Ne Razbeerum Bulgarski Mnogo Dobre (I don't know Bulgarian very well): But I am learning!

Thursday was a big day for my Bulgarian skills. Here is a brief recounting of my linguistic adventure.

Cab driver: I have so far avoided most taxi cabs. Not because there are any problems with them, but because Blagoevgrad is very walkable and we just haven't needed them. However, I was attending a lecture at the other university in town and I needed a cab to get there. Luckily we just covered talking to the taxi driver in Intro to Bulgarian and with some help on pronouncing the school and building I needed, I had my phrase! I was ready, but secretly scared. Many of you may not realize how nervous I get when communicating. This is especially true when I know there will be an expectation of actual conversation. I am not that great at small talk and small talk in another language was a daunting thought. Anyway, I got into the cab, stated the destination in Bulgarian, and off we went.

Then the cabdriver said Kude Ste? and my brain froze. I remembered we covered this in class but I honestly blanked. I stupidly stated the my destination phrase. He repeated Kude Ste? So I used another phrase I have memorized "Angleeskee" in a very apologetic tone. He was kind and repeated Kude Ste and listed different places in Bulgarian that I recognized. I finally understood: "Where are you from?" I had those answer phrases memorized, so I was able to say I was from the USA, Kansas! Oh, Kansas City! he said and then I think he asked if it was as hot in Kansas as it is here! Anyway, we muddled through and I made it to the university for a fascinating talk on Digital Narrative (thankfully in English!).

Grocery Store: So from that pathetic, but triumphant conversation I headed to the grocery store. Unfortunately, I completely failed to understand the cashier. Major language fail, but I got my purchases without being arrested and decided to chalk it up as a win.

Reception with City Officials: With the mixed results from the day, I was not entirely thrilled about the AUBG reception for city officials that evening. We have fabulous students who were acting as translators, but I was still worried. I shouldn't have. I am not sure if it was the protein at dinner or what, but I was able to follow some of the conversations, remember some Bulgarian phrases, pronounce them correctly, AND use them at the correct time. I left the event with a request to be interviewed by the local Blagoevgrad paper and a feeling of accomplishment.

All in all, I feel good about finally having conversations (actual back and forth) in Bulgarian with people who did not speak English. Learning a new language is a bit like graduate school-the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.

But I will triumph at some functional level. I promised a student that by the time she graduates we will be able to have a conversation about Bulgarian literature in Bulgarian, so I have to.

Luckily I didn't specify graduating from AUBG...I really hope she is considering graduate school!

Bulgarian Moussaka-wonderful fall and winter meal!

There has been demand for my food blogging and I hate to disappoint, so here is my attempt at Bulgarian Moussaka.

Looks tasty, doesn't it? Kind of like a deep dish pizza, but it is very different. Important note, Bulgarian Moussaka does not have eggplant. This causes much consternation on the part of some of our international colleagues, but I still love it.


I learned how to make this when I had the opportunity to host the AUBG Bulgarian cooking team for the International Festival. These are the dishes that the team made. I am still waiting to make banitsa (the large rectangular dish in the center), but I took on the moussaka and shopska salad. By the way, the team was great! We had fun and they even taught me a dance (horo). I was able to impress some folks at the AUBG Christmas party with my Bulgarian dance cred!

Bulgarian moussaka is a very simple and hardy meal that makes great leftovers and could be great for a potluck dinner. The ingredients include potato, ground pork or beef, onion, summer savory, garlic, fenugreek, paprika, crushed tomato, water, yogurt, egg and flour. I have tried to remember best as I could what the students did and with some help from delish adventures, I muddled through to an amazing dish. Here is the recipe I use for those interested.

Bulgarian Moussaka--as adapted by an interloping American
Equipment: large round or square baking dish, medium size pot, oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ingredients:
1 kilo (2 lbs) potatoes (usually about 4 medium size potatoes diced in about 1 inch cubes)
1/2 kilo (1 lb) ground pork or beef
1 medium onion diced in about 1 inch pieces
3 gloves of garlic diced (can reduce this if you aren't keen on garlic, we happen to love it)
1 egg
Salt, pepper, paprika, summer savory, fenugreek (about 1 tsp of each)
3 cups plain yogurt (for those in the states, Bulgarian yogurt is amazing and thicker than ours. Greek yogurt is probably the closest you can get).
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp oil
2 medium cans crushed tomatoes (fresh diced tomatoes is best, but canned will work too).
Water to help cover potatoes if crushed tomatoes are not juicy enough

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

Place diced potatoes in the baking dish.

In medium pot, brown the ground pork/beef. Add the onions, garlic, and spices to the browning meat. Once meat is brown, add the cans of crushed tomatoes and simmer for about 3 minutes.

Pour the mixture over the potatoes in the baking dish. I mix everything together because I think the potatoes cook better this way, but you can also just layer. You might need to add water (usually not more than 1/4 cup) to cover the potatoes here, but don't go overboard or the dish will be soggy.

Place baking dish in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

When close to the end of the 45 minutes, mix the yogurt, flour, and egg.

When the 45 minutes are up, spoon the yogurt mixture over the top in an even layer and place back in the oven until the top is brown like the picture above. Sometimes this is 10 minutes, but it has taken up to 30 before to fully brown the top.

Let cool for about 10 minutes and then serve with a side of yogurt, chopped cucumber, chopped tomato or green onion.

Variation:
We added chopped mushrooms and carrots last time to up the veggie content. Turned out great. Just chop the mushrooms a bit bigger than the potatoes and the carrots the same size at the potatoes and add them to the potatoes in the baking dish.

I hope you enjoy the foodie update. More to come as I finally remember to update this thing!