Good morning, world! I am Josefine and I have been in Germany since 21 years already. I reside in a small town Frankethal. It is located in the south-west part of Germany (Pfalz), where the weather is always nice and the nature is simply magnificent. All these things remind me of my motherland. I am originally from a village called Kamenka, which is not so far from Odessa, Ukraine. Kamenka is a really special place because of the Bulgarian minority living there for decades. And I am the one of them! If somebody wants to know the origin of the Bulgarian community in Ukraine…. Well at that time, when Turks conquered the Balkans and Bulgaria as well, many people did not follow Turks’ will and fled to the other side of the Black Sea i.e. to Ukraine. So the Bulgarian Diaspora appeared there and still exists even nowadays. But I do not want to make here a historical overview of my region 😉 but to tell my story.

I moved to Germany with my husband and our two children. My husband is part of the so-called Russian-German immigration wave from the 90ies. At the beginning we found ourselves in Berlin, what a scary city! God saved us!!! Shortly after we moved to Frankenthal. It is our home ever since.

In Germany I have never had problems with finding jobs. I always found something. I am not able to understand those people who cannot find a job in Germany.  No pains, no gains. 😉 This is only one thing I dislike about Germany, I would even say it is a great mistake of the German social system to give so much money to people who don’t want to work, but to live on other people’s money… on people who pay taxes. I can accept giving financial help to an ill or handicapped person…But otherwise it is beyond my comprehension! All the rest is great, I am really happy here and feel integrated enough.What I like the most in Germans is the order; everything must have its own place. Germans are very organized and punctual. They plan everything in advance. They are very diligent, as well. I respect these qualities, perhaps simply because I am the same myself. I hate sloppiness! If you do something, do it right and not halfway!

Today I often hear people speak about discrimination in Germany. Believe it or not, I have never been discriminated, really never. On the contrary, I was always assisted by the Germans: to register my child at Kindergarten or at school, to get a place at a language school or even to fill in all my applications. That is why I treat other people very well and have a very positive opinion about the people living in Germany. I am sure, one must always stay human first and I do not care about the nationality. I was brought up in this way and I taught the same to my two sons.

In addition, I would say that in spite of my living in Germany, I have not lost my identity, I am still Bulgarian and my mother tongue is Bulgarian. But that is what makes me so special here 😉


By Masha

Multicoolty collaborator in Berlin
I'm a faithful wife, a social worker, a passionate writer, a casual smoker, Janis Joplin Fan, a beer drinker, a classical literature avid reader and #dontcarewhatuthinkaboutme!

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