Le Pourquoi du Comment

I have several reasons for starting this blog. Like so many things in my life (why I moved to Toulouse in 2003... why I moved back to DC in 2004... and why I'm still here) there is any number of equally true reasons behind this, and depending on the exact question asked, the context, the questioner and the audience, I'll give you a different answer without negating any of the other explanations that I may have given instead. Here are a few of the reasons, in no particular order (I reserve the right to discover others at any point):

• I miss writing
• For a while now I've been thinking that I want to pursue intercultural communication as a career, either as an academic, a trainer, and consultant, or a combination. No time like the present to get started!
• I hope this will help me break into the field
• I hope this will help with my eventual grad school applications
• I love learning about others' experiences in culture shock, acculturation, etc, and I hope to learn from my fellow contributors as well as from other global bloggers (globloggers?)
• I spend a lot of time discussing culture and all its wonders with a growing number of friends and end up wishing that I had it all written down somewhere - I hope this blog can fulfill that purpose
• I know how naive and idealistic this sounds - but I really do believe that we could all lead happier, more productive lives if we took a little more time to understand one another and put some thought into why people do what they do and think what they think. This is true everywhere, from our personal lives to the most macro levels of the international system.