Gathering up a carry-on worth of clothes and heading off to the airport for the trip
was exhilarating, as always.
When I give thought to many of the most enriching times in life, they have almost always
involved traveling, being on the move.
Once you get the hang of travel as a necessary part of life's education, you learn to travel light...
and then lighter...and then lighter still.
When you get really good at it, you can leave most of your belongings along the way.
In the final tally, YOU are the essential element. You...and the world you are encountering.
Essentials vary along life's path... So take what you need...leave the rest.
The more you have to stop and think about, care for, protect, etc., the less present
you are to your experience.
To paraphrase Thoreau, "A man is rich in proportion to what he can live without."
That has been a guiding principle since I first encountered it.
I've experienced both sides of life and I still agree!
For the cultural experience, I opted to fly on the Polish Airline LOT to Chicago,
then on to Warsaw and Sofia.
There were few non Polish travelers on board, so it was a small immersion in the language,
food and feel of the country.
I enjoyed the family interaction, the temporary village of travelers and the general Polishness
of everything.
It also had the effect of catapulting me out of America, shaking me loose for a little
European diversity and waking up to the challenge of travelling....lots of dormant brain cells there.
In keeping with my recent experience of losing access to my computer and setting aside
various media, I decided to not bring a laptop, not bury my nose in a book or write
more than a few notes.
I would just experience simply and in repose.
What a difference that can make...
No feverish list making, reading of guidebooks, and the like.
No avoidance of what is there, be it a squalling child, or a crowded seat, or the passage of time.
The flights went smoothly, I arrived in reasonable condition and before long I had dropped my bag, freshened up and headed out for a walk to stretch my limbs and breathe in the Balkan spring air.
It was so good to be back. The beautiful cathedral, the parks, cobblestone streets, cafes and tiny shops. Sofia has a special ambience. There was snow on the nearby mountain peaks, flowers and trees in bud
and the city was reveling in Palm Sunday festivities.
I had also arrived on International Roma Day, but much to my surprise there was no mention
this year of upcoming or scheduled events. I looked in vain, as did several friends who would
know about such things. Although it has been a tense year for Bulgarian Roma since an
accident last September brought tensions to the fore.
However, an opportunity to visit a Roma settlement and school on the outskirts of the city
came a few days later when a handful of us tagged along to watch a spirited dance rehearsal
for an upcoming show.
I was forewarned that I would be entering another world...a very dark world.
When we drove into the settlement it reminded me somewhat of a Native American
Indian reservation. A segregated world, where intruders were few.
It was somewhat poor and rundown with a few newer houses alongside handmade shanties.
The grounds were somewhat littered, but it was not as horrible as I had been led to expect.
I wasn't there to criticize, but to observe and learn as much as I could.
Looking beyond that, I saw kids playing on bikes and 4 wheelers, safe and relaxed
within their village, people walking together, shopping at the several tiny convenience stores.
Conditions were simple, below Bulgarian standards, if you will, but Bulgaria itself is one of
the poorer countries in the region (since the collapse of Communism some 20 years ago,
it has been hard to recover in many ways)
But, for all that, the Roma settlement has a liveliness all its own. The kids were beautiful,
eager to learn, as rambunctious as the kids I had seen in Rajastan years ago.
Magical... They knew it, too!
I'll post pictures soon...you'll see what I mean.
Big dark eyes, infectious enthusiasm, inquisitive and soon loving.
It wasn't long before any hesitation evaporated and we connected from the heart.
On the way back to Sofia, I was asked my reaction to the young people...
I said without hesitation, "They're just like the Bulgarian kids! They're great!!"
It seemed that I had said the unthinkable...but they knew I meant it. I hope it helped...
I only wish that society was farther along in terms of acceptance and embracing diversity.
Old judgmental attitudes die hard...
But for those who can open their hearts and take the time to get to know their neighbors
and receive them as such there are such gifts. The Roma/Gypsy have so much to share...
a medicine that our culture may well benefit from.
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