture is enough to make you gag if the taste doesnt get you. Also, sipping it through a straw DOES NOT make it taste any better.” Emma

“it's like they took the left over milk from your bowl of coco puffs and mass produced
it....seriously, when i even hear the word boza i wanna yak.” Rajun

“boza! ohbojay!” Wil (Obviously they drink in the morning in Bourgas.)

“I always describe it as sweet cold fermented gravy........and its better not to smell it before you drink it otherwise it may not stay down.” Cyndi

“Boza the other brown liquid” (Chase)

“Sort of like drinking a pureed can of baked beans.” Jason

"Boza tastes like sugar frosted wheat cheerios after having been left in bowl of milk in the sun for several days. It is simply disgusting." (Dude from a place that is the sound a bird makes + an)

“I haven't had the real thing ever, just the "stand in" that the cleaning ladies provide (they swear that's what it is), but I would say it tastes like carbonated sweet wheat.” Jess

“I am sorry that this is your topic. Boza is basically the grossest thing on the planet. I feel like I am drinking fermented bean juice. Who would drink fermented bean juice? It's almost like they tried their hand at refried beans and then failed miserably because they realized they were using wheat. I don't know. All I know is that I hate Boza with the fiery passion of 1000 suns.” Barb

“To a Southerner, it may remind them of pinto beans, cooked using a ham bone” Steve

Except for Wil’s, I would have to agree with the assessment provided by my fellow PCV’s. You may be thinking that there is no way it smells as bad as it tastes, but you would be wrong. For you see, I worked at a grain elevator (for those not from a small town, a grain elevator is where farmers take their grain to sell) and the grain would slip off the conveyor belts and fall on the ground. After a while a pile would form and then it would become wet and then moldy and then rat infested. It was my job to shovel this. Keep in mind that there is not a lot of room where I am working. So I am completely engulfed by this smell of rotting grain. It has been five years since I had this job and I had not smelled anything close to that until I opened a bottle of boza.

But like every credible blogger, I needed to do more research on the topic, so I on banitsa Wednesday’s purchased a bottle of boza for 50 stoltikni and brought it to work. In order to provide further insight I invited my Buglarian counterpart to share in the experience.

First with banitsa in hand we nazdrave (cheers). The reason I am smiling is because my counterpart for a second convinced me that it was not that bad, so I am trying to take a positive attitude into the experience.

My counterpart imbibes first. Bulgarians love this stuff.

Next is my turn. Here goes nothing. This is what I look like when I am hating life.

Victory over evil! (I seriously imbibed a full glass.)

Now that I have drunk my last drop of boza ever, I find myself able to reflect on the finer points of the drink. There are two that come to mind.

The first is that boza is widely believed to enlarge breasts size. You make think that I am making this up, but I have been told on many of occasions that when I go back to America I must take back a crate of boza with me. In fact, I found this article online which serves as proof that this is true.

Breast boosting beer sells like hot cakes
(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21060623-13762,00.html)

“EUROPEAN men are flocking to Bulgaria to buy "breast-boosting beer" after the country's accession to the EU has meant that customs duties on the tipple have been abolished.

The millet-based ale called Boza allegedly makes women's breasts bigger, but was previously expensive. Now thousands of tourists are traveling to the Bulgarian border town of Ruse to buy Boza for their wives and partners.”

Was this one of the contributing factors in addition to Bulgaria being awesome that helped with getting into the EU? Interesting question if you ask me.
In order to test this theory, I took a before and after shot. The results speak for themselves.

The other fine point of boza is that to love Bulgaria, which I have grown to, is to love boza. So Boza, you me be evil, but you are an evil that I love. We may have had our last dance, but it is a dance that I will never forget.

Til the next episode,

Rocky Heart
Your Ultimate Fighting Bulgarian Food and Drink Critic Pacifist

Vafla of the Week: The Eco-Vafla

2008-03-18T23:00:00.002+02:00

Feast your eyes on this:

Right there is what you might call the "obiknovena vafla" or usual vafla. Another term might be, "old school vafla" since it is vafla in its simplest form with no fancy coatings. To me, however, this is the Eco-vafla. What does the Eco stand for? Economical and Ecological, of course.

