Saturday 16 May 2015

YOANA: I LIVE IN BULGARIA!

Reader Yoana tells us all about life in beautiful Bulgaria… 


Yoana says:
I am fourteen years old and I live in a village near the city of Haskovo. We have a two-storey house with a big garden full of trees, flowers, fruit and vegetables. There are some woods nearby where I like to go to read a book. My family is small but happy - I live with my mum, dad, my lovely gran and my awesome, cool (and sometimes annoying!) elder brother.

All of the schools in Bulgaria are mixed, and I study at a foreign language school. It isn't too strict - we have a uniform but it's not obligatory to wear it every day, just on special occasions! My school is famous for students who can speak English, Russian, Spanish, French and German fluently - my favourite subject is English. I have a great teacher who always keeps the whole class laughing!

Traditional Bulgarian food is plentiful and delicious… there are many dishes to choose from! There's Banitsa, made of pastry leaves, cheese, eggs and milk; shopska salad, made of tomato, cucumber, cheese, onion and green pepper; tarator, a cold soup with yoghurt, minced cucumber and garlic; and my all time favourite salad, Snow White salad, consisting of yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and walnuts. There are other dishes too, but these are the ones I like best! We also cook dishes from other countries, like pizza, pasta, Turkish delight, baklava and much more. The traditional Bulgarian dress is called nosia (nosija) and there is a traditional dance, horo. Bulgaria is famous for its high quality rose oil, yoghurt and seaside tourism, and there is some beautiful scenery and landmarks, too.

The most popular sports in Bulgaria are football, tennis and volleyball. Many people play sports, but in my opinion the most common pastime - not just in Bulgaria but in the whole world - is chatting on mobile phones like zombies!

There are many traditions and festivals in Bulgaria. I'll tell you about Baba Marta (Grandma March). On 1st March, all Bulgarians exchange traditional bracelets called martenitsa, made from braided red and white yarn and worn in honour of the first Bulgarian king, Asparuh. After seeing the first stork of the year, people hang the martenitsa onto a blossoming fruit tree.  My hobby is crafting - I love making jewellery, clothes, embroidery, decoupage and much more. I love reading too, but books are very expensive here so the library is my second home!

Cathy says:
Wow… I honestly didn't know anything about Bulgaria, but it sounds amazing! Storks… yarn bracelets… cool veggie food and awesome national dress! It has now gone on my bucket list of places to visit! Would YOU like life in Bulgaria? COMMENT BELOW to have your say!

7 comments:

  1. Sorry to be a grammar pest (sorry Blue) but there is a grammar mistake - you've missed out an indefinite article somewhere. "We have a two-storey house with 'a' big garden full of trees, flowers, fruits, and vegetables."

    I also understand another minor error that you made, Cathy. The comma and the letter M are both next to each other so you were typing fast that you accidentally pressed the wrong key. The part where it says: "I live with my mum, my dad, ','y (comma in apostrophes needs to be replaced with lowercase letter m, for the word 'my').

    Enough of the grammar; the thing that dazzled me a lot was the food - the good thing is that it's vegetarian too! Plus, the fact that there's some beautiful scenary and landmarks is pretty cool too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The food sounds amazing! I'm a big fan of yoghurt, cucumber and garlic and they seem to feature heavily in Bulgarian dishes. Yum! I might have to look up the recipe for tarator and see if I can make it myself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. cool! I definitely agree with cathy... looks like a great holiday place!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds fantastic! It must be a lovely place to visit... maybe I could visit when I am older! Xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. sounds great! Id love to visit there one day! the food sounds delicous and I love the culture!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bulgaria sounds like an amazing place (especially if you live there). One day I would love to visit Bulgaria. The food sounds absolutely delicious and plus it's veggie. Also the scenary sounds so peaceful. Great post. Thanks Cathy. xx <3 :)

    ReplyDelete

EMILY: INSPIRED TO HELP REFUGEES

Reader Emily, aged ten, explains how a Cathy Cassidy book inspired her to raise money for a refugee charity... Emily says: The Cathy Cassidy...