Baking Cakes and Eating Eggs

I had an excellent day today. My classes were a bit hectic, mainly because my twelfth graders are getting extremely restless as Christmas break approaches, but I was able to spend my entire evening with some friends, which was quite nice. One of my fellow teachers, Mima, invited me over to her home tonight along with my new friend, Stefka - a former student of Mima's who is my age. We spent the whole afternoon and evening baking cake and pie and sampling them. Mima is an excellent cook, but she wanted to learn some more recipes for desserts. So, I taught her how to make my Grandma Mohs' apple crisp, and Stefka taught us how to make banana white chocolate cake. It basically tastes like banana bread with white chocolate and whipped cream. Very yummy. I ruined the crumble for the top of my apple crisp, and it ended up being more of a pie crust than a crumble, but it tasted good. So, it all worked out in the end.

While we were waiting for pies and cakes to cook, Mima made some dinner. It was a dish called Panagyurishte (don't quote me on the spelling), and it is named after the town where it is popular. Basically, you put some cerene (a white Bulgarian cheese similar to feta but more pungent) on a plate. On top of this, you place some poached eggs (Mima fried ours because it was easier and faster). Then, you put some garlic through a press and mix it with plain yogurt and a bit of salt, and you put the mixture on top of the eggs. Finally, you heat up some butter in a pan, add paprika, mix them together, and pour that on top of the yogurt. Then you eat it all with toast. It was really good. I'm definitely going to try this recipe at home. I'm not sure if it will be completely successful since I won't be able to get good Bulgarian cheese and yogurt, but I'll be able to make something similar for my family to try.

Over eggs, pie, and cake, the three of us discussed womens' rights. It was a fascinating conversation because we all disagreed and agreed on different points. Basically, we were discussing whether women or men are to blame for the poor treatment and objectification that women often receive in Bulgaria. This problem is not unique to Bulgaria, but for tonight, we focused our attentions here. Mima argued that women are to blame because they do not do anything to demand respect for themselves, and they pander to the stereotypes, but Stefka argued that men are to blame for making women feel like their only chances for success are to pander to men and to dress like sexual objects. She argued that men need to stop looking at girls lecherously and allow women the freedom to dress as they please. I do not think it is the fault of women but of society as a whole, men and women. Society constructs our ideas of gender. But, I agree with Mima that the solution must come from women because they are the victims. Men are happy with the status quo and will do little to change it. If women wish to change their role, they must stand up and declare their intentions and desires. This is true everywhere and for other, similar cases. I believe that people who want to change their circumstances and situation cannot sit around waiting for someone else to change it for them. They have to work to change it for themselves. Only then will others join them to create change.

And now, I'm heading to bed because I'm stuffed full and sleepy!