The Best of Both Worlds: Binational Students

Eight passports, four people, endless stories. AUBG has the privilege of having 99 students with dual citizenship. We met with some of them who shared their unique experiences and views on culture with us.

 

A Mix of Neighboring Countries

Filippos Kinigopoulos is a fourth-year binational student at AUBG from Greece and Bulgaria. He grew up in Greece and came to Bulgaria occasionally as a child, but he has lived in Blagoevgrad for the past four years and plans to stay there.

 

Filip shared the interesting story of his parents and how they met. “My dad is actually half Georgian, half Greek. He moved to Greece because Georgia had a very bad reputation then. My mom, when the Soviet Union collapsed in Bulgaria, she moved to Greece in order to work but came illegally. And my dad was pretty rich, and he could provide for her. So that's how they went into a relationship”.

 

When asked whether he feels more Greek or Bulgarian, Filip said there are no major differences between the two cultures, but nevertheless, he has always been closer to Greece. He shared that people from the southern country “tend to complain a lot about everything while not doing anything, and that's me.”

 

Being binational has both advantages and disadvantages. Filip shared that “you are more culturally aware; you get to know more languages,” which enhances the way of expression. Additionally, he “really enjoyed as a kid going back and forth from Bulgaria to Greece” as it was a change of scenery.

 

In terms of disadvantages, he “had many racist experiences in Greece because of being half Bulgarian,” and he was not considered a Greek because of that.

 

Filip talked about the aspect of using multiple languages whether they become mixed up in thoughts or speech. “I can't stick to one language! I use three of these languages every day and it gets very complicated”. He can communicate in Bulgarian for basic needs and speaks Greek and English fluently.

 

He analyzed the similarities in Greek and Bulgarian cultures which celebrate religious holidays and traditions in the same way because they are both Orthodox Christian. For example, Filip shared that Greeks eat lamb on Easter day as Bulgarians do.

 

There are differences as well, such as the so-called Greek carnival in February which does not happen in Bulgaria. “It's just National Grill Day. All after school, we just gather with friends and then grill souvlaki, chicken, whatever is grillable. At the same time, that week, we also dress for the carnival.”

 

Filip said that Greece will participate in Diversity Week’s Taste Fest and shared their plans for the presentation of the dishes. “We were thinking of making something simple. The classic pita with tzatziki, probably fries, tomato, and onion. But we're going to make it more homemade and make our own homemade zucchini properly,” he said.

 

Answering whether he will present both cultures to his children in the future, Filip shared that whatever he shows will come out naturally. "I think it will be the Greek culture more," he shared.

 

 

A Glimpse into Fady’s Life as a Binational

 

Fady Abdalla is a third-year student at AUBG majoring in Computer Science and Political Science, while minoring in Film. He is Moroccan and Egyptian, having spent his childhood in Egypt before relocating to Bulgaria around nine years ago, due to the Arab Spring and his parents’ work obligations.

 

“So, I'd say I've spent around 10 years in Egypt, and then nine years in Bulgaria, which is slowly turning into 10 years as well,” he said.

 

Living in Bulgaria, Fady misses his family and the food and often feels left out of the interesting new things that are happening back there.

 

“I usually get out of the loop when it comes to what has happened in recent days, what's like new in Morocco or Egypt. I'm also missing out whenever I visit either of the two. I'm like, what happened? What's going on?”

 

But what makes him feel closer to his roots is his favorite tradition which he still follows- Ramadan. 

 

“Ramadan brings the family and friends together. And you are all, after sundown, sharing a meal, talking about everything. And it's a pretty nice vibe. That's what you cherish.”

 

At home, Fady sometimes feels more Egyptian than Moroccan since he speaks to his parents in Egyptian Arabic instead of Moroccan Arabic (Darija). However, his parents have made sure that both nationalities are instilled in him. 

 

“My parents have made the effort to say you are not one exclusive nationality, you are both, even if my dad is fully Egyptian or my mom is fully Moroccan. They want me to remember that I am two nationalities.”

 

Their words have resonated with Fady. As we were discussing his binational identity, he made one thing certain- he is equally Moroccan and Egyptian.

 

“In my heart, I feel like both Egyptian and Moroccan, I'm not really exactly in one binary in this case,” he said.

 

He reminds people how complex identity is, where in certain contexts we might feel more connected to one nationality than the other, while still deeply embracing both.

 

As our conversation came to an end, I asked Fady about the advantages of having a multicultural background. The first thing that came to his mind was the fact he speaks multiple languages.

 

“A lot of people should learn more languages because it's what unifies this world. And at the same time, you can talk with people that are actually very nice and down-to-earth, but the only issue is usually the language barrier. You know, why not pick up a word or two, you might make a friend along the way,” he said.

