Food

I shall dedicate this this post to my number one love: food - sorry sep :)
Ever since Sep made that comment about the flights to Gorchova land being grounded due to lack of feta cheese, I have been noticing the bulgarian obsession with the white delicacy. I remember overhearing a conversation between two ladies who were talking about the ever-increasing prices of the basics: flour, bread, sugar and feta. When the people I live with left for their vila, they didnt leave much in the fridge but they made sure there was a large block of feta left. I guess it takes someone from another culture to point out the things you dont think of or see in your own.

Related to easter, I got to see a couple of very important traditions related to food: 1) colouring eggs and 2)easter bread. The bread is sweet and you know its a good one when it separates in strings. Unfortunately the one that we got this year for easter was not as good, but grandfather Ivan made up for it after easter by finding one that had just the right amount of sweetness and the right consistency.

The fruit of me and grandma's labour on easter saturday morning. My favorite one is the rainbow one at the top of the picture.

So after the eggs are coloured you choose one then try and break someone else's and then you eat them.

My tactic in the past was to pick the egg that is harder to smash so I would win (yes there is a strategy to picking - I was taught from a young age by my grandpa), but now that I am older and wiser I think that if you pick the egg that smashes all the other ones means that you go hungry after. So now I pick the weaker eggs and get to enjoy it after.

The people who's place I'm living in showing me the full out easter egg decor

I also got to make my favorite cookies with my grandma. It was a learning day for both of us because I learned the secret to making them well and she learned now to use a digital camera.

rolling out the dough and apparently doing a free ad for Ken sausages with the apron

Cutting the cookies the traditional way - using a glass

The finished product cooling by the sink. Notice that there are cooking missing already. 3 of these trays were obliterated in less than 48 hours, mostly by myself and with the help of grandpa

 Other random photos of good stuff:

Banitsa with pumpkin. The pumpkin was saved since last fall especially for when I come. Its soooo good

After me and Valia went to the theater, when I was still in Varna, we couldnt decide on what desert to split so we got a sampler for 2. There was cheesecake, chocolate cake with homemade icecream and mascarpone desert with fruit. I dont know which was the most delicious but I remember that it didnt take long for me to finish my half of the plate.

last night I made bean burgers and they were really delicious. I will definitely be making them again. Here is the recipe in case someone wanted to try them before I make them again: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/veggie-burgers-with-mushrooms-recipe/index.html

 

 

 

I also went for chinese food with my cousin, her husband and their friends which was super tasty, especially the chicken breast that was rolled in noodle before being fried to make it even crispier. We also had a interesting discussion about the meat diet of bulgarian people. I have caused quite the scandal by admitting that I only eat it a only a couple of times a month, whereas here the norm is every day or every other day. Apparently quite a bit of the bulgarian cuisine includes meat so its hard for people to imagine what one would eat if it was missing from the plate.
Well thats about it for my foodie adventures,
stay tuned for other news (maybe i'll tackle the differences in healthcare system next time......or not)
V

Back in the west side

So I am back in Sofia for the easter holidays, people definitely take it seriously around here. When you meet someone around easter time instead of hello people say "jesus rises /reincarnates" (I am not very updated on what the proper term for it is) and then the other person says "he rises for real" or "he truely did" (again my interpretation is not the best). They also have midnight mass where everyone walk around the church with candles. It is pretty interesting for me because its been years since I've seen the bulgarian easter, so its remembering and reliving old memories again. Oh, another reason people here take their easter seriously: on the news they were saying that there were more people in ER over the easter weekend, most of whom had to be hospitalized because of overeating.

The trip to the theater was really good. It was a one man show, and he told traditional bulgarian stories, some of which were funny and others more serious. The one I liked was about these 2 women, a pregnant woman and her mother. They were sitting around and thinking of baby names. They decided to name the unborn child Petko. Then the daughter asked where they would keep little Petko after he was born, to which the mother said by the fire because it was nice and warm. The daughter said that there was a large pan above the fire, so what would happen if that was to fall on the baby. The mother said that then little Petko would die, after which they both start crying over poor little Petko who died before he was born. The father then comes and asks them what they are crying about and when they tell him, he decides to go around the country and see if there are any people that are stupider than his wife and daughter. (Then there are a few stories where he finds stupid people). Either way, he finds a lot of people doing a lot of stupid things so he decides that his wife and daughter are not the worst. It was pretty funny to see the guy pretend to be an old lady crying.

