Behind the screens

Trust & Safety

Behind the screens

November 2025

What's in store for you?

There will be an 'easter egg" hidden somewhere 😉 🤝 "Meet Your Mate" - Fun spotlight interviews with your awesome colleagues 🌍 "Wanderlust Corner" - Travel stories and local gems from our team 👩‍🍳 "What's Cooking?" - Your colleagues' favorite recipes and food adventures 🧘‍♀️ "Psychologist's Section" - Tips and tricks from Desislava

Meet Your Mate

Wanderlust Corner

What's Cooking?

Psychologist's Section

Meet your mate

Anna-Emilia Kuyumdzhiev

Q: Please introduce yourself A: Hello my name is Anna, I am 21 and as you all know the best dressed in the office. I am one quarter German and three-quarter Bulgarian as my mom is half Bulgarian half German and my father is Bulgarian. My mom as well as me are a product of a summer love story that turned into a soulmate's connection. The first six years of my life I grew up in Albena, a touristic place at the north coast of the Black Sea, where my parents met, and my mother worked as a German tourists guide. After that, I attended school in Germany for my whole educational process, which I am really thankful for receiving such a good education. I lived in a village called Irxleben 9 km from the capital Magdeburg of the federal state Sachsen-Anhalt, so I consider myself a proud “Ossi” (East-German). Q: Tell your story before T&S A: My story before TELUS is obviously pretty short, as I am still young. After high school I decided I can't stand Germans any more as well as their mentality as I always considered myself more Balkan-mindesetted. Additionally, the right winged movement in East Germany got so strong, that I feared for my safety. The struggle is real, being considered a foreigner in both of your home countries. Nevertheless, I came here with the goal to finally find the place I belong to. A bit before I started my career here, I was doing volunteering activities with refugee children and street work with homeless people, as political activism has been my thing since a young age.

Meet your mate

Anna-Emilia Kuyumdzhiev

O: What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done? (Or would like to do!) A: One of my dreams is to visit the camp flog gnaw carnival, but as just the tickets to the USA are an investment, this will stay a future plan for me. Another adventurous thing I would love to do is to see the northern lights and to travel with the trans-Siberian train through the wide nature of Russia and after that go south to the desert Gobi and travel through China. If the possibility exists, I would like to make up my own picture of North-Korea and see how such an isolated nation lives and how they think of their government. Of course this is slightly utopian as the whole paper work for a visa is a lot, but you can always dream! This is not as adventurous as it may sound, but I have been sliding a lot of free fall slides and once abseiled headfirst from a dam, this was pretty fun tho. Q: Do you have a hobby you are proud of? A: I wouldn't consider my political activism a hobby and more of a good cause for humanity. Nevertheless, I can brag about the fact that I was one of the organizers of the first Fridays for Future movements and convinced the principal of my school to organize us free time to take part as a whole school as well as a lot of anti-fascists protests with the NGO I was volunteering with since 2017. I am proud that I was able to inspire people to raise their voices against all this global injustice and police brutality. When I am not doing these I love to blast my music full volume, as you have noticed, and just let myself go with the melody. I have been loving music since I was a child, and I did play the guitar as well as the piano for a long while. When it's sadly too late blasting the music full volume in my apartment, for the sake of my neighbours' sleep, I grab myself a book. Usually I either read classical literature such as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy or Kafka or when my attention spawn allows me it at this late time I enjoy studying philosophical and historical studies, for example of great thinkers such as Camus, Nietzsche, Marx, or one modern philosopher named Slavoj Žižek. O

Meet your mate

Anna-Emilia Kuyumdzhiev

Q: If you could have dinner with any three people (living or historical), who would they be and why? Tyler the creator: He is one of my all-time favourite rappers and I would love joining and watching him produce music as well as just being goofy with him. Besides him being a great artist, I believe he would have made a great career as a comedian, so we would vibe with our quirky personalities. For a better understanding what I am speaking about, you can watch a compilation of him. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do :D Che Guevara: I would love to sip some mate with him and smoke a cigar while listening to how him and Fidel were able to take over a whole island with just 12 guerilla fighters, guerilla war faces are one of my historical guilty pleasures. I am fascinated how a man from such a bourgeois family who studied medicine dedicate his life to the poor and helpless people and travelled through whole South America to revolutionize the former colonized continent. Albert Camus: I would love discussing with him the contradiction between the human desire for meaning and the indifferent, chaotic nature of the universe. I really find comfort in his philosophy, as Absurdism does not fight to tell you the meaning of life, it just states that there is no meaning in life. One quote I think daily of is “the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your existence is an act of rebellion”. He is a great author as well. I have read “the stranger” 3 times already as I am able to relate a lot to the protagonist. To give you guys a better understanding of this philosophical idea, I wanna finish this with my favourite quote of him: “Should I kill myself or have a cup of coffee” — feel free for your own interpretation and approach me if you wanna have a little discussion about it.

