happy birthday to me!

Well I celebrated my first birthday in Bulgaria on Wednesday and it was quite an event. The night before my birthday, which in America is Valentine's Day, in Bulgaria is "Трифон Зарезан" the day of vine cutting. This holiday is the traditional day that the grape vines are cut for the upcoming year, and as such, it is celebrated with lots of wine and rakia. I was invited by a neighbor to go to one of the villages and celebrate there. The night involved a lot of alcohol and dancing. As I had work the next morning, I avoided a lot of the alcohol but I took full advantage of the opportunity to practice my traditional dancing skills.
Then on my birthday morning, I was pleasantly suprised by a call from my friend Ruthie from the states. I brought in my compulsary two boxes of chocolates, sweets and soda to treat my colleagues at school, and then rushed to my first class with 12th grade. There I was treated to a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday, a delicious cake and a icon of Mary and Child. I blew out the candles and felt like a jerk because I made the students pull out there homework and study for the test the next day. I run a tight ship, bribery will get you nowhere.
Luckily on Wednesdays, I only have two classes and was able to race home after school and start preparing for my bash. I made a little bit of everything, dip, pork, apple cobbler, mashed potatoes, salami (which I had to cut myself, stupid neighbors...), and bread and cheese. At around 3:00, my friend Gergana came over to help me prepare and at 6:00 the guests started trickling in. I have a problem with hosting guests. When I have a celebration, I like to invite everyone I know, and this sometimes leads to trouble. In high school and college, I used to have big parties that always overflowed expectations. On Thanksgiving here, I had 15 guests in this little apartment. If you've seen my apartment, you will know that having 15 people here at one time involves some kind of black magic. This time I did a little bit better and only had 12 guests. Of course, I ran out of dishes and space on the table, and people learned quick to keep track of their personal fork, but at least people had fun, I think.
The discussion over dinner mostly revolved around stupid things I had said in Bulgarian and trips I had taken with neighbors to the villages, to the pool, and other parties. And of course, the discussion meandered into politics and gypsies but I was happy to sit back and enjoy people enjoying themselves.
I want to thank everyone who texted me, or called me, or sent me e-mails or real letters. I appreciated them all and you made me feel very special and loved. Thanks.