Since blogs are all about blatantly forcing your own agenda on the world, I will start with the ecological side. This vafla is the most environmentally friendly vafla because it has no plastic wrapper that will sit in a landfill for a million years, kill sea gulls and make babies cry. The packaging I received it in is the very paper in which it rests. Here is a more detailed shot of the vafla's wrapper:

The wrapper there is mostly for sanitary reasons. When I bought this vafla, the shopkeep picked it out of a bulk box of vafla, wrapped it in the paper and handed it to me.

This paper is reusable and recyclable. I can use it to scratch down vafla inspired haikus or drop it off in one of the town's recycling bins. Why is this significant? Because, although very nice and superb at sealing in freshness, the normal plastic wrapping of vafla is not recyclable (at least not normal recycling -- to my knowledge) and worse still, many locals enjoy littering the streets with these very vafla wrappers. This kills me knowing that they will end up in a water source, then get to the ocean, then kill a sea gull, make a baby cry and never bio-degrade.

When the wrapper of the blue borovets vafla gets me down, but not enough to stave off my vafla temptation, I often reach for the Eco-vafla. It is also the most economical vafla I know of because one vafla costs only ten stotinki! That's 10 for a lev and 20 for a euro! What a deal!

Agenda pushing aside, on to the testing.

Here is a shot of the flavor layers:

That's four layers of wafer and three of chocolate. This ratio leads to a good amount of heaven. Last week's entry had the same ratio, but with a whole chocolate shell around it, leading to a 5:4 chocolate to wafer ratio, plus the chocolate on the sides, which adds exponentially to the heaven. It's important that the vafla ratio always lead to an odd amount of layers. Just like giving out an even amount of flowers is considered a tremendous insult in Bulgaria (mostly true), so to is it an insult to give out, produce or consume a vafla with an even amount of layers (less true).

Since this vafla is the closest to sugar wafers, I tried dissecting it to see if the layers could be removed like on sugar wafers. This proved impossible and ended up with me crushing some of my vafla. :(

On the bright side, this experiment proves the difference between vafli and sugar wafers. The *heaven*. Obviously there is something greater - something more divine - holding the layers of vafla goodness together. That, my friends and followers, is the heaven. If you don't believe me, ask Mike Huckabee.

On the taste, this is a mighty fine obiknovena vafla. Not as good as the borovets obiknovena vafla, but that is the gold standard which I will review another day. There was something nutty in the chocolate filling. Perhaps they use some hazlenut or something. That or Finetti.

The only down sides are that this vafla can lead to a lot of crumbs and, depending on how long ago the bulk box was opened, might not be fresh. Fortunately, since it's a great deal which many Kresna vafla enthusiasts cash-in on, I've never found my vafla stale.

If your local shop doesn't engage in this practice, I dare you, my fellow Bulgarian PCVs, to ask them to do so. I don't want you to do this to promote the ecology or economy of such a vafla, I want you to do it because it would be painfully awkward to try to make such a request in Bulgarian.

OK. Dares and agenda aside. This is a dandy vafla, and on my new arbitrary scale, I'll say it's "Vawfully Good!" on taste "Vawfully Perfect!" on ethics.

update: Due to complaints from "someone" I will add a numeric score for the obiknovena vafla. We'll say that "Vawfully Good!" on taste and "Vawfully Perfect!" on ethics translates into a 9.000000001

Vafli Yours,

George Vaflington

pop! of the week: Shantel

2008-03-17T23:32:00.002+02:00

I'm not quite sure what's going on here, but it seems like the rest of the world is waking up to the fact that we here in the jello mold of the Balkans know how to kkkkiiiccckkkk it. So here is Western Europe catching on to our Balkan beats, Roma horns, and the curious way of pronouncing disko.

Shantel: Disko Partizani
This video takes place in Turkey (Istanbul I think)

Seriously, if you can get ahold of this album, it is well worth the trouble.

you want more?

and please, check out the website: Disko Partizani

Thanks John!!!!!