While I've been here, I spent some time with my grandparents, my grandma, my little niece (who didnt throw up on me or start crying when I was holding her - I think thats great success on my part), and went for drinks with a couple of old friends. They were telling me about the guy that got stopped by police and they wanted money from him. He only had $10 but he made it into a really big deal how he needed that money for a donair. So the cop asked him how much the donair was and the guy replied $5. So this cop takes the $10 bill from the guy and then hands him a $5 one instead so he can go get his donair - only in bulgaria!

I also got my haircut and I think it looks pretty good. I'll post pics when I get to varna

Well, thats all for now
V

Random stuff that I thought of

Hi everyone,

i seem to be getting lots of positive feedback from people so it really encourages me to continue writing my blog and keeping you all updated.

I thought I would put in all the small things that havent fit in in other posts:

Bulgarian fashion - most girls are with skinny jeans and boots (like in canada), except they keep wearing them well into summer. Sporty black leather jackets are really hot right now, so I went to see if I can get one too cause the ones I have seen on people are totally my style. However, the ones I found are approx $250-350 which is quite a bit more then what I was hoping it would be. The other thing that most of the girls are doing is to crimp just the roots of the hair for volume. I wonder if that will ever catch on in Canada because I am all for volumous hair, I just dont know how I feel about crimping in the modern age. 

Food - I have been dazzling people with my exotic cuisine of banana bread and cesear salad, which have been a hit. here is a sample:

This second attempt worked way better then the first one that didnt even rise

I also made the banitsa that I had mentioned in my previous post, but in my rush I forgot to add butter or oil so it turned out pretty dry. I learned 2 things from this:

1) obviously, that fat is good and should be added 

2) dont diss your own food and say what is not good about it because its only after that people notice it too.

Work - I have realized that I have taken no pictures besides these 2:

 

This was today during the easter egg hunt. 

 I found a way better picture of the egg hunt on the Karin Dom facebook page:

You can even see me in the background with the black jacket

Today the minister of labour and social services came to the center. When he to the physio room to see us working with the kids, the director of the center introduced me as the canadian student but more importantly as a cousin of Nickolay who is in the process of raising money for the center by running marathons/half marathons throughout the year. I think he definitely picked  a good cause to support (totally unbiased opinion) so check it out:

http://www.justgiving.com/Nikolay

My mission is to take more pics of my work because I realized that I will probably be doing a presentation during intro week at school, and possibly during future OT meetings. Better get on it, and I cant believe that I have been so bad with it this far! rrrrrr.

Well, I am off to see some comedy show tonight. I will be heading to Sofia for the easter holidays so I will update you when I get there.

Enjoy the sunshine (if there is any where you're at)

V

doing my own Sun Run

hey everyone,
the weekend is done and I probably walked more than I would have if I had done the sun run this year (and with improper footwear at that). Therefore I am hopping around at work today and I am so thankful that I took my running shoes with me.
The end of the week went by really well: On thurs I went to see my aunt, uncle and cousin for dinner. My aunt had made guveche (where vegetables, and feta of course, are cooked in an individual sized clay pot, and topped with an egg). I was really surprised that she didnt put any spices on it because there was so much flavour in it and it was really good.
On friday I watched a show thats like the bulgarian jay leno (but he also has a segment that is kind of like so you think you can dance/dancing with the stars). This week the contestants-which are regular people competing for a 3 bedroom, furnished apartment - had to dance a "traditional gorchovian" dance. By that I mean the bulgarian interpretation on persian man dance with more scandalous outfits. I am so mad at myself for not recording it with my camera because I was dying watching it (dying of laughter and embarassement for them). I will keep scanning youtube until they post the show because its definitely worth a look so fingers crossed.
On sat I met up with Valia (my cousin) and we went for some lunch and walked around:

I had the shark (greedy me had to try some before taking the pic) and it tasted pretty good. I think its quite a waste when people cut off the fin and dump the fish back in the water because the rest of it actually tastes really nice.

After lunch we walked around a bit more, I had to come back home to change out of my boots then we walked around some more and went for drinks at a cool bar. Here are some shots that I took throughout the day:

Me posing with the sea which you cant really see

Nice building at night (I believe it was some school or university)

The theater

I couldnt figure out the night setting on the camera so we are quite dark but the cathedral looks nice