TYLER THE CREATOR FUNNIEST/MOST SUS MOMENTS

+ Name story

Meet your mate

Anna-Emilia Kuyumdzhiev

Q: What's your ultimate "guilty pleasure" TV show or movie that you're secretly proud of loving? A: My movie preferences are pretty old-school and classical, as my favourite directors are Tarantino and Scorsese. I love Pulp fiction, Inglorious Bastards, Taxi Driver or Shutter Island. Another all-time favourite of mine is La Haine, Fight Club and the godfather. An honourable mention is the movie “Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo” a German movie enlightening the consequences and challenges of the drug addict children of the 80s based on real life events. Whenever I don't feel like watching such heavy movies, I go for light comedy shows such as shameless or two and a half man. I have to admit that I rewatch a lot of shows just out of comfort, so for example I rewatched all seasons of Law&Order SVU 5 times or shameless even 7 times. A secret recommendation of mine is the Amazon TV show “The Hunters” a group of holocaust survivors and a Korean Veteran and a black woman activist hunting the Nazis that flew into the USA and killing them with their own weapons and methods, such as gassing the scientist that invented Zyklon B in her own shower… more I won't spoiler, find out yourself :)

Recipe by

Editor

The easiest one ever

The "Chicken Spa Day" Recipe:

• Step 1: The Pre-Spa Ritual Rinse your chicken like it's getting ready for a fancy spa appointment. Pat it dry - no one likes a soggy spa guest.
• Step 2: Citrus Acupuncture Grab a lemon and stab it repeatedly with a fork (release your stress here). Shove this punctured lemon inside the chicken like you're giving it a vitamin boost.
• Step 3: The Salt Bed Experience Take your oven pan and create a luxurious two-finger-thick salt bed. Think of it as a Himalayan salt therapy session, but for poultry.
• Step 4: Check-In Time Plop your lemon-stuffed friend onto its salty throne. Make it comfortable - this is its final resting place (literally).
• Step 5: The Sauna Session Slam that bird into a 200°C sauna and abandon it for 50-60 minutes. No peeking! Let it sweat it out in peace.
• Step 6: The Grand Reveal Voilà! Your chicken emerges with a golden tan, crispy skin that crackles, and meat so juicy it didn't even need a spa membership.

Ingridients:

• 1 chicken
• 500g of rock salt
• Lemon (optional)

Why salt?

Wanderlust corner

Perperikon & Eastern Rhodopes

Perperikon Ancient Thracian rock city dating back over 5,000 years, believed to be the Temple of Dionysus. Carved entirely into a hilltop in the Eastern Rhodopes, it features a palace, fortress, and sanctuary where prophecies were made. One of Bulgaria's most significant archaeological sites with panoramic mountain views. Tatul Thracian Sanctuary. Also known as "Orpheus' Sanctuary," this mysterious rock-hewn complex (5th-4th century BC) features tombs, altars, and ritual niches carved into stone. Legend says it's the burial place of Orpheus or a Thracian king. The second most significant Thracian sanctuary after Perperikon, it's a megalithic wonder with sacred chambers and stunning views. Stone Mushrooms near Beli Plast. Unique natural phenomenon of pink volcanic rock formations sculpted by erosion into mushroom shapes, some reaching 2.5 meters tall. Located 20 km from Kardzhali along the Haskovo road, these whimsical geological formations create an otherworldly landscape perfect for photography. Harman Kaya Rock Sanctuary. Lesser-known Thracian rock sanctuary located 32 km southeast of Kardzhali, accessible via a 20-30 minute forest path. Features ancient carved niches, altars, and ritual spaces in natural rock formations, offering a more secluded and mystical experience than the larger sanctuaries.

trip options

Day 2: Thracian Sanctuaries & Natural Wonders → Sofia Morning:

• Tatul Thracian Sanctuary (25 km) - mysterious rock sanctuary
• Stone Mushrooms near Beli Plast (20 km) - unique volcanic rock formations

Afternoon:

• Optional: Harman Kaya rock sanctuary
• Lunch in Kardzhali or en route
• Depart for Sofia (3:30 PM)
• Arrive Sofia by 7-8 PM

Important Notes:

• Perperikon: hours: 7:30 AM - 8:00 PM (May-October) Entrance fee + guided tour available
• Bring comfortable shoes for rocky terrain

Day 1: Sofia → Kardzhali → Perperikon Morning:

