Bulgarian Daze

Since most of you had yesterday off to celebrate/memorialize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his role in the Civil Rights Movement, I thought I would do a serious post (gasp!) on the race relations here in Bulgaria. In living here, where there is almost no desire to integrate the “minority” population, I have a much deeper understanding of the revolutionary message MLK spread. I say “minority” loosely because (a) that is not my favorite word, as minority implies minor, or less important, and (b) because, similar to California, the groups that once were considered minorities will soon be majorites here.

There are three main ethnic groups here: the Bulgarians, the Turks, and people of Roma descent, or as you know them, gypsies. Most of the Bulgarians are exactly how you would picture a person of Eastern Europe descent—white, with pale skin. As it was explained to me, the Turks are a bit darker, and the Roma have very olive skin and dark eyes. Although I still question how they know who is who just by looking at them. I mean, what if a dark-haired Bulgarian got a really great tan…would s/he be mistaken for a Roma??? They insist that they can tell the difference just by looking at them.

The Roma have long had a history of being a nomadic people who really don’t nationalize themselves into one country. They are spread throughout Eastern Europe. Their situation is a sad one, indeed. In general they are poor and live in ghettoes with no running water or electricity. Their toilets are, quite literally, a hole in the ground. They still push carts and ride on donkeys or horses. The crime rate in their neighborhoods (mehala) is high and Bulgarians themselves rarely enter them. In fact, even the Peace Corps volunteers I have met will not enter them. (Yeah, I know, perhaps they forgot the word “peace”). For centuries, the Bulgarians have mistrusted the Roma and the Roma do not trust the Bulgarians. Bulgarians often refer to them as “tzigane” which is the equivalent to the “N” word in English, though usually they do not know/understand this term is derogatory. For that matter, the word gypsy is also sometimes thought not to be the nicest word to use. The politically correct word is Roma. Likewise, the Roma do commit a lot of petty theft-like crimes and have organized bands of gangs. They take the metal off national monuments and sell it off. They have little interest in assimilating with the rest of the population.

The Turks and the Bulgarians have a similar relationship. The Turks ruled Bulgaria during the Ottoman Empire for 500 years. During that time, the Turks (supposedly) kidnapped Bulgarian children and used them to serve in the military. They were overthrown over a century ago, but you would think it all happened yesterday. There is such a great divide and disdain between the two ethnicities. Like the Roma, the Turks are also often very poor.

Not to sound like all these groups exist in a vacuum. Like the U.S, there is a mixture. The Roma often identify themselves as Roma and Turkish, or Roma and Bulgarian. Regardless, the basic rule of thumb here is not to trust dark-skinned people. Period. They are not accepted into mainstream society. And this is not a secret. It is openly discussed and people will even justify their reasoning, saying things like “they are dirty, they smell, they steal, etc.” I once had someone tell me, “even the dogs here don’t trust gypsies. They bark at them and attack them”. Even when I have asked simple questions like “well, what if they take a bath? Would they still be dirty?”, the response is usually yes, that it’s more than a bath, it’s a whole lifestyle, or just who they are, or something along these lines.

In saying all this, I must also include the fact that many Bulgarians I have encountered realize this racism is a growing problem here. The Roma are having many children and the average Bulgarian family has only one. Many people here realize that this way of thinking is outdated and that, at some point, they must integrate the societies in order to keep the country fully functioning. And because they live together. Oh yeah, and because it’s just not right.

While it is shocking to me to see such overt displays of racism, I have to remember that I live just one generation removed from when this was also a way of life all over the U.S. Again, not to say that racism and inequality don’t still exist in America. But you must admit, in the last 40 years, we have made great strides. And I can truly appreciate our progress when I am living here, in a country that hasn’t even begun the struggle, that doesn’t have any MLKs or Malcolm Xs pushing people to re-think their cultural norms.

Perhaps Bulgaria made its first statement, albeit a whisper, when they soundly defeated the bid for the presidency from the Ataka party, a party whose platform relied on the idea of ridding the entire country of all Turks, all Roma, all foreigners, hearkening back to Hitler’s message. For many people of my generation, there was disbelief that Ataka even made it as far as they did—to the top two candidates. Maybe that will be the first eye-opener to spark some change. The realization that there needs to be change. And that it won’t ever be made by just whispering that things are unfair, being afraid to say it out loud for fear of what others may think of you. They need a MLK here, someone who was brave enough to shout the message out even though it cost him his life. Because really, without him (and others), the U.S. might still be today where Bulgaria is, without even a conscience that this segregation is wrong and hurtful, and ultimately leading to even more problems.

So, yes, we still have problems in America, and as a very non-Republican, I am always quick to find those. But being here, and seeing a country that is striving to develop their democracy, I can see how much we have done right back home. At least we know about the issue, and we discuss it, and we teach our students about how things once were, so they know not to repeat it, not to “judge others by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. Because without MLK and the whole Civil Rights Movement, we’d be….well…right where I am today.

