Interview with the youngsters of Razlog

Hello there!

Our first interview when we came to Razlog was with the local youngsters of Razlog which are Lilly, Iva, Nia and Nina. We asked several questions about themselves, Razlog area and generally Bulgaria.

Let’s see life in Razlog from their perspectives!

• Hello guys! First of all, can you please give some formal information about Razlog?

Razlog (Разлог) is a town in Razlog Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the Razlog Valley. The municipality of Razlog comprises the villages of Banya, Gorno Draglishte, Dolno Draglishte, Dobarsko, Bachevo, Godlevo and Eleshnitsa with a total population around 20.000.

• Can you explain how the one day of you and any peers who lives in Razlog is?

Firstly, we are student and we have school on weekdays. Schools usually are between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. After that, the students go to home to have a rest. They are studying for the next day. Some of students have habits to go gym and walking. Most of the students don’t go outside on nights during the weekdays; they prefer to go outside on weekend nights, especially on Friday night because they have to wake up early on weekdays.

• We observed that almost every house has their own garden and people grow up their own fruits and vegetables. Can we say that agriculture is common here? How do people live here and which job are they doing in general?

Firstly, you are right that almost every people have a garden and they grow up their own vegetables and fruits, but these activities cannot be considered as agriculture. Only people who live village are interested in agriculture.

Secondly, a lot of people work in Bansko especially in hotels. Bansko is one of the most known places in Bulgaria. Other countries also know Bansko in the context of winter tourism. People go to Bansko for skiing. For this reason, there are many hotels in Bansko and they need employees. Everybody who lives in Razlog goes there because they can find a job easily. So people prefer to works in hotels.

As everywhere there are also teachers here. Lastly, there are a few factories. Some people prefer to work in these factories.

• Which kind of tourist activities do exist around Razlog? What do you want to suggest to a tourist who came here?

There are many things to do around Razlog. For example, there is a Turkish Bath and Roman Bath İn Banya village. Also, there are monuments and statues you can see in Bansko. There a lot of museums. Also, there is a waterslide in Bansko. If you want to live great adrenalin, you must try this waterslide. As we said before, Bansko is famous with ski tourism.

You can also go there for hiking, trekking, biking and camping, especially, on summer. In general, tourists are keen on to hike the peak of Pirin Mountain which is called Vihren. There are several lakes in Bansko and these are very close to center, so there is great touristic attraction.

I also recommend to go Golak tower in Razlog and they can see panoramic view of Razlog. Especially, it is the best place to watch sunrise and sunset.

• What kind of traditional food do you have here?

Bulgarian food is also common here such as Bean Soup, Chicken Soup, Iskembe Soup, Tarator, Shopska Salad, Kapama, Kavarma etc. Shupla is famous food here. It is like a pancake and it is easy to prepare.

• What kind of feasts do you have in Razlog?

Two of the most significant folklore events in Bulgaria are organized and held in Razlog. These are the New Year's Kukeri holidays and the gathering for folk art - "Pirin sings". Many people from different areas of Bulgaria visited this festival.

Also, Jazz festival, Opera Festival and Balkan Festival is organized in Bansko which is 5 km far from Razlog.

• Wich kind of sports do you have?

We have volleyball, football, tae bo and zumba teams. We have a very big stadium here. The local team Pirin (Razlog) is among the best teams in the elite volleyball division in Bulgaria and often produces players for the national volleyball teams of the country.

• Do you know how people’s financial situation in Bulgaria is?

It is not very good because Bulgaria is not a rich country compared to other European countries. People do not gey high salaries. For example, even you are teacher; you will not get more money than other EU countries.

• How many percentages of people do know English?

Normally, young people take English classes in the school. Most of the youngsters can speak in English. However, old people generally do not know. We cannot say an exact percentage to this question, but we think that it shuld be around 30%.

Before 2-3 decades ago, the language taught to Bulgarian people was Russian and, now, it is English. This is why people do not know English in large scale.

In our opinion, English is important. If you know English, whatever nationality they belong to, you can easily communicate with every person.

• What do you observe after Bulgaria became a member of EU? Of course, you don’t have enough age to answer this question, but we wonder ideas in your young brains.

Right! We don’t have enough age to observe it. However, when we look at last 3-4 years, ı can say these. Bulgaria is a small country. Bulgaria likes to be a part of EU because EU is building some important thing here. Many investments were made in the last years. I think, becoming a part of EU is good thing. For example, my father works in a factory. He works not only Bulgarian but also other EU countries. If Bulgaria was not member of EU, it would be hard to enter into business relationship with other EU countries because they will have higher prices etc. In addition, travelling is easy in Europe, so you feel free. Also, with EU, young people had some youth project like Erasmus+/EVS projects.