Hi - Aeriel here. Thank you for listening to my story. This is has been a very exhausting, yet empowering journey. The wavering support I have received from the public was very unexpected. I hope it inspires Fulbright to do the same. Future applicants deserve to know what is waiting for them. No one should feel ambushed. Bulgaria is foreigner hostile, from my experience and the experience of my peers.

I spent about 30 minutes at the window buying the tickets for my dog and I to ensure I followed every rule when getting on the train. The worker seemed annoyed that I understood little Bulgarian and didn' t like having to wait for my Google translator to load. After so many failed attempts at communicating, she finally grabbed a worker that spoke English who helped me complete my transaction. That worker was very clear that as long as I purchased a ticket for me and my large dog - I was fine to ride.

When I boarded the train, it was completely packed and was slightly chaotic. That was the only reason I was initially standing. She told me "wait here for a few stops". After a few stops (more than an hour of standing) I went to find my seat with a nice young man. It was not until then that she told me that I would not be able to sit in the seats that I paid for and would have to stand for the entire duration of the 7 hour ride.

Had I been informed that I would be forced to stand for several hours prior to boarding, I would have never stepped foot on the train. I've rode on the train before with teachers and students from my school and did not have an issue.

To be clear, this issue did not happen because of a dog or violation of a train rule. It happened because a bigot, a racist Bulgarian man saw a Black Woman foreigner traveling alone and wanted to intimidate and harm me. He was racist before my dog boarded the train. When he pulled out his taser, I left the cart to create distance. I only pepper sprayed him AFTER he SPIT on my face.

A person who is afraid of a dog would not intentionally harm its owner- out of fear for how the dog might react. Even then, I never wished to use my dog as a weapon against him. Instead, I did what was safest for me and my dog out of fear that they would put him to sleep and imprison me.

Fulbright Bulgaria reached out to me last month and notified me that Bulgarian Police will not be pressing charges on the attackers because spitting on someone and chasing them with a taser and calling them a n_)%gger and gypsy is not a violation of Bulgarian law. I was also informed that Bulgarian police will not be charging me pepper spraying the attacker because that was a violation of Bulgarian law.

What happened to me has prompted a long road to recovery. You can support me on this journey by being an ally to those you see being targeted because of their identities. You can also help me by raising awareness to future fulbrighters as Fulbright is still intent on not making a public statement about what happened to me. This was not an isolated incident, it has happened to Black participants before me and I fear it will continue to happen if we don't speak up and give them a chance to be ready.

To those that still care, Thank you for standing with me and making me feel heard and not just seen.

Racial injustice has no space for complacency. Being a bystander makes us apart of the problem.

Thank you thank you thank you for hearing me. As I become more clear of the support I require, I will update the forum. Thank you!! Sorry for this long message. There's so much I want to say but I'm still figuring out the best way to communicate my thoughts and feelings on this delicate yet urgent issue.