Think local: Zheni Zhekova
Bulgarian
“ Look for the small pieces”
Nine month resident in Luxembourg Zheni Zhekova gives her insight into living and studying in the Grand Duchy.
Zheni Zhekova: the opportunities are there
Interview: Aaron Grunwald — Photo: Olivier Minaire
After finishing high school in her native Sofia, Zheni Zhekova studied political science in The Hague and Ottawa before starting a master of law programme in Maastricht. She moved to the University of Luxembourg last autumn for her second year of legal studies. She hopes to stay in the Grand Duchy to pursue a doctorate of law, and ultimately serve in a European institution. In April, Zhekova received first prize as the “best European Commission representative” in the European regional final of the European Law Moot Court Competition held at the European Court of Justice in Kirchberg.
Everyone says this, and it’s a little bit of a cliché, but ‘everybody knows everybody and you don’t have a chance.’ Well, then get to know people yourself! If you come in an environment where people have roots and families and they know each other, then you’re going to have to have something extra special to attract attention in that small environment. So it is different. I think it is small and it doesn’t look like it moves very intensely, but it moves quietly. AG: Is it vital to speak French here? ZZ: French is important here, but I would not say that you cannot survive without it. AG: What about off-campus? ZZ: You have to speak a little bit of French. AG: Why are you reluctant to find friends from your native country? ZZ: Of course I have several acquaintances from Bulgaria. There is a danger in affiliating with people from your home country. It’s comfortable. Comfortable is not necessarily productive; for personal growth, for fulfilling each other’s needs, for moving forward. You somehow cling to something that is no longer. You are no longer in your home country. You are who you are. Of course you can have friends, but why are you friends? Is it because you speak the same language? Is it because you went to the same high school? Is it
AG: How intense was the moot court competition? ZZ: I think it shorted my life by a year! About 80 universities from all over Europe, the States, Canada and China submitted written works. Only 48 got ranked. Then there’s four regionals. Our team was in the top four of our region, but then we came in second. It was that close. AG: How is Luxembourg different than the three other capital cities you’ve lived in? ZZ: In a big city, everybody wants to be seen. There’s a lot of exposure and you want to show that you’ve arrived as a business person, as a legal person, as a politician. And here, everybody’s someone.
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because you can keep up with the current politics? AG: What do you think about Luxembourgers? ZZ: This is probably very, very wrong, and this is a very superficial observation: I’m not sure if Luxembourgish people are so international. I think this is a place where needs can be sufficed, so you don’t really go out on a limb and go to different countries for opportunities. This is a very opportune place. I would imagine that’s why integrating, making friends with Luxembourgish people is very difficult. I’m not saying it’s a closed society. It [makes Luxembourg] even that much more beautiful. AG: What is your advice for newcomers? ZZ: You have to see that it’s a very small place and you have to put together your own puzzle out of it. If you’re looking to be entertained, it’s not a big city. A big city is like stepping on an escalator, the ground moves underneath you. This is more like a Rubik’s Cube. If you’re looking to be entertained or for opportunities to network with people, you have to look for the small pieces and arrange it for yourself. I can’t imagine you need this negativity that’s it’s not offering enough. You are not calculative enough to get what it has to offer.