A "Sparse" Christmas - Part I

So much to say, so many pictures, and no way to capture it all. That's what comes to mind while writing this blog post. Thankfully, as we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words.

As many of you know, Randall's parents came to Bulgaria for two weeks over the Christmas break. Needless to say, we had a fabulous time! We actually got to show Bulgaria to someone from America!
 

Throughout their stay, we all kept joking about how "sparse" this Christmas was. Besides the fact that they played "Santa" for all the gifts (numerous as they were) sent from the rest of our family& friends in America, the four of us were able to visit so many parts of Bulgaria/Plovdiv that even the two of us hadn't yet! Definitely "sparse."

Just see for yourself... :)

Warning: This post series is more like an entire scrapbook.

So, get a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable!

Here we are, setting out to pick up Karen and Paul from the Sofia airport on the 21st.  It was a beautiful day, just after a blanket of snow a few days before.

The train-ride through the mountains was gorgeous...

And, since we got there a few hours early, we set out to find a local Starbucks. It was wonderful to enjoy some good ol' American coffee... Starbucks was our go-to date location in the states :)

With a little caffeine fix and a bus ride, we made it to the airport, found Karen and Paul, and hailed a taxi to catch our train back to Plovdiv.  Everything went off without a hitch.  We were amazed.

Then, on Thursday and Friday, since school was not yet out for the holiday break, Paul (Thurs) and Karen (Fri) went with Joy to her school for the day.  They were great!  They answered many questions from the kids and her colleagues, though insanely jet-lagged :)

We sang Christmas songs to them and some of them even colored some Christmas pictures for their guests!  We learned that the last few days before Christmas break are the same no matter where you are - plenty of excitement, short attention spans, and a lot of fun :)

On Christmas Eve, we ventured out to see the city!  The three of us (including Liza!) love to show off where we live!  First, we went to the "Old Town" of Plovdiv.  Here are remnants of Roman rule.  These Medieval-looking houses are still inhabited, and in order to build in this area, one must have the blueprints for the original house.  It's beautiful.  Some Peace Corps volunteers call it the Paris of Bulgaria.

Also in the Old Town, we visited the Ancient Theatre, which was discovered after a landslide in the 1970's.  Really, truly, this city (and most of Bulgaria, for that matter) is swimming in ancient ruins.  During warmer weather, this holds performances most evenings.

That same day, we introduced Paul and Karen to one of

Plovdiv's mosques.

Paul and Randall went inside for a little while, took some beautiful pictures, and even met the Imam.

Islam is a significant portion of Bulgarian culture due to the former Turkish rule.  In fact, Joy's students are Turkish Romi Muslims.

Before the five of us headed back home, we had to get a picture on top of "Nebet Tepe," the hill on which the Old Town is located :)

Little did we know, later on that night, we would have one of the richest cultural experiences yet!  Joy's best buddy, Vania, invited us all over for a little Christmas Eve dinner.  Christmas Eve is the most important part of Christmas for Bulgarians, so this was a huge honor for us.

We also learned that Bulgarians make, on average, 9 different dishes on Christmas Eve.  This is to empathize with Mary's pain of childbirth (9 months).  The dishes are also vegetarian.  So, we had a lot of beans, salads, peppers, and delicious soup.  We also really enjoyed the homemade wine!

Sparse Christmas, eh?  And, this is only Christmas Eve!

Like we said, Paul and Karen hauled many presents from our friends and family in the US.   Some of the presents we received probably wouldn't be as awesome in the US, but we were and are so thankful!

For example: peanut butter and syrup!  This is Karen's suitcase filled to the brim with it.  And, as of Christmas morning, our pantry is now filled with it!  Woohoo!  Thanks, God, for all your blessings, including peanut butter & syrup!

But, most of all, we are thankful for God coming to earth to save humanity - the reason for this holiday.  

We are so undeserving and so blessed!

After we opened presents, we had a Turkey dinner!  It was really cool to celebrate Bulgaria style on Christmas Eve and then to celebrate American style with family on Christmas Day!

We're just so blessed to have had turkey for Thanksgiving and also for Christmas!  It was definitely a family effort and it was delicious...

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm.

Then, or a couple of days after Christmas, we got to visit our host families in Borovan!  It was awesome for Randall's real parents to meet his and Joy's Bulgarian host parents!

Here we all are with Mama Lili (Randall's host mom) and her daughter, granddaughter, and their snowman!

And, here we are with Joy's host mom, toasting for Christmas :)

Before we headed out, we also got to meet up with Amy, a volunteer who also was in our training group in Borovan :)  At our favorite cafe, nonetheless!

More to come, soon...