Tuesday, August 28, 2007

A Reflection

This weekend turned into a week.
This weekend was long and tiring as only the most specific weekends can be. It started on Thursday. I traveled to Bobov Dol to visit my host mother, the other host mothers, and the kids that became my friends. It took all day to travel there, but it is worth it. That afternoon, early evening when I finally arrived I had coffee with my friends in town and then with the host mothers too. Coffee is always an hours-long event which may or may not included any coffee. It usually consists of much smoking, some drinking of a beverage very slowly, talking loudly and not at all, poor service, and perhaps (if it's close to a meal time) a snack. This 'coffee' happens almost everyday. This morning it was with Lauren before her meetings and my bus; tonight it was with Dani, Irena, Sarah, Sehee, Nikola, and Vladi the people I have come to call my good friends here. Two 'coffees' per day is quite normal. Sometimes a whole day is spent just having coffee at the same cafe. It's comforting, even when there is silence there is friendship that seems to build in this silence. 'Coffee' or Cafe is a crucial part of society and life for me now. I can't imagine buying a 20 oz coffee of the day and running out the door with it or drinking it with a friend in less than an hour. Here it is the 1 oz espresso or 4 oz cappuccino, which is really a latte, that will last me for at least 2 hours and a Bulgarian at least 3 if there is especially good company.
It's Irena's 250 ml bottle of cherry juice that she still hasn't finished after 4 hours of 'cafeing' that says the most about our friendship.

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