My article in the Kitsap Sun

Overseas travels lead to life-changing experiences

I would like to relate my unique experiences during the past year. I left my cozy home in Seabeck to spend a year studying abroad at the American University of Bulgaria. The country of Bulgaria is located in the Balkan region of Eastern Europe, on the Black Sea surrounded by Romania, Serbia, and Greece. This nation is sometimes overlooked, and not widely known by the average American tourist.

However, this post-Communist, newly admitted member of the European Union has a lot to offer a young university student like me.

The American University of Bulgaria was founded in 1991 through a joint American-Bulgarian effort. Getting to experience a liberal arts university with classes in English while living in the middle of Bulgaria was truly a unique experience. With students from over 40 nationalities attending the university, the diversity of students was amazing. What I learned in one year in Bulgaria is more than I've learned in two years at college in Washington. Not just from the educational aspect, but more from the life experiences I had. I had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and came to see how much we have in common.

Traveling in Bulgaria was a unique experience. Bulgaria has many hidden treasures such as the Eastern Orthodox Rila Monastery founded in the 10th century and located in the Rila Mountains, not far from the beautiful Seven Rila Lakes, which was one of the most stunningly beautiful hikes I've ever been on.

During my year in Bulgaria, I visited 13 countries and met people from all walks of life. In general, I think Eastern Europe has a negative reputation with both Europeans and Americans. However, from Estonia to Bulgaria I've experienced nothing but warm hospitality from the locals. In comparison to Western countries like France, Germany, or Switzerland, Eastern European countries are much less expensive. I enjoyed discovering places never seen by the average American tourist. Visiting cities such as Wroclaw, Poland or Skopje, Macedonia were a long way off the normal tourist path. I think my favorite part of traveling, besides getting to try all the unique food, was getting to stay with the local people through www.couchsurfing.org. I think when traveling, it makes a big difference in understanding a culture when you are able to stay with locals rather than a hostel or hotel.

In June, on another adventure, I interned with an American organization called One Heart Bulgaria. In 2007, the BBC documentary, "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children" brought to light the situation of Bulgarian orphanages, similar to the conditions found in Romania in the early 1990s. However, with Bulgaria now being part of the European Union, you would not expect such conditions would continue to exist. However, they do. One Heart Bulgaria works with orphanages to improve the quality of life of the children. They do this by supplying basic supplies such as food and hygiene products, but also by providing human-interaction for the children such as music lessons and providing grandmothers to visit the children so that they receive attention and stimulation that they otherwise would not get. One Heart Bulgaria has a website: http://www.oneheart-bg.org/

Being back home in Seabeck now feels a bit strange for me, but I definitely missed the beauty (and cleanness!) of the Pacific Northwest. My experiences in Bulgaria changed me. While on the one hand, it really made me appreciate how good we have it in the U.S., on the other hand it gave me a yearning to move to Europe permanently because I enjoy the pace of life and the unique experience Europe has to offer.

One thing that surprised me about Bulgaria is the differences in quality of life within the country. On one side of the road you can have a BMW and on the other side you see a donkey pushing a cart, even in the Sofia, the capital. In the opinion of most, Bulgaria has, improved for the better, but I think it still has a long way to go before it can be compared to the Western European countries like France and Germany. Based on my year there, Bulgaria is an interesting and inexpensive country to visit for a tourist looking for a unique and off-the-beaten-path experience.

P

Malea Martin is a graduate of Bremerton High School and spent her junior year in Augsburg, Germany as a Rotary exchange student. Malea is presently a student at Eastern Washington University.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/aug/31/my-turn-overseas-travels-lead-to-life-changing/