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About Me
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"><link rel="stylesheet" href="css/aboutme.css"> <title>About Me</title> <meta name="description" content="Brief introduction to Gary Ashkenazy who is the author of all the articles at primaltrek.com"> <link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico"> </head> <body> <div class="container"> <header> <picture><source srcset="primaltreklogo3.webp" type="image/webp"><img src="primaltreklogo3.jpg" alt="Primal Trek logo" width="174" height="50"></picture> <input type="checkbox" id="nav-toggle" class="nav-toggle" aria-label="nav-toggle"> <nav> <ul> <li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li> <li><a href="coinarticles.html">Chinese Coins</a></li> <li><a href="charmarticles.html">Chinese Charms</a></li> <li><a href="chinesepapermoney.html">Chinese Paper Money</a></li> <li><a href="koreancoins.html">Korean Coins</a></li> <li><a href="horse.html">Horse Coins</a></li> <li><a href="xiangqi.html">Chinese Chess</a></li> <li><a href="blog">Chinese Coin and Charm Blog</a></li> <li><a href="aboutme.html">About Me</a></li> </ul> </nav> <label for="nav-toggle" class="nav-toggle-label"> <span></span> </label> </header> <nav></nav> <main> <h1> I'm Gary </h1> <p> This is an informational website so you will not experience any ads, social media, popups or other distractions. </p> <p> I write all the articles. My lifelong interest in Chinese culture began with a college course in Chinese art history. </p> <p> <figure> <picture><source srcset="gary1.webp" type="image/webp"><img src="gary1.jpg" width="300" height="419" alt="Photo of Gary Ashkenazy"></picture> <figcaption> Gary Ashkenazy <br> Photo taken at my mom's <br> 100<sup>th</sup> Birthday Party! <br> November, 2020 </figcaption> </figure> </p> <p> I lived in Asia for 13 years: <ul> <li> 7 years in China </li> <li> 4 years in Taiwan </li> <li> 2 years in South Korea </li> </ul> </p> <p> I studied Chinese at: <ul> <li> Peking University in Beijing, China </li> <li> Taiwan National Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan </li> <li> University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona </li> </ul> </p> <p> I learned Korean as a Peace Corps volunteer working in a tuberculosis control project on Jeju Island in South Korea. </p> <p> My education degrees include: <ul> <li> BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis </li> <li> MBA from the University of Arizona </li> </ul> </p> <p> I am retired now but worked in a number of interesting positions over the years including: <ul> <li>Stringer at the Beijing Bureau of a large international news organization </li> <li> Worked on telecommunication projects in China for a large conglomerate based in Thailand </li> <li> Regional Director of Sales for a manufacturer of military communications equipment in California </li> <li> Disaster Specialist for the American Red Cross in Arizona </li> </ul> </p> <p> I collected U.S. coins as a young boy. My Chinese and Korean coins and charms were collected while living in Asia. </p> <p> My other hobbies include amateur radio (call sign: AF7M), motorcycles, and photography. </p> <p> I am a volunteer (docent) at the <a href="https://www.desertmuseum.org/">Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum</a> and was previously a volunteer (docent) at the <a href="https://pimaair.org/">Pima Air & Space Museum</a>. </p> <p> Finally, this is a personal website and in my spare time I write articles based on subjects I find interesting. If you find any of the articles worth reading then that makes my efforts even more gratifying. </p> <p> Thanks for visiting! </p> <p> Gary Ashkenazy </p> </main> <footer> <p> © 2008 - 2021 PrimalTrek.com <br>All rights reserved </p> </footer> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "https://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-4975786-4"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); </script> </body> </html>