-Baba Marta / Kukari Festival-

3-2-2007

-Chestite Baba Marta-(English translation: Happy Grandma March
So yesterday was one of the most cherished and unique of the Bulgarian holidays. It is called Baba Marta; and it takes place on March 1st.

-basically everyone buys bracelets, necklaces, pins ect(bracelets are most common) that are made of red and white material. These are called ‘martinitzas’, it is traditional to give these bracelets to your friends for good luck. And you must wear these bracelets until you see a stork, or you see a spring blossom on a tree or bush. At this time you must take the bracelets off and tie them to the tree.

So there ya have it…….I now have a wrist full of red and white dangly bracelets full of decorative beads. I am not a huge fan of bracelets; but what can you do. I get annoyed by having things on my wrists especially when it is for a long period of time. I will have this bundle of bracelets on my wrist for the next month; maybe longer.

Well………it is one of my colleague’s birthday today, and they are now yelling at me from the other room to go over there to drink whisky. It is 2:15 at the moment which means the nagosti(Bulgarian party) will go on until 5. Bad news for me it kinda kills my plans to go running after work…….but what can you do.
I’m out!

3-6-2007

It is beautiful Tuesday afternoon in Chirpan and I am in a great mood! I actually think the sunshine unlocks endorphins in my brain that make me happy. Or perhaps I am just a bit radiant after an incredible weekend in the Rhedobe Mountains. I am not feeling natural and free flowing in my writing at the moment; but I will do my best to paint you the picture of my adventure this last weekend.
Friday night I decided to stay at the home front and read the whole evening; I have had one to many nights out on the town and was eager to catch up on sleep. Saturday morning I hopped on a bus to Plovdiv and then made a quick transfer to the Rhedobe bus station, where I caught a bus to Smolyan. I met up with a crew of about 10 PCV’s/friends of, and enjoyed a nice dinner at a restaurant that was made from a 100+ year old hotel. After the meal the crew and I headed to a small village called Stoikite. Stoikite is a village of 200 people located in the middle of the Rhedobe mountains. My friend Sarah lives there and works at the nearby orphanage. The night was quite memorable; filled with jokes, laughing and pleasant conversation among friends.
Sunday morning we all began the 6 mile hike to the town of Sharoka Loka. The Kukari festival began at 11am so we all headed out the door before 10am. This was a bit painful for me because I was unable to sleep well the night before. We all tried desperately to hitchhike the entire time we were walking to Sharoka Loka. It was no surprise to us that the women were the first to hitch rides. The rest of us men were picked up no less than 2 miles later. The long walk did not bother me at all; in fact I quite enjoyed the fresh mountain air and the beautiful landscape of the Rhedobe Mountains.
We arrived at the festival at around 10:45am and were able to get into a great viewing position near the front, and close to the performers. I have been looking forward to this Kukari festival for quite some time and was more than excited for the event. The event started out with a couple dozen men dressed as scary looking sasquatches. These furry beasts follow around a scary looking baba (man dressed like one). They act out death, life, harvest and new beginnings representing a fresh start for the spring season. There were a total of around 10 separate performances performed by people with incredibly elaborate/scary/beautiful costumes. It was a beautiful Sunday; a perfect day to absorb and observe one of Bulgaria’s most legendary and unique traditions. All of the costumes were so unique and frightening, that I will not even try and explain them with words. The following are pictures from the festival.














