Tatyana's Diary - 12th January 2007
Tatyana was born in Bulgaria and has been studying in England since the age of 15. She returned to Bulgaria to spend Christmas with her family and writes of her experience of the changes the country has seen in the lead up to joining the EU and the celebrations she experienced when it joined on 1st January 2007...
Having spent the majority of my adult life in the UK, I often find it hard to completely relate to Bulgaria. Living in the UK, I often found people unaware of where my home country is, which back at the time made me really sad. Fortunately, over the years the tourism industry has raised awareness of Bulgaria promoting its natural environment, great weather and cheap prices.
Going back home to Bulgaria for Christmas was an exciting time for many reasons. I was glad to be able to spend this symbolic time for the country as a new EU member at home, to observe the reactions from my family, friends, locals and of course the tourists.
After an early flight from London, landing in Sofia airport was exciting and somehow strange. I'm surprised by how quickly you forget that you sometimes cannot compare the standards and norms in the UK with Bulgaria, even though my country has seen great progress for the past 6 years whilst I lived in the UK. Yet to my genuine surprise, on my way back I was one of the first travelers to experience the brand new terminal at Sofia airport which could proudly compare itself with many other reputable airports in the UK and Europe with the added benefit of being brand new for the country's entry to the EU.
From that moment on, EU membership was the talk present at every conversation from the table to the news. I honestly didn't know what to expect and I was keen to talk to everyone from my parents to my little brother and grandmas, to my friends who are now at university and of course the people of Bulgaria – from my grocery shop to the bus conductor.
Driving through Sofia made me realise that for the past 11 months that I haven't been at home, things have changed greatly and fortunately for the better. The whole capital was nicely lit up with all the important national buildings having been repainted.. Like the ice rinks in the National History Museum in South Kensington and Canary Wharf, there were similar ones all over Sofia, people there were happy and smiling, enjoying the winter sun.
Back at home, I was awaiting my favorite dish and keen to hear the views of the EU entry from my family. Everyone had the general opinion that it will bring us good. My mum as a driver mentioned that the roads have been improved My dad was happy to note that living standards have greatly improved due to the higher minimum wage together with the entry of many international companies who bring with them their higher European standards which in turn makes the Bulgarian companies become a lot more competitive and ready to provide their employees with perks and bonuses. To my amazement, many of the companies have adopted Open Days, Early Recruitment at University, Training and Target Bonuses which I have only experienced in the UK before.
The only thing that wasn't to my liking was that supermarkets now have all the ready meals and frozen foods which I hope would never replace the tasty Bulgarian cuisine. Furthermore, I was surprised that there are not any local organic foods but then again people have and will benefit from the many different funds available from the EU and maybe one day we will become an exporter of vegetables etc instead of getting them from the other end of the world.
Christmas was approaching and I was on my way to Bourgas, the town I have lived in all my life before moving to the UK. As usual, my first stop was the seaside garden and the sea - one of the things I really miss. On the way down to the town centre, the high street is vibrant and full of people even though all the shops are closed. I am not sure if it is a Bulgarian thing or just the people of Bourgas, but it is some kind of tradition that people go for a walk on the high street after dinner. The facades of buildings have been renovated, there are new shopping centres that I can proudly say are a lot better than many of the ones I have seen in the UK. Restaurants and bars all have separate smoking and non-smoking areas and people generally look smarter, better dressed. Due to its proximity to Sunny Beach, Bourgas has seen a large increase in property prices as well as rentals. A local newspaper was quoting prices of up to 2500 euros per square metre for a shop on the high street. As the town is famous for having one of the best Universities for Tourism, a large proportion of the locals are working in Sunny Beach and many other smaller resorts, noting that the increased number of holiday makers and investors have made a lot of them able to transform their summer job to a full-time rewarding job.
My family and I decided to spend New Year's Eve in Bansko. Our trip there was also full of signs of road renovation and new road construction that is taking place. Bansko has changed enormously! The official figures show that the population has increased from 6000 people 3 years ago to a staggering number of 60,000 today. Of course, one can see that the small town could not react to such an increase so quickly but I was happy to see that the most important things have already been addressed. The ski lift was very well organised, the streets were clean and presentable and the locals were friendly and welcoming to all the tourists. I know it sounds cliched but I have actually heard, on more than one occasion, foreign tourists saying it's beautiful. I realised that many of the Bulgarian resorts, especially the winter ones, are benefiting and attracting buyers and holiday makers with their brand new facilities, apartments and villas which is not something so common in the Alps for example.
New Year's Eve was nice and quiet in a restaurant with all traditional Bansko meals. My family and I later joined the crowd in the town centre which were eagerly waiting for 1 o'clock and our official entry to the EU. The locals celebrated by performing the traditional chain dancing and there were as many as 2000 people all dancing together. There was a group of young English tourists that were keen to join in but hesitant at the same time. I told them that it doesn't matter if they don't know the steps and just to join in so they were all happy in the end.
