My brain was steaming. It was my first night of college after having received all my course syllabi and I had just completed my first night’s reading for my IntroAnthropology course. It was 2 AM. I’d just completed Clifford Geertz’s “From the Native’s Point of View” and although I understood it, I felt as if I’d just had an intellectual power workout. I got up from my desk and stretched a bit. I went to the bathroom and then crawled into bed, all in a daze. My mind was still reflecting on the article as I clicked the on button on my alarm clock. Before my eyes shut for the night, my mind flickered for a few seconds images and thoughts of why I wanted to study anthropology. I dreamed of the Pacific and its beauty. My mind went back to his article as I drifted into sleep.

Geertz’s article explores the question “must you attempt to become fully native in order to understand how natives of a certain culture think?” Through explorations in Javanese, Balinese, and Moroccan cultures within which he’d worked for years, he demonstrated that you don’t have to become a perfect, “culture chameleon, super human” to understand something important about who other people are and how other people around the world live.

Wanna know about me now? I’m about going beyond, exploring the world in the fullness and intricacies of its beauty. This blog allows me to share with you my physical and intellectual adventures as I travel the world, learning the world’s languages, acquiring knowledge of its cultures, and enjoying the multifarious natural environments in which those social worlds live. I’m not your “Indiana Jones” type that effortlessly and flawlessly eases in and out of every new place and encounter, but with a little knowledge and a lot of gusto, I aim to always go a little further. I hope I inspire you to do the same.

As you’ve probably already noticed, this blog focuses on what I believe to be one of the most fascinating regions of the world, the Asia-Pacific. Of course, I have interests that will hopefully take me all over the globe, otherwise I wouldn’t have set the crazy goal of visiting every country on earth before I’m 35, but I find that South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania are the regions closest to my heart.

The name of the site “Taking Down Tongues” refers to two things: 1) tackling difficult languages as I try to understand something about the world’s cultures and societies and 2) language documentation. Language learning has always been a passion of mine and what better way is there to understand the way a culture works than to live and breathe through the words of its language. However, in this pursuit we encounter, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, the fact that many local languages are disappearing. As world economics, past colonial histories, and globalization push people to alter local ways of life by moving to urban centers and learning world languages, many of the world’s indigenous tongues are fading away. As an “up-and-coming” linguist and ethnographer, my job will be to document and aid in the preservation of the world’s indigenous languages. On my site, I’ll explore paradigms for doing that.

As languages disappear, cultures disappear and as local cultural knowledge of various biological environments fades, those environments themselves fade away. Scientists have established that there is an “inextricable link” between biological and cultural/linguistic diversity. I hope my website inspires action in the preservation of the intricately beautiful, variegated world.

Taking Down Tongues is about “culture diving, tuktuk riding, ‘Air No Name’ flying” adventure. It’s about verbal voyages to learn the lessons of life through language and culture. My blog will show you how to get out there so that you can have your own special travel experiences. From college night Pacific dreams to ship trips on Polynesian seas, let’s go! Let’s take down some tongues and gain a more meaningful understanding of the world in which we live.

 Quick Travel Facts

Destinations Traveled: 26

Asia-Pacific – Bangladesh, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, West Papua (New Guinea), Vanuatu, New Zealand

Wider World – Canada, France, Haiti, Italy, Jamaica, USA, Mexico, Morocco, Costa Rica

Hometown: Houston, Texas (USA)

Favorite Cuisines: Indonesian, Chinese & Cambodian

Most Exotic Food I’ve Ever Eaten: Flying Fox

Favorite Travel Destinations: French Polynesia, Indonesia, Singapore & France

Favorite Cities: Singapore & Paris

Favorite Historic Sight: Borobudur

Most Adventurous Activities: Going Around Tahiti by Foot & Climbing Active Volcanoes in Vanuatu

Languages: English is my native tongue. French and Indonesian are my best foreign languages. I use Indonesian while doing linguistic fieldwork and language/culture documentation in Borneo. I’m certified to teach French and Latin. I would add Italian, Old English, and Middle English to my language list as well. I’m still rather novice at speaking Spanish although I’ve used it as an academic language (for reading research). I’m also studying Mandarin Chinese. As a linguist, I’ve studied nine other languages for structural knowledge: Ilocano (Philippines), Ekari (West Papua), Bahasa Walikan Malangan (Java), Malayalam (India), Zapotec (Mexico), Breton (Celtic language of France), Haitian Creole (Haiti), Jamaican Patois (Jamaica), Gumawana (Papua New Guinea).