Bulgarians are adaptive people; they can live and work anywhere in the world. But this does not prevent them from feeling nostalgia for the "lost" homeland and they are always looking for Bulgarian things, whether it is about direct contacts with compatriots, access to books in Bulgarian or Bulgarian food.

Bulgarian Margarita Lazarova feels such persistent nostalgia in southern Italy. At first she left for Italy for a while because she lost her job as an accountant in Bulgaria, but stayed there for 20 years. To this day, she has not cut ties with the homeland. She likes to keep contact with Bulgarians who settled on the Apennine Peninsula. She says most of the Bulgarians in Italy are there to help and support relatives in Bulgaria. According to her, in Italy Bulgarians are known for their honesty, diligence, modesty and compassion.

"What Bulgarians miss the most abroad is Bulgarian language," Margarita says. She started recording fairy tales that she had made up as a child. Ten years later, her children's book with the adventures of "Tropcho and the Talking Ear" was born.

The beautiful illustrations to the fairy tales are work of artist Vesselin Chakarov, who drew the characters exactly as she described them.

"On the cover of my book one sees a  typical colorful Bulgarian donkey cart and a child riding on it. These are tales that take us back to old times. I wanted to go back - to the roots of Bulgarians, to kindness and honesty,” Margarita Lazarova has told Radio Bulgaria. “Our young people need this. I started writing in a moment of nostalgia. I could not believe it, but the book has been a success and traveled the world. It reached Bulgarian children in England, the United States, Germany and throughout Europe. This makes me happy! Let people read in their native language. The second book of fairy tales will be published soon and meanwhile I am writing stories about the troubles of Bulgarian emigrants here, which usually remain hidden."

Margarita claims that the Bulgarian compatriots she meets abroad know that they have to prove themselves through their work and that is why they give their best.

"Some people say that one has everything abroad and life is better, but this is not the case. Nostalgia is everywhere with us. That is why we, the Bulgarians, gather, talk, celebrate together. Here we all have a common destiny. Recently, the child of a minority family was accepted as a student at the university. We all share their joy because this is a success for a Bulgarian child. If someone gets into trouble, everyone helps and provides support.”

English: Alexander Markov