I come from a small town in Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. My journey turned into an adventure when I joined the Marines after high school. I traveled across the great United States, mostly in California. And I spent three years in Japan and Okinawa. I intend to get into a lengthy writer's frenzy about that whole experience. The writer/philosopher, Joseph Campbell, certainly gained much insight for his writing after only six months in Japan. Hans Christian Andersen also attributed much of his success to having travelled extensively. After military service, I took a job as a DOD contractor in which I was deployed to the Middle East. I had limited perspective on those cultures and people groups before the trip. After the whole experience, I began to sympathize for Iraqis, the harsh conditions, the lack of identity, etc. The 1st world countries, so it seems, are unconcerned about Arabs or their survival. Nobody in the US media, that I'm aware of, would dare publish a favorable journal article about their way of life. Maybe Pres. Obama's speech writers have shown some signs of concern...but I doubt is was genuine, considering the ongoing death tolls in Syria and Pakistan caused by UAV drones. Sorry for the tangent. I'm really a decent human being, if you care to know me. Well, what's stopping you? A few keystrokes later, and we will have started our first conversation. I am working to improve my active listening skills, so bear with me!
I joined expat.com on 21 November 2013.