On August 1, the Chinese Language and Culture Summer Camp in Momchilovtsi, the home village of yogurt, organized by the Confucius Institute in Sofia, started as scheduled. Momchilovtsi village is the birthplace of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, the key ingredient for Bulgarian yogurt. This summer camp is a large-scale language and culture training activity held again after two years of suspension due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 22 students were enrolled in the summer camp, which offers classes for both children and adults.
During the 21-day summer camp, classes are held all day long every day. The camp offers language classes, classes on culture, weekend workshops and practical classes on culture. The Confucius Institute selected three teachers with rich teaching experience, strong bilingual communication and cross-cultural communication skills, as well as three experts in the field of Chinese culture. The teachers are as follows: Mrs. Maria Marinova, Professor of Chinese language in Sofia University, has a very high level of proficiency in language teaching; Mrs. LUO Huili, having lived in Bulgaria for many years, has good communication skills in both Chinese and Bulgarian; Mrs. Antoaneta Velikova is a coordinator of the cultural activities at the Confucius Institute in Sofia. The three experts chosen are the scholars who are proficient in the following fields: Chinese medicine – Denka Marinova, calligraphy and Taichi – Silvi Velev, and Fengshui – Banko Pironkov, etc.
This summer camp builds a bridge of friendship between Chinese and Bulgarian people through language and cultural exchange, and provides a platform for local people to understand China. Chinese people have learned of Momchilovtsi village through yogurt, while the villagers have learned of China through the summer camp. This project has played a positive role in the further promotion of Chinese language and culture, strengthening friendship and exchange between China and Bulgaria, increasing the influence of the Confucius Institute in the local area, and promoting the development of Chinese teaching.
