My husband is Bulgarian.  Been studying it on and off, mostly off, for 3 years.   The hardest part for me is understanding natives when they eat half the words and don't speak clearly.  When they start slurring and mumbling words, I lose them.   But if I watch a movie dubbed over in Bulgarian, I can understand like 80 percent because it's clear.  I just wanted to be able to partake in basic conversation.  I get no real practice, but I have good books and I watch a lot of shows/movies in Bulgarian.  It helps a LOT.