To conclude, Bulgaria has changed enormously in the last year and even though the Bulgarians are a proud nation and the oldest country in Europe, with a history dating back to 681, they are generally happy to be finally accepted in the EU equally as everyone else. Of course, people are scared of higher prices, changes to the laws and changes to parts of the everyday things that they are used to which make Bulgaria the country they currently know, but in general they know that it will be for the benefit of all of us.
Going back home to Bulgaria for Christmas was an exciting time for many reasons. I was glad to be able to spend this symbolic time for the country as a new EU member at home, to observe the reactions from my family, friends, locals and of course the tourists.
After an early flight from London, landing in Sofia airport was exciting and somehow strange. I'm surprised by how quickly you forget that you sometimes cannot compare the standards and norms in the UK with Bulgaria, even though my country has seen great progress for the past 6 years whilst I lived in the UK. Yet to my genuine surprise, on my way back I was one of the first travelers to experience the brand new terminal at Sofia airport which could proudly compare itself with many other reputable airports in the UK and Europe with the added benefit of being brand new for the country's entry to the EU.
From that moment on, EU membership was the talk present at every conversation from the table to the news. I honestly didn't know what to expect and I was keen to talk to everyone from my parents to my little brother and grandmas, to my friends who are now at university and of course the people of Bulgaria – from my grocery shop to the bus conductor.
Driving through Sofia made me realise that for the past 11 months that I haven't been at home, things have changed greatly and fortunately for the better. The whole capital was nicely lit up with all the important national buildings having been repainted.. Like the ice rinks in the National History Museum in South Kensington and Canary Wharf, there were similar ones all over Sofia, people there were happy and smiling, enjoying the winter sun.
Back at home, I was awaiting my favorite dish and keen to hear the views of the EU entry from my family. Everyone had the general opinion that it will bring us good. My mum as a driver mentioned that the roads have been improved My dad was happy to note that living standards have greatly improved due to the higher minimum wage together with the entry of many international companies who bring with them their higher European standards which in turn makes the Bulgarian companies become a lot more competitive and ready to provide their employees with perks and bonuses. To my amazement, many of the companies have adopted Open Days, Early Recruitment at University, Training and Target Bonuses which I have only experienced in the UK before.
The only thing that wasn't to my liking was that supermarkets now have all the ready meals and frozen foods which I hope would never replace the tasty Bulgarian cuisine. Furthermore, I was surprised that there are not any local organic foods but then again people have and will benefit from the many different funds available from the EU and maybe one day we will become an exporter of vegetables etc instead of getting them from the other end of the world.
Christmas was approaching and I was on my way to Bourgas, the town I have lived in all my life before moving to the UK. As usual, my first stop was the seaside garden and the sea - one of the things I really miss. On the way down to the town centre, the high street is vibrant and full of people even though all the shops are closed. I am not sure if it is a Bulgarian thing or just the people of Bourgas, but it is some kind of tradition that people go for a walk on the high street after dinner. The facades of buildings have been renovated, there are new shopping centres that I can proudly say are a lot better than many of the ones I have seen in the UK. Restaurants and bars all have separate smoking and non-smoking areas and people generally look smarter, better dressed. Due to its proximity to Sunny Beach, Bourgas has seen a large increase in property prices as well as rentals. A local newspaper was quoting prices of up to 2500 euros per square metre for a shop on the high street. As the town is famous for having one of the best Universities for Tourism, a large proportion of the locals are working in Sunny Beach and many other smaller resorts, noting that the increased number of holiday makers and investors have made a lot of them able to transform their summer job to a full-time rewarding job.
My family and I decided to spend New Year's Eve in Bansko. Our trip there was also full of signs of road renovation and new road construction that is taking place. Bansko has changed enormously! The official figures show that the population has increased from 6000 people 3 years ago to a staggering number of 60,000 today. Of course, one can see that the small town could not react to such an increase so quickly but I was happy to see that the most important things have already been addressed. The ski lift was very well organised, the streets were clean and presentable and the locals were friendly and welcoming to all the tourists. I know it sounds cliched but I have actually heard, on more than one occasion, foreign tourists saying it's beautiful. I realised that many of the Bulgarian resorts, especially the winter ones, are benefiting and attracting buyers and holiday makers with their brand new facilities, apartments and villas which is not something so common in the Alps for example.
New Year's Eve was nice and quiet in a restaurant with all traditional Bansko meals. My family and I later joined the crowd in the town centre which were eagerly waiting for 1 o'clock and our official entry to the EU. The locals celebrated by performing the traditional chain dancing and there were as many as 2000 people all dancing together. There was a group of young English tourists that were keen to join in but hesitant at the same time. I told them that it doesn't matter if they don't know the steps and just to join in so they were all happy in the end.
To conclude, Bulgaria has changed enormously in the last year and even though the Bulgarians are a proud nation and the oldest country in Europe, with a history dating back to 681, they are generally happy to be finally accepted in the EU equally as everyone else. Of course, people are scared of higher prices, changes to the laws and changes to parts of the everyday things that they are used to which make Bulgaria the country they currently know, but in general they know that it will be for the benefit of all of us.
