Chestita Baba Marta

Happy "Grandma March!" Here are some examples of what I was talking about in my last post: 

There are so many different varieties but I really like the handmade bracelets, especially with different colored beads like these. There are also door hangings for good luck as well as martenitsi to be pinned on clothing.

I'm packing right now to go to London for a week and I'm so excited! I get to visit some relatives there, see a basketball game and just enjoy the city. In other news, I uploaded a new album to my old website on Picasa. It's sort of a "hits version" of all the photos I've taken so far. Check it out...

Not out of the woods yet

More snow in February!

So the slightly warmer weather the last few weeks made me believe that winter had finally subsided here in Pleven. I was mistaken, as I found out last week when it started snowing again. Aesthetically, it's really pretty. Practically, I hate it. I have to wear my big clunky snow boots (which I thought would hold up for a long time but I will likely have to throw out after this winter). I have to walk more slowly than I normally would because the roads can be icy. And I just feel plain lazy all the time. Keeping busy is tough when it's so tempting to sleep in longer.

Trifon Zarezan

But this season in Bulgaria has its quirks and little surprises: the first being a day dedicated to drinking wine  and the second, the tradition of Baba Marta. Trifon Zarezan is a holiday celebrated on February 14th, on Valentine's Day, for the new grape harvest and ritual pruning of the vines. My students have informed me that it's mostly an excuse for people to get drunk. I do admire the tradition. Bulgaria has some fabulous wines (I haven't even tried all the varieties yet). I prefer dry reds, so for me two of the best ones are Mavrud and the regional variety from Melnik. I've also heard that Pleven's institute of viniculture, the oldest one in the Balkans, has a retail outlet somewhere in town. I haven't found it yet, but believe me, I will. :)

Baba Marta is a celebration of springtime where people wear little badges or bracelets called martenitsi for good luck and health. They always feature two colors: red, which symbolizes health, and white, which symbolizes luck. There is a legend about a carrier pigeon sent over the Danube with a white string attached to its leg that was shot by an arrow, thus the red blood, on which the tradition is based. During the month of March (or Mart, in Bulgarian) these symbols are worn until one sees a stork. After that you are supposed to tie the martenitsi to a tree so that it will blossom. When this happens it marks the beginning of spring. This practice is celebrated all over Bulgaria and everyone exchanges martenitsi with family and friends. It's definitely more exciting than watching a groundhog look at it's shadow, don't you think?    

Busy, busy, busy!

This weekend was another long one away from my apartment (where my poor plants nearly died of thirst- again! But they seem to be alright now). I was in Sofia for three days on some important "business:" firstly I went to the embassy to take the Foreign Service Officer Test, which is the required exam to work for the State Department. I'll find out how I did in about three weeks. It's definitely not a job I would be able to start in the near future, even if I did pass. There's a long selection process but I'm at least getting a head start on it while I have the time. Secondly, I met with a friend and former colleague about starting a new educational program in my school and with Fulbright. I am going to be a part of the planning process and hopefully contribute to writing some of the curriculum! More on that later as things progress.
I also got to hang out with friends in Sofia, which is always a pleasure. I "discovered" some new places I hadn't been to before and I feel like I'm finally starting to get the hang of navigating the city. I went to the Teahouse, a really cute vegetarian cafe/restaurant that would be very much at home in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, and also Dobro, a hip little neighborhood restaurant near my friend Ellen's house. Parts of Sofia remind me a lot of Budapest, I'm beginning to realize, but there's also something very unique about the city. It's unlike anywhere else I've seen in Bulgaria: young, vibrant and energetic but also laid-back and sophisticated.
In other news, it snowed here in Pleven again. Hopefully that will be the last of the winter weather. We had a week of warm-ish temperatures recently so maybe that's the trend and today was a fluke. One can dream!

Rilski Manastir

A beautiful day at Rila Monastery!

Last weekend the Fulbright Commission sponsored a group trip to Rila Monastery- one of the oldest and most significant monasteries in Bulgaria. It was the center of monastic life in Bulgaria under the Ottoman Empire and is famous for having preserved many important liturgical texts and traditions during that time. The museum inside has intricate wood-carved crosses, tapestries, icons and other items related to Bulgarian religious arts. The church itself is covered in colorful frescoes from the 19th century- earlier ones were destroyed by fires over the years and these newer paintings are very well-preserved.

