Tips for your internship abroad in Bulgaria: welcome to the blog of good advice for your internship in Eastern Europe! Bulgaria is a country we know well: the team has been there more than once, and we work with organisations from Sofia to Varna.
1st tip for your internship abroad in Bulgaria: cultural openness!
Despite its integration into the European Union, Bulgaria remains a relatively poor country. There are, for example, a lot of buildings that are not finished, there is a need for sufficient funds, and there is also a suspicion of corruption. Public transport is ageing, and even private transport: it is not uncommon to come across a cart in the city centre of Sofia! So you need to open your mind and accept differences before you go, to avoid a culture shock. Even if traveling around the country is pleasant, you have to be trained in intercultural skills; they also have very different habits from what we can experience in France. For example, Bulgarians shake their head up and down to say … no!
2nd tip for going on an internship abroad in Bulgaria: communication
As in the vast majority of Eastern European Union countries, the younger generation has an excellent command of English, unlike the West and the South. On the other hand, communicating with people over the age of 40 can be more complicated: few older Bulgarians do not master English at all, or in a very limited version that makes me think of the same English as my parents’. So sometimes you have to be patient, or have a phone to translate: besides you are in the European Union, it’s free! Thanks to the Union there is no more roaming, so you can use your internet connection as much as you want, like in France 🙂
3rd tip for an internship abroad : visit Plovdiv
The most beautiful city in Bulgaria! No matter where you are, you must absolutely on you visit the city of Plovdiv. The city, the 2nd largest in Bulgaria, has been designated as the capital of European culture in 2019. Moreover, transport is not worth much in Bulgaria, so you can easily get from city to city. For example: a return trip to Sofia, Thessaloniki (in Greece) cost me the modest sum of 10€. That’s less than a packet of Marlboro and a lighter in France!
For more advices to go abroad in Bulgaria, don’t hesitate to contact us 🙂