So you were there just one semester and then you came back, uh, to, uh, the States, right?

Yep, it, definitely one semester, came back to the States, going back to school.

But it, it set me off.

I, I started applying to a million scholarships 'cause I wanted to do it again.

The next year I studied abroad in South Korea for, for the summer and, uh, again, lots of, lots of epiphany moments there.

Very different society and, um, just every, every place I was, I'm, I'm learning again about them, I'm learning about, about that, but I'm also learning about myself.

And I think, you know, a lot of times travelers don't talk about this.

I think memories are a good way to put it as well, right? So you've got all these memories from the past that-

Maybe smarter than we are now.

I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Even in college, I think I changed my major seven times, something like that.

So absolutely had no idea.

I love numbers.

And so I was drawn towards math and science, kind of things like that.

But also I loved the ideas of history and culture and travel.

I'm really interested in how you learn about a pla-- how you authentically learn about a place and how you present yourself in such a way that people are not threatened by you, that, that people are willing to share and that you can really have these interactions in a genuine way.

What did you learn about America from that experience?

Yeah, I always think it's so paradoxical that the best way to learn about yourself is to meet other people.

And the best way to learn about your bubble is to leave it.

And so when I left the United States, I was a digital nomad for three years approximately.

It put into perspective the United States.

And some people don't like this comparison game.

But I do think it provides perspective.

Some even say we're at risk of rising political violence and maybe civil war.

Your

ratio is good.

So I graduated from school in Korea and I moved to Silicon Valley to become a data analyst.

I'm a nerd.

I'm a business nerd.

I look at data all day and I translate that into information.

I look at data and I communicate about it.

But get it to where we get to effective policies built on what used to be considered the basis of policies, which is shared values.

What does that mean for you? If you live in your own bubble and then you traveled to these many countries, How did that open you up?

Yeah, I mean, I use this concept of a bubble all the time.

It's the framework that I use.

It's like being in a bubble is not bad.

Everyone is in a bubble.

So there's nothing inherently evil about it.

It's just a normal fact.

So talking about, you know, experiences and learnings, how has your experience in Africa changed your outlook?

When did you first, when did Fulbright first enter your thinking and what made you decide and what you wanted to pursue it? I mean, how it all started actually?

Maybe I can step back even further from that and just introduce what is the Fulbright.

The Fulbright Scholarship is something that was passed in the United States government in 1946.

And the idea of the program was to bring smart people from around the world into the United States and to send Americans into other countries.

And it was going to be a type of exchange.

So this was going to be a mutually beneficial program.

A program that both countries agree on.

It could be in that range also because if the program has been happening since 1950 obviously a lot of a lot of progressive indians at least know about this program already when somebody is actually you know preparing to to apply what this selection committee is really looking for beyond academic excellence or a strong resume what exactly they would be thinking i know a lot of it probably it is not disclosed in the public domain but then Having gone through that program and having been part of the Fulbright alumni, what do you get a sense of?

So what's the difference?

Yeah.

I mean, from a very technical perspective, no, studying abroad does not help you.

I'm not a better coder because I've been to India.

So in that very narrow set, absolutely not.

And I'll even go further.

I think sometimes when people study abroad, they study abroad and they instantly only hang out with other Americans or other Indians.

Was it something like this you were thinking about the future or something you were more inquisitive or curious to learn about the world around yourself?

You know, when you spend so much time outside of the United States, you know, you eventually start seeing America through other people's eyes, right? You know, what did living outside of the country make you realize Americans misunderstand about ourselves?

So much.

Yeah.

I mean, it's so good to be abroad because you can see the good parts and the bad parts.

I'll tell another story if you don't mind.

I think it illustrates kind of what I'm trying to say.

I remember I was in Togo, which is a country in West Africa, not very wealthy.

If I was in person, I'd probably be stuttering half the time.

Just really tell us that whole glory and moment for yourself.

Yeah, I mean, I when you're working in your job, it's like you get a couple of weeks off a year and you do do some fun stuff.

I was working in San Jose, California, was working in tech.

I'm a numbers person just like you.

And, you know, that was my job.

That was my life.

And when COVID happened, I wanted to explore.

what's your next step? What's the next thing that you're building towards or wanting to introduce on the podcast or not?