Yambol's Future - I Blame America

Yambol is changing day by day and not for the good. Most of the change is coming about from the younger generations and now from young parents who have young kids. The reason for this is quite clear. Young parents now have been exposed to western ideals and ways since the 1990's. Television and media, mainly from America has now had a big impact on this generation and it shows.

Everyday another incident examples the way of the west infiltrating into Yambol life. A trait of America is the graffiti that only a few years ago was no existent. It has slowly taken off with little signatures on walls that didn't infringe on personal or business properties, there was still the respect as to where graffiti was sprayed. Right now it is everywhere, on shop doors, apartment blocks, everywhere without any care to the privately owned drawing boards. This is disturbing news and the images graffiti clad towns create is remnant of a run down environment. With all these new building developments and investment in Yambol, the 'New Town' image is more than tainted with the graffiti defeating the object of uplifting the town.

Young children, the offspring of the younger parents are another major concern from what I see. I shops they pine for everything they see, and get it. If they don't get what they want the bawling and screaming starts until they finally get it. This is not a one off occasion but time and time again this happens. The attitude of the parents, mainly the women, remind me of what I left back in the UK. A spoilt race of children who already have lost respect for adults and real values. I have lost count of how many times these children just run around in shops, bumping into customers without any apology and the parents at this point are just focused on the shop shelves. Looking from this angle their commitment to being responsible for their own children in shops seems to be put into the shop assistant's hands as they try and limited the damage to goods they knock down with their bull in a china shop actions.

Teenagers now are learning how to use alcohol to get drunk rather than just a social aid. Only the other week Galia's son got the rough end of this with a lad who just drunk get drunk, and a fight broke out, with injuries sustained, from insults that were made through drink. This would have been unthinkable a couple of years ago but is now less of a shock in many Yambol teenage circles.

Obesity has been written about before but now seen in this true light with Bulgarian 'Billy Bunters' a common sight in Yambol, all the fast food given to them by their young mothers, which can be described as either pencil thin, full of make up and cheap copied western fashion or fat and full of fast food, either way most just don't bother cooking anymore and the pizza takeaway meal washed down with coca cola is tops.

There are other give aways to Yambol becoming a slave to American TV media and a classic example is the music scene. Rap with its the foul language and awful message is probably the most noticeable influence. The language is copied and used in everyday conversation and the black culture and fashion. Young Bulgarians in Yambol are losing their own identity as you see hooded, tat toed, chunky chain fashion all around. Even their walking is done in the same copied style with a slight lean into every other step.

All this leads me into thinking what will the future hold for Yambol as quite clearly this is here to stay. Well, for many living here they will carry on with things and move along with the change, I may have to re think is this what I came to Yambol for. This is just a fleecing thought right now and of course I can always go back to village life which will not change as quickly as it does in towns.