​
I've always been interested in my family's European roots. I had my "grand tour" of Europe with the directress and English teacher from the sadly now defunct Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy.  

During graduate school,  I was awarded a Fulbright Research Fellowship (1995-96) to conduct research for my dissertation on the democratization of Poland.   I was fortunate to stay a second year after my Fulbright year (1996-97) by teaching political science at the University of Łódź.  What a privilege it was to engage with the first generation of Poles coming of age in a democracy in nearly a century!  

The process of "post-communist transition" is, to me, the most compelling political and social transformation of our time.  Lucky for me, I am also an ardent Slavophile.  I can't seem to get enough of reading  and watching films about the myriad ways Slavs have suffered, starved, censored, tortured, exiled, and murdered each other but also created, danced, ate, drank, persevered and survived for the last thousand years.  It's an incredible history, present and future.
 
Over time, the geographic reach of my interests are shifting eastward from Poland and Central Europe to Russia, Eurasia and China.  I am LOVING learning all the ways "the East" has shaped the world in ways that few of us "Westerners" realize.  

I feel fortunate to live in a time where there is an endless supply of podcasts and audiobooks, and a 24-hr news cycle, so I can never be without something to plug into while I hike with my dogs, work in my yard, or clean my house.  Then, of course, there's always the need to unplug!!   For that, I am very grateful to live in the Inland NW where outdoor beauty abounds.