You were very gentle and polite :) Many of the local women aren't very happy with the gender expectations. I think women, at least in Bulgaria, adapt faster to modern world changes, and fast-paced life in general, which is a double-edge sword. They are expected to handle way too much - career, domestic life, childcare, ridiculous standards of beauty, you name it. On top of it they are not to compete too much with the boys. What I mean is that a woman is expected to contribute to the household budget, but if possible, not earn more than her husband, cos it's gonna hurt his fragile ego, you know. At the same time, despite handling her job responsibilities, she's the one to pick up the kids from school, help them with homework, cook every night, clean and do the dishes, while her husband watches TV. Even if she's a surgeon, a banker, or a CEO, heck, even if she's the only breadwinner in the family, she's the one to keep the house sparkling clean and the kids well fed. And still look youthful and sexy, of course. When young women marry guys from, say the US, Germany, or Sweden, you can often hear young Bulgarian men labeling those girls as devious sluts who only marry a foreigner for the money or citizenship. What they don't get at all is that those women fell in love with someone who treats them as equal and doesn't consider washing his dirty socks himself a task denigrating his manliness. Of course, many young people don't stick to that norm, but still receive veeery mixed messages. Not that men have it easy. Ask a young dad who wants a day off to take his kid to a doctor's appointment. Or, heaven forbid, use his paternity leave (guaranteed by law). Or any man who simply refuses to act like a Neanderthal macho.