CLAIRE Cooper has come a long way when it comes to Bulgaria - just more than a year ago, she was not sure where it was. Now, she speaks enough of the language to find doing so rewarding.

Originally from Bristol, she grew up in London where she worked as a social work manager, adviser, consultant and trainer in the field of fostering and adoption.

Soon after her arrival last February, she quickly formed an impression of the warmth of the people.

"People here seem quite open to the so-called foreigners," she said.

People are keen to hear where newcomers are from, and are generous in their hospitality, extending invitations to special occasions in their homes and villages.

She says that in Veliko Turnovo, where she has lived since arrival, it is easier to pick up Bulgarian because not as many people there speak English.

However, in Sofia she has met more people who speak English. It makes it easier to get by, but makes her lazy about developing her Bulgarian further.

"It is rewarding when you pick up some phrases and people understand you," Cooper says, adding that learning and speaking Bulgarian is challenging.

Among the advantages and disadvantages that she weighs up are that UK currency goes so much further here. But, on the other hand, using public transport is that much more difficult.

She says that she struggles with the public transport system; even in trying to find out when are where buses are leaving. Compared to the UK, trains are much slower, but cheaper.

Currently, she is looking forward to a spell of training in the region around Sofia, because she calls herself a "city girl" and feels she will fit in well in the capital.

For an expatriate city girl, Sofia has many temptations, like restaurants, theatres, shops, and places where you can dance - "you name it". As a lover of theatre and opera, she is looking forward to sampling the arts life of the city.

For her, Sofia has the feel of an international capital city.

The countryside, on the contrary, still feels rural and quite old-fashioned, which is quite nice in some ways, she said.

"You also need to develop that because people cannot remain the way they are and they need to be able to make a living there," she says.

"When you are visiting a village, it feels like a whole trip back in time and a completely different lifestyle," she says, adding that the pace of life is much slower.

She has observed that people in the villages survive on not very much, and rely for subsistence on their home-grown vegetables and fruit, and home-made rakia.

"This will not be allowed in most parts of Europe, making your own type of liquor like that," she says with a smile, adding she has developed a taste for home-made rakia.

She likes Bulgarian cuisine, her preferences being pepper byurek (stuffed peppers), salads and everything vegetarian like grilled vegetables, mishmash and guyvech but she would also add banitsa and milinka (bun with cheese).

She appreciates the fact that Bulgarians, in contast to the UK, have retained a family-orientated lifestyle.

Another thing that surprised her was the number of people living in block of flats and not in houses. However, she has fallen for some of the architecture, which she says resembles, to an extent, some French architecture.

"Veliko Turnovo has such amazing views," Cooper says, adding that the area around Tsarevets and the small cobbled streets in the old part of Turnovo are lovely.

She has not been all over the country, but those she has visited - including Melnik, Rila, Borgas, Plovdiv and Rousse - she has liked.

"I was rather taken with Melnik, which is so different to other parts in Bulgaria."