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        They are a normal Bulgarian family. Ivan is an engineer and Maria is a teacher. Although they have difficulty paying their electricity and water bills they can still afford buying various nourishing food and fine clothes not only for themselves but also for their children. Ivan and Maria are both hardworking and devote most of their time to their job. Thus, they do not have much spare time. Nevertheless, Maria finds time to drink coffee with a neighbor, of course, after she has cleaned at home and prepared the meal. All their acquaintances and recent events are discussed in detail during their coffee “sessions”. Complaining about personal problems is also included. Meanwhile, Ivan usually goes through the daily press or watches TV for he insists on being informed of the latest news, or in other words, on being an engaged and sensible citizen of his country, and why not of the world.
        Lately, Ivan and Maria are concerned about their daughter’s education for they have to spend a considerable amount of money on her private lessons. Stella is going to take SAT and TOEFL. Just like most of the young Bulgarians their ambitious daughter plans to continue her education abroad. Because she considers there are better opportunities to realize her full potential afterwards there. That is why she studies hard right now. But when time permits, she enjoys the company of her close friends and goes to a disco. Her younger brother, Vasil, spends a lot of time playing computer games on his PC. Since the World Wide Web spread over Bulgaria, a lot of young people have been fond of searching the net for useful information or chatting with their peers worldwide.
        The whole family is looking forward to the summer when they will spend several days on the Black Sea. It is commonly accepted that every Bulgarian family should spend at least one or two weeks on the Black Sea during their holiday. However, what Ivan and Maria, well known for their hospitality, most like in their everyday life are the evenings. Then the whole family is together and a relative or a neighbor of theirs drops in on them for a talk. More often than not they drink Rakiya¹ with Shopska² salad talking about their jobs, politics, football, and all sorts of things letting the steam off. That is their precious moment, a moment of simple happiness.

¹Rakiya is a strong alcoholic drink that is an inseparable part of Bulgarians' table, especially on holidays. It is made mainly from grapes but also from plums, apples, pears or other similar fruits that contain a large quantity of glucose. The production of wine and rakiya is based on the fermentation process of glucose. The raw fruits have to be pressed and squeezed. The extracted juice is poured into big wooden casks. When it ferments it is placed into metal containers with some water added. The container has to be heated till its content begins to boil. The result of this distillation is a liquid that consists of ethylic and methylic alcohol. After the distillation processes rakiya is stored (as wine) in wooden casks. The longer period of time rakiya matures, the better its taste becomes.
²Shopska Salad is a traditional Bulgarian salad and here it is the recipe>Ingredients: 3-4 tomatoes, one cucumber, 4-5 peppers, 1 onion, 150g brined sheep's cheese, parsley, vinegar, sunflower oil and salt.

Bake, peel and seed the peppers. Cut them into small strips and add the diced tomatoes, cucumbers and onion. Add salt, oil and vinegar, and mix. Serve in the shape of a pyramid, top with finely chopped parsley and rated cheese… , as Bulgarian people say.