They came from the US to Sofia as part of the YES Abroad Exchange Programme to spend one school year living with Bulgarian families and studying in Bulgarian schools – the American College and the William Gladstone 18th High school.

They arrived early September 2017 and we had two weeks of intensive Bulgarian language and culture training before the school year began. After that we continued our regular language and culture classes until March 2018.

At the time of their arrival Lily and Makana were 16 and Delanay and Margaret, 18 years old.

From day one of the classes these incredible young ladies showed an amazing devotion and motivation to learn the language, to immerse into the culture and get to know the people. They never for a moment lost their high spirits, sense of humour and readiness to grow, even though sometimes their new Bulgarian adventure wasn’t easy.

They were always smiling and positive no matter the challenges on the way.

We had a wonderful and very productive time together. They are all now fluent in Bulgarian and have a serious understanding of Bulgarian people, their culture, history and traditions, folklore, art, music and films. They are truly curious of everything around them and put maximum effort into knowing more.

It was a great pleasure and an honour to be their Bulgarian teacher. It was also an enriching experience for me being constantly a learner as well as a teacher. They helped me broaden my perspective on the world today and to strengthen my faith in its future.

Благодаря ви, мили момичета! Бяхте страхотни ученички и приятелки!