The Relaxed Life in a Village

Have you ever spent a few days living in a village? Here's a brief glimpse into village life, as experienced through my eyes.

Read on if you are interested!


The past two days I have been in the village of Ossenets staying with a couple who live here. The church meets at Tsonka and Peter's house, so we have been here several times. This week, we are staying here for a few days to live with a Bulgarian family. So far, it's been very nice and relaxing, with lots and lots (and lots!) of food. Bulgarians, it seems, like to feed us like it will be our last meal for a week. The food is all good, and very tasty, but it's a lot of food! haha. :-) I'm thankful for the hospitality of Bulgarians. Our time here has been great so far.

Monday morning we got here early (7:30 am), and had breakfast not long after. We had fresh yogurt, made with milk from the neighbor's cow. This part of Bulgaria is known for its yogurt, and it is tasty. Its flavor is different from yogurt in the States. We picked strawberries after breakfast, and ate some for a snack. Yummm, so good! Tsonka and Peter have a huge garden in front of their house; Tsonka has beautiful flowers, Peter plants and tends for the vegetables. Both of them take pride in their work, and the garden is immaculate. They wake up early (around 4am), and spend a while working in the garden until the sun is too hot. I, personally, did not wake up quite that early. :) I enjoyed playing my clarinet while looking out at the beautiful garden, after munching on strawberries. Lunch was delicious, as well, and made us full! It was good to relax after lunch, for the sun was too hot to do much. Then, an afternoon snack at home, and later we walked to the store where a lady from church works, and sat there for a while and talked as we ate more snacks. As we walked home, we stopped and played with Petya, a four year old girl from church. We had fun kicking a ball back and forth and playing tag. Supper was waiting when we got home. (As I said, Bulgarians are hospitable and want to make sure we always have enough to eat!) One funny thing about meals is that they want to make them all for us, even though I asked if I could help so I could learn how to cook Bulgarian food. However, they told me, "No, I'll make the food, and when I'm finished, then I will tell you how I made it!" Haha. :) They did tell me how they made it, even though they didn't want me to help because I'm a guest! After the long day, I got to sleep "outside" last night, which was very nice. There is a room at the top of the stairs, and one wall is open to the outside, so it is pleasant to sleep here during the summer. The moon was a bright nightlight, but I could see some stars. Oh, how I enjoyed waking up to the sound of birds singing this morning!

As I write this, I am sitting on a bed outside, again looking at the big moon sitting low in the sky. The crickets are chirping, and the air is cool. It feels nice to sit here, enjoying the evening air. This morning, the sun was hot, and we went for an hour-long walk to explore the village. Village life is quiet, calm, and relaxed. We even sat on the roof for a bit to soak up some sun as we read. After lunch, however, it began to rain. The rain came down hard, for several hours. The lightening and thunder were close, so that it seemed the lightening was striking right across the street. (The power went out for a bit, but it was fine, because I was going to take a nap this afternoon, anyway.) I enjoyed listening to the rain. It has been good to be here in the village, for it provides much time to talk with people and get to know them more. I met a few neighbors, and have had lots of time to talk with people from church. This evening we had a church service, and four people came (other than us five who were already here), even though it was pouring rain. How wonderful it is to sing praises to God together! I really enjoy singing in Bulgarian, knowing God hears our praise no matter what language. We had a good service, and sat around for a while talking about God working in our lives. And of course, we ate more food. ;) Both Desi and Tsenja brought over sweets for us to eat, so we got to enjoy those. Eating is a good way to connect with people, as we chat over a cup of coffee and some sweets. I am glad God has blessed us with these few days to relax and learn from a Bulgarian family as we continue to build up relationships.