So what do you think? Pretty wild huh……….I really want to buy one of those costumes someday. I think it would be a blast to wander around down town Seattle or the Bellevue mall wearing one of the Kukar costumes……..haha…….I would enjoy seeing the confused/frightened looks on the faces of the observing strangers.
After a day in the sun…..a couple beers……..a full day of standing after only 4 hours of sleep the night before…….I was tired. But now what? I was in a small village in the middle of nowhere and needed to travel 200 miles of windy roads to make it back to my crib. When there is a will there is a way! The group was now Alex, Mary, Katherine and I. Mary and Katherine needed to make it to Plovdiv; and Alex and I needed to take a train from Plovdiv to our homes. I was actually quite optimistic about the situation…….memories from early gave me the realization that these girls would potentially dramatically increase our chances of hitching a ride. And luck would have it we did in fact hitch a ride to a nearby ski resort about 15 minutes after we put our thumbs in the air. Luck and time was now on our side……we made it to Pamporrovo around 3pm and were able to catch a direct bus to Plovdiv from the resort less than a half hour later. We were now on a roll; but dreadfully exhausted and ready for a nap. We all tried our best to nap on the bus but…….the jerky movements of the bus braking suddenly and driving at top speeds through the windy mountain roads made this a near impossibility. We finally arrived in Plovdiv around 5:30……..after a quick machine made espresso, I was ready to go. I gained my second wind and was able to show the girls around Plovdiv like an experienced tour guide. -Plovdiv is by far my favorite city in Bulgaria- At this point Alex and I were feeling moderately energetic and felt confident that we would be able to stay moderately conscious until the 11pm bus arrived in Plovdiv to take us home. Alex and I live in towns on the same train route; so we are usually able to take the same train, my stop is about 40 minutes before his.
After some cheap street food and a couple drinks Alex and I stumbled to the train station and waited for our long anticipated ride home. Overall it was a blast hanging out in Plovdiv; we were with great company. The train arrived about 20 minutes early so Alex and I were able to find an empty wagon compartment. We were both visually exhausted at this point and looking forward to a relaxing ride back to our treasured beds. A good night sleep was the only thing on our minds as we sat alone in our private compartment. Things change……..about 10 minutes before the train left the station a Bulgarian guy in his mid 20s wandered into our compartment and asked if he could join us. Of course he could……..why not……..at least it was not a large, smelly, drunk, chain smoker………ohh and this happens often on these late night trains. There is nothing worse than being stuck in a 6x7ft compartment with a group of sketchy drunkards. Little did I know that we would soon become the young version of this motley crew.
The Bulgarian guy pulled out a 2 liter bottle of beer and offered us both a cup; why not we said…. giving us a beer was a kind gesture and neither Alex nor I tend to turn down free beer. About 2 minutes after our glasses were poured 4 other guys came into our compartment with grimacing smiles on their face and holding large bottles of cheap beer. Our quiet and peaceful train ride home had unexpectedly turned into a full blown Bulgarian na-gosti. Within minutes we all had cups of beer and cups of home made apricot rakia(delicious). Alex and I were reenergized by the friendly college students; they were on their way to Varna; a 8 hour train ride. Our new friends were well prepared for the long trip, and knew that the long ride would be less agonizing if they turned their compartment into a party room. Something tells me they have done this before……Large quantities of beer…..homemade rakia……pretzels…chips…….and a bucket of unseasoned pork liver……Yes…….they definitely knew what they were doing. Of course Alex and I were stuck in the middle of this; and enjoying every minute. The guys were all friendly and knew a bit of English….even though we ended up speaking Bulgarian the entire time. The guy on my left was on his way to Varna to get his clothes and belongings for the move to Cyprus. He was hired as a bartender in Cyprus and was on his way out of the country the following day. During the 55min train ride from Plovdiv to Chirpan the Bulgarians repetitively begged Alex and I to stay on the train and party with them all the way to Varna. Alex and I both had a few minutes of fuzzy reasoning; where we actually considered making the trip with them. Why not…….we were sitting comfortably an a train…buzzed from cheap booze……enjoying the company of some interesting characters……..why end the party now?? As our mind cleared we knew exactly why…..work…responsibility… uncertainty….obligations…Ohh and the fact that we were both exhausted from an incredibly memorable and jam packed weekend. Needless to say I got off the train at my stop; and wished my new friends all the best.

New Bulgarian Friends on Train home-(note- martinitzas on my wrist)

As I walked from the train station to my home in the dim moonlight; I could not help but to feel blissful and grateful for the life I am living.
I am in Bulgaria; therefore I experience new and exciting things on a daily basis. Isn’t that what life is all about? Experience, Love, Joy, Happiness, Friendship, Taking Chances, Learning, Growing, Enlightenment. Well……I feel both content and eager at the moment. I am content with what I am doing; and feel eager to experience more and grow as a person. The more I think about settling down the less appealing it sounds. I am starting to see things from a different perspective; and am now realizing that maybe the American dream does not have to be everyone’s dream. What is happiness, success, and fulfillment? Do they all coincide naturally? I am thinking yes, but perhaps we all fit them together in different ways. At this moment in time, I personally do not feel that I would be happy with a: house payment, car payment, steady/restrictive job, wife, kids, responsibility, obligations………. But….isn’t this the route we all take? Why is this so normal in our society? Are we deviant and wrong if we do not feel the need to fit this mold by age 25? Am I only thinking this because I am officially a quarter century old this month?
Don’t get me wrong I do not feel that the American dream is a total bust. I do want a wife, kids, steady work and responsibilities at some point; but maybe not now. Perhaps a journey around the world will clear my head and allow me to get everything out of my system. Or possibly I will be better off working abroad a while longer; and experiencing a few more foreign cultures. In any case I will be traveling for a while after I finish my Peace Corps assignment. I will try my best to travel cheap and stretch my trip out as long as possible. The only drawback to life abroad is the abandonment of family and friends. I value my family and friends greatly and miss having them in my day to day life. Thank God for the internet; it keeps me connected with those I care about and reminds me that I am not completely forgotten. Well I think I have rambled incoherently long enough……….bye for now
Trevor