Baba of the Week: Baba Hoods

2008-03-17T10:05:00.004+02:00

You see them everywhere in Bulgaria. They are abundant in the small towns and villages, but scarce in the large cities. They come in many different shapes and sizes, colors and textures. They are Baba (grandma) hoods. For those of you who don’t know what baba hoods are, let me try to articulate there bad assness in writing. Like their cousin headwear apparel bandanas, these too are tied around your head. Similarly to the bikers’ tradition of bandanamania, baba hoods are dawned proudly above most babas in Bulgaria. Unlike biker bandanas though, they do not have a proudly displayed bald eagle or an American flag on them. They come in patterns that can only be compared to really bad wallpaper from the 60’s and 70’s. Each has a unique smell which is a direct result from long hours in the field and smells from the kitchen. The colors range from simple black to rainbow colored “skittle” head types of hoods. As I asked around about why the hoods are so important to a Bulgarian baba, I was surprised by some of the answers.

1) To protect their colored hair from the elements, such as rain, wind and other things that could affect the red colored hair.
2) It’s cheaper then a hair brush. Why stress in the morning about what to do with your hair when you can just put a piece of cloth around your head and call it a day.
3) Prevents alien attacks
4) Fashion Statement. What better way to make your fellow baba neighbors jealous then by wearing a new fashionable baba hood. They also will make all the old grandpas drool (not from being over medicated) by strutting their stuff in front of them with their new hoods.
5) Used for aroma therapy.
6) So they can be recognized by their family and community
7) Aerodynamic. The curvature of the hood allows for a tight forming fit around the head that enables the 80 year old to reach maximum speed faster. Imagine them without the hoods.
8) It can double as a handkerchief.
9) Being “Hip”. These hoods make them look and feel younger.

Feel free to add more reasons for this phenomenon in Bulgaria and remember to have a great St. Patrick’s Day!!

Until Next week, this is

Brian Fantana

Stay Classy Bulgaria

Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Veselin Topalov:

2008-03-15T15:24:00.002+02:00

Welcome back to Historical Bulgarian of the Week. My selection for this week is a young chess player by the name of Veselin Topalov ("Веселин Топалов"). He was born in the lovely city of Ruse, Bulgaria on this very day 33 years ago (15 March 1975).
Честит рожден ден Веселин! Това e еден чалга клип зa българите 'Честит рожден ден' песен ("Happy Birthday Veselin! This is one Chalga Clip for the Bulgarian 'Happy Birthday' song").

I myself am not a very good chess player but I respect the skill required to be one and among chess players Veselin is one of if not the best in the world. In 2005 he in fact won the World Chess Championship Tournament!

He was a chess prodigy. He started playing at the age of 8 and in 1989 he won the World Under 14 Championship in Puerto Rico. By 17 he was awarded the title of a Grandmaster of Chess! (Side note1- This is not to be mistaken for the old school rapper "Grandmaster Flash", who is pictured below- End side note1)

In 2005, like I mentioned before, he won the World Championships:
In 2006 he was voted to best chess player in the world:
He is still playing and traveling the world playing chess. In fact the most recent FIDE rankng list put out last January he was listed as the third best player in the world! And according to he has the highest "Elo score" ever recorded at 2813!

Now, I have no idea what an "Elo score" is but it sounds impressive to me! If you care to learn more about the "Elo scoring system" feel free to click here.

In closing Veselin, if you are reading this, congratulations on all your accomplishments and I hope that you have a healthy, happy and safe Birthday and I wish you success.

Tyler.Keith.Wasson.

Smells of Bulgaria: Something’s Burning (and it’s not my cooking)

2008-03-13T23:13:00.004+02:00

The B22’s moved to site on October 18^th right when the winter was really starting to set in. There were a few things that I remember about that time including the coldness of our cement apartment, the excitement of being able to cook on our own again (not without mistakes), and the ever constant smell outside of something burning. It made its way everywhere really, not even the city center was immune to the cloud.

