12.7.11

The Village - Part I

One very relaxing part of Bulgarian culture is going "на гости" to "the village."  Our first time going to the village since we've been in Plovdiv was Sunday.  So fun.  So relaxing.  We celebrated 4th of July with the same family that invited us to the village.  We are having a blast getting to know them better... it's very convenient because, their apartment in Plovdiv is about 100 feet from our building.  Love it.  Their son, Martin (11 years old), absolutely loves Randall.  Vania says he's always talking about when we're going to come back to visit or about Randall's "tablet."

Anyway, we went to their village house Sunday, and we wanted to give you a glimpse into what it means to go "на гости" in a Bulgarian village...

First of all, they have such a cozy patio (this was the hot spot all day) and cottage.  Lovely.

Patio

Kitchen
Isn't this so cozy?
When we arrived, around 9 am, they fixed us coffee and мекици (fried dough) with various delicious toppings... to die for!  We were so busy eating these things that we forgot to take pictures.  You'll just have to come visit and try them :)

Coffee

As we mentioned, Martin REALLY enjoys playing with Randall and has been, for a week or so, wanting to challenge him to a Monopoly game.  Boy did they play... for 5 hours!  Martin kept giving Randall loans to make the game continue!  They were known as "the kids" all day...

Sphinx
Winner
Tuk-Tuk
Loser
Meanwhile, Joy helped Vania and her mother plant flowers for their garden.  Not quite the Monopoly competition, but nonetheless, as Bulgarians would say, it was "real work"; the kind you can feel good about at the end of the day.

Joy planting flowers
The finished product...
Flowers

Throughout the day, we entertained ourselves in various ways...

Taking funny pictures...
Goggles 3
"The kids"
Vania
Vania
Dangerous
In Bulgarian: "Stop!  Dangerous for your life!"

Bug eyes
Don't ask
Playing other games we found...

Football
Old school soccer game
Shoots and Ladders
Your basic Chutes and Ladders
To finish off the day, we had a DELICIOUS spread of grilled meat and veggies and fresh bread.

Lunch Table

When we say "finish off the day," that's literal.  We were gone from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm.  Being a guest in Bulgarian is serious, but wonderful stuff :)

So wonderful that we have more to come... soon to come, Part II!

0 comments:

Post a Comment