But every rose has its thorn. Like anywhere else in the world, Bulgarian schools in Virginia face challenges.

"The biggest problem at the moment is space, or rather the cost of rent and overheads," Irina Kushleva tells us, "In order to fit into our current budget, we have to divide the students into two school days. In our case it is Saturday and Sunday, because the distances in America are so great that we cannot have classes on weekdays. And it so happens that we don't have a day off. From Monday to Friday we work at our main jobs and on Saturday and Sunday we are at school all day".

Despite all this, both Irina and her mother Sophia find time to improve their teaching skills by attending training sessions and practical seminars, such as those organised in recent years by the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad or the Ministry of Education and Science.

" I think about it occasionally, although it is very difficult when you have lived so many years in different standards of living. We're used to always being in a hurry to get somewhere, always having a strict plan to follow, and going to a café and sitting there for two hours, for example, is sometimes quite unusual for us. But it probably won't be hard to get used to. And I see some progress in Bulgaria. In the past, for example, if you went to a state institution, they would first tell you why you were there and then ask you what you needed. Now I see that things are much better regulated - they use a ticket system, there is no hassle, so we are going in the right direction. Let's have faith, especially in our children! They are our future!