On my way to work my 20 minute walk takes me from the outer edge of the center of the city into the much more residential area tucked a little farther up toward the mountain. It did not take long before I could start spotting the culprits for our city’s unique aroma. For the most part it was little houses that had plumes of smoke shooting out of their chimneys. Although the majority of the materials being burned were obviously wood, one could easily surmise that there was a little extra something in there for whatever reason. Who knows why, wood can not be all that expensive. But in either case, the city makes it easy for people to dispose of the ashes by providing these little things:

Anyways, after a few weeks at site as I was walking to work I saw something that I did not recognize at first. It was a melted yellow blob of plastic, some trash, and some metal. After walking away and thinking about what I had seen, I realized that someone had set one of our cities trash bins on fire!

When intact, they look something like this:

When it is on fire it looks something like this:

Or this:

But when it is plastic and burnt down it looks something like this:

This is the residue left over from a burnt trash can after someone had cleaned it up!

Over the next couple weeks I saw several of our trash cans that had something burning in them. I have to say that those things smell so much more than the chimney smoke! All they are is burning trash, so of course they smell. I even found a few other plastic ones that had been burned down. Who the heck thought it would be fun to set trash cans on fire? Probably those crazy kids.

So one day I approached one of the metal cans that I saw had a little smoke coming out of them to try and see what the heck had started the fire. It was ashes! Of course, instead of dumping their burning embers into the proper receptacles, people just use trash cans. Hmmm. I don’t know what is worse, crazy kids setting the city on fire or the general public unknowingly setting the city on fire.

Rocky Heart The Ultimate Fighting B22 Blogstar Pacifist Says

2008-03-11T22:57:00.004+02:00

My hands are sweaty, my breathing is labored, and I am fidgeting. You maybe thinking that I am having a heart attack and I should call the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Office). Actually, I am just that honored to have been selected a B22 Blogstar. This honor has only grown as I have read my fellow blogstars’ posts.

It my duty and awesome responsibility to teach you about the wonderful world of Bulgarian food and drink (except for Vafli) through weekly Bulgarian Food/Drink Item of the Week (BFDIW) posts. I have previously written two BFDIW posts on my personal blog site. My intent was to post on my blog site and over the course of the week perfect if for this blog site as this site deserves nothing but the best. But that plan went down in flames after learning that I could not simply cut and paste the entire posting from my personal site to this without losing the pics. So starting next week, B22 Blogstars will be the only place to read about the BFDIW.

Unfortunately my first posting to this site is not quite the blogstar effort I had hope to put in. Due to time constraints as I am leaving with my colleagues at 3 AM on Wednesday morning to go to a business conference, I do not have the time to upload the images for the past two articles. Without the pics, the postings lose there effect. I am providing links to my two previously written BFDIW posts. (Sidenote: This is not a shameless attempt to promote my own blog. End Sidenote.)

http://thewoodtothesand.blogspot.com/2008/02/peace-corps-bulgaria-best-part-of.html
http://thewoodtothesand.blogspot.com/2008/03/peace-corps-bulgaria-part-2-bfdiw.html

This inability to perform at the highest level this week, will only further my resolve for future weeks as I try to live up to the title of B22 Blogstar.

Peace and Love,

Rocky Heart
The Ultimate Fighting Pacifist

PS: My sincerest apologies to George Valfington for posting an hour before midnight on Tuesday. I will be in a car for 18 hours and needed some sleep.

Vafla of the Week: Borovets Chocolate-covered Vafla

2008-03-11T00:01:00.002+02:00

Before I begin my heartfelt explanation of the sensory explosion that is chocolate-covered Borovets vafla, I'd like to begin with an introduction to the broader topic of Vafli.

Vafli are a common treat here in Bulgaria, however there is no comparable snack item in the U.S.A. The closest thing that comes to mind are sugar wafers, but really this comparison applies only to structure and not at all taste. For you see, Vafli, in its most basic form is layers of wafers, chocolate and heaven.

Although I am a raving fan of Vafli, I wasn't aware of this tasty treat until sometime around my 2nd or 3rd month in Bulgaria. Other volunteers were fortunate enough to be force-fed Vafli by their host families. I was not so lucky. Since having fully embraced Vafli and integrating it into my diet, I consider those beginning months a tragic waste of time. So be it.

