Country 25: Bulgaria
Coronavirus: A Personal Impact
I officially received notice that my job MAY be affected by changes that my company will be making; that either being a change to my job role, or redundancy.
It was to be expected. I work in the travel industry which has certainly been one of the most hard hitting industries by covid19. I've been furloughed since mid-April and it's now quickly coming up on June, plus the UK government released a statement saying that companies will have to start contributing to employee salaries (national insurance and pension contributions in August, 10% salaries in September, and so on).
I saw it coming as soon as I was furloughed, but I can definitely say that it's been a very pleasant comfort blanket to have - that I'm furloughed, and still employed, and still getting paid by the government. The very real threat of redundancy looms closer and that, frankly, is scary.
While this blog is primarily about cooking a meal from every country in the world, I think it's important to also draw attention to the fact that this project has sprung only because of the global situation regarding coronavirus. If I was still at work, pre-covid, this project would not be happening. And therefore I think it is important to at least mention how I am affected by coronavirus directly. I have been lucky enough that none of my friends or family have been impacted by the virus, and for that I am entirely grateful. I am one of the lucky ones.
Nevertheless, I've updated my CV. And if I could start making money from this blog sometime soon, that would be great.
Bulgaria
Country 25! Exciting times. Additionally, I've just checked and I've officially been at this project for over a month - I posted my first blog on Afghanistan on the 20th April!
Some facts about Bulgaria:
I officially received notice that my job MAY be affected by changes that my company will be making; that either being a change to my job role, or redundancy.
It was to be expected. I work in the travel industry which has certainly been one of the most hard hitting industries by covid19. I've been furloughed since mid-April and it's now quickly coming up on June, plus the UK government released a statement saying that companies will have to start contributing to employee salaries (national insurance and pension contributions in August, 10% salaries in September, and so on).
I saw it coming as soon as I was furloughed, but I can definitely say that it's been a very pleasant comfort blanket to have - that I'm furloughed, and still employed, and still getting paid by the government. The very real threat of redundancy looms closer and that, frankly, is scary.
While this blog is primarily about cooking a meal from every country in the world, I think it's important to also draw attention to the fact that this project has sprung only because of the global situation regarding coronavirus. If I was still at work, pre-covid, this project would not be happening. And therefore I think it is important to at least mention how I am affected by coronavirus directly. I have been lucky enough that none of my friends or family have been impacted by the virus, and for that I am entirely grateful. I am one of the lucky ones.
Nevertheless, I've updated my CV. And if I could start making money from this blog sometime soon, that would be great.
Bulgaria
Country 25! Exciting times. Additionally, I've just checked and I've officially been at this project for over a month - I posted my first blog on Afghanistan on the 20th April!
Some facts about Bulgaria:
- The city of Plovdiv dates back to 6000 BC, and is considered to be one of the oldest cities in the world.
- The people of Bulgaria express their approval by shaking their heads rather than nodding.
- Since the country of Bulgaria was established in 681 AD, it has been the only European country not to change its name.
- The gladiator Spartacus was born in what is modern-day Bulgaria, ancient Thrace.
You know what though. As much as I say that I like eating pastry and cheese, I'm getting veeeery sick of all the pastry and cheese I'm eating in this project. The banitsa from today's meal was extremely similar to the Bosnian zeljanica except without spinach, as while it was tasty, I had to grab a big handful of salad leaves to give me some sense of health.
On the menu today we have:
- Bob Chorba: a hearty, vegan soup made with white beans and bell peppers (capsicum).
- Banitsa: pastry and feta cheese, Bulgaria's burek.
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