Bulgaria is like Oklahoma
First, an apology for leaving you hanging for so long....I meant to post as soon as I returned from Egypt, but Cairo gave me a nasty case of diarrhea and I spent the last few days feeling pretty crappy (HA! crappy. get it?? as you can see, I'm feeling better). But more on Cairo after I tell you about Bulgaria.....So my overall impression of Bulgaria is two fold:
1) It is boring.
2) It is certainly not ready for the EU.
It is certainly hard to describe why a place is boring, but Sofia (capital of Bulgaria) just seems to lack the life and bustle of Belgrade. Sofia has a pedestrian mall, but it's just not as pretty. Sofia has some parks, but they tend to have more concrete than trees. They have cafes, but they are lacking in cuteness. And the people are relatively pleasant, but they seem to be lacking in the pride (albiet bruised) that Serbs have. The only comparison I can make to explain what I mean is to ask you to imagine visiting Oklahoma. There is nothing really wrong with Oklahoma and there might be a couple of nice things to see but, as a whole, who really wants to go to Oklahoma? Now, don't get me wrong, my friend's mom was very nice and prepared an absolutely lovely Easter dinner for us, but the country is just not a place I will miss if I never go again.
Secondly, as a temporary Serb, I have to say, that I am personally offended that Bulgaria is allowed to negotiate to join the EU before Serbia. Bulgaria is so far from being ready for the EU and Serbia is much more advanced in so many ways. From the Communist air that seems to still exist in people's mentality to the decrepit infrastructure, you certainly don't feel like you're in Europe when you're in Sofia. At least you feel like you're in Europe when you're in Belgrade, even if things are still creaking their way out of the decade of conflict. It's simply not fair that each and every Serb is still being punished by the EU because of Milosevic (I mean, they overthrew the guy, shouldn't that count for something?) - and it is a real shame that a developing country like Bulgaria is considered more EU-worthy than Serbia.
posted by Brooke @ 8:28 AM
16 Comments:
Sing it Sista!!!
Wow.
I though of visiting Bulgaria someday, but you just made me change my mind.
Oww, it is so "cute" to see such quick adaptation to the "local, everything non-Serb is crap culture". Don't weep too much for the Serbs honey, those criminals will be allowed to join the EU one day, albeit not any time soon.
Isn't it interesting how those that who are hateful, but cowardly always hide behind "anonymous".
I suppose that a person who's essentially an outsider living in Serbia is supposed to hate the serbian people in order to appease the anonymous' of the world.
Well, hate against Bulgarian is what unite all Balkan nations. He, he, sorrry, that's what I have seen somewhere on the Net.
Wellcome to the club!
I agree. It is problem of mentality as well. All that countries "behind iron curtain" has the same problems and syndromes. Serbia was not “west” but was in window. Many other countries considered us for west: Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Ukraine. They were so poor during the socialism and it reflect on situation even now. They are doing much better now, but track from past are still visible.
Looks like you're not the only one who thinks Bulgaria isn't quite ready for the EU.
I've sent this to my friends, we Love U
Of course we Belgraders salute the compliment but dont go too 'native', you might start to lose your objectivity.
Additionally bear in mind that some Serbs (or most former Yugoslavs actually) still maintain a superior view over countries like Bulgaria or Turkey.
That is these days a relic of history - from the time when Yugoslavia was really something and surrounding countries like Bulgaria aspired to be like Yugoslavia. Everybody in the former Yugoslavia knew this and were proud of it.
But those days are now gone :(
Ten comments and nothing to say about Oklahoma, hummmmm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/bulgaria/clusters/
Hmmm. I've never visited Bulgaria so I couldn't say anything about it. However, I have been to Serbia and it certainly feels like Europe (although poor).
Even more important, although there is quite a bit of the ex-Communist mentality around it seems to be mixed up with a bit of Mediterranean mentality as well (though I don't know how good that is).
Keep those posts coming, dear. The Serbs really need to hear how superior they are when in reality they are an isolated island ravaged in Europe, perceived as demonic nationalists. And i'm not surprised that you didn't like Bulgaria. Apparently, you are a person with abominal taste since you're so crazy about Serbia. What a loser.
And for the person who said that hating on Bulgaria is what unites the Balkans...you're so sad bearing in mind that Serbia is the most hated country on the Balkans -Croats hate you, Bosniaks hate you, Montenegrins hate you, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Bulgarians certainly don't like you.
And you're married to a Serb?! I bet you love being beaten and raped every night by your husband.
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