I am at the beginning of three years of service in the Peace Corps. I am in Lanzhou, China teaching at Gansu College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Since 2002 I have FINALLY fulfilled my dream of international travel. I lived in Scotland for 6 months in 2002 when I interned with the Scottish Parliament (living in 18th century palace), worked for two summers at English summer camps in Japan (Kyoto in '03 where I stayed in a Buddhist Temple for homestay; and Tokyo in '04). I also visited Scotland and London again in spring break of 2003. I marched against the Iraq War in London with 500,000 other people. I also visited China for 18 days with a class trip in 2004 visiting Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Guilin, Xi'an, Jinan, Qufu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou. Little did I know a year later I would be living here.

I finished my second bachelor's degree in 2004, after deciding on a career change. That degree was in psych from University of Wisconsin--River Falls. My previous degree was in political science, history, and English. I did the first three years of it at UW--River Falls and the last three years of it at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. I completed the first degree in 1995.

I was headed toward a journalism career and worked as a Listings Editor at City Pages in Minneapolis, but I decided my personality was not well-suited to investigative journalism (which was my goal if I would have continued). After a failed bid as a newspaper reporter at the Tundra Drums in Alaska (lasting only two weeks), I decided on a new career path, hence the second degree.

And now I'm in China, weeeee. . . . .

Somewhere in there I was married and divorced, which has freed me for travel. My ex-wife and I are still friends though and keep in occasional contact.