19th Century frescoes

Bulgarian Revival-period architecture

After visiting the monastery we had a delicious lunch on the river and tried the mekitsi (sweet fried dough) they sell outside. Donuts of any kind are always good, but these were awesome! I hope I don't find any in Pleven because they're dangerously addictive. ;) I'm really glad I finally made it to Rila and I hope to go back sometime when the weather's warm because there are a lot of good hiking trails around the mountains there. One of the most popular hikes is to the Seven Rila Lakes, which have fun names like "the eye," "the kidney" and "the fish." Springtime is almost here and I can't wait for this winter to finally end.

Enjoying the scenic Rila Mountains :)

Bulgarian Cooking Project: Banitsa

A friend of mine suggested that I make Bulgarian cooking a "side project" while I'm here. I think it's a great idea and I've decided to document my experiments. First up is banitsa, a Bulgarian cheese pastry made from eggs, yogurt, cheese and paper-thin dough (like phyllo). The filling doesn't always have to be cheese- there are versions with apple, onion and my favorite, pumpkin. I learned how to make it from my friend Dessy, who showed me the way her grandmother taught her.

Here are the ingredients:
- 1 package banitsa dough
- 5 eggs
- 1 pint of yogurt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- Crumbled cirene (soft, white, feta-like cheese)
- Sunflower oil

Preheat oven. I still haven't figured out what the correct temperature is exactly, but about 175 Celsius seemed to work fine. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Combine baking soda and yogurt separately, let sit for one minute until yogurt starts to expand. Mix with eggs. Add crumbled cheese and oil. I use about 300-400 grams of cheese and less than a half cup of oil, but you could add more of either one. Grease a large, round, shallow baking dish with oil and place two layers of dough on the bottom. For the remaining layers you should squeeze them gently into a loose ball and then place in the pan so that the folds can hold the mixture. Spoon the egg mixture over the folds, not coating the dough entirely but spreading it across the whole pan. Continue until you run out of dough and make sure to leave enough of the egg mixture to coat the top of the pie with it or the dough will burn. Brush oil on any remaining dough poking out and place pan in the oven. The pie will be ready in 25 to 40 minutes, depending on the oven. Wait for it to cool before cutting into slices and enjoy! One variation is to sprinkle a little water on the top and then add sugar- this makes the banitsa both savory and sweet.

Not the most beautiful banitsa in the world but pretty tasty!

International Kukeri Festival in Pernik

These were way scarier than the Hungarian busos!

Typical male bridal costume

Bonfires and pagan rituals

Old and new traditions

The Kukeri festival in Pernik was two weeks ago. I'm just now getting caught up on some blogging, so please be patient with me. We arrived by train from Sofia, which was surprisingly fast and cheap. Most people living in Pernik commute to Sofia every day, and the connections are excellent. Basically the event of the day was the judging of different groups performing folk dances and other traditions for the judges of the festival. That means we got to see most of the participants parading through the town. It seemed like every region in Bulgaria was represented, mostly from small villages. Although the festival was advertised as international I didn't notice any groups from neighboring countries. Some of the dances I saw were ones I recognized from my time at the summer institute in Bansko. Other performances involved theatrical elements and rituals, such as a wedding. There was a wide variety in the types of costumes, too. The typical kukeri costume in Bulgaria is made up of sheepskin, heavy brass bells hanging from the waist and a scary wooden mask. But there are many variations depending on the traditions for each community, such as feathers added for those who raise poultry. Many costumes involved political satire or social commentary, as well. I was surprised by the huge number of cross-dressers I saw. All of the brides in the performances were in fact men dressed as women, and some of the men's roles were played by women! Overall I thought this was a much larger and more organized version of a similar event I attended two years ago in Hungary. Both events featured large cannons being fired off at random by rowdy parade revelers. I had a great time and I'm really glad I got to experience this unique aspect of Bulgarian folk traditions first-hand.