I’m an American with an eclectic international background. I am very happy to have arrived in China with its fascinating culture. At 15 years old I made friends with a Chinese exchange student who introduced me to his culture, most memorably the food. When I was 18 I became very committed to the study of Chinese martial arts, specifically Seven Star Praying Mantis Kung Fu (七星螳螂拳). My lifelong passions have always been martial arts and culinary arts. From these early experiences I’ve always wanted to get a deeper understanding of China.

I studied Environmental Science as an undergraduate student at the University of Oregon, with a concentration in Marine Biology and a minor in Business Administration. After finishing a summer of research at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology I went to the University of Alaska to be trained as a crab fisheries biological observer. Unfortunately this job made me very ill, now I know what it is like to not eat for a week, and I had to resign.

After quitting my job in Alaska I decided to try a one month ESL teaching contract at a winter camp in South Korea. The experience at the camp, while at first challenging, was ultimately an engaging and enriching. I decided to continue teaching in South Korea for the next two years, first in a small coastal town called Yeosu, where I taught children, adults and even a special class for the GS Caltex Corporation. My manager in Yeosu recommended me to a position with one of the leading language institutes focusing on mature students in Seoul, Direct English. While there I developed the curriculum for and led the classes in Presentation and Interview strategy and created the new Wine Appreciation Lecture Series for the school. In Korea when I wasn’t teaching I was editing scientific patents, hiking or exploring the many great foods of Korea, I even got to work with a local chocolate maker.

Even though South Korea was very good to me, after two years I wanted a new challenge and more education, so I went to France to pursue a Masters Degree in a country where I could also learn more about food and wine. After a brief program to learn the French language and an internship as a cook in a famous restaurant, I gained admission to the HEC Paris. Three years later after a student exchange with Seoul National University, where I also helped open a sushi restaurant, and over a year of work as a financial analyst, I decided to return to the profession of teaching, this time, at long last, in China. My goals now are to grow and improve as a teacher, learn the language and as always, to learn the foods of the region!