Happy New Year! And welcome to the E.U, Bulgaria!

For a variety of reasons, there was a gi-normous party out on the streets of Sofia on New Year’s Eve. Firstly, New Year’s is THE holiday here. Since there was no Christmas during the 50 years of Communism, the big celebration around here was New Year’s (it was also when people surreptitiously celebrated Christmas—sneaky little devils!!) Secondly, well….it was New Year’s….and isn’t that just reason enough??? And finally, Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the European Union on January 1st. This was HUGE for them here (to be discussed in another post, though).

So what did we do?

Well, at around 10:00pm, we headed to a restaurant/club to meet up with some American and Bulgarian friends. I must admit that I was a bit nervous. It seriously sounded like a war zone outside. People had firecrackers and small explosive devices that they were just shooting in the air. And you physicists know that what goes up must come down! And to scare us a bit more, while we were walking, someone threw a firecracker out the window and the girl walking a few feet in front of us had to dance around it. All around us, it sounded like bombs were exploding!!

Here’s a picture of the restaurant we went to:

Lucky for us, this place was just a few blocks from the raging street party. We hung out there for a while, then bundled up and headed outside for the celebration. There was a stage with people performing and making speeches.

The president pre-recorded a message that was played via video. Small problem, though, the sound didn’t work for the whole first half of the speech. Then we he could finally be heard, a lot of people were booing. I guess politics are the same the world over. (Anyways….what was he doing that he couldn’t make a live speech in the capital city of his country on the eve of such an historic event??????)

Then there was the countdown, and then……this!!!

Fireworks, balloons, torches, green lasers, all shooting out of the old Communist Party headquarters (ironic, no?). So much so, that at one point, we could not even see the fireworks because the sky was too smoky. They were so close that the debris fell on our heads. There was loud music, singing, screaming, and kissing (I know, soooooo gross!!) The mood was infectious, truly!

Once the excitement died down, we returned to the restaurant and hung out with our friends some more. Then we headed to a place where we could play pool. Have I told you how horrible I am at this game? I know, you would think someone who LOVES math would do well with a game that is all about angles. But…I can’t explain it….I really am terrible at it. No matter. I played anyways.

When we finally made it home, at 4:30 in the morning, we had sore throats and no voices. And we were starving!!!!!! So I made some eggs and tortillas and we ate them with our salsa brought from home. See? I told you that food would come in handy

As promised, a recap on our trip to Rila Monastery…

Of course, first you must know a little history (click here or here for more in depth history) of the place. In the 10th Century, a hermit named John lived in a cave and prayed near to where Rila is now located. The scholars who followed his teachings began building the monastery, particularly a guy named Ivan Rilski. Many priests and leaders in the world donated to the monastery during the first few hundred years it was built. Then the Turks invaded Bulgaria and raided the monastery in the 13th Century. Even so, the monastery was saved by the Russian Orthodox church who would send books and money to the church.

During the time of the Ottoman Empire (when the Turks had taken over), the monastery became a refuge for Bulgarian culture. Because it was in the mountains and a bit difficult to get to, the monks here were able to keep much of the culture alive during this time. For this reason, Rila Monastery is perhaps the most beloved and respected place in Bulgaria.

In the 1880s, as the Turks were being forced out of Bulgaria by the Russians, they burned the monastery down. But…because the respect people had for the place, they raised enough money and rebuilt the place in one year. This may not seem amazing to you, but this is a country that cannot even build a simple road in 5 years, let alone a huge monastery in one!

Our trip to the monastery actually began the night before, on our way home from Plovdiv. The taxi we took from the bus station was driven by a guy named Toni. We started asking about going to the monastery because I had read that it is difficult to go by bus in one day. Toni offered to drive us in his own car and we negotiated a price. My two friends, Mark and I split the price.

On Monday morning, Toni came and picked us up in his own car. He told Mark that he would be Mark’s Bulgarian teacher and Mark would be his English teacher. And that’s pretty much how the day went—those two trying to communicate in the front seat with my friend and me trying to translate between the two of them (using our Bulgarian/English dictionary, of course) from the back seat. Toni stopped at the place where the nuns stayed:

And he stopped for us to take some scenic shots:

(a frozen waterfall) (snow-capped mountains)

Then we got to the monastery and it was all snowy, in the mountains, and BEAUTIFUL!! Really, truly amazing. The monastery itself is bright and colorful and every inch of it is covered in artwork and…well….words really cannot convey….take a look!

Toni walked us all around, into the monks’ quarters and up to the top to the scenic views, and he even bought us little icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. (Soooo nice of him!!! I mean, we were strangers to him!!) Of course, we had to have a snowball fight.  Mark thinks he won, but we both know that really, I WON!!! Then we headed down the mountain, stopped for lunch/dinner, and headed home.