Some of you may be wondering why I alternate between Vafla and Vafli. If you are wondering, this is because you don't speak Bulgarian. Vafla is the singular form, and, as it is a "feminine" word, the plural is Vafli. ВАФЛА - This is how Vafla looks in Bulgarian script. I find it much more commanding and representative of the epic nature of Vafli.

Bulgarian language lessons aside, time to get down to business. As one of the (currently) 7 B22-Blogstars, I have decided to make my weekly entries about Vafli. This is because I love Vafli and because it leads to awesome stories. Since the Vafli market has thoroughly embraced capitalism, there are many different brands and types of this wonderful treat. I intend to sample one each week and write about it in excessive detail here. I eat Vafli all the time, but usually stick to the same brand, so my entries will be a fresh and exciting journey for all of us. In the event that I run out of brands to sample, I will try to start visiting factories or take other extreme measures to keep this column fresh while always relating to Vafli.

Ahh the Borovets Chocolate Covered Vafla - marvel at its majesty. Ever since I began to dabble in the world of vafli this has been my all-time favorite. Perhaps the best way to describe it would be as though you found a rose with no thorn; pure beauty with none of the pain of the modern world. Usually, when feeling down or answering my desire for sweets, this is what I reach for (Vafli really has served as a comfort food after many a crappy day). A mere 25 or 30 stotinki (cents) for all the magic of the world.

Here is the naked Vafla out of its wrapper. Look at the ripples of flavor and the consistent chocolate shell. Although chocolate coated vafli are very common, it is one step away from the traditional vafla. The old school or "usual" vafli have no chocolate coating. I enjoy it both ways. That's on a normal sized cutting board, so you see it's quite a bit of majesty for 25 stotinki. Alright, I can't just look anymore, I need a bite!

Oh, that was fantastic! This vafla has the perfect mix of wafers, chocolate and heaven. It's almost overwhelming. Perfection.

Normally vafli would never make it home without being bitten. Truthfully, most do not even make it home. I usually have the wrapper torn open on my way out of the store. However, this was a scientific endeavor, so I had to exercise patience. Now have a look at the glorious flavor layers.

Due to being in a state of vafla-euphoria I didn't get a focused shot, but I think you get the idea. The light layers are the wafers, the dark ones the chocolate. The mixing of the layers is the heaven. I attempted to take more picture of my vafla eating experience, but since my instincts were focused on devouring the vafla, they didn't come out so hot. Once I gorged my vafla in about 6 bites, I decided to take a closer look at the beautiful packaging that makes it "the blue borovets".

Note the excellent graphic design. The crisp-yet-rugged letters spelling "Borovets" set in front of snow-capped mountains. The reason for this is that this brand of Vafla is named after Bulgaria's oldest ski resort, Borovets. It is a fitting name, since the majesty of Borovets vafli more than matches that of the Rila Mountains. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they named the resort after the Vafla.

Although you can't see it, the label says "A quality product from Day and Night Ltd". This is the company behind the genius. They make a variety of vafli, and their sweet website tells you about their production process. They pump out 30,000,000 vafli every month! Better still, they are ramping up to double their production! This might be the best news I've ever read on the internet. You can read more about their varieties of vafli on the site, but don't bother since I will be reviewing them all here anyway.

Back to the wrapper. The back tells you that this 55 grams of goodness provides 285 calories of energy! That means you can meet your caloric intake with around 7 of these bad boys! I think I might have a new diet. They also list the ingredients, link to the website and give an email address! I might send them a link to this and see if they will hire me as a vafla taster/reviewer/Arch Duke of Vafla.

Since I find this to be the ultimate vafla, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being trash and 10 being vafla-tastic), the chocolate covered Borovets vafla receives a 9.99999. It would certainly be a 10, but I reserve that there may be a greater vafla out there, and if so, I intend to find it.

Vafli yours,

George Vaflington

pop! of the week: Ken Lee (tulibo dibo doucho)

2008-03-10T20:58:00.003+02:00

It's hard to say exactly what's going on here, but from what I can tell, the sky is just a little bluer and maybe the birds have starting singing a little louder. Yes, that's right my friends, the nauseating and disappointing smell of perhaps the last seven months is quickly dispersing in the quick and fresh spring air. Daily awkward moments thrive in the sunlight, and I’m once again free to walk the streets without fear of snowballs launched at me. Oh there are many things about spring in Bulgaria that we wait throughout winter with anxiety for. Most obvious of course are the cute little sweethearts that eventually turn into street roving maniacs. Well, sure, it is open season for cat sex; but cut and dry, straight to the point, I'm talking about Bulgarian Music Idol.

