Crazy Jewish exchange and ROMANIA!!!

First things first. We got to go to ROMANIA!!! I mean, really, who isn't excited for a new stamp in the old passport? The only bummer was that we actually didn't get anything that said we had been to Romania, just that we had departed and then returned to Silistra. Thank goodness our host Vesi is willing to feed into our traveling desires. The weather was yucky today...rainy, gray, not a fun day to be out exploring. But, like good Voyageurs, we had our infamous rain gear and were at the ready to start our day. We walked down to the customs station, with a stop along the way to go to the archeological museum (no pictures since we would have had to pay extra to take them). Once we got to customs, they were excited to see the Americans and wanted to know why we were in town, why would we want to go to Romania, and have we enjoyed their country. The customs agent was very nice. Since we were walking onto the ferry, it was free!!

Abers wasn't so sure of the boat when we got there, as it was really just a drive on barge and a tugboat. The big 18 wheeler that got on before us made quite a bit of racket and kind of scared him. We did make it on though and as we were standing there, a nice man, the vice mayor of a small village in Romania, got out of his car and invited us to sit in his car since it was warm and we had little ones. He had pretty good English and we carried on a nice conversation. He was even willing to take us into town if we wanted. The boys were pretty tired though, so we declined. Once across the river, we walked to the only restaurant near, and enjoyed a lunch of pike perch fish from the Danube and corn mush. The fish is SOOO tasty. As we got back to the ferry right before it left, our nice friend was there and once again invited us to his car. He even drove us across town to the bus stop after we were back on land. Vesi, needless to say, was very impressed with the type of experience we have had. I told her that is just the way it is, traveling with David, never a dull moment.

Now, to the OTHER story. As I said a few days ago, DB met a man named Auggie at the top of town and we were invited over to his house. The other English teacher Vesi went with us as our translator. This guy was SUPER excited to have us, talking the entire time. He showered us with gifts, some priceless, others nice. The only problem was that the one thing he had promised David, he didn't give us! So, Vesi was able to sneak a word in edgewise and get to the point. I guess, there was an ancient grave in town that we had to go to to get the mezzuzah. This meant we had to load the boys up, find a translator, call a cab, and get there. Luckily, host Vesi called today and the place was locked so she quickly ran up to get the goods before they closed. While we were at his house though, David had to talk to his niece in England, his rabbi in Sofia, and find a book for him. What a CRAZY evening. Like always though, as David's students would tell you, no Benson trip is complete until stuff like this happens.

It is late here and the little one is fussy. His belly is tired of foreign food and he is starting to teeth. I must go and pacify the little bugger. Tomorrow (Thursday), we head to the coast and kind of start the process of getting home...


Auggie, showing us where to hang the mezzuzah with a Hebrew blessing posted in his doorway.
Thank goodness for Kroger Creamy peanut butter!!
On the ferry to Romania. Needless to say, we were the only stroller!

The border crossing
More ferry pictures.
Lunch at the restaurant in Romania.
The big guys.
Trying to convince Abers of something from across the table.

The boat that pushes the ferry across.
The nice man that gave us a ride and warm car!
Vesi and her mom where we bought some wholesale goods.
Run Forest Run!

Sunday night dinner until Tuesday lunch time

To continue on from the last entry, Sunday evening we had dinner with our host Vesi and her family as well as the Peace Corps volunteers Caran and Mike. It was a traditional dinner of a cold bean salad (a tomato sauce base), Shopska salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and white cheese - we can't get this in the states), green salad with cucumbers, cabbage rolls (minced meat and rice inside), potato salad (much like we have for picnics at home), some type of stuffed pepper, and baked mushrooms with a chunk of cheese in them. This, of course, was accompanied by the local home brew of Rakia...aka, the Bulgarian variety of moonshine. Talk about the burn going down. The alcohol content varies from 100-150 proof. Luckily, as a nursing mama, I just took a no thank you sip and was done. Abers got to dip his finger in it and wanted more. We finally poured a little water into the last few drops of the shot glass to Abers felt like he was having some, and WHOA!!! He coughed and sputtered. We were all cracking up. It is quite a sweet drink, made out of apricots.



The archeological museum.
Stephanie and Abraham hanging out in their flat. Abers loved her and ate an entire bowl of macaroni and cheese when she fed him.
Dinner and really fun blue plates!
Beans are in the lower left bowl. Shopska salad is the white topped bowl. Green salad and then potato salad.

