An Interview with Milen Antov
Milen is in his sophomore year of undergraduate studies here at Duke. He is from Vidin, Bulgaria, and is majoring in Political Science.
1. So why did you decide to study in the States?
The short answer is that my sister studied in Canada, and I decided to be a bit different, so that’s why I chose the States. The longer answer is that by the time I was applying in universities, I was not really satisfied with Bulgarian system of higher education. What was coming after high school in Bulgaria did not really sound appealing to me. So I decided to apply to universities in the US, Canada, and to some universities in Western Europe, but in the end I decided that the US would be the best option. And I chose Duke out of the options I had here.
2. Why Duke?
Duke is a very good school for Political Science. I knew that I was going to study Political Science from the very beginning, so Duke was a very good option. It’s in the top positions for political theory and international relations; it’s hired a lot of good professors. By the time I had to make a decision, I had already contacted a couple of professors from the department and talked with them, so it just happened naturally.
3. What made you want to be a Political Science major?
Well, I came from a school with a strong concentration in math and sciences, so I was thinking of Economics. But eventually, with all the activities and European youth activism I was doing, the European youth projects that we had in Bulgaria, and the organizations I was working with, and finally some journalism experience, I became largely involved in European socio-political life. I really wanted to know more, so one day, when I am in the big EU politics in fifteen years, I will be a well-informed person. And we’ve had these very absurd cases in Bulgaria – the mayor of a major city being a former bodyguard, or the mayor being a surgeon. I didn’t like this idea and I think that, one day, if I happen to be involved in Bulgarian politics, I’ll be more responsible than these people.
4. What did your friends and family think of you coming to study here?
This was nothing new to my family. My sister, who’s eight years older, graduated from York U in Canada, so it was kind of expected from me to be willing to study abroad. And that’s what I did.
5. Well then what did they think when your sister decided to study abroad?
They were supportive, because it was her decision. In my family, my parents would never impose their opinions on us. It was like, “Okay, you want to go study abroad? That’s okay, that’s very nice.” They supported her and she made the right choice.
6. Normally, after high school, do most Bulgarians go to college?
Yeah, I would say from the good high schools – and I was in a good high school – 99% go to college.
7. And was your high school private or public?
Almost all the schools are public. There are only a couple that I knew of that are private – the private school system isn’t really there.
8. How did you learn English?
In terms of academic English, I’ve studied it since I was very young. You start writing Bulgarian in the first grade and English in the second grade. It’s part of the system. But then, in high school, I was travelling a lot around in Europe – I’ve been almost everywhere in Europe – and I was doing all these youth projects and activities, and this is how I gained a practical application of English, especially spoken.
9. When you came to Duke, what were some differences you noticed between here and universities in Bulgaria?
Well, first I should say that I’ve had some experience with Bulgarian universities. I had a lot of friends that were in Bulgarian universities, I’ve visited lectures before, so I knew what Bulgarian universities were like, and I didn’t like it. The thing is, you pretty much go to lectures and you don’t do anything else – no one evaluates your work throughout the semester. You only have the final, which is 100% of your grade. And that’s it. This is in every single university in Bulgaria. No one really cares what you do during the semester. So what most people do, which is kind of normal under such circumstances, is not do much work, if any, until the last two weeks. I don’t think that this is the way to learn stuff, so this is a major difference. Further, in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe, I haven’t really seen college campuses – they don’t have college campuses. The college is usually part of a relatively big city, so it’s in the center of the city or in a pretty good location. In Sofia, for instance, they have this place called Student City. It’s within Sofia, but it’s where all the dorms of all the universities are. It’s a really big party place, so you can’t study a lot there. So those are two major differences.
10. Growing up in Bulgaria, what were some things that were normal over there that might not be over here in America?
There are quite some cultural differences, to be honest. I won’t judge anything, but I’ll say that there are quite some cultural differences. For example, the alcohol culture is way different here. And, you know, Eastern European countries are usually all the countries that, in the late 80s and early 90s, had these transitions that caused a lot of social changes as well. In that order of thinking, social norms – even the law – aren’t something so important. Here, I noticed that laws and regulations are not flexible at all. So, there are a lot of differences. I think that there are good and bad things here and in Bulgaria as well. When I go to Bulgaria, people always ask me, “Where is better, Bulgaria or America?” I’m like, “Guys, this isn’t math. You can’t just say A is greater than B. You just can’t judge, because there are so many factors.”