To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing more serious here (save maybe Hristo Botev's beard) than our annual competition showcasing the best-voiced beauty in all the Balkans.

Look what at what we came up with last year:

and of course, the Balkan Whitney Houston:

This year gets off to an even better start: Ken Lee!

In this weekly Monday post, we will explore all the complexities of Bulgarian pop music. Stay tuned, the fun is just starting.

Baba of the Week: Baba "Janet"

2008-03-10T09:45:00.003+02:00

There are so many great babas to choose from here in my town. They range in all different shapes and sizes, some more spherical then others. The one that I chose for baba of the week this week is the one that makes me the most happy in the morning. I always have a groggy start to every morning, either from the previous night’s rakia fest or the “special” channels after dark. Either way, I always dread waking up in the morning. The one thing that does get me out of bed though is the local magazine baba, which for this blog’s purposes, will go by the name of Janet.

Janet is a jovial character whom never seizes to amaze me with her 8 in the morning “spunk”. Her magazine stand is on the way to the municipality and I see her everyday. The magazine is simple and is pentagonal in shape. She does not sell coffee or banitsa like other “sell out” magazine stands. She is 100% original, cut and dry, straight to the point. The selection ranges from Atlas in 4 different languages, National Geographic and Playboy. What makes this stand and the educator of the community any different? It is the sales techniques of the salesbaba. Janet, through her realization of her predecessors’ failures, does not sit in her stand hiding from her clients. She does not moan at the fact that you give her a 10 leva bill for a 50 stotinki paper. She addresses her cliental face to face, outside of the stand. Every morning she says hello and good morning to her passing community members in hopes that they may need the latest addition of Cosmopolitan. Not a fan of Cosmo, for you manly man, she will gladly point out the inappropriately dressed female on this months issue of FHM.

When I sat down with Baba “Janet” for an interview, I asked her a few questions:

Me: Baba “Janet”, you joined some pretty elite company when you decided to start selling newspapers. Is this what you saw yourself doing 60 years ago.

Baba “Janet”: Well, I wanted to be a pet store owner. Gosh, those little puppies really stole my heart when I was little. But over time, I realized that these cute little sweethearts eventually turned into street roving maniacs. How could I have a business selling puppies when I knew someday, they would be the ones keeping up at night with there barking. Besides, there was barely a market for puppies in my village.

Me: Where did you acquire your sales skills that have made you one of the most successful business entrepreneurs in the community?

Baba “Janet”: Probably not from my father. He was the quite, agricultural type. He spent most of his days in the field tending the crops. My mother was the outgoing one of the family. When we were younger, my brothers and sisters would make crafts in our free time. We gave them to our mother, thinking they were the best creations on the planet (Sticks tied together with string makes wonderful creations), and she would try to sell them to the others in the community. Her contagious personality and charisma allowed her to sell these with ease. So, I would have to say that I learned my business skills from her.

Me: So is there a Man in your life
Baba “Janet”: Who, “Hank”? I left that drunkard many years ago. It’s just me now and I am better for it.

Me: In closing, Could you tell me some of your favorite magazines that you read.

Baba “Janet”: Man, there is just so many. I would have to say Garden Monthly is a must read for me. But I am also guilty of taking a peek at the new Barbie magazine every now and then.

At 74, Baba “Janet” stands as a pillar of the community by bridging generations with her personality. She wakes up everyday with energy and excitement that will ingnite the community with a reason to walk to work. At least that’s the way I see it.
For your achievements, Mrs. Baba “Janet”, we salute you.

Signing off, your field reporter

Brian Fantana
You Stay Classy Bulgaria

Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Hristo Botev:

2008-03-08T00:06:00.005+02:00

Zdrasti.

Dobre dushliv do moi purvo blog. My name is Tyler Wasson and I will be posting a section every Saturday entitled, "Historical Bulgarian of the Week".

