When I decided to volunteer internationally, I knew little about Bulgaria, just a little about its history and the experience of a friend who was here last year. The truth is that I did not have a clear idea of ​​what I was going to find in this country, nor what to expect. I knew that they used another alphabet and that their language is Slavic, is that enough? Luckily, I had learned some Russian, so at least I already knew how to read Cyrillic.

When I first arrived in Sofia, I had a strange feeling: the country became familiar to me, but it was not like being at home. To be honest the language barrier at first was difficult to overcome as I was learning some very basic words as I went along. However, it didn’t take long for me to find a way to communicate with local people, I finally discovered that language is not only verbal but also with gestures and onomatopoeia we can understand each other.

The experience with my fellow volunteers was much easier since we all speak English and are interested in learning from each other because, despite not being so different, we have a lot to learn and discover about other European countries. Bulgaria is a great country for that since people are willing to understand us and so far we have not had a bad experience with the language.

There is still a lot to explore in Bulgaria, but I’m sure it hides many fascinating secrets!

Raúl Meoz