The main language spoken in Bulgaria is Bulgarian. The older generations almost exclusively speak Bulgarian, but most of the students here are required to learn English starting in second grade. However, in Vidin, I rarely hear anything but Bulgarian outside of school.
Even though Bulgaria is part of the European Union, they do not use the euro. Instead, they use the lev. It is called the lev because in old translations of Bulgarian, lev meant “lion,” which is the national symbol for Bulgaria.
A 500 ml (16 oz) bottle of water costs about 1.50 BGN (lev). The value of the lev is not as high as the dollar, so everything is cheap in comparison to America. The 16 oz bottle of water only costs about $0.86!
The best meal I had this week was a vegetarian chili that my friend, Jonah, made. All of the chili I have eaten before contained meat, so I was not sure if I would like it, but this chili was surprisingly delicious! Bulgaria has a lot of fresh produce, and the vegetable quality here is really great.
I also had a Bulgarian donut (понищишки---ponichki) for the first time this week!