(Side note1- All research was done without Wikipedia and some information was taken from web-sites entirely in Bulgarian so I hope none of the information I give is wrong. Let me know if you catch a mistake.- End Side Note1)

Bulgarians are proud of their historical figures. From my host father to my coworkers to the many other Bulgarians I have met I have been taught a great deal about Bulgarians long and rich history.

For my first episode I choose Hristo Botev (Христо Ботев). господин ("Mr.") Botev is perhaps Bulgaria’s most famous poet. Here is some of his poetry in English, French (for my friends Shaun Woods and Millayna Klingback), German or in their original tongue, Bulgarian, click here.

Mr. Botev was born in the Bulgarian town of Kalofer on January 6, 1848. His father was a teacher whom was very knowledgable on Bulgarian history. Also his father was also heavily involved in the “Bulgarian Historical Revival”. The B.H.R. was an attempt by Bulgarians to maintain as much of their culture as possible during the Ottoman Rule (1396 – 1878).

I would parallel his father to an American who knew a lot about our the history of our Founding Fathers and firmily believed in the principals of the American Constitution. Maybe one of the founding fathers themselves... This was a hard comparison to make. Ideas? Suggestions?

Here is a picture of Hristos parents at their wedding:

For comparison here is a picture of George Washington (not to be mistaken for “George Vaflington” whom you will see posting on Tuesday) and his wife at their wedding:

For High School young Hristo Botev moved to Ukraine where he was supposedly influenced by the popular Russian poets of the time. In 1867 he took over his father’s job as a teacher. However that did not last long as he made a public speech lambasting the Ottoman leaders and the Upper Class. Apparently he was a great speaker… somewhat similar to Kennedy in his appeal. Kennedy at his wedding:

Because of his anti-government speech he was forced out of the country. He moved to Romania where he began living with many like-minded Bulgarians. He formed many of his great revolutionary theories and he did most of his most famous writing during this period of his life.

One web-site I found had this to say, “Hristo Botev’s idea of national liberation did not come down to simple opposition of Bulgarians against Turks, but in terms of struggle for democracy, human rights and social justice in a broader context”.

Perhaps my favorite quote from him was on the same site. It goes as such: “It is but through striking a solidarity union based on reason and brotherly love among the nations of the world that an end could finally be brought to penury, misery and the parasites of the human kind, and it is but this union that is able to impose the principles of true liberty, brotherhood, equality and happiness around the globe”. Very Marxist…

In March of 1876, at the young age of 28, he lead a group of 200 soldiers across the Danube River (Side Note2- We here at B22Blogstars Support the Troops- End side note2) (Side note3- I hope they didn’t cross at Belene…End Side note3). Shortly after crossing they were met by a group many times their size and they were quickly put down.

Botev was shot and killed.

After all the work he did for Bulgarias independence he missed seeing this vision become a reality. Two years after this heroic attempt, in the year of 1878, the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation ended and Bulgaria regained its freedom.

After doing all this research and learning so much about Mr. Botev the most important thing I learned is that he could grow one wickedly awesome beard:

Even at my best… I was nowhere near his level:

I think that Hristo will go down in history for having one of the finest beards ever. If he were still alive today he would have no competitors for the World Beard and Moustache Championships.

Sorry that I got carried away, I must have beard envy...

Back to a serious note, I included one of my favorite poems from him, in Bulgaria first and than followed by the English translation.

Към брата си

Тежко, брате, се живее
между глупци неразбрани;
душата ми в огън тлее,
сърцето ми в люти рани.

Отечество мило любя,
неговият завет пазя;
но себе си, брате, губя,
тия глупци като мразя.

Мечти мрачни, мисли бурни
са разпалили душа млада;
ах, ръка си кой ще турне
на туй сърце, дето страда?

Никой, никой! То не знае
нито радост, ни свобода;
а безумно как играе
в отзив на плач из народа!

Често, брате, скришом плача
над народен гроб печален;
но, кажи ми, що да тача
в тоя мъртъв свят коварен?

Нищо, нищо! Отзив няма
на глас искрен, благороден,
пък и твойта й душа няма
на глас божий - плач народен!

