pounding has been going on for weeks.
I stop by often to see the process.

most of the bathroom insides are original, little by little they have been demolished, revealing the more inards of the plumbing, electrical and wall construction.

the old tiles backed with nothing but concrete are replaced with durock, or waterproof sheetrock, then tiled over.

“we do everything like you do now.” the maister says to me looking up from his work.
“except the framing of wood. we use steel.”

I know this as everyone loves to tell me that in america we build out of wood and our houses blow down when the wind comes.
I tell them that those winds are tornadoes, not just any winds.
It does not matter.
They find the concept of wood framing completely preposterous.
“How aren’t you swimming in rain water?”
“They just fall over.”
“You feel much safer in our concrete homes, na li?”
“American homes will rot, our concrete will be here for hundreds of years.”

I prepare for him to start this conversation again….

“Our wood here isn’t like yours, its warped and unreliable, we have to use steel.”

This is new reasoning..

I start to reconsider the perceptions and understanding of the material that surrounds each of us in our homes. How have we developed relationships with that material and how aware are we of a different material? In Bulgaria, aside from brick, most construction is concrete, from the village to the city, homes and apartments are concrete, whether pre-cast panels, column and slab construction, or concrete blocks. A very corporeal comprehension of materiality that embeds into our memories and a feeling of home.
Home, in whatever material, that in which we will defend staunchly.