About mE
Nice to meet you
“Where are you from, originally?” This is what I’m often asked.
I was born in the US, outside Washington, DC, and lived throughout the country: Houston, New York, Chicago, and LA, to name a few.
Until 2020, I worked as a business consultant in various places, including China, India, and Europe. Outside of the US, I’ve lived in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, and the UK. I live in Austria now. It amounts to almost twenty years living abroad. And I learned a few things along the way.
The idea behind this blog is to share some of my experiences and thoughts (not unlike a lot of other blogs), but concerned more with what it’s really like to live here, to travel to the places I travel to, doing it all on my own. And, maybe, to offer some perspectives on my own country, viewing it from here.
Why?
My thoughts about travel are not quite the same as what you read elsewhere. As much as I love to travel, I wrestle with the reasons why I do, question what I really get out of it, and wonder sometimes (usually when a flight is ludicrously delayed and the complimentary snacks are rubbish) if it’s all really worth it.
It is, of course. But you’ll discover if you read some of my writing, that I’m not entirely sure why. That’s part of what keeps it interesting.
What I am finding more compelling is the effect of being away from my birthplace for so many years. A curious objectivity mingles with a faint sense of homesickness. When you are away for as long as I have, you begin to see things about your country that are difficult to spot when you’re in the thick of it. And the influence of the unfamiliar culture you live in shapes how you view the one you know best. Some of this whole strange experience, I hope, is captured in what I write.
