Vocabulary Words to Learn

enterprising (en-ter-pris-ing) adjective “bold, energetic, and full of “a can do” belief

average (av-er-age) noun “that which is not extreme or extraordinary”

switch (switch) noun “a shift; change”

pursuit (pur-suit) noun “an effort to gain something”

constantly (con-stant-ly) noun “something that does not vary or change”

compared (com-par-ed) verb “to be considered the same as something else”

blaming (bla-ming) verb “to place responsibility on for a mistake or fault”

independent (in-de-pend-ent) adjective “not ruled by another; self-governing”

confident (con-fi-dent) adjective “secure in one’s own abilities; self-assured”

In just over a decade and a half, Bulgaria has gone from communism to EU member. The changes didn’t happen soon enough for many and too soon for others. In 2007, Bulgaria seems to be on the path to becoming a normal country. The journey has not been an easy one. The nation has had to overcome 500 years of foreign rule, many wars and communism to get to this point in history. Life in Bulgaria has never been an easy thing or something for the faint of heart even in the best of times. Since the fall of communism, the average person here has had to struggle with low wages, high prices and bad governments.

Many older Bulgarians continue to ask the question, “Why do we need this democracy?” After all, there was a time here when even poor people had a little money in their pockets even if there wasn’t anything in the stores to buy. For most pensioners, the switch to a market economy is a disaster. Their low pensions cannot even cover the basic things they need for survival. However, most Bulgarians have survived the worst days of the past 15 years and believe that the worst is over. Still even among the younger generation there are some who are not so sure that the worst is over.

Perhaps like people in the West, people here are often discouraged in their pursuit of progress by the news media. Bulgarians are told constantly that they are not doing as well as they think they are doing. A recent report says that Bulgarian kids are now the fattest in the world, right up there with the Americans. Another report says the Bulgarians are the unhappiest people in all of Europe. However, when you look around, you don’t see a lot of fat, unhappy people here. Bulgarians, when compared to many in America or even Western Europe, are not very overweight or unhappy. Bulgarians for the most part love their country and are happy to be here.

MENSA International, the largest and best known high I-Q service, says that Bulgarians are the second highest in the world when it comes to intelligence. So perhaps that’s why so many people in Bulgaria say they are unhappy. Bulgarians are a smart people and they know things could be a whole lot better in Bulgaria than they are. Highly intelligent people being paid the lowest salaries in Europe might well say they are unhappy when they really aren’t. Bulgarians, like most people, like to complain but this doesn’t mean they are unhappy with everything around them.

Bulgarians are new to a system that says their own efforts will make the biggest difference in the quality of their lives. Years of blaming the system has delayed progress in many people’s lives. It’s not easy to change from a society that once let the government make most of the decisions for them to people who are responsible for their own choices.

However, this all being said, most people in Bulgaria have survived the changes and there is a new generation of young people that welcomes and embraces change. Unlike the older people, for whom the changes came to late, young people are excited about the future. They are enterprising, very independent and confident that change is good and worth the pain it brings.

USA education level required to read this post: 8th grade

Questions for Group and Pair Discussion

• Do you believe Bulgaria is on the road to becoming a more normal country like the rest of Europe?

• Do you think the switch to a market economy has been good or bad for Bulgaria?

• Are you affected by negative reports in the news media?

• Are Bulgarians more accepting of personal responsiblity for their own success than they were in the past?

• Why do you think so many people say they are unhappy in Bulgaria?