The end of the cooking workshop

As everything the end of my project is also came. Yesterday I had to close officially the cooking workshop. Everybody was really disappointed that last week was the last cooking. For closing it and also popularizing it we participated in this week event “Cocinarte”. This is a forum organized by the University and whole week are elaborated different cooking shows, lectures and etc.

We participated in exposition of food in the central square in La Laguna. We were there to present the workshop, what we did and we learned, and of course some of our favorite dishes. We presented the Bulgarian Banitsa, the Austrian Apfelstrudel and the Italian Tiramisu. Just before we went there I received a phone call that TVE will come and make an interview with us. Well it was exciting to speak on live on the Spanish National Television, even on show seen on local level. After the interview and making our workshop even more popular we gave the food that we prepared and I was really pleased once again that everybody loves my Bulgarian Banitsa.

As a conclusion from my international cooking experience I can say just that almost everybody eats the same and pretends that it is their most typical and original food. Examples for these are the meatballs, the rice with milk, filled paprika, etc. But nevertheless I am highly recommending that you have to try the others cuisine because this is one of the best ways to get to know better other culture – how sweet or salty it is.

African day

I think I missed to tell you that we made the Guinean cooking workshop this week because yesterday on 25 of May was the day of Africa and we wanted to celebrate also. One of the boys that cooked organized whole day celebration of the African day. He is president of the Association of African students in the University of La Laguna.

The day started with presentation and lecture of the African history and culture from one professor from the university, after this continued with presentations of the countries that has most students in Tenerife like Guinea Equatorial, Cabo Verde y Senegal, after this they represented their food – really delicious, and finished with music and dances from Africa.

I was so happy that I went to this Day of Africa because I learned so many new and interesting things and try the special wine from some really beautiful flour. And I am proud to know the organizer everything was really good and I am sure that this young intelligent person will become famous.

Bulgarian Easter cake

Ok let´s continue with the Easter story. As you know the Catholic and Orthodox Easter are always at least with one week difference, but this year it was whole month. As we were pretty busy last month I tried to make workshop for decorating Easter eggs this week but as everybody here thinks that Easter was one month ago almost no one inscribed so we had to cancel it. It was really pity.

Well I didn't give out and we make a Saturday - a small workshop for Bulgarian traditions :) In the Great Saturday, the day before Easter, as it is the tradition we made a Bulgarian Easter Bred - Kozunak. As it needs a lot of time, work and love to become good one we spend the meanwhile time sharing stories and traditions. I also show them how to make Martenitsas as they wasn't available for other Martenitsas workshop and we painted few eggs with the Bulgarian Technics and make a eggs fight as it is the tradition.

It was one really nice afternoon that I shared with very close for me friends my own culture and keep the tradition of preparing Kozunak for Easter. Thank you Macu, Marie and Jony.

Seville

This weekend I could go to Seville and visit one of my friends who is living there. I met her on the 17th Balkan Youth Festival. Well actually she was one of the PYP volunteers preparing it. So spending 1 month in Bulgaria she welcomed me with the few bulgarian words that she knows. 

We make a really fast but fully seeing of Seville. Just for two days we could visit all of the important touristic places and eat and drink in the really typical places for the sevillians youngsters. Also we made tarator - the bulgarian yogurt soup that my friend was missing so much. This was one weekend that I will never forget.

Well I really love Seville, thank you Mayte for showing me your city.

My cooking workshop is famous :)

Hey this post will be my shortest one :) I just want to show you how proud I am that my personal project is so popular and you can find it in the Local Newspaper. Is it just great! This cooking workshop is pretty popular, always the places are filling in the first day and we have waiting list. And the greatest thing is that half of the participants are local students and the other half Erasmus from everywhere. I think that the cuisine is the best way to get to know another culture and recognise how close it is to your one.

Cooking workshop

Finally after few months I started my personal project during my EVS - International cooking workshop. Of course on the first one I cooked bulgarian food - Musaka and Pumpkin with honey, walnuts and canela. It was really funny and I think that everybody enjoy it :)

The greatest thing is that this will be weekly activity so next time we are continuing with Italian food, and after this we have also Canarian, Spanish, Polish, Hungarian, German, Austrian, Mexican, Chilean, etc. I can't wait forward to learn how to prepare dishes from all of the countries and some more interesting facts about their countries.

My Christmas time on the Canary Islands

Christmas is a family festival, but as I’m here on Tenerife I experienced it this year pretty different. It was really intensive time with a lot of different things to do. This time I will show you my Christmas through photos.

The season stated on 16 of December when we made a Christmas concert in the old age home that  we  are having a voluntary project for the young people form La Laguna. On the next day all of the ladies were still smiling and singing christmas songs. 

This magnificent day finished with a circling around the North Part of the island and having un amazing time with our friends.

The alternative christmas tree that we found in one of the towns is the sign of our Christmas here on the Canary Islands. 

Almost whole month on the streets of La Laguna every night there were different  group of people walking and singing Crhistmas songs.

The city was decorated really beautifu.

Really interesting part for me were the BELENES. This so nice different size cines of the birth of Jesus that we don't have in my country. We also were on one exhibition of belenes form different countries. Each country had his typical features in the apparence of the statues. 

One of the best things to be on island like Tenerife for Christmas was that on 23 of  December we were on the beach.

Our Christmas Eve day started with one really intersting activity that I organized with my organization AURI and Loro Parque, the local zoo. We let one turtle which was on a treatment in the Loro Parque in the ocean.

The day finished with our small Christmas Eve International dinner. As always after the abundant dinner wew went to sleep even here the tradicion is that the young people are going out on a party after the family dinner.

.

On the 25th evening there was one wonderful Christmas concert in Santa Cruz from the Philharmonic of Tenerife. Yhis was my first classical concert and I'm really amazed from it. 

On 28th of December we participated in the First Youth Day organised to inform the young people about the youth organizations and their activities in the town. We were representing the Youth in Accion Programme and EVS.

This day we finished going out with friends and having a typical dinner and going to dance after this.

Between the typical resturant - Guachinche, and the disco we past to see Brendan in the bar of his father and he made us helping him with his song. It was really funny.

On the Ney Years Eve we were on a great party where we tried different traditions for this day and it was really funny. 

Shortly this is my Christmas time here on the Canary Islands and now I'm waiting for one even more importatn festival "Los Reyes Magos"on 6 of January.