Bulgarian villages are surrounded in much beautiful country
side, with many tracks off road leading to the fields and onto other villages. One can walk, cycle or even take a horse and cart for many miles and enjoy the fauna and wild life. Bulgaria has the 4 seasons with the warm springs and hot summers and the cold snowy winters.
In the summer months you will see fields of sunflowers, wheat, assorted herbs, camomile etc, melons, tobacco, fruit trees and vines and much more. Twice a year you can pick mushroom from the countryside, and even find assorted fruit trees along the roadsides.
There are many lakes and rivers,for fishing,and sailing even water ski-ing. Forests and shrubs, healing bushes, wild herbs and where one can find much wildlife, rabbit, t
ortoise,to wild dogs, jackels, wild boar, assorted deers, snakes, lizards, bears many beautiful birds, hawks, eagles and also lots of unusal and colourful insects & butterflies.
It is a good idea if you are coming to live in Bulgaria or hoping to, to learn the Bulgarian Alphabet and numbers. Doing this will help you enormously and help you along learning and understanding some of the Bulgarian words. You will, im sure enjoy learning to make yourself understood. You will also soon get used to the shaking and nodding of the head, the shaking meaning 'Yes' or 'Maybe' and the nodding meaning 'No' and again 'Maybe' can be quite confusing but amusing!
Everday will bring you something differant in the village life!
Most locals in the villages are truly self sufficient, growing their own vegetables preparing them from the springtime, then constantly working their gardens daily, making their own wine and rakia from their fruit trees and vines ready for the coming winter months.
The vegetables and 
fruits are dried,grounded or stored in containers put away in a cool room
Most of the locals own chickens,maybe a few goats, sheep, pigs and their own horse & cart and most will have a dog in the garden for security.
The locals make their own cheese, butter and yoghurt.
Locals will hold a pig, sheep or cow killing coming up to the end of the year, when they make this into a celebration. The meat is then
cut up and stored either in a freezer or in glass bottles in salted water to last over the winter. Nothing is wasted.
During the year and before the winter months, everyone will order their logs from the village Met for their petchkas (wood burning stoves). Many people will try to bring in the logs ealy in the year so the logs can be drying in the summer sun, which helps the wood to burn better in the winter months. For a home one would roughly bring in at least 10 cwt of logs. The cost would be in cwt and then transport charge on top. If you dont want to chop your own logs, one can always
hire a couple of locals to chop the wood, at a cost of 4-5 lev cwt. Which is a lot of chopping if you have 10 cwt. One needs to be considerate and give plenty drinks and food, which will be gratefully devoured.
On getting to know your neighbours and visiting or having been invited, it is polite to take of your shoes at the door, unless your neighbour tells you otherwise. Most Bulgarian neighbours are very friendly and helpful people, and will welcome you into their home, offering you to sit at their table and bringing out some small food and the home made wine and rakia. When you eventually will saunter back home in a drunken stupor, but with much meriment in your heart.
You will see grass being cut 3-4 times a year (lucerne) or hay for the animals and stored away. Straw bales will be brought in for bedding & bags of food. All this is neccessary for when the winter months arrive, life can be difficult during this season. There is very little work in the villages and the locals have very little money to live off and are much appreciative of any odd jobs they can be given.
In the morning you may wake up to bells clanking, the locals will be walking their goats from their animal shelters down the lane to a meeting point. Here all the goats join up in a pen to then be taken out with the goat-herder. The goatherder is payed every month per goat head, usually 3-5 lev a head per month, he can take out up to approx 150-200 goats every day. He will also have a few dogs with him to protect the goats from other dogs and any other wild animals that may be about in the countryside. He will walk the goats for several miles, taking them to the river, or lake for water then return later in the evening. The goats will then seperate from the herd and go directly home on their own, unless they are still quite young and need their owner to meet them and encourage them home with some nibbles till they learn to make their way home on their own.
The village sheep are kept away from the village in large sheep shelters, you will see these buildings on the edge of every village. It is wise not to venture to near these buildings if you are not with a local, due to the fact that there will be many dogs there for security. Again a shepherd is paid to take care of the village sheep they are milked in the morning, dinner and in the evening or whatever arrangement has been made. He also takes the sheep out into the countryside to walk and let them eat the grass and drink by the streams or a lake. The same is for cattle. So many of the animals in the flock, herd or school will wear bells, and this is for several reasons. Firstly a certain sound of bells can be heard and locals will know where and which the herd or flock is. Also this deters other animals away, plus if any one is out walking, will hear the bells and will know to keep a distance and not scare the animals. Also walkers need to ensure they have their own dog on a lead and so not let it go any where near the vicinity of the security dogs.
Snakes will often be seen and one needs to take care even in their own garden there are quite a few poisonous snakes about and several kinds of biting insects.
The Bulgarians are quite laid back and take life very slowly much more differant from the rat race in the UK, and before long you will enjoy this way of life and make many Bulgarian friends.