I served as a TESL volunteer in the Philippines from 1965-67 and as a Crisis Corps (now Peace Corps Response) volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 2004-5. I was supposed to help with flood relief in the DR, but it took so long for the PC to get me there that by the time I arrived the emergency was over. The PC then said, “Try and make yourself useful.” I did that and had a wonderful experience getting to know Dominicans and their country.
My career has included stints in the for-profit, non-profit, and public sectors. I lobbied for a Nader group in DC, worked at the US EPA in DC and in Seattle, worked briefly in Silicon Valley, and spent 7 years in the commercial fishing industry, which was the most fun part of my working life. My offices were always in Seattle, but the fishing was in Alaska, and I spent quite a bit of time there. My favorite spot was Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, which are the tops of mountains poking out of the Pacific. I loved Alaskan summers – I could work a full day and still have plenty of daylight to take a 10-mile hike after work. In the Aleutians there are no trees, so a person can just point oneself in a direction and go.
My wife and I owned a small house in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for many years – dividing our time between San Miguel and Seattle. We sold the place last fall, and now are in Seattle full-time.
Fun Fact: I walked all the 100 hikes in the Mountaineers 100 Hikes in the Alpine Lakes.