Feb. 13, 2012
Nelly Radeva has an international twist for a girl from California. A native of Bulgaria, Radeva came to the US in 1994, following her parents. The junior tennis player traveled back to Plovdiv, the second largest city after the capital Sofia, over the winter break to visit family and continue training before the spring season.
When did you come to the US?
“My parents came first in 1991, and then I came in 1994. So I was with my grandparents for three years while my parents got adjusted and settled down in the US. Our whole family except for me and my mom and my dad are still in Bulgaria. We still speak Bulgarian at home, and my younger sister speaks Bulgarian, too. She was born in the US, so we try to maintain the language. “
Do you remember much from those three years with your grandparents?
“I have tons of home videos because my grandparents would always send them to my parents and so I can’t decide if I remember those or it’s from the videos. But I remember tying my shoes for the first time!”
How often do you go back to visit?
“We try to go every year but we haven’t been able to go back as a family since 2008 because, with me transferring (from Cal) I had to stay for summer school this past summer, it’s been hard to get everyone available at the same time. It was really fun this year, that’s the first time my family has been back for Christmas. We usually go in the summer, so it was really nice to be with my family for the holidays.”
Do you have any special traditions you share over the holidays?
“We try to do the same traditions when we’re here too, a Christmas Eve dinner with the family, we’ll have an odd number of plates for dinner, then we have, for luck for New Years, you have a saying, a little rhyme, and you say it to other people and they give you money. So it’s for good luck and good fortune. Alex Leatu has it in Romania too. `Happy New Year, hope you have good health, fortune, and good luck,’ is a rough translation.”
What was training like over there this year?
“I usually go in the summer, so it’s easier to train because the weather is warmer and there are more courts open, but this winter, we trained indoors. There were only two indoor courts, so it was much different than summer, and it was always cold there. My cousin is a coach there, because she just finished playing the juniors and she’s almost 22, so she went straight into coaching. She teaches at this little academy and tennis center, so I’d go there with my sister every day. I definitely appreciate training here now, because you have to count the balls before and after practice to make sure you don’t lose any, and there are only two courts and they’re super fast and it was so cold. It just made me appreciate everything here even more.”
What are some differences between life in Bulgaria and life in the US?
“There are tons of little differences. First of all, people walk a lot of places. I guess the daily life, people seem more laid back and not as stressed like I feel everyone is here, especially for me too, because I’m always on the go here. Here I feel like everyone’s getting up early, grabbing coffee on the go, grabbing Starbucks, and heading straight to work and everything’s fast paced. There, it’s more casual, wake up later, go visit friends or family, have a long dinner, longer meals. Here, everything is super fast.”
