Hello, Steemit! introduceyourself

Love seeing all these posts and figured I'd go ahead and introduce myself.

My name is Mark McCormick and am originally from Boston, Massachusetts, now living and working in northeast China.  I am the executive director of the Y@SIT program in Liaoning, China, working with Dr. Yong Zhao from the University of Kansas.  I've been here for almost 7 months, though I've lived in Mainland China for almost 8 years (off and on).  I spent the previous seven years working in a study abroad research center located in Tianjin, China.

There's Clark Thomas, Wanyu Xiang, Dr. Yong Zhao and myself in June. 

I really love traveling.  After I finished graduate school in 2007, I spent two years living out of the back of my station wagon and tramping the United States, working wherever I could find work at the time.  Spent time in coastal Carolina, the Rockies outside of Ogden, Utah, the Florida Keys and in Denali State Park in Alaska, among other places. I also worked on a fishing boat off the coast of Mexico. These were all wonderful experiences and really helped me learn who I am as a person.  I have a really old Flickr account that I'm happy to link here, if people are interested in seeing pictures of me from a decade ago all over the United States (and a little in England/Ireland).

I am an avid reader, especially non-fiction.  I love reading about social issues and social change.  It's one of the reasons I love living in China.  The speed at which China changes is absolutely mind-blowing.  It's been an honor to see it up close and personal over the past decade.

I am married and have a son who is almost two.  My wife and son are both from Kyushu, Japan, living in a farming community there.  I spend a few months a year there with them.  The solitude and the pure beauty of it actually takes my breath away at times.  I'd be happy to write more about that if people are interested. 

Here's me, my wife and my son on the Star Ferry in Hong Kong this past May. 

Here's one of the rice fields next to my wife's place at sunset (picture taken Summer 2016).  

I look forward to being involved here on Steemit and hope my personal stories, posts and comments can help create a stronger community and help offer different views and ideas through discussions.