Hi all! My 33 yr old bf of 3 years is fromw Sofia but moved to America when he was 12 with his family. They all speak Bulgarian and recently got a condo so they can visit yearly. His parents and aunt want me ( 28 Black American female) to visit next summer and his aunt keeps saying people would love me and is excited for me to come but my bf doesn’t want to go back and is scared people will be racist towards me and that it will make him, his family, and culture look bad. I keep telling him not to worry about it and that I won’t think differently about any of them ( they have always been nice to me and treated me like family) and that I can handle racism and being the only black person around a dominant group ( recently went to Japan and had 0 problems when it came to race) but he won’t budge and I’m now worrying if maybe it’s worse that I imagine it would be. Are people openly racist or will they just say stuff behind your back? ( I’m learning Bulgarian on my own and know basic conversation skills so I can speak and understand a little) Should I be worried about violence and aggression in my face? Any poc have experience with this?
by sdavism168
37 comments
His facial expression has all the answers you are looking for.
[Here’s the experience of another POC in Bulgaria](https://www.reddit.com/r/bulgaria/comments/1n3x5t3/visited_bulgaria_for_the_first_time_and_i_fell_in/) (from this sub)
Happiest Bulgarian
Really depends where you go, but it’s entirely possible you have a chill and enjoyable experience. It is kinda weird for him to be so against it, it’s not like we’re an apartheid state, we just have dimwits here and there.
Doesn’t the police just shoot black people at random in the US? How racist does he think people are here?
I think people in Sofia, and other major cities, are civilized enough. If you are respectful and behave properly. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Some kids might stare at you, but that’s it.
Manliest Sofianets, right there. I’m sure if shit hits the fan you can protect him.
Jokes aside, everything’s going to be alright, don’t worry.
PS:
I hope this is karma farming made up story.
There’s a definitely racism towards POC. Sometimes is subtle, sometimes is more obvious. In Sofia where people are used to seeing tourists from other countries, I believe you’ll be fine. Yes, there will be stares (and possible a comment or two), but nothing too rude. Outside of the capital you might have different experience. But then again, it depends where you go and what you do. Overall, I think you should be fine especially if you’re visiting with your BF.
I got spit on by a guy huffing glue on a tram and I’m white. There were some black folks walking around Sofia and they got some stares, but honestly people were too busy hating on the romani folk to be racist to anyone else. People are generally nice to foreigners, in my opinion.
I very highly doubt anyone would be racist, some people might just stare or give you looks, but that’s about it. I don’t know if your bf has been to Bulgaria at all since he moved away, but things are way more different than they were 20 years ago, fuck it, 5 years ago even. Up until a few years ago it’d be so rare to see a person of colour, I’d see maybe one a year, I remember once I saw two at the same time on the train who didn’t know each other and I was baffled. But these days there’s much more diversity, generally tourists and nobody minds them. You should be fine 🙂 I hope you get to come and enjoy your trip!
Nobody will care about you
Racism here is mainly expressed by stares and comments behind your back. Just stay away from groups of young people dressed in black or with shaved heads. Those punks are not racist, but rather rude to everyone equally.
Zero people will be racist towards you, we are busy hating each other, don’t worry. 😀
You’ll be fine, my fellow American. You won’t be in any danger, and indeed – esp in Sofia – you’ll probably have a great time. But he’s the one who might get pissed if/when you’ll be discriminated.
It will be fine
I’m not from Sofia and I think you will be very fine in Bulgaria. In my home town I even think men will look after you and try to flirt with you and girls might be a bit envious.
However you are with your boyfriend and everyone will respect that.
Have fun in Bulgaria!
Bulgarians don’t have real prejudices or stereotypes toward black people. We don’t have any history with them like racist Americans do. We mostly know them from movies and songs. Black people are very rare here and will catch people’s attention, sometimes uncomfortably so, but we are more curious than anything. Also our common word for a black person is similar to the N word, but it’s not meant hatefully. If you can get over that, it’s fine.
What we are actually racist towards is Roma people. You should be worried if you look like them. But you don’t.
Id care more about that moustache
You should be fine and are unlikely to come across anything too obvious. Just but aware that racists aren’t as embarassed about sharing their opinions as they would be in western opinions. You could come aross random people with fascist/nazi tattoos.
