I am Mike Hughes. I am from the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. Normally people in the United States and around the world know my hometown as being Wine Country. It is a beautiful place where many people from around the world visit each year. I am also constantly asked why I wanted to leave such a beautiful place to begin with. And I left because I wanted to see the world.

Growing up in Northern California, I had many classmates and friends from other cultures including: Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, France, Italy, Israel, and Africa. I even spoke Spanish growing up, as there were many Latinos in my hometown working as agricultural laborers. Many people do not realize this, but California was once part of Mexico many years ago, and still to this day has a tremendous Mexican community and culture.

Originally I finished college at University of Nevada at Las Vegas in 2004, and then moved to Korea to start my teaching career. I was an Instructor at Pukyong National University in Busan for 4 years, and eventually left Korea to come home for my masters’ studies in 2010. I earned my MA in International Relations in 2011 and eventually I came back to teach in Asia, this time in China in 2012. For the 2012-2013 school year I was an Instructor at Shenyang Normal University in Liaoning Province, and I find myself starting the 2013-2014 school year at BNUZ.

I have a great appreciation for history, current events, and cultures different from own. This is what led to me pursuing a degree in International Relations. I love teaching in Asia, and I consider China to be my home. Though I am still learning the language, I actually have family from Guangdong province, and some of my family members still speak Cantonese fluently.

I am a very adventurous person who loves to travel, play sports and meet new people. Some of the sports I have played competitively in the past include: Baseball, Football, Basketball, Wrestling, Muay Thai and Soccer. Some of my hobbies include watching movies and TV shows, having parties, cooking, muay thai boxing, and watching sports in different countries. I love trying new foods, and am always looking for new things to try to cook at home.