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When I browsed through our college’s website, I realized that all of the previous Mercator faces are people with international experience. In this sense I must say I am unique :-) As a daughter of two Bulgarians, I have lived in Bulgaria all my life. Not long after Sofia was re-established as a capital (1879) my family settled there. As most of you can guess my home town is not an international one, not at all. The largest ethnic group is composed by the Turks that make up approximately 10 % of the Bulgarian population. Thus, it was the idea of international community and of bringing together people from different cultures that initially attracted me to IUB. Once I came here, I realized that the sense of internationality could actually cooperate with idea of preserving the national identity. As Bulgarians, we support each other, we celebrate all national holidays, and we enjoy together all Birthdays. Now when I come to think about it, maybe exactly this is the reason why we are perceived as the party people on campus.

Let me tell you more about my life prior to coming here. My academic life began with attending a Russian kindergarten. As you read this you may assume that my parents were particularly eager to make me learn Russian, but the truth is that at that time Russian was the language to study. Everyone was supposed to be acquainted with it. Therefore, it was taught in kindergartens, schools, high schools, and universities. Unfortunately, now I recall only few Russian words like сабака (dog), сбасибо (thank you), and до свидания (goodbye). Later on I learned скидка meaning ‘discount,’ but that is another story of shopping experience :-) By the time I reached school age (that is 7 in Bulgaria) studying Russian was not mandatory anymore, and I had to choose between English or German. I chose English, which seems the right choice, because otherwise I would not be writing this essay now. After 7th grade I took a state exam and applied for a high school. I was accepted in one of the best English language schools in Sofia, where my studies were focused on history and literature. It was back then when I realized that I would want to continue my education in the sphere of Humanities.

I always wanted to study in an international university abroad. That is why I was really happy when I found out that I had been admitted to IUB. Actually, now I remember that it was exactly on this date two years ago (10th March) when I received the official letter from the IUB Admission Office. This date is special for me for another reason, too: it is my mom’s birthday. You can imagine that the news for my admission was the best present I could have given her.

When it comes to my leisure time I love reading books and Oscar Wild’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’ is my favorite one. I have always loved summer because I have enough time to read and have fun. As a young girl, I waited impatiently for the summer break to come so I go to our house at the sea. I would spend the whole summer there, and thus swimming and diving became my favorite sports. But in Bulgaria there are four seasons, one sea and many mountains :-) Since Vitosha Mountain is very close to Sofia, during the last 6 winters I have been snowboarding almost every weekend. If you have not tried it, you definitely should! :-)

Now, two years later I cannot help to wonder how living in Germany and studying in IUB have changed me. This is my second year in Mercator College. I like not only the college itself but most importantly the people here – the College Office Team that is very helpful and creative, especially during exam days; the facility guys who come to my room every now and then and help me with anything and last but not least the Aramark ladies who sometimes open the servery when I am late for dinner.

JLo and I in Amsterdam	My prom, in front of Alexander Nevski Cathedral. Sofia, Bulgaria