I think this was definitely the best day I have had since we moved here!
**There are meeeeeeeellions more Rila pictures in the Gallery, though I removed some of the artwork pictures which were not kid-friendly.

Plovdiv should be called P-love-div. It is such a beautiful city. We loved visiting, and we will definitely return!

Some Plovdiv background: Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria, second behind Sofia (where we live). The Ottoman Empire (the Turks) controlled Bulgaria for 500 years, until the Russians helped free Bulgaria from Turkish rule in the 1880s. Unfortunately, at the time the first treaties were being signed, Plovdiv was still considered part of the Turkish Empire, so it was NOT named the capital of Bulgaria. This is their claim to fame, that they should have been the capital city. Plovdiv is the Sausalito of Bulgaria. It is where the artists and intellectuals hung out, but sadly, were killed during the Communist era for being against the regime. Think reverse McCarthy-ism.

Now, they have a beautiful center of town with clean streets and brightly colored buildings. There is a whole area where cars are not permitted, so the streets art clear for walking.

There is also a section called Old Town where they have preserved the history. There are the original stones laid by the Romans during the Roman Empire and traditional Bulgarian houses from the Ottoman Empire.

So….here’s how the weekend went:

On Saturday afternoon, we took a bus from Sofia to Plovdiv, which took about an hour and a half. When we arrived at Plovdiv, we went to our hotel and checked in. One small problem, we didn’t bring out passports and the guy didn’t believe we lived in Sofia since we didn’t have address cards (what are those and how do we get them????) But since we were only staying one night, he let us in.

Well, we had planned to meet some of my new American friends who were also in Plovdiv later in the night, but come to find out, some of Mark’s friends were also in town that night. What a coincidence!! We met two of his friends—one American and one Bulgarian—for dinner and then we went out to play pool. Then we went out afterwards with my friends.

The next morning, we went and had brunch, then met with Mark’s friends to tour Old Town. The Bulgarian girl grew up in Plovdiv, so she took us around and told us all the history. For example, they have preserved the original stones laid by the Romans(if you would like to see the pictures better, click on them, they will enlarge):

There was also an amphitheater that was originally built by the Romans, then restored by the Bulgarians and is still used for operas and concerts today:

And during the time of Turkish rule, they built their houses in such a way so they could hide their children who were often taken by the Turks and turned into slaves or soldiers. They would have big walls or wooden doors and windows. Here is an example:

Some of the streets are narrow and the houses nearly touch each other across the streets:

While we were there, a potter came out and offered to give us a demonstration of how he makes his pots, cups, etc. He showed us in his book where he had done a demonstration for the US Ambassador and explained how the clay comes from the nearby river, the River Maritsa.

Of course, we bought a few items from him. This was one of the best parts of the day. He works in a little shop and sells his creations. And he had a speech in English that he knew and described everything that he was doing. Then he slammed one of the vases on to the table to show that it WILL NOT BREAK!! I already knew this because before I left I had taken a pottery class and I learned that little fact. Having tried pottery myself, it was extraordinary to watch this guy make a perfect milk vase in 2 minutes. My greatest achievement was a soy sauce dish that took 8 weeks to master, and even then, it was uneven! So I was very impressed.

After so much walking, we decided to have hot chocolate in a café and then shop for snow boots. I did not find any I liked (will have to look when I come home), so we left and headed to the bus stop, where we met up with some of my American friends. Now all this may seem amazingly coincidental to you, but Bulgaria is a very small country, so it is not unlikely that you will run into people you know.

We were lucky to have a Bulgarian with us during our tour because she could explain to us what everything was. Otherwise, we would have had to rely on guide books which don’t have as much information. One thing Mark and I have both noticed is that people here know their history well. Any Bulgarian could tell you about the main events in their country’s past, and they have thousands of years of history. It makes me that much more sad that so many Americans don’t know our basic history and we are only a couple hundred years old….

To sum it all up…we loved Plovdiv, and now call it P-love-div! We will definitely hang out there again!

***I finished the album of Plovdiv pictures—be sure to check it out!****

*Kids–this is probably going to be boring reading for you, so you may want to go check out my pictures or solve the math problem instead.

Well, this may seem weird to you, but I must end (for now) my small series of history lessons. Two times now, I have had strange people write long comments on the small errors in my history lessons. You see, the history here is not like the history in the United States. Our recorded history is short, only a little over 200 years. The history here goes back thousands of years. And throughout all this time, other countries have come into Bulgaria and taken over the land. This, of course, leads to arguments about who is right and who is wrong. Think of our situation with Iraq, only people have been arguing over this for thousands of years.
Since I am writing this blog to be “kid friendly”, I do not include every single detail. I guess this angers some readers. They think I leave out the information in an attempt to change history and not admit the truth. This problem is even more intense because of the current political situation over here. Perhaps you have been following the news???? Bulgaria is trying to join the EU and they will do so on January 1st, provided they meet certain requirements (more on that in another post). This apparently brings up all kinds of political situations which hearken back to years past.

