This morning I woke up early to watch the quarterfinal game from EURO 2008 between Holland and Russia. Before the game everyone expected Holland to easily eliminate Russia and proceed to the semifinals stage. I woke up to watch the game from the second half and after seeing the 0-0 scoreline and the way the game was played I started thinking that perhaps it won't be that easy for Holland to win this game. And then came the first goal for Russia! Although in the first group I had kind of fallen in love with the football style of Holland, I found myself clapping after the goal of Russia. After all, these are our brothers from Russia! Long story short, Russia won in extra time and surprised the whole world.
Now, back to the "brothers" story, Russia has always been like a big brother to my country Bulgaria. We were liberated by Russia from the Ottoman Empire, then Communism was instituted in Bulgaria by the Soviet Union. Nowadays, the Bulgarian economy is dependent on Russia for its energy and the large number of Russian tourists who visit Bulgaria in both winter and summer and buy real estate there. Well, I guess it is OK, as we are very close in language and mannerisms, but it is still kind of upsetting to be just the smaller brother. I therefore feel sympathy for Russia, but I also wish for my country to grow and be able to stand its own grounds in the company of international giants, even be they our bigger brothers. For on the international arena everyone is watching their own interests, and so is our bigger brother from Russia. And so should we, so let's make the Bulgarian Mastermind and raise our international status!
Now, back to the "brothers" story, Russia has always been like a big brother to my country Bulgaria. We were liberated by Russia from the Ottoman Empire, then Communism was instituted in Bulgaria by the Soviet Union. Nowadays, the Bulgarian economy is dependent on Russia for its energy and the large number of Russian tourists who visit Bulgaria in both winter and summer and buy real estate there. Well, I guess it is OK, as we are very close in language and mannerisms, but it is still kind of upsetting to be just the smaller brother. I therefore feel sympathy for Russia, but I also wish for my country to grow and be able to stand its own grounds in the company of international giants, even be they our bigger brothers. For on the international arena everyone is watching their own interests, and so is our bigger brother from Russia. And so should we, so let's make the Bulgarian Mastermind and raise our international status!