Ask A Bulgarian

Wow, I honestly admit I'm not familiar with a small European ethnic group and I get crucified for it. The word Pomak isn't even on the wiki page for Bulgaria and it doesn't look like they make up more than a few percent in any country. I'll be waiting next time you mistake Guatemala for Guantanamo Bay. Take your haughtiness elsewhere.

 

^Well i was joking (i mean Pomaks aren't really Maks from Po, afterall ).

Was just trying to make the joke better by not providing more evident 'smiley' clues as to the tone

 

Well I apologize, I thought you were serious.

 

^

+1

 

What's Bulgarian cuisine noted for? And what makes it distinct from other Balkan cooking?

I bet it features lamb a lot.

 

Do you still drink alcohol from the skulls of decapitated Byzantines?

 

I remember having some potatoes covered with different types of cheese. And once I ordered some fried cheese at a restaurant that I had assumed would be on top of something but instead it was just cheese.

 

Thank you for your answers.

What are your favorite Bulgarian stereotypes?

If Bulgaria could defeat one country in a war, which country would you want it to be?

What do Bulgarians eat French fries with, if they eat them at all on a regular basis? (I.e. The English eat them with fish (fish and chips), in other places they eat them with mayo or mustard, etc.)

 

The English, mostly, eat chips with salt and vinegar.

They're not obliged to eat fish with chips. Chips go with all sorts of things: meat pies, burgers, saveloys, and peas, for instance.

 

That's interesting!

Better than some of the condiments I've heard being used in other countries.

 

Potatoes, meat, lamb, chicken. Doing indescribable things with unsuspecting animals is usually our modus operandi, especially if there's potatoes.

There's also lutenica, which is essentially tomato paste that has been boiled with some other vegetables, and the sign of our country - yoghurt, which has been treated with bacteria that for some insane reasons lives only in Bulgaria.

Since 1912, no.

We're supposedly a worker's nation, but we have most days-off in there. There's also the usual 'we're the actual owners of x land (where x land is usually Macedonia, but that's a different topic for a different day)'.

It'd be Macedonia, but who beats himself with his own fists?

Cheese, as NovaKart pointed out. We usually shred it and then cover the cheese. Salt and vinegar are quite popular, and potatoes with lutenica is just godly.

 

^Using shreded cheese on flatly-cut fried potatoes was popular here too (when i was growing up, at least). Maybe they are still served that way in restaurants. The simple kitchen tool used to shred the cheese in that way is very common, but personally i haven't used it in years..

 

It's still quite popular, but I haven't went out to a restaurant in a while..

On a slightly sadder note: apparently, people now want boiled potatoes, instead of fried, because it's more "healthy" :facepalm:

 

Mashed potatoes. With, milk, butter, saffron and parsley. Mmm.

 

Bulgaria exports drinking glasses, I'm just drinking from one and there is "Made in Bulgaria" written at the bottom.

What else does Bulgaria produce?

 

I bet there's some fine Bulgarian wine about. To go in those glasses.

Bulgarian exports: clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Bulgaria

 

Cut all of the 5 last ones, and you'd be there. Since 1989, when Mother Russia cut all the fuels and material coming to us, heavy industry in Bulgaria is more of a burden and less of a blessing.

 

Who was the greatest ally of Bulgaria in history and why Stalin?

 

We never had any allies. We either had vassals or "allies" that were just waiting to backstab us and steal all our lands.

And Stalin, well, because if suddenly the Red Army decides to cross the Danube and the previous government is brought down and replaced with a completely loyal and obedient to the Commies government, well...

 

A few questions for Mr. Bulgarian:

Do the Bulgarians of today feel identified with the Bulgars of 1400 years ago?

What do people there think of pan-Slavism?

What is the current political panorama? What political parties other than the CommunistsSocialists are there?

Are the people in Bulgaria religious? What is the status of the Bulgarian Church?
What do people there think of the Pope?

Is there anything remarkable to say about the food? Something to definitely try (besides the chips'n'cheese, which I'll promptly attempt to replicate) or to definitely avoid?

It being that Bulgarian has lost almost all forms of declension, how easy is it for Bulgarian-speakers to understand other Slavic languages? Do people think it's more difficult to understand things written in the Latin alphabet?
(the last few are for linguists, I don't know how easy they may be for you)

I suddenly think your country has enormous potential. We should discuss an integration treaty.