As someone who has not spent much time in other countries, I was nervous to move to Bulgaria. I realized that even on the small trips I had made to other countries, I had always been with people I knew. I had never had to be completely on my own. It was a scary thought.
I grew up in a small town and attended a small college, so it was easy to make friends. Most people came from similar backgrounds and that made it easy to find something we had in common. I was not sure if I would have the same experience in Bulgaria. When I first arrived in Bulgaria, I was eager to meet people. I wanted to create friendships with people so I could integrate into society more easily. Integrating into a society is when you join another culture and start to feel like you are a part of it and not so much of an outsider.
I knew that having good friends would make me feel more comfortable and would be a good way to build relationships with other people. But as I walked down the streets, I realized that no one would smile at me and often people were closed off. I tend to smile a lot when I walk, and I do this as a way to show that I am friendly and polite. In America, this gesture is usually welcomed and returned. But in Bulgaria, it was not. At first, I had a hard time deciding if the people were nice or not.
