Eric Halsey is a 26-year old American, born in Washington DC, and he has spent most of his adult life living in Bulgaria and Budapest.
"I think I'm a living proof of just how strange and unpredictable life can be. You never would have guessed I'd have ended up studying Bulgarian history and living in Sofia, but here I am. After almost five years living here, I know Sofia and Bulgaria are my home and am working hard to build a life here. I'm an optimist about Bulgaria, I've watched it change over 7 years and know it will continue to evolve. My hope is to help that process in some small way."
I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, in Virginia. Those suburbs are a strange place to me, more than a million people live there but it's all very spread out. I've never had a car or liked driving much so I always felt a bit trapped there. It's also extremely diverse. If there's one thing I miss besides my family it's my ability to eat amazing Vietnamese, Peruvian, Mexican, Thai, or Ethiopian food. I went to University in a small historic town called Fredericksburg. It's a very beautiful little place and I spent a lot of my time with folk musicians. I even learned to play and write music myself, though without that community it's hard to get as inspired today.
I first came in Bulgaria in 2009 to spend a year as a visiting student at the American University in Bulgaria. Then it was both to experience living in a new place as well as to decide if studying Bulgarian history was really the path I wanted to take. I came back in 2013 after getting my Masters degree at Central European University in Budapest (studying the connection between Stamboliiski's political ideology and national identity building) I came back with a Fulbright grant to continue my research. When that was over, I decided a PhD wasn't for me and at that moment made the decision to settle in Bulgaria permanently. My reasons were easy for me, I had a good life, good friends, and many opportunities here. I saw a way for me to build a life which could contribute to Bulgaria and have meaning.
My life in Bulgaria is very hectic. I work on many different projects and collaborations, whether it's working with African entrepreneurs in Kenya or creating my Bulgarian History Podcast. I live near Zaimov park and love spending time there on sunny days. That park makes me feel like I'm really a part of a community and never fails to make me smile. I also cook a lot, so I often spend Saturdays wandering from store to store looking for difficult to find ingredients for some big meal I'm planning. I'm not much of a beach person (sadly my ancestors all came from Northern Europe so the sun is my mortal enemy) so I like to spend my summers hiking as much as possible. In the winter I love nothing more than enjoying the hot springs at Sapareva Banya or renting a house in the mountains to sit next to a fireplace and read a good novel.
In short my favorite things about the country are the history, nature, food, and spirit. Obviously as someone who has spent years studying Bulgarian history, I love that aspect of the country. I love nothing more than giving a visiting friend a tour of Sofia and explaining the history and significance of every building, shop, and monument. This city tells quite a story. The nature is also incredible. I grew up around the mountains and rivers of Virginia and nothing makes me happier than spending time around Rila or the Struma. The peace you can find in the deeper corners of those mountains is profound. Bulgarian food is also something I really love, it's fresh and delicious, even if I have a few strong opinions about how certain dishes are made (try making sirine po shopski without overcooking the eggs, it will change your life). As for the spirit, there may be a lot of pessimism here, but I've build a community around me of people who believe that this country is worth fighting for. That spirit inspires me.
I have many dreams about Bulgaria. My own dream is to find a special person to share my life with, to start a family, and to do meaningful work. For the country, I want Bulgaria to see itself in a new light through its history. Besides the victim narrative from the Ottoman period and the focus on all the amazing achievements they should be so proud of: like the grassroots educational revolution which came out of the national revival period. I hope with my podcast and hopefully with other work I can do in the future that I can play a role in helping to shift those perceptions. But that will be a long and difficult road. I'm not afraid of a challenge though, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen to make my life here.
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