Bulgaria

It's just turned 2012, I've just come back home at god-knows-what o'clock in the morning, yet I feel compelled to share my night with you.

This is to those out there who believe that New Year's Eve is for getting drunk and you can't really have a nice time unless you do. I decided I was going to have the freedom of choice, as I had a few options for New Year's Eve parties lined up. I took the car and was the designated driver for the most part of the night. I had a lovely time with a groups of friends, and after two parties we ended up at 3.30 am at the Horoteka. This, to most of you, is an unfamiliar concept. Horó is a typical Bulgarian folklore dance, and there are, I learned, about 400 types of horó. The atmosphere was contagiously festive and upbeat, and despite only knowing one out of 400 dances, I had a lovely time. Never have I felt prouder to be Bulgarian, I think. Traditional Bulgarian music goes through your veins so quickly, you only have a second and then it's too late- you're captivated and you have to get up and dance. And dance, we did. I suddenly became so aware that Bulgaria has over a 1300 years of history, and that is the state of Bulgaria, nevermind the tribes which make up our nation, they go farther back than I know. Tradition, language, religion and music have survived through the 5 centuries of the Ottoman empire, and now someone has come up to come with the original idea of popularising our tradition, bringing us back to our roots. All of these small thoughts combined together and left me with a sense of pride of the history that our ancestors have given us.So, I danced. I danced as best as I could, what I would love to do, as soon as I get some sleep (I think I literally just made 24 hours of no sleep) is to check out some youtube videos of Bulgarian horó and learn more about it.

There you have it, modernity in the face of technology, and traditional horó meet, and they met tonight in a splendid splash of motion. I bet this is a better way to spend New Year's than having blurry vision in some stranger's flat.

Off to bed now. Have a lovely 2012!