The elevator opens on a landing with the flats down or up the half-flight of stairs. Boyanna's is down the stairs and her door is open with light spilling out into the dusky hallway. She greets me warmly and often will take my backpack while I shed the winter layers of coat, hat, scarf, gloves and boots.
We sit together on her couch with a notebook, photocopies of her Bulgarian lesson book, pens, and a dictionary. Boyana goes over my homework first and most of my mistakes come from trying to write the Bulgarian word with letters that make the same sound in Spanish. Sometimes I try to write what I think might work in Bulgarian and she either laughs because it's just gibberish or she corrects it. Occasionally I get it right on my own.
My lesson starts in earnest when Boyana taps my notebook and begins one of the dialogues that she had written the lesson before. We go through the dialogue, first with her asking me the questions about myself, and then repeating the dialogue as if I were talking about Paul, Amy, a friend and myself, and John and Marie so I can practice the right endings for the singular masculine, singular feminine, and plural forms of the verbs. Sometimes I will tell Boyana about things that I'm doing (like preparing for a Christmas party, or that my roommate is sick and can't come to her lesson) and she will write dialogues about that.
Around halfway through the lesson, Boyana will pause and look at me and say, "искиш ли чай?" (Would you like tea?) Usually the answer is yes, and then she disappears into her kitchen and I go over the pronunciation of some of the new words while she makes tea. She returns and we practice more until the tea is done steeping, then she brings in a delicate cup and saucer and a plate of cookies for me and a normal mug of tea for herself.
At the end of the lesson, I try to think of ways to practice what I've learned or ask her a question. She's like a great aunt and I have to admit, I like being spoiled by her, especially when my brain feels like mush from trying to learn a new language and struggling to wrap my mouth around new shapes that I have to make to produce the right sound. Boyana and I talk about the weather using hand motions and a lot of laughter as I bundle up again in the winter wardrobe and she sends me off with a hug until my next lesson.