America is a very faraway and strange place on the edge of the world with crazy things you have never heard of like baseball and hotdogs. Now America is a strange place!
Okay, now let's come back to being Americans again. I am also from America and I was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which is about halfway between Chicago and Detroit. I never knew anything about China until a very smart teacher told me about its culture and language when I was in high school. I learned Chinese language and history in college and fell in love with this place.
After I graduated from college, I traveled the world as a professional drummer in a band, but I missed studying China and I decided to go back to school again as a graduate student at the University of Michigan. I then moved to Washington DC where I worked for the federal government. America's relationship with China is very important to the economies of both nations and it was easy for me to find a good job because I can speak and read Chinese. After working for two years, I applied for a Fulbright Research Fellowship (an international educational exchange program) to live in China and study for a whole year. I was very excited to be awarded the fellowship.
First I was a student, then a musician, then a student again, then a government worker, and now I live in China. My life has changed many times! I bet yours will too— and that's okay.
I am so happy to be here in China and to share my explorations with you. I know we will have fun and learn a lot on our future journey. See you next time!