On sunday it was day of the flower where everyone that has a name of a flower, tree or herb celebrates their name day (I dont have any examples of names that are also herbs but I'm sure that no one called Basil or Mashterka) . So, say if your name is Rose or Lily then people would buy you flowers and then celebrate over dinner. It is also a religious holiday signifying when Jesus was met by people holding palm branches (or so I was told), and is on the sunday before the bulgarian easter. It was the only really sunny and nice day since I've been here so everyone was out on the streets walking around and holding daffodils and young willow branches. There were lots of people waiting to go into the cathedral and other churches too. I forgot my camera but I took some pics on my phone. Now I have to figure out how to put them on here when I dont have a cable or internet on it.
I met up with Valia again, and we went for a walk by the quay and then for some beer and fries with feta by the beach. It doesnt get more bulgarian then that, except if we had gone for coffee first before the walk.Then we went to have some more delicious food at my aunt and uncle's. My aunt also gave a willow branch made into a tiara for the holiday:

Sadly this is my best self portrait with the branch tiara at the end of a long day

Well that is all for now, I am off to make some banitsa for my guests (aka the people who's apartment I'm living in)
V

standing on my own 2 feet

Hi everyone,
I have made it for almost a week on my own. The family I was living with left on Friday and I am still getting used to the quietness of the place. The neighbour next to me is a really sweet lady who took me around town over the weekend and woke me up one morning to give me pancakes because they were freshly made. I tried to make some banana bread to give to her in return but it didnt work out so well the first time, so I bought more bananas for another attempt.
Here are some pics I took over the weekend:

This is the cathedral in the center of the town

The cathedral again, about 5 minutes after I took the other pic

My neighbour showing me the central square, which has tons of shops and cafes as well as the theater on the right. 

 The entrance to the Sea garden, which is a long park right by the shore and where Karin Dom is located

Walking along the sea garden. It reminds me of Stanley park a little because its right by the downtown area and next to the sea. I love that there are so many people strolling around with their friends or families throughout the whole park.

Things at the center are going really well, there are even more little cuties that I get to meet everyday. With some I play games which helps them to explore their different senses, with others we work on learning how to dress and undress, and with others I help them learn numbers or do puzzles during groups. I hope that by the end of my placement, I will be able to see that what I'm doing is making a difference for these kids.

In other news, I have booked my ticket to Barcelona for 4 days in May. Its gonna be sweet.....beach, tapas, music and some gaudi architecture.
Till next time

V is for Varna but V is written as B in bulgarian

Hi everyone,
I have been in the seaside city of Varna since last saturday. I took the bus from sofia to varna, which took about 6 hours. It was not bad except for the lady with bad breath next to me. She kept yawning for a part of the trip, so I was stuck on the other end of my seat, praying that it would stop.
When I arrived, a friend of our family came to pick me up and took me to his and his wife's apartment. They were really glad to have me since they were saying that all their children and grandchildren are abroad so i could be like their graddaughter. It was really nice for me to have that transition from being with family to being on my own. I learned a really easy cake recipe from the lady (and how to modify it with various toppings). The weather has been really similar to the one in Van - bout 10deg and rainy. I am hoping to get at least a few beach days before I leave though.
I started my placement at Karin Dom on Monday which is located in a long park right next to the sea. My new "granddad" took me to work on the first day, and I felt a bit more like one of the children rather than one of the staff, but again it was more comforting to know that I wouldnt get lost or be late for work. The day went by really quickly, I was introduced to pretty much everyone at the center, so it was a lot of names and a lot of faces all at once. Thankfully there is a board by the reception area with pictures and names of most of the staff, so I sometimes go by there and take a peek at some of the names again.
Over the past week I have spent some time with the physio's and rehab staff who do a lot of the typical stretching and stengthening exercises with the kids. They also incorporate some educational things like name the object or differentiating between colours.
What's been catching my attention is the work of the speech-language pathologists, which resembles the work of Canadian OTs at these kind of child development centers: from learning to speak, alternative ways of communicating with pictures, involving all the child's senses and handwriting. They were really excited when I gave them all the toys that I brought with me, and they have already incorporated some of them into their work.
The kids at the center are super cute, the ones I have seen are about 2-8 years old and each one is unique and wonderful in their own special way. I have been working with one of them more closely and that kid has suprised me with his motivation, adaptability,patience, williness to listen, wanting to succeed which is something that I dont see in many adults even.
I've managed to get somewhat lost coming back from work because I have to go through the park or between the buildings so its a bit disorientating at first. Today I managed to get home in about 20 min (as opposed to 35min on monday) and I knew where I was the whole time.
I took these pics on my way back from work:

This is the view walking on the upper "seawall" from the center back home. I think it would be more impressive when the weather gets more summery.

