The blessing of the the Lord

So, now I have a little time to write again. I want to apologize for the poor quality of the writing so far. I originally intended to take time, write well, and make this a bit more of an art. However, the reality is that sometimes internet is expensive, I have very little time, and I'd rather you know a few of the great things that are happening. So, now that my preface is over, onto the stories!

My time in Sofia has been amazing. I feel like the love, joy, and other blessings of the Lord are being shared with me by so many people, whether they realize the happiness they bring me or not. I certainly give all credit to Christ for the great kindness his people are showing me. First, my host is wonderful. She doesn't speak English, so we have to communicate in Bulgarian and this, while challenging, is great for me. When I leave the house, many people like to practice their English so sometimes I may not be able to practice BG myself. Actually, so far, this hasn't been an issue for me but I met a woman last night from Australia who has lived her 5 years and still doesn't know BG because everyone else insists on speaking English with her. Anyway, my host, Lyubka, has cooked every meal for me and won't let me help at all, even when I offer. This really does mean a full breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. (So much for staying healthy!) And, of course, it is great, yummy food!

I am not taking too much time to visit the tourist sites of Sofia, rather, each day consists of a singing lesson in the morning, practice later in the day, and then going out in the evening. It is fantastic! I am staying in an outer section of Sofia so transportation to and from places takes up a large amount of time. Mostly, I take shuttle buses that pick up people, cram them into a small bus/very tall van and the drive like mad until traffic makes them stop. Sometimes I take the bus or tram but usually the shuttle is faster and cheaper. Anyway, the singing is AWESOME! I'm taking lessons from a woman named Binka Dobreva, one of the many amazing members of the Bulgarian National choir. She is a fantastic teacher and I'm so happy that I was put in touch with her and she was amenable to meet with me. Her lessons are so valuable and enjoyable to me partly because my Bulgarian is better now that it was last time I was here, but largly becuase she is teaching me many techniques and exercises to improve my own vocal ability, not just teaching new material. Jenia, you will be proud because her specialty is Thracian! I am trying to brush the tip of learning the most difficult ornaments and style in Bulgaria. Acutally, my original intention was to work on other singing styles and regions in Bulgaria because Thracian is so hard, but she was the teacher who was willing and available. Now, i'm quite glad it worked out this way.

Binka's husband, Sasho, is also a musician, and yesterday he brought out his gaida (bagpipe) and played a beautiful melody just for me. Then they showed me their recording studio and some of the new music he (and she) are composing. It is pretty amazing. (Their house is also impressive btw: "exotic" animals skins everywhere, wood inlay, large gardens, etc... you get the picture. Evidently, they are quite famous musicians).

For the choir: I have so many new warmups and good practice ideas to share! I even learned more words and melody to Sitno Xodi Nedo. I can't wait to tell you all more!

Last night was also wonderful. I was taken by another friend of a friend of a friend to a rehearsal for the Ensemble Zornitsa, one of the traditional folk dance performing troups in Sofia. It was fantastic. I wish I could stay longer and join them for a while but tomorrow I leave for Skopje. They have so much energy, enthusiasm and when that is combined with about 50-60 dancers, it is quite powerful! They are preparing for their big yearly concert this weekend and so rehearsal was its usual chaos before a big show. However, their love of the music and dance really showed through. I really liked it!

The night before last, Lyubo, Daniela's son walked with me around downtown Sofia and then took me up to the communications tower at Vitosha Mountain, the big mountain just outside Sofia. It was a very pleasant and beautiful evening because it wasn't raining, (it has been raining and grey mostly since i got here) and we were able to race up to the top to see the sunset. Imagine; warm breeze, sunset view over the whole city and to the nearby mountain ranges, pleasant company. The only thing missing was Dunes!

And, the evening before that, I met up with Ivan, a friend from Seattle, his girlfriend, his sister and her husband and we all went out to a restaurant called "Site Bulgari Zaedno" all bulgarians together. They have live music and many of the local dancers go there so as you can guess, we had a fantastic time. Of couse, the smoke was very thick and I don't know how anyone breathes there, but the good music and talented dancers there made it worth it. (I wash my clothes by hand every single day becuase they stink so much!)

Ok, I'd better get off the computer and practice some singing. I have a lesson this afternoon again :) What a shower of goodness the Lord has given me! Simply amazing.