American expatriate in Sofia runs podcast on Bulgarian history in English
Bulgarian history in English is available online to listeners thanks to the work of Eric Halsey, an American expatriate who has lived in Sofia for just more than two years, and Bulgarian IT entrepreneur Martin Christov.
The podcasts, as individual episodes, intend to tell the story of Bulgaria chronologically from the most ancient times onwards.
“History is an important aspect of any society and when it is misunderstood or misused it can be terribly damaging. By increasing the knowledge and understanding of Bulgarian history in both Bulgaria and abroad we believe we can do our small part in making things better for Bulgaria today,” according to a statement on the website hosting the podcasts, http://www.bghistorypodcast.com.
In an interview, he told public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television, “Our idea is to tell Bulgarian history in such a way that it is accurate, but at the same time interpreted in an interesting way. Sometimes we tell small stories, with which we try to insert some drama, so that it is catchy and interesting, but at the same time with no factual inaccuracies”.
Halsey praised moments in Bulgarian history such as the educational revolution in the country from the middle of the 19th century, saying that he was inspired by the Bulgarians of the time who united in the name of education and started to build – with their own funds – schools so as to raise the level of literacy among the population.
The BNT report quoted Halsey, who grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC, as saying that his life is in Bulgaria and that he could not imagine a future outside it.
He hopes one day to get Bulgarian citizenship in order to continue to study the country and contribute to its development and prosperity, the report said.
