First Days in Bratsigovo

Instead of a lengthy post on how much I enjoy my new home in Bratsigovo, which is sure to bore you all, I have decided to post two culturally enlightening stories for all to read.

Things Don't Always Have to be Difficult
To preface this story, I have to say that over the past two months, when discussing at-site living situations, there has been much talk of apartments with no heat, broken appliances, and other problems such as these. Having seen my apartment in Bratsigovo previously, I had no concerns until the night I arrived. Walking into the kitchen with my counterpart, Petiya, I saw that the fridge and freezer doors were both open, and the fridge was pulled a couple of inches away from the wall. Petiya began to tell me, in all Bulgarian mind you, how the fridge isn't working because it has problems when it is placed next to the wall. The freezer would work but the fridge itself did not remain cold and that in order to keep food, I should simply keep it where it was, by the window, and rely on the outdoor weather of the winter. This seemed reasonable to me, as I had been told something similar by the previous volunteer who lived there.

The next day, my landlord and his wife arrived to finish up some work in my bathroom. Through the previous night and day I had been mulling over what a pain it would be to not have a working fridge for the winter. "This will simply not work," I said to myself. But trusting in my newly found Bulgarian skills, I was sure I had understood her correctly. Wanting to press the issues further, I asked the wife of my landlord what exactly was wrong with my fridge. She stared at me for a couple of seconds with a puzzled look on her face, glanced back at the fridge, turned back to me and simply said, "The fridge isn't plugged it."

The World's Longest "Na Gosti"

For those of you unfamiliar with the term "Na Gosti," it refers to the Bulgarian custom of inviting and being invited to friends, family, and neighbor's houses for a meal, drinks, and a couple of laughs. I frequently went na gosti with my host family in Boboshevo, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Friday afternoon, while at my first day of work, I was asked by my counterpart Petiya, if I would like to come na gosti on Saturday afternoon. "Of course" I replied, as I am never one to refuse a free meal.

Saturday arrived and at 1:00, I boarded a bus to the nearby town of Byagam (which oddly means "to run" in Bulgarian.) Now thinking that this would be a normal na gosti, I came only with myself and a jacket. I had a nice meal with Petiya and her family and afterwards took a walk around town, was introduced to the daughter of one of her best friends, and went to the cafe with her for a while. As evening approached, I asked her when the last bus to Bratsigovo would be. "I'm not sure," she replied "but why would you be going back to Bratsigovo? I thought you were here for na gosti." Puzzled, we returned to Petiya's house and it became apparent that I would be staying for dinner as well. After dinner, we sat around, watched a movie on the television, all the while thinking I would be getting a ride home from Petiya's husband, as Bratsigovo is only 7 km away.

At 11:00, it was beginning to get late and my curiosity on when I would be leaving continued to grow. That is, until Petiya told me that when I was tired, I should just go into the other room and choose a bed, since I would be heading back to Bratsigovo in the morning. To make a long story longer, I returned home to my apartment this morning on the 10:20 bus, making the length of my na gosti just under 22 hours. As far as I know, this is a world record and I will soon be contacting the Guinness Book of World Records.

Currently Reading: "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand

Currently Listening to: "Hearts of Oak" by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists