Your experience of culture shock in Bulgaria

Hi Christine,

We have found many differences but one that still slightly annoys me is the issue of queuing, when waiting for a bus for example, regardless if I was first in at the bus stop everyone will just surge past and push each other out of the way. Coming from a country that queues for everything I find it difficult to adapt to this custom. The simple solution is that it gave me the courage to drive, but don't get me started on that subject. Another issue we have at least got to gripps with is when you order in a restaurant and give the waitress your order for the starter and main they will invariably arrive together. We now order one thing at a time because even if we explain we want the starter first you can bet your life the main will come within minutes. On the whole though we have many differences and we are in their country so it is for us to adapt, there are many lovely differences or we wouldn't stay would we?
Best wishes Sylvia

Hi Christine,,,First let me say "i love BG",,i also have witnessed Que jumping at Kat in VT,,Village shop,,Bank,,so yes,,very rude & disrespectfull to other people,,you mention "awkward cultural experience",,yes ive found visiting or passing thro rural villages many people just stare at you,,at 1st i found it uneasy,but i deal with it by just staring right back with a big smile,,it works it dous,nt happen in VT or big towns,,,A Beutifull "Cultural Code ive embraced in Rural BG is people selling there Veg & Fruit in village & roadside,,Shepards with there flocks & herds,,,Village children playing & singing & smiling,,,allways saying Hello Eddie,,& seeing there eyes light up when i bought them a New football,,& they asked me to play fooball with them,,seeing a Real Cultural Village burial,,(deceased in a open horse drawn cart) ,,,,seeing people living off there land & traveling by Horse & Cart,,,very very Humbling Cultural Experiences,,,thank you BG

Double Dutch in Bulgaria…..

Living among the British and Bulgarians for more than seven years in Bulgaria as a 'Duchie' has given me some small and big culture shocks. Obvious the Brits give the small ones, always be nice to your neighbour country.

I have been a few times in the UK before I moved to Bulgaria. My first shock in Britain was that they loved their carpet in the toilets at home....how do they clean that, but no such hygiene problems in Bulgaria. I lived in a small village in Bulgaria with three local bars, so the first night after my arrival I went to a bar for a beer; first shock ' Wow that's bl**dy cheap, in that case I have another one!' But at some point you have to go to the toilet, opened the door and my eyes start watering from the ammonia fumes, I almost passed out and at the same time you have to concentrate on not missing the hole in the floor. But as time passes  you are learning, and as it was not an option to stop drinking beer you take a deep breath, open the door, empty the bladder while holding your breath and breath out when you close the door and release...pffff.... and back to the bar.

Another shock when in Britain was how they like to eat chips, and I could not believe that they put LOADS of vinegar on them. My first portion of chips in Bulgaria was with goat cheese and I love it. But to be honest I think the Brits and the Bulgarians would be shocked when they eat chips in Holland with…..peanut sauce or ‘chips war’, which is with mayonnaise ketchup and raw onions. Still talking of food, in Britain black pudding is a big NO NO for me, vampire pudding is the word for it. But the prize for NO NO food goes to the Bulgarians with their tripe soup. It’s very nice when they invite you to their house for a meal but you’re almost gagging when standing on the doorstep and every part of the house is filled with the smell of tripe soup. Of course you don’t want to be rude and my mum told me ages ago: ‘ be polite and eat a tiny little bit’…..no mum sorry can’t do that with tripe soup!

The other NO NO Bulgarian food I eat by accident was at my neighbour’s house. I thought they offered me a nice chunk of goat cheese and what do you do when you find out after the first bite that it’s pork fat? No dog under the table, no plant near me, so swallow the whole thing in one go and wash it down with Rakia. But to be fair I can imagine that both Brits and Bulgarians are gagging about the thought of eating raw herring, our national pride, covered in raw onions, holding it by the tail and letting it slowly finds its way down. You can even wake me up in the middle of the night for some ‘Dutch Sushi’ and I’ll enjoy it, but not very nice for my partner though…. a Brit. And here in Bulgaria I also understand for the first time what ‘going Dutch’ means when going to a restaurant, when I was always thinking I was supposed to wear  my wooden clogs and a cloche hat?

The dress code in villages has not changed since I am here. The old women wear layers of flowers and stripes in non-matching colours, and even when it’s 30 degrees they are dressed as if they are expecting a snow storm any minute! Men like to wear the fake Adidas trousers with an original Turkish T shirt with ‘Deisel’ printed on it, complete with the rubber shoes for both sexes and don’t forget the camouflage outfit for hunters, they love it, very macho! As for British men in Bulgaria, the only thing I can say is ‘Stop wearing white socks with sandals…it’s a dead give-away that you are a Brit!’

And dear Brits no complaints at all from me with your music, but I was already fed up with the Bulgarian pop videos on TV after one day here with all the songs the same and boobs, borax lips and bums nonstop like soft porn. As for some of the live music they play on village days it is probably best not to comment!

Anyway this was my little culture shock story with a wink. I hope I don’t offend one of you and if I did….sorry from the bottom of my heart. At the end of the day, thank God, we are all different and we can all live together in non-communist Bulgaria!

Regards Mrs Bean

I love your post Mrs Bean. Very entertaining. Thank you. I'll look out for these things with gleeful anticipation when I get there.

Terry

Don't like cheese, girkins courgettes anything pickled.
I did like the salad tomatoes and chips in a wrap with loads of mayonnaise
my home was chips with gravy. steak puddings
Yes also when waiting for a bus I wait till the last so I don't get angry people pushing in but there again its always the women so it must be their right to do so
I live in a town where there is no restraint and I struggle to have food as I say its seems all polish type sausages or german sausage.
6weeks in Bulgaria and walk everywhere and bus but get home and im still the same weight to the pound.

Thank you Mrs Bean for your post, I really enjoyed reading it

I remember the soup, but my neighbour makes stomach soup,(omg i remember her making it too from the lamb that was killed at easter)  Also snails are quite popular and liver which i hate! I did try the snails as i have never has them but i couldn't get out of my head that they where snails, yuck! My boyfriend didn't mind them much though.

Yes the toilets take some getting used too, i remember going to our local pub and the toilet was full.. and i mean full, but I was drunk and needed to pee.. so i held my breath and did what needed to be done haha. you get used to it though

I would say watch out for the pot holes in the roads, and the crazy drivers overtaking on blind corners..wtf....If you're English everyone thinks you are loaded....Make sure you try and learn the language some ....Mix in a talk a bit with your locals, don't be scared to try, even if it all goes wrong.... Do as many things for yourself rather than rely on others, make some rakia or wine, chop your own logs if you can, grow your own food and maybe keep some chickens. You will be able to relate more and gain a bit more respect.

We have moved somewhere where there are no English people at all, only been here for the summer for 3 years and this is our first winter. We didn't even know that that there where groups of 'English villages' around in different places. We live near Shumen in a little village with around 140 people. But with our experience the more we try to involve ourselves in the Bulgarian culture, the more our neighbors like to talk to us. They seem happy that we are hard at work and we dont just pay people to do the work for us. When we are chopping logs for the winter, they come and talk to us, when we are working in the garden they talk to us, and when we reply in Bulgarian they are very happy that we have learned some of the language.

My advice is be yourself and don't be scared, embrace the culture, you are moving to a country where culture is a very important part of everyday life.

Holly