"Chestit Rozhden Den!" means Happy Birthday in Bulgarian. This phrase was one that I heard a lot on the lovely Wednesday of November 10. I woke up early because I had first class. This meant that I had to be at school before 7:30am. Not my idea of the beginning to a Happy Birthday. I was prepared, though, because in Bulgaria when it is your birthday, you must treat other people. It seems pretty backwards to me and I'm pretty sure I won't be bringing that tradition back home with me (so don't get any ideas, my loving friends and family). I had gone after school the day before and bought some chocolates to share with my fellow teachers. I got to school plenty of time before my class started and entered the teachers' room. I said my usual "Zdrasties" (Hello) and "Dobro Utroes" (Good morning) and then I began setting out my chocolates. Immediately, curiousity ensued and it was like, all of the sudden, I existed. The teachers began asking me what the chocolates were for. When I told them that it was my birthday, I was told that I was finally a Bulgarian because I was following the tradition. I was then asked a series of questions that I felt should have been asked a few months ago. However, I put on a smile and answered them, anyway. After I answered the question about how old I am (this was my 24th birthday for those of you who don't know) I was informed of a few teachers who had a son available. It was nice to feel part of the teacher community.
After I had successfully answered all of the questions that were thrown my way, I made my way up the stairs to my 8b class. Unfortunately for them, they had a test that day. But it was a nice little break for me. They were all still sweet in wishing me a Happy Birthday. When the bell rang, I went back to the teachers' room, where I spent the majority of my day. Wednesdays are the worst because I only have two classes and they're the first class and the last class. I don't like to go back home because I'm afraid that I will fall asleep and not wake up for my last class. It was relatively painless, though. I did get to talk to more of the teachers, so that was exciting. Finally, it was time for my 8a class. I went into the classroom and was greeted by more Happy Birthdays, some of them were even in English. I did notice, however, that about half of the class was missing. Almost as soon as I asked where everyone was, my missing students came in with these huge boquets of purple and white flowers for me. It was precious. One of my students in that class was celebrating her birthday as well, so we had an easy lesson.
After school, I was informed that I had a package waiting for me in the post office. This is good news no matter what kind of day you're having. I went to the post office and was pleased to find a sizable package with my name on it. I took it back to my apartment and just as I was getting ready to open it, I got a call from my parents on Skype to wish me a Happy Birthday. It was perfect timing and they got to watch me open my package. I was even more pleased to find out that there was a bigger and better package on the way. Gotta love birthdays. The package was filled with the essentials: non-perishable American foods, vitamins, and Bath & Body Works products. I talked to my parents for a while and the rest of my day was a perfectly lazy day and evening. Late that night I got to talk to Leslie, which was awesome! I hadn't gotten to talk to her in a long time and our birthday was the perfect time to reunite.
The next day, I went to school and it was business as usual. My first class was 9th grade and when I walked into the classroom with Nina (my team-teacher) the entire class was standing with balloons and they sang Happy Birthday to me...in English! They also gave me a gorgeous rose. It was such a great surprise. The rest of the day went smoothly and I even received the much-anticipated bigger and better birthday package. Betty went with me to the post office and carried this huge package all the way from the post office back to my apartment. I called her Superwoman and she thought it was fantastic. Later that night, I had my first na gosti at Betty's house without Rory. I was a little nervous about how much I wouldn't be able to understand. When the time came, though, it was actually great. It was just me, Betty and her family. There wasn't too much that I had trouble understanding and the food was delicious. After the na gosti, I got to talk to my sister on Skype and that was great too. I always like talking to her because we always laugh. A lot.
The next day, I had my two classes and then I was Vratsa bound. A few of my fellow girl volunteers and I were headed to our old stomping grounds to celebrate my birthday. I was set to meet Kerri on the train and Adrienne in Vratsa. Do to the not-so-punctual buses, I literally got to the train station just as the train was pulling up. I hopped on and found Kerri. We got to Vratsa around 7 and met Adrienne at the hotel. We decided on pizza for dinner and then went to our favorite Vratsa bar. Unfortunately, they closed early so we had to find somewhere else to hang out. We saw a sign that said "Piano Carmel" so, of course, we had to check that out. We found ourselves in a piano bar during the transition of the audience from old to young. We hung out there for a while and then headed back to the hotel.
Saturday was a relaxing day. Kerri met her Language Trainer for lunch and Adrienne and I had dooners. They were awesome. After lunch we just walked around Vratsa. It was a gorgeous day. We settled down at a cafe and Kerri came to meet us. A little while later, Kristin and Mary arrived in Vratsa and we met them at the hotel. We lounged for a little bit, got ready and headed out for the night. We had Chinese food for dinner and it was amazing. After dinner we headed back to our favorite bar. Kristin and Mary were interested in the piano bar, so we showed them. Turns out they were having a private party. Once we sat down, a lady came over and told us that we might not be able to stay. She went to go check on something, came back and told us that the people our table was reserved for weren't coming. We stayed for a few drinks and then decided it was time to come hit up the discotech. We went in and we were engulfed in Chalga music. Chalga is a form of music that is only popular in Bulgaria and it's a mixture of pop and folk. It's usually only sung by women made out of silicone and men with creepy facial hair. Usually, every other time we'd been to this disco, there had been more of us and the DJ had played some American music. That was not the case this night. All Chalga all night long. After a while, we decided that it was time to get going. I went to put something in my bag and when I turned around, there was an unfamiliar Bulgarian woman with an eyebrow ring dancing in my direction. At first, I didn't think anything about it so I danced back. Then, she pulled me in for the real thing and I understood. I laughed and said "Ne iskam" (I don't want it) and then she danced away. The other girls were doubled over in laughter and we exited the disco. We went back to the piano bar for a little while longer and then to the hotel.
Sunday, we all had lunch and went back to our respective sites. I'd say that my first Bulgarian birthday was nothing short of a great success. ;)
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