Name: Rusu Andrea Zsuzsanna
From: Gornesti, Targu Mures, Romania.
Age: 22

"I don't like the street dogs in Sofia," was one of the first things Andrea Rusu told me. "I don't think they're a very good image for the country." She explained that a least seven large dogs greet her whenever she leaves her apartment block, and are still there when she returns. "They're not aggressive if they know you," she said, "but they often intimidate strangers."

Several people from the block feed the dogs regularly and this only encourages them and others to hang around. "I really don't like this - we had the same problem in Romania until recently when it was decided to put all the dogs in shelters and have them neutered," she said. According to some sources, she agreed, Bucharest's street dogs were actually killed en masse, but it depends, she said, on who you listen to. Whatever the truth, Bucharest's citizens were generally relieved to see the back of their unregistered canine companions.

Andrea also described the slightly more draconian measures employed in her village. "If a dog in the village is found to be roaming the streets without a leash, or doesn't have an annual vaccination certificate, it's taken into the owner's backyard and shot by the authorities." It's a little extreme, she admitted, but at least the village streets are free of stray dogs and people take more care of their pets.

Dogs aside, Andrea is getting used to her new life in Bulgaria, a country she had never visited before being whisked away from Romania by her Bulgarian boyfriend. He came to install some new software at the supermarket where she was working, and, just a month after meeting him in April last year she decided to move to live with him in Sofia.

It has been hard for her to acclimatise here, as she didn't speak Bulgarian when she arrived and knew no one other than her boyfriend. "People told me that Bulgarians are very hospitable," she said, "but in my experience they haven't been - I'm sure that the people are friendlier to strangers in Romania."

Her boyfriend works long hours, which means they have little time for recreation and, during her first six months, Andrea rarely left their apartment. "I just didn't feel very comfortable being alone as a foreigner in a strange city," she recalled. Things have improved since she began attending a Bulgarian language course last autumn, through which she made good friends and rapidly developed her language skills. She had plenty of free time and little to do, so she turned to studying and now speaks very good Bulgarian, without, she has been told, any foreign accent. She has also been studying computing and marketing in the hope of being accepted for a course at Sofia University.

She misses her friends and family from home, and is equally missed by them. As she is an only child her parents have found it hard getting used to the fact that she lives, and will very probably settle, in Bulgaria. "They expect us to visit them at least once every two or three months and to phone at least twice a week," she said, "but they want me to be happy and they see that I am so there's no problem." She has invited them to visit her in Sofia several times, but neither they, nor any of her friends have accepted the offer. "They always tell me it's better if I go to visit them," said Andrea.

This may have something to do with the very cool attitude with which Romanians and Bulgarians regard one another. She has noticed that Bulgarians have little interest in their northern neighbours - knowing little of the country and rarely asking her any questions about it. The feeling is mutual, she observed. When she tells Romanians that she lives in Bulgaria they are unimpressed. "They regard both Romania and Bulgaria as poor countries," she said. "So they don't feel there's much point in my moving here."

If Romanians do come to Bulgaria, they should read something about the country before they arrive because they generally know next to nothing - Bulgaria is actually a good place to live and there are many beautiful places that I'm sure Romanians would enjoy visiting, she concluded.

If you are, or know, someone who would make an interesting expat of the week, please email their name(s) and contact information to

mattwillis@sofiaecho.com.