My First Post!

Zdravey! Hola! Hello! Konnichiwa! Anneyonghaseo!

In case you wanted to know if you should pay any mind to this blog and decided to read the first post in order to make your decision, then you probably shouldn't. Because first posts are quite awkward indeed. It's almost like going to a new school in the middle of the year, you know?
(Actually I have no idea of what that's like, but I would hope my imagination could pull through on that one.)

I should probably introduce myself right about now, with the hope that you've even read this far.

I am a twenty-year-old [girl..?? woman?? -- wow 20 is such an awkward stage!] living in New York. As much you might like to hear that this blog is about what it's like to live here, it's not. I started this blog in order to write about a place I find much more interesting at this point in my life. Now I'm sure I've got you hooked: What the hell could be more interesting than New York?

Have you ever felt like you had a past life? Like you had some connection with something so specific that it felt a bit uncanny, and everyone thought you were crazy? This blog is about a place that I have never traveled to, but feel like I know, even when there is much left to learn about it. This blog is about a place I long to visit, and soon. This blog is to document an amorous craze I have towards a place I call my motherland: Bulgaria.

Why Bulgaria of all places?
-- Why not?
But honestly, it wasn't really like I was born and the first word out of my mouth was "Bulgaria" -- I was friends with, then dated (and am still friends with) a Bulgarian I had classes with in school. Before meeting Georgi (surprise, surprise at the name -- if you are Bulgarian, you'll get this), I had no real idea of where this beloved country even was. But ever since then, I really can't explain why I have grown so attached to everything this country has to offer, but I wait for the day where I can finally visit it in all its amazing, and captivating beauty.

Right now, I am eagerly intent on learning the language, and have found that I need quite a bit of help in this area. Despite living in one of the most diverse places in the U.S., there are such limited resources on my treasured locale. I have managed to do what I can, but I will save the details for another post. Before I go -- really quickly:

Why "Imate li vreme za edno kafe?" (See the Cyrillic blog title up there?)
-- For those of you who are not Bulgarian, this translates to "Do you have time for a coffee?" This was one of the first full phrases I had learned in Bulgarian, and I would say this all of the time, as I am, like most people I run into in New York, an avid coffee drinker. Just being able to say that much in Bulgarian makes me optimistic about all the other things that I will get to uncover in my learning as it relates to this country.

That's enough for now... I have to go make some Martenitsi for tommorrow's celebration....(more on 'Martenitsi' tomorrow!)

Ciao!
Do Scoro!

Джеси