So, when I innocently write a general description of history here, I risk upsetting Greeks or Turks or Macedonians or Slavs or who knows who else. The question really is…how are they finding my little blog??? I think they must be consulting Google for the History of BG or something.

But I do think the history is important, so I am determined to find a way to write about it without becoming the subject of political rants. I will probably have to not use key words people could find when searching, or using a “code” so they can’t find me, something like: His.to.ry of Bul.gar.ia. Then I can hide, and continue my non-political, brief overview of the past without all the hassle of hearing how I offended one of the neighbors.

Sheesh!! You come for a little stay, try to do a little educating and the next thing you know, everyone’s mad at you. Touchy, touchy!

p.s. Don’t go looking for the long, obnoxious comments–I already erased all of them!

p.p.s. Seriously, though, one dude wrote like a three page term paper on the finer points of history I missed. I mean, GET A LIFE peeps, really!

I would be remiss in my duties if I did not spend some amount of blogging time/space to recount the history of this fine country. But, like most countries in Europe, the history is thousands and thousands of years old. And I would hate to bore you. So, I will give you snippets of the history here and there, and you can piece them all together as you so choose. I, for one, would keep an illustrated time line that would include key dates and facts with a small picture to represent the event. But you can do as you see fit.

Let’s begin at, well, the beginning. What historians like to call Pre-history, meaning the history before history was actually written down, or recorded. The evidence of the first people to live in this region dates back to 40,000 BC. For you dinosaur lovers out there, this is like a little less than 65 million years AFTER the dinosaurs died. There are some clues in caves on the mountains that people lived here then.

The first people to really move in and hang out here came in 6,000 BC. Again, dinosaur lovers, 65 million years AFTER all your reptilian friends died from a giant asteroid. At first these people lived in caves, but then later moved into smaller, round mud huts. Scientists (to be exact, archaeologists) have found proof that they burned grain here, so they think these first people were farmers. About 200 years later, the people were no longer just farmers. They were making jewelry and other things out of copper and gold. In fact, scientists believe that these people were the first people to ever make gold jewelry.

So…how’s your timeline looking now? Might I suggest two important dates, 40,000 BC and 6,000 BC, as well as perhaps a picture of a mud hut and some jewelry? Just some ideas for you…

Next episode: Thracian Era. I know, I know, you can hardly wait!!

Last weekend, Mark and I set out to find the glorious Nevski church, one of the most famous landmarks here in Sofia. I spent all 7 of my college years (I’m including my Master’s degree—I didn’t just go through college slowly) at a Catholic University, so I have developed a love for giant, overly decorated churches. Imagine my excitement when I saw this:

Perhaps you are thinking, “WOW! What a huge church. They must have built that centuries ago”, which is what I thought, too. But, no. The Nevski church was built between 1882 and 1912. Not so long ago. Without giving away too much of a future history lesson, I will tell you that the Turks ruled Bulgaria for 500 years and the Bulgarians were not happy to have them here. In the late 1800s, the Russians helped the Bulgarians beat the Turks. So, the Bulgarians basically love the Russians and hate the Turks.

The church is named after Saint Aleksander Nevsky, who was a famous warrior in Russian history. The Bulgarians built the church as a way to remember the 200,000 Russian soldiers who died fighting in the war to free them from the Turks.

This church is one of the largest, fanciest Orthodox churches in Europe. The Orthodox religion is similar to the Catholic church, but not exactly the same…more on that later. Inside the church was painted by Russian and Bulgarian artists and there are scenes from the Bible on the walls and ceilings. As with any church, you are not allowed to take photos inside because it ruins the artwork, and because the inside of a church is a holy place. But you can see what the inside of the church looks like here.

Under the church, in the crypt, is a museum that holds Orthodox religious icons found all over Europe since the 12th Century, and is considered to be one of the largest and most valuable collections to exist. In case you don’t know, an icon is a painting or a sculpture of anything that is considered to be holy. Here is an example.

On the outside, Nevski church is huge and fills up a whole square in the city. Next to the church is a park with small, meandering paths and benches.

On the other side is a bizarre where vendors sell some handmade items, some junk. Bulgaria is known for its embroidery, so some of the women sell their embroidered pieces here. Men sell old Russian army uniforms and paraphernalia. On a nice day, such as the day we visited, you can walk through the square and have lunch at a café in the park.

So, Nevski Church. Stop 1 on our Sofia sightseeing tour.

p.s. I loaded more photos of the church in the gallery. Click on the picture on the right to see them!