Bulgaria

[pieter]

[Jaga]

Pieter, thanks for adding about Bulgaria. I think the first video was a bit too rosy, Bulgaria is one of the countries that people are rather leaving and not too many kids are born. It was always a bit more stable than for instance Romania, quite a contrast for us when we came here and then to Romania. It has beautiful scenery, but people especially men has this macho Turkish style, which bothers me. Maybe this is changing.
In the US people do not even realize sometimes that Bulgaria is a real country, it sounds for them terribly exotic.

When I was younger and lived in Poland I could not understand why Bulgars have a real good relationship with Russia, but now I understand especially considering the fact that they were occupied by Turks for a long time. Bulgarian and Russian cultures are just so much closer.

[pieter]

Jaga,

This macho Turkish style contrasts with the attitude of Polish men towards women in the past, which was one of respect and courteousness. In the Netherlands and in general I see the influence of the macho style coming from various directions. In the Populist climate and in the Hollywood, Rock 'n Roll and working class hero culture of the West a Macho man is also dominant. Look at James Bond, Mission: Impossible, The Bourne Identity, Dirty Harry, Rambo, Die Hard, Taxi Driver, American Sniper, the Soprano's, Scarface, the Godfather, Casino, Braveheart, The Dark night (Batman), Gladiator, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saving Private Ryan, The Terminator, Raging Bull, Léon: The Professional and Ronin (1998), and the macho Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Stand Up Comedian (sexist macho sense of humor) and Sport culture of super runners, cyclists, athletic build people (Cause we are the winners, no time for losers, sings Freddy Mercury), and the masculine politics, business world and street cultures in Europe and North America. You will not easily survive there as a refined sophisticated man or a androgynous boy or man. I add to that the macho culture in the working class world of factories, construction sites, dock yards, garbage collectors, and the macho culture of police officers, fire fighters, artist circles, the press and media. You mentioned the macho Turkish culture. In Western Europe you can ad to that the North-African Maghreb tribal, clan based Berber and Arabic macho culture (protecting the family honour, protecting your corner of the street, survival of the fittest), the Black African cultures, and the certain Southern-European, South-East-European, Central-European and Eastern-European cultures. I mention the Balkan people with their boiling blood, centuries of ethnic tensions, family feuds, conflicts between clans, civil wars and wars (Albanians, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Croats, Bosnians and Slovenes can be hot tempered, because in contrast with Western-Europe and Central-Europe they have never seen a peaceful period in their lives, Even under Tito's regime under the surface tension was rising.). The Greeks have their issues with the Turks, Albanians and Macedonians. In Macedonia Orthodox Slavic Macedonians clash with ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and Albania who live in Macedonia also as a large minority. The recent scars of the wars of the nineties aren't healed yet in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo. One lighted fuse in the powder keg will detonate this ticking time-bomb.



I am used to the macho Turkish style in Arnhem Jaga, the Turks are the largest ethnic minority over here in Arnhem. Amongst the Central-European guest workers you have Bulgarian Turks next to Orthodox Christian Bulgarians, Romanians, Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians and Czechs who work in construction over here. Building apartment blocks, renovating interiors, roofs, painting walls, Stucco (render) and moving things as Relocation (Moving house). These Turkish Bulgars are very close to the Turkish Turks, in their South-East-Eurasian culture, Muslim identity and different from the other christian Central- and East-Europeans. That is okay, and I have no problem with that as long as they are food workers and no criminals or profiteers. I just pointed at the differences. They exist. The Christian Romanians and Bulgarians by the way are also very different than the West-Europeans in their ethnicity (looks), culture, customs, traditions and religions. Orthodox christian vs the West-European 'enlightened' (reformed and secular) Roman-Catholicism, Protestantism and Evangelical christianity nex to the Atheism, secular humanism, New Age, agnosticism and paganism over here.

Cheers,
Pieter

[pieter]

[Jaga]

Bulgaria is extremely beautiful and undervalued. I was in Bulgaria only once and long time ago but the mountains, the tunnels under the mountains and Sofia, the capital, made a great impression on me.