Welcome to my home on the web. I am a busy Ph.D. candidate in French at UC Davis working on 19th and early 20th century French representations of Japan. For more information about my academic work, please click the "Academics" tab above.
I grew up in and currently reside in Foster City, a small, waterfront community about 20 miles south of San Francisco. Academics keeps me busy most of the time, but when I am not studying, I can be found rowing or sailing in the Foster City lagoon, or on the tennis courts. If I am not outdoors, then I might be singing with my fellow soprani in the Foster City Community Chorus or just spending time with my Airedale Terrier, Buddy. I am also an avid writer and photographer, and have exhibited my photos at the San Mateo Fair and the Foster City Art and Wine Festival. Several of my photographs have won awards and a few are featured in the book Images of America: Foster City.
Even though my heart will always be in San Francisco (or at least close to it), I like to think of France as my second home. I spent my junior year abroad at the Sorbonne (Paris IV), during which time I lived and breathed the Paris life. I loved it so much that I returned to France two years later, where I worked as an interpreter and guide at the Disneyland Resort in Paris. My Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese language skills certainly came in handy that year, as it happened to be the year that France hosted the FIFA World Cup! When I am not busy with academics, I enjoy travelling, especially overseas. There are so many rich and diverse cultures to discover and appreciate. My desire to transmit that appreciation to others is one of the reasons I went into teaching in the first place