I’ve spent 7 years in sofia and things changed massively in that time.
Girl, they’ll just say stuff behind your back and you wouldn’t even understand them. It’s fine
Smile, be polite, don’t be arrogant. If someone stare, smile softly and turn around. Bulgarians are not racists, on the contrary, people who tell we are – don’t really know what racism means. We are prejudiced through, mainly towards minorities who act and look out of the norm, just like in every other country. In Sofia there’s more diversity so in Sofia people are more tolerant and accepting. In smaller cities- not so much. so try to be mindful of your surroundings.
Don’t worry, many Bulgarians have already lived all over the world and accept different races as normal. There will always be idiots who will stare at you or talk behind your back, but that’s inevitable. Times have changed and your boy should be more confident.
There may be some issues, and Bulgarian people tend to stare a bit at someone who stands out, but I think you’d be okay barring either of you doing something very unwise. Black people are not unknown in Sofia, other cities with universities or at the seaside, but it is not common either. That said, more babas may talk smack about your nose piercing than your skin color, but eh, urban babas are the queens of complaining 😉 .
One thing you may want to know in advance that other people may have also mentioned – the traditional Bulgarian words for a black person sounds a lot like the N-word, but with an “e” instead of an “I”. It doesn’t have the same connotation and a lot of Bulgarians still use it as a neutral term (heck, I’d say for a long time it WAS the neutral term), though it’s starting to fade in the big cities
Your boyfriend is over dramatic (Bulgarian thing). There are black people living in Sofia… Yes they are rare but I personally know few. It’s not like they live in fear. Bulgarians are raised to be super cautious. We have sayings like ‘don’t sit on stone or you will get flu’, ‘don’t stay in the draft (wind) or you will get sick’. Mothers tell their kids ‘don’t run or you will fall’, ‘don’t run or you will sweat’ (by Bulgarian logic if you are sweating and there is wind you get instantly sick). Everything is scary for Bulgarians except not breaking laws and rules.
You are beautiful, everyone will love you. You might get extra positive attention actually. People in this thread are very odd…
Short answer: NO. There is nothing to worry about coming to Bulgaria and being a victim of racial abuse or being attacked. There are black people (not that many ofc) living here. Never meet any person of color or race being a victim of racial abuse here.
People might look at you, but don’t worry about it. They don’t see African Americans that often in real life, besides in movies or TV series.
People in BG are more likely to discriminate against his condition, than you skin complexion.
So what if they are, who gives a shit what others think and say anyway
You should be fine %100, the most you will get is small looks. Bulgaria (and esp Sofia) changed a lot in recent years.
America is way more racist.
i would say it depends because you never know what kind of people you will encounter; but mostly, i think you will be alright
I think Bulgarians tend to be more prejudiced towards Roma people. You have nothing to worry about.
We have racist people in Bulgaria, but I think the type of racism is not as aggressive as the American. People will likely stare at you (especially kids, because they are curious) and some might make offensive comments, but it’s very unlikely to experience direct confrontation.
Not really, we don’t have as much racism as Japan for example. There are assholes here too, but I wouldn’t say they’re many. And they’ll most likely do absolutely nothing to a woman.
What I’ve heard from a black friend, living in Sofia:
1. Kids always stare at him because they haven’t seen many black people. He says he always tries to make a good impression.
2. He hears the n-word in Bulgarian. As a Bulgarian – it doesn’t have the same sentiment as in the states. Many Bulgarians haven’t been told you should use it and don’t understand why it is offensive. He would hear it not said to him but someone would say to their friend “Look, a n-word.”
My experience with taking a black friend in a smaller town some 10 years ago:
He said he feels like a star. People came to take pics with him on the street, he was turning heads too. Performers in clubs would come to sing specifically to him. He was good looking which might have played a big role.
My ex is black and I wondered the same thing before visiting with her for the first time. Nothing happened, except lots of staring (I’m from Pleven, in Sofia nobody cares) and one teenager called me a “fag” for speaking English 😄
I’m a light skin 🥷🏻 didn’t do too bad on Bulgaria while on vacation
You’re safe , his “mustache” isn’t.
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