I Wanna Wish You A Честита Коледа!

Monday night was the company Christmas party! It included folks from the municipality, various museums in town, a children's center, and of course, our library. The venue was a luxurious 5-star hotel, where we each had to pay about 5 USD for a full meal and drinks! Not bad! I had trouble holding in my laughter when I saw that everyone brought their own rakia and wine - their own private stashes from home batches. Little water bottles filled with rakia, stuffed in purses, and two-liter soda bottles filled with wine and kept under the table. It was a funny sight. After having tried the homemade stuff, though, I would have been doing the same thing! The homemade stuff is sooo good!

Homemade alcohol is the standard throughout the country. Most prominently, people grow grapes to make wine, and then with the leftover materials, they add sugar and water for further fermentation, until they're ready to distill it. The result is some kind of a brandy, called rakia, that is sometimes magnificent! Grapes are most popular, followed by plums, but my region is famous for it's apricot brandy. And I've had some that is just amazing! It's hit and miss, though. I think the old men who usually make the stuff, have one of two goals: either make it delicious, or make it strong. These are the two types that seem to be most common. The strong rakia leaves you aching in the morning, and the delicious rakia is dangerous for your walk home that night. =)

One of the rakias I tried Monday night was fantastic! I quickly asked what it was made from, but because I was already slightly intoxicated, I goofed with the language again. Instead of asking if it was from raspberries like I thought it was, I asked if it was from olives (the two words are so close: маслини/малини), which is a disgusting thought! Opa! Oh well, they all got a good laugh, and the night went on.

People were having such a great time at the party! The director of the archeological museum was by far the best dancer - but I don't think I could give him the title of happiest because there was another guy that was smiling so big, I swear he couldn't see out of his own eyes!I danced all night, and I was a pretty big hit! Probably because I'm such a good dancer. The wanting eyes of women twice my age were a far cry from the wanting eyes of guys back in Portland that I'm used to. Still an odd combination of awkwardness and flattery. Still don't quite know how to handle that kind of attention, but it eventually yielded to the men of the group telling me I need to find a young Bulgarian girl to keep me in Bulgaria. =)They're a great group and I'm happy to be with them while I can. It's such a privilege to work with talented and motivated people! Incidentally, to work at the library, it's obligatory to have a master's degree so these people are quite competent.

Today, the last working day of the year, we closed early to have another Christmas party. This time it was only with the library staff. This kind of event really keeps the crew in good spirits. It revitalizes camaraderie and makes working with your fellow colleagues much more pleasant - it's something I really envy.This is the director telling us how great of a job everyone has done over the year - and wishing everyone fruitful success in the new year! Her speech was followed by the deputy mayor - the one I whacked with a stick last week - saying much of the same.Drinks and snacks were enjoyed by all for a couple hours, good luck cards (like fortune cookies) were read by all and it was a genuine good time.

At the end, the director gave everyone a pen with the library name and logo printed on it as a Christmas gift. I felt like such a goon after having blogged about how much Bulgarian pens suck! These are nice pens, though! The irony is extreme - I hope she wasn't offended by my post!

Merry Winter Solstice to all, and to all a good night.