This is what they call childhood. Maia will soon complete the seventh month after her first year. Those who saw her last in this blog will probably not realize she is the same person who was trying to walk the last time I wrote. Plenty of water has flown down the Danube since that time. Nowadays Maia is a young woman with distinct style and remarkable socialization skills. She has been attending the nursery - or bolcsi as they call it in Hungarian - since December and feels quite comfortable being one of the youngest kids there. The consequences are remarkably positive, apart from a bunch of vibes that she inevitably harvested in the first few weeks. But then came the fun part. Maia is now entirely relaxed about other kids, and - most amazingly - their mothers and fathers. She would walk to a complete stranger mom in Ikea's restaurant, engage in a natural and joyful exchange with the complete stranger child, and soon demand (and obtain) the attention and love of everyone around with her smart moves and approaches. Although unable to talk none, Maia seemingly comprehends perfectly both Hungarian and Bulgarian, and responds very adequately. Although her active vocabulary is larger in Hungarian, she demonstrates clear preference to the Bulgarian versions of certain words, like пари [pari], meaning "hot" (not to be confused with its homograph meaning "money" - she is too young for that).
But before this posting gets too long, after half a year of silence, let me get to the point: Maia is fascinated by the Internet. And most particularly, by the live image and sound of her grandfather, talking, performing, and singing for her remotely from downtown Sofia. If there is one thing that can keep Maia hypnotized in front of the screen for 10 minutes it is Dedo Palyo indeed - although Baba Eli also receives a fair share of affection. That is how it starts, I hear the skeptics whisper, but from my point of view better early than late - there is no escape from the Internet for this generation, so why not use its best sides. I can't help thinking how a video telephone sounded like decent science fiction to me when I was a child. And how easy does science fiction turn into real life these days. Have you not noticed?