{"id":4754,"date":"2017-10-10T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-09-12T15:13:51","modified_gmt":"2020-09-12T19:13:51","slug":"so-your-character-is-from-bulgaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victoriagracehowell.com\/staging\/6258\/so-your-character-is-from-bulgaria\/","title":{"rendered":"So Your Character is From Bulgaria … Featuring Vilina Christoph"},"content":{"rendered":"


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<\/span> It’s time for this week’s So Your Character is … Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I’m hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven’t checked out last week’s  So Your Character is from Ukraine … be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!<\/span>
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<\/span> Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts are as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.<\/span>
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\nI am a native Bulgarian and have just returned to my home country after almost 9 years living in The Republic Ireland. My family and I have settled into Sofia \u2013 the capital of Bulgaria. Sofia is a city that is developing extremely fast. It\u2019s located in the west of Bulgaria, near the border with Republic of Serbia. It\u2019s sheltered by the mountain Vitosha. <\/span><\/div>\n
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\nWhat do you feel is unique to your country? Landmarks? Celebrations?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\nBulgaria is a unique country, I believe like every other country. In general, it is extremely diverse \u2013 we have a multitude of mountains, rivers and lakes, sea and beaches, old cities and ancient architecture, rich culture and traditions, unique food and cuisine. <\/div>\n
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\nIn Bulgaria, there are several big cities \u2013 Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, and others. In terms of tourism \u2013 there\u2019s ski tourism, sea tourism, culture tourism, spa tourism, wine tourism, and more. It\u2019s hard to say any particular areas as any part of Bulgaria has something unique. <\/div>\n
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\nI would suggest skiing in the mountains of Rila and Pirin, exploring the eco-trails in Stara Planina mountain, visiting ancient tombs and fortresses in Rhodopi mountain, checking out the Rose Valley near the town of Kazanlack, diving in some hot mineral springs around the riverbed of Struma, and of course exploring the multiple towns and resorts on the coast \u2013 Nesebar and Sozopol being particularly attractive. <\/div>\n
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\nIn terms of celebrations \u2013 March is my favorite month with colorful celebrations like Baba Marta when we put woven red and white bracelets and broches called martenitsa. We also love name days here and almost everybody has one, based on the Orthodox calendar. Another interesting one is Trifon Zarezan, also famous as the Day of the Wine.<\/div>\n
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\nTell me about your country’s environment. What are some of your favorite places?<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nExtremely diverse, Bulgaria has plenty of nature. The best thing is that it is a warm country and after the winter by the end of March everything is back to life. There are nature reserves everywhere and literally, it takes no more than 30 minutes driving out of town to find yourself surrounded by nature. Eco-trails are extremely popular and available. Also, another favorite of Bulgarians are the monasteries. They are spread everywhere, normally surrounded by pristine nature and provide some space and quiet. Very often they are located near rivers and also provide places for picnics and play. <\/div>\n
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\nI love exploring and finding unusual places. I do love the monasteries (although I\u2019m not religious) because they carry something very old and special. The monasteries are the places where our Bulgarian identity \u2013 language, religion, history, culture \u2013 has been preserved during the 500 years of Ottoman rule. Usually, they are built on highly energetic places. <\/div>\n
\nAnother favorite is the monuments left from the Socialism times. They are also quite common and carry some strong charge within them, too. <\/div>\n
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\nTell me about your country’s food. What are some of your favorite dishes?<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nThe first thing I have to mention is Banitsa. It\u2019s a dish prepared with pastry, cheese, eggs, and yogurt. It sounds simple but it\u2019s delicious especially if made by your granny. Our white cheese and yogurt are quite popular, although you\u2019ve probably heard about them as feta and greek yogurt. There is a special bacteria that we use, called Bacillus Bulgaricus, which gives it unique texture and taste.<\/div>\n
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\nMussaka, stuffed peppers, sarmi, bob, and leshta are some of the traditional meals. We love soups very much, and also stews. Salads are always served on the table, best prepared from locally grown produce. Many people still grow their own fruit and vegetables here and also preserve them as compotes, jams, pickled veggies, tomato juice, etc. <\/div>\n
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\nIn terms of drinks \u2013 our national drink is called Rakia. It\u2019s a strong alcohol drink made from grapes or plums or other fruit like peach or apricots. We also produce good quality wines, many of them have won international awards.<\/div>\n
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\nTell me about any different speech patterns in your country. Slang? Idioms? Words for things such as \u201cbiscuits\u201d instead of \u201ccookies\u201d?<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nThere are quite distinct language patterns in the different parts of the country. The dialects are influenced from the nearby countries like Macedonia and Serbia, parts of which belonged to the First Bulgarian Empire. Many Bulgarian descendants still live there (and vice versa) and the languages have mixed. The central and north-eastern Bulgaria are popular with their \u201cmilder\u201d speech. Also, the south-central and south-eastern parts of the country have their own unique sayings and expressions. It is quite amazing to me how language could be so diverse! <\/div>\n
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\nWhat is interesting about the Bulgarian language is that we use the Cyrillic alphabet (azbuka) along with a few other countries. It was the Bulgarian saint Clement of Ohrid (Disciple of Cyril and Methodius) who developed the alphabetic system which then Russia and other countries acquired. Since that happened on the territory of today\u2019s Macedonia \u2013 part of the Bulgarian empire at the time \u2013 Macedonians like to argue that they came up with the Cyrillic alphabet first. Which, in fact, is a very common thing we do on the Balkans \u2013argue! <\/div>\n
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\nDescribe briefly a regular day in your country.<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nLife in Sofia is stressful and I can see that in the people. The day starts with people heading down to work, school, etc., sometimes driving really neurotically. By the end of the week, most of the people can\u2019t wait for the weekend and are driving even worse. Bulgarians do like spending time outside and a very typical picture is people sitting in the park and often having a beer (yes, we\u2019re lucky to have that allowed still!). Culture life is strong too. Often you\u2019ll see people of all ages hiking or biking in the nearby mountain. <\/div>\n
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\nIn summary, Bulgarians are people who treasure their freedom and will spend every minute out and about with friends and family, sharing a beer and a hearty chat.<\/div>\n
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\nHow does your country compare to others, especially the States since my audience is primarily American? Environmentally? Politically? Culturally<\/span>?<\/b><\/div>\n
\nBulgaria is an interesting country in the way that it\u2019s a mix between the west and the east influences. After Communism fell, we\u2019ve been very west-oriented and have become a European Union member, but still, we\u2019re very close to the Orient, too. Many words, foods, traditions have remained from the time of the Ottoman rule which lasted 5 centuries (!). <\/div>\n
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\nPolitically the country is still \u201ctorn apart\u201d between the socialism supporters who have fond memories from the past (mainly people in their 60s and up) and the pro-western, pro-American younger people. Recently there have been multiple disappointments on the political scene and many of the younger generations are apolitical. But at the same time people are more active and very often you can see protests of all sorts, which I believe is a good thing. <\/div>\n
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\nCulturally, we\u2019re quite different from the western countries but in a good way, I believe. Bulgaria is located in the south-eastern part of Europe and we are very warm, open, welcoming, friendly, and laidback. After living for 9 years in one of the most western countries in Europe, I can certainly see the difference in the mindset. <\/div>\n
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\nBriefly describe three of your country\u2019s historical events that you feel are important<\/span><\/b>.<\/div>\n
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