Most Westerners find Bulgarians exotic – but they often don’t realize that the consciousness of being exotic is painful. As a result of the international isolation during the Communist period, Bulgarians are as interested in and informed about the rest of the world as the world knows little about them. And if a Westerner who has never been to Bulgaria has scarce, if any, knowledge about Bulgarians, the stereotypes are usually negative: spiritless gray crowds or brainwashed peasants with souls destroyed by Communism, or nationalists obsessed with revenge for wars lost generations ago.

While the problems of the past are more complicated than people from Western countries can understand, there is an equally simple consensus on the Bulgarian national aspiration today: Bulgaria wants to be a „normal“ nation among European nations.

Wants but it can’t… The real example is last Bulgaria’s Local Elections… The pre-elections campain was dully, candidates – silly, voters – dumb…

The main Bulgarian problem is the growing numb in the society. Democracy means activity… not numb… And there is no such question as to vote or not… There are too many mistakes from the past elections and this mistakes has to be fixed first by the same voters. It’s easy to belive in ex-kings but it’s harder to stand…

I cannot see a society here in Bulgaria. Where is the feeling for a team or a group? Where?…

If we don’t want to live in country with corrupt police force, bloated bureaucracy, both of which are intertwined with organised crime we are the guys who can change it together – voters or not. While other Eastern-bloc countries, such as the Czech Republic, Polland or Hungary, have stormed ahead economically, we languish in corruption, backwardness and stalled reforms.

The right question is to want or not to… live here…