Odd Fact

When I fly home in July I will have been out of the United States for exactly 350 days. My summer (which I will spend in both Seattle and San Francisco) will last exactly 50 days. When I return to Bulgaria in September it will be at least for another year, which is crazy! Who would have thought a year ago that I would stay so long? And who knows where I'll be a year from this summer? 

Where East Meets West

During the extra days we had off of school in the last week or so I traveled to Istanbul with a friend to visit more friends and to finally see the city I'd been dreaming about for so long. Having studied the Middle East in college, I became very interested in visiting Istanbul because of the complex and diverse stories that make up its character. Spending a whole week there was wonderful because I got to feel out more of the districts outside the tourist center, although there are enough monuments and important sights to fill up at least a month.

I did and saw a lot on my trip so I won't write about all of it now. On my first full day we met up with friends and saw both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The Hagia Sophia (Great Sophia) is iconic for Istanbul and represents the intersection of two cultures. Before it was converted into a mosque in 1453 it was the center of Byzantine religious life in Constantinople. Under the Ottoman Empire the massive red brick building served as a mosque and was also the inspiration for many other mosques built during that time. Its architecture was considered by many to be perfect for a religious space. The conversion of the Christian basilica into an Islamic house of worship was viewed by the Western world as an offense and indeed it did signify the dominance of an Islamic empire over the lands formerly ruled by the Byzantines. But the important thing to remember is that religious pluralism was a fundamental part of the Ottoman governing structure, with each religion able to maintain a separate identity and observe its own laws and customs. Because the Hagia Sophia was such an important landmark and represented the seat of power in the city, its conversion was a symbol of the new empire's control. The same is true of the building which stands across from it: the Blue Mosque. 

Unlike the Hagia Sophia, which is a museum today, the Blue Mosque is a functioning religious center. Its intricate tiles and beautiful dome attract the gaze of hundreds of visitors simultaneously while others silently pray. Its name comes from the vivid blue tiles that adorn its interior, which were something that impressed me in nearly every mosque I visited in the city. Many of the tiles were made in Iznik and have a distinctive flowery pattern. Even some of the smaller mosques, like the Rustem Pasha Mosque near the Egyptian Bazaar, have thousands of these tiles decorating their walls. These stunning embellishments were unlike anything I have seen before, so I found them mesmerizing.

There were many moments in Istanbul where I felt completely familiar with my surroundings, either because of the close proximity to Europe or simply modernization. But there were others when I felt very foreign, especially when walking around some of the more conservative neighborhoods. But in each case I always felt at ease and welcome in Turkey. The hospitality and openness of Turks are a legacy of their past, at least in this observer's opinion. The various cultures that have intermingled and coexisted for hundreds of years across  the Bosporus Strait have definitely left their mark, however slight. And this is certainly the only city in the world where you can say you've gone from Europe to Asia and back in a day! 

Violin Concert in Pleven

Last week I went to the theater in Pleven with a friend for a violin concert featuring the world-famous Vasko Vasilev. On this tour, the Bulgarian violinist was accompanied by several varied accompaniments including piano, electric guitar, accordion, bongo drums, tambourine and flamenco singing. It was a beautiful, energetic and creative performance. I hadn't heard of him before but I'm really glad I went to the concert because it was totally unique and exciting.

Right now I am visiting friends in Istanbul so I don't have a lot of time to write, but I absolutely love this city and all of the amazing sights and sounds it has to offer. More about Turkey in my next post!

Day of European Culture

The school celebration today was so great! Our room was decorated like a San Francisco cafe, complete with photos, posters, food and drinks, and of course, students in costume! We sold lots of baked goods for a charity fundraiser and had a fun party. It was amazing to see students got so excited about creating something different and to interact with them outside of the regular classroom environment. 

I helped a little with the planning but really over 99% of the work was done by students. They had so many wonderful ideas, like making a path out of flowers on the floor and dressing up as different characters. We had a few hippies, a baseball player from the San Francisco Giants and an authentic Vietnamese costume. Two of the girls even skated around on roller skates to advertise our room. Several of our best musicians entertained us for a few hours as "street performers," and I think they made a little money in their hats, too! All of the classrooms on one floor of the school were decorated with themes from other countries, including Russia, Spain, Austria and Monaco. 

I was really impressed with all the hard work everyone put in and I think that our room turned out to be one of the best decorated, and definitely the most fun. There was a lot of energy in the room and everyone seemed to be having a great time. It reminded me of home and maybe I feel a little more homesick now but I couldn't be happier with the results. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Wine Tourism in Bulgaria

Yesterday I finally made a visit to the Pleven Wine Museum, a relatively new local attraction. Opened in 2008 by a Bulgarian-French team of architects, wine-lovers and museum curators, it's surprisingly under-visited. I went with a few friends by taxi, really the only way to get there unless you have a car or possibly a bicycle. About 8 kilometers from the town center, it's located inside of a natural cave within Kailuka National Park.

The cave setting made it a really unique and visual experience. There were a few exhibits on the history of wine making in Bulgaria, a long tradition stretching back to Thracian times. Our guide explained how the ancient Greeks and Romans adopted Thracian viniculture, which became associated with mythology and religious practices. Later on the techniques used by the inhabitants of this region were adopted throughout Western Europe, namely in France. Pleven has had a wine production institute for over 100 years and for the first few decades of the 20th century Bulgarian wine production was at its peak. However, under the socialist government all wineries were state-run and focused on quantity over quality. Today this is changing and Bulgarian wines are becoming much more well-known and popular abroad. Although much smaller in comparison, the museum reminded me a lot of the national museum of wine in Budapest's castle district. However, wine tourism around the world is still relatively underdeveloped.

