Bonjorno Buenotuti!!
I’m sitting here again in my office, listening Salif Keita instead of beginning to finish 2 papers for school, and today already had 2 classes. But I cannot say I'm there yet, concentrating on the sh*t they're saying in the classroom. I'm still in shock of a devastatingly enjoyable week at the birthplace of a few but great Bulgari-u-natzi.
We've arrived quite well yesterday. The trip was tranqiu, had 2 hours of delay, but besides everyone being tired of the week, were also like sunk in a bath of melancholy. We didn't actually know what to say to each other; 'it was a great week'? 'We had a great time'? 'See you next week?' 'Till later?' At least to me these words couldn't get me out of my shock-moment. But maybe such an empty tranquillity is not bad at all for the moment and let you take the time to over think certain experiences.
The beautiful writer Robert Kaplan wrote one time: Western Europe is constantly busy to plan its future, while the Balkan peoples are continuously struggling to preserve what they have. With this quote I started our week. I gave myself the task to find out what the Bulgarians had that made themselves proud. What was the 'joie de vivre' of you guys? Everyone suffers in this world, but to discover what makes one survive is the interesting part. My first sight from the plane, and later on from the bus, already enlightened me with a tremendous and brute force of nature, which mystical bond people from this place must have had with the earth for a long time already? Later on in Turnovo, Niki touched me with a small but sufficient insight in the grandeur of a history divided into 5 dynasties, when going over the meanings of the light show.
So we moved into a really cosy, hostel in the middle of the centre, and got an improvised tour in the city before the first dinner, by this guy Master Martin who I afterwards only could picture as a modern Asan warrior, a titan who consumed as much as possible experience, knowledge and opportunities, motivated by a lovely carrying mother, together in a humble apartment, but looking over a ingenious anarchic city, backed with powerful mountains, now and than polished by a beautiful rainbow.
Personally, I find this Dutch (and Western) society quite frightened because of its perfect organisation and its enormous welfare, the more because I know other parts of the world have to do with less, and on the extreme gained this welfare (partly) at the expense of the periphery of the west. Nevertheless, I like so much being in kind of slummy cities. From my childhood in Curacao, Venezuela and other parts of South America, I’m already known with such cities. I woke up Tuesday at seven, to take a walk and see Sofia waking up. I bought a coffee at a kiosk, walked through the fruit market at Graf Ignatiev. Overcrowded trams and creaking trollies (although all empty at the 2nd) and sloppy houses decorating the modern institutional buildings, ohh, how I love that.
We all knew each other from Holland, but a getting-to-know-each-other game was more than fun, and during the week I constantly could only remember someone’s gesture, to refer to that person. How many times have I made the gothic devil-hand to refer to the heavily wodka-wine-beer-rakia-drinking and -smoking literature-tycoon? Then we moved on to an astonishingly interesting and formal reading at the Dutch embassy, by witch I got a really good metaposition of the relations between Holland and Bulgaria, and there I also noticed the complex and nearly impossible task of really coming together as humans, since own interest play the bigger role. Comsi comsa, we had a really fun traditional dance lesson orchestered by again another heroic Bulgarian ‘Ice queen’ Toni. Alek’s quote ‘it’s to complicated’ would illustrate her best, but partly. Strong, independent and dynamic would laurels here, too.
The trip to and from Veliko Turnovo gave me a good opportunity to experience the landside as well. Beautiful mountains, a stop at a roma-gathering of houses to eat a meatball-bread, take a leek, and after walking behind the house with its cheep cage and haystack I was left with a strong longing to just keep on walking into the snowy mountains and never come back. The residence where we stayed was so beautiful, and than again it felt that Baldwin had never left. It was so much fun with you guys Alek, Panke, Ivana and Martin!!
The nightlife was great! I think that we got to enjoy the whole spectrum of parties. I had to be taken to a salsa-bar, that’s for sure. And I got urged very strongly to come along by the ever confident Vany and always smiling Niki. Crazy, just what a crazy band, peoples and night. Or the exclusive chauga-club, oh my God, what a place, and also a very strong representation of Bulgary. Que loca chica’s y que brabo toros!! To take a look in Studentskigrad, or in the typical Bulgarian cuisine and dance tavern, or just to sit the night out in a 24-7 cellar, it all let me experience a great Sofia, a great Bulgary. And of course with all my great Dutch fellows, especially Charlotte, Janna, Mabel, Selman, Taliet, Ronny, all you people, from Bobby to Ivaylo, master Alek, master Martin, master Nikki, Maria, Vany, Christi, Paulini, Ivayla, Ivana, Toni, Panke, Lora, Kawa Kawa, Georgi, Love, Katja and all the others that I didn’t mention, even by just talking Bulgarian, you guys joined me on the path to traquilidad spiritual, hahaha.
Saluti tuti,
Benjamin Visser a.k.a Bèndjo
BLAGODERIA!!!
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