An American Na Gosti?

(My host brother Elanko, host mother Yordanka, and Me)

I said goodbye to my host family last week. It wasn't very emotional because I am only moving one town over. They made me promise that if my parents come to visit me in Bulgaria we would come over to her house for a Na Gosti. Na Gosti means to come over for a visit. It's a much more formal thing than it sounds. There is a lot of preperation and cleaning invlolved. When the event finally takes place you eat a lot, talk a lot, and drink a lot of Rakiya. Rakiya is Bulgarian whiskey and is usually made at home out of just about anything you can think of. I have had Rakiya made out of grapes, plums, apples, and even roses. A Na Gosti can last late into the night.

I notice that Bulgarians like to socialize for a much longer period than I did in the United States. Back home I would usually go out at about 11pm, meet up with some people, and have six or so drinks in a two hour period. My night would usually end at about 2am when the bars closed. Now when I go out with Bulgarian friends, we usually meet up at 8pm at a Cafe. Get something to drink and some appetizers. At about midnight we head for the disco, drink some more, dance a little, and don't arrive back home until about 5am. We basically do the same things as in America, but instead of having six drinks in two hours, I have about six drinks in eight hours.

Socializing is an extremely important part of Bulgarian culture. If you pass by someone you know on the street you never just say hello. It doesn't matter how busy you are. You always have at least a short conversation. I was thinking about having an American Na Gosti. What would I serve? In Bulgaria they often serve shopska selada (a cucumber and tomatoe salad), purzheni kartofi (french fries), and a meat dish. Maybe I should serve Jack Daniels, potato salad, and BBQ chicken. Yes, they have Jack here over 30 lev a bottle ($20). But no BBQ sauce. I am realizing that I am gonna have to learn how to make a lot of things from scratch here.