11. How would you say Bulgaria has changed since it’s joined the European Union?
There are been a lot of changes actually, especially in prices! I feel like the European Union, for Bulgaria, is an external body that can work for the imposition of all the laws and rules I was talking about. So it’s pretty positive. I’m a big EU-optimist – I love everything European and I hope that one day in Europe there will be a more coherent union.
12. What do you think are the greatest challenges Bulgaria faces in the coming years?
There are quite a lot. If I have to stick to the European Commission’s reports, I guess one of the biggest ones is corruption. It’s a pretty disgusting thing to have in your country, and it’s not at all that hard to get rid of it – we can do it. It’s something that can and should be done. In addition, I would imagine that becoming more integrated in the European Union is another one. Although we’re full members of the European Union, we still have yet to join the Schengen Area and all these other agreements that would make Bulgaria just like a, say state in the United States but in the EU equivalent of the situation!
13. Do you see increased signs of things like commercialization and consumerism whenever you go back?
Yeah, I think so, especially since EU countries like Bulgaria and Romania are getting wealthier. We’ve still been paying the costs of this transition that people decided to do in the late 80s, but in recent years these post-Eastern Bloc countries have actually seen some real economic growth. So with regards to this, of course there’s more commercialization. In terms of things like advertisements, they’re trying to pose some restrictions on street ads for things like alcohol and nudity. They distract driving!
14. How would you describe the current political situation in Bulgaria?
To be honest, I try not to comment on it, but they just had new elections this summer, and it’s a brand new government with a party that hasn’t been in power before. There are at least three current Members of the Parliament who studied and worked in the US in very good positions. The current Minister of Finance, Simeon Djankov, was the chief economist of the finance sector of the World Bank for the last fifteen years. So this guy definitely knows what he’s talking about. And I can already see in the news that there are some pretty positive things going on in Bulgaria. So, in terms of comparing it with previous governments, I’m more optimistic about this one. The governments up until now have pretty much been influenced by former communist leaders. Realistically, there have been no other people in politics. So we still need some years to pass before the situation normalizes.
15. So here on campus, what are some organizations you’re involved with?
Well, you can probably guess that I’m on the executive board of the Duke Political Science Students Association. We also have the Bulgarian Association, of which I’m Vice President. And I try to help International Association with their events, like at FoodFest and Springternational, we always have tables. I’m also doing Duke Public Speaking and am trying to get involved with Duke Model UN, because I used to do debates, and now I kind of miss it. In Public Speaking, it’s not as competitive an environment, which I like. I am quite interested in any organization that will contribute developing my skills necessary for a successful political career.
16. Would you say you’ve changed any in the past year?
Yes, definitely. For one thing, I’ve broadened my perspective a lot about the world. In Eastern Europe, when you go in the street, you only see white people, and that’s it – at least 95% of the time. When I first came to the US, it was pretty interesting to see all this diversity. It changes your way of thinking, and you start to say, “Wow, these guys are actually right about the benefits of a coherent diversity,” which actually reminds of the EU motto “United in Diversity.” Also, Duke is a very good school. I’ve learned a lot of academic stuff about how things work in Political Science and I’ve met amazing people!
17. So if a prospective Eastern European student were reading this, what would you say to him/her?
Well, I forgot to say that I’m part of the United States Student Achievers Program, which is done through the Fulbright Commission. So this summer, I was talking to the new students in the program and I definitely encouraged them to come. I told them how nice of a place Duke is, which is what I would say to all Bulgarians and Eastern Europeans. Unfortunately, this year, we don’t have any Bulgarians coming to Duke, but we do have a lot of people from Eastern Europe. We have a Romanian, several Bosnians, a Slovenian, and a good number of Western Europeans. So I definitely recommend US education – the system is one of a kind and I like how it works. It has its drawbacks, but compared to most Eastern European educational systems that I know of, I would definitely recommend it to prospective students.
18. Finally, what might your plans be after you graduate?
I’m going back to Europe. Not necessarily Bulgaria, because, as I said, I’m a big Euro-optimist who thinks there is a lot of work to be done in this Union. So I want to work in the EU Parliament or Commission, probably in Brussels. I might have a year of work here for practical experience in political science, but in the long-term I’ll be based in Europe.