For reference, I come from a relatively small country, with total area of 111.000 square km. and less than 8 million people population. My country is Bulgaria and it is a very beautiful place, with many wonderful snow peak mountains, sunny beaches, warmhearted people and rich culture and folklore.
But where is Bulgaria after all?
During the 5th International Cultural Festival in Peking University, Beijing, China, where Bulgaria had a separate booth for the 5th consecutive year, I gathered rather interesting accounts on the location of this mysterious country Bulgaria. All visitors were given a sort of a brochure, with a place for getting a stamp from all the countries represented at the festival. The brochure was divided into continents with no further explanations about which country belongs to which continent. That's how the puzzle began...
So, as newcomers were passing by our stand, I took the venture to inquire and ask them to point on their brochure the continent to which my country belongs, and only when successfully guessing, to stamp their brochure.
But why should they know? The great Chinese nation with 5.000years of history and culture and a population of more than 1.6billion people? Should it be bothered about an insignificant country like mine? I think yes.
Well, still, the results were rather fascinating. According to several people, Bulgaria was situated in the heart of Africa...very intriguing...only that I was so stunned that I forgot to ask in which part of the African map I should look for it.
The next most popular guess was ...Asia. Truly unexpected, since, if nothing else, Asia should be the continent Chinese are most familiar with, but apparently no.
Yes, indeed, there were even more wild guesses, like the one that Bulgaria was in fact situated on the continent of Australia...though I didn't quite comprehend, whether it is an island or an aborigine's tribe.
Of course, the guesses were not short of describing Bulgaria as part of America, I am guessing they meant Latin America, because even in the past I have come across people confusing Bulgaria with Bolivia.
So, finally, there were those who firmly proved their knowledge, when they stated that Bulgaria was, of course, in Eastern Europe (which it truly is), and was part of the Soviet Union (which it was not, but at least it gave communist 'comrades' the geographical knowledge others still lack).
What conclusions could be drawn from this random 'survey', or 'fieldwork', if you'd like?
First of all, as I looked deeper into these disturbing results, I was struck by my own narrow mindedness. But, of course these various people had logical reasons to assume that Bulgaria was elsewhere and not in Eastern Europe!
Why in Africa? Well, considering archaeological discoveries of the Kenyan man, it turns out that some time, millions of years ago, we all, Bulgarian ancestors and others, originated in the African plateau. One down. But why Asia? Well, considering the great migrations in history, it turns out that the ancestors of the Bulgarian people did, indeed, cross parts of Asia, and most probably mixed a little bit with the local women and men, just so much so, that Bulgaria has preserved an Asian trace up to this day.
So far, so good. As for the Australian guess, I am still puzzled and my only explanation is that 'Bulgaria' sounds like an exotic tribe...hm...The Latin American guess is quite understandable considering the similarity between the names Bolivia and Bulgaria, and considering the relatively similar looks some Bulgarians and Latinos share.
An enriching experience indeed. But what are the implications of one such research? Well, Bulgaria is not the smallest, and definitely not the most unknown of the world's states. Many people are familiar with Bulgarian football, gymnastics, some of them have even heard about Bulgarian Rose oil, and as for the Japanese and Korean people, they know Bulgaria best for its yogurt. This is not discouraging at all, since there are other states suffering from even deeper 'uknowningness' :).
Putting away all my perceptions of what states originally mean, I venture to think globally. From a global perspective, "the world is a global village" kind of thinking can definitely be of help to interpret the results that occurred during the 'survey'. Why should we distinguish ourselves strictly as belonging to a specific place, behind certain borders, carrying a particular nationality, when, we can be citizens of the world? I am engaged to a wonderful Ugandan man and many of my closest friends are Africans. Indeed, part of my heart is in Africa and as far as I am concerned, I was quite pleased with the African location of Bulgaria. I have lived in Asia for the last 6 years and I believe that this continent has so much history and culture to offer, is so rich in knowledge and natural beauty, that for Bulgaria to be situated there will not be all that bad etc.
You got my line of thinking?
So much for the 'global perspective'. All in all, I believe that better understanding of the peoples of the earth, will lead to better mutual understanding and harmonious co-existence (as my Chinese 'comrades' would say) among all nations. Our differences and uniqueness should not be interpreted as causes for conflict, but rather as pillars for stable relationships. As we learn to appreciate and respect each other's cultures and countries, we will also find significant similarities among our peoples and will, eventually, achieve global peace and harmony.
I just want to thank all the people who visited our stand and learned something more about Bulgaria. As for those who still haven't had the chance to, I invite all of you to take the time and make the trip to Bulgaria, the Bulgaria still situated in South-Eastern Europe (or Eastern depending on different texts), and explore its unique and splendid natural scenes and gorgeous sights.
Thank you!
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