My Bulgarian Family

I love my Bulgarian family. I never knew what it was like to have a crazy busy household with lots of siblings. I’m starting to learn. I now have three host brothers aged 22, 8, and 2. They are the grandkids of my host parents. The 22 year old lives in Sofia most of the time, but visits a lot. He speaks pretty good English and is into break dancing, Reiki, and meditation. The 8 year old and 2 year old are from Chicago and spending their summers here. The 8 year old speaks English and Bulgarian. He talks all of the time. The 2 year old is learning to speak in Bulgarian and calls me Kaka Meggi (Kaka is the familiar for big sister and Meggi has been decided as the short familiar form of my name).

I play soccer and cards with the 8 year old a lot. If he wins, everything is awesome. If he loses, he hates me and cries. There are a lot of emotions and talking at full speed and volume all of the time. Today, I was studying before class and told him I couldn’t play. He brought a giant beetle in my room and put it on my desk. Later, my host parents brought home a new kitten. He named it Meggi. The other two kittens are named for him and his younger brother. I am constantly distracted and saying no, but when the baby reaches out and says my name or the 8 year old rests his head on my shoulder while we watch the Jonas Brothers in Bulgarian, it is awesome...not sure if I could have handled it all the time forever, but it is definitely a great experience.