After an exciting first week in Sofia, my host family decided to take me to the selo for the weekend. Село (selo) in Bulgarian means village. According to my host family, most Bulgarians have at least one selo that they visit to escape city life. Families have summer houses in these more remote locations that offer them peace, quiet, and a return to undisturbed nature.
That weekend we were going to my host dad Georgi’s baba’s (grandmother) house in Dolno-Ozirovo. The small village of Dolno-Ozirovo (pop. 375) is just under a two hours’ drive from Sofia on small roads, which climb steadily into the mountains. Georgi carefully navigated the hairpin turns and occasional potholes. My ears popped several times and the water in my water bottle started sputtering out of the straw as we gained elevation.
At around the halfway point we stopped at an unassuming restaurant on the side of the road to have some dinner. The restaurant was called “The Cave,” and true to its name there was a cave that you could walk around in. Georgi informed me that Bulgaria has the largest number of caves in Europe (no citation), and that in the mountains near the selo is an extensive cave network. This fascinating website (in Bulgarian) gives more information about caves in Bulgaria, including the number of caves that have been explored (5,976 with 490 still pending) and the combined total length of the caves (485,858 meters or 301.9 miles).
Georgi ordered some delicious chicken wings prepared in the traditional Bulgarian скара (skara) style, which is their version of barbeque, and some potato wedges with shredded cheese on top. The shredded cheese is made with Bulgarian сирене (sirene), a type of soft cheese similar to feta. While Sofia has a good number of vegetarian and vegan options, the Bulgarian diet in general is very meat and milk-product heavy. The number one most consumed product in Bulgaria might just be кисело мляко (kiselo mljako) or yogurt, which is eaten with almost anything.
With our hunger satisfied we set off again on the windy roads. About an hour later we abruptly pulled off to the side. We had arrived. It was already dark because we left in the late afternoon, at the conclusion of my host family’s workday and my school day. Georgi’s baba had already gone to sleep but we were greeted by the high-pitched shrieking of three of her cats instead. She lives in a private home, like most people who live in the selo. Everyone present went off to bed, in anticipation of a restorative sleep in the clean mountain air.
I awoke in the morning to the sound of sizzling oil as Georgi’s baba prepared Мекица (Mekitsa), a type of fried flatbread stuffed with sirene. We all gathered around the table eagerly and my host family procured a new jar of honey to enjoy with the mekitsa. The oily bread, salty cheese and indulgently drizzled honey was a heavenly combination. We ate our fill before heading out on a walk in the bright sunshine to a small stream nearby. Joining us was Zhana, my host father’s baba’s massive Karakachan, a dog breed native to Bulgaria. One would rarely encounter these dogs in the city, mostly due to their absolutely gargantuan stature. They are primarily found in the selo and used as guard dogs; understandably so, as at first glance Zhana seemed menacing but turned out to be a sweetie.
The stream was icy-cold with water from the mountains, and it felt great to take off my shoes and walk along the rocky bottom after the sunny stroll there. After our walk we returned to Georgi’s baba’s home where we retreated to our separate rooms for a mid-day nap. To escape the midday heat, on the weekends my host family relaxes during the afternoon while Magi (short for Magdalena), their 18th month old, takes a nap. We rest for as long as Magi sleeps, which always proves quite rejuvenating.
As the heat of the day waned, we got ready to go back out. Instead of his compact city car, Georgi took us out in the truck, which they leave at the selo for “офроудинг” (offroading). 15 kilometers away from Dolno-Ozirovo, the paved road stopped, and Georgi turned onto a dirt path, putting the truck into low gear. He carefully navigated a steep path that ended in a field at the top of the hill. We got out and followed him on a short hike. Carefully making our way down the other side of the hill on foot, we arrived at a massive cave. The ceiling was easily over ten meters tall and growing in the middle was a lone tree, its canopy filling the small hole in the ceiling perfectly. Afterwards, looking up the place on Google Maps I learned that it is appropriately called the Tree Cave of Botunya. After exploring the cave, we sat on the top of the hill for a while taking in the view before heading back home for some delicious kepabche (grilled minced meat with spices). We finished off the night with some juicy pieces of watermelon before heading to bed for our last night in the selo.
The final day in the selo we set a slow and relaxed pace. Most of the day my host family helped Georgi’s baba with yard work. Her property has many gardens where she grows all manner of vegetables. Besides our incredible excursions beyond the selo, I learned to grapple with the feeling of boredom, something I had not needed to do in a long time. It seems to me that In the United States “hustle culture” has robbed many Americans of the luxury of boredom. In the selo, without my laptop, I finally felt distanced from my academic stressors. My host family was similarly living disconnected, and we felt profoundly peaceful as we loaded up the car for our drive back to the bustling capital.
Title VIII Fellowship for Overseas Language Study Recipient
Sofia, Bulgaria, Summer 2024