The cherry trees in the park are in full bloom and they fill the park with a lovely scent. People put "martenitsi" on the trees when they see storks as a sign of spring ??? (actually I dont remember the whole story with these martenitsi but I'll investigate)

In terms of the language, its been easy to chat with staff and the kids about everyday things but when it comes to saying something more technical or medical, it has definitely been a bit of a struggle. I am slowly learning and people are being patient with me and good at figuring out what I want to say so I am not as anxious as I was before leaving Canada. However, i'm finding that it sometimes takes a bit of time to remember english words as well when I write.....so looks like i might end up struggling for words in both langages.
Alright, thats probably enough for now
missing everyone lots
V

Sofia

I think I'll do this post a little different


What I like about Sofia:
Getting together with family over some traditional italian fare- spaghetti
Grandma making me some homemade pumpkin banitsa (with phylo pastry)
Leather boots on sale - $45. Thinking about getting some more now
Got a glass of beer for $1 and apparently thats on the expensive side
Barbequed meatballs
Neighbours asking how i'm doing because they remember my parents from when they were young
I am auntie for the 3rd time as of Apr 2nd
The MJ tribute show from these guys:

What I dont like about Sofia:
Cant wear white shoes without them getting dirty
People think that if they have a german car that means that they dont have to stop for no one
There was an old lady begging on the street - it really hit a nerve cause she probably doesnt have anyone abroad or in the country that can help her and who can survive on $100 when food and bills are about the same as Canada. I did give her a couple of levs which will hopefully help a tiny bit
I watched a program how all the young doctors are leaving the country because they make approx $500 a month and if they want to do a residency in a specialized area, they dont get paid! So, a lot of them are leaving the country of course
Lack of accessible anything. Thats probably I had never seen a person with any disability when I still lived here

But its still nice to be home:

(especially when there is a mountain of feta on top of the salad - like the one on the bottom right of the table in the pic above)
till next time
V

pics from england

So I was just looking through my SD card and I have noticed what pitiful amount of photos I have taken so far.

 

Here is a pic from the heart of Kentish town in London where I had some early dinner with Taz and Bex. We were there for good 4/5 hours before we had to send Bex back home. I got to see an ultrasound of the baby, which looked really cute but I cant see if its going to be a boy or girl. (For some reason there is an old lady with a fur coat  and some stylin shades in the background.)

After we sent Bex+her non-kicking fetus home we went by the local store so I can get some corner yogurt. its a genius idea- one side its the banana yogurt and the other is crispy chocolate cornflake-like things:

Things tend to taste so much better when you can't get them easily at home.

Looking forward to going back in may to see Bex's bigger baby bump and getting more corners, and maybe some cocoa puffs cereal.

till next time

V

adventures so far

hey everyone,
It has been a while since my last post - I think I will blame the lack of internet at my grandparent's place for that. So here I am at the internet cafe (in the non smoking room - which is quite empty compared to the smoking one) and it looks like I am quite behind already. I guess I have to keep you guys entertained because apparently there is a race going on between me and Kris (my sis) about who will have more followers.
So the flights went pretty well. I love direct flights in the european companies because dinner comes with unlimited booze and tons of movie selections. After 9 hours of sitting next to a tall guy with long arms and watching the King's Speech and some of Eat, Prey, Love, I landed at Heathrow. Short "tube" ride later on the "picadilly line to cockfosters" (hehehehe-thats a pretty interesting name for a station)  I met up with Bex and Taz who I have known since my days when I had a faux brit accent. It was really good to catch up, but I was pretty bummed that Char wasnt able to make it out to London this time. I have pics which I will post when I get to Varna because apparently the internet cafes have viruses that can go onto SD cards.
I stayed the night at Taz's and caught the first "tube" back to heathrow.
The flight to Sofia was pretty quick, I was expecting the usual crazy winds around Sofia airport again but thankfully this time it didnt feel like we just dropped straight down on to the runway. My grandparents were there to pick me up and took me straight home for some good food (with lots of feta of course).
Man, the feta! i think it deserves its own post. I'll get to it another time.
I will leave the Sofia stories for another time. Stay tuned for more tales of food, family, impressions of the country and shopping.
V

getting ready to leave

Well, the day has finally come. Most of my stuff is packed and I'll be heading to the airport in a couple of hours. First stop: see my girls in England (I wanted to post a pic from the old days in 1998 but no time for that now).

The day after I am flying to Bulgaria to see my family for a few days. The to-do list includes some OT environmental assessments and splinting for grandma, catching up with the grandparents (mom's side) and hopefully catch the birth of my niece :)
I hope to get some internet access in Sofia so I can post more pics, if not then I will definitely do it when I'm in Varna (where I will be doing my placement).
I will miss everyone in Vancity, hope to see you on facebook or email soon
hugs,
V

Getting ready for Europe

Woohoo I am leaving for Europe on Sat!