Discover the culture and country of Bulgaria.

1. KNOW YOUR COMMUNITYRepublic of
Bulgaria
YOUR TOUR GUIDE: ANGELA ALBANESE
KNOW YOUR WORLD
A PROGRAM OF GLOBAL TIES
AKRON

2. Speaker: Angela Albanese
“I am an American university student. I spent
five months in Bulgaria in Spring 2015 as an
exchange student through the International
Student Exchange Program (ISEP), which is
partnered with my home university in Texas. I
spent the semester studying at the American
University in Bulgaria in Blagoevgrad, which is
located in southwestern part of the country. I
had a wonderful time learning about the history,
language, and culture of Bulgaria and I will never
forget all the wonderful memories I made
there!”

3. Bulgaria is located in Southeastern Europe in a region known
as the Balkans. It has many mountains and plains. Eastern
Bulgaria is bordered by the Black Sea and has many beautiful
beaches. By plane, it takes about 14 hours and multiple stops

4. Country Quick Facts
 Full name: Republic of Bulgaria
 Population: about 6,981,931 (2019)
 Capital: Sofia
 Largest city: Sofia
 Official language: Bulgarian
 Major religion: Eastern Orthodox Christian (about 60%)
 Life expectancy: Male: 70, Female: 78
 Monetary unit: Lev, Leva (plural)
 Main exports: clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and
equipment, fuels
 GNI per capita: $15,210

5. Bulgarian History in Brief
 The Bulgarian State was founded in 681 CE
 Became independent from the Ottoman
Empire in 1908
 On the losing side in both World War I and II
 Communist government took over in 1946
 Was part of the Eastern bloc, countries
obedient to the Soviet Union during the Cold
War
 Held their first democratic elections in 1990
and begin switching to a capitalist economy

6. Language
• HELLO: zdrave/здравей
• GOODBYE: dovizdane/довиждане
• YES: Da/да
• NO: Ne/не
• THANK YOU: Blagodarya, Mersi/ благодаря, Мерси
• YOU’RE WELCOME: molya/моля
• PLEASE: molya/моля
• I LOVE YOU: Obicham te/Обичам те
• HOW ARE YOU: Kak si?/Как си?

7. Government
 President: Rumen Georgiev Radev (since
2019)
 Prime Minister: Boyko Metodiev Borisov
(since 2017)
 Government structure: parliamentary
democracy
 Voting age: 18 years

8. Current Issues
Poor infrastructure, especially roads
Struggling economy, lack of jobs
Corruption in the government
Aging population
Refugees
Discrimination of Roma people

9. Economy
 Bulgaria’s economy has been struggling
since the Communist times
 Joined the European Union in 2007
 Major industries are:
 Tourism on the Black Sea coast in
cities like Varna and Burgas
 Lots of rose oil! Used for things like
perfume
 Wine, especially from Southern
Bulgaria
 Energy
 Telecommunications

10. Currency
 Leva (paper money), stotinka (coins)
 1 US dollar= 1.73 Bulgarian leva (June 2015)

11. Cultural Differences from the US
 Bulgarians shake there head for ‘yes’ and nod there head for ‘no’
 Orders at a restaurant in Bulgaria is not served at the same time, dinner is much slower
paced than in the US
 Clean plate or empty glass means you want more and they will always serve you more
even if you don’t want it
 Bulgarians are known for their sarcastic/dry sense of humor
 Lots of stray dogs
 Smaller cars, hardly any trucks
 Still a lot of focus on extended family, very close
 Eye contact very important
 Don’t like to rush
 Bulgarians like to think they invented everything from baklava and yogurt to the Cyrillic
alphabet, but also very proud of their culture 

12. National Festivals
 Kukeri Festival- rituals dating back to ancient times to scare
off evil spirits of the winter season through scary costumes
and dancing

13. Traditional Bulgarian Food
 Banitsa
 Yogurt very common, sour compared to ours
 Lots of meat, potato, and rice dishes
 Two kinds of cheese: yellow and white cheese
 Ayran (cold yogurt beverage mixed with salt) and boza (grain-based
drink) are traditional beverages
Banitsa- popular bread and cheese
dish
Boza

14. Fun Facts
 The current prime minister, Boyko
Borisov, currently plays for a club
soccer team
 Bulgaria has an UNESCO World
Heritage Site- Rila Monastery
 Bulgaria has Roman ruins! (See
next slide)
 Quidditch player Viktor Krum
from the Harry Potter books and
movies was from Bulgaria
 Bulgaria was one of the two
countries that did not turn over
their Jews to the Nazis

15. Roman Amphitheater in
Plovdiv, Bulgaria dating back
to the 2nd century

16. Links
 http://www.novinite.com/
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17202996
 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/bu.html
 http://www.eurodict.com/English_Bulgarian_Dictionary_seo_46.html
 http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/bg.htm
 http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/mapping/outline-
map/?map=Bulgaria&ar_a=1
 http://bulgariatravel.org/
 http://bulgaria.usembassy.gov/