From ‘I’ to ‘We’
So, last night was kinda random. I went to a café – to read and get out of my apartment – and ended up talking with some guys. They looked about my age – which is a rarity in my town. After a couple minutes we had gotten past the introductions and just started talking – mostly about why would an American come to Bulgaria. And, once I had gotten across that I want to meet as many people and learn as much as possible, we started to make all sorts of plans. The want to teach me how to ski, how to make Bulgarian dishes, et cetera… It was great. So, following Bulgarian tradition, I invited them for an impromptu ‘na gosti.’ (There really isn’t a perfect translation for this word but it is a casual gathering at your house where you talk, eat, and drink. Nothing extravagant. But, they last hours. Like 5 or 6 of ‘em.)
So, they called some of their friends and pretty soon we had about ten twenty somethings in my apartment. Did you hear that? People my age, in my town. I had been resigned to being friends with people my parents’ age for the next two years. (Wow, I am going to catch some heat for that sentence.) They stayed forever and the festivities included dancing the horo (that Bulgarian traditional dance) around the three rooms of my apartment. It was hilarious.
Now, I have only met up with them one other time and do not want to make it seem that I have a bunch of Bulgarian best friends, but they are here. That fact alone is the true news. There is a chance that I will have people to hangout with. To go to cafes. To do whatever. The fact that that pesky, ever present grammatical ‘I’ might get swapped – even once in a while – with the much more friendly ‘We’. Instead of: I went to dinner. We might have: We went to dinner. Big difference. Really.
As for everything else, all is well. I am starting to put together some projects and get more and more settled. Kind of strange. Plus, the weather has been amazingly warm. If this is what winter here has to offer, I am not going to complain. Hope everyone is doing well. And, as always, I would love to hear from you guys.
~~Mark
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So, they called some of their friends and pretty soon we had about ten twenty somethings in my apartment. Did you hear that? People my age, in my town. I had been resigned to being friends with people my parents’ age for the next two years. (Wow, I am going to catch some heat for that sentence.) They stayed forever and the festivities included dancing the horo (that Bulgarian traditional dance) around the three rooms of my apartment. It was hilarious.
Now, I have only met up with them one other time and do not want to make it seem that I have a bunch of Bulgarian best friends, but they are here. That fact alone is the true news. There is a chance that I will have people to hangout with. To go to cafes. To do whatever. The fact that that pesky, ever present grammatical ‘I’ might get swapped – even once in a while – with the much more friendly ‘We’. Instead of: I went to dinner. We might have: We went to dinner. Big difference. Really.
As for everything else, all is well. I am starting to put together some projects and get more and more settled. Kind of strange. Plus, the weather has been amazingly warm. If this is what winter here has to offer, I am not going to complain. Hope everyone is doing well. And, as always, I would love to hear from you guys.
~~Mark
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]
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