during the big rain storm in Sofia yesterday, a cat moved into the hostel tea basement. The owner is feeding it and if he doesn't spray on things, they are going to let him stay. He was timid at first, but now loves to spend hours sitting in anyone who will let him's lap. I have named him chai, the bulgarian (and pretty much international) name for tea. I don't think he was originally a stray- his coat was shiny and he seemed too well groomed. He was skinny, but all Bulgarian cats are skinny.
Another round of tourists that I had bonded with left the hostel this morning. It is hard to see people you have gotten to know so well leave... c'est la vie, I suppose.
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5 comments:
is it pronounced chai (ch, long I)? I think that must be the global word for tea, cuz in egypt it's chai too (but pronounced shay, long a).
yay for kitties.
also, your cat makes hilarious noises. every morning at about 5 minutes before six (when laura usually gets up) she starts freaking out and making all sorts of noises in expectation of lovin. so cute and little.
shannon speaks the truth. she also started yowling the other day when she saw the orange thumbs cat on our porch. funny noises kitteh. she definitely misses you and doesn't seem to really know what to do with herself lately.
yay for other kitties! just don't bring it home or clove will yowl some more.
And, cleverly, Chai consists of tea with cloves in it. A lovely name.
Pravo
I want to see the chai! Do you have a camera with which to capture it's soul for all of us to see?
Also, pretty much all of the words for tea in the world come from the same word in chinese, pronounced differently in different dialects:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea#Etymology_and_cognates_in_other_languages
I miss you and your plutonic lovin'.
Wow, I never knew that the name I gave the cat would cause so much linguistic debate. Yes, its chai like how we pronounce the spice drink, but it is a general name for all tea in Bulgaria. Though everyone from the hostel goes to India to meditate as often as they can, so their word for tea might come from that. I will take pictures of him and post them somewhere... maybe here. He is the sweetest cat I've ever seen (almost a bit too needy) but he is no replacement for the Tiny...
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