Skiing, Volleyball and Kukeri
After a conference for Project Design Management last Monday and Tuesday, I traveled to Stoykite, a small village in the Rhodolpi Mountains near Smolyan. I spent time with other volunteers discussing work, life and goals. We visited an orphanage/home for at-risk youth in Stoykite and spent time with the children there. We talked with them, played volleyball (my team went 2-2 I think), and skied. The children have a small slope in town to ski on. On Friday, I put on skis for the first time in 10 years. I embarassed myself, but the kids loved it.
On Saturday, we all headed to Pamporovo for a full day of skiing. It was a beautiful day, and the snow was perfect. Pamporovo has world-class slopes, though they were packed all day. I got my ski legs back and was taking all of the runs pretty well by quitting time. I only fell once, when a kid cut in front of me on a red run and I had to avoid him. I was going too fast anyway for my skill level. What can I say? "I feel a need....the need for speed!" Those kids are amazingly good at skiing, and jump all over the runs with grace and agility. And it's great to see them having such a good time, happy to share it with foreigners like myself.
On Sunday, I hiked with some friends down to the town of Shiroka Luka for Kukeri, a spring festival to scare away evil spirits for the planting season. My friend Dave posted a message on the board about a month ago for the same festival in Pernik. Shiroka Luka's is supposedly the oldest Kukeri, and the village is small enough to really experience it in a small community setting. The men of the town dress up in hairy costumes with tall hats, huge cow bells called hlopki, they wear various masks, they carry wooden swords, paint their faces and dance around in the streets. The bells raise a clamor that can be heard echoing through the vally for kilometers. The noise is meant to scare evil spirits from the valleys. The festival has specific roles for some of the participants: a bride and groom lead the main procession through the streets, a bear and bear keeper follow in the middle of the procession, and representatives from nearby places. There were groups in the festival that represented England, Ireland, Russia, the EU and other countries. When I asked some of the locals why they dressed in traditional clothing for other countries, they said, "We chase away evil spirits for everyone. We're celebrating for good luck in the next year for everyone, not just for us here!"
Stay tuned for more, and pictures from the festival.
On Saturday, we all headed to Pamporovo for a full day of skiing. It was a beautiful day, and the snow was perfect. Pamporovo has world-class slopes, though they were packed all day. I got my ski legs back and was taking all of the runs pretty well by quitting time. I only fell once, when a kid cut in front of me on a red run and I had to avoid him. I was going too fast anyway for my skill level. What can I say? "I feel a need....the need for speed!" Those kids are amazingly good at skiing, and jump all over the runs with grace and agility. And it's great to see them having such a good time, happy to share it with foreigners like myself.
On Sunday, I hiked with some friends down to the town of Shiroka Luka for Kukeri, a spring festival to scare away evil spirits for the planting season. My friend Dave posted a message on the board about a month ago for the same festival in Pernik. Shiroka Luka's is supposedly the oldest Kukeri, and the village is small enough to really experience it in a small community setting. The men of the town dress up in hairy costumes with tall hats, huge cow bells called hlopki, they wear various masks, they carry wooden swords, paint their faces and dance around in the streets. The bells raise a clamor that can be heard echoing through the vally for kilometers. The noise is meant to scare evil spirits from the valleys. The festival has specific roles for some of the participants: a bride and groom lead the main procession through the streets, a bear and bear keeper follow in the middle of the procession, and representatives from nearby places. There were groups in the festival that represented England, Ireland, Russia, the EU and other countries. When I asked some of the locals why they dressed in traditional clothing for other countries, they said, "We chase away evil spirits for everyone. We're celebrating for good luck in the next year for everyone, not just for us here!"
Stay tuned for more, and pictures from the festival.
posted by AlexinBulgaria at 3:59 AM
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