To My Brother

It's difficult to live, my brother,
among such thick-skulled blunderheads;
the fires of my youth are smothered,
my heart is torn to bitter shreds.

I love the land where I was born
and I protect its ancient wealth,
yet when I show these oafs my scorn
I bring destruction to myself.

Dreams of darkness, thoughts of storm,
have nailed my young soul to the cross.
O, who will place a friendly hand
upon my heart in its distress?

No one, no one. Freedom, joy
neither does it recognize;
yet it passionately joins
its answer to a people's cries.

Brother, I shed tears in secret
where anguished people are interred;
but, tell me, what should I respect
upon this dead, insidious earth?

Nothing, nothing. To a frank
and upright voice there's no reply,
and your soul, too, does not react
to the voice of God - a people's cry.

-------End of Poem----------

"There is no power over those who are ready to lose their lives in the name of freedom and for the good of humanity."

- Hristo Botev

Thank you all for you time. More to come next week on my end; Same bat time, same bat channel... Stay tuned...

Tyler.Keith.Wasson.

Some of the web-sites where I got information: http://www.bnr.bg/RadioBulgaria/Emission_English/Theme_Profiles/Material/botevpers.htm; http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/hristo-botev-and-his-revolutionary-poetry/id_7334/catid_30; http://www.slovo.bg/showbio.php3?ID=2;

Bulgarian Transportation of the Week: Minibus

2008-03-07T09:43:00.003+02:00

Ah, the minibus (микробус) just like a regular автобус, but without the safety. Minibuses are large vans or small buses (mini, if you will) and tend to service short routes in between large cities or really windy roads way out in the stix. They usually depart from bus stations, bus stops or unmarked places that only the locals know about. You can also flag them down. This PCV has caught minibuses from Dimitargrad to Stara Zagora, from Kazanlak to Stara Zagora and from Smolyan to the middle of no where. They are also usually cheaper than the standard bus and afford even less comfort. Some minibuses will refuse to depart unless every available space is taken, giving situations like this:

Keep in mind, this was a good 10 minutes or so before I departed and the driver was able to sell several more tickets. And what is a Peace Corps experience with with out daily awkward moments? There were six of us travelling together and we all sat in the back. We were the first stop. Hilarity ensued.

Needless to say, travelling by minibus is a great way to meet new people and experience new smells. It only adds adventure to your adventure.

All in all, travelling by minibus is a unique experience and it's not to be missed. You'll come away with a new mode of transport under your belt and a redefined sense of "personal space". I find it's overrated anyway.

Until next week, 4ao!

Smells of Bulgaria

2008-03-06T19:01:00.000+02:00

Last week after work I was a little tired and wanted to make a simple dinner rather than spending two hours in the kitchen preparing stuff. So I had a look around the kitchen and saw a brownie mix that had been sent all the way from America. That box was worth about $12 because of shipping to get it over here, but much more than that actually because it is not available here anywhere! I would buy it for $30 if I could!!! I have been so happy that my family has been so helpful with that sort of thing. We have been sent just about everything you can think of that could possibly make living overseas a little more like home.

Excited and full of hope again, I mixed up the brownies, carefully heated the oven to the right temperature, and threw them in the oven for our dinner that night! I had a few minutes to kill so I thought I would try multitasking and run down to the store on the corner to get some bread for the next day. The bread here is much different than the States, it only takes a few days before it starts growing little green friends, so we have to buy it often.

I got back approximately nine minutes after I had put the brownies in the oven and so I knew I had a little more time before the brownies would be finished, but I decided to check them just to make sure. To my horror, when I opened the oven door I smelled the most nauseating and disappointing smell of perhaps the last seven months. It was a classic case of burnt around the edges, but not quite done in the middle. But the conditions were exactly the same as the last time that I had made brownies! What was my mistake?! I will never know.

The silver lining was that we were able to salvage the inside of the brownie goodness. So we still ate it for dinner that night right out of the pan with forks, but it was not quite as satisfying as neat little squares. This has taught me an important lesson, and that is to never ever let something on or in the stove out of my sight, even for nine minutes.