• Depart Sofia early (7-8 AM)
• Arrive Kardzhali by noon
• Check into hotel
• Lunch in Kardzhali

Afternoon:

• Perperikon (15 km from Kardzhali) - 2-3 hours
• Ancient Thracian sanctuary (5000+ years old)
• Temple of Dionysus ruins
• Panoramic mountain views

Evening:

• Return to Kardzhali
• Dinner in town
• Overnight in Kardzhali

Psychologist's Section

Defense mechanisms

Defense mechanisms were first described by Sigmund Freud in his psychoanalytic theory. According to Freud, these mechanisms protect the conscious mind from contradictions between the animalistic id and the idealistic superego, ultimately contributing to "mental homeostasis." In other words, defense mechanisms are unconscious psychological responses that protect people from feelings of anxiety, threats to self-esteem, and things that they don't want to think about or deal with. Here are one of the most common defense mechanisms:

Displacement Have you ever had a really bad day at work, then went home and took out your frustration on family and friends? If you answered yes, you have experienced the ego defense mechanism of displacement. Displacement involves taking out our frustrations, feelings, and impulses on people or objects that are less threatening. Displaced aggression is a common example of this defense mechanism. Rather than express your anger in ways that could lead to negative consequences (like arguing with your boss), you instead express your anger toward a person or object that poses no threat (such as your spouse, children, or pets). Denial Denial, probably one of the best-known defense mechanisms, is an outright refusal to admit or recognize that something has occurred or is currently occurring. It functions to protect the ego from things with which the person cannot cope and is used often to describe situations in which people seem unable to face reality or admit an obvious truth (e.g., "They're in denial"). While it may temporarily shield you from anxiety or pain, denial also requires a substantial investment of energy. Because of this, other defenses are used to help keep these unacceptable feelings from conscious awareness. In many cases, there might be overwhelming evidence that something is true, yet the person will continue to deny its existence or truth because it is too uncomfortable to face.

psychologist's section

Defense mechanisms

Rationalization Rationalization is a defense mechanism that involves explaining an unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner, avoiding the true reasons for the behavior. For example, a person who is turned down for a date might rationalize the situation by saying they were not attracted to the other person anyway. A student might rationalize a poor exam score by blaming the instructor rather than admitting their own lack of preparation. Rationalization not only prevents anxiety, but it may also protect self-esteem and self-concept. When trying to explain success or failure, people using this defense mechanism tend to attribute achievement to their own qualities and skills while failures are blamed on other people or outside forces. Dissociation Becoming separated or removed from your experience. When dealing with something stressful, for example, you might mentally and emotionally disengage yourself from the situation. This can be a temporary, protective response, ranging from mild everyday experiences like daydreaming to severe reactions in response to a crisis. According to Freud, anxiety is an unpleasant inner state that people seek to avoid. Anxiety acts as a signal to the ego that things are not going the way they should. As a result, the ego employs some sort of defense mechanism to help reduce these feelings of anxiety. Cognitive-behavioral therapy could also be helpful in addressing maladaptive use of defense mechanisms, since defense mechanisms can often contribute to irrational thoughts and beliefs as well as problematic or impulsive behaviors. Coping With Unhealthy Defense Mechanisms Remember, defense mechanisms can be both healthy and unhealthy. They can serve a helpful role by protecting your ego from stress and providing a healthy outlet. In other instances, these defense mechanisms might hold you back from facing reality and can act as a form of self-deception. If you notice that the overuse of certain defense mechanisms is having a negative impact on your life, consider consulting with a mental health professional. Psychotherapy may help whether you pursue a traditional face-to-face treatment or an online therapy option. Cognitive-behavioral therapy could also be helpful in addressing maladaptive use of defense mechanisms, since defense mechanisms can often contribute to irrational thoughts and beliefs as well as problematic or impulsive behaviors.

Name story

Q: What's the story behind your name? (Or what would you rename yourself if you could?) I don't really consider my name something special, as my brother and I are named after our grandparents. My German grandma was named Annelise so therefore Anna and my other grandma is called Emilia. Fun fact: My mom wanted to name me Anna-Maria but thank god she didn't as this would be even more basic. My last name is not a typical name as it inherits from the Ottoman times. The meaning behind it is jeweller, but in Bulgaria they made the golden frames for icons in orthodox church. Another funny thing as well as honestly annoying is that the majority of Germans can't pronounce it, so I was the kid with the complicated family-name no one dared to pronounce.

The egg is here

Salt brings tenderness to meats that tend to dry out. The breast of the chicken is vulnerable to drying out and getting tough and unappetizing. Salt is magical in cooking, not just for it’s flavor enhancing properties, but for tenderizing.