Stuffed mushrooms in the middle and cabbage leaves in the top left corner.

I'm not sure why these pictures are lined up the way they are, so here is the description of them. Some of the funnier graffiti we've seen in town. Too good to pass up a picture of. The next one is of Caran and Mike, the volunteers. They are from Florida, about to finish their first year. We enjoyed an AWESOME home cooked meal with them on Monday. Unfortunately, we forgot to take any pictures to show what a different flat looks like. Caran has been nice enough to hold Solomon for me!! The last picture is of a pair of shoes that had my name on them. They are made right here in Southern Bulgaria by the people of that town. Every time we would walk by the shop, I heard them saying, "You need me. I will look so good on your feet!!" Women here ALWAYS wear heels. I figured I should try and fit in! There is no way I would wear them here though as the sidewalks are all uneven. With my luck, and grace, I would be on the ground in no time flat!!

Bulgaria days 6-7

Since I think my day counts are off, I'll be switching to just days of the week! Last night (Saturday), was daylight savings time here in Bulgaria. Hard to believe we have lost 2 hours in the last 3 weeks, not even counting the time zones we've crossed recently. So, Grandma, you are now 9 hours behind us!! Yesterday, David had his all day teacher seminar. There were about 30 teachers in his class. The boys and I, as always, walked to the park. This actually takes quite a bit of time as Abraham likes to sit and look for rocks along the way. It helps me kill time in the morning for a few hours!! The weather was GORGEOUS yesterday, probably close to 70 and very sunny. Once we got down to the river though, the wind really picked up.

We tried to come home for lunch and nap time, but only one of those things happened. Abers will finally eat some food.. PB&J, raisins, these things called bagel toasts found here in Bulgaria, and fruit leather. He is just not so much of an adventurous eater. I think we are probably keeping the dairies in business with the amount of milk he's drinking!! After a failed nap of which he kicked his brother so that his eyes would open, it was time to get up. He knows that nap time is over once Solly gets up...the little stinker!! We joined David and some of the teachers for coffee and cigarettes after the conference. It is amazing to me the amount of people that smoke and the number of cigarettes they enjoy. Shocking, really. It makes it hard to go out to eat as smoking is allowed inside. We are so spoiled by all of the no smoking laws that are actually enforced in the states!!!

On Sunday, we traveled outside of town about 16 kilometers to a beautiful monastery and estuary. The lake is closed off to boat traffic and fishing. It is the place for migratory birds from Africa and some other places. While the day was a bit cloudy, it was a nice walk outside. We watched a pelican dive and enjoyed the peaceful sounds of the birds. There was no noise from planes, trains, or cars. Once back to town, we again, enjoyed coffee with our hosts. This is a culture of coffee.
Coffee yesterday in the center. There are numerous cafes here that have outdoor seating. Each cafe's seating is designated by the color of chairs. The 3 ladies in the back are Bulgarian English teachers. The one to closest to me is the mom that took me out the other day. The other two are American Peace Corps volunteers. We joined them for Chinese after coffee yesterday.
Beautiful mural inside a monastery we visited today. It was repainted by a bunch of college students around 1996.
Magi (left) is a French teacher at the school and Vesi (on the right) is our host.
Abers was AMAZED to see and hear a rooster crowing. He loved this!! Plus, there were a ton of chickens pecking and scratching the ground. He kept wanting baby to see.
The house at the monastery where the 1 nun lives.
Abraham met a little friend at a park. This guy is from France, on one year of travels with his family.
The preserve.
Our "family" shot. Not that you can see the boys very well, but at least it is all of us!
A sign that tells of the different birds, plants, and such found at the preserve.
Abers playing in a sitting area.

Tonight we get to go see Vesi's flat and have dinner with her family. We are excited for a home cooked meal and to see what the inside of the buildings look like. Hard to believe we have been here a week, with one more to go. Both boys are doing well. I think Abraham is missing home though. We asked him what he dreamt about the other night and he answered Oma, Labala (Toiyabe, giraffe and monkey monkey. I guess we all went to the zoo with him. Poor kid, just wants all of his favorite things.

