Kazan — summer 2014

Here are some generalizations.

• I would say the majority of Bulgarians have white or golden skin. The most common hair color is black, followed by dark brown. There are a handful of dishwater blonds. I don't think I've spotted a natural blond. I'd say genetically it's primarily an admixture of Slavic, Greek and Turkish.
• As in Russia, one finds a certain number of women of late middle age or older with henna-red hair.
• Otherwise people 30 and above pretty well look like they do throughout eastern and southern Europe.
• The number of kids in their teens who seem obese is slightly more than in Russia, but much-much less than in the US.
• In their twenties there seems to be a gender difference in obesity. The young women are rarely obese, although slightly more than in Russia and vastly fewer than in the US. There are rather more obese young men than in Russia, but vastly fewer than in the US.
• Hair styles among girls in their teens and twenties seem quite varied, although longer hair is always the norm.
• Among boys in their teens and twenties, variations on the buzz cut are the most common. The ones who are not wearing buzz cuts are also wearing more expensive clothes, so I'm thinking the buzz cut is the cheapest one to get.
• Among guys in their twenties I see a lot of what I first thought was ‘designer stubble.’ But then I noticed that they usually don't have neatly trimmed borders, so it’s probably just that they don't want to shave everyday, and their dark-hair genetics makes it more obvious than on us blond types.
• Bulgarians smile when they take pictures; Russians don't.
• Public service is a bit better than in Russia.