 

 

Marie Louise Husseini

Marie Louise Husseini. She is a second-year student born to a Bulgarian mother and a Lebanese father.

 

“When someone asks me where I am from, I feel like I have to tell them my whole autobiography,” Marie Louise said. Her name consists of several different languages – from French to Arabic, as colorful and unpredictable, as she is.

 

“Because Lebanon was a French colony, we speak French, English and Arabic…Also, I have already been in Bulgaria for 5-6 years, so I speak four languages in total,” Marie Louise said about her linguistic background.

 

 

Sometimes, she feels she does not have a proper identity in either of these countries, but embraces the cultural abundance of both, Bulgaria and Lebanon.

 

“Although my name does not imply this, I am a Christian and the religious holidays are pretty much the same as in Bulgaria.” She also explained how in Lebanon there is a mix-up of religions and how her descendants from many years ago converted from Islam to Christianity.

 

“However, one difference I notice between Lebanon and Bulgaria is that in Lebanon, people are more religious than here in Bulgaria,” Marie Louise says, and that she also feels a bit distanced from religion since living in Bulgaria.

 

Marie Louise sometimes longs for her life in Lebanon but feels in the right place in Bulgaria: “Lebanon is a beautiful country. It is the only Middle Eastern country without a desert, my whole family from the Lebanese side is there.”

 

 She recalled the terrifying moment for her family during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2024: “You never knew if they were going to bomb your town…we were calling my dad, my uncles, and aunts every day to see if they are even alive…and of course, I sometimes miss Lebanon, but I feel like I belong more to Bulgaria.”

 

Nature and the beaches (as she lives in Burgas) are just a few of the things that fascinate her, but one thing she is more choosey about is food. Marie Louise prefers Middle Eastern cuisine.

 

“I love everything when it comes to Lebanese dishes, and one of my favorites is kibbeh nayyeh, which my Bulgarian friends are very shocked about when I tell them is made from raw meat.” I also love hummus, tabbouleh, and ma’amoul.”

 

As a Lebanese Bulgarian Marie Louise said that she sometimes encounters misconceptions from others about her, and one of them is her economic background: “Everyone thinks that I come from a rich family, because in Lebanon, we are rich with oil and petrol, but no, we are actually a normal middle-class family,” Marie Louise said.

 

 

Growing up between different borders

Born in South Africa to a Bulgarian mother and a South African father, Richard Barkhuizen, a student from the American University in Bulgaria, said: “I was identified as a foreigner, even though I was born in South Africa.” However, he also shared: “I feel more South African because I was raised there. I was not raised in Bulgaria at all – I only visited to see family.”

 

Richard’s parents met because they were neighbors when his mum moved to South Africa after her university graduation. Richard is a person whose upbringing took him across multiple countries: “My background is very diverse because of my mom's work. She was transferred a lot between many countries,” he explained. “I lived in Abu Dhabi for about six years, Berlin for three or four years, and also in South Africa and now in Bulgaria.”

 

Yet Richard’s sense of belonging remained deeply rooted in two of them: South Africa and Bulgaria.

 

Richard was not expected to learn the local languages. The single language he uses when he speaks, thinks and even dreams is English. He said: “My father speaks Afrikaans which is a language influenced by Dutch. There are Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, there’s a bunch. I was not required to study them at school.”

 

Even though his mother is Bulgarian, Richard shared that he did not grow up speaking Bulgarian: “She was very adamant about me trying to learn Bulgarian when I was a kid but apparently, I refused to learn the language.” He is trying to learn it now.

 

Despite Richard’s two nationalities, when asked where he sees himself in the future, his heart remains close to South Africa: “It would have to be between South Africa and Abu Dhabi, but right now, South Africa feels closer to me. I was born there, raised there and some parts of the country are really beautiful. One day, I’d like to go back and settle down.”

 

The AUBG student shared that there is a big cultural difference between his two nationalities: “If you go to Bulgaria, people dress nicely. In South Africa, people go barefoot ‒ it’s not a stereotype, it’s just that we don’t really care. I used to go to the shops barefoot.”

 

Richard also added that both countries enjoy big family get-togethers, especially for holidays and celebrations. He said he had also noticed how relaxed Bulgarians are: “South Africa is the earliest waking up country in the world but people in Bulgaria start working later in the day. I am not used to this.”

 

Although the country he wants to raise his family in is South Africa, Richard said: “I will definitely teach my children both cultures. At least I will expose them to both and they can pick which one they’d like to stick to more.”

 

 

 

This article has been written by Hary Dikov, Spasiela Gizdova, Gergana Ilieva, and Antoine Husseini, AUBG students. It is part of the collaboration between AUBG Daily and the Newsroom course led by Prof. Laura Kelly.