Bulgaria day 5

Wow. It feels like a really long way from home for me to be just taking the boys for a walk and to play at the park every day, but then I realize I'm doing this in EUROPE!!! We walk along the Danube every day. Talk about a FAST flowing river. There is no way David or I would paddle this thing with kids. The water is very swift. It is also a working river. We have seen a number of barges heading down the river with tons of cargo. There are fisherman out there daily bringing in fish with super huge poles and nets. Last night, we ate at this beautiful restaurant on the river. The woman spoke no English and we speak no Bulgarian, so she pretty much ordered and brought us what she wanted. It was a great choice! She also brought out pictures of the fish we ate. One of them is a type of bottom dweller...catfish type fish...that she had pictures of. The ones in the picture weighed at least 95-115 kilos!!! HUGE, and very ugly, but yummy.

We had to figure out how to do our laundry, so I took a paper with translated questions on it. The ladies were very confused and quickly found a translator. They were trying to get us to dry clean everything, but then they mentioned the laundry we were wanting was only for sheets. After much talking back and forth, they agreed to wash our laundry this way, with no ironing. It is all very modern here, with everybody on cell phones, iPhones, on computers, etc...but at times, there is a throwback to the regimen. Communism ended in 1989. I think it is safe to say that while we would never have imagined we would come to Bulgaria, let alone the small city in the middle of nowhere - Silistra - we are LOVING it!!! David is already planning an ECS here.

View from the fortress at the top of the city. Across the river along the top of the picture is Romania. I didn't get to do the hike since the boys were sleeping.
David met this Bulgarian at the top who was claiming that DB is his lost lost Jewish son. They boy have roots in the same countries with similar stories. He is having us over to his house on Tuesday to give us a blessed symbol for our house.
One handsome little man getting ready to head out for a walk.
War statue.
Don't shoot the ducks (roughly tranlated.)

Little monkey man playing at his favorite park!
Ship wreck.
Eating at the awesome fish restaurant. Abers refused to have his picture taken.
Coke shack in the middle of the park. The restaurant was next to a customs and immigration building, so maybe this is for when ferries come in...open in the summer?
Ancient ruins, the city of Durastar.

Bulgaria days 2-4

Things we've done so far:
1. Go the the Billa - grocery store and buy water or ride the train outside, at least 100 times.
2. Figured out how to order hot chocolate so Aber's could have special nummies.
3. Were the only mama and kids out since the weather was colder than 40 degrees. Everyone looks at us, no matter where we go. If it is at all cold, the moms here don't take their children outside. Many grandmothers have come up to us to tuck Abraham's blanket around him tighter, pull his hat down lower, and just to look at the babies. They aren't used to the baby carriers we have. Vessi said that while it isn't the mothers that choose to stay in on yucky days, it is the grandmothers reprimanding them for going outside.
4. Played at the playground and "tashed" or crashed cars off of park benches, many of them.
5. Walked to school and had an awesome yoga class with the peace corps volunteer and 2 Bulgarian teachers. We worked out in the weight room which is painted to very bright shades of green.
6. Took LONG afternoon naps, at least once.
7. Hung out with another mom and her 9 month old. Women here get 2 years PAID maternity leave. It isn't full pay, but still!! If only we were so lucky. There is also a government run program that allows moms to buy baby food fresh daily for super cheap. The mom today got 4 really big jars, at least the size of bonne maman jelly jars, for $1.85.
8. Ate Chinese food.
9. Walked to the Bulgarian version of wal-mart and had a blast! We understand nothing of the language, even the letters, so trying to figure out if food is gluten free is always interesting. We did find packages of rice cakes in English cleary labeled GF!!
10. Chased pigeons in the "center."


So thirsty, must drink water, while standing in the window sill.

The art museum in the town center.
Super old Roman mosque by the high school where David is doing his work.

Solly and I in the center.
The beloved train and handsome conductor outside the grocery store.
Bulgarian bus like the one we rode for 7.5 hours where we were forced to watch terrible Bruce Willis movies...yuck!
Flash back to the 70's. Looking down an alley at a row of flats.
A tired boy and his mom drinking milk after a no nap day. I really wanted to head to yoga, so the big guy had to miss his nap. He did fall asleep in the stroller and wake up dry!!!

We are having a blast. It is sometimes hard to believe that we are in Europe, until I see the old buildings and history of the city.

More tomorrow!