Blagoevgrad's Global Village




  • In Archive
  • 2013-01-22 17:16:05
  • By
  • 260 Views
The Youth Center in Blagoevgrad echoed with the multi-linguistic chatter of AIESEC members and interns while they were acquainting Blagoevgrad's high-school students with their native cultures on Friday, January 18. The gathering called “Global Village” is part of AIESEC projects “Meeting Diversity” and “Make It Possible”. AIESEC members introduced their respective countries – Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Montenegro and Mongolia. They donned traditional garments, gave out exotic souvenirs and played videos of their homelands. They introduced the new interns that are going to teach English, cultural diversity, time management and career development to students from the National Humanitarian High-School, the English Language School and the Foreign Language High-School in Blagoevgrad. The seven interns are going to teach for 5 weeks on the basis of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) program of the UN.
Sofia Andrade and César Rodrigues have come a long way from Brazil. Sofia enjoys the experience of “culture shock”. For her, Bulgaria is so unlike anything she has experienced before. César favored Bulgaria for its exotic weather, the cold and snow in particular. This is his first time in Bulgaria and as an undergraduate majoring in Advertising, he would like to get acquainted with different cultures. Before leaving her homeland, China, Cherry Cheung checked some information on Bulgaria. She wanted to see the beautiful landscapes and taste Bulgarian yogurt; eventually fell in love with both. After graduation, she plans to travel to countries in South-East Asia and to complete a Master’s degree in the U.S.A. Hunny Hans hails from India but has lived in Saudi Arabia for 6 years. He had no prior knowledge of Bulgaria, but says that he has seen a lot for one week. In contrast with other countries that he has visited, Hunny was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Bulgarians are much more welcoming and friendly. Swapnil Mindhe lives in Australia, but has been travelling across Europe for the past few months. He chose Bulgaria because no one in Australia actually knows about it. He still finds it hard to understand the culture but he likes the fact that Bulgarians are relaxed and possess a unique identity.  “Sometimes people group Russia and Bulgaria together since both are Slavic countries, but they are actually quite different,” said Mindhe. So far the interns have visited the hot-spots of Blagoevgrad – the AUBG campus, Piano Bar Limited and Prego. They will start their second week in Bulgaria by going to their respective classes and meeting their eager students.