We decided to sample some of the wines produced here after the tour, and our guide was very professional and informative about each of the different varieties we tried. My favorites were the Chardonnay-Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, both produced by the vineyards also owned by the museum. Of course, when Dena and I mentioned that we were both from Northern California, our guide was very pleased and even shared her reaction to the movie Sideways. We talked about how Paul Giamatti's character made Pinot Noir something of a cliché among wine aficionados. She told us that the two most important questions when tasting wine are: "do you like it?" and "do you like it?" I thought that was a refreshingly candid insight and made me feel less worried about not knowing enough about wine. The only thing that matters in the end is finding one that suits you. 

I feel very lucky to have such a well-designed and user-friendly museum (a rarity here, unfortunately) in close proximity. Hopefully more people will make the trip and visit, making this a well-known wine region around the Balkans and Europe. If anyone is visiting northern Bulgaria or Pleven I highly recommend it. Na zdrave!

Authentic American Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is a national holiday in Bulgaria: St. George's Day, or the day of the Bulgarian armed forces. Everyone named Georgi or Gergana has a name day today and from what I understand it's yet another day to eat lots of good food, drink, and hang out with family and friends. Exactly like pretty much every holiday we have back home. In honor of St. George everyone gets the day off, and since today is a Friday we have a long weekend. At my school, Monday is a holiday, too. We're celebrating the school's birthday (161 years old!) and also the day of European culture. Because I teach at a Foreign Language School, the day will be celebrated with decorated classrooms from every language studied by the students: English, German, French, Russian, Spanish and Bulgarian. I helped some of my students to decorate the "English culture" classroom. They were free to choose any city or country in the English-speaking world and they decided on San Francisco, which I am very proud of. They're transforming the room into a vintage cafe, with handmade posters featuring slogans such as "Make Love, Not War." Part of the event will include a charity bake sale, and I am going to bring American-style chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. Today I went over to my friend Dessy's house and we baked the cookies together, which was great because she already taught me how to make Bulgarian banitsa. Cultural exchange through dessert! How exciting! Another feature of the San Francisco room will be "street performers," aka some of our talented guitar players, and a "tourist information booth" where I will sit and answer questions about that lovely city. It should be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the reactions of other teachers and students when they see all of the hard work my students have put in.

On a completely unrelated note, talking about recent events with students has been a very interesting and eye-opening experience for me. Osama bin Laden's death is significant for them but also somewhat confusing. One thing I found shocking in their reactions was the belief that his death may have been a publicity stunt or had an element of conspiracy to it. Perhaps this is a cultural difference stemming from a lack of trust in government or something else completely. It definitely made me conscious of the fact that I am a foreigner and, to some extent, representative of the attitudes and actions of my home country. The celebratory patriotism displayed in New York and Washington is something I can relate to and that makes sense to me, even if I don't feel the need to do the same. But explaining it to students was somewhat difficult considering the sensitive subject matter. I plan on showing my older students excerpts from a documentary about 9/11 and discussing the US war on terror and what it means for global security. Hopefully this will result in a more illuminating discussion for all of us. 

Melnik Weekend

 This weekend after the Fulbright conference I went on a group trip to Melnik, also known as the "smallest town in Bulgaria." Nestled between sandstone cliffs in a lush valley in Southwestern Bulgaria, Melnik is most famous for its local wines. You can find them in any Bulgarian grocery store, but this trip was special because we visited an historic merchant's house with an ancient wine cellar underneath where we tried some of their vintages. It's definitely not a taste that everyone loves, but I really do enjoy the earthy, tart and dry Melnik red wine. It's chalky flavor comes from the tunnels where cellars have been dug out for centuries. Apparently Winston Churchill was a big fan. I brought home a big jug of homemade wine for about 6 dollars.Not bad!

Before heading to Melnik we visited the Rohjen Monastery, just a short drive away. This was my third monastery visit in Bulgaria and although they all have a similar structure and purpose, each one is unique in its own way. Rohjen is situated on top of a hill, up a winding mountain road, and the scenery from the top is gorgeous with the surrounding cliffs. It was a perfectly sunny day, enough for me to get a little sunburned but that's okay. I'll take it over the rain any day. Like Troyan, Rohjen was small compared to Rila, and seemed to be the least touristy of the three, which is a good thing. The scenery and gardens were beautiful and calming.  

After a long weekend of meetings, traveling and parties, I am exhausted. Luckily I'll only be working for a little over two weeks this month! I have a couple of friends who will be traveling through Bulgaria in the coming weeks and hopefully I'll make it down to Istanbul around my birthday. The end of the school year is quickly approaching and everyone wants to make the most out of our remaining time here. It's a little sad but I'm also looking forward to going home and visiting family and friends before coming back in September. I can't believe it's almost summer! 

Next Year in... Sofia!

I finally made a decision about what to do with my life. Well, for the next 12 months, anyway. I will be renewing my grant with Fulbright and teaching English at the Hebrew School "Dimcho Debelyanov" in Sofia. This weekend was the wrap-up seminar for English Teaching Assistants and I think that the program is headed in an exciting direction. Next year there will be twice as many American teachers spread across the country and I will already have this year's experience to build upon at my new school. And I will hopefully be interning at one of the international non-governmental organizations based in Sofia, such as the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. A lot of this is still in the works, including where I'll live, but luckily I have lots of time before I head home in July to figure it out.

Why am I choosing to live for another year in a foreign country? Because I really like it here and I've come to realize that I'm the type of person who can be happy pretty much anywhere. Not that there aren't specific things I love about Bulgaria, and more generally, the region. This year has been a great opportunity for reflection and learning more about myself. I want to pursue a career working in this part of the world and I know that this will fit into that plan somehow.

Wish me luck!